Jiang Xingyan sat frozen on her horse.
They came so fast.
“Bring them over.”
Yun Chunfeng looked at her from behind with concern.
The young lady was like the iron pagodas before her—wrapped in layer upon layer of heavy armor, hiding a heart that was soft and easily wounded.
Even though she didn’t talk about it, he knew how much she had longed, ever since she was little, for her mother and father to be by her side.
Back when he was serving her, there were many mornings when he would see her wake up with red, swollen eyes.
When he asked what was wrong, she would never say.
Looking back now, she must have been secretly crying at night while looking at her mother’s portrait. And since she didn’t want to worry her grandfather, she had to bear it all alone.
For over a decade, she had even blamed herself for her mother’s passing—so of course, she held even more resentment toward Shangguan Hanshan, who had left halfway.
But after learning about that man’s past, the young lady had fallen into an even deeper conflict.
“Greetings, General!
Might I ask if it would be possible to meet with Miss Jiang?”
A strong, aged voice pulled Yun Chunfeng back to the present. His gaze settled on the elderly man standing firmly in front of Jiang Xingyan’s horse, neither humble nor arrogant.
This old man had hair and a beard as white as snow, a face etched with wrinkles, making him look no different from any village elder.
But there was something terrifying about his presence—a subtle yet undeniable pressure that kept everyone on edge.
Especially his sharp, eagle-like eyes, which seemed to see right through a person.
He wasted no time with pleasantries and got straight to the point, insisting on meeting Jiang Xingyan. The urgency in his voice didn’t seem fake.
Jiang Xingyan, fully clad in iron pagoda armor with only her eyes exposed, looked him up and down.
“Oh? Who are you to her? How can you just demand to see her?”
The old man suddenly locked eyes with her, his gaze so intense that it sent a shiver through her heart.
“I heard the general has already divorced Miss Jiang. That being the case, don’t you think this is none of your business?”
The undisguised killing intent in his voice made it seem as though he would strike at any moment, ready to take Huo Ci’s head.
Yun Chunfeng immediately tensed and stepped forward.
Jiang Xingyan, completely unfazed, let out a cold laugh.
“At least I, as her ex-husband, have more right to care about her than some strange old man who comes looking for her but dares not show his real face.”
The aggressive old man was instantly struck at his weakest point, and his aggressive demeanor deflated in an instant.
Yun Chunfeng nodded inwardly. It seemed the young lady was still as sharp as ever.
On the only painting where the young lady’s mother and Shangguan Hanshan appeared together, their birth dates had been carefully noted.
They were the same age—both sixteen in the fourth year of Tianyuan.
By now, they should be well under forty. So how could this man look like an eighty-year-old?
He must be using a disguise technique, just like Yu Jiaojiao.
“She won’t see you. Please leave.”
Rip!
The old man tore off the mask in one swift motion, revealing a strikingly handsome face.
Jiang Xingyan’s fingers tightened around the reins in shock.
She had never expected Shangguan Hanshan to so boldly reveal his true face in front of everyone.
At first glance, she could see that the past decade or so had barely changed his appearance. If anything, it had only added a commanding presence and an even deeper intensity to his gaze.
Right now, however, there was no trace of his usual calm composure. His phoenix-like eyes were filled with urgency.
“Now will you let me see her?”
“What are you to her?”
For a moment, Shangguan Hanshan’s face paled. His voice, usually so strong, trembled slightly, as if afraid of rejection, before he cautiously uttered,
“If… Jiang Feiwan was her mother, then I—I am her father.”
The moment he spoke Jiang Feiwan’s name, his voice choked. His eyes reddened instantly, and in another second, tears would spill out.
Before Jiang Xingyan could respond, he suddenly lifted his head, stepping forward aggressively. His gaze toward Huo Ci seemed like he wanted to devour him whole.
“You! Why did you divorce her?
She’s so wonderful—do you even deserve her?
If I find out you treated her badly, I swear I’ll kill you.
No, I’ll tear you into pieces and feed you to the dogs!”
He swung wildly between sorrow and rage, clearly having reached a state of madness.
Jiang Xingyan was taken aback.
In the painting, Shangguan Hanshan had been the picture of gentility—even in hardship, he never lost his aristocratic grace.
But now? He seemed half-crazed.
Even her warhorse, sensing the fierce killing intent, instinctively backed away.
“Waaah! Mean grandpa, bullying my mom!”
The little girl in Yun Chunfeng’s arms suddenly cried out.
Shangguan Hanshan started, then turned and finally noticed the child.
The instant he took in her appearance, he was overcome with deep emotion.
“Wanwan… she looks just like Wanwan.”
Before he even finished speaking, two streams of tears were already flowing down his face.
He wiped them away carelessly, abandoning all decorum expected of a ruler.
He glanced at Huo Ci, then turned back to stare at the little girl, who was now being soothed by Yun Chunfeng. Almost involuntarily, he took a step forward.
Swoosh!
A red-tasseled spear immediately blocked his path.
“Old sir, you’re stepping out of line.”
Shangguan Hanshan looked at Huo Ci with pleading eyes, his voice low and strained, as if forced out of his throat.
“Please… let me see her.
I am Shangguan Hanshan, ruler of Daxia.
If you let me see her, even if you want all of Daxia, I’ll give it to you.
Just one look. Just one.”
As he spoke, he pulled out a jade imperial seal from his waist and casually tossed it to Jiang Xingyan.
Jiang Xingyan was stunned, instinctively catching it. The spear in her hand clattered to the ground.
In an instant, Shangguan Hanshan appeared before the little girl, startling her so much she flinched.
Yun Chunfeng shot him a disdainful look. It was only two or three steps—did he really need to use light-footed martial arts for that?
He quickly reached out to pat the little girl’s head.
“Pat, pat, no need to be scared.”
The little girl didn’t cry but just blinked her big eyes, staring at this strange grandpa.
Shangguan Hanshan looked at her, laughing one moment and crying the next.
His hands hovered in the air, wanting to touch her but afraid of frightening her.
“Mean grandpa, no bullying my mom!”
The little girl raised her tiny fist, trying to act tough.
She had been eating well lately and had grown nice and round!
If he kept bullying her mom, she’d give him a punch!
Shangguan Hanshan suddenly turned to Huo Ci, forcing a smile through his tear-streaked face.
“She really does look like Wanwan…
She’s Wanwan’s granddaughter, isn’t she?
Why does she call you ‘Mom’?”
The little girl thought this strange grandpa was really silly.
Mom was just Mom. She wouldn’t call the wrong person.
“Hmph!”
Annoyed, she twisted around and buried her face in Yun Chunfeng’s chest, turning her back toward Shangguan Hanshan.
This flustered him completely.
Standing before the little girl, he looked like a child who had done something wrong.
“Don’t be mad, don’t be mad…
Grandpa is old now. Be a good girl and teach me, alright?”
Jiang Xingyan cringed internally.
She had imagined countless scenarios of reuniting with Shangguan Hanshan, but never one like this.
Had he simply lost his mind upon learning that her mother had passed away?
With a mix of confusion and exasperation, she finally spoke in a low, heavy voice.
“Let’s talk in the tent.”