Chapter 98: Xiao Lan of the Xiao Clan

Four women will die?!

Shen Cangtian wasn’t a fool. He instantly understood who the four women Shen Yian referred to were.

“You… why?” Shen Cangtian struggled to sit up, his voice hoarse and tinged with bitterness.

“You know why.” 

Shen Yian held Long Yuan and simply flipped the sword.

“You’re my son…”

“Um.”

“They’re my women…”

“Um.”

“You…”

“They didn’t give birth to me, nor did they raise me.” Shen Yian interrupted Shen Cangtian and suddenly smiled: “Old man, thank you, you really cared for me.”

For a prince to grow up safely in the harem without a birth mother’s protection, it was thanks to his luck and Shen Cangtian’s fatherly love.

He had two wet nurses, but unfortunately, they were the Empress’s people.

As he grew older, the two wet nurses tried to cultivate him into a “good child” who would listen to them, to gain more benefits for themselves.

Unfortunately, though he was young, his soul wasn’t. Some small tricks exposed the truth, and the old man’s fury led to a great purge in the harem. The two of them, along with many others involved in petty schemes, were executed.

During that time, the old man was very paranoid and assigned Martial Guard Division members to care for him, giving him the chance to start on the path of cultivation.

“Don’t take it too much to heart. Just treat all this as a dream.”

Leaving these final words, Shen Yian, sword in hand, flew into Fengyi Palace like a streak of light.

In the great hall, the usual attendant eunuchs and maids were nowhere to be seen. Empress Murong sat regally on the phoenix throne. Hearing the wind, she opened her beautiful almond eyes and spoke softly: “You’ve come to kill this Empress?”

Her voice revealed a hint of indifference towards life and death.

Shen Yian didn’t reply. He thrust out his sword, a strike devoid of much emotion but filled with his understanding of the sword dao.

At the square, Shen Cangtian stumbled to his feet. He heard the cry of a falling phoenix, and a blinding white light rose from the ground, blurring his vision. When he came to, he found himself engulfed in the white light.

Time passed, and the pitter-patter of rain stopped. The dark clouds above Tianwu City began to thin.

The white light that had pierced heaven and earth had long dissipated. Looking down on the imperial palace from the sky, Fengyi Palace and the three favored concubines’ chambers had been erased from the palace complex, leaving conspicuously empty spaces.

Outside Jin’an Palace.

“Old man, wait a bit before going in.”

Shen Yian held back the excited Shen Cangtian.

“Why?!”

“I want to spend some time alone with my mother.”

“You…”

“Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. I’ll leave soon and won’t keep you lovebirds waiting.” Shen Yian patted Shen Cangtian’s chest reassuringly.

Shen Cangtian couldn’t help but laugh angrily. Fine, fine, fine. First, he was inexplicably beaten, then four of his women were killed, and now the culprit was telling him not to be angry.

If he wasn’t so outmatched, he would definitely fight Shen Yian to the death.

To prevent the old man from barging in, Shen Yian casually snapped his fingers. With a thought, an invisible barrier appeared, isolating Shen Cangtian outside Jin’an Palace.

“Your… Your Majesty…” 

Zhao Hai and others appeared suddenly, stunning Shen Cangtian. “When did you come out?”

Zhao Hai swallowed hard and replied, “Your Majesty, it’s like this…”

He had wanted to stop Shen Yian, but with a wave of his sleeve, they all found themselves here.

Shen Cangtian turned around with furrowed brows. He sensed that the vast Tianwu City was eerily empty, devoid of any human presence.

Could it be that all of this was really just a dream?

Inside the bedchamber, Xiao Lan (née Xiao) had just woken up and was sitting on the bed, stroking her forehead, her beautiful eyes full of confusion and puzzlement.

“Yi’an, my child, where is my child…” Suddenly, Xiao Lan remembered something and began calling out urgently.

She forcefully pulled open the bed curtains, and Shen Yian’s figure came into view.

“Who are you?!” Xiao Lan was startled, instinctively reaching for her sword, but the bedside was empty.

