Chapter 783
Chapter 783
“My son, when you were little, you were foolish beyond words, but then it was as if a heavenly light shone upon your mind, and you became the most intelligent person in the world. In fact, when you were utterly foolish, we considered it a blessing. At least you could live a life free of trouble. But when you changed, we were both happy and anxious. If you showed such brilliance, you’d be like a gem in a field of gravel, your light so dazzling that someone would eventually discover you. So from that day on, we worried and feared every day, afraid that one day, the secret of your birth would be exposed.”
Shen Lang’s mother continued speaking calmly. His parents’ faces were extremely haggard, as if they hadn’t slept for days and nights.
“It was like today’s weather—gloomy, with dark clouds hanging low every day, yet with no thunder, lightning, or rain. Just a constant state of unease. But a few days ago, a man named Yunmeng Ze rushed to our house. He was a handsome young man, but his face was filled with fear. He told us to run away quickly, saying the farther we went, the better. After that, your in-laws came to see us. They said they had no regrets in this life, that this was the Jin Clan's greatest honor, and that even if their family was annihilated because of it, they would never regret it. That’s when I realized your origins had been exposed. The thunder in the sky had finally crashed down. I knew we could no longer hide our treasure. This mother of yours desperately tried to hide you, our precious gem, in gravel and mud, but it seems I can’t hide you any longer.”
Unable to hold back any longer, his mother broke down into sobs, and Shen Lang went to her and held her in his arms.
“In this mother’s heart, you’re just a good-for-nothing who loves to eat, drink, and play, a scoundrel who only enjoys wealth and glory. I never wanted you to become the Emperor of the Great Qian Empire or a peerless hero. In this world, heroes never meet a good end.”
His mother clung to Shen Lang, weeping so hard it seemed she might burst like a balloon and float away. Shen Lang smiled through his tears.
“Just now, my younger brother put on armor and said he would fight for me. Father, Mother. I’ll be honest. When I became certain of the truth, I felt like my head was going to explode. I never wanted to believe it. How could I be Jiang Li’s son? Heroes beget heroes, and scoundrels beget scoundrels. I often wondered who my real parents were. Who could have given birth to a good-for-nothing like me? Father, Mother, don’t take it to heart. I knew from the beginning I wasn’t your biological son. Mother, you’re a beautiful woman, but not beautiful enough to give birth to a man as devastatingly handsome as me, right?”
“Pfft!”
His mother couldn’t help but laugh. She hugged Shen Lang even tighter. What a good son he was. The most clever, meticulous, and handsome son in the world.
“I was extremely curious at the time. Why were the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion and Yinghan tolerating me? With the way I acted, I thought she would have killed me long ago, even if she could tolerate piss, shit, and farts. But she never killed me. Later, the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion went to great lengths to bring Mulan to them for her recuperation and had her bear my child. They wanted to see if a baby with an extraordinary bloodline would be born. In truth, they didn’t need a baby with a golden bloodline; they were trying to confirm my identity. In the end, their scheme failed!”
When Shen Ye was born, he possessed a remarkable golden bloodline, but it soon vanished. That was why the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion immediately sent several scholars to investigate him upon his birth, but they found nothing. They must have been at a complete loss then.
“Later, I don’t know what else the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion, Mount Fudao, and the Great Yan Empire did to re-verify my identity, but they deliberately had me treat the little Princess Xiying. That’s when they became certain of my identity, and I, too, became certain of mine. At the time, I even complained about why the Great Yan Empire, which was clearly just a hundred li away, wouldn’t let me enter its borders. Now I see it was because they thought it would be inauspicious; they didn’t want Jiang Li’s son to set foot on the soil of the Great Yan Dynasty! Xiying, that foolish girl, called me ‘brother’ the moment she saw me, and later she kept hinting for me to leave quickly, to get away fast.”
At that time, Princess Xiying couldn’t speak plainly, so she desperately gestured for Shen Lang to leave quickly, to go far away across the sea. In fact, she had already revealed many secrets to Shen Lang. As the little princess of the Great Yan Empire, she knew more than most. From that point on, it no longer mattered if Shen Lang went anywhere without guards, swaggering about as he pleased. Because he was Jiang Li’s son, the new Emperor of the Great Qian Empire, no one could assassinate him. The only one qualified to kill him was His Majesty, the supreme Emperor.
“Father, Mother. Didn’t I have a twin sister?”
His mother shook her head.
“This mother doesn’t know.”
“Then what exactly happened back then?”
His mother still shook her head and said.
“My son, this mother truly doesn’t know. Your father and I were both slaves. Slaves with no names, no status, and no freedom. It was His Highness Jiang Li who freed us and gave us land. From then on, we became ordinary farmers of the Great Qian Kingdom.”
