Chapter 87 The Truth (Part One)

Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Truth (Part One)

Lady Li gazed at her daughter, her eyes gentle as she said, “Ran’er, you and your brother haven’t seen each other for years! Time has passed, but you little girl, weren’t you always the one who never listened to your mother? You used to be determined to fight and scold Hong’er! Why is it that today you’ve suddenly changed?”

Though Lady Li’s tone contained a hint of reproach, it was clear to everyone that she was not truly angry. She only found it odd that Wu Songran and Wu Hong seemed so close—after all, even before, Wu Songran always looked down on Wu Hong.

Wu Songran flushed bright red at her mother’s words about her closeness with Wu Hong, and after a moment, a trace of disappointment flickered in her heart. She thought, “Close? What does it matter? He’s still my brother.”

Wu Songran was spirited and lively, bold in both love and hate. She realized that over these past two years, her heart could no longer accommodate the shadow of any other man. Only Wu Hong remained, and this pained her, for Wu Hong was her brother.

“Hong’er! This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s return to the Prince’s manor,” Lady Li said, causing Wu Hong to pause, feeling somewhat embarrassed. “Third mother, it’s not convenient for me to return to the manor right now,” he replied.

Lady Li understood immediately what Wu Hong was thinking. “Hong’er, you need not worry. Ever since your father had his accident, your Zhao mother moved into the palace to live with her sister.”

Wu Hong was startled, recalling certain scenes from the World Mirror, and a daring suspicion stirred in his heart. He simply nodded.

Lady Li and her attendants led Wu Hong and the others out of the Blossoming Pavilion. Outside, the guests and proprietor who had been blocked by Lady Li’s guards were still lingering. They’d been puzzled when the soldiers withdrew after Xiao Hongfei’s departure, expecting Lady Li to confront Wu Hong, but instead mother and son emerged smiling.

Wu Hong, Wu Songran, Li Ruolan, and Lady Li all climbed into the grand sedan chair carried by sixteen men, which could easily accommodate a dozen people. Inside, bookshelves, musical instruments, calligraphy, all necessities were present.

Wu Hong could not help but feel nostalgic. In the past, he too had traveled with such pomp and grandeur. Now, sitting within the sedan, it felt almost like a dream, as if he had returned to those days of youthful extravagance.

He was intimately familiar with Bianjing, where he had lived for nearly nineteen years. In less than half an hour, the sedan stopped.

As they stepped out, Wu Hong looked at the gardens and pavilions before him, all familiar yet distant, like fleeting clouds.

The Prince of Martial Prestige’s manor was vast, nearly as large as the imperial palace itself. Its guards and retainers numbered in the tens of thousands, a testament to the prince’s great reputation.

Lady Li dismissed her servants and led Wu Hong and the two women to a courtyard filled with jade-green bamboo. The courtyard was elegant, with jade nestled beside a small lake, at whose center stood a finely carved wooden house. A wooden bridge led to a pebble path, stretching beyond the garden.

Lady Li and her companions, laughing and chatting, crossed the bridge to her boudoir. Lady Li’s chamber was refined, filled with musical instruments, books, and fragrant sandalwood furniture—everything one could wish for. Strange weapons hung on the walls, evidence of Lady Li’s own martial prowess.

She chose a seat at random and sat down. Without needing to instruct, a servant brought fragrant floral tea. Lady Li gracefully took a sip, then said, “Hong’er, do you know who was responsible for harming your father?”

Wu Hong had not expected Lady Li to address the heart of the matter so directly. He quickly set down his teacup. “Third mother, although I’ve watched scenes from the World Mirror in the Book of Heaven’s miniature world, that mirror only allows one person’s perspective, their life. What I saw was father’s.”

Lady Li’s body trembled, and it was a long moment before she continued. “I imagine you’ve noticed certain things, Hong’er. These years have been hard on you.” Feeling a deep sense of guilt, tears like dew welled in her eyes.

