ChengSangJY slumped against a tree by the riverbank, his face ashen, eyes hollow and vacant, as if his soul had been wrenched from his body. Streaks of dried tears marked his cheeks, with fresh ones occasionally trickling down. A deep bite mark marred his lower lip, and nearly dried blood stained it. One hand clutched a piece of paper, the contents of which played like a cursed mantra in his mind over and over.
"The emperor, inebriated, stormed into the brothel, sired a child with a prostitute, reared by Empress Xiao. A bloodline of the royal family, fostered by the empress. Virtuous in conduct, suitable for the throne. Unfit for great responsibility, to be dethroned thereafter."
These few words laid bare ChengSangJY's origins. Prostitute. Fostered. The words starkly declared that Empress Xiao was not his biological mother. When ChengSangJY read the contents, he felt as though he had been plunged into an ice pit. His legs gave way, and he collapsed heavily to the ground.
"I am not my mother's biological child. Born of a brothel tryst, a prostitute's son? I am a product of my father's indiscretion, the son of a prostitute?" ChengSangJY muttered in disbelief, his thoughts chaotic. His mind raced through memories of growing up with Empress Xiao, unable to comprehend her looks and attitudes towards him, now explained by this letter. No wonder her gaze never held any affection, often brimming with disdain. No wonder every mistake wasn't just punished but was met with humiliating reprimands. All because he was merely a child born of a prostitute, a product of the emperor's fleeting desire.
"Heh, heh heh, heh heh heh. Crown Prince? Me? Heh, heir to the nation? No wonder you always treated me this way, no matter how hard I tried, you never truly acknowledged me. Turns out, I was never your son. No wonder you always loathed me. To the royal family, I'm merely a tool for lineage, like a sapling planted to be cut down if it didn't grow straight. Mother always knew, but I was the one kept in the dark." ChengSangJY mocked himself, muttering as large tears splattered onto the paper in his hand.
A gust of wind blew the letter from his grasp, sending it into the river. ChengSangJY instinctively crawled forward, trying to catch it, and as he did, something fell from his sleeve. Looking down, he saw it was the curved blade LinHuaichu had given him.
The old scabbard had loosened, causing the blade to slide out. As the blade lay beside him, it seemed to call to him. ChengSangJY picked it up, gripping it tightly.
The letter drifted away with the river's current, the ink slowly dissolving and fading away.
"Prostitute's son, lineage tool," ChengSangJY murmured repeatedly, slowly raising his sleeve to reveal the birthmark on his arm. His cold eyes fixated on it for a long time, memories of Empress Xiao's words flashing through his mind:
"Lowly and vulgar, incapable of greatness."
"If not for continuing the royal bloodline, I wouldn't care for him."
"Raising a dog would have been better than raising you."
"You can't even memorize this much? Truly a blockhead."
"We hired the best tutors for you, invested so much, and this is how you repay us?"
"You want praise for your progress? Do you deserve it?"
"Cover that wretched mark; it disgusts me."
Empress Xiao's disdain for his birthmark had always puzzled him. Now, it made sense. This unremarkable birthmark, in ChengSangJY's eyes, now seemed like a searing brand, burning into his skin and scorching his heart.
"So, this is why she hated me? This is my father's shameful indiscretion? This is the indelible stain of my existence?" ChengSangJY spat, glaring at his arm.
He felt the birthmark burning, causing unbearable discomfort, an intense heat he could no longer tolerate. He raised the curved blade, bringing it close to the mark. As the blade cut into his flesh, he felt not pain but the cooling relief of quenching a searing brand.
"Heh, heh heh, it's not burning anymore. It's gone..." ChengSangJY murmured, feeling his body's heat dissipate. His eyelids grew heavier, his vision blurring. He felt an unprecedented sense of relief and exhaustion, longing to sleep, hoping that upon waking, this would all be a nightmare.
At Cui Residence, ShangGuanCY dismounted his horse and hurried inside.
