Jing Hengbo’s eyes suddenly widened.
What did this mean?!
One shocking piece of news after another today left her completely unable to react.
She crouched in the grass, letting dew drench her face. The icy morning dew slowly cleared her thoughts, and she felt her heart twitching painfully.
It was pain from being too shocked and surprised.
Gong Yin… his family had hereditary blood poison.
And his own problem was more serious. He not only had the family’s hereditary blood poison, but because of his different circumstances, having suffered more toxic erosion, his constitution was worse than other Dragon family members.
If he wanted descendants, he had to be with Nan Jin, whom the Dragon family had carefully cultivated. Otherwise, his descendants would very likely be… problematic children!
He had to choose Nan Jin, because this concerned his own life, even his descendants’ lives.
He couldn’t be with anyone else, because he could only bring people pain!
Was this the reason he kept leaving her?
Was this the reason he refused to accept her?
Was this the reason he had just taken out that small bottle?
He couldn’t leave her with hidden troubles, couldn’t give her a child that might have problems?
A problematic… child.
Jing Hengbo slowly touched her lower abdomen. The child she wanted, the bond between her and him that could make her feel secure—if it were…
She sucked in a cold breath, momentarily unable to accept it.
How could this be?
Panic and shock occupied her current state of mind. For a while her heart was in chaos, but finally she gained some relief.
He didn’t not love her.
Quite the opposite—that reserved, conflicted person loved her too much.
Loved her so much he only wanted to protect her, only wanted to give her the most perfect everything, only wanted her never to be hurt.
He believed being with her would bring her enormous pain. In comparison, though the pain of losing him was prolonged, it would slowly fade with time. At least she could live an independent, free life without burdens.
So he remained silent, choosing in his own way to leave while protecting, to protect while leaving.
Facing things together sounded resolute when spoken, but might bring long, unbearable suffering with no escape.
Should he choose decisive separation, letting her turn love to hate, or hold hands through a sweet brief period, then endure bitter longing for a long life filled with endless regret?
He chose the first option.
Jing Hengbo blankly spread her hands… she didn’t know how to choose.
Before, she had righteously resented, sworn to heaven and cursed bitterly, unable to understand Gong Yin’s avoidance. To her it seemed cowardly—no matter how great the difficulty, why couldn’t lovers face it hand in hand and overcome it together? Even if they couldn’t overcome it, spending the last beautiful time together was better than stopping abruptly without even beautiful memories.
But… what if forcing themselves together left not beauty but ugliness?
If difficulties were too powerful, hereditary blood too vicious, innate defects impossible to cross, ultimately making him give up.
Or before this, in places she didn’t know, he had made countless efforts, while reality showed him despair and bitter cold.
Jing Hengbo’s lowered eyelashes caught wet moisture—whether morning dew or water lost from within her body.
Her heart felt both relieved and pained, conflicted yet relaxed, like waves beating the shore, rolling endlessly.
Over there, Nan Jin stood silently throughout, neither arguing nor accepting. After the elder finished his stern words, there was long silence before he suddenly sighed deeply: “I know this can’t be blamed on you either… Rather than saying you’re unwilling, it’s more that the family head is unwilling. I recently learned some old matters—for that woman, he’s willing to give up even realm and life. How could he compromise on this matter? Sigh, karmic debts, karmic debts!”
Nan Jin turned her head to look at the end of the long grass, at that magnificent, silent carriage. Her gaze was usually sword-like, but now, even if it was a sword, it was a broken sword.
After a long time she said: “Since you know her importance, stop forcing me to kill her. Killing her is a small matter, the family head’s reaction is the big matter. The Dragon family’s continuation still needs the family head.”
The elder seemed to choke, and after a long while sighed again: “Fine, you don’t need to handle this matter anymore. But if you won’t do this, you must complete another task.”
Nan Jin turned to look at him, and Jing Hengbo also instinctively pricked up her ears. But suddenly the elder’s voice dropped low, completely inaudible. After a moment, the grass rustled slightly—it seemed Nan Jin stepped back. Then her somewhat unsteady voice came: “…No!”
The elder roared: “Don’t make excuses—remember your oath!”
A deathly silence followed. Nan Jin’s silhouette swayed slightly, as if struck by an invisible massive object. Even Jing Hengbo could instantly feel that wordless shock.
After saying that sentence, the elder said no more, turning and leaving. Jing Hengbo watched him part grass searching for a path, step by step departing, suddenly feeling something was wrong.
