Chapter 891 Reunion (First Update)

Half an hour ago.

A carriage with a canopy covered in snow stopped at the city gate.

Shangguan Qing lifted the curtain and poked his head out.

He gazed at the majestic city gate and asked in surprise, "Is... the capital city just ahead?"

"Hmm." Xiao Heng nodded, lifted the curtain a little, looked at the endless stream of people, and said, "There are many people coming and going from the capital in the twelfth lunar month. It's not usually this crowded."

"Not bad at all," Shangguan Qing said.

Zhao was a lower state, not as wealthy as Yan, but its government was stable, its people lived in peace and prosperity, and they praised the court and the emperor quite a lot.

It should be noted that the ruler of Yan was a tyrant, and public opinion about him was mostly negative.

However, he was very shrewd, and under his tyranny, no one dared to resist.

Xiao Heng smiled. Zhao Kingdom is not strong enough now, but he believes that one day, Zhao Kingdom will definitely be able to join the ranks of the great nations.

That requires the efforts of many, many people, perhaps even several generations, but as long as we don't give up, there is always hope.

"Would you like to take a break?" Xiao Heng asked Shangguan Qing.

When Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao traveled from Zhao to Yan, they took the land route. There were many checkpoints and detours, and because they did not have the privileges of the royal family, they could not travel on many official roads, which greatly delayed their journey. It took them nearly two months to reach Shengdu.

Upon their return, they used their status as the eldest grandson of the emperor to travel on the imperial grain transport route, and then switched to waterways for the latter half of the journey.

They were lucky; the water only started to freeze after they got ashore.

It took a whole month, from the beginning of November to the beginning of December.

"No need, I'm not tired," Shangguan Qing said.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't tired; even Xiao Heng was exhausted, let alone a patient like him.

But the two brothers knew perfectly well that Shangguan Qing's days were numbered, and it was a miracle that he had managed to hold on until now. Every step he took was on the edge of the roof of the King of Hell's palace, and he didn't know when he would fall.

The carriage entered the city.

Despite being exhausted, Shangguan Qing still made sure to take the opportunity to carefully appreciate the capital city.

"So many vendors selling candied hawthorns!" he exclaimed.

It was rare in the Yan state.

It's rare to see a single candied hawthorn vendor on the street, but there are surprisingly many shops here that specialize in selling candied hawthorn.

Xiao Heng had the coachman stop the carriage in front of a candied hawthorn shop and bought one skewer of each flavor.

"Give."

He handed a large handful of candied hawthorns to Shangguan Qing.

"Candied hawthorns originated from the Zhao Kingdom," Shangguan Qing said, picking out a large, red string of them. "The Yan Kingdom didn't have them originally."

So, do you love eating candied hawthorns because you miss your hometown?

Xiao Heng watched him eat silently.

Shangguan Qing didn't actually have much of an appetite, but he played with it for a few moments.

"How about..." he paused, then said, "we go later?"

"What's wrong?" Xiao Heng asked.

Shangguan Qing looked at the candied hawthorn in his hand and stammered, "I... well..."

Xiao Heng asked, amused, "Are you nervous?"

"No way!" Shangguan Qing denied it outright.

Xiao Heng smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mother will be very happy to see you."

Shangguan Qing said in a low voice, "I'm not doing 'uh-huh,' I don't know how to do 'uh-huh.'"

The last two words of each of his sentences were mumbled, and Xiao Heng could only make out the tone. However, thanks to the telepathic connection between Xiao Heng and his brother, he still managed to decipher the four words.

—I'm not a top scholar, I can't study.

It's astonishing that such a proud and arrogant older brother can be so insecure. It really proves the saying that when you care too much about someone's opinion, you become anxious and insecure.

Xiao Heng smiled slightly and said, "Mother will like you."

Shangguan Qing curled his lip: "Just by looking at you, I can tell what kind of son she likes."

Xiao Heng raised an eyebrow: "Is that why you secretly memorized the poems?"

Shangguan Qinghu's body trembled, and he bristled, saying, "Where did I recite poetry!"

Xiao Heng burst out laughing.

They really are brothers; one secretly exercises to improve his physical strength while carrying his wife on his back, while the other secretly memorizes poems and famous quotes.

The foolish son must eventually see his mother; as dusk approached, the carriage finally arrived at Suzaku Avenue.

Shangguan Qing hesitated and refused to get out of the carriage.

