Chapter 2059

Wang Hou was startled: "Could it really be that big?"

She knew Mu Guo's territory was already terrifyingly vast.

The larger the land, the harder it is to unify. My husband conquered Yuan Guo and changed dynasties, exhausting his life's strength. So what kind of heavenly warrior could possibly subdue the entire Shanjin Plain?

"The likelihood of annexation is high." He Chunhua knew the main event had arrived, "And this strongman, you also know him."

"We... us?" He Yue was greatly startled, pointing at his own nose while glancing at Wang Hou.

Do they still have old friends ten thousand li away? Not just old friends, but powerful ones!

At that very moment, an absurd thought flashed through his mind.

Wang Hou frowned: "Stop beating around the bush, just say it already."

My husband is already a ruler of a state—who is worth him going through all this trouble to be evasive?

What must come cannot be avoided, what must be said still needs to be said—He Chunhua silently drew a breath:

"It's Chuan'er."

He Yue sprang to his feet, nearly knocking over his chair.

That absurd thought had actually come true?

Wang Hou's chopsticks dropped the meatball with a "pa-da" sound into the soup, splashing her sleeve, but she merely stared blankly and said:

"What did you say?"

"Sit." He Chunhua waved her hand gently downward at her son, "You're twenty years old and still can't learn composure."

"Why are you talking about Yue'er?" Wang Hou's voice unintentionally rose in pitch, "Say it again—who is alive? No, who is about to annex the Shanjin Plain?"

She was somewhat incoherent.

"It's Chuan'er." He Chunhua gently pressed her arm, enunciating each word, "He Lingchuan!"

"The elder brother is still alive!" He Yue's tone was equally astonishing, but calmer than his mother's, and he reacted faster, "Didn't Father say earlier that the elder brother sacrificed himself in the Panlong Desert?"

He momentarily misspoke, calling the father king back to father, but He Chunhua didn't mind, for this question was truly difficult to answer.

Wang Hou also stared at him, wanting to see how he would reconcile his earlier statement.

Her husband deceived her, just watching her cry for days on end!

"The journey to the Panlong Desert was extremely perilous, but Chuan'er didn't die—after the great battle, he left Yuan Guo and headed for the Yangshan Islands to the east."

Wang Hou didn't understand: "If he's alive, why didn't he come home? You, you why..."

Why lie!

This question had previously stumped He Chunhua, leading her to fabricate He Lingchuan's death.

At the time, in his view, although He Lingchuan was still alive, the vastness of heaven and earth meant this person was like a mud ox entering the sea—he feared he would never hear from him again.

He Yue clenched his lips. There was some issue between the elder brother and father; back then he was young and unaware, but in recent years he often recalled it, always sensing many vague, unspoken doubts.

The elder brother seemed to be guarding against the father, while the father...

The father's indulgence toward the elder brother seemed to mixed with something else.

Having reached this point, He Chunhua simply laid bare the crux. Being of imperial nature, he boldly faced the two incredulous gazes opposite and selectively revealed part of the past:

Divine Descendant Body.

The God of Fate personally selected the young He Lingchuan as his Divine Descendant Body, and formed a covenant with He Chunhua, providing him with partial assistance in his actions.

But this secret was discovered by He Lingchuan himself, who then used the Panlong Desert battle to flee thousands of miles away, never to return.

Wang Hou covered her mouth with both hands, stunned into momentary silence, and only after a long while managed to speak weakly:

"Divine Descendant Body? Then, if a god descends, what will happen to Chuan'er?"

"That body would no longer be his, and he would suffer great trauma." This secret, He Chunhua had privately kept for many years, dare not confide in a third person; now speaking it out, he instead felt a strange sense of relief. "But the god assured me that Chuan'er's physique is one in ten thousand—even with divine descent, he could endure it, only Chuan'er simply doesn't believe it."

"You..." Not to mention He Lingchuan, Wang Hou's first reaction upon hearing this was also disbelief.

She suddenly realized!

No wonder, no wonder, no wonder her husband had doted on the eldest son for so many years without principle or limit—it turned out he knew the eldest son, as a Divine Descendant Body, had a short lifespan!

At this moment, Wang Hou's heart was filled with mixed emotions.

"Father, you, you how could you sacrifice the elder brother to trade with the gods!" He Yue's throat went dry, finally unable to hold back, "Even a tigress doesn't eat her cubs—how could you abandon father-son affection!"

In the past, the opera stage always sang "the imperial family has no father-son bond," which he took as a joke. But today's verification proved this saying true!

The father king could sell out his own eldest son, his own flesh and blood kin—all so heartless!

He Yue felt a chill down his back.

"What kind of look is that!" He Chunhua was enraged by his gaze, slammed the table, "Twenty years ago, what was my situation? The god wanted my son—do you think I had a choice?"

He Yue gulped down his saliva.

"The He clan was massacred, grievances left unavenged. When I was exiled to the borders as a child, I suffered all the world's hardships in Heishuicheng! You tell me—if not relying on the god's power, how could I turn the tide against the wind, avenge the He clan!"

"Father-son affection?" He Chunhua sneered, "If I couldn't have survived back then, where would your existence be!"

He Yue gritted his teeth under his威严: "The Yuan king said the He clan offered sacrifices to the gods, so he exterminated our whole clan; you, you in the end truly did offer sacrifices to the gods!"

"He lacks benevolence—don't blame me for lacking righteousness!" He Chunhua said coldly, "The Yuan king always thinks his words are golden? I'll let his words come true!"

Seeing this mother and son about to question further, he simply spoke first: "If not for having no way out, if not for being powerless to reverse fate, who would ruthlessly offer their own kin? Yue'er, I've warned you countless times—without having suffered others' hardships, don't advise others to be good!"

"But..."

"You live in Heishuicheng, and since childhood you've grown up hearing the stories of Panlongcheng, right?" He Chunhua cut him off, "Panlongcheng Commander Zhong Shengguang—what did he do, do you still remember? One of them was sacrificing his own biological daughter to gain the god's boundless support, which turned around Panlongcheng's plight!"

He snorted coldly: "What's wrong—Zhong Shengguang sacrificing his daughter is a heroic deed, worthy of song and tear, but I, He Chunhua, sacrificing my son is destroying affection, utterly inhuman? Zhong Shengguang held out in desperation for thirty-two years, Panlongcheng couldn't escape its doomed fate; I, cutting through thorns and brambles for over twenty years, not only avenged the He clan's old and young, but also conquered the entire Jiangshan, founding the He dynasty!"

"Then tell me—who is the real hero!" He Chunhua pointed at He Yue's nose, "Before speaking, look at where you stand, look at what delicacies you eat, look at the silk and brocade on your body! If not for my former all-or-nothing gamble, where would your today's position above ten thousand people come from!"