Yao Ling looked at Aunt Yue in confusion and blurted out, "Bigger conspiracy? What do you mean?" The more she heard, the more confused she became.

Aunt Yue gave a little hint, "Your father is indeed still alive but he a.s.sumes another ident.i.ty..." She added inwardly, "His ident.i.ty would complicate the matter further!"

Yao Ling gasped in shock. "Another ident.i.ty?" Her curiosity was piqued more and more.

Aunt Yue nodded and she waited for Yao Ling to give her an answer.

Yao Ling pondered over the matter, but she still chose to know her parents" whereabouts. She had gone so far, how could she easily give up about it? Besides, she also didn"t have it easy before. It was just that her luck had gotten better after she met Yao Ying. That was all! She had already involved herself with Xiao Fang"s matter which was also a big conspiracy, so who cared if she added one more?

Life was hard, to begin with. It was also full of up and down! She could bear with it.

At least, she had Yao Ying by her side. When she thought of her husband, subconsciously she smiled tenderly.

Yao Ling nodded her head and answered resolutely, "I"m willing to be involved. I know my mother wants me to stay oblivious and be happy, but I can"t. Even though I lead a good life, I will still feel that something is missing if I don"t know my own birth parents. I... I need to know my root!"

Aunt Yue nodded, feeling happy with her choice. She was proud of her granddaughter who didn"t feel afraid of hards.h.i.+p. Yao Ling didn"t try to run away, but instead, she chose to persist in finding her own roots. She might be young, but she was a strong one. Her stubborn nature really resembled her father.

She didn"t forget to ask, "What about your husband? Do you think he will agree with your choice?" She wanted to gauge the relations.h.i.+p between the couple by asking that question. She didn"t really want to pry about it, but she just wanted to know whether that young man treated her granddaughter well.

Yao Ling waved one of her hands leisurely. "He will agree with everything that I choose," Yao Ling answered confidently. She understood Yao Ying"s personality best and he would understand why she chose the hard path. They had been through thick and thin together after they got married, so she didn"t doubt her own choice at all.

Aunt Yue nodded. It seemed like her granddaughter was in an equal position in their marriage, she was just afraid that Yao Ling was being bullied by her husband. She felt relieved when she heard her answer.

"Then... I will be glad to tell you everything..." Aunt Yue said with a smile.

She started to tell her everything from the start. Aunt Yue was betrothed to Yao Ling"s grandfather from a young age. However, it was purely political and there was no love between them. Aunt Yue"s ability was inherited from her predecessors and the clan leader would need it for the benefits of the clan.

However, Yao Ling"s grandfather wasn"t really a good man. Yes, he was a good leader, but his heart was easily swayed by beautiful women. That was why he had so many concubines, hence it made Aunt Yue"s heart turned cold. She still did her job as a shaman of their clan and because of that, Yao Ling"s grandfather didn"t dare to act overboard in front of Aunt Yue.

He respected her, but he only touched her so he could have a successor. That was how she was pregnant with Yao Ling"s father on her stomach. She didn"t really expect the clan leader"s love, instead, she could get a pure love from her own child. In her mind, there was nothing purer than the love of a child. Thus, she spent her time more with her son and didn"t care about how the clan leader spent his time.

Aunt Yue might not care about her husband"s affection, but the concubines cared. They wanted to have children but the rules didn"t allow them to, hence they were trying so hard to kill Yao Ling"s father. After all, the clan leader"s affection always went to him.

"Yao Ling ah~! Your father"s name is Rong Qiu," Aunt Yue almost forgot to tell her his name.

Finally, Yao Ling found out his name and she captured it inside her heart --- Rong Qiu.

Yao Ling didn"t ask any questions and just listened to everything that her grandmother told her. She gripped both of Grandma Yue"s tighter, just to give her a sense of comfort.

Aunt Yue smiled when she understood that the young woman was trying to comfort her. Her gentleness reminded her of Su Wan. The woman might look soft and harmless, but she was actually strong and protected her beloved really well. Aunt Yue patted the back of Yao Ling"s hands and smiled, then she continued on with the story.

That hairpin was one of the ways she communicated with her trusted aides. She made several looked alike hairpin and gave them to them, whenever they met, they could exchange the information by exchanging the hairpin.

Long story short, she had known that there would be a terrifying plague. However, she didn"t tell anyone about it. She prepared herself and her trusted aides for a way out, then she left the clan behind. She didn"t feel any remorse when she left and she only thought of their bright future.

Her power was greater when she lived inside the clan due to the soil there. Once she left there, she could only keep three and a half of her power. There was a restriction when she went out of their land and for the first few weeks, she wouldn"t be able to use her power. The day they were raided by the Han Emperor"s party was the last day of the restriction.

If only... if only she had her power at that time, she would be able to avoid the calamity. They could only bear the consequences. Yao Ling"s father pretended to be the leader because he wanted to protect her own mother. He didn"t state that he had a wife because he knew that Su Wan was pregnant with Yao Ling, thus he made up the lie that Su Wan was actually his servant.

Their clan wasn"t that big, so the clothing between the royal family and commoners were actually similar. It made the Han Emperor"s people didn"t feel suspicious at all. However, because of that Yao Ling"s mother and father were separated from each other.

Aunt Yue really felt regret about this matter. If it was one day later, they would be able to avoid the whole fiasco and they wouldn"t be separated. Little Yao Ling would still be by her side, living a good and happy life. She knew that it was wishful thinking and sometimes, she hoped that she would be able to turn back time --- but she couldn"t. Her power was also limited, after all, she wasn"t a G.o.d.

Aunt Yue and Rong Qiu were taken as hostages and put at the same place, thus, they were able to communicate with each other. They were put under house arrest, but they were treated better than the others. It made Rong Qiu feel worried about his wife --- after all, she was around three to four months pregnant at that time.

On the other hand, the commoners were treated differently. They were put in prison and the condition was pretty bad there. However, at least, they didn"t know that Su Wan was pregnant with the direct descendant of the pure Bei Yue blood. Su Wan understood this point, hence she didn"t refuse to be treated as a servant.

This was what made Aunt Yue wondering in confusion... How could someone know that Su Wan was pregnant with a pure Bei Yue blood child? Did they have a traitor? Bei Yue people was a loyal person, but who knew...?