"He, he is..."
Madam Hu was silent for a moment, then nodded, "He is your father."
"For several months, he accompanied me into the mountains to gather herbs and occasionally hunted a few pheasants for the family. I almost got used to the days with him."
"After about three months, he suddenly told me he had to leave and asked if I was willing to leave with him."
"I was willing, but my mother was not, so..."
Hu Zhou frowned, "He just left?"
"No, he promised to come back to stay with me. He just said he had something to take care of, and once it was done, he would handle everything in the Southern Border and return to live with me."
"I said I would wait for him."
"But a month after he left, I discovered I was pregnant with you."
"Pregnant before marriage, I endured the villagers' gossip to give birth to you. A few years later, my mother fell ill from overwork and passed away."
