Chapter 330: Chao Chao’s Many Sins
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
“If he can’t protect her, then what is he searching for? Bringing her back only to send her to her death?” Shi Yun couldn’t help but scorn.
“After enduring countless hardships to find her, only to bring her back and fail to protect her, letting her suffer endless humiliation! He looks like a fool hopelessly in love, yet she’s the one who has to bear all the pain!” Thinking of how Madam Ning stayed in the capital, enduring disdain and mockery, Shi Yun felt miserable.
“His Majesty has done his best. But the entire court, along with the powerful noble clans, hold immense sway. His Majesty must still consider the stability of the empire.” Ming Lang wiped his sweat.
“You are a princess of the Southern Kingdom, a member of the imperial bloodline. With your support, your mother would at least have a better life.”
Xu Shi Yun sneered.
“Who wants this Southern Kingdom bloodline? I certainly don’t!”
Nan Mu Bai was furious.
“Who in this world wouldn’t want to be born into the Southern Kingdom’s royal family?”
“Who wouldn’t want to be part of one of the Seven Great Clans?”
“Aunt, being born with the blood of the Southern Kingdom is an immense blessing. You should cherish it…” In the eyes of the Seven Great Clans, Northern Zhao was an inferior bloodline.
Xu Shi Yun couldn’t stand his attitude.
It made her sick.
As if the Southern Kingdom’s blood was noble and Northern Zhao’s was utterly lowly.
“Cherish what? Cherish your lack of gratitude? Cherish your betrayal? Even I, living far away in Northern Zhao, face assassination attempts. I can only imagine how much worse it must be for Madam Ning.”
“Aunt, don’t jump to conclusions. That assassination attempt must have been a misunderstanding.” With An Ying dead, Nan Mu Bai would never admit anything.
“Aunt, your imperial grandfather is old. Do you not wish to see your biological father one last time?”
Xu Shi Yun scoffed.
“See him for what? To watch him enjoy his harem while neglecting his savior?” She had no attachment to the old emperor.
A so-called father who couldn’t even protect his own wife and child had no right to be called a father or a husband.
Ming Lang interjected, “Even if you don’t want to see His Majesty, shouldn’t you at least see Madam Ning?”
“Madam Ning has never done anything wrong.”
Her only mistake was her kindness.
Saving a drowning emperor only to be repaid with a lifetime of suffering.
Xu Shi Yun remained silent.
“Her eyes are blind, her legs crippled, yet she still searches for her daughter every day.”
“Searching until she has nearly lost her sanity. At least let her see you once.”
“It is the only thing keeping her alive. It is her only wish in this life.”
“If you do not wish to stay in the Southern Kingdom, you can leave after visiting her. His Majesty will not stop you.” Ming Lang tried to persuade her.
Old Madam of the Stabilizing Duke spoke with a heavy tone, “Return?”
“Shi Yun being alive is already an eyesore to some. If she goes, will she ever come back?!”
She was the daughter-in-law that the Rong family had fought desperately to secure!
What the old lady did not say was that years ago, the Duke had already altered the family records.
Rong Zhao Xi.
A homophone for “Summon Daughter-in-law.”
Summon a daughter-in-law, summon a daughter-in-law…
Fortunately, no one ever checked the records, and everyone simply called him Duke. To this day, no one had noticed.
“The Southern Kingdom is a den of dragons and tigers, a place of no return. Even her birth mother, who saved the emperor’s life, never received a proper title. If Shi Yun returns, who knows how much suffering she will endure?” The old madam’s words were sharp and merciless.
“The Southern Kingdom is no den of dragons and tigers. As long as she goes, she will be a princess second only to one!” Nan Mu Bai argued.
Ming Lang clenched his fists, barely restraining his anger. He really wanted to punch Nan Mu Bai in the face.
For heaven’s sake, would he just shut up?
Every word he spoke was filled with superiority, making people despise him.
Of course, this was the typical demeanor of the Southern Kingdom’s royalty. Their arrogance was unbearable.
“Since when did being a servant become so honorable?”
