Tu Liyang knelt on the ground, kowtowing continuously as he said, “Suo Lun, as long as you let me see my father, I will do anything you ask.”
Suo Lun said, “Rest assured, I have already sent someone to bring your father here. Soon you shall meet.”
Tu Liyang was overjoyed, collapsing to the ground and weeping with extreme happiness.
“Though we are at sea, it would be best if you did not show yourself,” Suo Lun said. “This cabin is yours. Whatever you need, someone will be responsible for bringing it. It would be best if you did not go out. Do you understand?”
“Yes!” Tu Liyang bowed.
“Then rest well,” Suo Lun said. “You are still wounded. Lie down and rest well. Someone will come to bring medicine shortly.”
“Yes,” Tu Liyang said.
“Farewell.” Suo Lun turned and departed.
Leaving Tu Liyang alone in the cabin, he climbed up from the ground. After receiving the joyous news that his father still lived in this world, his desire for death vanished. His entire body felt hollow, as if the building were empty, waves of dizziness washing over him.
He hurriedly lay down on the bed, staring blankly at the canopy above, feeling waves of unreality.
This world was truly absurd. Suo Lun was the person he hated most in this world. Thus, for the past period of time he had completely pursued and bitten at Suo Lun like a mad dog. He had even proactively proposed economically blockading Suo Lun, causing the entire Nulang Kingdom to blockade Suo Lun, nearly placing him in a fatal position.
He had never imagined that ultimately it was this person he hated most who had saved him.
And the person he loved most not only plotted to murder him, but also colluded with others to seize his family’s century-old foundation.
Tu Liyang closed his eyes and began to recall. In truth, Suo Lun had never provoked him from beginning to end. And all his hatred towards Suo Lun had come entirely from jealousy.
And the reason his father Tu Liwen had been captured, and the reason the Luanyang City navy had been completely annihilated, was entirely due to his own doing.
Had Tu Liyang not been madly infatuated with Tu Lingduo, Luanyang City would have remained neutral, keeping its distance from the royal house’s struggles.
It was precisely because his father had helped him propose marriage to the Tu Ling family that the Tu Li family had been drawn into this affair, ultimately inviting today’s consequences.
Immediately after, Tu Liyang’s mind recalled once more the unbearable scenes of Zhili and Tu Lingduo’s adultery, and Tu Lingduo’s heart-piercing words.
Instantly, boundless fury and hatred blazed fiercely.
“Tu Lingduo, Zhili, just you wait. I will certainly have my revenge,” Tu Liyang nearly spoke the words in his heart aloud. “One day, I shall return the suffering I have endured upon you a hundredfold.”
…
Inside Zhili’s Young Lord mansion!
Fang Qingzhuo had already formally separated from Zhili, and had brought Zhining and the baby to her own courtyard.
In the evening, after putting her two daughters to sleep, she entered Zhining’s room.
At this moment, Zhining was feeding the baby.
Previously, the size of Zhining’s chest could only be considered decent, but now it was truly magnificent.
And what was even rarer was its perfectly rounded, upturned shape, and whiteness that surpassed frost and snow.
The little baby ate from one and touched the other, large eyes gazing at Mummy. Though extremely drowsy, he still struggled to stay awake, wanting more milk.
Thus, his eyelids drooped drowsily, then snapped open again, sucking forcefully twice more, then unable to hold on, his eyelids drooping once more.
Seeing the baby’s adorable appearance, Zhining’s heart ached to the bone, and the entering Fang Qingzhuo was also completely enchanted, almost unwilling to take another step for fear of disturbing the baby.
“Sleep well, sleep well…” Zhining gently patted the baby, humming a little tune.
As if receiving some signal, the baby closed his eyes and fell into sweet sleep, though his little mouth still held Mummy’s nipple, unwilling to let go.
Fang Qingzhuo glanced at Zhining’s nipple and said softly, “After having a child, the colour there is still so tender and pink. Truly rare!”
Zhining smiled, somewhat shy, pulling her garments down slightly.
But the trembling magnificent jade peaks could still not be concealed. Half-hidden and half-revealed, they appeared even more alluring.
