Arc 3 – Chapter 182, Vicious Princess Wants to Reverse Fate (76)
The young master couldn't be rescued immediately, so she took the jade pendant and Miss's final words and escaped from the palace, directly seeking out the old manor lord. In the end, it was just another betrayal by so-called friends!
Suddenly, Granny Fu burst into maniacal laughter, "But Yan Hongchou never expected that he would be defeated by his own pawn. He died at the hands of that beautiful snake. In the fifth year after the young master left the palace, Yan Hongchou actually died. He spent his whole life seeking immortality. How ridiculous! Hahaha..."
Zhou Min looked at Granny Fu, who seemed lost in mad memories, and found it hard to accept. This should have been Shangguan Qi's family matter, unrelated to her. But why was it that the so-called friend who betrayed the old manor lord her own father, the then Crown Prince, now the Emperor?!
Yan Hongchou wanted Shangguan Qi's life and the items he had given to the old manor lord; this she could understand. But what was her father's reason? Was it also for immortality?
She couldn't figure it out! Zhou Min's expression, upon hearing these long-buried stories, was one of disbelief and bewildered fear!
Suddenly, a memory from her previous life resurfaced in her mind: the moment her third brother came to find her before his departure. It felt abrupt but grew increasingly clear. Zhou Min had always thought that night was a dream when she had initially received these memories and didn't pay much attention to it. But now, it seemed like a crucial plot twist. Why had her third brother come to find her in her past life? What was he trying to tell her?
After Granny Fu and Grandpa Fu finished recounting all the old stories, they saw Zhou Min's shocked and disbelieving expression.
"Girl, are you scared? Or do you not believe it?" Grandpa Fu asked Zhou Min.
Zhou Min snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the two elders, "The young master you mentioned, is he Shangguan Qi?"
"I never mentioned the young master's name, yet you guessed it. It seems the young master really loves you and has told you about his identity!"
Grandpa Fu smiled, stroking his beard. "Since you are the young master's fiancée, you are half our master. You should go with us to find him, but..."
Zhou Min understood the elders' concerns, so she didn't say much. Her mind was in turmoil, realising that in her past life, the Princess of the Zhou Kingdom and Shangguan Qi had such a complicated relationship. Her father and Shangguan Qi's biological father had conspired to kill him! It was laughable...
"Does Shangguan Qi know his true lineage?" Zhou Min asked.
"At that time, the young master was still too young, and with Yan Hongchou's deliberate concealment, the old manor master wanted to inform him but never found the opportunity before he was killed, only managing to give the young master this jade pendant."
"Then why didn't you go find him?"
"For the past twenty years, we've been hiding from that wretch and the Emperor of Qi Kingdom, who is the young master's half-brother, as well as Zhou Haoyuan, the Emperor of the Zhou Kingdom. We once managed to shake off their pursuit and found traces of the young master, but then Zhou Haoyuan's daughter set a fire and destroyed everything!"
Granny Fu gritted her teeth as she spoke, causing Zhou Min to freeze. They must be referring to the fire in the Valley of Divine Physicians a few years ago...
"Oh, girl, we haven't had a chance to ask your name yet..."
Zhou Min suddenly looked up at the kind elderly couple, "My name is Yun Min!"
"Yun Min? That's a good name. 'Yun' as in the clouds, and 'Min' as in intelligent. Your father must have hoped you'd be a wise girl, not deceived by the world's illusions and tricks."
"Granny Fu, do you know who Shangguan Qi's wet nurse was?" Zhou Min asked, suddenly recalling what Shangguan Qi had mentioned about his nurse.
"Are you talking about Nurse Qin?" Granny Fu thought for a moment. "She was the nurse Madam* personally selected to take care of the young master. When I escaped the palace, Yan Hongchou had sealed off the entire Qionghua Palace. When Old Fu and I later went back to find the young master, it seemed Nurse Qin had gone mad and was locked up in the cold palace. How do you know about Nurse Qin?"
*I’ve been referring to SQ’s mother as the lady, but I will also call her madam.
"I heard Shangguan mention her... Granny Fu was Shangguan Madam's palace called... Qionghua Palace?"
"Yes, because my lady’s maiden name was Yuer. Yan Hongchou, to express his love for his wife, renamed the original Fengxi Palace of the harem to Qionghua Palace. 'Qiong' means beautiful jade..."
Zhou Min didn't quite hear the rest of Granny Fu's words. Her mind was filled with the phrase "Qiong, beautiful jade... Shangguan Yuer..."
She should have noticed it earlier!
Zhou Min felt as if she had grasped some crucial information but couldn't suppress the sarcasm and sorrow filling her heart. It was as if the towering edifice of her beliefs was about to collapse, and long-forgotten memories resurfaced vividly.
Zhou Min's current name wasn't her original name. She was originally called Zhou Qiong! The latter was given by her father, the Emperor, but the former was changed by her mother when she was five. For this, she heard from her brothers that it was the first time her father had hit her mother and threatened to depose her, accusing her of the taboo act of privately altering the royal family name.
It was only after her maternal grandfather and the Emperor had a long conversation in the imperial study that her father agreed not to pursue the matter of her mother privately changing the royal family name.