Shen Yian knelt down slowly, bowing: “Your son, Shen Yian, greets Mother Consort.”

Xiao Lan looked at the cradle in shock, then back at Shen Yian: “You…”

Upon careful sensing, there was no mistake. The person before her had a familiar blood connection to her.

“You… are Yi’an?”

“Yes, Mother. I come from the future.”

Shen Yian knelt upright and nodded.

They silently gazed at each other.

“You… you handsome rascal, I’m afraid you’ll be attracting girls left and right in the future. Don’t you dare go around breaking hearts.”

“When I first saw you, you nearly made your mother cry from how ugly you were, *cough cough*.” Two clear tears rolled down her cheeks as Xiao Lan laughed through her tears. Her physical weakness made her cough a few times involuntarily.

She believed everything Shen Yian said. It was a mother’s intuition.

“Mother, I’m already married in the future. I married a daughter-in-law you’d definitely approve of.”

Shen Yian wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and smiled.

“Is that so? Which family’s daughter did you marry? What’s her name?” Xiao Lan asked joyfully.

“The Ye family, Northern Garrison Commander Ye Feng’s daughter, Ye Liyan.”

Xiao Lan murmured, “Ye Liyan, what a beautiful name. Do you have a portrait? Can you let your mother see her?”

“Of course!”

Shen Yian nodded eagerly, stood  up and materialised a scroll in his hand.

As the scroll unfurled, it revealed a portrait of an incomparably beautiful woman – Ye Liyan.

“What a beautiful girl, even more beautiful than your mother.” Xiao Lan smiled, but found herself unable to control the tears that kept flowing.

She realized she was so close yet so far from her son. The few steps from the bed to Shen Yian’s feet seemed like an unbridgeable chasm.

“You must treat her well, never let her down.”

“Please don’t worry, Mother. I will never disappoint Liyan.”

“Mother believes you.” Xiao Lan remembered something else and asked, “Is Xiao Xiang doing well in the future?”

“Aunt is doing very well. She’s become very capable and no one can bully her,” Shen Yian nodded in response.

“I see. Then your mother can rest easy.”

“Yi’an, come here. Let mother have a good look at your future self.” 

Xiao Lan’s voice was weak as she smiled.

Shen Yian quickly walked to the bedside and knelt down.

Xiao Lan gently cupped Shen Yian’s face, her gaze full of tenderness: “My son has grown up.”

“Yi’an, in the future when mother is not by your side, take good care of yourself.”

Hearing this, Shen Yian’s pupils constricted as he said in a trembling voice: “Mother, you…”

Only then did he realize that Xiao Lan’s body was gradually fading and disappearing.

“Yi’an, mother is happy to have seen you…”

“Yi’an, don’t hate your father. He has his own difficulties. He will become a good emperor…”

“Yi’an, mother has to go now…”

“Mother!”

Shen Yian instinctively reached out to grab her, but it seemed to trigger a chain reaction, causing the surrounding space to continuously echo with the sound of shattering glass. In an instant, the entire space shattered, and everything returned to a pale void.

Imperial Palace – Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Emperor Wu suddenly sat up in bed.

The startled night watchman eunuch quickly ran to notify Zhao Hai.

“Your Majesty?” 

Zhao Hai quickly put on his outer robe and came over and asked cautiously.

“I am fine. You may withdraw.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Zhao Hai dared not ask more and obediently retreated to the side.

Shen Cangtian sat on the bed in a daze. He had a very long dream. He dreamed that he was beaten in the palace. He was beaten very badly and had no room for resistance.

He couldn’t see the other person’s face clearly. The person kept talking, but he couldn’t hear a single word. Later, there was a flash of white light, and they went to Jin’an Palace together. He couldn’t remember anything that happened after that.

Although it was a dream, the pain felt incredibly real. After waking up, his whole body felt inexplicably sore, as if he had really been beaten.

Taking a deep breath, Shen Cangtian felt he really needed to visit the Heavenly Gate Pavilion.

“Zhao Hai.”

“This old servant is here!”

“There will be no court session today.”