Bai Sheng looked at Tianya and then at Lu Ye, suddenly feeling that certain aspects of their appearances were indeed quite similar, such as the shape of their lips, the overall contour of their faces, their hairlines…
Looking at it this way, Tianya actually resembled her mother-in-law, Madam An, even more!
Before, Bai Sheng wouldn't have thought along these lines, so she hadn't noticed. Furthermore, Tianya was still a child, and his features hadn't fully developed yet. Most people wouldn't be able to tell without close examination.
Bai Sheng was shocked by this discovery. She asked Lu Ye if he knew Tianya's background. Lu Ye said he did not.
However, for some unknown reason, the first time Lu Ye saw Tianya, who looked like a little beggar, in the capital, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Besides feeling pity for the child, this sense of familiarity was a major reason why Lu Ye decided to take Tianya in.
He couldn't explain that feeling. It was as if he saw his own younger siblings wandering outside in rags, starving, freezing, and being bullied.
It was possible that Tianya and his mother-in-law were indeed related by blood! Bai Sheng asked Lu Ye, "Can you find out about Tianya's background?"
Lu Ye was also somewhat shocked, appearing a bit dazed. He sighed softly, "It's rather difficult. The old beggar who originally adopted Tianya is already dead. Beggars like Tianya are everywhere in the capital, making it hard to trace his origins.
Moreover, Tianya was clearly harmed by someone. Even if we were to investigate, we couldn't do it openly. It would have to be done in secret, which makes the investigation even more challenging."
Bai Sheng frowned in thought, "What about Mother? Does my husband know Mother's background?"
Lu Ye calmed himself and said gently, "Mother was also a female slave. Father brought her home and made her his wife.
Since childhood, Mother has never mentioned her past to us. However, Mother appears to have read a lot and understands many rules of affluent families. Oh, yes, if you want to investigate Mother's identity, that purple jade pendant is key information."
Bai Sheng took out the pale purple jade pendant from her neck, "Is it this one?"
Lu Ye nodded, "Precisely. When I was fifteen, Mother told me that something very important was hidden in the flesh of her leg. If she died one day, I had to dig it out, which was that purple jade pendant. Mother said… if we were ever really struggling to get by, we could sell the jade pendant."
Bai Sheng was startled, "Mother hiding the jade pendant in her leg flesh indicates that this jade pendant is extremely important and might be closely related to Mother's true identity. Husband, it's fortunate this jade pendant wasn't pawned away at the time."
Lu Ye also felt somewhat relieved. Previously, he never thought in this direction. He only assumed that his mother felt the jade pendant was valuable and hid it in her leg flesh for fear of being snatched by Old Madam Chen.
He never imagined that because of Tianya, because of the living corpse worms, his mother's identity would become so complicated.
Bai Sheng sat by the baby crib, looking at the four children who were already fast asleep, her gaze becoming distant, "Husband, you found Tianya in the capital. Is it possible… that Mother is also from the capital?"
Lu Ye's thoughts were now racing. He stood up and sat beside Bai Sheng, taking her hand, and said in a deep voice, "It now seems highly likely. The composition of slaves in the Great Xia Kingdom is very complex. Besides captives from other countries, there are also purchased populations, as well as families of convicted officials or refugees whose origins cannot be stated.
Due to prolonged warfare and consecutive natural disasters, the already small population of the Great Xia Kingdom has drastically decreased. Therefore, the Great Xia Kingdom places great importance on population growth.
Some young female slaves with reproductive capabilities are often forcibly assigned by the government to commoners for marriage and to procreate citizens.
Mother, very likely for some reason, also became a slave and was eventually brought home by Father. Old Madam Chen hated Father to the bone because of this matter."
Bai Sheng nodded, "Mother and I are both female slaves who were married off."
Lu Ye reached out and held Bai Sheng in his arms, "Sometimes, I am very grateful for Great Xia's policy of population growth, which allowed me to meet you."
Bai Sheng playfully chided him, "You should be thanking Father and Mother. Without Father and Mother, even if you had seen me yourself at that time, you would never have brought me home."
Lu Ye's alarm bells immediately went off, and he chuckled sheepishly, "At that time, I had absolutely no intention of getting married. I never thought about it in that way." Moreover, he often dreamed of that woman at night and had already had intimate encounters with her multiple times, so he felt he had to take responsibility. At that time, he thought he already had someone in his heart.
Who could have imagined that the woman in his dreams looked exactly like Bai Sheng?
Thinking of Lu Ye's aloof demeanor at the beginning, Bai Sheng was angry and pinched him hard.
Lu Ye hissed, hugging Bai Sheng and acting spoiled, "Baby, weren't we discussing Mother's background?"
Right, they had gone off track.
Bai Sheng paused thoughtfully and boldly speculated, "Husband, I think Mother is very likely from the capital, and became a married female slave for some reason.
And this reason is a very bad one, very likely persecution. Otherwise, Mother wouldn't have so cautiously hidden the jade pendant in her leg flesh, and lived such a frugal life without taking out the jade pendant to sell.
This can only mean that the jade pendant would bring danger to Mother and the family. That's why Mother has been so cautious all these years, telling you to sell it only when you absolutely couldn't make ends meet."
Lu Ye gripped Bai Sheng's hand, his palms slightly sweating, "My dear, this speculation of yours is indeed… very likely.
Now that I recall Mother's various behaviors back then, I feel she was truly cautious in everything. Even when someone bullied her without reason, she didn't choose to report them to the authorities, and was very afraid of escalating the situation.
Baby, please don't take out the jade pendant casually in the future. I'm afraid… it might bring disaster. Let's wait until I have clarified Mother's background."
Bai Sheng nodded, "Don't worry, Husband, I know what I'm doing. However, we might have to make a trip to the capital. Tianya and Mother's backgrounds might only be discoverable if we go to the capital."
Lu Ye looked out the window, "After a while, when I've sorted out the village affairs, we'll go to the capital, and we'll bring the cubs along too."
"Yes, I don't want to leave the cubs for a single day, and they are all so well-behaved, truly worry-free." Bai Sheng leaned down and kissed each of the four cubs on their faces.
Her cubs were so adorable, she could never get enough of looking at them.
After the couple finished discussing, Lu Ye hugged Bai Sheng, lowered his head, and accurately occupied the place where the cubs' provisions were stored.
Bai Sheng moaned softly and pushed him away, "Wait a little longer, five more days."
Lu Ye's eyes burned, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he said in a hoarse voice, "I'll wait five more days. My dear, you must take good care of yourself these few days, eat enough, sleep well, and when the time comes, your husband will be… very unrestrained, so as not to hurt you."
Lu Ye feared he might go mad then.
Bai Sheng pecked him on the lips, her eyebrows raised, "When the time comes, Husband, just unleash your might. Who's afraid of whom!"