A peasant girl travels through time with a hospital, rising to become an empress.

Everyone present froze. Liu Yan's words were like a thunderclap, leaving everyone speechless.

Nie Qianqian pointed to herself, her emotions churning.

No wonder when she first transmigrated, she always felt that the original owner's face was neither like Liu Yan nor Nie Erzhuang. It turns out that she was not Nie Erzhuang's child at all!

No matter how deeply a secret is buried, it will eventually see the light of day.

Back then, at the Nie family's house, she dared not reveal the truth, fearing that the Nie family would abandon young Qianqian. At that time, the child had no ability to earn a living, and she simply could not support herself.

Later, when Qianqian grew up, she took her away from the Nie family. She wanted to confess several times, but she hesitated again and again, afraid of losing the identity of "Qianqian's mother".

This identity was the reason she survived twenty years ago, and it remains the spiritual pillar for the rest of her life.

Nie Erzhuang was roughly thrown out of the courtyard by Qiao Lao. His head, which was already foggy from long-term drunkenness, became even more muddled, and he couldn't even tell what day it was.

Regret?

He should have regretted it long ago; now he felt only confusion and heartache.

The daughter he raised for over twenty years was not his biological daughter; his biological daughter had died twenty years ago.

Qianqian's intelligence and competence, and Gu Xiao's fame and achievements, had nothing to do with him. He became a lonely man, respected by no one and pitied by no one. Living seemed to have no meaning.

Fragments of my life over the past forty years flashed through my mind.

When they were newlyweds, Liu Yan was considerate and gentle, and the two spent a peaceful but warm period together. When did everything start to change?

It started after the birth of her daughter, when Old Mrs. Nie expressed her dissatisfaction, and Nie Daqiang mocked her, calling the child a "money-losing burden."

It was after Nie Wenye displayed his talent for studying that he increasingly felt that Qianqian was just a girl who would eventually get married and wouldn't be able to bring him any glory.

It was only later, when he found Liu Yan boring, only knowing how to do housework and take care of the children all day, that he began to seek pleasure outside and grew increasingly disgusted with her.

It's hard to say anymore.

He didn't cherish what he had, and what he thought he possessed was all empty. Forty years passed in a flash, like an absurd dream.

In a daze, a bone-chilling cold enveloped my entire body.

On a winter night, the Qinghe River was covered with thick ice. Villagers often dug holes to fish in the ice. Nie Erzhuang, who was in a daze, lost his way and fell into the ice hole.

The river water was so cold it made his bones ache, but that pain was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.

His wife and children were separated, his family was destroyed, and he gave up struggling, letting the river drag him into the depths until his consciousness was completely plunged into eternal darkness.

Inside the Liu family's new house, everyone went back to their rooms. Gu Xiao stayed with Tuantuan and Tiedan until they fell asleep, leaving space for Nie Qianqian and Liu Yan, mother and daughter.

It took Liu Yan a long time to calm down. Under the flickering lamplight, the upheaval had left her looking exceptionally haggard. She mustered her courage to look at Nie Qianqian, her eyes brimming with guilt and reluctance.

Nie Qianqian gently curved the corners of her mouth, reached out and took Liu Yan's cold hand, rubbing it gently to warm it: "Mother."

With just that one word, Liu Yan's tears, which she had just stopped, began to fall like broken pearls.

She hesitated, her throat feeling blocked, and it took her a long time to finally choke out, "Qianqian, it's all my fault. I've kept the truth a secret, and I'm ashamed to call you 'Mother'—I'm not your biological mother, we're not related by blood."

“I went back to the place where I found you countless times. I had just lost my biological daughter and I was completely dazed. I couldn’t remember the directions or the way. I searched for months. When I went back again, it was the following summer. There was no trace of you there. I don’t know if your biological family ever looked for you afterward.”

She wiped away her tears, her voice trembling, "It was my cowardice that made me keep searching. I shouldn't have let you suffer in the Nie family."

As she spoke, she finally couldn't hold back and burst into tears.

Nie Qianqian pulled Liu Yan into her arms, wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, and spoke gently yet firmly:

“Mother, even without blood ties, you raised me. All my memories are filled with your care and love; blood ties are irrelevant. You are my only family in this world, my only mother, and no one can change that.”

The original owner and Liu Yan were already dependent on each other for survival, and each other was the driving force for the other to live. Their lives had long been intertwined, and this bond could not be diluted by blood ties.

In her past life as a doctor, she witnessed farces where close relatives turned against each other over inheritance and abandoned their parents when they were critically ill. She also saw heartwarming stories of people with no blood relation who acted bravely and even risked their lives to save others—blood ties are never the measure of kinship.

Moreover, she was a wandering soul from another world who had transmigrated here, and there was no one in this world who was truly related to her by blood.

Liu Yan cried even harder, choking back tears as she asked, "Qianqian, aren't you curious about who your biological parents are?"

Nie Qianqian shook her head: "I don't believe in 'blood is thicker than water,' and I believe even more in the bonds between people, which are all preordained by fate. There was a reason why I was separated from my biological family back then; if our fate is not yet over, we will eventually meet again. Right now, I just want to stay with my mother and live a good life from now on."

Liu Yan cried herself to sleep.

This secret, which had been buried deep in her heart for over twenty years, was finally revealed tonight, as if she had finally unloaded the burden she had carried for half her life.

Nie Qianqian tucked Liu Yan in, but she herself was wide awake. She gently pushed open the door and went out.

The night was deep and all was quiet. She thought everyone was asleep, but she saw Gu Xiao standing quietly under the eaves, the moonlight shining on him and outlining his gentle features.

Seeing her come out, he walked forward slowly, his eyes full of gentle concern.

He gazed at Nie Qianqian and saw that her eyes were clear and she was not confused by the sudden news of her background. He breathed a sigh of relief and secretly admired her strong will.

Gu Xiao reached out and gently pulled Nie Qianqian into his arms, patting her back softly with his hand, his voice deep and reassuring:

"Qianqian, whether you are my biological daughter or not, whether we are related by blood or not, it doesn't affect you being yourself, nor does it affect our love for you."

Nie Qianqian gently rested her head against his chest, listening to his steady and strong heartbeat, feeling very at ease. She responded softly:

"This news was indeed sudden and quite a shock to me. But don't worry, I won't be lost or confused. As you said, who I am as a daughter or whether I have blood ties with someone can never determine what kind of person I want to be."

"Being true to your heart, doing what you love, and achieving what you want—this is the most important thing in life. A person's character and value are never defined by blood ties, but by the choices they make and the perseverance they maintain. The bonds between people are not bound by blood ties, but by the solid foundation of shared experiences. It is a shared pursuit that keeps us in sync and allows us to move forward hand in hand."