Lan Wuxie walked straight up to Hua Chongyang as if she hadn't seen Situ Yebai:
"It's chilly and windy at night, what are you doing out here?"
He wore only a robe over his undergarments, his long hair was loose, yet he possessed an imposing aura that rivaled that of Situ Yebai.
Situ Qingliu watched calmly, neither angry nor silent, while sipping his tea. Lan Wuxie took Hua Chongyang's hand and was about to turn back, but after taking two steps, Hua Chongyang suddenly grabbed her arm.
"etc."
He turned around in surprise.
Hua Chongyang suppressed his anger for a long time before forcing a smile at him:
"Now that Your Highness is here, what harm is there in saying a few words?"
She could barely withstand Lan Wuxie's gaze, and quickly looked away, saying:
"Guests are always welcome; how can you be so rude? After all, a brothel is a place for welcoming and seeing off guests."
Almost a lifetime had passed before Lan Wuxie released her hand, turned around, and walked to stand opposite Situ Yebai, looking down at him.
What do you want?
Situ Yebai slowly scraped the teacup with the lid, and after a long while, he raised his head, his dark eyes slowly scrutinizing Lan Wuxie:
"Nothing much. I just wanted to see you."
Lan Wuxie didn't say a word.
Situ Yebai put down his teacup and stood up as well:
"I want to see what kind of person this is—the one who stole Qing'er's beloved woman, wiped out Lake Moon Manor, Qingfeng Sect, and Elder Yuqi of Songshan, and now commands most of the martial world."
Lan Wuxie remained silent.
Hua Chongyang's heart trembled violently.
To Lan Wuxie, Situ Yebai's actions were nothing short of an insult.
Situ Yebai, with one hand behind his back, paced a few steps to Lan Wuxie's side, then lowered his voice and sighed softly:
"I never expected you to look like this, Shangguan Rongzhi. You and she are almost identical."
...Shangguan Rongzhi?
That name sounds familiar... Where have I heard it before...?
Lan Wuxie remained silent.
Liu Da, who had been standing to the side, asked in surprise:
"Shangguan Rongzhi? Isn't that... the son of Princess Guoyue and Marquis Shangguan Ming of Jinping?!"
In a flash, Hua Chongyang remembered something he had heard before.
Things are a bit complicated.
Princess Guoyue and Prince Ningjing, Situ Yebai, were childhood sweethearts who grew up together. Prince Ningjing's family was quite powerful, and his family background was a perfect match for Princess Guoyue. Back then, almost everyone believed that it was only a matter of time before Situ Yebai became Princess Guoyue's husband.
Just before their wedding, Situ Yebai went to war in the Northwest and won a series of victories. Situ Qingliu took control of the Northwest army, and the power of the Situ clan naturally increased. Many elders of the Situ clan even disregarded Princess Guoyue. Gradually, rumors spread in the court that Situ Yebai wanted to amass power and even declare himself king.
The person who vehemently proved the rumors to be true was Shangguan Ying, the father of the future imperial son-in-law, Marquis of Jinping, and the then-leader of the civil officials, the Left Chancellor. He secretly sent his trusted confidants to the Northwest to collect a large amount of evidence of the Situ clan's treason.
Princess Guoyue was not yet twenty years old at the time. Although young, she was decisive and ruthless. After seeing the evidence, she pondered for a long time. When Situ Yebai returned to the capital with a large army after a great victory in pursuing foreign invaders, she announced the decree to marry Shangguan Ming, the son of Shangguan Ying. At the same time, with the help of Shangguan Ying, she stripped Situ Yebai of his military power and, on the grounds of treason, stripped him of his title and military merits and imprisoned him in the Northwest Camp.
From then on, the world was at peace, and the court had no force left to oppose Princess Guoyue.
The following year, Princess Guoyue and Shangguan Ming's son, Shangguan Rongzhi, was born.
In the fourth year, Situ Yebai, who had been plotting for a long time, regained military power and returned to the capital, exterminating the Shangguan family, including Shangguan Ming, and remarrying Princess Guoyue.
From then on, Situ Yebai ruled the world for more than twenty years, until today.
Hua Chongyang finally understood why Lan Wuxie said he remembered his father holding him and reading military strategy and medical books when he was a child—how could a child from an ordinary family be exposed to these things so early?
She recalled his beautiful handwriting and his upright and elegant posture, exuding an innate nobility, whenever he stood.
I see.
His name was originally Shangguan Rongzhi.
79. night white
Lan Wuxie didn't even glance at Situ Yebai, coldly raising an eyebrow:
"What right do you have to mention her?"
Situ Yebai turned around:
"You are her flesh and blood, I don't want to kill you. But there's a condition: you must hand over the key and map to the Second Palace to the imperial court."
Hua Chongyang and Liu Dahuang were completely confused by what they heard.
Second House? What's that?
Lan Wuxie chuckled, grabbed Hua Chongyang, and was about to turn around:
"Situ Yebai, you're dreaming."
Hua Chongyang glanced at Situ Yebai's expression.
But the hand Lan Wuxie held was icy cold. Ignoring Situ Yebai's earlier threats, she followed Lan Wuxie up the stairs, while Liu Dahuang San, seeing an opportunity, tried to get rid of her.
"Your Highness, it's getting late. You should go back and rest early."
