Published at 8th of June 2025 10:42 am

Chapter 1492: Mother and child recognize each other 3

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Shangguan Yun spoke in a low voice, “I want to take him back to the National Master Hall to see if they can cure him. You might ask me why I didn’t take you to see if the National Master Hall could cure you. The truth is… even knowing the situation today, if I could do it all over again, I would still make the same choice as I did back then.”

The National Master Hall was a way out, not the best way out.

She would rather be condemned by thousands, rather bear the infamy for a lifetime, just to be that selfish mother.

Let her bear all the sins and torments, her Ahen just needed to live well.

“Aren’t you afraid that Princess Xinyang will kill me to avenge her son?” Princess Xinyang was no weak woman, she was decisive in her action too. Of course, he wasn’t accusing her of naïveté, but rather he wanted to better understand what she had gone through.

The good, the bad, the dangerous, the struggles she faced, and all that he had missed out on these years.

Shangguan Yun said, “Marquis Xuanping won’t let her know that her son was killed by me.”

You really do know my father well.

He did indeed lie to Princess Xinyang, telling her that Xiao Qing died at the hands of an assassin.

But later on, under the instigation of those with ulterior motives, Princess Xinyang found out the truth.

However, she didn’t succeed in killing me; in the end, she carried me out of a great fire.

Shangguan Yun was filled with self-reproach, “It was all my fault that I attracted those assassins. Otherwise, the two of you wouldn’t have been poisoned.”

Xiao Hen hesitated for a moment, but still decided to tell her, “The assassins were not attracted by you, they were left by the former emperor of Zhan Country. The people who poisoned me and Xiao Qing were from the Dragon Shadow Guard left by the former emperor of Zhan Country to my mother. Their real target was Xiao Qing, my being poisoned was an accident.”

The tragedy had nothing to do with Shangguan Yun at all. If blame must be assigned, it lay with the former emperor.

And in some ways, fortunately Shangguan Yun took Xiao Qing away; otherwise, they would have continued to plot against him.

At that time, Long Yi was not present, and Marquis Xuanping and Princess Xinyang never suspected the Dragon Shadow Guard. It really was an unforeseen disaster.

Shangguan Yun had lived all these years in guilt over Xiao Qing. When she suddenly heard this news, she found it hard to believe, “Are you making up a story just to comfort me?”

Xiao Hen shook his head, “I’m not, I can’t invent such a story.”

The former emperor’s thought processes were on par with the ruler of Dayan Country, both crazy and vicious.

Princess Xinyang’s marriage to Marquis Xuanping was originally meant to prevent him from rebelling.

If he ever harbored thoughts of rebellion, Princess Xinyang would immediately have the Dragon Shadow Guard kill him.

The former emperor knew Princess Xinyang could not get along with men and wasn’t worried she would grow fond of Marquis Xuanping. But, considering they were husband and wife, if Marquis Xuanping forced himself on her and got Princess Xinyang pregnant with his child.

Who could guarantee that Princess Xinyang wouldn’t soften her heart because of the child?

So the former emperor gave an order to the Dragon Shadow Guard that not even Princess Xinyang knew of—the child of Princess Xinyang and Marquis Xuanping could not be spared.

From what Xiao Hen had observed over the years, Princess Xinyang was anything but soft-hearted towards Marquis Xuanping. If she were asked to stab Marquis Xuanping now, she wouldn’t blink an eye.

The former emperor really overthought it.

Suspicions have always plagued emperors, causing harm to themselves and others.

And there was one thing the former emperor got wrong—that there indeed was a case of force, but the one forced was Marquis Xuanping.

The past is painful to revisit.

Xiao Hen decided to stop pondering the entanglement between Princess Xinyang and Marquis Xuanping, speaking out about another doubt in his heart, “But if Xiao Qing and I are not twins, why do we look exactly alike?”

He said, pointing to the teardrop mole he had drawn under his right eye, “Even this mole is identical?”

Shangguan Yun said awkwardly, “That’s because… I had his appearance changed to yours.”

