"But for some unknown reason, no matter what method I used this time, I couldn't reach that small world."
"I first spent a year searching myself. Later, I realized it might be a problem with me personally, that perhaps I simply couldn't go. So, I asked others to search."
"But no matter who I asked, the result was either they never returned, or they couldn't reach it at all."
Zhen Lingrong paused here to compose herself.
Just thinking about those years made her a little emotional.
She had exhausted all her schemes and efforts to search, yet found nothing in the end. How could such a feeling of powerlessness not make her sad?
Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming didn't interrupt her, waiting for her to continue.
Fortunately, Zhen Lingrong had good self-control and recovered shortly.
"Later, Xi He returned, bringing back two children. Their ages were surprisingly similar to yours, and their appearances even bore some resemblance."
"The moment I saw those two children, I understood that this was a deliberate arrangement. Someone intentionally made these two children appear by my side, with the purpose of making me pour all my maternal love onto them."
"At that time, I thought, since the enemy is in the dark and I am in the light, I'll play along with that person's intentions for now. After all, as long as they have a scheme, they will eventually reveal themselves. Then, I will strike them back heavily."
"Meanwhile, I also secretly sent people to continue searching for the small world where you were. Time passed quickly, and yet it felt incredibly slow."
"Indeed, Heaven helps those who help themselves. While I couldn't find that small world, you were able to leave it. And here you are, appearing before me."
By the end, Zhen Lingrong's face broke into a smile again.
Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming, however, wore serious expressions. They never expected such a thing to have happened.
Was it because someone had interfered that they were separated for so many years?
But who was that person, and what was their motive?
Shen Xiaoyan even wondered, now that she and Shen Xiaoming had come from the small world to this place and met Zhen Lingrong, what would happen if the person who had been obstructing their reunion found out?
Looking at Zhen Lingrong's pained face, Shen Xiaoyan thought of another matter.
"Who is our father?"
As soon as these words were spoken, even Shen Xiaoming's eyes widened as he looked at Zhen Lingrong.
To her surprise, Zhen Lingrong froze. After a long while, she blinked with a confused expression, "I don't know!"
Shen Xiaoyan was speechless. She didn't know this either?
Then what *did* she know?
"Then is Zheng Wen Zhen our father?" Shen Xiaoyan asked directly.
She had grown to hate this guessing game. It seemed better to be straightforward about things in the future, otherwise, she didn't know when she would ever get to the bottom of things.
But just as she hesitated whether Zhen Lingrong would admit it or deny it outright, she saw Zhen Lingrong looking bewildered and saying, "Who is Zheng Wen Zhen?"
This time, it wasn't just Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming; even Zheng Wei, who had been wearing a faint smile beside them, widened his eyes.
The three of them, with their six eyes, scrutinized Zhen Lingrong from head to toe, finally confirming that her expression was not feigned.
But why would she not know who Zheng Wen Zhen was?
Even if Zheng Wen Zhen was unwilling to acknowledge them, or Zhen Lingrong was unwilling to embarrass them, she wouldn't say this.
If she wasn't pretending, then it meant Zhen Lingrong truly didn't know who Zheng Wen Zhen was at this moment!
But this didn't make sense. How could she not recognize Zheng Wen Zhen?
Shen Xiaoyan refused to believe it and continued to ask, "Then how did you get to that small world? And how did you go to Da Chu? Why did you marry Shen Cheng?"
These pointed questions made not only Zhen Lingrong but also Zheng Wei look at Shen Xiaoyan with newfound respect.
Shen Xiaoyan, however, had no interest in paying attention to how others viewed her. She just wanted to know how Zhen Lingrong would answer.
In fact, she already had a vague suspicion in her heart, but she was unwilling to confirm it, and even more unwilling to see it happen.
But life is unpredictable, and things don't always go as one wishes.
Zhen Lingrong tried her best to recall, but in the end, she couldn't remember anything. She could only shake her head and say, "I don't know. I've forgotten."
After speaking, she sighed, "After returning to this Chang Qiu Palace, I've been trying to recall where I went all those years, who I went with, and why I suddenly returned. But no matter how long I think, it's all in vain, because the things I recall are unimportant. And the important things, I don't want to remember at all."
After Zhen Lingrong finished speaking, her mood became quite low.
Shen Xiaoyan didn't expect it to be like this, and her mood also became somber.
But the more it was like this, the more she wanted to know why it had become this way.
Zhen Lingrong was silent for a long while. When she regained her composure, her face was once again filled with hopeful smiles.
"Yan'er, Yan'er, aren't you going to acknowledge your mother? Although I haven't been a good mother all these years, I've always loved you. Now that you're all by my side, aren't you going to call me 'Mom'?"
Shen Xiaoyan looked at Zhen Lingrong's expectant face and was instantly at a loss for words.
