Chapter 559: Introducing Yun Ji to Father and Mother

Chapter 559: Taking Yun Ji to Meet His Father and Mother

After leaving the hall, Su Rao pulled Yun Ji back to her Raoxiangyuan. She kept smiling the entire way, masking the worry in her heart.

Yun Ji’s earlier words to her had not fully convinced Su Rao. She couldn’t afford to relax, afraid if old General Su kept talking, he’d crack and give himself away.

Yun Ji had said he feared being scorched by his sunlit self, which was why he resisted it time and again. He claimed he’d figure it out eventually—that when the day came, he would be honest.

Since Yun Ji said so, Su Rao would wait. She would wait for him to understand on his own and then tell her himself who he truly was.

"Rao Rao, do you want to marry Yun Ji?"

Just as they arrived at Raoxiangyuan, Yi Ying, Yi Su, and Yun Feng, who had been tidying up Su Rao and Yun Ji’s belongings, froze in their steps upon hearing this.

They all stared at Su Rao and Yun Ji.

What had they just heard?

Su Rao also halted and turned to look at the man holding the umbrella for her. The umbrella was always tilted toward her, shielding her from the wind and rain. At this moment, his eyes held no darkness as he looked at her, yet Su Rao could sense the raw, seething jealousy beneath his question.

Was it because of what she had said to her grandfather? Marrying Yun Ji meant marrying Yun Muhao.

"It’s not that Rao Rao wants to marry Yun Ji. Rao Rao has never truly known Yun Ji—no love, no bond, so how could there be talk of marriage? It’s that someone wants to marry Rao Rao. The man in front of me now has harbored this wish since childhood, even saying he would give me the moon he adored when he grew up. If he wants to marry, then I will marry."

She pulled Yun Ji forward to continue walking. The one she wished to marry was never just a name—it was the person she loved. Only him. No matter who he was, she would marry him. All she wanted was for him to be safe, to live peacefully for the rest of his days.

"Good."

With this murmur, Yun Ji said nothing more, allowing Su Rao to lead him to the side chamber within Raoxiangyuan—the ancestral hall of the Great Qin royal family.

Inside the hall, white candles never went out, day and night. In the months Su Rao had been away, her father and the others had treated it like their own family altar, sweeping it daily and replenishing the candles.

Su Rao brought Yun Ji here, placing the spirit tablets of her uncle and Qin Rao among the others, bringing family together.

The tablet of the Qin King had once been here as well. After all the spirit tablets Su Rao had painstakingly carved for the Great Qin royal family were torched by Yun Yu, the Su family rebuilt this ancestral hall—the royal shrine of Great Qin. The Qin King’s tablet had been among them, but when Su Rao later learned her uncle was still alive, she took it down. Yet in the end, it had been placed back.

"Father, Mother, Rao Rao has brought your future son-in-law to see you. Look closely—after today, you’ll never see him again. Once this visit is over, Rao Rao will lock this Great Qin ancestral shrine. Rao Rao will leave Qin Rao here, to stay with you forever, while she goes on to live happily as Su Rao."

She pulled Yun Ji down to kneel, bowing three times. With their fingers interlaced, she let her father and mother see clearly—she would live well, live happily.

Dense rows of spirit tablets stood neatly arranged. Among them, in the central position between the tablets of the Great Qin Crown Prince and his wife, was a new one. The inscription—"Daughter of the Great Qin Crown Prince, Princess Rao Rao of Great Qin, Qin Rao"—met the gaze of his slender phoenix eyes.

Her mind flashed to the image of the young girl sitting in a leather tent, carving each stroke with a knife.

Then came the memory of the hidden chamber in Qingfengju, where countless unnamed tablets had once stood. After learning Rao Rao was alive, one of the nameless tablets had been removed, leaving only the faded mark where it had rested for years.

That tablet should have been taken away long ago, but back then, Ah Xiao had forgotten Rao Rao, allowing Yun Muhao to search for two more years.

