Each on their own journey
Although Wei Jin suppressed the turmoil in the court with his strong stance, the aftershocks quietly seeped into the quiet night of Fengyi Palace.
The flickering candlelight illuminated Ling Zhan's serene profile.
She dismissed the palace servants, leaving only Shen Yu beside her to organize the documents. The only sound in the hall was the soft rustling of turning pages.
"Little Stone." Ling Zhan put down his pen.
Shen Yu paused slightly, then looked up and replied, "Mother?"
"What do you think of what Prince Rui said?" Her gaze was clear as a spring, seemingly able to see into people's hearts.
Shen Yu's knuckles clenched unconsciously. He lowered his eyelids to avoid that gaze, his voice carrying a deliberate distance: "Mother, I am just your son, Father's and your son. Other things... I don't know, and they are not important."
He did not deny it, but repeatedly emphasized his identity as "their son".
This stubborn attempt to distance itself has already revealed the truth.
Ling Zhan watched him silently, neither pressing for answers nor pointing out any flaws. She knew this thoughtful yet loyal child all too well—his avoidance stemmed from his knowledge of the so-called noble bloodline and his unwillingness to jeopardize his relationship with his adoptive parents and brothers.
After a long silence, she sighed softly, her tone softening: "Alright. Since you acknowledge us as your parents, then your mother will only ask you one question—putting aside all identities and lineage, what do you truly want?"
Shen Yu suddenly looked up and met her mother's insightful yet tolerant eyes.
His tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and after a moment of silence, a genuine longing surfaced deep in his eyes.
"Although I have read ten thousand books, I have never traveled ten thousand miles." His voice was initially gentle, but gradually became like jade striking each other. "Among my two elder brothers, I am the least experienced and have not yet achieved anything. My brothers are either skilled in strategy or have been engaged in long-term battles, and they have already shown their talents. I often think to myself, where exactly is my path?"
His eyes were clear and bright, and his deep-seated ambition slowly unfolded in his words: "The southeast has just been pacified, and everything is waiting to be rebuilt. There are salt fields destroyed by war, fishing villages devastated by the sea ban, and tariffs on newly opened sea routes that need to be clarified... These are not things that one can truly know by sitting in a study."
He leaned forward slightly, his words already outlining a clear blueprint: "Your son is willing to cast aside empty titles and start from the bottom—perhaps as a county clerk to clarify land and household registration; or go to the salt fields to assist in reviving the old salt-making industry. People's lives are difficult, and your son wants to measure it with his own feet and help them with his own hands. The southeast is the gateway to the sea of Dayong, and only by immersing oneself in it can one understand the true source of its advantages and disadvantages."
He paused for a moment, his voice carrying a clarity beyond his years: "I know very well that in terms of seniority, I am the last; in terms of experience and merit, I am far inferior to my elder brother. Precisely because of this, I need to take a different path. I have ambitions for this country, but what I seek is not favor based on bloodline or pity. Precisely because I am still young and inexperienced, I have more time and less burden to go to the fields, the marketplaces, and the seaside to do some solid work for the world."
“Mother,” he bowed deeply, “please give your son a chance. Let me prove myself worthy of this great responsibility with my abilities—not with age or rank. When I return, may no one see me as a vulnerable child in need of protection, but as someone truly worthy of being entrusted with the throne.”
A look of relief flashed across Ling Zhan's eyes, and he nodded, saying, "Alright. Do as you wish."
Three days later, the Ministry of Personnel issued an edict: Shen Yu, the newly appointed top scholar and the triple champion in the imperial examinations, requested to be transferred to the newly established Haining County in the southeast as a seventh-rank county magistrate. This proposal caused an uproar in the court and among the people, but the emperor and empress both approved it, and no one could change it.
Meanwhile, inside the Imperial Study.
Wei Jin gazed at his tall and upright eldest son: "Xiao'er, I can send someone else to handle the expansion project of the new city in the northern border."
Shen Xiao clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice deep and steady: "Father, I participated in drawing the blueprints, and the plan was repeatedly revised by my advisors. No one understands this place better than me. I wish to witness its completion and see it transform into another iron wall protecting the northern border."
Wei Jin scrutinized him for a long time, then suddenly grinned, a smile that carried the roguishness forged on the battlefield and a worldly-wise understanding:
"Granted! The North is harsh and cold, but it's also comfortable. The emperor is far away, and there aren't so many formalities."
He waved his hand and said in a bold tone, "I'm putting this out there today—if you meet someone you like in the North, whether she's a pearl of the grasslands, a heroine of a tribe, or an ordinary shepherdess, as long as you're sure of her, I'll make the decision for you!"
His gaze was sharp as an eagle's, as if he had already seen through the shadow hidden deep in his eldest son's heart for many years.
“Your second brother Hong’er now has children who can run and play. As the eldest son, your marriage has been the subject of much discussion among the senior officials in the court. I know that you have something on your mind.”
Wei Jin's tone softened, carrying a barely perceptible sigh: "The situation was complicated back then, and I made you think deeply because I was afraid that your youthful passion would backfire and cause you trouble in the future, and also because I was afraid of shaking the newly stabilized situation in the North. You... understood my good intentions and always did very well, even to the point of being overly restrained."
His tone shifted abruptly, his imperial authority and paternal weight pressing down simultaneously: "Now that the empire is secure, I have seen through many things. People value lineage more than birth, and loyalty more than social standing. Therefore, I reiterate my words today—once you have made your choice, think it through. This is not a momentary impulse, but a lifelong responsibility. Having made your decision, no matter what storms or criticisms you encounter in the future, you must be able to bear them and protect them! Do you understand?"
