Chapter 100 Father and Son
The quiet room was even colder than the inn outside the city.
Without Cui An and Cui Shenxiu to take care of him closely, and with someone constantly watching him, Cui Xun has had a very difficult time living alone these days. But he has also learned to wring out his own handkerchief to wipe his face and to dress himself slowly.
However, the torment of being alone away from home for more than a month cannot compare to the short wait in the quiet room.
Cui Xun counted the incense sticks in the burner, one, two... When the seventeenth stick burned out with a snap, the carved door creaked open.
A tall, slender figure appeared in the corridor. The young man had changed out of his armor, now wearing a flowing robe and wide belt, and entered in the sunlight.
Cui Xun felt a slight twitch in his muscles, and by the time he realized it, he had already stood up in a panic.
June feels like six years.
He stopped in front of him, and was even taller than him.
Crimson lips, a straight nose, phoenix eyes. His cheeks were sharply defined, as handsome as he was, as beautiful as the pipa. He was a masterpiece of nature, unparalleled in this world.
Cui Xun had only met him three times in total. Yet each time he saw him, he was completely lost in thought, unaware of the time.
Unable to contain the turmoil in his heart, he staggered a few steps.
“Your Majesty…no,” Cui Xun’s lips trembled, his voice shockingly hoarse, “Lang Gan.”
He had barely uttered the nickname he had kept hidden for seventeen years when tears streamed down his face.
"Do you know that this is the name I chose for you at your mother's request?"
Yan Di glanced at him, his handsome face unchanged.
"Langgan...?"
He stared blankly at the indifferent-looking boy, then suddenly remembered something and lifted the jade pendant with the lotus pattern engraved on his waist.
"Ah Lang, this is the jade pendant your mother gave me as a token of our love. I've treasured it all this time, only wearing it when I see you. The first time was when you were six years old. You were blinded by poison gas and couldn't see it then, but I—"
As Cui Xunzheng recounted the past events one by one, he saw Yan Dibai's eyes turn cold, and he parted his red lips, asking, "Whose child is my sister?"
Cui Xun was taken aback, "A-Lang?"
Yan Dibai crossed his arms, his gaze indifferently drifting over the jade set in his hand.
Cui Xun felt as if struck by a bolt from the blue, and sadly avoided his gaze. "Princess Xifang... I don't know. She lived in a temple back then, detached from worldly affairs. I've known her for five years..."
Yan Dibai had no patience whatsoever.
"Is it yours, or the eunuch's, or perhaps Yan Qi's?"
Cui Xun swallowed hard, and dared not look at him at all.
"Perhaps it was mine... or perhaps it was her attendant's. When I first met her, I was drawn in by the sound of her pipa. She had a close attendant by her side named Huifeng."
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a mocking remark: "If that's the case, how dare you be so sure that I am your child?"
Cui Xun froze. His words were so straightforward, devoid of any trace of the father-son warmth he had imagined for so many years.
He had been working tirelessly and hoping for this moment, only to be met with a naked stab in the back.
Cui Xun was at a loss. "A-Lang, Lang-Gan, your mother and I were truly in love. I was there when you were conceived. You are naturally my child..."
"You mean, when Mother was pregnant with my elder sister, you weren't there, and you were on good terms with the servants, so you think she cheated on you and made you a cuckold?"
Cui Xun choked, unable to refute.
“Pana, the attendant, was found outside the palace, not one of the palace’s close confidants. There are rumors about that… but I love her and don’t take these things to heart. Langgan, your father has always been watching you in secret!”
He could no longer control himself, staggered to Yan Dibai's side, grabbed his shoulders, and spoke in a shrill voice.
"Langgan! I know it was you who shot the lacquer-covered arrow into Wang Du's courtyard that day. I know you hate me! But I—"
The moment Cui Xun saw the lacquered leather, he suddenly understood everything. The so-called interrogation was nothing more than a perfunctory response to Wang Du. He knew then that this child was far from ordinary. He recognized him and would surely understand him. Yet Cui Xun still clung to unrealistic fantasies.
If Langgan could call him "Father," what would it be like?
Cui Xun took a deep breath, his face covered in tears.
He knew it was impossible.
