Chapter 220

Chapter 220: You and that masked woman’s illegitimate daughter?

In the courtyard of Guest Peak where Xu Ming resides.

Wu Yanhan sits face-to-face with Xu Ming.

Shen Shengsheng is by the flower bed in the courtyard, playing with mud while sticking her bottom out.

Although Xu Ming invited Wu Yanhan to visit his courtyard, she flatly refused and left.

However, when Xu Ming returned to the courtyard, Wu Yanhan had come on her own.

As for Yu Wen Xi and Miao Feng, they weren’t so tactless as to interrupt someone else’s date, so they went back to their own residence.

“Who is this little girl?” Wu Yanhan asked while looking at Shen Shengsheng. “You and that masked woman’s illegitimate daughter?”

“Hack hack hack…” Xu Ming accidentally choked. “What are you saying? Shengsheng is almost nine years old.”

“Heh.” Wu Yanhan turned her head.

Xu Ming: “…”

Xu Ming suspected Wu Yanhan was still holding a grudge against him for not helping her.

But come to think of it, Wu Yanhan wasn’t that petty, right? “Her name is Shen Shengsheng, and she is Shen Sheng’s daughter,” Xu Ming said as he poured a cup of tea for Wu Yanhan.

“Shen Sheng?” Wu Yanhan paused for a moment before remembering that eight years ago during a mission, Shen Sheng was the man who controlled monster beasts and eventually turned into one himself, only to be killed by Xu Ming in the end.

“So this girl is his daughter? Then why is she with you?” Wu Yanhan felt even more confused inside.

Xu Ming shook his head: “It’s a long story. As for the details behind Shen Shengsheng’s birth, I don’t know much either. All I know is that Shen Shengsheng has monster beast bloodlines. It happened when I came out of the White Hollow Secret Realm…”

Xu Ming recounted everything that happened in the Lava Heart Cave to Wu Yanhan without any concealment.

When Wu Yanhan heard about a human having monster beast bloodlines, she was utterly astonished.

“You’re telling me all this? Are you sure there’s no problem?” Wu Yanhan asked.

Shen Shengsheng was too special. Any force would want to snatch and study a human with monster beast bloodlines who could also cultivate.

Yet Xu Ming revealed everything without conditions.

Xu Ming smiled faintly, sipping his tea. “Since I’ve told you these things, it means I trust you, and I believe you won’t tell anyone else about this.”

“When did you start trusting me so much?” Wu Yanhan asked.

Xu Ming replied matter-of-factly: “After we’ve gone through so many life-and-death situations together, I’ve already unconditionally trusted you. You can say you’re one of the few people I trust most in this world.”

“One of them.” Wu Yanhan sneered. “Let me guess, among those you trust the most, there’s Qin Qingwan from Heavenly Profound Gate, right?”

Xu Ming: “…”

“Besides that Qin Qingwan, you also unconditionally trust that masked woman, don’t you?” Wu Yanhan continued.

Xu Ming’s eyebrows twitched, unsure how to respond for a moment.

No.

Why do you have to bring up something unnecessary like that? “I actually don’t trust that masked woman,” Xu Ming replied.

“Oh? Then why haven’t you told me her name yet? Aren’t you hiding something for her?” Wu Yanhan said.

“What’s there to hide?” Xu Ming felt that Wu Yanhan was unusually aggressive today. “The masked woman you mentioned is the Holy Maiden of the Black Lotus Sect in the Western Regions. The reason I have anything to do with her is because she wanted to kill me. But due to some reasons, we ended up fighting against the Joyful Union Sect together. To put it simply, our relationship is just mutual exploitation.”

Wu Yanhan: “Just mutual exploitation?” Xu Ming, feeling somewhat uneasy: “Just mutual exploitation.”

“Cough cough cough…” Xu Ming coughed a few times and continued, “Actually, there’s another reason why I’m telling you all this.”

Wu Yanhan: “Oh? Go on.”

Xu Ming: “After we return to Wudu, I plan to leave Shengsheng in the Xu Guo Mansion and ask Mother to take care of her. I hope you can help out a bit too.”

Wu Yanhan thought for a moment and shook her head. “If I don’t have anything going on regularly, I might be able to agree with you. But in recent years, I probably won’t be in Wudu.”

Now it was Xu Ming’s turn to feel puzzled: “Why?”

Wu Yanhan stared directly into Xu Ming’s eyes: “Quelling rebellions.”

Xu Ming: “Quelling rebellions?”

Wu Yanhan nodded: “During the half year you’ve been away from Wudu, quite a lot has happened. The biggest event is that your Imperial Favor Decree was implemented by His Majesty.

Your Imperial Favor Decree is indeed highly ingenious.

Especially combined with the improved status of illegitimate children in Wu Kingdom now.

Many feudal lords had no choice but to accept it and were forced to divide their lands among other descendants.

But no one is a fool.

These feudal lords accepted it because they originally didn’t dare to rebel, and your gentle method of the Imperial Favor Decree didn’t push them to the brink, so they didn’t want to rebel.

But it’s different for those ambitious feudal lords in Wu Kingdom.

These feudal lords know that once the Imperial Favor Decree is enforced, within a hundred years, their fiefdoms will weaken. And if they don’t implement the decree, internal conflicts will grow larger.

There will be illegitimate children siding with the court.

So these feudal lords, while their territories are still strong, want to gamble for the throne.

Currently, throughout the entire Wu Kingdom, over twenty feudal lords of various sizes have risen up in rebellion.

Some feudal lords form alliances, others act alone.

Many generals from the imperial court have gone to quell the rebellions. As the eldest princess of Wu Kingdom, how could I sit idly in the palace?”

Xu Ming understood Emperor Wu’s intentions.

War is the best time to build prestige.

Sending his daughter to fight on the battlefield is certainly dangerous, but there must be protectors secretly guarding her.

And if Yanhan can play a significant role in this pacification, her reputation in the imperial court will be very high afterward.

Moreover, Yanhan possesses the Martial God Constitution, which requires battlefield blood to hone herself. This pacification is an excellent opportunity.

Seeing Xu Ming deep in thought, Wu Yanhan assumed that she had upset him by refusing his request. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and softened her tone: “But as long as nothing unexpected happens, this pacification shouldn’t take too long. You can stay in Wudu for a while until I return.”

“Thank you,” Xu Ming smiled and turned to look at Shen Shengsheng. “No rush, let me think about it some more.”

“Take your time. If there’s anything you need help with, just let me know,” Wu Yanhan looked straight at Xu Ming. “But before that, I have a question for you.”

Xu Ming nodded: “Given our relationship, just ask directly.”

“In that case, I’ll ask directly. Did you come to Heavenly Profound Gate to congratulate us, or because you missed Qin Qingwan?”