She was still thinking when Nan Jin, who had been facing away, suddenly said: “Heard enough?”
Jing Hengbo froze, somewhat embarrassedly standing up. She should have thought of it earlier—just now she had been too shocked, her breathing chaotic. With Nan Jin’s abilities, how could she not hear? She just hadn’t exposed her.
Thinking of this, she again felt something was off.
Nan Jin turned around, looking at her coldly. Jing Hengbo didn’t avoid her gaze. After a moment she asked: “Are you his… fiancée?”
A strange expression slowly appeared in Nan Jin’s eyes, actually somewhat mocking: “No.”
Jing Hengbo frowned.
“I am his medicine cup,” Nan Jin said slowly. “The Dragon family exhausted all abilities and resources, using twenty years to brew a dose of medicine specifically for him.”
Jing Hengbo understood, pulling at the corner of her mouth—this was worse than being a fiancée.
A marriage contract could be dissolved at any time. How could one abandon life-saving medicine?
But he had already decided to abandon it.
Jing Hengbo really didn’t know what to say. Facing her man’s destined woman, and this woman had just guarded her romantic encounter with him—such a strange relationship and awkward scene, few people could encounter.
She could only change the subject: “I have a question.”
“Speak.”
“That elder just now—he’s also from your Dragon family, with high status. Why does he live well at his age? How does he resist the blood poison?”
Hope flashed in Jing Hengbo’s eyes. This was very important to her.
Nan Jin glanced at her, suddenly threw her a piece of parchment, then turned and left.
Jing Hengbo wouldn’t give up, following behind her.
“He’s not direct lineage, just a distant Dragon family relative. But he’s spent years exhausting his efforts to protect the Dragon family bloodline, earning great respect. We all call him uncle.”
“No direct Dragon family elders remain alive. Even when Xu Pingran wanted to research Dragon family blood poison, he could only open coffins to examine bones.”
“Even as a distant Dragon relative, bloodlines still transmit poison. Unless one completely avoids martial arts, otherwise the higher the martial arts, the earlier the death. So each generation of the Dragon family has one or two who don’t practice martial arts. He’s one of them.”
Only now did Jing Hengbo understand where her feeling of wrongness came from. From beginning to end, this elder hadn’t displayed martial arts, hadn’t heard her hiding in the grass.
Nan Jin’s steps grew faster and faster, only dropping a final sentence.
“Also, he’s not an elder. Dragon family members marry very early. This year, he’s not yet forty.”
Jing Hengbo stopped, shock making her forget to continue pursuing.
She remembered when the elder turned around earlier—a glimpse of that face full of wrinkles, seemingly near the end of life.
Only after a long time, until Nan Jin’s figure disappeared at the horizon’s depth, until ahead appeared Pei Shu and Yu Zhi’s armies, did she numbly turn around.
At the end of the long grass, under the tall tree, that magnificent palace-like carriage was burning fiercely.
Before her was the destruction of memories from an important life experience.
Behind her, iron armies arrayed across the horizon.
On both sides, roads difficult to choose between.
She stood in the center.
…
That day, Jing Hengbo never returned to that carriage.
She had already seen the mountain range stretching before her. In future years, what she needed to do was cross it.
She didn’t want to pursue anymore.
As long as the hereditary poison remained, what use was finding him and forcibly keeping him?
Moreover, the trauma that bottle had caused her—she didn’t want to forgive so quickly.
If he wanted to stubbornly guard his obsession, she would persist in her own life.
She didn’t believe there was no insurmountable obstacle in this world, as long as she lifted her legs higher, and higher still, until she could leap across the chasm.
From now on, each would walk their own path. Meeting would be fate, not meeting would be heaven’s will. At the crossroads, she would one day make him understand that heaven arranged this encounter never for a hasty ending.
She would make him understand that Jing Hengbo was sent by heaven not to change Dahuang, but to change him.
She would make him understand that losing him, she could live well. Without her was his mistake.
Her palm gently caressed her abdomen.
After learning that news, would this child still come?
She suddenly remembered years ago at the research institute—the institute had all kinds of talents, including an old expert proficient in traditional Chinese medicine. When extremely bored, he had taken pulses for all three of them. She remembered that old fellow confidently saying that among the four people, except for the youngest Jun Ke whose natural constitution was limited and might conceive later, the other three all had constitutions conducive to pregnancy. Especially Jing Hengbo—with slender waist and full hips, no worries about offspring. As long as the three didn’t suffer major harm, each could bear a volleyball team without problem.
