#220 - Your illegitimate daughter with that masked woman?

Xu Ming was in his courtyard in the guest residence.

Wu Yanhán sat facing Xu Ming.

Shen Sheng was in the flower garden of the courtyard, playing with mud, her little bottom sticking out.

Although Xu Ming invited Wu Yanhán to sit in his courtyard, Wu Yanhán retorted with a "No," and left.

However, when Xu Ming returned to the courtyard, Wu Yanhán had taken the initiative to come.

As for Yuwen Xi and Miao Feng, they weren't so clueless as to disturb other people's private time, so they returned to their own residences.

"Who is this little girl?" Wu Yanhán asked, looking at Shen Sheng. "Your illegitimate daughter with that masked woman?"

"Cough, cough, cough..." Xu Ming accidentally choked. "What are you saying? Sheng Sheng is almost nine years old."

"Heh heh." Wu Yanhán turned her head away.

Xu Ming: "..."

Xu Ming suspected that Wu Yanhán was still holding a grudge against him for not helping her.

Then again, Wu Yanhán shouldn't be that petty, right?

"Her name is Shen Sheng, and she's Shen Sheng's daughter," Xu Ming said as he poured Wu Yanhán a cup of tea.

"Shen Sheng?" Wu Yanhán was stunned for a moment, but quickly remembered. Eight years ago, during a mission, Shen Sheng was the man who controlled demonic beasts and eventually became one himself, and was ultimately killed by Xu Ming.

"This girl is his daughter? Then how did she end up by your side?" Wu Yanhán was even more confused.

Xu Ming shook his head. "It's a long story. As for the reasons behind it, how Shen Sheng was born, and so on, I don't actually know much about it. I only know that Shen Sheng has demonic beast bloodline.

Back when I came out of the Baiwa Secret Realm..."

Xu Ming told Wu Yanhán everything that happened in that lava cave, without the slightest concealment.

When Wu Yanhán heard that a human actually had a demonic beast bloodline, she was even more incredulous.

"You're telling me all of this? Are you really okay with it?" Wu Yanhán asked.

Shen Sheng was too special.

If any force knew that a human had demonic beast bloodline and could cultivate, they would probably fight over Shen Sheng and study her.

But Xu Ming unconditionally told her everything.

Xu Ming smiled and took a sip of tea. "Since I'm telling you all of this, it means I trust you, and I believe you won't tell anyone else about it."

Wu Yanhán: "Since when did you trust me so much?"

Xu Ming said matter-of-factly, "When we went through so many life-and-death situations together, I already trusted you unconditionally. You could say that you are one of the few people I trust most in this world."

"One of," Wu Yanhán sneered. "Let me guess, the people you trust most also include Qin Qingwan of the Heavenly Mystery Sect, right?"

Xu Ming: "..."

"Besides that Qin Qingwan, you also trust that masked woman unconditionally, right?" Wu Yanhán continued.

Xu Ming's eyebrows twitched, and he didn't know how to answer for a moment.

No.

Why did you have to bring up that sore spot?

"As for the masked woman you mentioned, I don't trust her," Xu Ming replied.

"Oh? Then why haven't you told me her name yet? Aren't you covering for her?" Wu Yanhán said.

"What's there to hide?" Xu Ming felt that Wu Yanhán was a bit aggressive today. "The masked woman you mentioned is the Holy Maiden of the Black Lotus Sect of the Western Regions. I have a relationship with her because she wanted to kill me, but in the end, for certain reasons, we worked together to deal with the Joyous Union Sect. Generally speaking, our relationship is just one of mutual exploitation."

Wu Yanhán: "Just that?"

Xu Ming was a little guilty. "Just that."

"Cough, cough..." Xu Ming coughed a few times and continued, "Actually, there's another reason why I'm telling you this."

Wu Yanhán: "Oh? Tell me."

Xu Ming: "After returning to Wudu, I want to place Sheng Sheng in the Xu State Manor and have my mother help take care of her. I also hope you can help out a bit."

Wu Yanhán thought for a moment and shook her head. "If I don't have anything to do normally, I could agree to you, but in recent years, I'm afraid I won't be in Wudu."

Now it was Xu Ming's turn to be puzzled. "Why?"

Wu Yanhán looked directly into Xu Ming's eyes. "Suppressing rebellions."

Xu Ming: "Suppressing rebellions?"

Wu Yanhán nodded. "In the half year or so that you've been away from Wudu, many things have actually happened. The biggest thing is that Father Emperor implemented your Decree of Grace.

Your Decree of Grace is indeed an extremely brilliant tactic.

Especially when combined with the current increase in the status of illegitimate sons in the Wu Kingdom.

Many feudal lords have no choice but to accept it, and have to divide their land among their other descendants.

But no one is a fool.

The reason why these feudal lords accept it is because they didn't dare to rebel in the first place, and the Decree of Grace, as a gentle measure, didn't push them too hard, and they weren't willing to rebel.

But those ambitious feudal lords in the Wu Kingdom are different.

These feudal lords know that if the Decree of Grace is implemented, their fiefdoms will become weaker and weaker in less than a hundred years, and if they don't implement the Decree of Grace, internal conflicts will become greater and greater.

At that time, illegitimate sons will side with the imperial court.

So these feudal lords are taking advantage of the fact that their fiefdoms are currently strong and well-armed, wanting to gamble for the position of Emperor.

Currently, throughout the entire Wu Kingdom, there are more than twenty rebellions of feudal lords, large and small.

Some feudal lords have formed alliances, and some are acting alone.

Many generals in the imperial court have gone to suppress the rebellions. As the Eldest Princess of the Wu Kingdom, how could I sit and wait in the deep palace?"

Xu Ming understood the Martial Emperor's intention.

War is the best time to establish prestige.

The Martial Emperor letting his daughter go to the battlefield to fight is indeed somewhat dangerous, but there are definitely protectors secretly guarding her.

And if Yanhán can play a major role in this suppression of rebellions, her prestige in the imperial court will be very high afterwards.

Moreover, Yanhán has the Martial God Body, and needs the bloodlust on the battlefield to temper herself. This suppression of rebellions is a very rare opportunity.

Seeing Xu Ming lower his head in thought, Wu Yanhán thought that it was because she had rejected him, making him feel uncomfortable. Wu Yanhán tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and her tone relaxed a little:

"But as long as there are no accidents, this suppression of rebellions shouldn't take too long. You can stay in Wudu for a while first, and wait for me to come back."

"Thank you." Xu Ming smiled, turned his head to look at Shen Sheng, "There's no rush, I'll think about it more."

"Think slowly, if there's anything I can help with, just tell me," Wu Yanhán looked directly at Xu Ming. "But before that, I have a question to ask you."

Xu Ming nodded. "With our relationship, just ask directly."

"Then I'll just ask directly. Did you come to the Heavenly Mystery Sect to congratulate them, or because you missed that Qin Qingwan?"