Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 766: The Mystery of His Origins

‘Oh no!’ Song Qingshu was startled, realizing he had exposed a flaw. He quickly forced a bitter smile and said, “Maybe I suffered too severe an injury back in Kaifeng and accidentally hurt my brain. That’s probably why my memory’s a bit messed up right now. Could you briefly explain it to me?”

“Hmph, you were as vigorous as a dragon and fierce as a tiger last night. You sure didn’t look like someone suffering from serious injuries.” Wanyan Ping’s face flushed red as she muttered under her breath. 

Fortunately, her heart was now entirely devoted to Song Qingshu, so she didn’t become suspicious. She began explaining the situation to him, leaving Song Qingshu utterly stunned as he listened.

As it turned out, years ago, Wanyan Honglie had used despicable means to take Bao Xiruo for himself. However, Bao Xiruo continued to long for Yang Tiexin. 

Although Wanyan Honglie pretended to be magnanimous on the surface, he was actually deeply resentful. Every time he saw Bao Xiruo and Yang Tiexin’s child, he found it an eyesore. Eventually, he secretly had the child killed. Because the method was so discreet, Bao Xiruo believed the child had died of illness. Although she didn’t hold a grudge against Wanyan Honglie, she was still heartbroken over the loss of her child and remained sorrowful every day.

Coincidentally, during that time, Bao Xiruo became pregnant with Wanyan Honglie’s child. Fearing that her constant sorrow would harm both mother and child, Wanyan Honglie summoned Elder Peng from the Beggars’ Sect and used the Soul Capture Technique to hypnotize her, altering her memories. When she gave birth to a son for Wanyan Honglie, she believed the child was the result of her and Yang Tiexin’s love and named him Yang Kang. 

Wanyan Honglie, though a morally corrupt man, genuinely loved Bao Xiruo. To resolve her inner pain, he went along with the lie and allowed his own son to be raised as Yang Kang.

Thus, the heir of the Jin Dynasty’s Prince Zhao, Wanyan Zongkang, became the Yang Kang known to Guo Jing, Huang Rong, and others. Otherwise, no matter how “magnanimous” Wanyan Honglie claimed to be, he would never have treated the child of his romantic rival as his own.

Later, Yang Kang met Mu Nianci, and the two conceived a child—Yang Guo. However, this secret was known only to a handful of high-ranking officials in the Jin court. Even Yang Kang and Mu Nianci themselves were unaware, let alone Yang Guo. In truth, Yang Guo was of pure royal Jin bloodline—his name in the clan records was Wanyan Bingde.

This time, Prince Hailing, Wanyan Liang, encountered Yang Guo by chance. Because Yang Guo resembled Yang Kang so closely, Wanyan Liang instantly recognized him. Wanyan Liang’s father, Wanyan Zonggan, was the eldest son of Emperor Taizu, Wanyan Aguda, and a cousin to Wanyan Zongkang. Naturally, he knew the truth. When Wanyan Liang inherited his father’s title, he also learned of the backstory. So upon meeting Yang Guo, he devised a plan to bring him back and restore his identity. 
Yang Guo had only recently learned all this and nearly broke down. But with the detailed royal records and testimony from old retainers of the household, the truth was irrefutable—he had no choice but to believe it.

“No wonder he looked so lost and devastated,” Song Qingshu sighed. It was like living your whole life as a Ch!nese citizen, only for someone to show up one day and tell you you were actually J*panese—who wouldn’t be shaken by that?

“Back then, when Emperor Taizu fell ill, surrounded by powerful enemies, he didn’t pass the throne to his own son. Instead, he considered choosing one of his brothers as heir. Among all his brothers, Emperor Taizong and Prince Zhao, Wanyan Honglie, were the most capable. But because Prince Zhao failed to handle his heir properly, Emperor Taizu ultimately gave the throne to Taizong,” Wanyan Ping recounted the events with a sigh.

Song Qingshu’s expression was odd—so Wanyan Honglie was actually the brother of Jin’s founding emperor, Wanyan Aguda? This world really was messed up… Still, he had no choice but to accept it. After studying the Jin Dynasty’s genealogy over time, he now had a rough grasp of the political landscape.