“A Celestial Attendant is still just a servant. Why are they so proud?” Lu Chao Chao was puzzled. Where did they get their arrogance from?
Nan Mu Bai stiffened. “A Celestial Attendant is not a mere servant! They are agents of the deities!”
“You see, in our household, those who serve tea, deliver messages, and do errands are called servants.”
“But in the Southern Kingdom, they call them ‘agents of the deities.'” Lu Chao Chao couldn’t help but mock.
[Ah, how times change. Even servants have become so high and mighty.]
[When there are no tigers in the mountains, the monkeys rule as kings.]
Back in her days as the Ancestor of the Sword Dao, she had seen many deities. But she had never cared about their attendants.
Even she had young servants following her.
Who would have thought that those humble attendants had grown into such a force?
Nan Mu Bai was left speechless by her blunt words.
“The child is ignorant, Your Highness. Please do not take offense.” Xu Shi Yun smiled as she praised her daughter in her heart.
That sharp tongue! She loved it.
“Your Highness, please take your leave. We must discuss this matter further.”
“As for the Dragon-Pattern Jade Pendant…” Xu Shi Yun hesitated.
Earlier, she had considered handing over the pendant for peace of mind.
But now she realized—the pendant was the only proof linking her to her birth mother. Even if not for herself, for Madam Ning’s sake, she could not give it to Nan Mu Bai.
If she handed it over, she and Madam Ning would never be able to prove their identities again.
“The Dragon-Pattern Jade Pendant must stay with me.”
Nan Mu Bai knew he wouldn’t get it but still couldn’t hide his disappointment.
“Please think it over. I will wait for you at the embassy.” With that, he left with the Southern Kingdom envoys.
After they departed, Old Madam Rong’s face darkened.
“The old emperor’s so-called longing for his daughter is not to be trusted!”
“How many in the royal family are truly simple-minded?”
“He has ruled for decades. Could he not have protected the woman who saved his life and bore his daughter?”
“He found his beloved but refused to grant her a title, keeping her outside the palace. That was not protection—it was imprisonment!”
“Now, he desperately seeks Shi Yun, but I suspect it’s for the Imperial Jade Pendant!”
“Without the pendant, he cannot pass the throne to the Eldest Princess, Nan Feng Yu. That is why he is so eager to find you!”
“But if he only asks for the pendant, it makes him seem heartless and ungrateful.”
“Claiming to search for his long-lost daughter sounds much better.”
“Trust no one.”
The old madam sighed.
“But Madam Ning—her love for her daughter is true.”
While others schemed for power, she alone waited for her daughter to return home.
Rong Che and Lu Yan Shu hurried back to the manor, but the envoys had already left.
Knowing the truth, Rong Che’s expression turned dark.
Lu Yan Shu, having expected this outcome, remained calm.
“Chao Chao, I heard you gave the Crown Prince a Soul-Fixing Pearl and gifted Abbot Shi Kong a Golden Alms Bowl?”
“Turns out, you’re quite wealthy, huh?”
Lu Yan Shu was confused. Didn’t she always claim to have been a penniless sword cultivator in her past life?
Lu Chao Chao forced a smile, inwardly weeping.
[Wealthy, my ass!]
[Big brother! Those things—I didn’t dare take them out in my past life!]
[The Golden Alms Bowl was swindled from a Buddha Child!]
[The Soul-Fixing Pearl was picked up from True Monarch Ling Xiao…]
[My entire storage is full of treasures that I can’t even reveal!]
[If I did, I’d have every god and deity hunting me down!]
[Why did I never ascend despite being the Ancestor of the Sword Dao? Damn it, I’ve sinned too much! I don’t dare ascend… If I do, I’ll be ambushed the moment I arrive!]
She had truly sinned.
In her past life, to support seven disciples, she had gone around “borrowing” from the rich.
Lu Chao Chao wiped away her imaginary tears.
Sitting on a mountain of treasure—yet still so very poor.
“How can you say that the Southern Kingdom is a dragon’s lair?”
Yeah it’s clearly a hydra’s lair.