These almost explicit words struck Shen Xiao's heart like a heavy hammer.
Those deliberately sealed-away northern winds and frosts, figures galloping side by side on the snowfield, and intense yet restrained gazes by the campfire... all rushed in at once.
He suddenly looked up at his father, his Adam's apple bobbing, a thousand words stuck in his throat, finally turning into a deep bow:
"Your subject...understands! Thank you, Father!"
Looking at his tense shoulders and back, Wei Jin felt as if he were seeing again the young general who single-handedly held up the critical situation in the wind and snow.
A complex mix of heartache and pride flashed in her eyes, but in the end she simply patted her son's shoulder firmly and resumed her nonchalant tone:
"Good! Get lost. When you get to the North, don't just dream about girls. You'd better get things done properly for me!"
A flicker of emotion crossed Shen Xiao's usually cold face as he solemnly knelt to receive the general's order, a symbol of military power in the northern border.
The next day, they traveled light and went to the bitterly cold place again.
Finally, it was Shen Zhangwu's turn, who had been waiting for a long time.
Looking at his son, who was as strong as an ox and a head taller than him but whose recklessness was undeniable, Wei Jin couldn't help but smile. He deliberately put on a stern face and asked, "Little ox, your elder brother went to the northern border to build a city, your younger brother went to the seaside to govern a county, and what about you? Where do you want to go? Let your father see your ambition too."
Shen Zhangwu immediately shook his head vigorously, his voice booming and resolute: "Your subject is not going anywhere! I will stay in the capital! Wherever Father is, your subject will be there!"
He leaned closer eagerly, afraid his father wouldn't believe him, and gestured as he added, "Your son will serve as your bodyguard! I'll guard outside the Zichen Palace! Or... guard the palace gates will do! I guarantee not even a stray mosquito will be able to fly in!"
"If those old noblemen anger you again, I will... I will glare at them!" He tried to widen his eyes, but the boyish innocence in his brows made him look rather naive.
Seeing his father smile without speaking, Shen Zhangwu became even more anxious. He counted on his fingers the reasons why he could not leave the capital, his voice softening involuntarily: "Father has a poor appetite and cannot be separated from my care. Moreover... there are people in the palace who need my care. The one in Yongshou Palace... became the Empress Dowager at the age of fifteen. In this deep palace, she is two years younger than me."
He recalled that figure, wrapped in heavy court robes, sitting alone on the wide phoenix throne, appearing even more slender, and couldn't help but sigh.
“Last time during a thunderstorm, the glazed tiles of Yongshou Palace were blown off by the wind. She was terrified and dared not make a sound. It was I who heard the noise while on patrol and climbed over the wall to block it for her.” He scratched his head. “Her ration of charcoal in the palace was always deducted, and her hands would turn red from the cold in winter. So I would take half of my ration of silver frost charcoal and lie that it was a gift from Father Emperor that was extra… She may not have believed me, but she never said anything.”
His tone turned exceptionally serious: "She has no close friends in this palace. I promised her that if she was bored, I would tell her interesting stories from outside the palace; if she was bullied, I would stand up for her. If I leave, she will be all alone... how lonely she will be."
He finished speaking in one breath and stared expectantly at Wei Jin.
Those eyes were clear and bright, overflowing with the plea, "Don't send your son away," and his whole being exuded the stubbornness of "Your son will stay with Father and everything you care about."
Wei Jin and Ling Zhan exchanged a glance, both seeing a helpless yet warm smile in each other's eyes.
This most straightforward and impulsive person is practicing the most sincere protection in the most clumsy way.
Perhaps this is the path he has chosen—to protect everything he cherishes in the way he is best at.
The children have all chosen their paths.
There is no ugly infighting among brothers, nor any impatient struggle for power.
They learned to hone their skills and accumulate experience in the face of competition, allowing them to unleash their full potential later.
This brought Wei Jin and Ling Zhan more comfort than any promise.
That night, the emperor and empress stood side by side atop the palace, gazing at the vast starry sky and the sleeping capital city below.
Wei Jin let out a long sigh, put his arm around Ling Zhan's shoulder, and said with a sense of relief and new hope: "It seems that we still need to work hard for another twenty years. Let's pave a smoother road for these little brats."
He paused, his voice low and gentle: "Twenty years later, I will accompany you back to Kaoshan Village, back to the mountain peak. You said that the faint light of Star Core Zero is still there, waiting for you to nourish it."
Ling Zhan leaned on his shoulder, gazing in the direction of the Big Dipper, his eyes distant and resolute, and nodded earnestly: "Okay."
He paused, then suddenly asked in a low voice, "Ling Zhan, you once told me... back in the Asura Starfield, did you ever imagine that this day would come? To be with someone, to be with a home, to be with this world?"
Ling Zhan gazed up at the tranquil starry sky, so different from what he remembered, and after a long while said, "The destiny of an Asura warrior is only conquest and destruction."
"And now?" Wei Jin tightened his arms, his voice carrying a barely perceptible tension.
Ling Zhan turned to look at her, starlight reflecting in her eyes: "Now, this is my star domain."
Wei Jin's heart warmed, and he pulled her closer, his voice low and firm: "Ling Zhan, if you're going to leave, you must take me with you."
"good."
"I will never break my promise, not even for a thousand or ten thousand years."
"Okay, I promise you."
Under the starry sky, the empire's leaders set the course for the future.
And the young eagles have already spread their wings and soared into the skies they have chosen.
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