Chapter 132: The Truth from Twenty-One Years Ago (3000)

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A soft, distant sigh escaped her lips. Then came a muffled grunt from behind her, and in the mirror she saw her attendant collapse to the side.

Startled, she rose swiftly and turned around, shouting, “Who is it?”

A man slowly stepped out from behind the screen.

“It is you again? Who exactly are you?”

“Your Majesty, are you all right?” A servant outside heard the disturbance and came to the door to ask.

The woman narrowed her eyes at the motionless man in white. After a long hesitation, she answered, “I am fine. You may leave.”

Though suspicion stirred in her heart, she had the strange feeling that he would not harm her. She did not know why she felt that way, but her intuition had always been remarkably accurate.

At that moment, a cold, low voice drifted through the room.

“It has been a long time, Imperial Mother.”

The woman trembled violently, utterly unable to understand what was happening.

The man and woman standing several steps apart were none other than Liu Ye and the Water Emperor.

“What did you say?” The Water Emperor finally recovered from her shock, but the turmoil in her heart still left her unable to form a complete sentence.

“From the moment I was born, I was torn away from Imperial Mother and abandoned in a river. I spent an entire night freezing in the cold. Fortunately, fate had not yet decreed my death, and someone rescued me. From then on, I became an orphan with neither father nor mother.”

Liu Ye spoke coldly, yet his eyes clearly concealed a wound he was desperately trying to hide.

The Water Emperor felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck her. It took her a long while to react before she asked in a trembling voice, “You... what did you say? Are you saying that you were my child, yet were abandoned? How could that be?”

Liu Ye gave a cold laugh. “The Crown Princess and I were born in the same year, month, and day.”

It was as though thunder had exploded above her head. The Water Emperor’s face instantly went deathly pale, and she stood frozen, unable to move.

Liu Ye walked to the table and turned over an empty teacup. Then he flicked his arm, and a thin stream of clean water from the basin beside him flew through the air and landed neatly inside the cup.

He picked up the fruit knife from the table and, without changing expression, cut his finger. One drop of blood fell into the teacup.

Watching his every movement, the Water Emperor gradually understood his intention. She clenched her teeth and slowly approached. After staring at the vivid drop of blood in the clear water, she finally picked up the knife as well.

She was terrified of confirming the result she suspected. But if everything he said was true, she could not simply let the matter go.

When the two drops of blood slowly merged, the Water Emperor staggered and nearly lost her balance. She hurriedly caught hold of the table and sank onto the round stool, looking utterly bereft.

Although she had prepared herself to some extent, the result was still more than she could accept at once.

If he truly was her child, then what of Wan’er, whom she had cherished for twenty-one years...?

The Water Emperor raised a hand to cover her chest. An inexplicable pain spread through her heart.

After a long while, she finally composed herself. Only then did she lift her head and study Liu Ye closely, strange emotions surging within her.

“What?”

“Ye.”

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The Water Emperor nodded thoughtfully. “Sit down. Tell... tell Imperial Mother everything you have discovered.”

When she spoke the last two words, a trace of tenderness glimmered in her gaze.

Liu Ye avoided her eyes, turned around, and walked behind the screen. He dragged out an old woman and splashed water from the basin onto her face, rousing her.

The Water Emperor found the woman vaguely familiar, but could not remember who she was. When the woman awoke and saw the Water Emperor, she immediately began trembling and repeatedly cried, “Your Majesty, spare my life!”

“Tell us everything you know, and I will spare you,” Liu Ye said coldly.

The old woman glanced at him, then at the frowning Water Emperor. At last, trembling violently, she recounted everything that had happened twenty-one years earlier.

It turned out that the Water Emperor had been carrying the child of Attendant Mei. Before that, she had already borne four princes, but not a single princess. According to legend, the Water God of ancient times had been a woman. Thus, since antiquity, the throne of the Water Kingdom could only be inherited by a woman. The Water Emperor had therefore longed desperately to give birth to a daughter.

Later, when she gave birth, she was overjoyed to discover that the baby was indeed a girl. She doted on the child beyond measure. Attendant Mei consequently rose in status through his daughter, replacing the infertile Royal Consort and gaining control over the entire imperial harem.

After that, the Water Emperor could bear no more children, and the little princess naturally became her successor—the Crown Princess.

What no one knew was that the Crown Princess was not the Water Emperor’s biological daughter at all. Attendant Mei had secretly tampered with the matter, cruelly switching his own child with another. He then ordered someone to strangle the infant and throw her into the river, so that the current would carry her out of the palace.

Fortunately, the person entrusted with the deed could not bring herself to strangle the baby with her own hands. She merely threw the child into the river. The infant had been born with an exceptionally powerful water affinity, and not only did she escape drowning, she also endured an entire night in the freezing cold. In the end, she was rescued and survived.

That infant was, of course, Liu Ye.