"Hey, who are you?" A servant tried to stop him but was held back by the soldiers.
"JY, JY!" ShangGuanCY called out as he rushed through the estate.
The sudden intrusion of soldiers caught everyone's attention, and the guests at the banquet stopped in their tracks, whispering among themselves.
Cui Yi approached, asking, "May I know who you are, and why you've barged into my home with soldiers?"
ShangGuanCY had no time for explanations. His mind was solely focused on finding ChengSangJY, ensuring he didn't learn the truth.
Sizing up Cui Yi, ShangGuanCY asked, "Where is ChengSangJY?"
"ChengSang... JY? Are you here for JY? May I know who you are and why you're looking for him?" Cui Yi replied.
The way Cui Yi referred to JY as "JY" grated on ShangGuanCY's nerves. He stepped forward, grabbing Cui Yi by the collar and nearly growling, "Who do you think you are calling him JY? I'll ask you one last time, where is ChengSangJY?"
"CY, what's going on?" LinHuaichu and Huazhiyue hurried over upon hearing the commotion, seeing ShangGuanCY angrily gripping Cui Yi's collar.
ShangGuanCY released Cui Yi and strode over to LinHuaichu, his voice thunderous, "LinHuaichu, where is JY?"
Startled by ShangGuanCY's fierce demeanor, LinHuaichu looked around helplessly and said, "He was just here. He should still be somewhere in the estate."
Cui Yi straightened his collar after being grabbed by ShangGuanCY and walked forward, saying, "Since LinHuaichu and this official know each other, I assume you're also a friend of JY. He gave me a scripture in the backyard earlier, and a letter from his mother fell out. He said it was a relic from his mother and wanted to find a quiet place to read it. He headed towards the forest behind."
"Dammit!" ShangGuanCY realized he was too late.
"Mother's relic?" LinHuaichu mumbled, looking at ShangGuanCY's worried expression. Sensing that things were not simple, he quickly said, "CY, don't worry, we'll find him. Zhiyue, you stay here; I'll go find JY."
"Let me go with you," Huazhiyue said, chasing after him.
ShangGuanCY turned and barked at the soldiers, "What are you standing around for? Go find him! If we don't find the Crown Prince today, no one leaves!"
Everyone's attention was focused on finding ChengSangJY, unaware of the sinister smile curling at the corner of Cui Yi's lips.
In the Bamboo Garden,
"That's the story. Now that the Xiao family has fallen and XiaoRui is dead, my mother's revenge is halfway fulfilled," MuJinling sighed.
LiLuoning steadied his breathing, pulling himself from the emotions stirred by MuJinling's story. Despite his clenched fist, he controlled his voice, asking calmly, "Halfway? Do you have another plan?"
MuJinling's lips curved slightly as he twirled his smoking pipe, saying, "Isn't there still one person left to deal with?"
In the forest, LinHuaichu, Huazhiyue, and several soldiers were calling and searching for ChengSangJY. Huazhiyue remembered that her master once said the jade pendant he gave ChengSangJY had a spell that could accurately locate him when needed.
"Huaichu, let's split up. You check that way," Huazhiyue suggested, wanting to get LinHuaichu out of the way.
"Okay," LinHuaichu agreed without suspicion and ran off in another direction, calling out.
Huazhiyue avoided everyone, found a secluded spot, and opened her palm. She pinched her fingers together and chanted a spell, drawing a charm in her palm before saying, "Go."
A golden spell flew from her hand, swiftly heading in one direction. Huazhiyue followed its trail.
"Was that Li Taifu's spell?" The fleeting spell caught ShangGuanCY's attention, and he followed as well.
The spell led to a tree where Huazhiyue saw a partially hidden figure beneath it. "JY!"
Huazhiyue rushed forward, seeing ChengSangJY's pants soaked in blood. Following the blood trail, she found a deep wound on his arm. "JY, JY, wake up!"
