"Was... was she injured when she fell?" Mo Zhanchen asked, his voice thick with pain. He had visited the cliff where his sister disappeared; it was so deep one couldn't see the bottom. He looked at Mo Lixia with immense pity.
Mo Lixia nodded. Mo Wushang patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Child, if you can't remember, then don't force it. You have your father and your brother now."
Mo Lixia kept her head down. She couldn't help but wonder why they both loved patting her head so much.
The manor was grand, with high walls and meticulously trimmed greenery. After walking for a while, they reached an elegant building with ancient charm. The windows and doors were adorned with intricate carvings of plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. Finally, Mo Wushang led her into a courtyard named "Qingwan Court."
"Sister, let's go see Mother," Mo Zhanchen said softly. "She... she misses you dearly."
"Let's go," Mo Wushang sighed, his voice heavy with a long-standing sorrow.
As they entered the courtyard, Mo Lixia saw a beautiful woman sitting in a pavilion. She was cradling a small wooden box as if it were a child, her gaze vacant and distant. This was Ye Qingwan, her biological mother. Even through the fog of illness, one could see the striking resemblance between mother and daughter, especially in the curve of their brows.
A nanny of a similar age, Nanny Guirong, was trying to persuade her. "Madam, the steward says the Master is back. Let's go inside and freshen up."
"Is my Li'er back?" the woman asked, her voice trembling and hollow.
"This..." Nanny Guirong hesitated. Every time she told the truth, the Madam would suffer a breakdown.
"Qingwan?" Mo Wushang stepped forward and gently took his wife in his arms.
"General," the nanny bowed and stepped aside.
Ye Qingwan looked at her husband blankly. "Have you found Li'er?"
"I found her," Mo Wushang said with a doting smile, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Mo Lixia watched this scene, her heart tightening. She felt an overwhelming urge to cry.
"Sister, don't be afraid," Mo Zhanchen whispered. "Mother loved you most when you were small."
"Brother... I just think Mother is very lucky to have Father's unchanging love," Mo Lixia replied softly.
Mo Zhanchen chuckled. "You weren't this sentimental as a child! Back then, whenever Father tried to get close to Mother, you'd be the first to jump into her arms and push him away, saying Mother belonged only to you."
"I... I was that naughty?"
"Master wasn't a good girl back then either!" Mochen chimed in from behind.
"Li'er, come here," Mo Wushang beckoned. "Qingwan, look. I've brought our daughter back. She's home."
Ye Qingwan stared at Mo Lixia for a long, silent moment. Her eyes filled with a sudden mist. She stood up shakily, letting the box she had been cradling fall to the ground unheeded. She reached out with thin, trembling hands to cup Mo Lixia's face.
"Li'er... my Li'er," she wailed, her voice breaking. "It's Mother's fault. Mother didn't protect you. Do you hate me?"
She pulled Mo Lixia into a crushing embrace, sobbing as if her heart would break.
In her past life, Mo Lixia would often watch movies about motherly love and cry her eyes out. Today, she felt as if she were the protagonist of one of those stories.
Slowly, she raised her arms and patted the woman's back. "Mother... Mother, Li'er is back."
"It's good that you're back... so good," Ye Qingwan said, suddenly pulling away and looking at her with clear, lucid eyes. "You must be tired and hungry. Guirong! Go and prepare a feast for the Young Miss immediately!"
"Yes, Madam!" Nanny Guirong wiped her tears, her face lighting up with pure joy.
Mo Wushang and Mo Zhanchen stood frozen, staring in disbelief. The woman who had been lost in madness for years had suddenly returned to them. It truly was as the Imperial Physicians said: A disease of the heart requires medicine for the heart.
"Father! Mother... she's cured?"
"Yes! Haha! Your mother is well!" Mo Wushang's joy was boundless. He turned to the steward. "Pass the word! Every servant in the manor is to be rewarded with ten taels of silver today!"
The entire General's Residence erupted in celebration. Not only was the lost daughter found, but the Madam had regained her senses. The news spread through the Capital like wildfire.
Even the Emperor sent a mountain of gifts, and many officials used the opportunity to curry favor with the General. Although Mo Wushang had relinquished his military command to find his daughter, his prestige in the army remained unmatched.
Months later, the manor was at peace.
Mo Lixia sat lazily in a pavilion covered in pink climbing roses. She was dressed in a simple white silk gown, looking so serene that no one dared disturb her.
Despite the love she received inside the manor, the outside world was full of nasty rumors. People whispered that the General's daughter had grown up like a "wild savage" in the mountains and had no manners. They claimed Mo Wushang was keeping her hidden because she was an embarrassment.
When her maids told her these rumors, Mo Lixia remained indifferent. People would talk regardless.
She was more surprised by her father. In this era of polygamy, her father was a rarity—a man of absolute devotion who had stayed faithful to his wife even through her years of madness. This kind of loyalty was hard to find even in the modern world.