FRGNM -Chapter 323 A Priceless Treasure

“Pfft, looks like Nangong Mo really cares about you,” Ling Ruoxi said with a faint smile. Her fingers rested on Qian Yi’s pulse, and in her heart she already understood everything. Propping her chin up with one hand, Ling Ruoxi continued, “As for a so-called wedding, sometimes you have to break it yourself. We old folks can just help build bridges and play matchmaker for our children. If the daughter in your womb is born, we’ll first betroth her to a son of my family. If she later likes another man, or if my child likes another woman, then the engagement will be canceled. But if neither happens, then let them be together—how about that?”

“The baby in my belly… is a little princess?” Having learned the news, Qian Yi immediately reached out to stroke her belly, giggling happily. “That’s wonderful. I’ll give birth to a daughter who can protect the little brother who’ll be born later. Mm, that’s how it should be…”

“My eldest princess…” Nangong Mo’s lips curved upward as he quickly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Qian Yi, laughing softly.

Ling Ruoxi raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s this? Don’t royal families usually prefer princes? Nangong Mo, why are you so excited? An eldest princess isn’t a boy, you know.”

“Nonsense. As long as she’s born by Yi’er, I’ll love her… We have plenty of time in the future. Even ten or eight children wouldn’t be a problem…” Nangong Mo said with a light smile, looking utterly confident—so much so that it was rather ridiculous.

Qian Yi, on the other hand, looked furious. She glared hard at him. “What nonsense are you talking about? I’m not a pig! Ten or eight—why don’t you give birth to them!”

“Heh, Yi’er, don’t be mad. Why does it sound like once the child is born, I won’t have had anything to do with it? I worked hard too, you know…” Nangong Mo chuckled and pulled her tightly into his arms.

It felt as if something was scratching at her heart. Ling Ruoxi forced a smile as she looked at the couple, then turned and walked outside. Leaning against a pillar nearby, a man watched her leave with a cold expression. It seemed that the woman before him was not quite right.

“What’s wrong?” Luo Mingyu wrapped an arm around her slender waist and pulled the fragile figure into his embrace. Lowering his head, he kissed Ling Ruoxi’s forehead and said softly, “Don’t take it to heart. Having Yizhui and Yimeng is already more than enough for us. I’m grateful to the heavens that you and the children are safe—that’s all I dare to ask for. Pregnancy is hard on women, and I don’t want you to suffer anymore.”

He did not mention Ling Ruoxi’s own situation. The price she had paid for cultivating the Poison Scripture was the loss of her ability to bear children, along with an extremely high risk of disfigurement. Back then, when she had just begun practicing it, her face had nearly been ruined. In the end, she had only managed to recover thanks to the Seven-Colored Flower within her body.

Now, the words spoken by Qian Yi and Nangong Mo were like a heavy hammer, striking her heart again and again, leaving her unable to breathe. Fortunately, she already had Yizhui and Yimeng. Otherwise, she truly did not know what she would do.

“Mm… by the way, Mingyu, do you think the Purple Bamboo Divine Needle can awaken Father?” Ling Ruoxi frowned, resting her chin on one hand. At the moment, she had no mind to care about anything else. Compared to all that, she wanted to know more about the actual use of the Purple Bamboo Divine Needle.

Luo Mingyu lowered his head in thought. His eyes, like shining stars, fixed on the distance as a sharp glint flashed through them. “According to common sense, it should be able to awaken him. It’s just that Master’s seclusion method is completely different from ours. The Purple Bamboo Divine Needle can stimulate the fighting qi within the body, making vitality active again and allowing a person to regain consciousness. We’ll wait two more days—once a hundred hours have passed and that trace of vitality in Master’s body fluctuates, we’ll use the Purple Bamboo Silver Needle to capture it and excite it. Then Master may be able to emerge from seclusion.”

“However, that trace of vitality is extremely cunning and won’t let itself be captured easily—failure is inevitable. We still have time, so don’t be too anxious, alright?” He reached out and pressed a hand on her head, gently rubbing her long hair in a doting manner.

Ling Ruoxi nodded. Indeed, in a body where vitality had almost dried up, capturing that single thread of life force amid countless meridians was far too difficult. It required extremely powerful mental strength and a keen perception of life. The moment that vitality appeared, one had to strike immediately—decisive, without the slightest hesitation…

“All right then. We still have two days. Let’s take Yizhui and Yimeng around to have some fun. Speaking of which, we really are rather unqualified parents—we hardly ever spend time with our children,” Ling Ruoxi said. Over the past two years, this was what she felt most guilty about. She was always away and never properly took care of them.

As a result, the two children had already changed so much, yet she hardly knew them anymore.

“Mother, is that true? You can really go out and play with us?” A small head poked out from the bushes. Those star-like eyes looked straight at the two of them. As if returning to childhood, Yizhui jumped out, twisting his hips and trying his best to act differently.

Yet the slightly cold face paired with a forced smile made him look somewhat stiff and awkward.

