Chapter 441 – The Empress’s Secret, Li Yuan and the Deformed Child, All Under Heaven Rally to the Emperor - Part 1

“Like me?” Li Yuan instinctively cradled the baby in his arms and studied its face. But honestly, who could tell who a newborn resembled? With a laugh, he declared, “Yes, he looks just like me!”

Xie Wei looked up at him, a weary but radiant smile tugging at her lips.

What a strange little family they made—

The mother was a deadly shadow master treating her child as a pawn.

The father was a mysterious manipulator who’d slain the boy’s biological father.

And the child, born with the blessing of the Dragon Vein and guarded by a loyal soul from beyond, was destined to be Emperor.

Soon, Li Yuan handed the baby over to the midwife and the matronly attendants from the Xie Clan. Then he sat by Xie Wei’s side and said gently, “You’ve been through so much, Empress.”

Xie Wei gazed at him, eyes misting over. Her breathing quickened for reasons she couldn’t explain.

Li Yuan froze, then realized what she might be thinking. So soon after childbirth, and her thoughts had already turned that way? Perhaps she had lived under too much pressure for too long...

He gently took her hand in his and said softly, “Rest well.”

“Stay longer this time, will you?” she asked.

Li Yuan had intended to all along.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The birth of a new Son of Heaven, one recognized by the Dragon Vein and protected by Nine Loyal Souls, this was an omen of divine mandate.

The new Emperor’s maternal uncle, Xie Feng, commanded 30,000 Ocean Province armored cavalry and another 8,000 riders of the Flying Bear Army. This was the strength of worldly power.

Everything here pointed to victory.

And since the storm hadn’t yet turned toward Yan Yu, odds were, the target was this place.

At a moment like this, how could Li Yuan leave? He was the child’s

father

now. How could he let others step in and manipulate the boy, turning the future Emperor into someone else’s puppet?

No. If anyone was going to control the Emperor, it would be him. To have a puppet Emperor while pulling the strings from behind the scenes, what a deliciously powerful position to hold.

The Xie Clan probably had similar thoughts. But they didn’t understand the true depths of the Dragon Vein. Their real strength lay in military might, not personal power. And without powerful individuals, they had no real access to the Dragon Vein’s mysteries.

That ignorance might one day doom them, accused of meddling in imperial affairs as scheming in-laws, then wiped out in a purge under the banner of

cleansing the court

.

This is where Li Yuan came in. How would he go about neutralizing a future rival power? He already had a few ideas.

And besides, Ximen Gucheng had been in seclusion long enough. It was time to move about in the world again.

With all these thoughts swirling in his mind, Li Yuan took Xie Wei’s hand and pressed it to his cheek.

He smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

More than a month passed in a blur.

Li Yuan never left Xie Wei and the child’s side. He fetched tea, made conversation, played with the baby. He was dutiful and tender, every bit the model father and devoted husband.

But before outsiders, he kept up his imperial bearing.

As for why the Emperor had appeared here all alone, Xie Wei had already patched together a perfect tale.

The Emperor had endured humiliation and danced with ghosts, all to strike at them when it mattered most, to restore righteousness and clarity to the world. Alas, the enemy’s power was too great, his army lost, his grand general Lu Xuanxian slain, and chaos reigned in the capital. And so, the Emperor retreated to Ocean Province, watching the Jade Capital from afar, awaiting the right moment to strike.

With a story like that, the Emperor’s image became solid, almost heroic.

Even if anyone wanted to question it, they’d first have to get past the iron fists of the Ocean Province armored cavalry.

Besides, this version of the tale was exactly what most people, at least those on the

righteous

side, wanted to believe.

People rarely rejected a lie, as long as it suited their hopes. If it felt good, it became the truth.

By now, Xie Wei had fully recovered. For a common woman, postpartum recovery might take a month or more. But she was a sixth rank martial artist. She healed faster than most.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

One night, Li Yuan was about to leave when Xie Wei reached out and caught his hand. He turned around. Behind him stood a woman with flushed cheeks and downcast eyes, the very picture of bashful allure.

Neither of them said a word. But in that silence, something unspoken sparked between them. The hand holding his gave a gentle tug.

Xie Wei’s breathing quickened. Li Yuan, who had already stepped over the threshold, pulled his foot back and quietly closed the door. She flung herself into his arms.

And just like that, the spark ignited. In the lingering winter chill of early spring, flames flickered and crackled in secret.

From the bed came the soft sounds of movement.

An embroidered shoe slid down her long leg and tapped against the bedpost’s hook. The hook gave way, and the white silk curtain drifted down, veiling the bed in a haze of half-light.

From behind the curtain came a symphony of emotion. There was laughter mixed with sobs, and muffled cries that sounded like both joy and something wilder, teetering on the edge of madness.

Time stretched on. Then silence.

Xie Wei collapsed against Li Yuan, completely spent. She didn’t look at him, just traced playful fingers along his body, touching him with idle affection.

But something stirred in her again. For reasons even she didn’t fully understand, a fresh wave of emotion surged up. Her head began to move, her hair a black wave like ink-drawn dragons twisting through water, like wind-whipped blossoms dancing on a branch.

And then more time passed, much more.

As if all her emotions and energy had finally burned out, Xie Wei went completely limp. So limp she couldn’t lift a single finger.

The air was heavy with an intoxicating heat.

Li Yuan glanced at her, a little startled.

He truly hadn’t expected this side of her.

Outwardly, Xie Wei was the very embodiment of grace and propriety. But what had just happened...if someone had only seen this side of her and nothing else, they might well have mistaken her for nothing more than a seductress.

After that night, Xie Wei clung to Li Yuan even more.