“Wang Du is right. I am a coward. Your grandfather, Cui Shu, the head of the Cui family, has high hopes for me. I am the Cui family’s future man, watched by everyone inside and outside the family. I bear the future of the family on my shoulders and dare not disobey!”
"Langgan!" Cui Xun cried out in a low voice, "When I received this order, I had not yet met your mother. If I had known that I, Cui Xun, would fall in love with a royal daughter, how could I have aided and abetted the evildoer and helped Wang Du kill your grandfather? These days and nights, I have been living in torment, like a candle flickering in the wind. I miss you and your mother, but I cannot show it. I fear that you will suffer from the poison gas like your grandfather, so I emptied my family's coffers to seek medicine everywhere, used all my connections to get in touch with the Imperial Household Department, and secretly informed Prime Minister Lin about this matter."
Cui Xun loosened his grip on his shoulders with all his might.
The boy remained expressionless; how could he be moved?
Cui Xun took a few steps back. Touching the tear stains on his face, he cried and laughed helplessly.
"Langgan, I am your father."
“I am your dear father, dear father.”
"Your mother and I were nothing more than sacrifices in the power struggles between your imperial grandfather, grandfather, and the Wang clan. It's not that I don't love you; do you know how happy I was to hear you had arrived in Jiangzuo? I'm dragging this rotten body along for you. Otherwise, I would have gone with your mother back then!"
Yan Di lowered his eyelids and remained silent for a long time before looking directly into Cui Xun's distressed eyes. Before Cui Xun could react, the young man suddenly uttered a shocking statement.
"If you love her so much, why did you have Cui Yan so early?"
Cui Xun was struck dumb.
"You, you,"
"How would I know?" Yan Dibai curled his lips. "She was born to a lowly concubine, an existence that your Cui family has long deliberately concealed. Yet she was unwilling to be subservient, so at the age of fourteen, she committed murder and fled, becoming a nun at Qingyun Temple on Qingyun Mountain. Two years later, she killed all the nuns, and after a long journey of changing her identity, she first served my elder sister as a prince, then served Xiao Yuanjing, scheming all the way to seize the Yan Jin dynasty."
"Him, him?!" Cui Xun was dumbfounded, while Yan Dibai laughed disdainfully.
"I wondered how anyone in this world could pull off such a clever scheme. It turns out, his throne wasn't entirely illegitimate. After all... he's my half-brother."
The boy's eyes were curved in a smile, but his words were like poison, piercing to the heart:
"Young Master Cui, should I thank you?"
Cui Xun stood frozen for a full three breaths, then coughed up a mouthful of blood and hurriedly called out to Yan Dibai, who was about to leave:
"Langgan!"
"It was my fault!" Cui Xun covered his mouth and nose, and cried out in anguish:
"The prince raised in Dingzhou was sent away by your grandfather to protect the bloodline. Your grandfather took the initiative and seized the prince to raise him, in case he ever opposed Wang Du. He did not really want to threaten your throne!"
Seeing that he was about to stop walking, Cui Xun wiped away the blood that had seeped between his fingers and gave a smile that was more like a grimace.
"When my maid and I gave birth to Cui Yan, we hadn't yet met your mother. If I had met her instead, Cui Yan would never exist. Ah Lang, how sincere your father's heart is, you don't know—"
Yan Dibai seemed to hold his breath for a moment, "Did you change the ingredients in the 'divine powder' that my sister used to kill me?"
Cui Xun covered his face with his sleeve, his voice becoming much muffled, "I was powerless at that time. It seems that Prime Minister Lin guessed it, so he took action and secretly gave you the calming incense pills that I had sent back then."
Yan Dibai closed his eyes. "I understand."
"Ah Lang, Father... I miss you." Cui Xun couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
The boy, whose back was to him, did not turn around. He remained hidden in the shadows, concealing his emotions.
The air remained still for a long time, so long that one of Cui Xun's sleeves was stained red with blood. Yan Dibai spoke, but it made Cui Xun feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
“Wang Du murdered the emperor and usurped the throne. You were outraged by his ambition and voluntarily revealed the truth to warn the world.”
The door opened.
