Chapter 728 Mother and Son Reunited
It was no secret that Commandant Wang Xu was teaching Shangguan Qing martial arts at the imperial mausoleum; Xiao Heng had heard about it long ago.
He never expected that one day he would be impersonating Shangguan Qing.
Wang Xu is a potential threat that must be addressed. It doesn't mean we have to kill him, but rather prevent him from interfering with our plans.
Gu Chengfeng pursed his lips and patted his chest.
Who else but him could handle something this important?
"Remember to give me the money! You...you keep it for now! I'll ask you for it later!"
After emphasizing his two taels of silver, Gu Chengfeng said that it had come from somewhere and then came out from the same place.
His martial arts skills weren't great, but his lightness skill was truly exceptional, managing to avoid alerting the assassins in the Imperial Preceptor's Hall.
"Remember to pick up Jingkong," Xiao Heng said, watching his retreating figure.
Xiao Heng watched Gu Chengfeng's back as he paused in mid-air, seemingly gritting his teeth and complaining, before disappearing into the Imperial Preceptor's Hall with a hint of resentment.
The room fell silent again.
Despite all that has happened, not much time has actually passed.
In just half an hour, he completed the transformation from Xiao Heng to Shangguan Qing, met the king, and confronted the crown prince.
There was no turning back. Once today was over, he would have placed himself in the vortex of power in the capital, and everyone would know that he had returned.
There is more than one force secretly watching them.
But the vortex in Shengdu is destined to grow larger and larger until it devours all those who have ever hurt them, leaving not even bones behind!
...
The Commandant's Office was located in the outer court of the Great Yan Imperial Palace. To enter from the outside, one had to pass through three checkpoints in succession: Gaomen, Fengtianmen, and Duanmen.
Gu Chengfeng lingered outside Gaomen, secretly pondering whether he should sneak in or wait here for his prey to come to him.
"I forgot to find out if Wang Xu was in court. If he has already left, then whether I sneak in or wait for him outside, it will be pointless."
"No, he should be here. The king met with Xiao Heng. Knowing Xiao Heng as I do, even if there's nothing fishy about the former crown princess's injury, Xiao Heng will find something fishy about it! Since the king trusts Wang Xu so much, he will definitely send Wang Xu to investigate the case."
"And the crime scene was right in the inner palace!"
Gu Chengfeng was deeply amazed by his own wit: "How did I become so smart? No wonder I am!"
Wang Xu was indeed investigating a case in the inner palace, but he couldn't find any clues no matter how hard he tried. The scene was very clean, except for the traces of Shangguan Yan's fall and the footprints left by her personal maid when she came to look for her.
In addition, there are several other footprints that belong to the cleaning eunuchs who came to move Shangguan Yan.
Their suspicions have all been cleared.
"Looks like a master; he knows light-footed skills."
Wang Xu stood on the hillside, looked at the spot where Shangguan Yan had fallen, and then leaped into the air.
It's a steep slope, but the slope is covered with vines, and you can grab one or two even if you just grab at it randomly.
Wang Xu carefully examined the scene for almost half an hour before finally leaving with a somber expression.
He was an outsider, and although he was ordered to enter the inner palace to investigate a case, he was not allowed to walk around the inner palace on his own. He was accompanied by Li Sande from the Zhonghe Hall.
Li Sande didn't say much, just followed silently.
As the two were about to leave the inner palace, a eunuch in his early thirties suddenly walked towards them.
"Oh, isn't this Lord Wang and Eunuch Li? What a coincidence!" he greeted them with a smile.
Li Sande bowed slightly and said very politely, "Eunuch Xu."
This man's surname is Xu, given name Gao, and he is a favorite of Consort Han.
Xu Gao smiled and glanced at Wang Xu, then casually asked, "Lord Wang, are you here to investigate a case? I wonder if you have any leads?"
"Not at the moment," Wang Xu said.
A hint of disappointment flashed across Xu Gao's eyes: "I see."
Wang Xu said, "It may not be man-made; it might just be an accident."
Xu Gao sighed, "Indeed, the inner palace is a sensitive place. I imagine that ordinary assassins would neither have the guts nor the ability to enter. In any case, I hope that Lord Wang will find out the truth as soon as possible, so that the former crown princess will not have been injured in vain."
Wang Xu said, "It's nothing, I'll be going now."
Xu Gao smiled and said, "Please take care, Lord Wang."
Wang Xu left the inner palace.