Xiao Hen and Xiao Qing were half-brothers sharing the same father, and there was indeed some resemblance between them, such as their face shape and nose which were very much like Marquis Xuanping’s.

But their eyes and eyebrows were different.

Xiao Qing had apricot-shaped eyes and level eyebrows, appearing gentle and frail, while Xiao Hen had phoenix eyes and slightly raised sword brows, exuding a touch of heroism but also exceptionally warm and healing when he smiled.

This is why everyone who had seen the young Marquis of Zhaodu called him a youth as gentle as jade, a presence like a refreshing spring breeze.

Only later, after Xiao Hen met with misfortune and was cast among the common folk, the smile on his face diminished, and the warmth in his eyes disappeared.

He donned an invisible layer of sharp armor.

“Back then, I didn’t pay much attention to the issue of resemblance, until one day when I heard a servant quietly say that the child didn’t look like me at all. It wasn’t obvious when he was young, but the older he got, the less he resembled me. I panicked, National Master Hall was willing to treat Xiao Qing because he was the emperor’s eldest grandson. If people realized he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be able to continue receiving treatment. So I found someone to go to Zhan Country for me, got your portrait, and changed his features to match yours.”

At this point, Shangguan Yun paused, “It was that time that your identity was exposed, and the Crown Prince became aware of your existence.”

Xiao Hen suddenly realized, “I see.”

Then everything made sense.

Xiao Hen touched the tear mole on his face, Shangguan Qing was modeled after him, and now that his mole was gone, was he imitating Shangguan Qing or imitating himself?

It was truly a mix of laughter and tears.

“What’s wrong?” Shangguan Yun asked, looking at him.

Xiao Hen said, “Actually, this mole of mine is already gone.”

Initially, to prevent those people from easily finding him after the great fire, Princess Xinyang had burned off the teardrop mole on his face.

He had changed his appearance, and even his voice and stature were different from before. Plus, with the mole gone, even his biological father, Marquis Xuanping, had expended great effort and gone through much maneuvering before he could confirm it was him.

Shangguan Yun said softly, “She was really good to you.”

Her tone was one of relief, but also filled with sorrow and loneliness.

In the end, she had still missed out.

In his nineteen years of life, there had never been a trace of her.

“Can I… call you Ahen?”

The Princess, noble from birth, had never lowered her dignified head even when being publicly punished in Jinluan Hall, nor had she ever pleaded.

But now, just to ask if she could call him by that name, she used up all the humility in her bones.

Xiao Hen said, “You can call me whatever you wish.”

Could you possibly call me—

Shangguan Yun didn’t say this.

She lowered her eyes, holding back the sadness and sourness at the bottom of her heart.

You must not cry.

Descendants of the Xuanyuan Family bleed but do not cry; she didn’t even cry when giving birth, nor did she when her bones were broken.

She does not cry.

Xiao Hen actually had many things he wanted to ask her, such as what exactly happened last night, what had happened over a decade ago, and why she had ended up as a female slave—

Xiao Hen, looking at her frail body, said, “You should rest for a bit. I’ll go get some food for you.”

“Mhm.”

Her voice contained a choke.

She tried hard to suppress it.

Xiao Hen stood up, then paused midstep.

Shangguan Yun’s heart suddenly tightened.

Was he about to call for her?

Was he?

Xiao Hen said, “I forgot to ask what you wanted to eat. You just had surgery, so both millet porridge and coix seed porridge are good choices.”

“Oh,” Shangguan Yun said dejectedly, in a low voice, “either is fine.”

Xiao Hen: “Then millet porridge?”

Shangguan Yun: “Alright.”

She had no appetite.

She was a bad woman.

She didn’t deserve to be his mother.

Xiao Hen walked to the doorway and just as he was about to step over the threshold, he paused again.

“It may be a bit late to say this now, but…”

He turned around, sincerely looking at her: “Thank you for giving birth to me.”

“Thank you for bringing me into this world, and thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

“Mother.”

A call of ‘Mother’ awaited for nineteen years, tender with time, also soothed the separation of over seven thousand days and nights.

Shangguan Yun was too choked up to speak.

—And thank you, my son.

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