Chapter 782
Chapter 782
Ning Yuanxian and Ning Zheng were having breakfast together. Ning Yuanxian's hands trembled so much he couldn't hold his chopsticks, nor could he even grasp a spoon. His consort tenderly fed him.
“Your Highness, a secret letter from Young Master Shen Lang.”
The grand eunuch, Li Jun, announced. Ning Yuanxian said.
“Just say ‘the Young Master.’ There’s no need to add his name.”
“Yes. A secret letter from the Young Master.”
“Let’s look at it later. After we finish our meal. This fellow’s letter is sure to displease me and ruin my appetite for breakfast. How could I forsake the delicious meal my consort has prepared?”
Hearing this, his consort leaned in affectionately, and the two gently rubbed their faces together. Ning Yuanxian smiled and continued.
“Besides, I used to curse that rascal every time, but it seems the days I can curse him like this are numbered. I’ll have to change how I address him soon.”
Ning Zheng continued to eat his breakfast with proper etiquette. The father and son finally finished their meal.
“Bring me the letter.”
At Ning Yuanxian’s command, the grand eunuch Li Jun handed him the letter. He opened it, but even with all his strength and willpower, he couldn’t stop the trembling in his hands. Shen Lang's handwriting came into view.
Sigh! Your Highness, some things have happened that I truly did not expect. Looking back now, we have become too close. Damn it! Twenty-odd years ago, my family brought disaster upon you, and now we are bringing disaster upon you again. Damn it, damn it. Your Highness and Prince Ning Zheng, you must completely sever ties with me. While you’re at it, you should declare me a traitor and offer an explanation to His Majesty the Emperor. Please, make that decision with pleasure. The State of Yue will officially declare its separation from me. My dear Highness! It’s okay to let go a little and compromise.>
Ning Yuanxian handed Shen Lang’s handwritten letter to Ning Zheng.
“Does this brat think everyone else is illiterate or an imbecile? Who writes a letter so bluntly?”
Ning Yuanxian said sarcastically. Ning Zheng replied.
“Perhaps he finds citing classics and providing numerous references in letters too formal, and has come to prefer a more direct, colloquial style.”
“Sigh! This brat is truly unreliable. I’m still waiting for the second volume of *Boundless Wind and Moon*, but now I think I’ll only get to see it in my final years.”
Well done, Ning Yuanxian. You even know how to use phrases like ‘final years’ to be sarcastic. Li Jun handed another letter to Ning Zheng. Ning Zheng opened it to find it written in a secret script, indecipherable on its own. But Ning Zheng could read it instantly.
In the letter, Shen Lang had used the word ‘swear’ three times. After Ning Zheng finished reading, the characters on the letter vanished. He then held the secret letter over a candle flame, burning it to ashes.
Ning Yuanxian asked him.
“Have you read it?”
“Yes.”
“What did it say?”
“Nothing of importance.”
“Do you still have an appetite? Care for another bowl?”
“Very well. I shall have another bowl with you, Father.”
***
Shen Lang’s fleet drew closer to Xuanwu City. Jin Mulan felt an oppressive atmosphere, as if dark clouds were blotting out everything. The sky, the ground, everywhere.
“My love, do you trust me?”
At Shen Lang’s words, Mulan nodded.
“I do.”
“Then I will formally tell you this. Our entire family will be safe. Not a single person will meet with misfortune.”
“That has to include you.”
“I, especially, will be perfectly fine.”
“Is it true that we’re going out to sea? You’re not tricking me, are you?”
“Of course I’m not tricking you.”
“Then will we come back?”
“Of course we will, and very soon at that. We’ll treat this as a trip abroad; we’ll be gone for a short while and then return. When we come back, the world will be completely free of our enemies.”
“Swear it. Swear that our entire family will be safe.”
“I swear it. Jin Hui, Jin Jianniang, and everyone in the Jin clan will be safe and sound, without a single hair on their heads harmed. Have I not always kept my promises? Haven’t all my boasts always come true?”
Mulan nodded.
“I believe you.”
“My love, we’ll be home soon. How about one more time while we have the chance?”
“Alright. This time, I’ll let you go for two more rounds.”
“What was that?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Soon, Shen Lang became invincible. One hour, an unprecedented record, he had set it at one hour.
***
When Shen Lang and Mulan returned to the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate, everyone, including Ying Yan and Shen Li, was there. This was the first time Shen Lang met Shen Li. Shen Li was only three months old, his features having blossomed slightly, making him prettier than other ordinary babies. He was plain compared to Shen Mi and Shen Ye, but he was extremely well-behaved and quiet. Shen Lang carefully held Shen Li in his arms.