Li Sande saw him off at the Meridian Gate.
Walking on the bluestone path of the previous dynasty, Wang Xu slowly opened his palm.
It is a tangled thread.
It was found in the brambles on the hillside, a place where there were no palace servants' footprints.
If this thread didn't come from Shangguan Yan's clothing, then it must belong to the murderer!
...
Gu Jiao slept for a long time, while Shangguan Yan woke up first.
As the effects of the anesthetic wore off, she regained consciousness.
She opened her eyes, looking somewhat dazed at the unfamiliar tent ceiling, momentarily unsure of where she was.
"woke up?"
Xiao Heng walked over and looked at her as he spoke.
Today, Xiao Heng is not wearing a mask, revealing his true appearance.
Shangguan Yan stared at him intently, her mouth agape.
After a long pause, she closed her eyes and said, "I'm dreaming."
He was someone she could only see in her dreams.
Xiao Heng sat down beside her bed and stared intently at her: "Does your wound hurt?"
"It hurts?" Shangguan Yan was taken aback. "It hurts."
She was in pain all over her body; this wasn't a dream.
She suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Xiao Heng with shining eyes.
Xiao Heng smiled gently.
Shangguan Yan suddenly felt embarrassed. She couldn't move, and only her eyes rolled around in their sockets.
Then, her ears turned red at a visible speed.
Huh?
Xiao Heng was slightly taken aback.
You weren't like this when you were at Tianxiang Pavilion. You watched me and Jiaojiao doing this and that without feeling the slightest bit ashamed.
I thought you were as cunning as my father.
Shangguan Yan had more than one injury; she was wrapped up like a rice dumpling, and she moved her fingers.
Xiao Heng saw this and asked her, "Is there something you want to take?"
“A handkerchief,” she said.
Xiao Heng asked curiously, "What are you doing with the handkerchief?"
Shangguan Yan said seriously, "Cover your face, I'm shy."
Xiao Heng: "..."
"Jiaojiao and the Imperial Advisor performed the surgery on you. The surgery was very successful. Is there anything that's bothering you?" Xiao Heng asked.
"No," Shangguan Yan said, glancing at Gu Jiao on the small bed.
Xiao Heng followed her gaze and looked over: "She's asleep."
Shangguan Yan lowered her voice: "Then let's speak more quietly."
Xiao Heng smiled and said, "Okay."
Shangguan Yan watched his fleeting smile, a hint of brightness flashing in her eyes as well.
Suddenly, however, she realized something, and her expression changed slightly: "This is the Imperial Preceptor's Hall? You... how could you come to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall?"
Xiao Heng calmly said, "I have met the King and the Crown Prince. I told them that I am Shangguan Qing."
Shangguan Yan's mouth dropped open.
Xiao Heng continued, "I saw Shangguan Qing's portrait."
In an instant, countless complex emotions flashed in Shangguan Yan's eyes. She stared blankly at Xiao Heng, hesitating several times before finally managing to utter a cautious, tentative question: "You... you know everything?"
Xiao Heng nodded: "Mm."
Shangguan Yan was stunned for a moment: "Know—what?"
Xiao Heng asked, "About me."
A flicker of shock crossed Shangguan Yan's eyes again, but she quickly regained her composure: "How did you know?"
"I guessed it," Xiao Heng said truthfully.
Her actions at Tianxiang Pavilion that day explained everything. Coupled with his various experiences, the information Ye Qing revealed, and even Zhang Dequan's cry of "Your Highness Changsun" that night, everything was bringing him closer and closer to his true identity.
When he saw Shangguan Qing's portrait, the question was finally answered.
He is Shangguan Yan's child.
However, he was still not entirely sure about his relationship with Shangguan Qing.
"Who is Shangguan Qing? My brother?"
"Um."
"Twin brothers?"
"Mmm!" came the reply, a negative tone.
Xiao Heng opened his mouth: "Then he is—"
Shangguan Yan bit her lip, and after a long while, she whispered, "Xiao Qing."
Xiao Heng wasn't particularly surprised by this answer, for no other reason than that Shangguan Qing's birthday was Xiao Qing's birthday.
When Xiao Heng and Xiao Qing were both infants, they were poisoned at the same time. There was only one antidote. In order to get the antidote for Xiao Heng, Shangguan Yan hid Shangguan Qing and told Marquis Xuanping that she had killed him.