Everyone had laughed then—with family planning, where would volleyball teams come from? She herself had sworn she wouldn’t bear children before thirty, not wanting to sacrifice her most beautiful years and figure to children.
Things change unpredictably—no one could see future directions. This was exactly why she persisted in continuing forward. So many impossible things had become reality before her eyes—why couldn’t she laugh last?
Keep going, even if for the child.
She unfolded the parchment in her hand. It was a route map recording traveled roads and roads yet to travel, with various colored markings. Somewhere had spiritual springs, somewhere had medicinal marshes, somewhere had reclusive famous doctors, somewhere had survivors with symptoms similar to Dragon family illness, somewhere in deep mountain tombs had needed plants… Red marked what was already obtained, black marked what was yet to be sought. This was a “survival map” of the Dragon family.
This was the road he would take.
And she would walk out another road in her own way.
She put away the parchment, turning her back on the burning carriage. Facing Pei Shu’s army and the rising sun, she trampled through the wilderness grass.
…
Fifth month of Dahuang calendar year 372.
Yu Kingdom erupted with the famous “Regent’s Usurpation Case.”
Regent Yu Guangting, in Dahuang calendar year 370, while accompanying the Yu King on border inspection, colluded with Linzhou powerful clan the Yelu family to assassinate the Yu King, burying him deep in the Yelu manor’s underground secret chamber. Externally claiming the Yu King was wounded and paralyzed by assassins, he created a puppet false Yu King, thus holding the emperor to command the princes and gradually seizing Yu Kingdom’s power.
Such a secret matter was exposed two years later by Her Majesty the Queen while escorting exiled prisoners. The Yelu clan courted death themselves, attempting to rescue their exiled eldest son, thus causing conflict with the Queen. The final result was jaw-dropping—the mighty dragon crushed the local snake. After battling the Regent, the Queen chased him fleeing all over the mountains. When he finally escaped to the outermost supporting Linzhou private armies, Pei Shu arrived with captured Linzhou noble sons. Before the battle lines, those surviving noble sons shouted that many companions had been killed by Yelu Zhe and assassins sent by the Regent had tried to silence them. Only then did the Linzhou nobles realize they’d been deceived, immediately switching sides and delivering the Regent to Pei Shu.
Originally the Horizontal Halberd Army, as outsiders, couldn’t deal with Yu Kingdom’s Regent. The Regent had other loyal armies—once they learned the news, the situation would change dramatically. But the Queen was astute, early notifying Yu Kingdom’s two princes and secretly meeting with the second prince that night, forming an alliance to drive wolves to devour tigers. That day, the Horizontal Halberd Army and Yu Zhi’s forces combined, capturing Yu Guangting and defeating Yu Chong. In three days they reached Yu Kingdom’s capital Dadu, assembled court ministers, brought out the Great King, and in the golden hall used blood to verify bones, exposing the false Yu King on the spot. Yu Zhi gained ministerial support and was installed as the new Yu King. Three days later, Yu Guangting was executed by lingchi. Subsequently the Linzhou branch of the Yelu family was prosecuted, and the Dadu Yelu family was greatly weakened. But everyone knew it wasn’t over—when the new king’s wings were full would be when the Yelu family’s doomsday arrived.
External news naturally wouldn’t mention the Queen much, but every nation and tribe had inside sources. After the rulers of six nations and eight tribes heard about Yu Kingdom’s events, they collectively fell silent for a long time—how was it that wherever she went, royal families had problems?
Those with good relations with the Queen breathed sighs of relief. Nations and tribes with average or even hostile relations with the Queen urgently issued secret documents throughout their territories—if the Queen’s whereabouts were discovered, they must receive her respectfully, report immediately by fast horse, and absolutely must not offend her!
While issuing documents they worried—this Majesty liked traveling incognito with unpredictable movements. If they accidentally offended her and she dug around everywhere, exposing family secrets, what then? Which royal palace garden didn’t bury a few unspeakable corpses!
While they still worried, this time Jing Hengbo changed her style. No longer traveling incognito in secret, she directly converted two thousand escort troops and two thousand Horizontal Halberd soldiers into her personal guard, raising the banner “Inspecting All Dahuang Territory,” while simultaneously sending swift horses with documents to Dahuang’s six nations and eight tribes.
“From this day forth, the Queen selects a husband, broadly accepting a harem! Priority to the multi-talented, skilled in medicine, possessing strange abilities, or controlling worldly treasures!”
…