Emperor Taizu passed the throne to Emperor Taizong, who later wanted to pass it to his own son. But due to opposition from various factions, he was forced to return the throne to a descendant of the Taizu bloodline. Taizong’s sons, seeing no hope of gaining the throne and unwilling to let it fall into the hands of Taizu’s descendants, began a power struggle. Eventually, the throne was passed to Taizu’s young legitimate grandson, Wanyan—now the current emperor, Emperor Xizong.

During the early years of Emperor Xizong’s reign, the court’s authority was divided among the descendants of both Taizu and Taizong. Over time, as many of these figures either died in battle or succumbed to illness, Emperor Xizong finally managed to reclaim power. However, years of suppression had made him weak-willed, and soon the power was seized again—this time by Empress Pei Man, Minister of State Wanyan Zongxian, Left Chancellor Wanyan Zongmin, Right Chancellor Wanyan Zongben, and Prince Hailing, Wanyan Liang.

Among them, Wanyan Zongxian, the Minister of State, represented the Jin royal family’s collateral branches; Wanyan Zongmin, the Left Chancellor, represented the Taizu faction; Wanyan Zongben, the Right Chancellor, represented the Taizong faction. Song Qingshu had previously assumed that Wanyan Liang, who seemed to wield unmatched power, was the strongest among them—but within this group of powerhouses, he was actually the weakest.

“Hmph! You men are all the same!” As Song Qingshu was deep in thought, he suddenly heard Wanyan Ping huff with annoyance.

“Why’d you say that all of a sudden?” Song Qingshu felt utterly wronged. Why did women like to generalize like that? He was catching strays for no reason.

“Back then, Prince Zhao treated Princess Zhao like that—doesn’t that say enough?” Originally, Wanyan Ping would never have cared about things like this and might even have admired Prince Zhao’s decisiveness. But after giving herself to Song Qingshu the night before, her heart was now filled with uncertainty. Unconsciously, she began seeing things from Princess Zhao’s perspective.

“Prince Zhao is Prince Zhao. I’m me, alright…” Song Qingshu suddenly froze mid-sentence. Thinking of the dishonorable things he had done lately, he felt he had no right to judge Prince Zhao.

“Oh? Feeling guilty now?” Wanyan Ping had only spoken casually, but Song Qingshu’s reaction made her suspicious.

“You little rascal, talking nonsense again. Watch how your brother-in-law deals with you!” With that, Song Qingshu lunged at her, baring his teeth playfully.

“Mercy, brother-in-law~” Wanyan Ping cried out and quickly dashed forward.

*****

The two teased and played all the way back to the Tangkuo residence. 

Suddenly, they saw Wanyan Gebi standing at the entrance. Like a startled rabbit, Wanyan Ping immediately jumped aside. Song Qingshu also awkwardly withdrew his hand, which had been tickling her, and forced a smile. “You’ve been waiting for us?”

“Mhm. You were gone all night. If you hadn’t returned soon, I was about to send someone to look for you,” Wanyan Gebi said, her gaze flitting briefly over to Wanyan Ping.

“You two lovebirds take your time. I’ve got palace duties to return to.” For some reason, Wanyan Ping couldn’t face her sister’s gentle gaze. Instinctively, she tried to escape. But as she turned, a wave of soreness surged from below, causing her to momentarily freeze before mounting her horse and riding off in a hurry.

Seeing Wanyan Ping leave, Song Qingshu wasn’t eager to face Tang Kuo Bian’s wife alone either. He quickly said, “She accidentally got bitten by a snake and fell off a cliff last night. We spent the whole night in the valley trying to find a way out. I’m exhausted. I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Is that so?” Wanyan Gebi responded mildly. As Song Qingshu passed by her side, she couldn’t help letting out a soft sigh. “Ping’er is still young. But you? You should know better. Her body hasn’t even fully developed yet—how could she withstand your torment?” (G: Oh shieeet!)