"Whether sooner or later, Rao Rao is now by my side. There’s no need for regret over past oversights."

The voice in his head, as it always did when rage threatened to consume him, cooled him like water, suppressing the bloodthirst that clawed at his heart and restoring his reason.

Now, he no longer needed this voice to remind him daily—he could control himself. He truly didn’t need it anymore.

"Yun Muhao, you heard it too. Rao Rao has always wanted to marry me. Why don’t you give up? You can’t control me, and I won’t be swayed by you. If you stubbornly cling on, all you’ll do is watch Rao Rao stay by my side every day. Why put yourself through this?"

These words of persuasion rose from the depths of his heart. In those seemingly calm and translucent phoenix eyes, a shadow flickered—once again, the need to destroy Yun Ji flared, fiercer and more urgent than ever. He wanted to destroy this Yun Muhao who kept restraining him. The one who shouldn’t exist wasn’t him.

"Ah Xiao, the one who’s stubborn isn’t me. You’ve long realized it—there is no Yun Muhao. There never was. You can’t destroy me, because I am you."

Yun Ji fell silent again, yielding control back to his other self, waiting for him to work through his remaining fears and choose his own name—whether to continue as Yun Ji out of love for his grandparents or to remain solely as Ah Xiao, the Ah Xiao who had appeared in the Great Qin palace.

"You're not me. You're not. I am Ah Xiao, Rao Rao's Ah Xiao, not Yun Muhao. I am not him."

The darkness in those phoenix eyes deepened for a fleeting moment, yet by the time Su Rao glanced over, it had vanished without a trace, leaving no shadow behind.

Cloaked in moonlight, his presence as serene as moonlit breeze, he met Su Rao's gaze with profound affection, his lips curving into that smile unique to Yun Ji—every glance and gesture eclipsing all else.

After paying respects to their parents and reuniting with family, the memorial hall was locked away, sealing all traces of Qin Rao forever, leaving no room for hatred.

No sooner had this been done than Uncle Su arrived, announcing that dinner was ready and calling them to Songhe Hall. News had also just arrived from Su Da—Daliang was secure, and they had already set off, expected to arrive before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The rain that had fallen all day finally ceased, and a rainbow arched across the sky, intertwining with the golden-red hues of the sunset, creating a dreamy spectacle of color.

"Su Rao... Brother Jiyue..."

Just as Su Rao and Yun Ji stepped out of Songhe Hall after dinner, Yun Luoling hurried after them. Earlier that afternoon, Su Rao had provoked her, leaving no chance to speak with Yun Ji.

Now, catching up and seeing her living brother Jiyue, her eyes reddened. Though she had rehearsed countless words in her heart, under Su Rao's gaze, she found herself at a loss.

Frozen in place, she nervously twisted her skirt, none of the Seventh Princess's usual willfulness remained.

"Yun Luoling, whatever you wish to say, there's no need. My third brother clearly cares for you, and I can see you feel the same. Since your hearts belong to each other, as his younger sister, I naturally bless your union. Our past quarrels were just childish nonsense—now that we've grown up, let's leave them behind."

Though Su Rao had tacitly accepted Yun Luoling earlier, she hadn't spoken plainly. Now that Yun Luoling had sought her out, she laid it out plainly.

As for Yun Ji, there was no need to hide him. Since Yun Luoling would eventually become her sister-in-law, she would see him sooner or later. Su Rao wouldn't hide Yun Ji forever. Once Yun Mujing firmly held the throne, even if the court learned that Prince Jiyue still lived, what could anyone do? Yun Mujing's ascension was no usurpation—it was by the abdication decree of the new emperor, Yun Muhao.

Taking this in, Yun Luoling dabbed her reddened eyes, holding back tears. After drinking in the sight of Yun Ji, she turned and walked toward Su San, who had followed her out.

In Yun Luoling's heart now, Yun Ji was her true elder brother—alive, that was all that mattered.