"That shouldn't be the case," Xia Wuqie said, even more puzzled. "This village originally had just a few hundred people. Everyone knew everyone, so how could they not recognize her?"
"Perhaps what happened back then was heaven's way of giving our family of three a chance to live," Mrs. Zhao replied. "After Wu Lizheng's apprentice's son went to the battlefield, his wife left the village and was never heard from again. I simply took her place. The identity registered for Zhao Feng's father was that of the apprentice's son. And conveniently, my original surname was also Zhao."
"So that's how it is." Xia Wuqie had a sudden realization. Knowing his daughter as he did, he knew she would never have sought out another man. But he could also imagine the immense hardship she must have endured over the years.
"Dong'er," Xia Wuqie asked, "if I hadn't found you, would you truly have never gone to Xianyang?"
