The more Hailan thought about it, the more terrified she felt, but she dared not think any further.

Noticing Hailan’s pale face, Shanmoi grew increasingly anxious, her eyes turning red with tears as well. Hailan comforted her, "You’ve already done well. There hasn’t been any news from Li Si, yet you are holding up. That’s already quite commendable; the Marquis has noticed it too. I was merely thinking about something else just now, so don’t take it too much to heart."

Shanmoi nodded, unable to hold back her tears. "I know. But I can’t help feeling scared. Fortunately, I haven’t done anything wrong, otherwise, if something happened to Mistress or Young Master, how could I face them? There’s still no news from Li Si, and I wonder what’s going on with him."

"Don’t you trust the Marquis to handle things? The Hidden Guard has already gone out, and with this kind of weather, even if they got the news, it would take a while to come back, not as quickly as you might think," Hailan assured her, not lying.

Shanmoi nodded again and only managed to stop crying after a long while.

Meanwhile, Dong Boyun was sitting in the study, gently soothing the child in her arms, glancing out the window from time to time. "Why hasn’t Dingyuan Marquis returned yet after being gone for so long?"

"Don’t be anxious. When we came back, you heard about it too. The Madam at Gu Mansion hasn’t been well and has been resting; he probably went to visit and should be back soon," Wang Wen comforted her from the side.

Dong Boyun nodded, looking down at the child in her arms. "I never thought Brother De would do something like this. Sister Yue is his own sister, yet he is willing to overlook that and try to use this child as leverage. Fortunately, we’ve returned to the Capital and understand the situation now. Otherwise, bringing the child along would only cause Sister Ning lifelong sorrow."

"No one anticipated such a thing. Now that we know the truth and have returned to the Capital, everything will be fine. Just explain everything to Dingyuan Marquis," Wang Wen reassured her.

Yet he was also troubled inside.

The Holy Emperor had sent Wu Xueqin to his mansion again; what was he to do? Wang Wen hadn’t expected to be tricked by Wu Xueqin before leaving the Capital, and now Wu Xueqin was pregnant. Even the arranged marriage of Wu Xueqin into the Wang Family was a constant worry for him. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

This trip back to the Capital left Wang Wen uncertain about how to explain things; he only wished to return home first and then deal with it.

As for Brother De’s situation, Wang Wen couldn’t say much, as it concerned the Gu Family and he was merely an outsider.

When Gu Yifeng entered from outside, it was already half an hour later. He walked straight up to Dong Boyun, who was holding the child in her arms. Even though nearly a month had passed, Gu Yifeng quickly recognized that this was his child, indeed Brother Zong.

The eyebrows and eyes bore resemblance to both Sister Ning and him.

Gu Yifeng’s heart, at that moment, finally found peace.

Ever since Dong Boyun arrived with the child, Gu Yifeng took one look and knew it was Brother Zong. He had arranged for them to wait in the study, while he intercepted Shanmoi. He could conveniently exchange the two children, already having made preparations.

He simply claimed the child was ill, so if a few weeks passed without seeing him, when Sister Ning saw the child again, it would truly be Brother Zong. As for explaining any changes in appearance, children tend to look different each day, which would suffice as an explanation.

Dong Boyun remained motionless, holding the child stiffly as Gu Yifeng examined him. After a long while, Gu Yifeng called out, and an elderly nanny walked in. It was none other than Nanny Wang.

Without needing further words from Gu Yifeng, Nanny Wang carefully took the child from Dong Boyun’s arms. Once everyone had left, Gu Yifeng finally asked, "How did you know it was Brother Zong?"

"On our way back, we happened to meet someone at the post house who was delivering something to us. Upon hearing it was sent by Brother De, I was taken aback when I saw it was a child. The woman who brought the child claimed it was Brother De’s child with someone outside the Capital, who couldn’t be revealed here. Yet, being his own flesh and blood, he couldn’t bear to part with the child, so he had it sent to me, knowing I wouldn’t raise suspicions there. Originally, I believed it, but my husband found it strange. As we traveled with the child, we sent someone to inquire in the Capital, only to learn that Sister Yue had gone missing, along with the disappearance of the young master at the mansion," Dong Boyun paused to catch her breath before continuing. "When we neared the Capital, we learned of the incident at the mansion. Though it was claimed the young master was found, I felt something was off and discussed with my husband before coming to the mansion to confirm."

As it turned out, they had guessed correctly.

As for why the mansion claimed to have found Brother Zong, Dong Boyun thought of Sister Ning’s health and partly understood.

"So, that’s how it is." Gu Yifeng stood up straight and cupped his hands in gratitude. "I must thank you two."

If not for their suspicions, who knew when Brother Zong would have been found. It was no wonder he hadn’t found him even after investigating everyone potentially involved from the Duke Mansion and Prince Xian Mansion, and even asking around all over the Capital for any child.

Dong Boyun and Wang Wen quickly stood up and humbly insisted it was nothing, exchanging polite words with Gu Yifeng before sitting down again. However, the hour was getting late, and Dong Boyun mentioned leaving, though Wang Wen hesitated slightly, and Gu Yifeng didn’t pry further.

After seeing them off, Gu Yifeng sent messages to Prince Shou Mansion and Prime Minister’s Mansion, then headed to the inner courtyard. Nanny Wang was sitting beside Brother Zong, her eyes red when she saw Gu Yifeng coming in. "Marquis, come take a look. This is our young master, brought back. When he woke, he didn’t cry but looked around, smiling at me just now. That smile looked just like his mother back in the day."

When Nanny Wang mentioned it, she was referring to Prince Shou’s birth mother.

Gu Yifeng wasn’t one for many words, but his excitement was evident in his expression as he stood by the bedside, gazing at Brother Zong without looking away. Brother Zong, nearly one month old, was still rather thin but appeared lively, raising his hands and gazing innocently at Gu Yifeng with clear eyes.

Gu Yifeng’s heart melted at the sight; he couldn’t resist gently touching Brother Zong’s little hand and then cautiously withdrawing it. When the son was first born, he harbored resentment due to Sister Ning’s words at the time. But after all these events, he could no longer hold jealousy.

This was his son with Sister Ning.

Regardless of whether in a past life Sister Ning’s child with the Second Prince was the same, that was all in another life. Besides, Sister Ning seemed agitated back then; perhaps she was speaking nonsense.

With this thought, Gu Yifeng felt even more at ease.