The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 243 Adoption

Seeing Wu Zongyu and Fugui fall silent, the old woman smiled.

“In my life, I have had three children. They lost their father when they were young. I raised them with great difficulty, but after they got married, they remembered to take their wives and children with them, but left their elderly mother behind.”

"Do you... regret it?"

The old woman laughed at the rich and young, which is why she asked such a meaningless question: "Regret is useless, I just feel sorry for myself."

……

Wu Zongyu and Fugui still had things to finish, so they only temporarily left the old woman at the foot of the mountain.

Fu Gui was still indignant: "These old woman's children are all too cruel..."

Wu Zongyu remained calm: "Those are just her side of the story, don't get involved. We're just strangers, nobody knows anything about her past."

Fugui was still confused: "Then should we move to the mountain next door?"

"Let's ask around first. There won't be just one elderly person in the village, nor will there be just one person who has heard of the earthquake in that area before."

Everything that happens leaves a trace.

After making some inquiries, it turned out that a very serious earthquake had indeed occurred here, and the mountain they had chosen was indeed shorter.

However, it wasn't because of falling, but because of a collapse.

In the end, they led the nearby villagers to relocate.

Most of the people had been persuaded to go up the mountain, but Wu Zongyu's worries had not disappeared.

It's not safe to be in the mountains, but because of the sea flooding, this place becomes the only option.

He and the people's future were entrusted to the rolling hills and the boundless sea. The mountains were vast, the sea was vast, and no one could see what the future held.

Wu Zongyu did not stop; he continued to travel around, trying to persuade more people to go up the mountain.

But by this time, very few people are still willing to listen to advice.

Once they encountered a stubborn and short-tempered young man. No matter how they explained, the young man only assumed that they had ulterior motives.

Some elderly people who had witnessed earthquakes advised him against it, but the young man was arrogant and dismissed everything beyond his comprehension as unbelievable.

Wu Zongyu wanted to leave, but Fugui, seeing that he was so young and that he had a long life ahead of him, tried to persuade him a few more times.

As a result, the young man became impatient with what he was being told, grabbed things from the house and threw them at them. Wu Zongyu was old and had difficulty moving, and a hole was punched in his head, from which blood gushed out.

This wasn't the first time they'd encountered someone who used violence, but it was the first time they'd been injured.

Fu Gui was filled with remorse and wanted to fight the young man, but Wu Zongyu stopped him.

"Let's go, we still have a lot to do."

Fu Gui was resentful and unable to avenge himself, which made him even more guilty: "I should have given up when the master told me to leave, but I didn't listen to his advice and even caused the master to get hurt."

He lowered his head in self-reproach, like a wilted flower that hadn't had water for days.

"nothing."

"But the master is amazing, he was able to see that he was a stubborn mule."

"The more you see, the more you know."

Wu Zongyu was a man who valued his life and loved to enjoy life. He was never willing to try to break through a wall that he couldn't break through.

He won't force someone he knows he can't persuade.

They had by then arrived at another village.

It was already noon when a little girl carrying a basket walked towards them from afar.

When Wu Zongyu saw her, he squatted down and smiled, "What did Little Pearl bring today?"

The little girl had two neatly braided pigtails, her face was dark and dry, and she walked with a bouncy gait, very lively and cute: "Today's dish is salted fish porridge."

Xiaozhu and her great-grandmother depended on each other for survival. They didn't leave not because they didn't want to, but because they couldn't.

A young girl and an elderly person—most of those who remain are like this.

They can't go far on their own. They have no value, and their families are unwilling to take them with them, so they can only stay here and wait to die.

"Xiaozhu cooked the porridge today too? I recognized it at first bite!" Fugui had been shaken by the good and bad of human nature these past few days. Xiaozhu was his favorite little girl. If he had a daughter like her, he would never want her to suffer.

But her parents didn't like her.

When they left, they took her infant brother with them, but left her behind.

"Yes, my porridge is delicious!"

Wu Zongyu silently finished his porridge.

The villages here are all short of food, but this bowl of porridge is the best food they can spare.

Xiaozhu put away the bowls and chopsticks and obediently said goodbye to them.

Wu Zongyu gently tugged at the little girl's braid: "Xiaozhu, don't go down the mountain after we get back. We brought some dry food, so we won't go hungry."

Although the princess predicted the time of the earthquake, he became more and more uneasy as the time drew closer, always fearing that it would happen earlier than expected, and always worried that he might have done something wrong.

Xiao Zhu didn't leave. She looked at Wu Zongyu and Fugui and asked, "What about you? Aren't the adults going up the mountain?"

"Yes, we'll go, but we'll be there later."

There aren't many villages along the coast, and this was the last place they visited; there were still a few households they hadn't seen.

Xiao Zhu said softly, "Then you must go up the mountain as soon as possible. You can rest at my house tonight. There are bedding and food in my house for the adults to rest."

"Oh dear, why didn't you take it with you? Is it too much to carry? I'll bring it to you later."

"No, it's for the adults. We can't tell anyone, or bad people will steal it!"

Fu Gui had visited her home. Her family wasn't exactly poor, but when they left, they took most of their belongings with them.

"Thank you, and thank you to your great-grandmother. Good child, go back quickly and take good care of your great-grandmother. Don't go down the mountain."

Xiaozhu waved goodbye to them.

She was not very old, and despite facing such an insurmountable crisis and witnessing her family abandon her, she did not seem to be bothered by it.

As the little girl walked away, Fugui's tears fell in a steady stream.

He was a grown man, and he even tried to control his crying. He tried to hold it in, but after whimpering for a long time, he couldn't stop and ended up crying louder and louder.

Wu Zongyu asked helplessly, "Why are you crying?"

"I just think she's too sensible. Once this is over, I want to adopt Xiaozhu, but I don't know if she'll be willing to come with me."

Wu Zongyu chuckled: "She has a father and mother. What if they come looking for her? Besides, it's not convenient for a man like you to raise a little girl."

Fu Gui was displeased: "I genuinely want to adopt her as my daughter. What do you mean by 'it's inconvenient for a grown man'? Why are you making such assumptions about me?"

“That’s right. If no one adopts her, she might have a hard time surviving,” Wu Zongyu thought for a moment. “How about this, I’ll adopt her.”

"My lord!" Fu Gui forgot to cry and said speechlessly, "Aren't you a man too?"

“I have a wife, and her parents don’t dare to make trouble for an official like me.”