Chapter 450: The facts are like so (1/2)
Chapter 450: The facts are like so
Long Feiye never expected the words ‘Shadow Clan’ to set Mute Granny so much on edge. Her expression wasn’t one of excitement, but anxiety. Bt the Shadow Clan should be the loyalest subordinates to the West Qin imperial family.
“What are they planning? Have they confirmed Han Yunxi’s identity yet?” Mute Granny asked urgently.
“What will happen if they did?” Long Feiye asked back.
Mute Granny grew enraged. “No matter who it is—even if it’s the Shadow Clan—they better not be thinking of using Han Yunxi’s identity for their own ends!”
Long Feiye immediately understood. There were too many causes that one could raise with Han Yunxi’s identity as the excuse! If news of it grew public, it’d be more than just the Seven Noble Families who were interested. Other ambitious types would seize the chance to use West Qin’s name and Han Yunxi’s origins as pretext to gather support for grabs at power. Most of those types wouldn’t be loyal to the West Qin imperial clan at all, much less interested in restoring the former dynasty to its glory. Instead, they would claim it as a platform to fulfill their own ambitions to rule with the West Qin heir as a figurehead!
To put it plainly, they would simply use the heir as a stepping stone to power, then eliminate the heir once power was in their hands. It would be impossible for Han Yunxi to have a peaceful life then.
“The man from the Shadow Clan hasn’t made any moves and refuses to disclose the truth. It’s possible he’s still uncertain about Han Yunxi’s status,” Long Feiye said. Thanks to Han Yunxi’s honesty, he was about to better understand the Shadow Clan man’s movements. If the white-robed man was already sure that Han Yunxi was the heir, why hadn’t he done anything yet? He had only shown up once in the past few months, but without telling Han Yunxi a thing. It was a given that the Shadow Clan would acknowledge their true masters, but the white-robed man had made no such overtures.
Mute Granny’s heart eased at that, but she was quick to ask, “Duke of Qin, what about you? Why did you marry Yunxi?”
Long Feiye’s smile turned cold. “You suspect your lordship?”
“You’re Tianning’s Duke of Qin. If you wanted to, you could use Han Yunxi’s identity as a prime excuse to build a platform of your own!” Mute Granny gave a cold harumph.
Long Feiye scoffed disdainfully. “Your lordship doesn’t need to step on a woman’s back to claim a trifling Tianning throne! Your lordship would rather she wasn’t any imperial heir at all, but just the eldest daughter of the Han Clan!”
In actuality, Mute Granny’s fears matched Long Feiye’s own list of undesirables. To carry the burden of a royal identity, an imperial duty, and a clan’s life mission, hopes, and expectations on one’s back, just for the sake of fulfilling some glorious destiny in one lifetime while enduring endless criticism and nitpicking was a shackle, not a crowning moment of glory.
At the very least, it only felt like shackles to Long Feiye!
Mute Granny didn’t believe him and chuckled coldly. “Why should I trust your words?”
Long Feiye’s laugh was even colder. He rose to his feet and approached Mute Granny before gracefully bending down to whisper in her ear. “Because your lordship is…”
Long Feiye’s last few words were very faint, but Mute Granny heard them loud and clear. Her face blanched at the revelation as abject horror overtook her and froze her in place.
How can this be? Yunxi’s husband is actually…
“Will that be reason enough to believe me?” Long Feiye asked icily.
It was a while before Mute Granny recovered. By the time she spoke, Long Feiye was already sitting back in his chair. “You, you’re actually….you…”
The East Qin imperial clan!
Mute Granny didn’t know how to accept the revelation. Han Yunxi, the last surviving descendant of the West Qin imperial clan, was actually married to none other than the current heir of the East Qin imperial clan—its last imperial son!
Such an ill-fated relationship! Was it coincidence, or…a premeditated match?!
Stunned to her bones, Mute Granny suddenly grew on guard. She rose to her feet and slowly backed away. “I see now. You hid all this from Yunxi so she’d never find out about her origins. Then it’d be easier to use her for your own ends! You want to use her to revive your East Qin Dynasty!”
There was a wham as Long Feiye slammed his hand against the table. He had never bothered to explain himself because he hated explanations, but today had been a noteworthy exception. Yet he never expected Mute Granny to react like this. Her assumptions right now were nothing short of an insult!
He stood up, voice frigid. “Your lordship doesn’t need to step on a woman to claim the throne! I haven’t fallen so low as to use women to revive my nation!”
Long Feiye’s rage intimidated Mute Granny, who stood rooted in place until she asked, “Then what was the purpose of locking me up here? Why are you hiding all this from Yunxi?”
Long Feiye didn’t reply immediately, but went back to drinking his tea. It took him a long time to calm down his nerves and speak. “I want her to be nothing more than the Han Clan’s eldest daughter for the rest of her life. She should never feel hatred, guilt, or shame, but simply spend her days peacefully by your lordship’s side.”
Mute Granny’s heart skipped a beat as she finally understood his meaning of ‘happiness.’ If Yunxi knew the heavy truth of her origins, what kind of burdens would she have to bear on her heart? If she knew who the Duke of Qin really was, what kind of choice would she make?
Mute Granny grew silent. After a while, she finally asked, “Duke of Qin, does Yunxi like you?”