Cui Xun's pupils constricted as he watched him disappear from sight. Suddenly, he burst into loud laughter.
"Ah Lang, how cruel you are, Ah Lang!"
"Okay, okay, okay!"
"I only ask one thing of you: do not kill Shenxiu. She is my only relative all these years. Alang, even if the one beside you cannot tolerate her, you must not kill her!"
...
Cui Xun's wailing was even more mournful than the north wind.
Yan Dibai stood by the edge of the stack from afternoon until nightfall.
None of the guards dared to approach. Qingqing dressed and came out for some fresh air. The young man in the sunset had been standing there for who knows how long, his hair covered in night dew.
She reached out to brush it away. Yan Dibai seemed to wake up with a start, and pulled her into his arms.
"You're still recovering from your cold, what are you doing out here!" Only then did he remember the force he had used and released her.
Qingqing spun around and said, "Have you forgotten the magic medicine you gave me? I'm all better! It really works. My throat stopped hurting all of a sudden, and I have energy again."
Yan Dibai's tightly furrowed brows relaxed a little. "My mother is skilled at playing the pipa."
"..." Qingqing quieted down.
Yan Dibai had told her about this when he was drunk.
He gazed at the people coming and going, as insignificant as ants. He then uttered another sentence.
“One day, a young master from a noble family passed by and played a zither in harmony with the music.”
"And then?" He remained silent for a long time, and Qingqing gently reminded him.
“Then…” Yan Dibai’s expression suddenly became subtle.
Because her mother had barbarian blood, Pa was disliked by Yan Qi and banished to the palace. Bored during her days, she fell in love with a handsome and refined young man.
The young man came from a distinguished family, possessed extraordinary talent, and was appreciated by Yan Qi, ensuring a bright future. Yet, he was far from foolish enough to abandon a noble lady like Lin, and a princess who had nothing.
Thus, their fleeting affair incurred a wrathful decree, and Pa was captured and taken to the palace to be tortured. Furthermore, due to the disgrace of her noble family, she was falsely accused of adultery between father and daughter.
"Then, they all died."
Qingqing: "...Is that so?"
Yan Dibai's voice dropped almost imperceptibly, but with certainty: "That's it."
"...Um, Cui Xun?"
"He's gone."
"ah?"
"Oh, what?" he said casually. "He went to play with Wang Du."
"……OK."
"Yuan Shu and Lady Cui are both in the city. Would you like to go and see them?"
Mentioning Choi Sin-soo, a hint of displeasure flashed across Yan Dibai's white eyebrows.
"What business is it of mine with two women?"
Qingqing nodded: "Then I'll officially arrange for her to stay at the Bei Hospital. Cui Niangzi's trip can be considered a defection; once she leaves, Wang Du probably won't tolerate her. It's wonderful that Yuan Shu can reunite with her brother."
Yan Dibai was furious: "All you ever do is meddle in other people's business. Don't you ever think about yourself?"
“We’re all friends. Besides, Yuan Shu used to be one of your wives.” Her voice lowered, but it was still clear enough for everyone to hear.
Yan Di's face flushed with embarrassment as she tilted her head: "Why are you bringing this up? I have countless women in my harem. Are you going to mention them every single one you encounter?"
Qingqing also said confidently, "It would be good if we could meet. I'm just afraid... we won't."
Yan Dibai then fell silent again.
"You will meet him."
How can you be so sure?
He turned his back. "It's a secret."
"..."
"It's time to eat, where are you going?"
Yan Dibai had only taken a few steps when she called out to him, and he coughed.
"I'm going to train the troops. Xiao Yuanjing's light cavalry aren't used to armor; they'll need some time to break in. You eat first." "...Oh." She'd gotten used to eating with Yuan Shu lately. But, she'd probably be eating with Xiao Yuanjing today too, right?
As if afraid she might overthink it, Yan Dibai came downstairs and then said:
"For some time to come, I will likely be living and eating with the soldiers. We are about to attack Yongzhou and face Wang Du's hundreds of thousands of troops head-on. We need to prepare."
Qingqing replied, "Then be careful. I'll come see you when I have time."
"...Okay, I'm leaving."
The person disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Qingqing: ……
Something feels off.
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