CHAPTER 287: CHAPTER 282: HEROINE AND DEMONESS

"Greetings to Your Majesty and noble concubine!" Ye Qiu performed a Jianghu-style salute to the two, but no one cared, and Ji Heng waved to dismiss the Imperial Army and attendants.

"Your Majesty?" The eunuch was still somewhat skeptical, fearing that these two strangers might harm the Emperor.

"Leave us."

"Yes!" No one dared to persuade further, and as the eunuch left, he risked a bold glance at Ji Nan, his heart stirring like a stormy sea.

"Is it really my Nannan?" Wuyang stepped forward with tear-blurred eyes, reaching out to touch Ji Nan’s face, yet fearing it was all a dream.

"What is your name?" Ji Heng asked in a deep voice; the normally perceptive and valorous Emperor’s voice trembled slightly.

Ji Nan was overwhelmed with emotions, having thought he was just a pawn of the Demon Sect, never imagining his parents had not intentionally abandoned him.

"My name is Ji Nan."

As soon as he said this, the noble concubine who had been holding back tears could no longer restrain her sorrow: "Nannan, it truly is my Nannan!"

Ji Heng supported his beloved princess, gazing at Ji Nan with eyes full of hope: "Who named you?"

"I don’t know, the teacher at the Nursery Hall said I only knew the name Ji Nan when he found me."

"Then why did you come to the Imperial Palace?"

"Because people from the Demon Sect were looking for me, and the information my senior sister and I found suggested I might be related to the Imperial City."

"It really is." Wuyang collapsed emotionally, breaking free from Ji Heng’s embrace and embracing Ji Nan tightly.

Ji Heng watched Ji Nan’s lips tremble, his whole person relaxing suddenly as if a taut string had been released: "Let’s go inside and talk."

"So you were captured by the Demon Sect eight years ago and then taken into Medicine Valley by your Master and Mistress?" After hearing Ji Nan’s account, Ji Heng’s mind cleared, increasingly certain that the young man before him was his long-lost son.

"Yes, this time it was also because my senior sister extracted my origin from the Fourth Guardian of the Demon Sect, so we followed the Demoness Leng Zhao Yue all the way to the capital."

"There is no mistake then." Wuyang, trembling, caressed Ji Nan’s cheeks over and over, "My Nannan has finally returned."

"You believe this so easily? Aren’t you afraid we are deceiving you?" Ye Qiu raised an eyebrow at Ji Heng.

Before Ji Heng could respond, Wuyang interjected impatiently: "There’s no mistake, I trust my feelings, it’s definitely my Nannan."

But Ji Heng, as the ruler of a nation, kept his rationality clearer, and looking earnestly into Ji Nan’s eyes, he asked: "Do you have a dragon-shaped scar on your back?"

"No, I don’t think so!" Ji Nan replied uncertainly.

Wuyang and Ji Heng’s hearts sank, could it really not be him? But their instincts couldn’t be wrong, the handsome young man in front of them felt incredibly familiar.

"Are you sure you can see your own back?" Ye Qiu looked at the silent family, "If I remember correctly, you were five or six years old when you arrived at Medicine Valley, always bathing by yourself, and no one has seen your back."

Suddenly hopeful, Wuyang hastily moved to strip Ji Nan of his clothing.

Thankfully, there were no outsiders here. Ji Nan simply took off his upper garments in front of the three, revealing a dragon-shaped scar that had faded over the years as he grew.

"There’s no doubt, I was the one who marked it," the wise and martial Emperor finally became excited, trembling as he touched Ji Nan’s scar.

Hearing this, Ye Qiu rolled her eyes speechlessly, thinking, branding a scar on a child, what kind of peculiar habit is this for the Imperial Family? She stood up and left, giving the family some space for their reunion.

"So, is my name ’Nan’ because of the word for ’cedar wood’?"

"Yes, your generation follows the tradition of using the character ’wood,’ and since cedar is valuable, your Father Emperor named you ’Nan’," Wuyang explained to her son.

"How did I get lost in the first place?"

The process involves some complications, but the culprits behind the scenes are none other than the Demon Sect and a few of my brothers," said Ji Heng, his expression darkening. Previously, he had refrained from taking action due to concerns for his son’s safety, but now, no one could blame him for being unforgiving.

"So, you don’t have other children?" Ji Heng was genuinely curious. Since his biological father was the Emperor, didn’t he have children with anyone else?

Upon hearing Ji Nan mention this, Wuyang’s face darkened, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on Ji Heng’s hand: "After having you, your Father Emperor was poisoned, and he has still not been cured."

Ji Nan was startled and then said, "If you don’t mind, let me take a look."

"Nannan, you..."

"Mother, you forget, I’ve been in Medicine Valley all these years. My medical skills might not match my master’s, but I can still check pulses without any problem," Ji Nan said with a relaxed smile, showing no shadows in his eyes.

Ji Heng and Wuyang could tell from one look that their son had been well cared for over the years. Not only had he not suffered, but he had also acquired skills beyond the reach of ordinary people. They felt grateful to God, thankful for their son’s master and his wife.

"Is that girl outside the child of your master?" Wuyang asked with interest.

"Yes, my senior sister is very kind, and she has taken good care of me over the years," Ji Nan’s eyes revealed a trace of reliance, seeing which Ji Heng and Wuyang smiled knowingly.

"Then you check up on your Father Emperor, I’ll go thank your senior sister and have a talk with her."

"Miss Ye." Wuyang looked at the girl in the courtyard looking bored, a hint of closeness emerging in her eyes. Hearing her son, their son’s master’s family must have treated him very well; she really didn’t know how to thank them enough.

"Noble Consort, be at ease," Ye Qiu turned her head and gave another Jianghu-style salute.

"No need to be so formal, you’re Nannan’s senior sister, just call me Aunt Wu," Wuyang smiled as she looked at her, then suddenly knelt down, "Your family has granted us a great favor we can’t repay, please, Miss Ye, accept my bow."

"What are you doing!" Ye Qiu was startled and quickly helped her up, "Ji Nan is my junior brother, it’s only right that we took care of him."

"No, for Your Majesty and me, your kindness is too profound, thank you for bringing Nannan back to us," Wuyang held Ye Qiu’s hand, her eyes welling up with clear tears of joy.

But Ye Qiu frowned slightly, "If I’m not mistaken, Aunt Wu, you must have a deep connection with the Demon Sect. Are you sure you can protect my junior brother?"

Hearing Ye Qiu mention the Demon Sect, a deep loathing filled Wuyang’s eyes: "I no longer have any ties with the Holy Sect, no, it should be the Demon Sect. You might not believe it, but I used to be the previous Holy Daughter of the Demon Sect, and the current Sect Leader of the Demon Sect is still my brother. But we have already had a falling out, our relationship can no longer be mended. Please rest assured, this time, even if we risk our lives, Your Majesty and I will definitely protect Nannan. We won’t let their schemes succeed."