Third Uncle thought for a moment and said, "You young people don't know the laws of the Great Xia Kingdom twenty years ago. At that time, to increase the population, the court and local authorities watched over every married female slave very strictly. If a female slave escaped, a large number of people would be sent to track her down, and the farmers who took in the female slave and the entire village would be implicated."
"As for the other reason, I think Zuo Hanchen must be out of money. Doctors who can disguise themselves are extremely rare, and their fees are very high. The Zuo family's property was confiscated, and Zuo Hanchen didn't have much money. He still had to give Lu Dajiang two hundred taels of silver. Male disguises are cheaper than female disguises, and it just so happened that he could use Lu Dajiang's identity to settle down and not have to hide."
"Alas, Father is truly a good man of deep affection and loyalty," Bai Sheng sighed, having already confirmed that Zuo Hanchen was Lu Ye's biological father.
Lu Ye nodded, "Third Uncle's analysis is very reasonable. But Mother was a female slave and was watched so strictly. How did she get in touch with Zuo Hanchen?"
Third Uncle's brow furrowed deeply. After thinking for a long time, he suddenly realized, "Your mother is very kind and often rescued injured small animals when she was young."
"When she was ten years old, she followed your maternal grandfather to the Northern Frontier army camp and rescued an injured little black eagle. She raised the little black eagle until it was over a year old before releasing it."
"However, the little black eagle would fly back to visit your mother every few months and stay with your mother for several days. I think it's very likely that she used the black eagle to send messages."
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye couldn't help but exchange glances. They never expected their parents to have such a strange and romantic love story.
"Good boy, do you have a way to restore Father's original appearance?" Lu Ye asked. Since Lu Dajiang was not his father, he wanted his father to live in this world openly.
Bai Sheng sighed, "In principle, yes, but Father must be alive. If it's a corpse, the skin has no regenerative function, so there's nothing that can be done."
Third Uncle was still pondering the question of whether Lu Ye's father was Zuo Hanchen. He frowned and said, "If your father is Zuo Hanchen, and he only changed his face, there should be other distinguishing marks on his body that might help identify him. I believe Old Master Zuo and Old Madam Zuo must know."
"Then, we'll go to the Zuo family in the suburbs tomorrow to ask!" Bai Sheng stood up.
Lu Ye said, "Yes, we'll set off tomorrow!" If Zuo Hanchen was his biological father, then Old Master Zuo and Old Madam Zuo would be his paternal grandparents. He was eager to see how they were doing.
"Okay, let's bring Xiaoyun and the cubs along, and pay a visit to Tutor Zuo. We can also go for a spring outing," Bai Sheng said with a smile.
"I'm going too!" Third Uncle raised his hand.
"Me too!" Fourth Uncle suddenly jumped out and raised his arm high. Every night, Bai Sheng would put Fourth Uncle into her spatial dimension, hoping it would help him recover completely.
Bai Sheng narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Alright, Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle are both going! Then, let's also invite Master, Aunt Qing, and Prince Yu. Since so many people are going, it's not good to go empty-handed. I'll bring some chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cattle, sheep, and grain!"
"Okay," Lu Ye looked at his precious wife gratefully.
Third Uncle winked at Bai Sheng and said with a smile, "I'll drive the carriage with the chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cattle, and sheep." Since it was just a cover, Third Uncle planned to help Xiao Sheng.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Third Uncle!" Bai Sheng also winked at Third Uncle.
In the morning, hearing that they were going to Tutor Zuo's house in the suburbs for a spring outing, Lu Yun and the other children cheered happily, and Si Zai also clapped his hands and shouted "Oh oh oh."
Besides the children, the happiest person was Concubine Mei. She could finally leave the capital! Having lived outside the palace for so long, she really didn't want to return to that prison.
Granny Wu smiled with a face full of wrinkles as she watched her daughter's joy.
Lu Ye saw that Prince Yu beside him had no expression, so he said in a low voice, "Prince Yu, if you don't like going, then don't. There's no need to force yourself."
Prince Yu coughed lightly, raised his hand, and pulled at his collar. "Who said I don't like going? Going for a spring outing, I haven't done this for many years. Today is a good day to relive it."
Lu Ye glanced at him disdainfully, thinking, "What a clingy person. He's always around us. I wonder when this annoying fellow will find a wife."
A Qiu, Bai Sheng's personal maid, naturally had to go; Lu Huo was responsible for taking care of Si Zai and also had to go; Yang Ming, as a bodyguard, naturally stayed by his master's side at all times.
Soon, four or five carriages stopped outside the Lu family's main entrance.
The first three carriages were for people, Yang Ming drove a carriage alone, carrying bedding and tables and chairs; Third Uncle drove another, at the rear of the convoy. When they reached the Zuo family, Bai Sheng could discreetly move the materials she brought from her spatial dimension to Third Uncle's carriage.
In early spring, the earth warmed up, and myriad flowers began to enchant the eyes. The shallow grass was just enough to cover the horses' hooves. The scenery in the suburbs was picturesque, fresh, and bright.
The people in the carriages opened their windows and looked at the spring scenery all over the place, feeling refreshed and delighted.
Zuo Hanchen's second brother, along with his son Zuo Zhu and nephew Zuo Song, was clearing land at the foot of the mountain. His grandson Zuo Shan and grand-nephew Zuo An were picking up small stones on the barren land with bamboo baskets.
Zuo An straightened up, suddenly pointed at the majestic convoy of carriages on the mountain road, and exclaimed, "Dad, Second Grandpa, Uncle, look quickly! Several carriages on the road are heading towards our house!"
Zuo Mu Chen, Zuo Song, and Zuo Zhu all straightened up and squinted at the mountain road at the foot of the mountain.
Zuo Shan said in disbelief, "Brother, the carriages must be just passing by. We don't have any rich relatives anymore."
Zuo An looked back towards the end of the road, where a small river flowed across the mountain stream. Their family lived at the end of the mountain road, so this convoy of carriages could only be coming to their house.
As the carriages got closer, Zuo An actually saw several children in front of the carriages waving at them, "Brother Zuo An! Little Brother Zuo Shan! We're here to see you!"
"It's Lu Yun!" Zuo An shouted in surprise, dropped his bamboo basket, and ran rapidly towards the carriages, shouting frantically as he ran, "Xiaoyun! Xiaoyu! Tiandou! Tiezhu! Tianya!"
Zuo Shan's eyes widened, and he immediately threw down his bamboo basket and chased after them with a roar.
Lu Yun, Lu Yu, Tiandou, and the other children couldn't wait to jump out of the carriages and rushed out like little cannonballs, shouting and hugging Zuo An and Zuo Shan.
"Roar roar roar..." The wild shouts of the boys echoed in the mountains.
Zuo Mu Chen, Zuo Zhu, and Zuo Song exchanged glances, their eyebrows tinged with doubt.
Is this the family from when their eldest brother served in the capital? They are too enthusiastic, bringing so many people at once. But... it's over, it's over, there aren't enough tables and chairs at home, and it seems the bowls and chopsticks are not enough...
"Song'er, hurry and call your father out to welcome our guests!" Zuo Mu Chen said to Zuo Song.
"Yes!" Zuo Song happily agreed and ran home like lightning. His excitement was completely unlike that of a man in his twenties.