All along, the relationship between Zhining and Fang Qingzhuo had been extremely close, as intimate as sisters.
This relationship had begun at the Yanjing Temple. Fang Qingzhuo was a few years older, always caring for Zhining like an elder sister.
“Zhili and the others killed Tu Liyang and pinned the blame on Suo Lun,” Fang Qingzhuo said. “Tu Lingduo wore mourning garments, carried a blood petition, and kowtowed every nine steps, kneeling all the way from the Tu Ling ducal mansion to the royal palace gates. Behind her followed over two hundred Tu Li family warriors carrying two hundred coffins. Along the way, the sound of weeping shook the heavens. Hundreds of thousands of royal capital commoners wept at the sight, following Tu Lingduo to the palace gates to petition Zhili.”
Zhining said, “Human blood steamed buns are the most delicious. Naturally she and Zhili ate their fill.”
Fang Qingzhuo said, “Now the entire world believes Suo Lun assassinated Tu Liyang. The great houses of the world are enraged. All forces of the entire Nulang Kingdom have united. Eight hundred thousand troops are besieging Tianshui City.”
Zhining said, “Sister-in-law, I am no longer interested in the struggle between Suo Lun and Zhili.”
Fang Qingzhuo said, “But this is too despicable. Tu Liyang was clearly murdered by Zhili and Tu Lingduo. Yet they pushed the crime onto Suo Lun, making him bear this calamity.”
Zhining said, “Sister-in-law, are you beginning to sympathise with Suo Lun? Do not waste your sympathy. Suo Lun and my brother are alike. Neither is any good.”
Fang Qingzhuo shook her head and said, “I do not know if Suo Lun is a good person, but I at least know that Suo Lun operates with more bottom line. Last time when he broke into the Young Lord mansion to rescue Gui Qinshao, they took my two daughters as hostages. I had thought I knew not what price would need to be paid to ransom my daughters. Perhaps Suo Lun would use my daughters’ lives to threaten Zhili.”
“But he did not do so,” Fang Qingzhuo said complexly. “When they departed, they placed my two daughters in a comfortable carriage. Even those two little girls never woke up. When they took my daughters, they still took care to hold them in the most comfortable positions. One could see he never had any intention of harming my daughters.”
Hearing this past event, Zhining’s beautiful eyes trembled. She truly had not known of this matter.
Fang Qingzhuo said, “In contrast, Zhili actually tricked you and the baby into coming as hostages. Though the baby is Suo Lun’s son, he is also his own nephew. Comparing the two, Zhili is completely inhuman.”
Zhining’s eyes reddened, tears sliding down as she said, “But a month ago when I went to Tianshui City to see Suo Lun, his attitude was extremely cold. His attitude towards the baby was also very cold, as if he cared not at all.”
This matter, Zhining truly cared about deeply.
You, Suo Lun, had used a honey trap to rape me in order to save Tianshui City. But after achieving your goal, you immediately cast me aside.
This point, she could endure.
But I brought the baby back. Why did you show not the slightest excitement, nor even express wanting to see the baby, to hold the baby?
This point was unforgivable in Zhining’s heart.
Fang Qingzhuo said, “I have heard that Suo Lun is extremely doting on his daughter, loving her to the bone. The baby is also his flesh and blood. Undoubtedly he loves him deeply in his heart as well. But he cannot show it. The more he shows he cares for you two, the more Zhili will seize the opportunity to extort, and the more danger you will be in.”
These principles Zhining actually understood. But emotionally, it was truly difficult to accept.
Fang Qingzhuo said, “Little Ning, I fear that one day Zhili may do harm to the baby.”
The hairs on the back of Zhining’s neck stood up, like a mother leopard sensing danger.
Fang Qingzhuo said, “Now Suo Lun is beset by enemies on all sides. At sea he faces Yan Mo’s one hundred thousand navy. On land, the Nulang Kingdom’s eight hundred thousand troops are besieging him. His destruction is already a foregone conclusion. And after Suo Lun dies, I fear Zhili will eradicate the roots. The baby is Suo Lun’s flesh and blood, and moreover a boy.”
