After receiving the letter from Wei Yao in the palace, the An Duke took the matter seriously. He had people investigate repeatedly, but they turned up nothing. Still, he couldn’t shake the uneasy premonition gnawing at him.
Had the events of the past truly not been fully resolved? Everything had been handled back then… hadn’t it?
The An Duke’s wife knew everything, for she had been involved at the time. So when the An Duke mentioned the matter, her reaction was the strongest.
“What nonsense is the master spouting? That child was clearly gone, taken far away! And the mother was dealt with—how could she possibly come back to find us?”
The An Duke’s wife felt fear, but more than that, she was furious. Years ago, the An Duke had promised her that she would be his only wife and that all their children would be hers.
Yet, somehow, a servant in the household had seduced him and borne an illegitimate child. How could she endure that? In a decisive move, she had poisoned the servant.
Because the child was the An Duke’s blood, they had simply allowed the stranger to take the child far away. As long as she never saw that child again, it was as if the whole incident had never occurred.
For so many years, the couple had lived harmoniously, as long as the past was never mentioned again. Now, to have this brought up—especially with the Heavenly Maiden and the Grand Tutor, who might be connected to that child—was like a bolt from the blue.
The An Duke, too, felt uneasy. There was only one plausible explanation: this had to be the case, otherwise how could he explain the subtle hostility the Heavenly Maiden and Grand Tutor showed toward his family?
And judging by the age of the child, it matched perfectly with the one from back then.
“Wife, it’s been so many years. Why hold onto hatred still? If the child is willing to recognize us now, that could only be a benefit to the An Duke’s family. He is the emperor’s most trusted Grand Tutor—he can do no harm to our family.”
The An Duke spoke casually, trying to soothe his wife, though in his mind he was already calculating.
Whether the child was the same one or not, he could simply treat him as such. If the emperor’s trusted Grand Tutor was the child they had abandoned years ago, it would be an incredible stroke of luck.
But the An Duke’s wife absolutely refused. When she had learned of this long ago, it had been like a thunderbolt from clear skies. How could she believe that her husband, whom she thought devoted to her for life, could so easily break such a promise?
Thankfully, her husband had fulfilled his obligations back then—dealing with the mother and child—so she had spared the child, seeing him as his legitimate blood.
But now, being told the child had returned, and was someone the emperor trusted above all else… how could she accept it?
“Wife, this is not the time to be unruly. You know that to the emperor, the Heavenly Maiden and the Grand Tutor are untouchable. They have even brought timely rain for the people. The emperor’s trust in them has only grown. If the child is willing to acknowledge us, it’s a good thing—for us, and for our own two children. Can’t you endure this for their sake?”
The An Duke reasoned with her, appealing to both logic and emotion.
Were their own children not important? Having the abandoned child as a stepping stone could only be advantageous.
At this point, the An Duke’s wife had little left to argue. The days of youthful stubbornness were over; the priority now was their own children.
When Wei Yao received the reply, she could hardly believe it. To think her devoted father and mother had once been involved in such a scandal!
This meant that the boy near the Heavenly Maiden could very well be her own brother. The irony was staggering.
So, whenever Wei Yao later saw Yun Shang and Ah Du in the palace, her expression would sour.
The presence of this brother seemed proof: hadn’t her father not been wholly devoted to her mother? Didn’t it prove that her mother had carried a hidden grievance all along? Naturally, Wei Yao’s hatred toward Yun Shang and Ah Du only deepened.
“The emperor said the Heavenly Maiden and Grand Tutor may do as they please in the palace—go anywhere, act however they like. Yet it’s strange… every time, I seem to cross paths with them. Is this my good fortune… or my curse?”
Wei Yao made no attempt to hide her disgust. She had dared to flaunt herself before Yun Shang because she knew Yun Shang wouldn’t report to the emperor over such trivial matters. Over time, her boldness had grown.
Ah Du’s gaze was icy. After talking with Yun Shang previously, he understood the identity of the An Duke’s family. The arrogant woman before him might be their sister…
No. He had no sister like that. His only sister was Yun Shang.
“Are you truly siblings? Why do you seem… so different from ordinary brothers and sisters? Would siblings normally be so inseparable?”
Wei Yao stepped forward, her words laced with sarcasm. Even knowing Ah Du’s identity, she refused to acknowledge him as her brother, instead seeing him as a mistake of her father’s from years ago.
She thought her mother had been far too soft back then, sparing this mother-and-child pair while killing the servant who had seduced her father. Why not eliminate the child too? Why allow him the chance to return?
“Whether we are siblings is none of your concern. You have no right to speak to my sister this way.” Ah Du’s voice was cold, his eyes brimming with barely concealed disgust and a touch of hatred.
Memories from his childhood flooded back. He couldn’t understand why his origins had made him a target for these nobles. His mother had promised she would take him away from the An Duke’s household, to the ends of the earth, never to appear before the Duke or his wife again.
Yet they had pursued them relentlessly, forcing his mother to send him into a cruel world, where he suffered countless abuses.
“I am a consort of the emperor. Do you think that gives you the right to speak to the Heavenly Maiden like this? Does the Heavenly Maiden really consider herself an immortal, above all earthly matters?”
Wei Yao smiled coldly. Her father’s letters had confirmed it: the Heavenly Maiden and Grand Tutor were merely titles. Their lofty positions depended entirely on the emperor’s favor.
Today, the emperor liked them, so they were exalted. Tomorrow, if he no longer favored them, if he doubted their so-called divine powers, Tianji Palace could just as easily be flattened.