TSFLIP Chapter 1017

Xian Rang forced down his anger and asked, “Who is Ah Wan?”

“She’s a palace maid from the Imperial Kitchen.”

“The Imperial Kitchen doesn’t send you food?”

“A long time ago, when Eunuch Li was still alive, he used to go to the Imperial Kitchen and beg people to give me a little food,” Feng Yan said. “Later, Eunuch Li died of illness. After that, Ah Wan brought me meals. There weren’t any dishes, and the rice was mixed with sand and dirt, so I didn’t eat it.”
He paused. “These past few days Ah Wan hasn’t come, so no one has brought me food.”

Xian Rang’s voice grew colder. “Where did the injuries on your body come from?”

“Every once in a while, a man and a woman come here to meet in secret. They threatened me not to tell anyone.” Feng Yan spoke calmly, but Feng Guang, sitting atop the wall, had already begun to cry.

In truth, Feng Yan could hear the quiet sobbing as well—the voice that cried only for him, the voice that only he could hear.

Feng Guang suddenly realized how many things she still didn’t understand. He was only twelve years old. She couldn’t imagine whether she herself could have endured such things at that age.

Wiping her tears, she cried without any concern for appearances. Fortunately, no one could see her. Those palace servants had almost all taken out their frustrations on this child. She cursed them all, wishing them the worst possible end.

“This is outrageous!” Xian Rang roared in fury. “A mere servant dares to bully a prince! Is this how Consort Yun manages the palace staff?”

“Your Majesty, please calm down, calm down!” Ma Yuan was equally shocked, but considering the emperor’s health, he dared not let him become too agitated.

Feng Yan asked in confusion, “Why are you angry? I’m the one who goes hungry. I’m the one who can’t get enough to eat. Yet I’m not angry.”

Xian Rang gradually calmed himself and stared at the boy.

“You’ve been oppressed like this—why aren’t you angry?”

“I can’t beat them now because I’m still small,” Feng Yan replied, “not because I lack ability. So I remember it, but I don’t get angry.”

Xian Rang was stunned for a moment by his answer before continuing, “They threatened you not to tell anyone. Why did you tell me?”

“Because you’re holding my tassel,” Feng Yan said. “It was my first birthday present.”

Xian Rang fell silent for a moment. “Today is your birthday?”

“That’s what Eunuch Li said.”

“…All right. I’ll return it to you.”

He handed the tassel back. Looking at the thin, frail child before him, the emperor suddenly felt he had no right to stand there.

“Thank you, uncle. I’m going back now.”

Feng Yan ran into an even more dilapidated courtyard behind them.

Ma Yuan spoke nervously. “Your Majesty… should we return now?”

Xian Rang looked in the direction the boy had disappeared. There was some guilt in his heart, but what weighed more heavily was still the fate of the empire. He clasped his hands behind his back and said in a deep voice,

“Tonight, my eldest son, Xian Mo, will move into Yi He Palace.”

Ma Yuan immediately understood the emperor’s meaning. He bowed.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Xian Rang had acknowledged the boy’s identity and intended to elevate his status. The name Mo meant “stranger”—fitting, since the father and son had met as if they were strangers.

After days of rain, the sun finally emerged from behind the clouds. Crimson clouds spread across the sky like an omen:

After a long rain, the sun appears through the clouds. Red clouds foretell the coming of the War God, who will protect the nation and bring peace to the people.

The rain that had fallen for three straight days had finally stopped.

In the courtyard, Feng Yan stood quietly as the sound of crying surrounded him.

“Waa… If I’d known today was your birthday, I would have made the tassel prettier! Why didn’t you tell me? I should’ve gone to the Imperial Kitchen and taken more good food for you. Your child… how can you make people feel so heartbroken, waa…”

As Feng Yan listened, the corners of his lips suddenly lifted into a faint smile.

It vanished in an instant—so quickly that it almost seemed like an illusion.