Seeing Mrs. Li getting much better after taking the medicine, Tang Bai’s worries were eased.
Anning knew where Mrs. Li’s emotional pain lay and reassured her, "I am aware of your family matters. I will personally visit and ensure proper arrangements for your relatives. They have been exiled to the northwest, where the commander of the Northwest Army is my adoptive son. If I go there personally, he will not refuse to show me respect."
Mrs. Li, unable to rise from her bed, still thanked Anning.
Anning patted her hand, "My good child, you must take care of yourself and give birth to the child smoothly and safely."
Mrs. Li had a difficult life in the Tang Family; Mrs. Song had never treated her kindly, never showing her love and care all these years. Now, Anning’s gentle and comforting words, along with her willingness to travel all the way to the northwest for her, made Mrs. Li feel a warmth in her heart, and she couldn’t help but burst into tears again, "It is our filial neglect that has caused Grandmother to worry."
"We are family; what need is there for such talk?"
After chatting a few more words with Mrs. Li, Anning tapped her hands and called out to someone outside, "Come in." Follow current novᴇls on novel⚑fire.net
Immediately afterward, a scene that shocked both Mrs. Li and Tang Bai unfolded.
Before their eyes, their son, Tang Pei, whom they thought was dead, walked in slowly.
Mrs. Li struggled to sit up, but Tang Bai had already embraced the child tightly.
Holding his son, Tang Bai looked towards Anning, overwhelmed with emotion.
Anning nodded, "I had already foreseen that Pei’er would encounter a mishap, so I arrived in the Capital early. But Pei’er has a fateful calamity in his life. If this incident doesn’t happen now, it will happen in the future. I could only use the same methods as myself to deceive the heavens and cross the sea. From now on, Pei’er cannot stay at home. If you trust me, let him follow me."
Tang Bai and Mrs. Li nodded eagerly, "We trust you; of course, we trust you."
Tang Pei had already faced danger once at home, and Tang Bai and Mrs. Li were no longer reassured to let him stay. Although it was hard to part with their son, nothing was more important than his life.
Moreover, Anning was Tang Bai’s direct grandmother; there was no one more reassuring than her to look after the child.
Leaving Tang Pei to talk with Mrs. Li, Anning pulled Tang Bai out.
The two entered Tang Bai’s study, and as soon as they did, Tang Bai knelt on the ground and clung to Anning’s legs, crying loudly, "Grandmother, please take your grandson with you too, your grandson is suffering..."
Anning with a stern face helped Tang Bai up, "Stop talking nonsense. If I could take you, I naturally would. But now is not the time; you must endure a little longer."
She whispered a few words in Tang Bai’s ear.
Tang Bai engraved it in his heart and nodded vigorously, "Grandmother, rest assured, your grandson understands."
He helped Anning to sit down and asked softly, "My second uncle once told me that Mrs. Song is not my biological mother. Grandmother, who am I really? Who is my mother?"
Anning looked at Tang Bai as memories surged in her heart.
After a long while, she sighed deeply, "I wanted to tell you earlier, but I was so ill then, so close to death, that I really didn’t have the strength to explain in detail. Now, I will tell you."
Anning’s years of spiritual practice were not in vain.
She was now partly able to resist the oppression of that thing.
For instance, when she wanted to say something, no one could control her anymore.
Tang Bai sat down to listen attentively.
Anning slowly revealed his origins, "Your mother was originally a child of the Tang Family’s longtime friends. Her parents passed away early, and she was entrusted to my care. At that time, both your grandfather and I were busy waging wars and had no time to look after her, so we just let her grow up alongside your father. They were childhood playmates, without any elders to supervise them at home, and thus feelings developed between them. Your father asked me to make a decision and wanted to marry your mother in the future."
Tang Bai listened carefully, but could not help but ask, "What about Mrs. Song? What’s her story?"
Anning sighed deeply, "The Song Family was working with your father back then, and they took a liking to him and wished to marry Mrs. Song to him. At the time, no one had looked into it properly, only knowing that your mother had been taken in as an orphan by our family, and didn’t take it seriously. When we told your father about the intention to form a marriage alliance, he was somewhat reluctant. But Mrs. Song happened to fancy your father, and then... the Song Family staged an elaborate scene which resulted in your father saving Mrs. Song from drowning, and she clung onto our family since then."
