Divorced woman with child travels through time

"It's me." Mu Tou stood up calmly, looking at him indifferently, as if he were a stranger, but he was already much taller than him.

"Rui'er~" Cao Jun clutched his chest in anguish, "Father is sorry for you, but your mother is half-mad and half-insane now, can you go and see her?"

"I'll go when I have time. You should go back. I don't want to see you." Mu Tou turned away, not wanting to look at him. Mu Tou was a late talker since childhood. Even after the age of three, he still couldn't speak very well. He was also slow to express his emotions and rarely smiled. But that didn't mean he was stupid. Those painful memories reminded him that he was teased and taken away when he was young, all thanks to this man.

Zhao Yirong and her daughter immediately felt sorry for him. It was because of their favoritism that Cao Xiangru, who was Cao Jun's father's concubine, became jealous and bullied him because he was too dull to speak. She secretly humiliated him.

Seeing this, Zhao Yirong got up and shooed him away, rolling her eyes, "You've already seen the person, so you should go back now."

"You should go back," Zhao Roufu advised when she saw he wasn't moving, though her words weren't as harsh.

Cao Jun looked at the wooden block with lingering reluctance, sniffed, and left.

Once he left, the atmosphere returned to normal, and the family dinner lasted until the moon was high in the sky.

The eldest princess was also tired, so she asked Zhao Yirong not to leave the mansion today, probably because she was worried that she would wake up and not see the wooden block, and that it was all a dream.

After spending some time alone with Mu Tou, Zhao Yirong went to find Yu Long with peace of mind.

The girl is very clean, so she went to take a bath early in the morning.

Mu Tou sat idly in the courtyard, looking at every plant and tree around him, carefully observing the traces of his past life. Surprisingly, they were still there.

He walked to the crevice of the artificial rock next to the peony tree in the courtyard, reached to the left, and unexpectedly pulled out a few pieces of silver.

"Hehe." Mu Tou chuckled and weighed it in his hand. This was something his aunt had taught him when he was young: always hide some money so no one will know. Although he spoke slowly, his memory was amazing; he remembered everything clearly from the age of three.

"Greetings, Young Master Zhao." Wang Feng approached from a distance and bowed.

"Uncle Wang Feng is making fun of me." Mu Tou turned around, saw it was him, smiled gently, turned around and returned the greeting, his demeanor was very beautiful, elegant and noble.

Wang Feng looked around; there were still servants in the garden. He then said, "If you were truly well, you wouldn't acknowledge us."

"Uncle Wang, please sit down. What brings you to this? You saved me from dire straits, so it is only right that I repay the Wang family. Moreover, General Wang is loyal to the emperor and loves his country; he is truly a pillar of the nation, and I also intend to befriend him." Mu Tou poured him a cup of wine and handed it to him with both hands.

Wang Feng was flattered and waved his hand, saying earnestly, "No, that won't do. General Wang has already marched north and his military strength in the south is already at its peak. The Emperor is wary of him and has specially ordered him to march north to weaken his power. The third-ranked scholar was only saved by the General on a whim, and he never thought of repaying him. Because of this, he almost couldn't marry the Princess. If you, Rui-ge'er, have any further relationship with the General, it will put the Princess in a difficult position."

"So General Wang has already reached this point? So powerful that even the Emperor is afraid." Mu Tou paused his drink, somewhat puzzled.

"Actually, what the officials are afraid of is his reputation among the people. They must have heard about it along the way," Wang Feng said with a wry smile. "Being an official who is too concerned about the people isn't necessarily a good thing."

Mu Tou Junxiu had some doubts on his face, but he still nodded silently. He had heard a lot about this in the south, where people were more affluent. After entering the north, most people were poor.

“I understand. I won’t tell Grandmother these things. But we’ve had a very pleasant chat. With Grandmother’s keen eyesight, she should be able to find out some things in a few days.” Mu Tou smiled slightly, stating the established facts.

“That’s alright. With the princess’s affection for you, she naturally knows how to treat you best.” Wang Feng also stood up with a smile. “Oh, by the way, Xuanzai and the others are still in the capital with Chuyi. If you have nowhere to go, you can go find them. It’s not far from the princess’s residence, on the southwest street.”

"Okay." Mu Tou smiled and watched him leave. It was wonderful that as soon as he returned, God sent him a great surprise. With the help of a benefactor, his request would surely be fulfilled.

Sure enough, in the Princess's mansion with its many eyes and ears, nothing could be hidden from the eldest princess. Within three days, the eldest princess found out that Mu Tou had stayed on Hubei Road. Recalling the confession of the person who sold him, she realized that this five-year-old child had wandered all the way from Jiangzhe Road to Hubei Road, suffering a great deal of hardship.

The eldest princess was so angry she could hardly breathe, but she finally asked the question when she visited Mu Tou.

After a moment of silence, Mu Tou smiled gently, “It’s all in the past, Grandmother. Ever since we wandered to Hubei Road, we’ve always met good people, including Brother Xiong, Madam Chen, General Wang, and the others. They are all good people. I’m very lucky.”

The princess closed her eyes and hugged him tightly, speaking as if it were nothing, but only he himself probably knew how much suffering he had endured.

“My son, you have suffered. Your grandmother knows what is going on, so don’t worry.”

Several days had passed on their journey north, and Chen Wenfang remained gloomy, rarely smiled, and ate very little, with a terrible appetite.

Wang Erniu tried to persuade him several times, but to no avail.

Chen Wenfang racked his brains trying to figure out how to effectively defy imperial orders in this era of monarchical power without losing his head. He considered all sorts of outlandish ideas, including stealing the children, kidnapping them in front of everyone, having them pretend to be sick, or even getting sick himself and not going to Youzhou. But Wang Erniu rejected them all.

Left with no other choice, Sister-in-law Nie had to call Shuang'er, a young maid, to come and keep her company from time to time. However, it only lasted for a while, and in the evenings, Chen Wenfang could still be seen often lost in thought by herself.

Wang Erniu saw this and was anxious. That night, he took her for a horse ride. When she was tired, she was able to fall asleep.

Time flies, and before Mu Tou could find a chance to meet Chen Xuanyu and the others, Zhao Yirong was getting married.

Because Yu Long was too poor to have a mansion, and his relationship with Wang Erniu was an open secret, Chu Yi came up with a plan to let him marry into the General's family openly and legitimately.

Mu Tou was very happy and asked Wang Feng to deliver a message to Chu Yi, saying that they would meet at the Princess's residence.

The fact that the Princess's long-lost grandson has been found is a major gossip story in the capital. Everyone attending the banquet will want to meet him, and he can also take this opportunity to get closer to Chen Xuanyu and the others. If they get even closer, things will fall into place naturally.

The only problem was that Mu Tou had always been reluctant to go to the Duke of Cao's mansion, but this wedding would inevitably involve seeing those people, and he was afraid that some unspeakable scenes might occur.

The eldest princess even considered whether to not invite her ex-husband's family to the event for the sake of the child, but after all, he was Zhao Yirong's biological father, and it would be unreasonable not to invite him.