"Why ask this?"
Deep within the palace, in a magnificent golden bedroom.
A man dressed in a dragon robe, leisurely watering the flowers, was momentarily stunned, then looked at Xu Cheng in surprise.
"Just curious, asking a question."
Xu Cheng was blunt and sat on a lounge chair, eating a shiny grape.
"You..." The Emperor helplessly shook his head, but a faint smile appeared in his eyes. "Alright, everyone leave now."
He waved his hand.
"Yes."
A senior eunuch, accompanied by a group of palace maids, bowed and exited.
However, as they lowered their heads, a hint of surprise flashed in their eyes.
Having served the Emperor for many years, they naturally understood the Emperor's temperament. His actions just now indicated that he was in an extremely good mood, with no sign of displeasure.
It seemed that the eleventh prince, Xu Cheng, was indeed highly favored by the Emperor...
Just like the shadow of Lady Bai more than a decade ago.
[T/N: I just realized Xu Cheng is a Lelouch reference]
...
"Alright, speak up. What is it that you want to ask me?" Xu Zhen sat on another chair, smiling warmly.
"I want to ask about the palace coup many years ago. Was there a bloodline of my Xu family left outside? A baby girl, around thirty years ago." Xu Cheng asked without hesitation.
"..."
The smile on Xu Zhen's face stiffened for a moment. He sighed and rubbed his face.
Anyone else who brought up this sensitive topic would likely cause him to lose his temper instantly. In fact, he had almost forgotten about the palace coup over the years.
Fratricide and usurpation of the throne were, after all, dishonorable.
But the one asking was Xu Cheng...
The very same Xu Cheng who'e mother who, during the palace coup, disregarded her own frail state after just giving birth to a child, and when a family retainer of his older brother, a Soul Emperor-level warrior, made a final desperate counterattack, she bravely stood in front of him— the last gift left to him by his first love.
In fact, very few knew this secret.
When he was at the Royal Academy of the Sun and Moon Empire, he met his first love.
She had blood-red eyes, a stunning beauty and a heavenly talent.
At just twenty years old, she had already reached the level of Soul Emperor, which was incredibly rare in the Sun and Moon Empire. Everyone saw her potential and knew that, in the future, she would likely reach the level of a Title Douluo, becoming one of the top Soul Masters in the Sun and Moon Empire.
But because of love, she rejected all the princes' proposals and chose the one person who was least favored at the time—him.
Their time together began as classmates, with the youthful, naïve memories, though he couldn't recall much.
And these secrets had been buried deep within his heart ever since.
In reality, Xu Cheng had always been his favorite prince, without a doubt.
From the very beginning, Xu Zhen had been watching over Xu Cheng, but he dared not get too close. He could only carefully watch him from afar, in secret places where no one else knew.
Because he understood that, for any prince with a claim to the throne, affection would be a source of joy, of honor.
But for Xu Cheng, a child without a maternal clan or any support— it would be nothing but disaster...
Yet, what surprised him was that Xu Cheng had made it this far with his own abilities.
Thoughts swirled in his mind.
Xu Zhen sighed lightly. "In that battle, only my older brother's line was cut off. The other offspring survived. From what I remember, there was no baby girl among my older brother's descendants, and they should have all died..."
"No, you missed one, Xu He. He didn't die." Xu Cheng said calmly. "And he's on the exchange student list for Shrek and the Sun and Moon Empire."
"Xu He? That kid who looks a bit dim-witted?" Xu Zhen laughed and shook his head, then casually dropped a hook, "I didn't expect him to survive. If possible, let him live. After all, he is the last bloodline of my older brother."
"Why should I play the villain?" Xu Cheng shrugged.
"You..." Xu Zhen showed a helpless smile, then glanced sideways at Xu Cheng.
That pair of crimson red eyes, his handsome appearance, it was so much like her...
"You still haven't answered my question." Xu Cheng coughed lightly twice.
He wasn't entirely sure how to deal with this "adoptive father."
After all, Aunt Qing had told him that his mother was his first love, and that he had some fondness for Xu Cheng because of that. But as the Emperor, a man who schemed for power and ruthlessly killed when needed, how much weight could his first love hold in his heart? That was uncertain.
"Come, bring the family tree of the Xu family to me."
Xu Zhen rubbed his face and waved.
He then explained to Xu Cheng, "Xu Changnian is the patriarch of our Xu family. The family tree has always been kept by him. When you have offspring in the future, it will be recorded there as well."
Xu Cheng nodded.
Not long after.
Outside the palace.
An elderly man with a strong build and snowy white hair and beard entered, holding a crimson book.
"Greetings, Your Majesty! Prince!"
He bowed deeply.
"Uncle Song, no need for such courtesy. Come, sit." Xu Zhen smiled and said in a warm voice.
"Since that's the case, I'll get straight to the point. This child wants to investigate whether there is any bloodline of the Xu family left outside about thirty years ago. It was a baby girl."
"A baby girl, around thirty years ago?" The old man thought carefully for a moment.
He looked at Xu Cheng, "Thirty years ago, there was indeed a baby girl who disappeared due to an incident..."
Xu Cheng almost choked on the grape in his mouth, his eyes wide in disbelief.
What... huh???
Seeing this reaction, the old man secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued to explain, "Thirty years ago, there was a noble in our family, Lord Xu Baili. It's said that his wife had just given birth to a daughter when the girl suddenly went missing due to some accident. The cause is unknown, and the royal investigation team could never find anything..."
"What was her name?" Xu Cheng narrowed his eyes.
"She probably hadn't been named yet. At least, she didn't report it to me." The old man replied.
"I know about this. At the time, Lord Baili had a daughter late in life, and the others were all sons. That daughter was extremely precious. I saw her once at a banquet and even held her. Such a pity..." Xu Zhen said with some interest.
"Grandfather?" Xu Cheng was startled.
"Yes, the old man was over sixty at the time. I was only a little over ten years old..." Xu Zhen seemed to be reminded of old memories and sighed.
"But it's a pity that he passed away a few years ago. Now, the family estate is run by Xu Jiangnian, the eldest son of Lord Baili."
"Xu Jiangnian, that name sounds familiar." Xu Cheng frowned.
"The current head of the Sun and Moon Empire's Royal Soul Master Corps," Xu Zhen said slowly.
"Ah..." Xu Cheng's pupils contracted.
"We grew up together. When we celebrated that girl's birthday back then, he even brought her to show off. He was so proud. The old man had seventeen sons, and only the eighteenth was a daughter. As the eldest son, he was naturally very protective... I still remember that scene. He held her carefully but clumsily. Just a few minutes later, the old man came over, kicked him back, and gave him a good thrashing, haha..."
Xu Zhen laughed heartily, clearly in a great mood.
As an Emperor, it was rare for him to be this happy.
(End of Chapter)