She shook him vigorously but got no response. Checking his pulse, she found it weak and faint. Seeing him covered in blood and unconscious, with his body growing colder, Huazhiyue anxiously channeled her internal magic to stabilize his heart.
"JY, JY, wake up. Don't sleep," she kept calling out.
ChengSangJY, barely conscious, heard someone calling him and struggled to open his eyes, whispering weakly, "Zhiyue, I am not..."
Huazhiyue leaned closer to hear him better, but before she could, ChengSangJY collapsed to the ground.
"JY!" Her spell broke as she quickly bent down to help him.
At that moment, ShangGuanCY arrived and saw Huazhiyue trying to lift ChengSangJY. He rushed over to help.
In the Bamboo Garden, a butterfly fluttered into the courtyard. LiLuoning raised his hand, letting the butterfly land on his palm.
"Such a beautiful butterfly. I didn't expect you to not only know spells but also control butterflies," MuJinling commented.
"This is how Zhiyue and I communicate," LiLuoning explained, seeing a streak of vermilion on the butterfly's wing. His expression changed, and he stood up abruptly, saying, "Something's wrong."
Outside the guest room at Cui Residence, ShangGuanCY, MuJinling, and LinHuaichu waited. After a while, the door opened from the inside.
---
ChengSangJY slumped against a tree by the riverbank, his face ashen, eyes hollow and vacant, as if his soul had been wrenched from his body. Streaks of dried tears marked his cheeks, with fresh ones occasionally trickling down. A deep bite mark marred his lower lip, and nearly dried blood stained it. One hand clutched a piece of paper, the contents of which played like a cursed mantra in his mind over and over.
"The emperor, inebriated, stormed into the brothel, sired a child with a prostitute, reared by Empress Xiao. A bloodline of the royal family, fostered by the empress. Virtuous in conduct, suitable for the throne. Unfit for great responsibility, to be dethroned thereafter."
These few words laid bare ChengSangJY's origins. Prostitute. Fostered. The words starkly declared that Empress Xiao was not his biological mother. When ChengSangJY read the contents, he felt as though he had been plunged into an ice pit. His legs gave way, and he collapsed heavily to the ground.
"I am not my mother's biological child. Born of a brothel tryst, a prostitute's son? I am a product of my father's indiscretion, the son of a prostitute?" ChengSangJY muttered in disbelief, his thoughts chaotic. His mind raced through memories of growing up with Empress Xiao, unable to comprehend her looks and attitudes towards him, now explained by this letter. No wonder her gaze never held any affection, often brimming with disdain. No wonder every mistake wasn't just punished but was met with humiliating reprimands. All because he was merely a child born of a prostitute, a product of the emperor's fleeting desire.
"Heh, heh heh, heh heh heh. Crown Prince? Me? Heh, heir to the nation? No wonder you always treated me this way, no matter how hard I tried, you never truly acknowledged me. Turns out, I was never your son. No wonder you always loathed me. To the royal family, I'm merely a tool for lineage, like a sapling planted to be cut down if it didn't grow straight. Mother always knew, but I was the one kept in the dark." ChengSangJY mocked himself, muttering as large tears splattered onto the paper in his hand.
A gust of wind blew the letter from his grasp, sending it into the river. ChengSangJY instinctively crawled forward, trying to catch it, and as he did, something fell from his sleeve. Looking down, he saw it was the curved blade LinHuaichu had given him.
The old scabbard had loosened, causing the blade to slide out. As the blade lay beside him, it seemed to call to him. ChengSangJY picked it up, gripping it tightly.
The letter drifted away with the river's current, the ink slowly dissolving and fading away.
"Prostitute's son, lineage tool," ChengSangJY murmured repeatedly, slowly raising his sleeve to reveal the birthmark on his arm. His cold eyes fixated on it for a long time, memories of Empress Xiao's words flashing through his mind:
"Lowly and vulgar, incapable of greatness."