After finally getting off the bus, he stood against the wall in the alley and refused to go any further.

Xiao Heng was both amused and exasperated.

Aren't you supposed to be thick-skinned? How come you're even more shy than me when it comes to meeting your own mother?

The two brothers stood in the alley diagonally opposite for a long time. Xiao Heng had already seen Xiao Jingkong leave before Shangguan Qing reluctantly followed Xiao Heng over.

That's how the snowflakes on their shoulders came about.

Princess Xinyang didn't realize at first who the "brother" was calling, but when Shangguan Qing, wearing a crescent-white cloak and carrying a string of candied hawthorns, stepped across the threshold, Princess Xinyang stopped in her tracks!

The wind seemed to suddenly stop, and large snowflakes fell, making the whole courtyard extremely quiet.

Her gaze was fixed on the handsome face that bore a resemblance to Xiao Heng, and her breath caught in her throat, her heart skipped a beat!

Calling someone "brother" doesn't prove anything.

Xiao Heng isn't without an older brother.

but.

Her heart suddenly ached.

It hurts so much!

Why does her heart ache so much when she looks at this person?

My eyes suddenly felt hot uncontrollably, and my throat felt sore and swollen.

"Mother, brother is back," Xiao Heng said.

Then, in the next second, he froze as well.

His gaze slid from Princess Xinyang's exquisite face to her prominently protruding belly.

etc.

He's only been gone for nine months, what's going on?

Shangguan Qing was so nervous that he was stunned, his mind was buzzing, and he couldn't think straight at all.

Xiao Heng was right; Shangguan Qing was definitely more nervous than Xiao Heng about meeting his mother.

He used all the shamelessness he had lost over the years on Princess Xinyang.

I'm so shy, what should I do?

Shangguan Qing belatedly realized that he was still holding a candied hawthorn in his hand.

It's all my fault for being too nervous; I even forgot to put such a childish thing back on the carriage.

What should we do?

His mature and aloof image!

Yu Jin was also incredibly shocked. Who was this "brother" that the young marquis had brought back? Judging from his age, he was about the same age as the young marquis. Could it be—

No way, really?

Isn't Young Master Xiao Qing already dead?

“Princess…” She looked at Princess Xinyang in disbelief.

Princess Xinyang was already having trouble breathing. Pregnancy had changed her body, and under the influence of hormones, tears would come easily, making her seem nothing like the proud and aloof woman she once was.

Xiao Heng pulled his stunned brother to Princess Xinyang and whispered to her, "Mother, let's go inside and talk."

...

The mother and her two children went inside.

Yu Jin was also serving them.

Xiao Heng sat in the middle, with Princess Xinyang and Shangguan Qing facing each other.

Princess Xinyang looked at the child, and hot tears streamed down her face.

Shangguan Qing wasn't sad at first, but seeing her shed tears, he suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

The two were so emotionally distraught that only Xiao Heng could recount what had happened.

Xiao Heng began by talking about Shangguan Yan's identity.

The female slave of Yan was actually the crown princess of Yan. She was framed and sold into an underground martial arts arena, but was rescued by Marquis Xuanping.

Princess Xinyang knew what happened next.

What Princess Xinyang didn't know was that the Crown Princess of Yan did not kill Shangguan Qing; she simply hid him away and secretly took him with her when she left.

Shangguan Qing was poisoned.

Chen Guo's medical skills are superb.

She first went to the State of Chen to seek medicine. The doctor in the State of Chen did extend Shangguan Qing's life a little, but unfortunately the effect was minimal. In order to keep Shangguan Qing alive, she had no choice but to take him back to the Dragon Pool Tiger Cave in the capital.

What followed was a series of dramatic changes within the Xuanyuan family.

Shangguan Yan was stripped of her title as Crown Princess, but the King still favored Shangguan Qing greatly, allowing him to retain his status as the eldest grandson of the Emperor and ordering the Imperial Preceptor's Palace to continue providing him with treatment.

However, as Shangguan Qing grew up and his features matured, he became less and less like Shangguan Yan.

Many people began to criticize Shangguan Yan, using Shangguan Qing's identity as a pretext to impeach her for confusing the royal bloodline.

Left with no other choice, Shangguan Yan had to send someone secretly to Zhao Kingdom to draw a portrait of Xiao Heng, and have Shangguan Qing disguise himself as Xiao Heng.

It was this very move that exposed Xiao Heng's existence to the Crown Prince's faction.

