Chapter 145: Something Owed

Lu Yanran felt a chill under Weishao Qianyu’s gaze.

She wondered inwardly: Could Weishao Qianyu already know that Huangfu Chen was Rui’er’s father?

Weishao Qianyu’s gaze was extremely strange, making Lu Yanran feel thoroughly unnatural. With a mix of timidity and defiance, she asked, "Why are you staring at me?"

Upon Lu Yanran’s question, Weishao Qianyu instantly withdrew her fixed gaze and instead said, "Rui’er is doing very well."

Hearing Weishao Qianyu mention Rui’er, Lu Yanran instantly cast her strange look to the back of her mind. It had been quite a long time since she last saw her son; to say she didn't miss him would be a lie.

Knowing that Lu Yanran must be desperate for an update on Rui’er, Weishao Qianyu rare in her usual composure, began to speak calmly...

"He was a bit mischievous during those few days when I hadn't returned..."

"He learned how to climb trees. The servants of the Lu family said that every day he would climb up into the branches to see if his mother had returned to the manor..."

Hearing this, tears welled up in the corners of Lu Yanran’s eyes...

Weishao Qianyu had never seen Lu Yanran look this way and for a moment wondered whether she should continue...

They say that mothers become strong for their children, yet a mother's heart is also the softest place of all. For someone like Lu Yanran, if you were to stab her eight or ten times, she certainly wouldn't shed a tear, yet merely hearing a few words about her child was enough to break her defenses and redden her eyes with longing...

"Feng Jinye gave him a new name, meaning to take Rui’er as his adopted son. What are your thoughts on this?" Remembering this matter, Weishao Qianyu felt it best to obtain Lu Yanran’s consent...

Hearing this, Lu Yanran’s pupils deepened slightly. Without rhyme or reason, why would Feng Jinye take Rui’er as his foster son?

Naturally noticing Lu Yanran’s inner confusion, Weishao Qianyu explained, "Huangfu Chen has seen Rui’er, and even remarked that Rui’er looks remarkably like Feng Jinye during his childhood. He mistakenly believed Rui’er was Feng Jinye’s illegitimate child, and even assumed from the very beginning that Rui’er was named Feng Rui. The moment he spoke those words aloud, Feng Jinye changed Rui’er’s name to Feng Ruichen..."

Listening to Weishao Qianyu’s narration, Lu Yanran’s delicate brows knitted tightly together...

Her Rui’er... had a father...

As soon as this thought surfaced in Lu Yanran’s mind, she forcefully suppressed it.

She was wrong; Rui’er was destined to have no father!

Lu Yanran did not want Rui’er to have any entanglements with Twilight Pavilion, nor any ties to Xuanyuan Ran!

Furthermore, today she had witnessed with her own eyes Huangfu Chen’s gu poison relapse. Before long, he might well perish from this world. There was simply no need for anyone to know that Huangfu Chen was Rui’er’s biological father!

Lu Yanran’s expression shifted through several nuances within mere moments. Anyone with discerning eyes could tell she had something heavy on her mind...

Listening to Weishao Qianyu’s words, Yun Ming grew increasingly astonished. So Feng Ruichen was actually Huangfu Chen’s son...

Yet... how could he possibly look so much like Feng Jinye?

Moreover, judging by the subtext of their conversation, Feng Ruichen was not Feng Jinye’s biological child...

Then...

Yun Ming instantly considered the possibility concerning Huangfu Chen and Huangfu Xi...

Aside from Feng Qingxuan, these two were the only ones in this world who still shared some distant blood relation with Feng Jinye...

"Therefore..." Yun Ming started, but cut his words short abruptly. This was not something he should be prying into!

Just recalling how Huangfu Chen had mistakenly believed Feng Ruichen to be Feng Jinye’s son, while neither Weishao Qianyu nor Feng Jinye had ever offered a single explanation...

The answer seemed abundantly obvious! It was Huangfu Chen.

Yet the more Yun Ming thought about it, the stranger it felt. Even if Huangfu Chen and Feng Jinye could be considered cousins, and Xuanyuan Yuan and Xuanyuan Ran were also half-siblings, why would Huangfu Chen’s son resemble Feng Jinye to such a degree?

