Chapter 481: The Grand Finale: Hearing the Phoenix's Song in the Phoenix Palace

At first, Ji Qingwu only wanted to ask the system when Emperor Wu Su’s Heartbeat Value had started to increase.

As it turned out, she and the system traced it all the way back to that night in the military tent five years ago.

At that time, General Dingbei’s Heartbeat Value had already reached 82%, far exceeding the scope of mere affection.

After everything that had happened, Ji Qingwu had long harbored suspicions about that night. The way Emperor Wu Su had so readily accepted her special ability was also unnaturally easy.

‘Thinking back now, it wasn’t that he accepted it too quickly, but that he already knew.’

It turned out he’d had feelings for her even before she appeared in his military tent.

Someone had been lying in wait for the “rabbit” that night!

Ji Qingwu clearly remembered how the Emperor had often used this incident to give her a hard time back then.

She withdrew her hand and sat up straight, saying with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “Your Majesty may begin your explanation.”

Zhao Mingyan’s gaze shifted, unable to find a place to rest.

He said in a low voice, “I was planning to tell you about this, but I’m not as brave as you, Ah Wu.”

Ji Qingwu thought of her past terror, of how many nightmares she’d had night after night after returning to Lin’an.

She huffed and said, “It’s too late for flattery. Just confess.”

Zhao Mingyan’s gaze deepened as the past replayed before his eyes.

After learning of his heirless fate, he hadn’t thought much of it. Having children was unimportant to him.

But then Master Liao Ran performed another divination for him and sent a special message, saying that a Heavenly Mandated Woman would come to him; he needed only to wait.

Zhao Mingyan casually tossed the letter into the brazier. That night, he set out for Ninghe Town with his trusted men and unexpectedly came across Ji Qingwu, who was kneeling on the ground saving someone.

He saw a girl as delicate as a flower, yet as resilient as a reed and as pure as a dewdrop.

After returning to camp, he shut himself in his tent for ten hours, plotting to establish a new dynasty.

And… other things.

For a common man to be childless was one thing, but for an Emperor, having no heir meant chaos. Therefore, he held some expectation for the Heavenly Mandated Woman mentioned in Master Liao Ran’s letter.

But it had nothing to do with love; it was more like a partnership.

On the third day, Zhao Mingyan saw the girl from that night in the Northern Border Camp, and he froze in place.

But she was following behind another man, her charming appearance as she laughed and chatted making his heart constrict over and over.

That day, he channeled his frustration into his sword practice, splitting more than twenty wooden targets on the training grounds.

The Northern Border Camp was huge—so huge that if two people didn’t deliberately seek each other out, they might not cross paths for half a year.

During the day, Zhao Mingyan often practiced archery and horsemanship on a whim; at night, he would suddenly patrol the camp or go out to “admire the scenery.” In this way, he learned her name and identity, and also discovered just how deeply the new military doctor was in love with General Zhenbei.

For many long nights afterward, he would wake to find a corner of his bedding damp and cool.

She was always in his dreams.

Sometimes she was crying helplessly, sometimes holding a knife to his throat, sometimes cursing him viciously—but without exception, she was always unwilling.

A year passed. King Liang grew increasingly inept and tyrannical, while Zhao Mingyan secretly raised an army. More and more soldiers pledged their allegiance to him. He only needed the right moment to mobilize his forces.

That moment was the arrival of the Heavenly Mandated Woman.

Master Liao Ran performed another, more precise divination. He provided a specific time and direction, adding that the celestial signs showed a conjunction of Jupiter, and that Zhao Mingyan’s heirless fate would be broken that very night.

Zhao Mingyan was already prepared. He knew there was something wrong with the tea brought into his tent. He simply wanted to see what that woman intended to do and how far she would go. He swapped it with a common aphrodisiac and drank it.

An hour later, a figure furtively lifted the tent flap. Seeing him lying on the bed with his eyes closed, the person seemed to heave a sigh of relief.

Zhao Mingyan opened his eyes. He never would have imagined that the person who came would be her.

His gaze was chilling as he watched Ji Qingwu’s approaching figure.