Back in their room, Lan Wuxie acted as if nothing had happened, remaining silent as she calmly helped Hua Chongyang undress and take off her boots, leading her to bed. However, the hand she held in Hua Chongyang's remained icy cold. Hua Chongyang didn't speak either. After turning off the light, the two lay on the bed, and she silently reached out and hugged him from behind. After a long while, Lan Wuxie turned around, cupped her face in his hands, and softly said:
"Chongyang, I have nothing left but you."
Hua Chongyang burst into tears.
She had also heard some of the stories about the legendary Shangguan Rongzhi.
Situ Yebai hated the Shangguan family to the core. The first thing he did after seizing power was to order the extermination of the entire Shangguan clan. However, he doted on Princess Guoyue and indulged her every whim. As a result, Princess Guoyue's son, Shangguan Rongzhi, the only remaining member of the Shangguan family, was spared, but was stripped of his title as crown prince.
Instead, Situ Qingliu, the son of Situ Yebai, was appointed Crown Prince. Born around the same time as Shangguan Rongzhi and a cousin, Situ Qingliu's mother was Princess Guo'an, the cousin of Princess Guole. Rumor had it that Princess Guo'an was also incredibly beautiful, bearing an eight-tenths resemblance to Princess Guole. She was deeply in love with Situ Yebai, but he insisted on marrying no one but Princess Guole. Princess Guo'an, however, was also a romantic at heart. When Princess Guole married Shangguan, Princess Guo'an secretly slipped out of the capital and traveled to the Northwest Camp where Situ Yebai was imprisoned, openly vowing to the world that she would marry no one but Situ Yebai.
Whether it was out of spite towards Princess Guoyue or not, Situ Yebai subsequently married Princess Guoan.
However, Princess Guoan died young, and later Shangguan Rongzhi was placed under house arrest, so Situ Qingliu was raised by Princess Guole.
Shangguan Rongzhi remained under house arrest until he died silently from illness, according to rumors.
Hua Chongyang couldn't help but recall the many times she had seen Situ Qingliu's figure before, and occasionally, in a moment of distraction, she would mistake him for Lan Wuxie. The two had such different temperaments that she had only thought of him as someone she missed too much back then, never imagining that they were actually cousins.
Because of Lan Wuxie's words, Hua Chongyang began to consider whether or not to tell Lan Wuxie about Fu Shun's situation.
But before dawn, there was a knock on the door.
"OP."
Unable to sleep all night, Hua Chongyang immediately recognized the voice as Liu Da's and carefully got up to open the door:
"Sister Liu."
Liu Da glanced into the room and lowered his voice:
"There's a letter. Come with me to see it."
She pulled Hua Chongyang upstairs.
At first, Hua Chongyang was a little confused: What letter can't be read in person?
But after taking a few steps, she began to feel uneasy. When they reached the second floor and entered Liu Da's room, Liu Da carefully closed the door, grabbed her hand, and said:
"Don't make a sound."
Hua Chongyang's hands had begun to tremble.
Liu Da's voice was even lower:
"It's my fault. Fu Shun was taken away by Situ Yebai's men."
Hua Chongyang swayed.
She forced herself to remain calm:
"Didn't they move the location and add more people? And Bai Lu is personally overseeing things. With Bai Lu's skills, who can be her match besides Lan Wuxie?"
Liu Da looked at her with an expression that suggested he didn't dare to look at her.
"The other side used a diversionary tactic, sending two groups. The first group lured Bailu away, but who knew the real experts were the other group. OP, it's my fault for not handling things properly—"
"Stop talking." Hua Chongyang interrupted her, his face pale. "It's not your fault. Situ Yebai is cunning and calculating; who can outsmart him? This is all my fault. I should have told Lan Wuxie sooner. I'm going to talk to him right now—"
"OP--"
Liu Da grabbed Hua Chongyang:
"cannot."
"how?"
"Situ Yebai left a message saying that he wanted to personally give Lan Wuxie a surprise; if anyone ruined this surprise before then, he would also ruin it." Liu Da was practically gritting his teeth. "Doesn't that mean if you tell Lan Wuxie, he'll hurt Fushun?"
Hua Chongyang felt all his strength drain away instantly:
"Then wouldn't I be completely at his mercy?"
"This is the only way for now," Liu Da gritted his teeth, "that shameless old bastard, Situ Yebai!"
Hua Chongyang stood there for a while, then suddenly turned and went outside:
"I'm going to find Situ Yebai."
If it weren't for Situ Qingliu's help, Hua Chongyang would never have imagined that Situ Yebai would be staying at Anzhitinglan.
Around noon, in the most secluded courtyard in the garden behind the riverbank and orchid grove, Hua Chongyang pushed open the half-closed door and went in. He saw Situ Qingliu holding a book, sitting in the shade under the wisteria trellis, reading. Hearing Hua Chongyang's footsteps, he only slightly raised his eyes, then continued reading a page, pointing with the book to the bamboo chair opposite him:
"sit."
Hua Chongyang sat down impatiently:
"What will it take for you to return Fu Shun to me?"
Situ Yebai narrowed his eyes slightly, and after a long while, he smiled softly:
"A mother will always do everything she can to protect her child. Like Ah Qing, who, before she died, insisted that I promise she would ensure Qing Liu grows up safely."