"If not for continuing the royal bloodline, I wouldn't care for him."
"Raising a dog would have been better than raising you."
"You can't even memorize this much? Truly a blockhead."
"We hired the best tutors for you, invested so much, and this is how you repay us?"
"You want praise for your progress? Do you deserve it?"
"Cover that wretched mark; it disgusts me."
Empress Xiao's disdain for his birthmark had always puzzled him. Now, it made sense. This unremarkable birthmark, in ChengSangJY's eyes, now seemed like a searing brand, burning into his skin and scorching his heart.
"So, this is why she hated me? This is my father's shameful indiscretion? This is the indelible stain of my existence?" ChengSangJY spat, glaring at his arm.
He felt the birthmark burning, causing unbearable discomfort, an intense heat he could no longer tolerate. He raised the curved blade, bringing it close to the mark. As the blade cut into his flesh, he felt not pain but the cooling relief of quenching a searing brand.
"Heh, heh heh, it's not burning anymore. It's gone..." ChengSangJY murmured, feeling his body's heat dissipate. His eyelids grew heavier, his vision blurring. He felt an unprecedented sense of relief and exhaustion, longing to sleep, hoping that upon waking, this would all be a nightmare.
"Come in," Huazhiyue said softly.
ChengSangJY was awake, leaning against the headboard, his face pale but his eyes showing he was out of immediate danger. Beside him, LiLuoning, with a furrowed brow and a serious expression, was organizing the medical kit. When he saw the others enter, he began, "I've treated the Crown Prince's wound. Though he lost a lot of blood and the cut is deep, it was discovered in time. He'll be fine with some rest and taking tonics to replenish his qi and blood. He'll recover in a while." His voice was stern as he glanced disapprovingly at ChengSangJY before getting up to put the kit away.
It was obvious to everyone why ChengSangJY had been found unconscious under the tree, especially since he had been clutching that curved blade. LinHuaichu felt deeply guilty upon seeing the blade and had been silent, head bowed, ever since entering the room.
ShangGuanCY's anger finally exploded. He strode to the bed in three steps, raising his hand and slapping ChengSangJY hard across the face before anyone could react.
The sudden, sharp sound of the slap shocked everyone into silence. ChengSangJY, already weak from blood loss, was sent reeling by the blow. His vision swam, and he fell sideways onto the bed, taking a long moment to register the burning pain on his cheek and the warmth of blood at the corner of his mouth. Slowly, he raised a hand to wipe the blood and turned his defiant eyes to ShangGuanCY.
Seeing ChengSangJY's stubborn gaze, ShangGuanCY raised his hand to strike again. Instinctively, ChengSangJY flinched, his body tensing. Though his eyes remained defiantly locked on ShangGuanCY, the fear was palpable.
Before ShangGuanCY could strike a second time, MuJinling stepped in, blocking him, while LinHuaichu and Huazhiyue quickly moved to shield ChengSangJY. LiLuoning, sensing the tension, quietly shut the door to prevent any further disturbance.
"Hey, hey, CY, what are you doing? Stop it!" MuJinling pushed ShangGuanCY back, scolding him. "This is not your mansion. Even if you want to lose your temper, at least consider the setting."
ShangGuanCY, regaining a bit of composure, struggled to control his breathing. Yet, he couldn't suppress his fury entirely. He paced the room, pointing an accusatory finger at ChengSangJY, shouting, "If we weren't in public, I would have dealt with you! You've become insufferably reckless, ChengSangJY. Do you even understand what you've done? Clearly, I was too lenient with you. Hurting yourself over something so trivial, it's disgraceful! You must respect the body your parents gave you. Such self-harm is utterly unfilial!"