His father, Shen Wan, pulled aside his clothes, revealing the brand and scars on his back. It was the mark of a slave. However, a scar remained where he had later carved out that part of his flesh to cover the brand.
“We lived happily for several years. The only regret was that your father and I couldn’t have children. Because I was rather pretty, I suffered terribly during my time as a slave.”
His mother spoke of the endless, tear-filled days of her youth with stark simplicity.
“We thought the happy days would last forever. Even without a child of our own, we could always adopt one. But one day, His Highness Jiang Li suddenly died, and the sky fell. Yingguang, that traitor, betrayed him, and the allied armies of the empires flooded into the Great Qian Empire like a tidal wave, murdering, burning, and pillaging, committing all sorts of atrocities. We lived in fear every day, and countless people fled south in a mass exodus.
Your father and I were no exception. With utter grief, we abandoned our precious land, gathered all our belongings, and fled south. But then one day, someone covered in blood approached us, holding a newborn baby. He told us that from that day on, this child was ours, and that we should ensure he lived a peaceful life. I recognized him. He was His Highness Jiang Li’s own younger brother, Duke Lin of the Great Qian Empire.
Duke Lin didn’t have a good reputation. He spent all his days drinking and seeking pleasure, and though His Highness Jiang Li tried to teach him countless times, he never changed. Duke Lin was uncontrollably free-spirited and would often dress like a commoner, mingling with the people to drink. When he was drunk, he would sleep under someone’s wall, so many people knew his face.
That day, Duke Lin was covered in blood, one of his arms was severed, and who knows how many bones in his body were broken. It looked as if his internal organs were about to spill out. He handed the baby to us and even gave you a name. He said the name Jiang Li was no good, and his own name, Jiang Lin, was too serious. He had originally wanted to change his name to the more pleasant-sounding Jiang Lang, but His Highness Jiang Li had not permitted it, so he was giving that name to you.”
Tears welled in Shen Lang’s eyes.
*So that’s the origin of my name. On modern Earth, you might give a novel’s protagonist the name Shen Lang and think nothing of it, but in this world, what kind of reckless parent would give their son a name with ‘Lang’ in it?*
“Duke Lin told us never to tell you the true secret of your birth. He said to let you live as a farmer’s son, not a hero’s son, for in this world, heroes never meet a good end. And then, he died, his organs spilling onto the ground. At the time, there were so many war refugees that farmers like us didn’t stand out at all. Your father and I immediately took you and headed south. We thought the farther we were from the Great Yan Empire, the safer we would be. And so, we traveled south, and south, until we reached the end of the continent, Xuanwu City.”
Shen Lang knew nothing about Jiang Lin. The people of the world knew only four names from the Great Qian Empire: Emperor Jiang Li, the Empress, Prince Jiang Guang, and Jiang Wuming. When the Great Qian Kingdom was elevated to the Great Qian Empire and Jiang Li became Emperor, none of his brothers were made princes; they were all given the title of Duke. Only his sworn brother, Jiang Guang, was enfeoffed as a prince, which was why people called him Prince Guang. With the Great Yan Empire suppressing information, even fewer people now knew the name Jiang Lin. To think that the renowned Jiang Guang had betrayed them, while the unrestrained Duke Lin, Jiang Lin, had died to save Shen Lang, even bestowing upon him the fine name of ‘Lang’.
***
The true identity of Shen Wan and his wife was different from what Shen Lang had imagined. He had originally thought they were servants or confidants who had stayed by Jiang Li’s side. But it turned out they were merely slaves whom Jiang Li had freed. The only thing special about them was that Shen Lang’s mother had been a beauty in her youth and was quite well-read, for which she had suffered a great deal.
For some reason, Jiang Lin had not entrusted Shen Lang to a minister of the Great Qian Empire, but to an ordinary farming couple. What he did was right. If he had entrusted Shen Lang to Jiang Li’s confidants or retainers, the Great Yan Empire would have tracked them down and surely found him. But by entrusting him to ordinary farmers, it was like burying him in a sea of sand, which was why Shen Lang had survived until now.
Shen Wan and his wife had never had contact with Emperor Jiang Li or the Empress in their lives, nor did they know what had truly happened back then. Thus, they knew even less about whether Shen Lang had a twin sister. Shen Lang went to his parents and embraced them.
“Father, Mother. Get ready. We’ll be leaving soon.”
*Damn it all! I, Shen Lang, have no intention of contending for the world. I never wanted to be an emperor in the first place. I… I just want to live comfortably as a live-in son-in-law, freeloading off my wife's family until the end of my days. Why are you pushing me? Why are you forcing me to fight for the throne? This is driving me absolutely mad.*