“So well-behaved. The name your maternal grandfather gave our baby is quite nice. Though Shen Dali would have been even better.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ying Yan stomped hard on his foot. He sneered inwardly.
‘What’s the use of stepping on my foot? If you’ve got the guts, why don’t you crush me to death with that backside of yours?’
As Shen Lang doted on Shen Li, holding him, Shen Mi watched with jewel-like eyes filled with envy. Shen Lang bent down and picked up the very pretty Shen Mi as well. Our little princess Shen Mi was growing more beautiful by the day. She was already three years old. Shen Ye looked at his father, then back at himself.
‘Daddy doesn’t seem to have three hands. What about me? Am I going to be the abandoned baby?’
“Waaah!”
Shen Ye burst into tears in an instant. Xiao Bing rushed over to comfort him, but he was inconsolable.
“Why do you all treat our little Ye like this?”
Xiao Bing grumbled as she pushed Shen Ye into Mulan’s arms. Now in his mother’s embrace, Shen Ye’s wails turned to sobs, and he looked pitifully at his father. Shen Lang looked tenderly at Shen Ye and thought to himself.
‘Shen Ye. Because you are the strongest, Daddy dotes on your sister and brother more.’
A moment later, Shen Jian entered, clad head to toe in armor.
“Brother, what are you doing in armor?”
To Shen Lang’s question, Shen Jian replied.
“I’m going to battle for you.”
“Right, thank you. But there’s no battle to be fought right now.”
“Oh, I thought there was. By the way, Father and Mother are waiting for you at home.”
“I know. I’ll be there soon.”
Shen Lang was about to return Shen Lang to Ying Yan and Shen Mi to Xiao Bing to go see his parents.
“I’ll go with you, my lord.”
“It’s fine. It might get a little awkward if you come.”
***
At that moment, Shen Wan and his wife were not in the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate, but in their old little house in Maple Leaf Village. The house they had lived in when they were at their poorest. When Shen Lang arrived outside, dark clouds hung low overhead, threatening a thunderstorm that never came.
‘Sigh! I hate this kind of weather the most. If there’s going to be a thunderstorm, just let it happen. If it’s going to rain, just let it pour. I don’t even care if it hails, just let something fall.’
Shen Lang took a deep breath, then pushed the door open and went inside.
‘Damn it, just as I expected.’
Following his father and mother, who were kneeling side by side on the floor, Shen Lang quickly knelt as well. The family of three all knelt, facing each other. Shen Wan and his wife kowtowed to Shen Lang.
“Your humble servant, Wuming, greets His Highness, the Lord of Jeju of the Great Qian Empire. Long live, long live, long live Your Highness!”
***
Shen Lang had been slow-witted since childhood, but Shen Jian was very cunning. Yet, his parents treated Shen Lang like a treasure and Shen Jian like a weed. They were afraid he would melt in their mouths or break in their hands. Was that any way to treat a son? It was as if they were treating an ancestor. But now, the truth behind their actions was finally clear.
Shen Lang smiled bitterly and said.
“Father, Mother. Please don’t do this. If you were going to hide it, you should have hidden it forever. Isn’t it better for us to live our whole lives as a family? I’m quite happy playing the part of your son.”
Shen Wan said.
“No, not anymore. We are the lowliest of the lowly. Your father is the sun in the heavens, a hero in the hearts of all, the liberator of the Eastern world, the supreme His Highness Jiang Li.”
He was a posthumous child. Shen Lang was born only after Jiang Li had died. Shen Lang went forward to help Shen Wan and his wife up, then forced them into chairs.
“Father, Mother…”
Shen Lang smiled bitterly, searching for the right words in his mind. He then poured three cups of tea, picked one up himself, and took a sip.
“With great power comes great responsibility. But I don’t want any responsibility at all. I only want to enjoy power; I don’t want to bear responsibility. How could I ever be as great as His Highness Jiang Li, who spent his life saving the world, liberating the entire world, and trying to save the countless masses while the Great Yan Empire and the transcendent powers blockaded civilization? For that reason alone, I’m not like his son. Besides, we don’t even look alike, do we? If I resembled him that much, someone would have recognized me long ago.”
Jiang Li had the face of a legendary hero from a novel. Wise and brave, his spirit pierced the heavens, and his nobility was truly beyond words. For a very long time, he was always the most handsome man in the world. So how should one describe Shen Lang’s face? He had the face of the world’s greatest pretty boy, a face fit for the ultimate villain. The kind of face that would surely be more beautiful than any woman if he were to cross-dress. But how could a peerless hero like Jiang Li give birth to a scoundrel like Shen Lang?