At these words, Zhining’s entire body turned ice-cold.
Fang Qingzhuo said, “If this were before, I would not have thought Zhili capable of such madness. But now, I have no confidence in him whatsoever.”
Then Fang Qingzhuo said, “On the contrary, if Suo Lun were to win, my daughters and I would be safe and sound. I have confidence in that.”
Zhining said, “Sister-in-law, do you want Suo Lun to win?”
Fang Qingzhuo said, “I do not know. I truly do not know.”
Then Fang Qingzhuo hesitated for quite a while before saying, “Little Ning, your brother and I have broken apart. When he destroys Suo Lun and then eradicates the roots, I fear I shall be hard pressed to protect the baby. And it will be difficult for you to flee back to Yanjing. So we must think of a plan, what to do should that day come?”
Zhining’s heart was in turmoil, infinitely regretting why she had returned that day.
Fang Qingzhuo said, “I have an idea. Listen.”
Zhining said, “Please speak, Sister-in-law.”
Fang Qingzhuo said, “After Zhili ascends the throne, though supreme, he will still fear two forces. One is the Divine Dragon Temple, the other is the Yan Empire. I know Prince Jimin is deeply infatuated with you, and even after you left Yanjing, he still wept and begged you to stay. So as long as you marry Prince Jimin, and have the Yan Empire send someone to take you and the baby away, Zhili would not dare detain you.”
Instantly, Zhining recalled Jimin’s innocent yet deeply affectionate face.
Fang Qingzhuo said, “However, you have after all already given birth to a child. Wanting to marry Prince Jimin, the Yan Empire royal house’s approval will not be easy to obtain. But this is the only way. You must find a way to contact Prince Jimin.”
Zhining closed her beautiful eyes, remaining silent for a long while before saying, “Sister-in-law, I do not wish to do so.”
Fang Qingzhuo said, “The baby is more important than anything. And Suo Lun’s destruction is imminent. Time is extremely pressing. Once Suo Lun is destroyed, everything will be too late.”
Zhining said, “Sister-in-law, should that day truly come, I will use another method to protect the baby. But asking me to beg Jimin to marry me, my dignity does not permit me to do so.”
Fang Qingzhuo gazed at Zhining for quite a while, then sighed and said, “Very well then. Should that day truly come, I too shall exert my utmost to protect the baby. At worst, I shall break with Zhili, fish dead and net torn.”
Did Fang Qingzhuo have such capability? She truly did, for she held the secret of the demon blood within Zhili’s body.
After Suo Lun’s defeat and destruction, if Zhili truly wished to eradicate the roots, she would use the secret of the demon blood to threaten Zhili into sparing Zhining and the baby.
Though by that time, she herself might suffer calamity.
Even if Zhili compromised and let Zhining and the baby go, Fang Qingzhuo’s best outcome would be lifelong imprisonment, or even, like Tu Liyang, being poisoned with Soul Severing poison to become a walking corpse.
The baby had already fallen into deep sleep. Zhining carefully placed him on the bed, then lay down herself, gently embracing him.
Fang Qingzhuo also lay down gently, asking softly, “Little Ning, do you love Suo Lun?”
Zhining thought for a while and said, “I do not know. But I know he is a bastard!”
…
Tianshui City waters!
Night fell. A griffin landed on the flagship’s deck.
A tall, thin man leapt down from the griffin’s back, his entire body shrouded in a black cloak.
He walked before Suo Lun and asked, “Where is my son?”
Suo Lun said, “Inside.”
Then Suo Lun opened the cabin door.
The tall, thin man walked in. Suo Lun closed the cabin door.
This was Tu Liyang’s cabin. At this moment he lay sleeping on the bed, his body completely curled up. He was already short of stature, and now curled into a ball, appearing even more hunched.
The tall, thin man lifted his cloak, revealing a gaunt, resolute face.
He was Tu Liwen, City Lord of Luanyang, the Tu Liwen whom both Zhili and Tu Lingduo believed dead. He had now been imprisoned for nearly a year.