She turned to look at Shen Xiaoming and saw that his lips were tightly pressed together, and his eyes held a complex expression.
Zhen Lingrong waited for a while, and seeing that both of them were like this, she knew she couldn't force them now. She could only smile bitterly and say, "Mom won't force you now. When we spend more time together and develop feelings, things will be better."
Hearing her say this, Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they had heard Zhen Lingrong's explanation of the past, she still couldn't bring herself to forgive her, let alone accept her.
Now that Zhen Lingrong had taken a step back and wasn't forcing them to call her mother, it gave them some time.
As Zhen Lingrong had said, if they stayed in Chang Qiu Palace for a while and got to know each other, everything would be resolved.
Ni Ren wiped away her tears and suddenly looked at Zheng Wei.
Zheng Wei's heart immediately tensed, and he straightened up.
Even though Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming hadn't accepted Zhen Lingrong yet, the current situation was different from what they had imagined. It wasn't an adversarial relationship.
If that was the case, then their future interactions should only improve.
And he, as a son-in-law, had to make a good impression on Zhen Lingrong starting now.
Others present might not have noticed, but Shen Xiaoyan knew Zheng Wei better than anyone.
Seeing Zheng Wei's apprehensive look, she couldn't help but smile inwardly.
She hadn't seen Zheng Wei like this since they got married. Now, he actually looked quite amusing.
Suddenly, Shen Xiaoyan felt that having a mother might not be such a bad thing.
Zhen Lingrong looked at Zheng Wei for a while before asking, "How long have you been married?"
Zheng Wei was slightly taken aback by the question and then quickly replied, "Five years."
Zhen Lingrong nodded, feeling a pang of bitterness, but she didn't show it.
She never expected that her daughter would be so young when she left, and now she was already married for five years.
Suddenly, a thought struck her, "You've been married for five years, and you don't have any children?"
Could it be that Zheng Wei had a problem?
Why wasn't she suspicious of Shen Xiaoyan? How could that be? She was her daughter; how could she have a problem?
Before Zheng Wei could answer, he saw Zhen Lingrong's gaze turn strange. He immediately understood and quickly said, "We have a child. He's three years old."
Zhen Lingrong finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Where is the child? Is it a boy or a girl?"
Shen Xiaoyan interjected, "The child is currently in a safe place. We've come to Chang Qiu Palace and are still unsure of the situation, so..."
Her words were a bit vague, but the intended meaning was clear.
Furthermore, even if she later confirmed that Zhen Lingrong could be trusted and revealed the matter of the space, she wouldn't be blamed by Zhen Lingrong.
After all, she only said the child was in a safe place, not where, and didn't say she hadn't brought them.
All of this depended on Zhen Lingrong's own understanding.
Shen Xiaoyan felt exceptionally clever at this moment.
Zhen Lingrong nodded upon hearing this. She understood Shen Xiaoyan's meaning.
Even so, she felt a sense of loss that she couldn't see the child at the moment.
"Then when can you bring the child to see me?"
Zhen Lingrong's eyes were filled with anticipation as she said this.
Just as Shen Xiaoyan was about to say something, she suddenly heard a commotion from outside.
She glanced out the window and saw a man and a woman standing outside the courtyard fence, making noise.
And in the distance, she could see Xi He and Shi Fei walking towards them with anxious expressions.
Shen Xiaoyan's expression instantly turned a little unpleasant.
She had been so focused on talking about the past that she had forgotten about the present matters.
Shen Xiaoyan gestured towards the outside with her lips and said to Zhen Lingrong, "Look, someone's here to see you."
Zheng Wei, sitting directly opposite Shen Xiaoyan, looked at her expression and heard her tone of voice, and couldn't help but want to laugh.
This girl probably hadn't even realized she was being jealous.
Shen Xiaoyan was indeed unaware of her own behavior. She turned to Shen Xiaoming and said, "Let's leave quickly. Don't get in the way here and disturb their family reunion."
Zhen Lingrong turned her head in surprise upon hearing this, not understanding what she meant.
Shen Xiaoming, however, nodded seriously, "Big sister is right. We are outsiders, after all. The ones they've doted on for over ten years are their true family."
Saying this, Shen Xiaoming shot a fierce glance at the noisy couple outside.
Zhen Lingrong finally reacted and understood the meaning behind Shen Xiaoyan's words.
But it was precisely because she understood that she felt even more aggrieved.
What kind of words were these?
All these years, hadn't she been desperately hoping to find Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming every single day?
Now that the siblings had finally arrived, how could she possibly let them go?
And how could she favor someone else's child and hurt theirs?
Yet, seeing the siblings acting so childishly, Zhen Lingrong felt happy.
These two children, they cared about her!
Although she was happy, she didn't forget the most important matter at hand.