ChengSangJY's eyes initially held a hint of apology, believing ShangGuanCY's anger stemmed from concern. But hearing the phrase "respect the body your parents gave you" triggered the painful memory of the letter's contents. His expression turned cold. Slowly sitting up, he pushed away the handkerchief Huazhiyue had been using to clean his mouth and said icily, "So, according to you, because they gave birth to me, I don't have the right to decide what happens to my own body?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? Say that again!" ShangGuanCY, driven by rage, barely recognized his own voice. Hearing ChengSangJY address him as "Yun Qingyi," further fueled his anger, making him want to strike again.
MuJinling intervened, holding ShangGuanCY back. "CY, calm down."
LinHuaichu also helped restrain him, turning to ChengSangJY. "JY, are you out of your mind? Can't you see how angry CY is? Just stop talking."
But ChengSangJY seemed determined to push further, his expression resolute. "Am I wrong? My body is mine to control. It's not for others to dictate."
LiLuoning, unable to contain his displeasure, spoke up, "JY, how can you talk to your brother like that?"
ChengSangJY's bitter laugh echoed in the room. "So, because they gave birth to me and raised me, I must spend my life doing as they command? Must I always obey, always comply, and live the life they planned for me? Never allowed to change, never allowed to resist? Am I never to belong to myself, always to be the person they want me to be? If that's life, how is it different from being a puppet?" His voice rose from a calm statement to a shout filled with grief and anger.
ShangGuanCY was taken aback by ChengSangJY's outburst. The fiery anger in his own heart was extinguished, replaced by a look of sorrow and regret.
Everyone in the room was at a loss for words. This had been his life—living up to the expectations of Empress Xiao as a royal son, to the emperor as the crown prince, to the court as the heir, and to everyone else as the person he was supposed to be. But he had never been allowed to be himself.
Huazhiyue, sitting by the bed, took ChengSangJY's hand, her eyes filled with empathy and sorrow.
LinHuaichu stood silently, head bowed. MuJinling turned away, unable to face him. ShangGuanCY and LiLuoning's gazes were filled with pain and compassion.
ChengSangJY wiped away his tears quickly, took a deep breath, and said, "Since everyone is here today, I'll make things clear. From now on, I'm not the crown prince, not the future heir, and certainly not Empress Xiao's son. My biological mother was just an unknown prostitute, and I am merely a tool for continuing the royal lineage. So, you don't need to show me respect anymore. I'm unworthy."
His declaration shocked everyone. MuJinling exchanged a worried glance with LiLuoning.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
ShangGuanCY's brows furrowed, thinking he had misheard or that ChengSangJY was delirious from blood loss.
ChengSangJY, seemingly resigned to this truth, explained, "That scripture contained a letter. 'The emperor, inebriated, stormed into the brothel, sired a child with a prostitute, reared by Empress Xiao. A bloodline of the royal family, fostered by the empress. Virtuous in conduct, suitable for the throne. Unfit for great responsibility, to be dethroned thereafter.' I am just a byproduct of the need for royal progeny, a bastard, evidence of a night's folly, a low-born son of a prostitute." His voice moved from calm to despair, each word like a knife cutting through his soul.
"Enough!" MuJinling shouted, unable to bear it. Although he knew the letter's contents might have been a ploy by Empress Xiao, he couldn't stand to hear anyone, especially his half-brother, speak of their mother that way. He knew now was not the time to reveal the full truth.
"The Crown Prince needs rest," LiLuoning said, also unable to listen any longer. He moved to help ChengSangJY lie down.
Unexpectedly, ChengSangJY pushed his hand away, saying coldly, "Li Taifu, don't call me Crown Prince anymore. I'm unworthy."
LiLuoning, already seething with suppressed anger, forced out his words through gritted teeth, "Have you lost your mind?"
ChengSangJY's bitter laugh rang out again. "Why? Have you lost all patience now that you know my true identity? It seems all of you..." Before he could finish, he collapsed back onto the bed.
Huazhiyue had given him a swift jab, putting him to sleep.
"Did I get the spot right, Master?" Huazhiyue asked, her hand still in the air, wearing an apologetic smile.