Chapter 89: What do you think this girl's future will be like?
The gentle smile on his face had vanished, replaced by a deathly pallor.
Snap! A crisp sound.
The teacup in Xue Qinghe's hand slipped from his fingers and fell onto the clean floor, shattering into several pieces.
Xue Qinghe seemed frozen in place, maintaining the posture of his hand suspended in the air, the tactile sensation of the porcelain slipping from his fingertips still lingering.
Shocking, appalling, unbelievable.
Countless emotions surged within him, almost threatening to breach the high wall of pretense he had built up over the years.
How is that possible?
How did he know?
The latter half of the story was so vividly etched from his deepest memories that every word seemed to be perfectly extracted.
The first half... concerns the saintess and that man of high status...
A possibility he had never considered, yet which vaguely explained everything, burrowed into his mind like a venomous snake.
Mother.
His mother, Bibi Dong's perpetually icy face, the gaze that never held a trace of warmth when she looked at him, the deep-seated loathing and alienation...
Could it be that this is the reason?
The thought sent a chill down his spine.
no.
He must not see through you.
Qian Renxue forcibly suppressed her turbulent emotions, and her brain began to work at an unprecedented speed.
Who exactly is Ye Xuanming?
The mother's person?
Absolutely impossible; a mother would never tell such a humiliating story to an outsider.
Is it the Haotian Sect?
Or were they pawns planted by the two great empires?
What is his purpose?
Is it a warning, a threat, or are they trying to negotiate some conditions?
Ye Xuanming looked at him, without asking any further questions, but calmly repeated the question again.
"Your Highness, what do you think the future holds for the girl in the story?"
This calm voice, however, sounded like a heavy hammer, striking Qian Renxue's heart again and again.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to move.
She slowly bent down and reached out to pick up the broken pieces of porcelain from the ground. This simple action gave her a brief respite to calm her almost out-of-control emotions.
The slight stinging sensation as her fingertips touched the cool shards brought her back to her senses.
She stood up, placed the shards on the table, and forced a smile that looked worse than crying.
"The story of the Xuanming brothers is truly... thrilling."
"It's just a story, why take it so seriously?"
She tried to dismiss it all as fiction, to lightly brush aside this heavy topic.
Ye Xuanming neither refuted nor admitted it.
He simply looked at her, and that composure beyond his years was a silent form of pressure.
Perhaps.
He picked up his untouched cup of tea and brought it to his lips.
"But stories often originate from reality."
"If Your Highness feels that the ending of this story is not good, perhaps you can think of a better one for that girl."
Qian Renxue's heart tightened again.
She knew she had lost, utterly defeated in the first round.
Qian Renxue couldn't stay any longer; if she stayed even a second longer, she couldn't guarantee that her disguise wouldn't completely collapse.
She raised her hand and pressed it against her temples; her face was truly pale.
"I'm sorry, Brother Xuanming, I have a sudden headache today and am not feeling well. I'm afraid I can't entertain you any further."
She summoned the guards outside the door, signaling them to see the guest out.
Ye Xuanming stood up, said nothing more, and turned to walk out.
Just when Qian Renxue thought this ordeal was finally over, Ye Xuanming, who had reached the door, suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Your Highness, please rest well."
"When we meet next time, remember to tell me the answer you came up with for that girl."
The door closed.
Qian Renxue felt as if all her strength had been drained away in an instant. She staggered and grabbed the bookshelf behind her.
Answer?
What answer could she possibly have?
After a moment of distraction, a strong sense of crisis roused her.
Qian Renxue walked quickly to the desk, unfolded a special piece of parchment, and picked up a pen.
Her hands were still trembling slightly, but the words she wrote were written without any hesitation.
Qian Renxue must inform her grandfather about this matter immediately, as it is beyond her ability to handle.
She didn't mention the speculation about her mother in the first half of the story, as it was too shocking and impossible to verify.
Qian Renxue only wrote the second half.
A twelve-year-old boy, Ye Xuanming, knows all her secrets.
After writing the letter, she sealed it with sealing wax, summoning the shadow that had been secretly watching over her.
"Serpent Spear, return to Wuhun City immediately."
"Please personally deliver this letter to the High Priest."
For Qian Renxue, the next few days were agonizing.
Qian Renxue remained the same gentle and polite Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, handling government affairs and meeting with ministers as always.
But only she knew what turbulent waves lay beneath the calm surface.
Ye Xuanming did not reappear.
This silence is more unsettling than any direct threat.
He left the choice to her and then disappeared into the shadows, like an experienced hunter quietly waiting for his prey to walk out of the trap.
Qian Renxue studied all of Ye Xuanming's information repeatedly.
At the age of twelve, he was a four-ring Soul Master, having absorbed the first, second, third, and fourth Soul Rings at levels higher than his own.
Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, and Ning Rongrong are clearly his women.
Ye Xuanming himself was highly regarded by Poison Douluo and Ning Fengzhi.
Such a person cannot be dealt with using conventional methods.
To send someone to assassinate him?
That would be tantamount to declaring war on both Poison Douluo and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School at the same time, which is extremely foolish.
The source of Ye Xuanming's information is also a mystery.
Bibi Dong?
Tang Hao?
Or is it some hidden force she has never heard of?
She couldn't think of an answer.
...
Wuhun City, Hall of Offerings.
The Serpent Spear Douluo, travel-worn, bypassed all the usual reporting procedures and came directly to this place that symbolized the highest authority of the Spirit Hall.
The main hall was spacious yet imposing.
Qian Daoliu sat cross-legged beneath the six-winged angel statue, his body devoid of any soul power fluctuations, as if he were one with the entire hall.
He slowly opened his eyes, and the image of the Serpent Spear Douluo was reflected in his golden pupils.
"What's the rush?"
Serpent Spear Douluo dared not be negligent, and knelt on one knee, presenting the sealed letter with both hands.
Qian Daoliu raised his hand and the letter flew into his hand.
He opened the envelope and calmly began to read.
As he read, the air inside the shrine began to subtly change.
When he saw Ye Xuan's natural talent, his usually expressionless face remained unchanged.
While it is rare for a twelve-year-old to reach the fourth level of Soul Master, it is not without precedent in the long history of the Spirit Hall.
But when he read the next paragraph, and saw Ye Xuanming reveal Qian Renxue's identity in a single sentence...
"Click".
The letter in his hand was crumpled and deformed.
A terrifying aura flashed by from him, and the beams and pillars of the dome of the temple groaned under the weight.
How is that possible!
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(End of this Chapter)