The atmosphere at the gate was suffocating.
Mo Lixia stepped forward, placing a protective hand on Mochen's shoulder. She could feel the boy's small body trembling—not from fear, but from a rage so intense it threatened to consume him.
The man standing before them was dressed in expensive furs, his face weary but undeniably noble. He stared at Mochen, his lips trembling slightly.
"You... you are Chen'er?" his voice was hoarse, thick with disbelief.
Mochen didn't answer. He gripped A'Mu so hard the little creature gave a soft squeak of protest.
"Who are you?" Mo Lixia asked, her voice calm but cold as the winter wind.
The man turned his gaze to Mo Lixia. For a moment, he was taken aback by her清丽 (ethereal) beauty and her sharp, composed aura. He adjusted his robes and bowed slightly—a gesture of respect rare for a man of his status toward a village girl.
"I am Liu Ruofeng, the First Master of the Liu family. I believe... this child is my son."
"Your son?" Mo Lixia let out a short, mocking laugh. "The son you allowed to be thrown into a frozen river in a pig cage? The son whose mother died in despair while you were nowhere to be found?"
Liu Ruofeng flinched as if struck. His face turned ghostly pale. "I... I was away on business. I only heard the news when I returned yesterday. I came as soon as I could."
"News?" Mo Lixia stepped closer, her eyes flashing. "Aunt Su was malnourished for years under your own roof. She was framed and executed by your own mother and concubines. If I hadn't happened to be there, Mochen would be a corpse at the bottom of the moat right now."
Liu Ruofeng closed his eyes, his shoulders slumped. The high and mighty Master seemed to age ten years in an instant. "It was my fault. I failed them."
"Mommy said you hated me," Mochen finally spoke, his voice high and shrill, cutting through the cold air. "She said you never came to see us because of Concubine Chen. I hate you! I wish you were the one in the river!"
"Chen'er..." Liu Ruofeng reached out a hand, but Mochen retreated behind Mo Lixia, hiding his face in her skirt.
The attendant behind Liu Ruofeng stepped forward, his voice stern. "Bold child! How can you speak to your father like that? Master, let us just take him back to the manor. The Old Madam is waiting."
"Don't you dare touch him," Mo Lixia warned, her hand reaching for her medical bag where several numbing needles were ready. "He is no longer a member of the Liu family. He is Su Mochen now. He has nothing to do with you."
Liu Ruofeng looked at Mo Lixia, then at his son's fearful and hateful eyes. He realized that the bond he had neglected for five years was now a shattered mirror that could never be made whole.
"I didn't come to take him by force," Liu Ruofeng said softly, his voice full of exhaustion. "I only wanted to see with my own eyes that he was alive. Miss Mo, I heard you saved him. The Liu family owes you a debt that can never be repaid."
He signaled to his attendant, who brought forward a heavy wooden chest.
"This is a small token of my gratitude. Please, take it. And please... take care of him."
Mo Lixia looked at the chest, then at the broken man. "Money won't bring his mother back. But for Mochen's sake, I will accept it. He deserves every penny of the Liu family's wealth for what he suffered."
Liu Ruofeng lingered for a long time, staring at the gate even after Mo Lixia had led Mochen inside and bolted the door.
Inside the house, Mochen burst into tears, wailing for the mother who wasn't there to see his father's regret. Mo Lixia held him tight, knowing that for this child, the real journey of healing was only just beginning.