Yan Zheng felt a wave of nausea rise within him, his face expressionless as he stared at her.
An Sheng spoke softly, "Mother knows that the Yan family has treated you poorly all these years. Your father regarded you as nothing, and your grandmother and brothers despised and alienated you... But now, it’s all better. You’ve returned to my side, and no one will dare slight you again. As for that Yan Shu—don’t worry. Once she’s stripped of her status and registered among the lowborn, I’ll have her sent to the government-run brothel. Isn’t she fond of trading on her looks? From then on, her fair arms will be a pillow for a thousand men. How does that sound, my son?"
Yan Zheng remained silent.
She smoothed her sleeves and sat down by the stone table. "It seems my son is still unsatisfied. Then shall we include your grandmother as well? Didn’t she always call you a curse? Let me step in and ask Supervisor Jiang from the Imperial Astrology Bureau to cast a divination, pinning the reputation of a child-destroying scourge on her. Would that finally quell your anger?"
Yan Zheng found it laughable.
Yan Shu was merely a pawn, and Grandma Yan was nothing more than a foolish old woman, unworthy of even a second thought.
Yet An Sheng spoke as though she were bestowing some grand mercy...
"If the Grand Princess has come here just to spout such nonsense, then I must excuse myself."
He turned his wheelchair to leave, but An Sheng barked, "Wait!"
Her eyes flickered with suspicion as she scrutinized him. Suddenly, she said, "You’ve met Granny Sun, haven’t you? You already know the truth from her?"
Yan Zheng neither confirmed nor denied it.
An Sheng clapped her hands in delight, laughing heartily. "Good, good! Truly my blood! Granny Sun’s weakness was still in my grasp, yet you managed to pry her mouth open. My twenty years of scheming for you were not in vain!"
Yan Zheng’s gaze darkened. He knew the real conversation was about to begin.
An Sheng waved a hand. "All of you, leave."
From behind the rockery, several figures vanished without a trace.
Now, the imperial garden was truly empty save for the two of them.
An Sheng rested her jade-white hand against her cheek and sighed languidly. "Where should I begin...? Let’s start with the first time I met your father. He was a young general then, and we met right here in this garden. He was gentle, reserved, scholarly, and humble—I took a liking to him at first sight. I asked if he would be my consort, but he replied that with the war still raging, he dared not delay my happiness."
Yan Zheng stiffened, his fists clenching involuntarily.
Those were words his father would say!
Though Yan Xu had been distant toward him, during the rare moments of instruction, he had always emphasized—"A man’s will must be steadfast; may this life be devoted to serving the nation!"
"So I waited patiently. One year, two years... He rose from a sixth-rank guard to a third-rank commander! I waited with joy, even telling my father that I would forsake my royal privileges to pave his way to glory. And what happened? He returned with Xie Yuan!"
At the mention of the name, her teeth ground together. "My dearest friend had seduced the man I wanted! And Yan Xu even defended her, saying she knew nothing—that it was all his fault for failing my affections! Zheng’er, do you know? That was the first time in my life I was humiliated. In status, beauty, cunning, or talent—how could Yan Xu choose a woman inferior to me in every way?"
Yan Zheng’s eyes grew shadowed.
The mother he remembered was nothing like the woman An Sheng described. Xie Yuan had been forthright, generous, and skilled in medicine, saving countless lives in the army under her father’s tutelage.
But An Sheng was nearly deranged now, her smile cold and twisted. "Fine! If he wanted to marry her, I let him! Xie Yuan was lucky—her first son survived. I had planned to strike during her second childbirth, but your father guarded her too closely. So I changed tactics, luring him away with matters of state—"
Here, her face lit with vicious triumph. "Hahaha! Xie Yuan probably died without ever knowing! While she struggled in labor, her husband was in my bed, lost in passion, oblivious to night and day!"
"Shut your mouth!!"
Yan Zheng erupted in fury. A dagger shot from his sleeve, its tip grazing her throat in an instant.
He wanted to kill this madwoman. He wanted to slaughter her!!!
Yet An Sheng showed no fear, tilting her head back with a mocking smile. "My son, can’t bear it? But you were conceived just like this! Your father didn’t lose control from drink—I drugged him. Three times the usual dose. He even tried to kill himself, but I threatened him: if he refused, the entire Yan family would perish with him..."
The blade pressed deeper, a thin line of blood blooming.
Yan Zheng’s vision burned red. Never had he hated someone so fiercely.
Then—clang!
Something slipped from his sleeve and clattered to the ground.
He looked down. A scabbard.
—"Yan Zheng, may you be like this blade, forever sheathed!"
—"Marquis, let this scabbard stand as a gentleman’s pact!"
Familiar voices overlapped in his mind, finally coalescing into the worried face of a woman...
He bit his lip until blood filled his mouth. Only then, with immense effort, did he slowly withdraw the dagger.
"Good! Zheng’er, if you can accept your origins, then nothing in this world can hold you back!" An Sheng sprang up, reaching eagerly for his shoulders.
Yan Zheng recoiled instantly, putting three paces between them, his gaze icy.
An Sheng paused, then laughed. "No matter, no matter! You’ll understand my devotion in time. Ah, where was I? After your father returned, he guarded against me like a thief. But what could he do? A general must lead his troops. So while he was away from the capital, I seized Granny Sun’s weakness and forced her to switch the babies at the temple. Then I sent you back to him—"
"Didn’t your father swear he’d love only Xie Yuan? Well, I made sure he raised our son, day and night, tormented by the sight of you—a reminder of me! And Xie Yuan... I wanted her to drown in regret, raising Yan Xu’s and my child until the truth came out. Can you imagine her despair? Hahaha! Pity she died too soon. She got off easy!"
To kill was one thing.
But An Sheng sought not just lives—she wanted to crush their souls.
His father must have committed some unspeakable sin in a past life to earn her obsession.
Yan Zheng’s stomach churned, but he forced himself to ask, "Did you do all this just to take revenge on the Yan family?"
"You overestimate them!" An Sheng sneered. "What talent does the Yan family have besides Yan Xu? The shortsighted second and third branches? That ignorant old crone? They aren’t even worth my glance! Everything I did was for you!"
Her tone shifted abruptly, eyes filling with concern as she glanced at his legs. "Zheng’er, how are your legs? Have you regained any feeling?"
Yan Zheng’s face paled instantly.