Could it be that Feng Jinye took after his grandfather, while Feng Ruichen resembled his great-grandfather?

Even with such a hypothesis, Yun Ming still found the whole affair deeply peculiar. While Weishao Qianyu and Lu Yanran had never seen Feng Jinye in his childhood, both Yun Ming and Huangfu Chen had. The boy truly looked almost identical to Rui’er—which explained why Huangfu Chen had never once doubted that Feng Ruichen was Feng Jinye’s son...

Yun Ming gazed steadily at Lu Yanran. He had very few interactions with her, but he vividly remembered meeting her a few months ago at the Prince of Zhan’s Manor. At that time, pressured by the Empress Dowager to betroth the legitimate daughter of the Weishao family, he had approached Lu Yanran, nearly taking her as his bride and almost acknowledging Rui’er as his own child.

Yun Ming also recalled that when Feng Jinye and Weishao Qianyu had first married, Lu Yanran had caused a massive scene, nearly becoming Feng Jinye’s concubine...

This woman was truly skilled at putting up a facade; Yun Ming genuinely could not fathom what kind of person Lu Yanran really was.

She had almost become his wife, almost become a concubine in the Prince of Zhan’s Manor, yet she had secretly given birth to Huangfu Chen’s son long ago.

Seeing Lu Yanran remain silent, Weishao Qianyu knew she must have guessed that both she and Feng Jinye were aware Rui’er was Huangfu Chen’s child.

Yet they had chosen not to expose it, naturally understanding that Lu Yanran did not want Rui’er to have any connections with Twilight Pavilion...

"Now that we have entered the imperial palace, what are your plans?"

Lu Yanran abruptly changed the subject. She naturally understood that Weishao Qianyu kept them here because Xuanyuan Ran would not easily let any of them go, but she missed her son.

Weishao Qianyu also grasped the implication behind Lu Yanran’s words and said heavily, "Wait for Feng Jinye."

Yun Ming and Lu Yanran’s expressions altered drastically at those words. This was the Hall of Eternal Joy, deep within the imperial palace, under the absolute control of Xuanyuan Ran. For Weishao Qianyu to utter such words so brazenly—did she not fear that the walls had ears?

Weishao Qianyu nodded, offering a faint smile. She cast a reassuring look toward Lu Yanran and Yun Ming, signaling that they need not worry excessively...

"Eleven!" Weishao Qianyu called out, and Ye Eleven instantly materialized.

True to expectation, Xuanyuan Ran had not stopped the two squads of elite guards brought by Ye Shi and Ye Eleven; even Ye Shi and Ye Eleven themselves had been permitted to stay.

Weishao Qianyu smiled with mild disdain, naturally understanding that Xuanyuan Ran kept the guards stationed there precisely so she could better monitor her next moves and anticipate Feng Jinye’s subsequent countermeasures!

"Take a squad of guards and scout out the detailed situation in Yue Capital!" Weishao Qianyu instructed Ye Eleven. They needed a solid grasp of both the imperial city and Yue Capital before they could make their next move!

"Understood." Ye Eleven immediately accepted the command and departed.

Weishao Qianyu stood up. "Let's go for a walk outside as well."

Ye Eleven led his squad of guards, scaling the palace walls to leave the imperial grounds, whereupon the guards scattered in various directions to gather intelligence...

Ye Eleven headed straight for the northern district, arriving at the former location of the "A Late Snow Comes" teahouse and the "Fragrant Guest Pavilion." Gazing at A Late Snow Comes, Ye Eleven thought of Xue Chunlai, but not daring to linger, he quickly walked over to the Fragrant Guest Pavilion directly opposite...

Before leaving Guanlin City, Weishao Qianyu had instructed him to visit the Fragrant Guest Pavilion if he needed to gather intelligence...

The previously bustling streets of the northern district were now eerily quiet. Even inside the Fragrant Guest Pavilion, there were only a scattering of tables occupied by guests sipping tea.

