Martial Cultivator

Drizzling rain fell.

The Great Liang Emperor stood up, his temples already grayed significantly. It was just that in an instant, this Emperor who had always appeared strong in front of people, seemed to have aged considerably at this moment. As the Emperor walked out of the palace, he listened to the distant tolling of bells coming from the depths of the imperial city and remained silent for a long time.

The palace attendants could not help themselves but burst into tears, their crying evoking a sense of sadness in the Great Liang Emperor.

He took a few steps and sat down on the threshold in front of the palace, his emperor robes dropping on the ground and getting wet from the rain.

The current Emperor appeared very old.

His eyes no longer held tears, but anyone who looked into those eyes would know the immense pain the Emperor was feeling.

He sat on the threshold and beckoned with his hand.

The palace attendants dispersed, walking towards a distant place and kneeling down there.

The tolling of bells and the sound of a conch filled the air.

The Great Liang Emperor was unbelievably silent.

The rain grew heavier, as if even the heavens were grieving.

After an unknown period of time, the Dean approached, holding an umbrella as he walked from a distance.

The Dean arrived before the palace gate without saying a word. He quickly sat down, closed the umbrella, and casually leaned it at one side. Then, he began to speak, ”Her Majesty won’t be returning from this distant journey. However, Your Majesty must continue to guard the current Great Liang Dynasty. The desolate north of 30 thousand miles is a shared aspiration of both Your Majesty and the Empress.”

The Great Liang Emperor did not speak, he just kept his head lowered.

The Dean who had known the Great Liang Emperor since his youth, actually understood his temperament quite well. Instead of looking down on the current state of the Great Liang Emperor, the Dean felt it was just right and only natural. There had been too many cold-blooded emperors in history, but emperors with love and sentiment were rare.

Encountering such an emperor was, in fact, a great fortune.

The Great Liang Emperor smiled and said softly, ”We also know that nothing lasts forever. She merely went ahead first to wait for Us, waiting until We go and find her.”

The Dean lamented, ”To have met is already a great blessing.”

……

……

The tolling of bells gradually faded away.

The lanterns in the imperial city had been replaced with a pale-white color, and the palace attendants were dressed in mourning attire.

The news had already spread.

In the Divine Capital, the common people spontaneously took down the lanterns in front of their homes and replaced them with white ones.

Many people did not have the opportunity to come into contact with the Empress. But just by hearing those rumors, they knew the Empress was truly virtuous and kind. Moreover, those prominent figures naturally knew about those things.

The Xie Family’s ancestor sat in front of the ancestral hall, remaining silent for a long time before speaking, ”Take down the lanterns and replace them with white ones. Also, inform the Xie Family that they shall abstain from eating meat for three months. Even if it’s not for the Empress, it’s also for that Duke.”

The Xie Family was one of the two major clans of the Great Liang Dynasty.

Something like this had never occurred before. Even if the Emperor passed away, they probably would not have done anything either. After all, they were a true influential clan.

The words spoken by the Xie Family’s ancestor in front of the ancestral hall quickly spread, and soon, there were results.

Everything became very ordinary. After Xie Family hung the white lanterns, the Wei Family also did the same.

In the Divine Capital, regardless of what they thought about the Great Liang Dynasty, no one would have anything negative to say about the Empress. The Empress was truly a virtuous empress of her generation. In the 200 over years history of the Great Liang Dynasty, perhaps only the founding Empress could compare to her.

How could such a virtuous Empress be what ordinary people could compare to?

Naturally, she received different treatment.

……

……

Chen Chao held an oiled-paper umbrella while Xie Nandu walked beside him. The two of them held an umbrella each as they calmly strolled through the streets of the Divine Capital.

Winning the Myriad Willow Convention was a significant event, something that should have brought joy regardless. However, with the passing of the Empress, there was no reason for happiness.

Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao, whose expression was heavy, and asked, ”Do you have something to say?”

She was perceptive and could naturally discern Chen Chao’s current thoughts.

Chen Chao smiled but then noticed that his expression was rather ugly, so he stopped.