Tang Bai felt indignation upon hearing this, "How could their family do such a thing?"
He thought about the time he visited the Song Family, assuming they were his maternal relatives and got along so well with them, which now made him feel deeply ashamed.
Those weren’t relatives at all, but actual enemies.
Anning continued with some anger, "Our Tang family is not one to break promises and abandon righteousness. I had given my word to let your father marry your mother, how could we not make good on that? I personally went to reason with the Song Family, stating that a marriage had already been arranged for your father. The Song Family took advantage of your mother being an orphan, spread rumors around her, making some unholy insinuations. Your mother, being sensitive-hearted, did not want to implicate your father, and thus she requested to dissolve the engagement herself."
The more Anning spoke, the more furious she became, "Sadly, no one knew that she and your father had already consummated their marriage by then, and she was already pregnant. She avoided your father, the Song Family pressed on urgently, leaving no other choice but to marry Mrs. Song first. Originally, we also wanted to let your mother marry your father as an equal wife after Mrs. Song entered the household. Who could have known Mrs. Song was so malicious? She harmed your mother during childbirth, but your mother fought desperately to save you."
Tang Bai’s eyes had turned red with grief.
According to Anning, Mrs. Song was his mother’s murderer, and for all these years, he had respectfully addressed his enemy as mother, which was utterly disgraceful for a son.
As Anning spoke, she became saddened, "I was furious at the time, wanted to divorce Mrs. Song, but she was already pregnant with your second brother. Plus, the Song Family came to beg, and with Grand Ancestor mediating, we could only swallow our teeth and blood. However, I proposed that you be considered as the heir, demanding Mrs. Song to treat you kindly and as her own child, otherwise, she would be divorced. At that time, Mrs. Song was terrified and knelt before me, promising to raise you well. Your grandfather and I wanted to give you a good lineage, so we registered you under Mrs. Song’s name."
Tang Bai had fully grasped the entire situation by now.
He did not resent Anning and his deceased grandfather, only blaming Tang Dingguo and Mrs. Song.
If not for Tang Dingguo’s lack of resolve, how could there have been any entanglement with Mrs. Song at all, and if not for Mrs. Song’s cruelty, how would his mother have died?
Meanwhile, Tang Bai also deeply hated the Song Family.
It was the Song Family’s coercion that led to his mother’s misfortune.
Anning approached Tang Bai, patting his back, "Enough, as long as you keep these matters in mind, don’t show any hatred before Mrs. Song. The Grand Empress can’t protect you anymore, you must take care of yourself. Life is long, and there will eventually be a day..."
Tang Bai clenched his teeth, "Thank you, grandmother, for telling me the truth."
He looked up at Anning, his eyes filled with admiration, "Grandmother, how long will you stay this time?"
Anning smiled lightly, "I can’t stay long. The main reason for my return is to save Pei’er, and also for Mrs. Li. Now that you both are safe, I should leave."
Tang Bai was very reluctant to part, "Grandmother, won’t you go see my uncle?"
Anning waved her hand, "No need, I am very reassured with your uncle’s family. However, tell your uncle something for me tomorrow; the Capital is not a place for a long stay. Tell him to think of a way to leave the Capital as soon as possible and not return before I come back."
Tang Bai kept these words carefully in his heart.
Anning gave him a few more instructions, then went to fetch Tang Pei and leave with Mrs. Li.
Tang Pei was extremely reluctant to leave his parents, crying so hard he couldn’t catch his breath. Anning took a long time to console him before he calmed down.
Mrs. Li also found it difficult to let her son go, but for the sake of his life, she had to steel her heart and let go.
Tang Pei cried bitterly; Mrs. Li didn’t dare to cry. She bit her lip, her eyes reddening as she watched her son leave with Anning in the distance.
Tang Bai hugged Mrs. Li, "Yunniang, you must take care of yourself. You’re all I have left now."