She, however, was direct. Without a second word, she climbed onto the bed and began to take off her own clothes.

When their eyes met, she seemed terrified, her hands trembling as she pulled silk ribbons from her sleeves to bind his hands and feet.

Zhao Mingyan’s expression turned harsh. He was furious that she, whose heart belonged to another, would so shamelessly come on to him.

But most of all, he was furious with himself.

He could have easily broken free from the flimsy ribbons, but he didn’t. Instead, he let her have her way with him.

Then, Ji Qingwu covered his eyes. But she fumbled for a long time, and he could clearly hear the choked sobs in her voice. She didn’t know what to do and was so flustered she was on the verge of tears.

She failed to notice that it was only when he lifted his hips that things finally went smoothly.

‘A great many thoughts ran through my mind,’ Zhao Mingyan thought. ‘Whatever her reasons, she appeared in my tent, spent a night of passion with me, and became my woman.’

‘I can let bygones be bygones.’

Zhao Mingyan despised himself. ‘I’ve become just like King Liang, a man whose judgment is clouded by lust.’

Everyone in the military camp knew about the ambiguous entanglement between Ji Qingwu and Wei Ting.

Even if Wei Ting hid his feelings well, and though he might seem indifferent to outsiders, Zhao Mingyan could see that Wei Ting had long been swept away by her current.

If he wanted to rebel, he had to win Wei Ting over. To have a falling-out with him over a woman would not be worth the cost.

‘But if that woman was her…’

While Zhao Mingyan was still hesitating, Ji Qingwu pulled on her dress and left. She slipped away with incredible speed and vanished completely from the Northern Border Camp.

No one had ever dared treat him like that. He snapped the ribbons binding his hands and sat up.

Her scent still lingered in the tent. Rage threatened to burst from his chest. Zhao Mingyan’s expression was grim; she had never even considered staying by his side.

With his pride, he wouldn’t deign to force a woman to stay with him. Not even her.

More than nine months later, his adjutant ran over in a hurry, saying someone was at the camp entrance looking for him—a woman carrying a small baby.

Zhao Mingyan couldn’t tell if he felt more surprised or annoyed, but his body had already moved. He galloped his horse to the main gate, but the woman he saw was not her.

Zhao Mingyan raised the greatsword in his right hand and used it to lift the cloth wrapped around the child. A Koi Carp Jade Pendant hung on the swaddled baby boy. His cries were loud and strong, and though his eyes were not yet open, his nose and lips greatly resembled hers.

He let out a cold laugh. ‘So, she really did come just to give me an heir.’

‘And for that reason alone.’

It was a rare, sunny day.

But despite having an heir, Zhao Mingyan, now a father for the first time, felt not a shred of joy.

Today, Zhao Mingyan had learned that Ji Qingwu was pregnant. She was sitting before him now, and though she wore an interrogating expression, he knew she wouldn’t leave again.

Zhao Mingyan suddenly dropped to one knee, bent down to hug Ji Qingwu, and buried his head against her belly.

Ji Qingwu had only wanted an explanation. She’d wanted to pry some old stories out of the Emperor’s mouth, like when he had first taken an interest in her, because she didn’t remember them ever crossing paths before.

But he had become this vulnerable, pleading man.

Ji Qingwu wanted to comfort him. The moment she placed her fingers on his shoulder, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, but then, realizing something, he immediately relaxed his grip.

“Ah Wu.”

“Tell me you’ll never leave me again.”

Emperor Wu Su suddenly grew childish. When she didn’t answer, he kept nuzzling against her waist.

His Purple Gold Hair Crown brushed against the golden phoenix pattern of her robes, and Ji Qingwu was so tickled she couldn’t stand it.

Her laughter carried outside Chening Hall.

Standing at the entrance, Li Yuzong and Fanghua heard the sounds from within. The Emperor and Empress had reconciled. They looked at each other and smiled.

Under the eaves of the corridor, bronze bells carved with phoenix patterns grew hot in the bright sun, swaying along with the Empress’s laughter.

The ethereal, joyous cry of the phoenix could be heard all the way to Phoenix Palace.

(End of Main Text)