Chapter 432: Han Mochen Reappears (8)

Chapter 432: Han Mochen Reappears (8)

Last night, there were few stars, but tonight, the sky is filled with stars, as if the Milky Way has cascaded down upon the earth.

The crescent moon hanging high in the sky, with its glow the faintest since the cycle of waxing and waning began, is overshadowed by the dazzling brilliance of the stars that adorn the night.

After a clear day, by evening, the thin layer of snow on the rooftops had mostly melted, and what remained had turned into a thin sheet of ice, covering the tiles and filling the crevices, reflecting a clear, translucent light under the night sky, like white crystal.

The figure in the black robe leaped onto the roof in a single motion, one hand behind his back, gazing up at the crescent moon.

This light, he had seen it for so many years. To others, six years might seem like a short time, but to him, it felt longer than a lifetime—so long that he thought all humans were born in darkness, living underground where no light could reach.

It wasn’t until he emerged from the underground and stood on the surface that he realized he was the only one who had been living in the dark.

His left hand, hanging by his side, was grasped by the woman who followed him. She didn’t say anything more, simply holding his hand as she had when they were children in the Qin Palace, in the corridor of the Eastern Palace, dispelling the loneliness and desolation that had surrounded him, the darkness he feared but had long since merged with, allowing him to feel warmth.

A warmth he had never felt before, not even from the mute nanny who had accompanied him for six years, nor from the mother he had just met in the Qin Palace. They had never made him feel this kind of warmth, like a beam of light that instantly dispelled his shadows. He was afraid, he resisted, but he was also deeply attached to it.

The killing intent in his phoenix eyes, hidden beneath the deep vortex, gradually dissipated, completely vanishing. The bloodlust that had been clamoring in his heart, urging him to flee from her side, also calmed at this moment, like the ebb and flow of the tide. No matter how violent the storm, it would eventually return to peace, and the only one who could bring him this peace was her.

"Rao Rao, Yun Muhao told you who was behind the fall of Great Qin, how the so-called 'cleansing of the court' that led to the downfall of Great Qin was plotted step by step.

But did he tell you who the person is now, the one wearing my mother’s face, occupying my mother’s identity, and enjoying all the honors that belonged to my mother?"

Han Mochen turned his head slightly, looking down at the person beside him.

At this moment, if he hadn’t still regarded Yun Ji as Yun Muhao, Su Rao would have thought it was Rong Xiao who had emerged. But it wasn’t; it was Han Mochen.

"Actually, she is that man’s woman. My mother was the later one, just a pawn they used to deceive and carry out their ambitious plans, a pawn..."

His breath grew heavy, and a thick, icy feeling filled the air, making the night wind feel like a sharp blade cutting through the sky, not only stirring his robes and hair but also freezing his face, causing a stinging pain.

"A pawn, yet why did she give birth to me, a filthy offspring with this tainted bloodline..."

"This is not your fault."

Su Rao tightly grasped Han Mochen’s hand.

She knew, he had told her when they were children.

He said: The mute nanny told him that if he behaved well, his father would bring his mother to see him. He wasn’t the bastard that others called him, he wasn’t the child of his mother and some other man.

That day, Yun Ji had also told her that Lady Yun Ji had been framed by the current fake Empress Yun, leading to her pregnancy...

"But I wish... I wish I were my mother’s child with someone else."

His jade-like fingers brushed over his eyes, these phoenix eyes, the only part of him that resembled that man, a taint he couldn’t remove.

"My mother was a beauty that men from the Yun Lang vassal state and even the entire world wanted to marry. Even though she was always just a pawn in the eyes of Rong Ke and Yun Yu, a pawn meant to bring chaos to the nation, a pawn can also become the player. No man could resist my mother, not even Rong Ke, which is why they called me a bastard..."

"Han Mochen, stop."

Su Rao’s soft hand moved, covering Han Mochen’s lips, not wanting him to bring up this past again, a past that would only stir the killing intent in his heart.

As he said, Lady Yun Ji was indeed a beauty so stunning that all things in the world would feel ashamed in her presence. Her beauty wasn’t just in her appearance but also in her essence. Every move, every smile of hers could make everything else seem dull.

Rong Ke married her as part of a plot with Yun Yu, using her to bring chaos to Great Qin. But men are naturally lustful, and Rong Ke, after marrying Lady Yun Ji, the former Princess of Yun Lang, couldn’t help but be captivated by her, even developing a desire to possess her alone.

This desire of his was noticed by Yun Yu when Lady Yun Ji became pregnant with his child. Yun Yu had known that Rong Ke already had a woman before marrying Lady Yun Ji, and that she had just given birth to a son. So, Yun Yu secretly conspired with that woman to frame Lady Yun Ji, claiming the child in her womb wasn’t Rong Ke’s.

Rong Ke, being deceived, could not tolerate it. Yun Yu secretly went to Dan Liang to meet with Rong Ke, debating the importance of a woman versus the world, questioning the value of a woman pregnant with another man's child.

"Don’t sacrifice the big picture for minor gains."

With the betrayal of his beloved in front and Yun Yu personally advising him from behind, and if the old Cloud King were to find out that Rong Ke had dared to deceive in marriage, having a wife yet still deceiving the Yun princess...

The consequences of this matter, without Yun Yu needing to say more, Rong Ke understood. His greedy impulses, once stirring, calmed down. Initially planning to rid the Yun princess of the bastard child, Yun Yu persuaded him to keep it, for better control over the Yun princess in the future, and the child that Rong Ke had hidden, just born, could rightfully become the legitimate heir.

Thus, the child in the Yun princess's womb was swapped out, and Rong Feng, originally an illegitimate child, became the rightful eldest son of Rong Ke.

The existence of Rong Xiao, apart from the colluding couple Rong Ke and Yun Yu, was known only to the mute nanny who took care of him. Even the Yun princess was oblivious, unaware that her child had been switched at birth, and that he had never seen the light of day since birth.

Later, the Yun princess found out when her maid, Huan Niang, noticed the mute nanny going to a place every day without fail, acting suspiciously. The mute nanny, originally Rong Ke's wet nurse, had her throat destroyed by mistakenly eating food meant for Rong Ke. Her furtive actions aroused Huan Niang's suspicions, leading her to trail the nanny and uncover Rong Xiao's existence.

Once Rong Xiao was exposed, Rong Ke and his wife dropped their masks, revealing their true, ugly selves. Since Rong Xiao was known, they fabricated a story of a second son who died at birth, and the Yun princess, weakened from childbirth, was actually imprisoned by them. Rong Ke's woman then openly took the place of the Yun princess.

Later, when Great Qin demanded hostages from the various feudal states, the false Yun queen naturally would not let her own son go to Great Qin in place of his father, so Rong Xiao, the second son who had never seen the light of day, was sent to Great Qin as a hostage in place of his brother and father. By then, Rong Ke and Yun Yu had already established their power in their respective feudal states.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, they used Rong Xiao to threaten the Yun princess, saying that if she wanted to save her son, she must obediently go to Great Qin and become their beautiful knife.

Thus began their long-planned scheme of the beauty trap, which eventually led to the chaos of the world by the foolish king and the enchanting consort, leading to the overthrow of Great Qin.

All these events were only clearly and thoroughly investigated by Yun Ji up to now, or rather, by the real Rong Xiao. When Yun Ji told Su Rao, the shock and depression in Su Rao's heart were imaginable, and how Han Mochen bore it is another story.