Ye Eleven walked over and sat down at a spot directly facing the small pavilion of A Late Snow Comes. This was precisely the spot his Prince and Princess often frequented...

Although teahouses and wine shops were traditionally the best places to gather information, the imperial capital of Yue was so desolate at present that not a single piece of useful news could be gleaned from such a venue...

Before the tea server could come over to brew the tea, Ye Eleven flicked his sleeve and stood up to leave. This action was somewhat uncharacteristic of his usual crisp and decisive demeanor, yet it raised no suspicions...

Descending the stairs, Ye Eleven walked back toward A Late Snow Comes, remembering the Princess’s instructions to pick up a box of red bean and coconut silk pastries from the branches in both the northern and eastern districts.

Upon hearing Ye Eleven request "red bean and coconut silk pastries," the waiter at A Late Snow Comes gave him a strange look and said, "Sir, please wait a moment. We've sold out of red bean pastries, but I’ll have the back kitchen prepare a fresh batch immediately!"

From the waiter's reaction, it was clear that A Late Snow Comes did not normally carry "red bean and coconut silk pastries," or perhaps it was a specialty item not sold to the general public.

The more Ye Eleven thought about it, the more admiration he felt for his Princess’s foresight. She truly was a perfect match for his Prince!

Weishao Qianyu brought Lu Yanran out of the Hall of Eternal Joy. They strolled around the imperial garden without encountering a single person they could converse with; every single palace maid they passed along the way was mute!

Weishao Qianyu wondered: In such a lifeless world, did Xuanyuan Ran not feel as though she were living in a house full of corpses?

Xuanyuan Ran wanted to keep her under absolute control, cutting off every shred of news from both inside and outside the city.

Had she not made arrangements beforehand, even Ye Eleven would likely have returned empty-handed!

Yun Ming remained alone inside the Hall of Eternal Joy when Huangfu Chen strolled in leisurely, acting with an almost brazen, thick-skinned persistence...

"Did she send Ye Eleven out to scout?"

Yun Ming nodded. In truth, he privately disagreed with Weishao Qianyu stripping her immediate vicinity of guards at a time like this.

Yet both Yun Ming and Huangfu Chen knew that the scene earlier in the eastern district—where the citizens of Yue Capital were manipulated by Xuanyuan Ran—had been far too shocking. Weishao Qianyu would never sit idly by and ignore those innocent people...

After all, she was Weishao Zhantian’s daughter, raised amidst his teachings and influence. How could she possibly let the people of Yue Capital be toyed with by Xuanyuan Ran at will?

"What is going on with the gu poison in your body?" Yun Ming had always known Huangfu Chen harbored affections for Weishao Qianyu, and now seeing Huangfu Chen’s gu poison flare up because of her only solidified his certainty regarding Huangfu Chen’s feelings.

"It’s the Heart-Devouring Gu that was on Feng Jinye that day!" Huangfu Chen said nonchalantly.

Immediately afterward, Huangfu Chen outlined his plan to draw the chilling gu from Yun Ming’s body into his own, allowing the three types of gu poison to hold each other in check.

Looking at Huangfu Chen with an expression of sheer disbelief, Yun Ming stared quietly...

Huangfu Chen waved a hand dismissively. "I am not being noble! At the time, I simply didn't want Weishao Qianyu to do anything foolish, but I was also well aware that I carried the Infatuation Gu, which required another comparable gu poison to keep it in check, or else I would die anyway!"

"The same holds true now!"

Yun Ming smiled calmly and joked, "By your logic, contracting the Infatuation Gu almost makes it sound like you caught it purely to help me and Feng Jinye detoxify our gu?"

Yun Ming knew that what Huangfu Chen disliked most was Weishao Qianyu and Feng Jinye feeling indebted to him, believing he had saved them that day!

"I’ve genuinely wanted to ask why, back then, you repeatedly blocked blades and swords for Jinye, and that poisoned arrow later on nearly cost you your life?"

Yun Ming finally voiced the doubt he had carried for years. Had he not been crystal clear on Huangfu Chen’s feelings for Weishao Qianyu, he would have suspected that Huangfu Chen had actually fallen in love with Feng Jinye.