The Fake Legend of Princess Mei Mei - Episode 2.8
“Please, find him no matter what!”
Tsukika begged Mou.
Mou never seemed very motivated from the start, and now he looked even more reluctant as he picked up Tsukika’s hairpin.
“Since it’s a request from the young master of the Xu family, I’ll do what I can. But I’ll need to borrow this for a few days.”
Hearing this, Tsukika’s expression changed.
“No! It’s important to me!”
She quickly reached out to grab it back, but Mou swiftly lifted it out of her reach.
“Calm down. This proves who your mother was, right? And your father might recognize it too. I’ll have an artist make a copy of it.”
“A copy?”
“Yeah. In places like this, there are record keepers, not just scribes who document things in writing but also artists who draw them. If there’s only one piece of evidence and we need to search widely, we have an artist make a copy to show people around the city.”
When Mou explained, Tsukika nodded.
Understanding this, she reluctantly agreed to let him keep the hairpin for a few days.
After sending a displeased Tsukika out of the interrogation room, Mou let out a sigh of relief. Just then, a colleague rushed over, looking flustered.
“What have you been doing?!”
“What do you mean? I was just taking a citizen’s complaint.”
It was official work. He hadn’t been slacking off.
“Do you even know what time it is, you idiot?! There was a summons to the training grounds!”
Mou gasped, hastily tucking the written report and hairpin into his pocket.
Right. This afternoon, the king was coming for a secret inspection. Everyone without a fixed post had been ordered to gather at the training grounds.
Mou ran there as fast as he could, only to find that the royal party had already arrived.
Everyone except those excused was lined up in formation.
“Where have you been?!”
A superior officer’s voice lashed out immediately. Mou straightened up in an instant.
“Sir! I was handling a citizen’s petition!”
“I don’t need excuses!”
“Yes, sir! My apologies!”
Bracing himself for punishment, Mou suddenly heard a calm voice say, “That’s enough.”
His superior stiffened and quickly turned around—King Hongzong was looking in their direction.
“Do not punish someone for doing their duty. If he was late, it was because he was listening carefully to the concerns of the people.”
Hearing the king’s kind words, Mou bowed deeply.
He was always scolded by his superiors, yet the ruler—whom he had only seen from afar at the investiture ceremony—acknowledged his dedication to his work. That alone made him happy.
“What was the petition about?”
To his surprise, the king asked further. Mou bowed again and answered respectfully.
“Your Majesty, a young woman is searching for her long-lost father.”
The king nodded, as if urging him to continue. Mou took the report from his pocket.
“She is using her late mother’s hairpin as a clue to find him. I have taken custody of it for now and recorded her statement here…”
A royal attendant received the report from Mou and handed it to the king. The king opened it and flipped through the pages.
His expression suddenly hardened.
Only the attendant closest to him noticed the subtle change and looked up in confusion.
“Your Majesty…?”
“Show me the hairpin.”
Ignoring the question, the king ordered Mou. Mou hesitated for a moment but then handed the hairpin to the attendant, who passed it to the king. The king took it in his own hands.
“Bring that girl here.”
The royal attendants and guards were stunned by the abrupt command, unable to move. They exchanged glances, unsure if they had heard correctly.
“Hurry up!” the king snapped.
Only Mou knew what Tsukika looked like. He ran off immediately, searching the building in a panic.
Just as he reached the gate, he saw a familiar figure walking away.
“Hey, you!”
He couldn’t remember her name, so he just called out.
“Uh, the girl looking for her father!”
Hearing his voice, Tsukika stopped and turned around, looking surprised as Mou ran toward her.
“Did I forget something?”
She tilted her head, puzzled. She had answered all his questions, and it was too soon for him to return the hairpin.
“Someone wants to meet you.”
Catching his breath, Mou explained.
Tsukika and Junkei exchanged confused looks.
“He just happened to be here,” Mou added vaguely. The king’s inspection was supposed to be a secret.
“Go on,” Junkei encouraged her gently.
“Someone who knows your story must have heard about you. Just think of it as a lucky coincidence.”
He was right. The sooner she found her father, the better. Tsukika nodded.
She parted ways with Junkei and followed Mou into the building.
What if it’s the wrong person? She doubted she could be lucky enough to find her father so quickly. She braced herself to avoid disappointment.
A guard led them to a room. Mou nodded.
“This is the place.”
After she nodded back, he knocked on the door. It opened immediately, and they were ushered inside.
“Walk forward a few steps, then kneel and bow your head,” Mou whispered from behind.
Tsukika hesitated at the intimidating sight of so many guards. Whoever was in front of her must be an important person. The man stood with his back to her.
Despite her fear, she followed Mou’s advice and knelt down.
A man beside the important figure cleared his throat.
“Answer truthfully to what you are asked.”
“Y-yes.”
Her voice trembled with nerves.
“How did you obtain this hairpin?”
The man in front of her still had his back turned.
“It belonged to my late mother. I have kept it as a memento.”
“Your mother’s name?”
“Gekiran.”
At that moment, the man’s hand trembled slightly as he held the hairpin.
Tsukika realized the truth.
(This man is Enki…)
(He’s alive…)
Hiding her emotions, she spoke in a careful tone.
“Sir, did you know my mother?”
One of the attendants scolded her, but the man silenced him with a gesture. Finally, he turned around.
“How old are you?”
“Ten—”
She stopped herself, bit her lip, steadied her breath, and corrected herself.
“Eighteen.”
That was her sister’s age.
The man stared at her. She looked away at times but still held his gaze.
“Your name?”
This was the moment she had been waiting for.
Tsukika straightened her back and looked into his eyes.
“I was called Hakutsukika after my mother passed. But my real name is… Houmai.”
The man wavered.
Tsukika repeated herself.
“I am Houmai. Do you know my father—or my mother, Gekiran?”
The man let out a pained cry and covered his face with both hands.
An attendant rushed to him. “Your Majesty!”
Tsukika froze.
(His Majesty…?)
No way. She had hoped her father was a wealthy man, but she never imagined he would be the king himself.
The man stood and walked toward her, his trembling hands gently touching her face.
“Houmai… You are my daughter. I have longed to meet you…”
The seventeenth king of Yan, Hongzong—his true name was Cai Enki, the man her mother once loved.