The sun was rising, but a fine drizzle was falling, creating a seemingly contradictory natural environment that didn't seem out of place to the world.

Sunshower...

The old man walked leisurely on the official road with his hands behind his back, while a young man followed behind, leading a horse, keeping his head down.

The scene looked like a father and son going out on business.

It wasn't until the old man stood up that he realized how tall he was. Even though he was now old and shrunken, with his muscles no longer distinct, one could still see the shadow of his youth in his frame. Although old, he was not bent, and still had a majestic and imposing air about him, which only added to his elderly charm.

Then there was a tall young man, carrying a broadsword, leading a horse with a look of grievance, making them look like a family.

If you didn't look at their facial features, they didn't look too much alike. But if you wanted to find common ground, you could definitely find some similarities, at least in their handsome and heroic nature. It was easy to imagine that the old man was also a handsome young man in his youth, but now he looked more restrained, while the young man exuded a more masculine and heroic aura.

Only Zhao Changhe's appearance corresponded to Luo Qi's, and he could match the similarities of the two, especially when Luo Qi was dressed up.

Only a handsome man could have such a beautiful daughter, although in terms of age, he could probably be Changhe's grandfather.

Who would have thought that this old man would be so proud to claim the identity of a father-in-law? Zhao Changhe had expected a thousand different templates for meeting Xia Longyuan, but he had never expected this one, so he could only follow along honestly.

Xia Longyuan, on the other hand, seemed very relaxed, looking around on the official road as if he were admiring his kingdom, and didn't say a word for a long time.

Zhao Changhe finally couldn't hold back, and wanted to ask him countless questions, but he had to find a way to start, so he decided to start with something that seemed to make him happy: "Do you know that Changhe is your daughter?"

"What's so hard to know about that?" Xia Longyuan thought for a moment and patted his head. "Oh, it might be hard for others to guess. You suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and Changhe willingly gave you her identity, helping you mislead... If I were in Tang Wanzhuang's and Cui Wenjing's shoes, I would be stunned too, hahaha..."

Zhao Changhe remained expressionless.

I don't know what you're laughing at. Isn't the essence of this matter that your daughter doesn't recognize you?

But Xia Longyuan seemed to find it very amusing that everyone was guessing in all directions...

"But these two are also sly." Xia Longyuan smiled and said, "Do you think they really believe it's you? Once they set their sights on you, you become unimportant, and they can make you into whoever they want. Now Changhe is standing in front of them to verify her identity, and they will both kill her."

This was a huge deception, and the king said it with a smile, as if it had nothing to do with him. Zhao Changhe listened with a pounding heart and cautiously probed, "No, you're overthinking it."

"Why deceive yourself and others?" Xia Longyuan said, "Cui Wenjing's choice can be said to be for personal reasons, but not Tang Wanzhuang. Even if I'm angry with Cui Wenjing, I won't be angry with Tang Wanzhuang. You don't need to be so nervous."

I'm nervous because you're angry with Cui Wenjing, and if you take this to the level of a bloodthirsty battle, then it's really a bloodthirsty battle.

Zhao Changhe had a lot of old complaints, but he really didn't know what to say. Xia Longyuan knew everything, so why didn't he do or say anything?

Because it's fun!

"Isn't it strange?" Xia Longyuan said, "I don't know what Changhe and her mother said to you, or rather, I don't know what her mother said to her... I guess they see me as a scumbag, so they should listen to both sides of the story."

Zhao Changhe: "????"

What are you saying...

"Did her explanation leave out a key premise, which is why Changhe's mother wanted to assassinate me?" Xia Longyuan smiled, "The teachings of the Four Elephant Sect are unacceptable to the king, and anyone on the throne will crush them as a demonic sect. But at that time, they were still immature, and they hadn't even started to break through the dimensions to bring the gods to the earth. It was as if a group of fools were just dreaming, and so the two sides, although opposed, had not yet had a very intense conflict. Why did she suddenly want to come and assassinate me? Have you ever thought about it?"

Zhao Changhe scratched his head, "I haven't thought about it. At the time, I thought it was normal for the demonic sect to assassinate the emperor... I was confused about why she had the confidence to assassinate the number one person in the world."