“Mother, don’t cry. Brother Hong has returned safely, hasn’t he? The culprit was Second Mother! But I can’t understand why she would harm him.”

“Ah, what a tangled fate! Your second mother wanted Lie’er to inherit the title, that’s why she acted as she did.”

Wu Songran had pondered the matter carefully, but there were too many doubts. She hesitated, wanting to stay silent, but couldn’t help asking, “Mother, that doesn’t make sense. At the time Hong’er was…” Her words trailed off as she glanced at Wu Hong, unable to finish—she had meant to say that Hong’er was a useless son, never a contender for the title.

Lady Li understood what Wu Songran meant. “Yes, in our Great Qian dynasty, succession is never determined by seniority, but by strength. Lie’er was extremely talented, far more so than Hong’er then. But if Lie’er was not your father’s son, then your second mother’s motive for murder becomes clear.”

“What? What—” Wu Hong and Wu Songran suddenly leapt to their feet, eyes wide in shock, both staring at Lady Li, waiting for her explanation.

But Lady Li revealed an even more astonishing truth. “Not only was Lie’er not your father’s son, even you are not his biological daughter.”

“Mother, what are you saying? How can that be?” Wu Songran’s emotions surged, her voice loud as she questioned Lady Li.

Though Lady Li’s tone remained serene, she seemed lost in endless memories. To Wu Hong and Wu Songran, it was as thunder in a clear sky, leaving them dumbfounded.

Lady Li ignored their shock and continued. “The Prince of Martial Prestige was an upright and devoted man, utterly faithful—how could he ever take other women? Only Wu Hong was the prince’s and Lady He’s only true child.”

Lady Li reached the crux of the matter. Though Wu Hong and Wu Songran were extremely agitated, they dared not interrupt.

“Ran’er, Lie’er, your real father is actually Emperor Yang Guang, the retired emperor.”

“This can’t be! Impossible! Mother, you’re lying!” Wu Songran could not accept Lady Li’s words, trembling in disbelief. To learn that the heroic father she revered was not her true father was unbearable.

Wu Hong, having glimpsed moments in the World Mirror, knew that neither Lady Li nor Lady Zhao had ever shared a room with the prince. He had once been puzzled, thinking the World Mirror had omitted sensitive scenes, but now realized it was all true.

“Ran’er, calm yourself and let Third Mother finish,” Wu Hong said, waving his hand to send a golden stream of energy to gently restrain Wu Songran. At the same time, he cast a barrier around the lakeside pavilion.

Lady Li looked at Wu Hong with admiration. The revelation she was about to make would shake the world. Wu Hong’s composure was remarkable, and in him she glimpsed a shadow of the prince himself.

“Lady Zhao and I met Emperor Yang Guang in the common world, and mutual affection grew. At the time, Yang Guang’s empress was a princess of the former Great Li dynasty. Yang Guang’s swift rise owed much to his alliance with the Zhou princess of Great Li.

Back then, Yang Guang was not as indulgent as he is now. Though he had feelings for us, he did not dare bring us into the palace. He asked the Prince of Martial Prestige, who already had a wife, to shelter us. The prince, ever devoted to the nation, agreed to Yang Guang’s request. On one occasion, when the prince traveled, he took Lady Zhao and me—both already two or three months pregnant—into his manor. Outwardly, he bore a poor reputation.

At the time, Lady He, the prince’s wife, was about to give birth. The prince suddenly brought home two unfamiliar pregnant women, causing Lady He great distress. She died in childbirth while delivering Hong’er, leaving me deeply ashamed.

Not long after, Yang Guang’s empress, Lady Zhou, died for reasons unknown. Lady Zhao and I naively imagined that our good days had come, and Yang Guang would surely bring us into the palace.

The Prince of Martial Prestige, risking his own reputation, entered the palace to beseech Yang Guang to accept us. Yet Yang Guang, under the pretext of preserving the prince’s honor, refused to bring us in, leaving the two of us to our bitter fate.