TRBDM -Chapter 204 Xie Yu Learns the Truth

The princess’s carriage moved through the darkness.

Xie Yu kept his head down, saying nothing.

His eyes were swollen badly. Afraid that Zhao Lingchen would worry, he avoided her gaze.

A mother and child are closely connected—how could Zhao Lingchen not feel for Xie Yu?

She deliberately acted cold and indifferent, fearing that he would be too attached to the Marquis Residence. Better to be decisive and leave tonight without hesitation.

When the carriage arrived at the princess’s residence, Xie Yu stepped down, his footsteps heavy.

He was exhausted and dejected, not yet fully recovered from his emotional farewell.

Zhao Lingchen did not comfort him. Instead, she led him to a locked room.

Only Zhao Lingchen had the key to this room.

She handed the key to Xie Yu. “Yu’er, open it.”

Xie Yu hesitated for a moment, then took the key and unlocked the door.

Nanny Nai stepped in first, lighting a candle, then stepped back out.

Zhao Lingchen gently pushed Xie Yu from behind.

“Go in.”

Following the push, Xie Yu stepped into the room.

The room was empty. At first glance, all that could be seen was a suit of armor hanging on the wall directly opposite him.

The armor was tall and imposing, clearly aged by time.

Xie Yu was drawn to it and slowly approached.

Under the candlelight, the jet-black armor gleamed with a cold, hard light.

Forged from fine iron, the armor looked as though it had seen countless battles, its surface scarred and battered, displaying the achievements of its owner.

Xie Yu’s gaze traveled upward, stopping at the chest of the armor.

He had a nagging feeling that something was missing.

And this thing… he seemed to have seen it before.

Just then, a memory surfaced: Zhao Lingchen had once given him a protective chest mirror.

Could it be… that the chest mirror originally belonged to this suit of armor?

Xie Yu’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper. So many questions swirled in his mind; he could not make sense of it.

Who had owned this armor?

Why had his mother cherished it so, preserving it carefully for all these years?

As for that chest mirror, Xie Yu harbored a quiet suspicion—it was the same one his mother had given him.

“Yu’er,” Zhao Lingchen stepped forward, standing beside him. “Kneel.”

Xie Yu’s expression turned solemn. With a thud, he knelt down.

“This is your father’s battle armor—Xuanfeng Armor,” Zhao Lingchen’s cold, clear voice rang out.

Xie Yu froze in shock.

Father?

His biological father?

Ever since learning his true identity, Xie Yu had never asked who his father was, fearing it would upset Zhao Lingchen.

Now, kneeling before the Xuanfeng Armor, he looked up, as if staring at his father himself.

“Your father’s name was Fu Wei. He was the Grand General guarding the borders of the Dachong Dynasty.”

Xie Yu’s breathing quickened.

His father had been a Grand General!

“Father…”

Was he still alive?

Xie Yu did not dare ask. His heart pounded wildly.

“Thirteen years ago, he was framed by the people of Northern Border and died tragically at the frontier.”

Zhao Lingchen’s voice carried grief in every word. When she spoke of Fu Wei, her hatred for the Northern Border people surged like a tidal wave.

Hearing the words “died tragically,” Xie Yu’s anger flared uncontrollably. He clenched his fists tightly.

“Did the people of Northern Borders kill Father?”

“Yes.”

Hatred filled Zhao Lingchen’s eyes. “Yu’er, the murder of your father is an enmity that cannot be reconciled. I want you, in front of Fu Wei’s armor, to kneel and swear an oath—you must avenge him and personally slay his killers.”

Without hesitation, Xie Yu kowtowed three times, each sound echoing loudly.

With a serious expression, he restrained the fury in his heart and declared: “I swear, I will avenge my father.”

Zhao Lingchen felt a surge of relief: “Good child, truly worthy of carrying Fu Wei’s blood!”

Ever since Zhao Lingchen learned the truth of Fu Wei’s death, she had been planning this very step.

Zhao Kuang, Zhao Jingrui, and the Northern Borders people—they formed a closed circle that conspired against Fu Wei.

Each of them was her enemy.

Zhao Kuang’s life was short; he had always sought to have the Crown Prince ascend, but Zhao Lingchen had always gone against him.

Didn’t he look down on Zhao Jingheng? Yet Zhao Lingchen opposed him at every turn, fully supporting Zhao Jingheng’s rise to power.

When Zhao Jingheng ascends the throne, Zhao Kuang will find no peace even in the afterlife.

As for the Northern Borders, Zhao Lingchen and Xie Yu together will wipe out their nation entirely.

Zhao Lingchen excelled in military strategy, and she planned to personally teach Xie Yu all kinds of tactics while training him in martial arts.

Fu Wei had been a master of the spear, and Zhao Lingchen had already found the finest spear master in the Dachong Dynasty, who would begin instructing Xie Yu from tomorrow.

There was also a master of mounted archery, an unparalleled expert in the martial world, waiting at the princess’s residence for orders.

Once Zhao Lingchen successfully elevates Zhao Jingheng, she will lead Xie Yu to the border.

Mother and son, together—they would, whether in three years or five, destroy the Northern Borders and unify the realm.

Time for Xie Yu was short.

The border was no capital city; pampered young masters could not survive there.

Xie Yu, as the son of Fu Wei and Zhao Lingchen, was born of a lineage destined to fight on the battlefield.

“Yu’er, your father died unjustly. I will clear his name. Only when Fu Wei’s innocence is proven may you take the Fu surname.”

Hot blood surged through Xie Yu’s veins.

His father’s life, full of grandeur and turbulence, was concentrated in the armor before him.

Now he understood—he bore a blood feud with the Northern Borders.

“Mother, I want to avenge Father!”

Xie Yu stared unblinkingly at the armor, speaking with unwavering determination.

Zhao Lingchen finally smiled, patting his shoulder. “Good child. We will work hard together.”

On his first night at the princess’s residence, Xie Yu did not sleep.

He sat before Fu Wei’s armor, listening as his mother recounted the past.

As a posthumous child, he had never met his father, yet Fu Wei came alive in Zhao Lingchen’s words, forming in Xie Yu’s mind a vivid image of a heroic, battle-hardened general.

The more he listened, the more he wanted to hear. He felt pride in having such a father.

Zhao Lingchen had not spoken of Fu Wei to anyone for a long time, but before Xie Yu, she revealed everything, unreservedly, speaking all the words that had been locked in her heart.

Xie Yu listened intently, not wanting to miss a single word.

When the story turned to Fu Wei’s death, Xie Yu’s rage boiled over again; he wished he could rush to the border immediately and strike down the enemy.

“Yu’er, don’t act impulsively. I’ve arranged everything.”

Xie Yu obediently nodded. “Mother, what arrangements?”

Zhao Lingchen said, “Starting tomorrow, you will learn military strategy, martial arts, horseback riding, and archery.”

“I am willing to learn.” Xie Yu immediately agreed.

He did not fear hardship.

As long as he could improve and strike down his enemies, no suffering was too great.

They talked through the night, and as dawn broke, Zhao Lingchen had someone escort Xie Yu back to his room to rest.

Passing through the lavish and exquisite courtyards and pavilions, Xie Yu paid little attention to his surroundings.

He looked at the distant orange sky and thought: Third Brother, time to wake up.