"She didn't start out as an assassin, but disguised herself as a maid of the Luo family to get close and flirt. It was just to insert the Four Elephant Sect's layout into the palace, which is not much different from what they are doing now." Xia Longyuan said, "Originally, this kind of thing shouldn't have been done by the saintess. The sect only wanted her to preside over this matter and send someone like a snake or a pig. It was her own idea, because she was a former princess of the previous dynasty, and she was planning to kill two birds with one stone."

"...Damn."

"So she didn't dare to go back to the sect to accept her. This kind of self-will, the saintess being deflowered and giving birth to a child, if the sect found out, she would die even more miserably. In the end, she died of illness, and the sect didn't know where she had gone, which also led to a lot of things being cut off, such as the exploration of Beimang, which also made the Four Elephant Sect very anxious."

Zhao Changhe suddenly became clear. Why didn't Changhe's mother return to the Four Elephant Sect when she was alive, and why didn't she notify anyone to accept her... Some of the previous little puzzles were completely matched up.

"For me, I'm actually not interested in her." Xia Longyuan smiled, "I didn't even think about why there were no other sons when the crown prince was ten years old. I had already cut off my emotions and desires for seven or eight years, so where did the sudden interest in young men come from?"

"I thought you deliberately caused a rift in the Four Elephant Sect."

"I said, you always think you're worth my calculations. Were the Four Elephant Sects compatible at that time?"

To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com.

"...""I was originally just interested in the situation of the Night Emperor of the Four Elephant Sect, and I suspected that my cultivation technique might be in line with the Orient Loong God. I also wondered if I was awesome enough to replace the Night Emperor. So I gave it a try, and the best way to test it was dual cultivation, which would allow us to probe into each other's deepest secrets. After all, she was also trying to seduce her way into the palace, so it just made sense."

"…And the result of the test?"

"It was inconclusive. The imperial will is naturally in line with the will of the Orient Loong God, who was also an emperor among men in ancient times. To put it bluntly, the doctrine of the Four Elephant Sect is somewhat hollow. If I really wanted to claim to be the reincarnation of the Orient Loong God, there wouldn't be anything wrong with that, and my mother seemed to truly believe it, overjoyed." Xia Longyuan said, his tone finally carrying a hint of regret: "At that time, she really thought she could get me into the sect, and then everything would be perfect."

Zhao Changhe pondered and said, "Actually, that's not bad. You could just kindly deceive her, and who knows, you might even be able to take over the entire Four Elephant Sect."

"If I could truly embody the four symbols, then I would claim the title of Night Emperor and take over the sect, which would be quite nice. Unfortunately, after trying, I found it impossible. I couldn't assimilate her White Tiger divine technique, so even if I joined the sect, I would only be a revered master, which is not the choice for me, it's just pointless." Xia Longyuan said, and then suddenly laughed: "Why have you never joined the Four Elephant Sect? Isn't it because you don't want to be bound? If you could be the sect leader, would you join?"

Zhao Changhe remained silent.

"We are the same," Xia Longyuan laughed heartily. "I actually think you have the opportunity…"

Zhao Changhe shook his head, not taking the bait, and simply said, "After you found out she was pregnant… Anyway, these matters have nothing to do with the child, why not take her back? Is it because of the bloodline of the former dynasty?"

"At first, it was indeed because of the bloodline of the former dynasty. What would the ministers of the former dynasty, like Huangfu, think if they knew? And what would the empress's opinion be? For a crown prince to stabilize the empire, stirring up these issues is really just looking for trouble. So I left a jade pendant, which is both a token and a legacy. If it's a boy, let him inherit my cultivation technique and be carefree in the martial world, and forget about palace affairs; if it's a girl, there's no problem. I would take her into the palace and personally guide her in a more suitable cultivation technique, rather than a preset one, which would ruin her potential."

Zhao Changhe was dumbfounded.

He thought he favored sons over daughters, but according to this, it was his mother who favored daughters over sons!

So when he told Chi Chi's mother that he would come to take her, he really meant it.

But why didn't he come later, hence the name "Chi Chi"?

"Are you puzzled about what happened later?" Xia Longyuan smiled faintly: "At that time, my thinking was still that of an emperor who considered the empire, but not long after, I encountered some things, and my thoughts changed. I was even considering whether to kill the crown prince, so why would I bring back a daughter?"

Zhao Changhe's heart skipped a beat, knowing that for them, so-called family matters would ultimately turn into matters of the world.

Damn it, did the crown prince really die by your own hand?