After investigating from every possible angle, Liu Ye finally found, in the imperial capital of the Fire Kingdom, the old nurse who had once worked for Attendant Mei. She confirmed the truth. Liu Ye then threatened her with the lives of her children and forced her to return with him to the Water Kingdom, where she reported everything to the Water Emperor.

After hearing the entire story, the Water Emperor flew into a rage. She shot to her feet and slammed her palm onto the table, frightening the kneeling nurse into bursting into tears.

“Zhao Yuhan! You shameless wretch!”

Grinding her teeth, the Water Emperor turned and made for the door, but Liu Ye seized her by the arm.

“Calm yourself, Imperial Mother,” he said coldly. “There is one more question.”

He released her and continued, “The Crown Princess—Princess Wan’er—is not your biological daughter, yet she possesses a water affinity. Clearly, she was not simply bought somewhere outside the palace. But how easy would it be to obtain an infant from the imperial clan?

“Over the past few months, I observed that Zhao Yuhan occasionally left the palace to offer incense at temples. By coincidence, I followed him three times, and each time I saw Grand Princess Biyu. Then, at night, a masked woman in black would enter his room.”

Liu Ye said no more.

He had said enough. How could a clever ruler fail to understand the implication?

“Wretch!”

The Water Emperor clenched her fists in fury, her long nails digging into her palms. Yet even that pain could not lessen the agony and hatred in her heart.

She had thought he was merely scheming for the throne. She had never imagined that he had betrayed her as well.

“I will investigate this matter thoroughly and give you justice!” the Water Emperor declared after taking a deep breath.

After a moment, she asked hesitantly, “Why tell me everything? Aren’t you afraid I will kill him?”

Liu Ye let out a cold laugh. Both the Water Emperor and the nurse on the floor felt the hairs on their bodies rise.

“For such a cruel, heartless, despicable man, death would be too merciful. I only hate that his blood still runs through my veins!”

With that, he hoisted the nurse over his shoulder and turned toward the window.

“Ye’er!” the Water Emperor called urgently.

The sudden, gentle call from a woman caused Liu Ye to freeze in place.

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“Come and visit Imperial Mother often, all right? You must have suffered greatly all these years. Once everything is ready and we have caught them all in one net, Imperial Mother will make it up to you.”

The Water Emperor’s voice was gentle, yet tinged with sorrow.

Though he resembled the man she now hated most, he was still her child. And the pain in his heart could not possibly be less than her own. She, his mother, had failed to protect him.

Liu Ye listened silently, his teeth clenched tightly, but he said nothing. He leapt out through the window.

The Water Emperor stared blankly at the spot where he had disappeared, then bit her lip in sorrow and let out a heavy sigh.

He truly was her son. Though he had not grown up in the imperial palace, he possessed an innate kingly presence—far superior to those princes who knew nothing but pleasure and indulgence.

When she turned around and saw the attendant lying dead on the floor, the events of the night came flooding back. Her hatred sprouted anew like bamboo shoots after spring rain, erupting wildly until it nearly filled her entire heart.

Yuhan, Biyu, you not only deceived and betrayed me, you also caused my Water Kingdom to lose its rightful heir! Just wait. I will make you suffer every form of torture known to the Water Kingdom!

* * *

“Master Qingyue.”

Qingyue was sitting alone on the corridor railing outside the Crown Prince’s bedchamber, lost in thought, when a melodious voice came from behind him.

He turned around and saw Princess Yunshang.

Qingyue jumped down from the railing, raised his clasped fists, and bowed. “Greetings, Your Highness.”

“Look what I have here.” Yunshang raised the jade flute in her hand and smiled. “How about we perform a duet today—a zither and flute piece?”

“I apologize, Your Highness. I am not feeling well today. Even if I forced myself to play the zither, I doubt I could produce anything pleasant.”

“Are you unwell? Shall I summon the imperial physician?” Yunshang asked nervously.

“There is no need to trouble Your Highness. There is already a physician here.”

Only then did Yunshang remember that a divine physician was already treating her imperial brother’s illness. There was no need for her to summon another doctor. She smiled sheepishly.

“Oh? You can play the flute too?” Yunshang asked delightedly when she noticed the bamboo flute hanging from his waist. When Qingyue nodded, she smiled even more brightly. “It seems you are truly talented in many ways.”

“Your Highness flatters me. I know only a little.”

Before he could finish, Yunshang suddenly raised a hand to her forehead, her face contorting in pain. Then her eyes closed, and she collapsed to the side.

“Your Highness!”

Qingyue panicked and hurried forward to catch her.

“Your Highness, what is wrong? Wake up!”

At that moment, Yunshang slowly opened her eyes, frowning. Her voice was weak as she said, “This has happened occasionally over the past few days. I do not know what is wrong. My attendants are ahead. Could you take me to them?”

Today’s update ends here.

Tomorrow’s chapter will be uploaded at midnight tonight, since it is being featured on the front page tomorrow.