Wherever he went, she went too.

The little Emperor-to-be, who should have been the center of everyone’s attention, had become the third wheel. If Xie Wei was in the mood, she might hold him for a bit. If not, she handed him off to one of the wet nurses without a second thought.

In front of others, she played the loving mother flawlessly. But in private, her gaze held no maternal warmth—only a cool, calculating calm, like someone surveying the game board and deciding her next move.

In contrast, it was Li Yuan who seemed to show more genuine care.

The child bore the imperial surname Ji, and his given name was Hu—meaning

to protect

. The name was meant to symbolize the protection of the realm. But anyone with a brain could guess it also carried a second meaning, the protection of the Xie Clan.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Before long, spring arrived.

By March, delicate white and pink peach blossoms had begun to bloom across the training grounds and throughout the Xie residence.

In a quiet courtyard, jade cups held freshly steeped tea. Wisps of steam curled in the air as three figures sat sipping together.

After weeks of interaction, Xie Yu had finally begun to change her mind about the Emperor.

Credit for that, of course, went largely to Xie Wei’s gentle indoctrination. She claimed the Emperor’s previous lecherous behavior was just a mask, a role he wore to convince the demonic cults and outsiders of his debauched nature. And in truth, he was nothing like that.

Xie Yu had been quietly observing her brother-in-law. And after several days of careful watching, she noticed something, the lecherous glint she once saw in his eyes was completely gone. What’s more, her big sister and the Emperor genuinely seemed inseparable now. That closeness didn’t look like an act.

Only then did she finally agree to sit and share tea again, just like they used to, chatting and venting like they had for over two decades.

Li Yuan sat nearby, sipping tea calmly.

Meanwhile, Xie Yu leaned in close to whisper to Xie Wei.

“I really don’t know what’s going on with my husband,” she sighed softly, resting her cheek in her palm and watching the steam curl from her cup. “He’s been in seclusion for a whole year and still hasn’t come out. Cultivating is frustrating enough, but to come home after marriage and still sleep alone in an empty room, what’s the point of even getting married?”

Her voice was low and full of grievance. Her eyes clouded with disappointment.

A flicker of panic crossed Xie Wei’s face, but it wasn’t just panic. There was something else too. A strange thrill.

She quickly grasped her sister’s hand and said with a smile, “Gucheng has always been...a bit obsessive. Maybe he had some sudden insight and is pushing hard for a breakthrough.”

But when she said

sudden insight

, Xie Yu couldn’t help but recall that day when she’d been publicly humiliated by the Emperor. Her husband had watched blankly, said nothing, looking all dazed and dull. But maybe, just maybe, he’d taken it to heart.

Without thinking, Xie Yu blurted out, “Isn’t it Brother-in-law’s fault? That day he had to go and act like that, teasing me in front of everyone. My husband’s probably still mad about it.”

In the past, Xie Wei would’ve immediately cut her off before she could finish that sentence. But this time, she didn’t. She let her sister speak freely.

And when she finished, Xie Wei even added fuel to the fire, smiling as she said, “Your Majesty, you’ve made my brother-in-law lock himself up in seclusion and my poor little sister sleep alone every night. That’s quite the mess you’ve made...”

“...” Li Yuan paused, slightly stunned. He looked at the two women before him, both, technically, his wives.

This strange entanglement of identities was unlike anything he’d experienced before.

Raising his teacup, he said, “Then allow me to offer a toast in apology, with tea in place of wine.”

“Ah...!” Xie Yu blinked in surprise.

Xie Wei followed suit and lifted her cup. “Yu’er, your brother-in-law and I both apologize.”

Xie Yu blinked again, eyes wide. She hadn’t expected this scene at all.

Still, she raised her teacup, then suddenly said, “Sister, Brother-in-law is the one who should apologize. Why are you apologizing too?”

Xie Wei smiled guiltily. “Well, since your brother-in-law and I are married, we’re one and the same. If he apologizes, so do I.”

Xie Yu could only sigh and accept it, clinking cups and drinking with them.

After a while, Li Yuan left the room for a bit.

Seizing the moment, Xie Yu leaned in and whispered, “Sister, why are you suddenly getting along so well with the Emperor?”

Xie Wei smiled, “We were always close, just had to keep it hidden from the public.”

Xie Yu’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “You know, when I badmouthed the Emperor just now, he didn’t even get angry. Does that mean he’s lost all real power and has to rely on our Xie Clan now?”

She lowered her voice further. “Is he completely at our mercy? Can we bully him however we like?”

Xie Wei blinked. “Uh...yes. Yes, absolutely. You can bully him all you want.”

Xie Yu leaned in again and whispered, “Sister, has he already become a puppet emperor, one totally controlled by the Xie Clan? Is that why he’s being so nice to you? Even when I insult him, he just smiles?”

“...” Xie Wei fell speechless. “Err, uhh, well—”

Xie Yu pressed on, “Isn’t it true? I asked around and even peeked a bit. He’s got no troops left, no guards, not even a single eunuch or general at his side.”

Xie Wei hadn’t expected her little sister to have the time, or the nerve, to go snooping into all that. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say. Eventually, she could only offer a gentle rebuke, “He’s one of us now, part of the Xie Clan. Don’t insult him.”

“I know, I know,” Xie Yu grinned. “But at least now, I don’t have to keep my head down when I see him. Hmph! Just a puppet emperor, that’s all.”

“...” Xie Wei could only stare at her little sister in awe. She straightened and said sternly, “Yu’er, no matter what, he is still the Son of Heaven. You mustn’t be disrespectful.”

“I know, I’m not stupid. I won’t say it to his face,” Xie Yu replied with a wink.