He was originally an iron-willed man. But seeing his curled-up son Tu Liyang, he could no longer hold back his tears, which surged forth.
That his son Tu Liyang was so short and ugly was largely his own fault.
Over twenty years ago, Tu Liwen had become infatuated with an extremely beautiful woman named Huang Huan, whom he wished to take as a concubine.
At that time, his wife was already pregnant, with Tu Liyang.
Hearing that her husband wished to take a concubine, his wife remained very calm, saying she agreed to her husband taking a concubine, but not this Huang Huan, because her origins were unclear and her heart held sinister designs.
Tu Liwen felt his wife was jealous. After several quarrels without resolution, he proposed separation, distancing himself from his wife and living with that woman in blissful union, causing his wife to lose all face.
In the end, his wife’s suspicions proved correct. That beautiful woman was the daughter of an enemy family. Her body was frail and she could not kill Tu Liwen. Moreover, a night as husband and wife brings a hundred days of kindness, and she seemingly could not bring herself to act. Thus, under the pretext of hunting, she led Tu Liyang into a fatal trap.
Many women’s minds are strange. Unable to act themselves, they can still kill indirectly.
Tu Liwen suffered a terrible ambush. The family generals at his side nearly died completely. Though his martial arts were profound, he was outnumbered. Seeing that he was about to perish, his wife arrived with family warriors, killing the assassins completely and rescuing Tu Liwen.
After hesitating for a long while, Tu Liwen still spared that beautiful yet vicious woman Huang Huan, merely expelling her.
However, Huang Huan, who previously could not act, now acted decisively, shooting concealed weapons at Tu Liwen.
The distance was too close, and being completely unprepared, Tu Liwen was struck in the chest by poisoned needles.
At that time, everyone panicked. Tu Liwen’s wife stepped forward, first cutting that woman down with one blow, then tearing open her husband’s garments and sucking the poisoned blood from his wound with her mouth.
It was precisely because his wife had promptly sucked out the poisoned blood that Tu Liwen had survived.
And though his wife had been very careful, still a small amount of venom had entered her body. Though her life was saved through the treatment of medical practitioners, after giving birth, the Tu Liyang born was incomparably ugly and strange.
Though there was no evidence, Tu Liwen had always believed that the reason the child was born thus was absolutely due to his wife helping him suck out the poisoned blood.
Thus, Tu Liwen felt boundless guilt in his heart, showing no disdain whatsoever for Tu Liyang’s short, ugly appearance, but rather loving him even more.
When Tu Liyang was five years old, after confirming his intelligence was unimpaired, Tu Liwen decisively established him as heir to Luanyang City, extinguishing all hopes of his other sons.
…
Just as he slept in a daze, Tu Liyang suddenly sensed someone beside him, a burning gaze.
Opening his eyes, Tu Liyang saw his tall, gaunt father.
He truly was not dead. Suo Lun had not lied to him.
His father, who had never smiled and was as resolute as steel, now had his face covered in tears.
Tu Liyang was incomparably overjoyed, incomparably excited, throwing himself like a child into his father Tu Liwen’s embrace, weeping aloud!
As if pouring out all his grievances, all his suffering.
And Tu Liwen tightly embraced his son, gently patting his back, rubbing his hair in comfort.
This gesture, he had not performed in a very long time.
When Tu Liyang was young, because of his ugly, strange appearance, he was always bullied and mocked. Every time he would run crying to his father’s embrace, and every time Tu Liwen had comforted him thus.
But after he turned ten, Tu Liwen felt his son was grown and could no longer be indulged. He must bravely face things himself. He never performed this gesture again.
Today, he once more comforted his son as in childhood. The only difference was that his own tears also fell continuously.
And as Tu Liyang wept, he told his father everything that had happened.
…
A full hour and more later!
The cabin door opened. Father and son Tu Liwen and Tu Liyang emerged, kneeling before Suo Lun and Princess Zhiyan.
“From this day forth, the Tu Li family of Luanyang City is willing to pledge life-long loyalty to Her Highness the Princess, and Lord Marquis Suo Lun!”
With these words, the two men deeply pressed their foreheads to the ground!