The process of convincing Marquis Xuanping was not easy, and Shangguan Yan was unwilling to elaborate.
Even Shangguan Yan's own faked death almost cost her her life.
Shangguan Yan looked at Xiao Heng with a nervous and apprehensive expression: "Don't you think I'm being too cruel?"
In order to get the antidote for her son, she deprived Xiao Qing of the chance to live.
It's hard to say who was right and who was wrong back then. He wasn't her, so he doesn't know what kind of struggle she went through.
All she wanted was for her son to live. Over the years, she had been burdened with the guilt she felt towards Xiao Qing and Xin Yang, as well as the longing for her own flesh and blood. Perhaps anyone in this world could accuse her of being heartless, but Xiao Heng, who survived because of her heartlessness, had no right to do so.
“No,” Xiao Heng said. “How did you come up with the idea of taking Xiao Qing away?”
Shangguan Yan said in a low voice, "I want to take him back to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall and see if the Imperial Preceptor's Hall can cure him. You might ask me why I don't take you with me and see if the Imperial Preceptor's Hall can cure you. Actually... even knowing the current situation, if I had to do it all over again, I would still make the same choice as before."
The Imperial Preceptor's Hall is a retreat route, not the best one.
She would rather be condemned by thousands and bear a lifetime of infamy than give up being a selfish mother.
Let her bear all the blame and suffering; her Ah Heng only needs to live well.
"Aren't you afraid that Princess Xinyang will kill me to avenge her son?" Princess Xinyang was no weak woman; she was also very decisive and ruthless. Of course, he wasn't accusing her of being naive; he just wanted to understand what she had been through.
Good, bad, dangerous, the struggles he endured, and the things he missed over the years.
Shangguan Yan said, "Marquis Xuanping will not let her know that I killed her son."
You really know my dad well.
He did lie to Princess Xinyang, saying that Xiao Qing had died at the hands of an assassin.
Princess Xinyang eventually found out, instigated by someone with ulterior motives.
However, she did not succeed in killing me; at the last moment, she carried me out of the fire.
Shangguan Yan felt very guilty: "It was all my fault for attracting those assassins, otherwise you two wouldn't have been poisoned."
Xiao Heng hesitated for a moment, but still decided to tell her: "Those assassins were not brought by you, but were left by the late emperor's men. The people who poisoned me and Xiao Qing back then were the Dragon Shadow Guards left to my mother by the late emperor of Zhao. The person they really wanted to poison was Xiao Qing. I was poisoned because they were careless."
This tragedy had nothing to do with Shangguan Yan; the blame should be placed on the late emperor.
And in a sense, it was fortunate that Shangguan Yan took Xiao Qing away, otherwise they would have continued to poison Xiao Qing.
At that time, Long Yi was not around, and neither Marquis Xuanping nor Princess Xinyang suspected the Dragon Shadow Guard. It was truly impossible to guard against them.
Shangguan Yan had lived with guilt towards Xiao Qing all these years, and when she first heard the news, she was incredulous: "Are you just making up a story to comfort me?"
Xiao Heng shook his head: "I didn't. I can't make up this story."
The late emperor's thought process was comparable to that of the ruler of the Great Yan Kingdom; both were both mad and ruthless.
Princess Xinyang married Marquis Xuanping precisely to prevent him from rebelling.
If he harbors any rebellious intentions, Princess Xinyang will immediately order the Dragon Shadow Guards to kill him.
The late emperor knew that Princess Xinyang could not be with men and was not worried that she would fall in love with Marquis Xuanping. However, the two were husband and wife after all. What if Marquis Xuanping used force to make Princess Xinyang give birth to his child?
Who can guarantee that Princess Xinyang won't soften her heart because of the child?
Therefore, the late emperor issued an order to the Dragon Shadow Guard that even Princess Xinyang was unaware of—the child of Princess Xinyang and Marquis Xuanping could not be kept.
Based on Xiao Heng's observations over the years, Princess Xinyang showed no mercy to Marquis Xuanping. If asked to stab him with a knife right now, she wouldn't even blink.
The late emperor was overthinking things.
Throughout history, emperors have been suspicious, which has harmed both themselves and others.
Furthermore, there was one more thing that the late emperor had misjudged: it was true that someone had forced them, but the one who was forced was the Marquis of Xuanping.
The past is too painful to recall.
Xiao Heng indeed stopped thinking about the entanglement between Princess Xinyang and Marquis Xuanping. He voiced another question that had been bothering him: "But if Xiao Qing and I are not twins, why do we look exactly alike?"