Xie Nandu said, ”Just say it. Hiding things in your heart and never speaking up will only lead to regrets in the end.”

Chen Chao looked at her, and pondered for a moment, but he still spoke, ”I grew up by the Wei River and there were actually many things I didn’t know. However, I remember when I was younger, my mother told me many stories. I was too young to remember all the details, but later on, I suddenly recalled many things from years ago, so I remembered those words my mother said. She mentioned that she had an older sister, actually two of them, but she only considered one of them as her older sister. She was an illegitimate daughter, and although her father was prominent, she didn’t have any status. She lived with her mother in her earlier years, but after her mother passed away, she entered that manor. At that time, no one liked my mother except for that older sister.”

”Naturally, their relationship grew extremely close.”

”A few years later, my mother married into a wealthy family as a concubine...”

Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao, her eyes shimmering.

Chen Chao also looked at her, pondered for a moment, and then quickly continued, ”Yes, my mother was the younger sister of the Empress. She was the illegitimate daughter of the Northern Frontier’s Great General back then.”

This was something countless people wanted to know and Chen Chao had never revealed it before. It was only now that he spoke up. But he only shared the information with the young girl in front of him.

Xie Nandu said, ”I see.”

”My mother later married the former Crown Prince as a concubine. Not many people knew about this matter.”

Chen Chao looked at Xie Nandu.

Xie Nandu did not speak. The former Crown Prince was the older biological brother of the current Great Liang Emperor, and the eldest son of Emperor Lingzong.

Back then, Emperor Lingzong favored this Crown Prince greatly, so he had always wanted to pass the throne to him. When the Crown Prince died suddenly, Emperor Lingzong had a hard time accepting it and, out of love stemming from the deceased Crown Prince, he passed the throne to the Crown Prince’s eldest legitimate son, who became the deposed emperor of the previous dynasty.

In this context, Chen Chao was the younger brother of that deposed emperor, albeit born out of wedlock.

This was his identity. It seemed simple and in fact, it was not considered complicated either.

Xie Nandu looked at him and said, ”Royal bloodline.”

She felt vicissitudes of emotion.

Many people had speculated that Chen Chao was a remnant spawn of the previous dynasty. But very few knew his true identity.

Chen Chao calmly said, ”In my mother’s final moments, she often mentioned the Empress. She held some resentment towards her, thinking that if it weren’t for this aunt, everything would have been fine. But in reality, it wasn’t that simple.”

Xie Nandu said, ”The deposed emperor appeared benevolent, but he was cruel to his relatives. If you had stayed by his side, you’d likely have been confined after growing up too.”

Chen Chao nodded.

”Then what did you come to the Divine Capital from the banks of Wei River for?”

Xie Nandu really wanted to know the reason behind this.

Chen Chao shook his head and said, ”I didn’t die in the great palace fire. Someone brought me to Wei Prefecture, but no one looked after me...”

At this point, Chen Chao fell silent for a while, then suddenly looked at Xie Nandu and said, ”During those years, I actually didn’t know about this at all. If it weren’t for her...”

Speaking up to this point, Chen Chao was silent for a long time and did not continue speaking. It was unclear how much time had passed.

In his mind was the image of that young girl lying in a coffin, her eyes containing an incomparably hot fireball.

Only after looking at that girl, did he remember many things.

He recalled all those childhood memories.

Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao without speaking.

Heavy rain poured down.

The two stood on the long street.

Chen Chao said, ”If it weren’t for those people, I actually wouldn’t have come to the Divine Capital. I would have spent many, many years in Tianqing County, and might have spent my whole life like that.”

Xie Nandu remained silent for a moment and said, ”Some things are really difficult to talk about, especially things like this.”

Chen Chao nodded his head.

He was rather silent.

Looking at the pouring rain, he thought for a long time before saying softly, ”Mother probably doesn’t resent Aunt.”

Xie Nandu did not say anything.

She did not know how to respond.

Chen Chao looked at her and asked, ”Can we enter the palace?”