In order to save her own flesh and blood in Xinyang, Shangguan Yan exposed her own flesh and blood.

Shangguan Yan's act of stealing the antidote that belonged to Shangguan Qing was hateful.

But her desire to make amends for the rest of her life was genuine.

Over the years, she has treated Shangguan Qing as her own son, not entirely out of a desire to make amends; the bond between them as mother and son is genuine.

Of course, Xiao Heng did not add his own opinions when recounting what happened; he simply stated all the facts objectively.

No one can forgive Shangguan Yan for Princess Xinyang, nor can anyone bear the pain of losing her son all these years for her.

Whether it's hatred, forgiveness, or something else, Princess Xinyang should have her own opinion.

Shangguan Qing looked at Princess Xinyang nervously, as if awaiting her verdict.

Upon hearing this, Princess Xinyang's emotions calmed down.

She looked at Shangguan Qing and said bitterly, "Actually, even if she hadn't 'stole' the antidote, you wouldn't have survived. The late emperor was wary of your father, and my marriage to him was just a political bargaining chip. My Dragon Shadow Guards were ready to kill him at any time, and to prevent me from softening my heart because of my offspring, the Dragon Shadow Guards... would kill me and his child. If they fail once, they will try again, until... I completely lose you."

“I have also deeply hurt Aheng. You two are innocent. If I really have someone to blame, the first is my father, the second is that I was born into the royal family, and the last is me as your mother… for not protecting you.”

It's not you, it's all of you.

She felt deeply guilty towards both of her sons.

After learning the false truth that "Shangguan Yan was the one who killed her son," didn't she also vent her anger on the innocent Xiao Heng?

What right does she have to blame Shangguan Yan?

Xiao Heng gently took her hand.

The matter of the young marquis dying in the fire on New Year's Eve is now in the past.

His inner conflict was resolved.

He was not a child abandoned by his mother.

At the last moment, his mother protected him with her life.

Princess Xinyang smiled through her tears: "I am very grateful to her for raising you. If it weren't for her, I might have lost you."

Shangguan Qing felt much more relaxed. He smiled and said, "My mother also said that she is very grateful to you for raising my younger brother, because if the real eldest grandson of the emperor had returned to Yan, it would have been difficult for him to grow up safely."

Fate is a mysterious thing, but do good deeds and don't worry about the future.

"Your Majesty?" Princess Xinyang was slightly taken aback.

Shangguan Qing awkwardly touched his nose: "That's my mother."

Princess Xinyang pondered the title and could sense the harmonious and natural mother-son relationship between Shangguan Yan and Qing'er.

Xiao Heng said, "In that case, let's not talk about the past."

Princess Xinyang nodded.

Shangguan Qing had no objection.

Princess Xinyang looked at her son, whom she had lost and found again, and couldn't believe it was real: "Aheng, pinch me."

Xiao Heng said with amusement, "Why don't you pinch me?"

How could I bear to let you suffer?

Then Princess Xinyang actually pinched it.

Xiao Heng's pain caused him to make a meme-worthy expression.

Mother, you've changed. You never used to be so ruthless.

I've definitely fallen out of favor...

Princess Xinyang rubbed her son's leg, which had been pinched red, with a sheepish expression.

Qing'er's return was so incredible that she was overwhelmed with joy and was indeed a little at a loss for what to do.

Shangguan Qing stared in disbelief, realizing that Princess Xinyang wasn't so unapproachable after all (it's all because of his bratty brother, who always says his mother is as aloof as a fairy, untouched by worldly affairs).

He was very worried that he would be disliked.

I was overthinking it.

This mother is quite down-to-earth.

"But Mother, what's going on with you?" Xiao Heng looked at her belly, which was almost touching the table. "Is it my father's?"

Princess Xinyang gets angry when this is mentioned.

She clearly drank the contraceptive soup!

How did I get pregnant?

What's infuriating is that it took her three months to realize it!

I should have drunk more contraceptive soup back then!

Perhaps sensing its mother's dislike, the little one in the belly turned over sadly and kicked a few times, leaving its tiny footprints on its mother's belly.

Princess Xinyang clutched her stomach and gasped for breath.

This child is really noisy.

Qing'er is very well-behaved in my belly.

Xiao Heng nodded seriously: "It seems to be my father's."

Besides my father, I can't think of any other man who could make you grit your teeth like this.

The baby sticks out his little feet: Come on, let's have a prize (clap)~

(End of this chapter)