After the children were born, her role turned more toward staying at home, as she needed to instruct and accompany the children, while the men handled the business. She was happy with this leisure, as she had given all she could. Inspired by her, Qingyang Prefecture had transitioned from poverty to prosperity, which became the greatest pride of Shen Xiaoyu’s life.
Although she did not make any donations in this life, she still managed to help the fishermen escape poverty and achieve wealth through some modern concepts, filling her life with meaning.
Because those fishermen wanted to thank her, the Princess Qing who brought them hope, they specially bought her portrait to honor at home, praying for her to protect their life of glory and riches.
Unexpectedly, this gesture would bring her the biggest surprise of her life. free\we,bnovel.c o(m) For original chapters go to N()velFire.net
Her parents, whom she thought were dead, were actually living in a fishing village near Qingyang Prefecture. Although they knew of the formidable Princess Qing and some of her stories, they had never connected them to their own daughter. If the villagers hadn’t bought her portrait and let them see her face, and investigated some of her life experiences, how could they have thought of their own daughter?
With apprehension, they went to the Prince Qing Mansion and explained their purpose.
When Shen Xiaoyu, frazzled and flustered, ran out the door and saw the elderly couple with whitening hair sitting at the gatehouse, she recognized them immediately as her parents from the original host’s deep memories.
"Dad, Mom, is it really you? You’re still alive?"
Xiao Yu performed emotionally. Although she hadn’t spent much time with the parents of the original host and didn’t have deep feelings, the residual emotions indicated her respect for her parents, hence she needed to ’act’ to regulate her emotions.
The elderly couple had held little hope, but when they saw Shen Xiaoyu’s face, they hugged her and cried bitterly!
Upon confirming that Shen Ze was also alive and even having a promising future, they were so excited they almost fainted.
Fortunately, Xiao Yu reacted quickly, helping them to her parlor, serving them tea and desserts, allowing them to calm down before sharing their experiences over the years, half-truths and half-fictions, of course. After all, there were things Shen Xiaoyu couldn’t know and needed to simplify the past.
For a long time after they had jumped into the sea that year, the elderly couple had hidden in the woods behind the village, surviving by playing hide-and-seek with the soldiers, enduring days of starvation alternated with moments of fullness, and would have died if they couldn’t hold their breath.
The village was raided, parents killed, children missing— that year, they experienced all the bitterness and pain imaginable in life.
A great fire destroyed their fishing village, they couldn’t save their parents, and could only cry as they buried them, letting them rest in peace.
They were just ordinary fishermen, living off the sea, and didn’t dare to stray far, as the outside was likely ridden with epidemics. Village folks either fled or died, leaving probably less than ten people.
The boats had been taken away or burnt, leaving them without a single boat, and with the epidemic widespread, they had no way to leave the village. Out of necessity, they settled in the woods, hoping for the epidemic to pass one day so they could go out to sea and search for their children.
In fact, during that time, the parents were uneasy; struggling to survive themselves, how could their children possibly make it?