CHAPTER 250: 250- THE NEW SHALL REPLACE THE OLD.

With a slash motion from his fingers, Fang Yuan severed the rope, and Cheng Bo’s head tumbled from the gate.

He didn’t have to search for the culprit who has done this.

The man responsible was already here, standing not too far away with a smile plastered across his face.

Fang Yuan, however, did not respond that smile in kind. Instead his expression was cold and heavy, his eyes looked at him in disappointment.

"Fang Tian... what have you done?" Fang Yuan’s voiced out slow and dissapointed.

"What you should have been doing, brother," Fang Tian replied politely, almost too calmly.

Beside him, the Third Princess lingered close, half-hidden behind his shoulder as though seeking his protection.

Fang Yuan’s brows furrowed because he was certain he had seen the two of them together in the garden earlier.

Unless... His thoughts stalled. Unless they wanted me to see them there, only to slip away the moment I left, and then kill Cheng Bo?

He clenched his jaw. No. That makes little sense...

But whether or not they had schemed it, the blood of Cheng Bo was on his brother’s hands.

For a rare moment, Fang Yuan found himself without words, wrestling with thoughts he could not shape into a sentence.

"Brother, the Third Princess told me this man once served the Crown Prince. You don’t have to worry," Fang Tian blurted quickly, breaking the silence as if terrified of what Fang Yuan might do next.

Fang Yuan pinched the bridge of his nose before speaking.

"Qin Hai is long dead, he pose no threat. Did it not occur to you that she might have pushed you to kill this man because he held something over her? Have you thought of that?"

"Brother! This is no matter for jest!" Fang Tian’s voice cracked into a scream.

Lin Zhaoyue stepped out of nothingness, appearing at Fang Yuan’s side without the faintest ripple of presence.

Her eyes glimmered as she murmured, "This is so unlike him, husband. Do you think he’s perhaps...?"

Fang Yuan shook his head. His gaze never left his brother.

"No. This is his resolve." He took a step forward.

Fang Tian immediately pulled Qin Yuyan behind him, his hand snapping to his sword. Steel rang as it left its sheath.

Fang Yuan halted, his expression calm, his tone steady. "Do you understand what you’re doing?"

"I’m not letting you harm her," Fang Tian declared, voice trembling yet firm.

"Even if I must fight you, brother."

The courtyard fell into suffocating silence.

Elders watched as they dared not intervene.

"Please... don’t make me do this," Fang Tian pleaded, his blade leveled, his knuckles white.

Fang Yuan advanced until he stood but a hair’s breadth from the edge of that trembling sword.

When he saw his brother resolve, his will, he decided to do what he should have long done,"You have chosen your path, brother. I want you and the princess gone... within the hour."

Fang Tian froze, shock flickering across his face.

After a long pause, he sheathed his sword with shaking hands, seized Qin Yuyan’s wrist, and fled the Fang estate.

All eyes followed him, watched him run, run until he vanished.

And in the stillness that followed, a single drop traced down Fang Yuan’s cheek, like a silent rain.

"Husband?" Lin Zhaoyue asked softly.

"I’m fine," Fang Yuan replied, his voice steady, no trace of tears upon his face.

He turned to the gathered elders, his tone firm and unyielding.

"Proceed as usual but remove Fang Tian from the family name."

With those words spoken, Fang Yuan rose upon his sword, his figure cutting through the air as he ascended toward the boundless sky.

Night had already fallen by the time Fang Yuan returned to his office.

He had spent hours scouring the skies, purging every trace of Spiritual Bitterness Root and Molten Elderleaf Bark from the estate’s surroundings.

When the work was done, he stepped outside.

And then, as if angered by his decision on Fang Tian. The heaven roared.

A thunderclap split the sky, the sound rolling like war drums. Sheets of rain crashed down, drowning the moonlight in a curtain of silver.

Through the storm, Fang Yuan also noticed a commotion, servants rushing back and forth, their arms laden with towels, bowls of hot water, and bundles of clean cloth.

They moved in and out of a single residence, faces tight with urgency.

Fang Yuan’s brow arched.

With nothing else demanding his time, he turned his steps toward the house.

Inside, the air was thick with sweat and the sharp tang of blood.

A woman lay upon the bed, pale and exhausted, strands of damp hair plastered to her face.

Yet her trembling arms cradled a newborn swaddled in cloth, the infant’s first cries mingling with the storm outside.

One of the midwives caught sight of him and immediately gasped, bowing low.

"Ah—Clan Head!"

The others quickly followed, dropping into hurried bows.

Even the pale and exhausted mother began to shift, as if to rise and pay her respects.

Fang Yuan’s expression hardened. He raised a hand sharply, halting her.

"You just brought a child into this world. What do you think you’re doing?"

His voice was stern, the weight of command pressing against the room. "Sit. Do not dare waste strength on such empty gestures."

The mother froze under his reprimand, her lips trembling. But when Fang Yuan’s tone shifted, her shoulders loosened.

He stepped closer, his gaze falling to the small, swaddled form in her arms.

His voice was quieter now, almost gentle.

"May I?"

For a heartbeat, fear and awe lingered in the mother’s eyes.

Then relief washed over her, and she nodded quickly, her arms trembling as she lifted the newborn toward him.

Fang Yuan extended his arms, and the mother carefully placed the newborn into his embrace.

Despite his usual severity, his movements were unexpectedly gentle, as though the slightest pressure might harm the child.

He lifted one hand and let a single finger rest before the infant’s tiny palm.

The baby’s fist closed around it instinctively, soft yet unyielding.

For the first time that day, Fang Yuan’s lips curved into a faint smile.

"Good boy," he murmured.

His gaze lifted with a smile, as thunder growled outside the window.

"This child of yours will definitely defy the heavens themselves, I can feel it. Even now, the heavens are angered by his birth."

"Thank you... Clan Head," the mother whispered, her voice trembling, tears shining in her eyes.

Fang Yuan gently placed the newborn back into her arms, careful not to disturb him.

For a long moment, he simply stood there, watching the tiny bundle with an expression few had ever seen on his face, softness.

"Where is your husband?" he asked quietly.

The mother’s lips quivered. She lowered her gaze. "He... he died a month ago. The caravan he was a group of, got ambushed by the Merchant Alliance. He never made it back."

Fang Yuan exhaled slowly, the weight of her words sinking deep.

He laid a hand gently on her shoulder, his voice low.

"My deepest condolences to your family."

The woman’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but her tone carried quiet strength.

"The clan has treated me well... for that, I’m deeply grateful. It eases the pain to know I was not left alone.

My husband... he could not see this day, but at least I carry his memory within me. And now..." she looked down at the child in her arms, her lips trembling into a faint, sorrowful smile, "now a piece of him has been brought into this world."

Fang Yuan inclined his head in silent acknowledgment.

Clutching the infant closer to her chest, she looked up with hesitant courage.

"Clan Head... would you... would you honour my child with a name?"

Fang Yuan blinked, caught off guard by her request.

"Are you certain about this?" he asked, his tone low and surprised.

"Yes," she whispered.

Fang Yuan lifted his head to the heavens, thunder still rolling in the distance.

Slowly, his gaze fell back to the boy, small fingers curling against his mother’s chest.

"Very well then. I shall bestow upon you a name. Your name shall be Fang Nitian," Fang Yuan declared.

His voice carried a solemn weight.

"Ni—for defiance. Tian—for heaven. May you live up to it."

The storm outside roared louder, as if bearing witness.