As he spoke, he pointed to the beauty mark drawn under his right eye, "Even this beauty mark is the same?"
Shangguan Yan said awkwardly, "That's because... I disguised him."
Xiao Heng and Xiao Qing are half-brothers, and they do indeed have a certain resemblance in appearance. For example, their face shape and nose are very similar to those of Marquis Xuanping.
However, their eyebrows and eyes don't match.
Xiao Qing inherited Princess Xinyang's features: almond-shaped eyes, flat eyebrows, and a gentle and delicate appearance.
Xiao Heng inherited Shangguan Yan's features: phoenix eyes and slightly upturned sword-like eyebrows, exuding a heroic air, and a warm and healing smile.
This is why everyone who has met the young Marquis Zhaodu describes him as a gentle and refined young man, a man who makes people feel like they are bathed in a spring breeze.
However, after Xiao Heng got into trouble and lived among the common people, the smiles on his face lessened, and the gentleness in his eyes disappeared.
He donned an invisible, sharp armor.
“In my early years, I didn’t pay much attention to my appearance. Until one time, I overheard a servant whispering that this child doesn’t look like me at all. It wasn’t very noticeable when he was little, but the older he gets, the less he looks like me. I got anxious. The Imperial Preceptor’s Palace was willing to treat Xiao Qing because he is the eldest grandson of the emperor. If people could tell that he doesn’t look like me, he wouldn’t be able to continue receiving treatment. So I sent someone to Zhao Kingdom to get your portrait and painted all the parts of him that don’t look like you to look like you.”
At this point, Shangguan Yan paused, "It was that time that your identity was exposed, and the Crown Prince became aware of your existence."
Xiao Heng suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."
Then everything makes sense.
Xiao Heng touched the beauty mark on his face. Shangguan Qing had drawn it based on his features. Now that the beauty mark was gone, was he imitating Shangguan Qing or imitating himself?
It's both funny and frustrating.
"What's wrong?" Shangguan Yan asked, looking at him.
Xiao Heng said, "This mole of mine is actually gone now."
To prevent those people from finding him easily, Princess Xinyang burned off the beauty mark on his face after the fire.
He had changed his appearance, his voice and physique were different from before, and he had also lost his beauty mark. Even his own father, Marquis Xuanping, had to go to great lengths and make several attempts to confirm that it was him.
Shangguan Yan said softly, "She's so good to you."
The tone was one of relief, but also of heartache and loneliness.
She ultimately missed her chance.
In his long nineteen years of life, there was never a trace of her.
"Can I... call you Aheng?"
Even when publicly executed in the Golden Palace, the Crown Princess, born into a position of supreme status, never lowered her noble head or uttered a single plea.
But at this moment, simply asking if I could address you that way conveyed all the humility in my very being.
Xiao Heng said, "You can call me whatever you want."
Could you call me?
Shangguan Yan did not say this.
She lowered her eyes, suppressing the sadness and bitterness in her heart.
Don't cry.
The descendants of the Xuanyuan family shed blood but not tears. She didn't cry when she gave birth, and she didn't cry when her bones were broken.
She didn't cry.
Xiao Heng actually had many more questions for her, such as what exactly happened last night, what happened more than ten years ago, and why she had become a slave.
Looking at her weak body, Xiao Heng said, "You rest for a while, I'll go get some food."
"Um."
Her voice was choked with sobs.
She tried to suppress it.
Xiao Heng stood up, then paused.
Shangguan Yan's heart skipped a beat.
Should we call her?
Is that so?
Xiao Heng said, "I forgot to ask what you wanted to eat. You just had surgery, so millet porridge and barley porridge would be good."
"Oh," Shangguan Yan said dejectedly, "Either is fine."
Xiao Heng: "How about millet porridge?"
Shangguan Yan: "Okay."
She had no appetite.
She's a bad woman.
She doesn't deserve to be his mother.
Xiao Heng stepped to the doorway, but stopped again just before crossing the threshold.
"It might be a little late to say this now, but..."
He turned around and looked at her sincerely: "Thank you for giving birth to me."
"Thank you for bringing me into this world, and thank you for everything you've done for me."
"Mother."
A mother's voice, heard after nineteen years, softened the years and comforted the more than seven thousand days and nights of separation.
Shangguan Yan choked up and couldn't speak.
—Thank you too, my son.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