Beside him, Yimeng drooped her head and clapped her little hands, laughing. “Mother, let’s go out right now. Father, are you coming too?”

“Of course,” Luo Mingyu replied with a nod.

Ling Ruoxi rubbed the two children’s heads. In just two years, Yizhui had already grown to be almost as tall as she was. The childishness had faded from his face, replaced by a hint of mature charm.

Duan Yun Kingdom had not yet been infiltrated by Baili Wushuang’s forces. The people in the city still lived as they always had—hawking their wares, lively and bustling, completely different from what they had seen elsewhere. But when she thought of how other countries had become, Ling Ruoxi could only sigh helplessly.

With their current strength, they still could not help those other nations. They could only wait for Baili Wushuang to deliver himself to their doorstep. Once he was eliminated, the other countries would naturally return to normal.

“Mother, look at this—doesn’t it look nice?” Holding a piece of pink silk fabric, Yimeng said calmly. “Grandma said that girls should dress beautifully. Mother, you always like wearing black and white clothes. Take this fabric back and make a new outfit for yourself. I guarantee it’ll look great…”

“Oh my, isn’t this that girl called Yimeng?” A sharp, mean voice came from outside the door. A twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl led a group of maids as she swaggered in, clearly not putting Yimeng in her eyes at all. “What, showing off here after leaving the palace? Do you really think you’re something special? You even dare come here to buy things. You’re nothing but a wild girl staying in the palace—how dare you think of wearing something this nice?”

Yizhui, his face cold, turned his head to look at the girl and said in a low voice, “Yuan Mengmeng, I’ve told you—if you keep running your mouth, I’ll tear it to shreds.”

“Oh my, I’m so scared,” Yuan Mengmeng said arrogantly. “What, you lodgers think you have manners now? I heard your island was destroyed, and His Majesty, my godfather, took you into the palace. Hah… so what? I’m the little princess personally acknowledged by His Majesty. Can you compare? Look at what kind of trash you two are, and you still dare talk to me without kneeling!”

Her arrogance knew no bounds. Her gaze swept over Ling Ruoxi and Luo Mingyu standing nearby, and she showed a trace of surprise. The two people in front of her looked somewhat similar to those two wild children. They didn’t seem very old either.

Immediately, Yuan Mengmeng raised her brows and said, “It’s only been a few days, and you’ve already brought your brothers and sisters into the palace too? You’re really something. Do you want me to go tell my godfather, His Majesty, to kick you out of the palace?”

This arrogant girl… was Nangong Mo’s goddaughter? Resting her chin on one hand, Ling Ruoxi raised an eyebrow as she looked at the girl opposite her. She was no longer the proud and hot-blooded woman she had once been. If she were still that age, she would have beaten this girl until she was crawling all over the ground.

It seemed Nangong Mo was desperate for a daughter—so desperate that he casually acknowledged such a goddaughter. Was he unwilling to accept that her own children were already this old?

The veins on Yimeng’s hands bulged, yet she still ignored the girl opposite her. Holding the fabric, she calmly handed it over. “Boss, we’ll take this bolt of cloth. Please wrap it up. How much is it?”

“Hand it over…” The girl opposite her was quick-eyed and quick-handed. She grabbed the fabric from Yimeng and yanked it backward. Yimeng refused to give way, her small hand gripping the cloth tightly. The two forces collided, and with a sharp rip, the pink silk was torn into several pieces.

Yimeng’s face changed drastically. The anger in her eyes nearly burst out. Her fists clenched tightly, yet she was holding herself back.

The other party was just a little girl, and Ling Ruoxi had no intention of stepping into a conflict between juniors. Her daughter and son could not be inferior to others. She believed they had their own way of handling things. Yet Yizhui and Yimeng now seemed to be holding something back—were they wary of Yuan Mengmeng’s status?

A warm hand rested on Yimeng’s head. A gentle smile appeared on Luo Mingyu’s lips. “Yimeng, you are Father’s priceless treasure. No one can compare with you. Do what your heart tells you to do—Father will always be your support.”

“Father…” Yimeng’s eyes reddened, and her fists clenched even tighter. Once, she had been the little princess of Qiongyu Immortal Island, with nearly everyone revolving around her. But after Qiongyu Immortal Island was conquered, her temperament gradually became hidden. That pride and arrogance that belonged to her vanished without a trace beneath Grandma’s tears.

Just as Yuan Mengmeng had said, they were merely people lodging in Duan Yun Kingdom, having nothing to do with it at all. What right did they have to contend with a princess like her? They were, after all, living under someone else’s roof…

“Father?”

Yuan Mengmeng’s expression changed abruptly. She suddenly raised her head to look at the two of them and said in surprise, “They’re your children? Oh, I couldn’t tell. So you two wild brats actually have parents. I thought your parents died long ago—otherwise why would they hand you over to my godfather, His Majesty…”

Whoosh!

Yizhui’s and Yimeng’s expressions changed at the same time. Almost instantly, the aura around them completely shifted.

The restraint from before was gone—replaced by burning fury.