CHAPTER 683: CHAPTER 550: CHILDHOOD SWEETHEARTS, DEEP FEELINGS, SHALLOW FATE

Princess Qingfeng called out to Feng Lan countless times, but every time it was Brother Feng Lan.

She would call out when feeling aggrieved, when acting coquettishly, when joyful, and even when annoyed.

But never, in such a tone, had she directly called Feng Lan’s name.

When it reached Feng Lan’s ears, he was taken aback.

He stared at Qing Feng, his thin lips pressed into a line.

That expression, Qing Feng knew it well, it meant that Feng Lan was angry.

Usually, as soon as Feng Lan showed such an expression, Qing Feng would become anxious, stop her mischief, obediently lower her head, step forward to grab his hand, and call out, "Brother Feng Lan."

Just that one call, and Feng Lan’s heart would soften.

But this time, Qing Feng didn’t move.

Upon realizing Feng Lan’s displeasure, Qing Feng felt somewhat annoyed.

It was clearly his fault, yet he bore an air as if she were the one in the wrong.

However, the lethal power of Feng Lan’s gaze was too great, and unconsciously, Qing Feng hid behind the Young Heavenly Venerate.

This unintentional act was like a spark to fuel, successfully igniting Feng Lan’s rage.

His already profound eyes now surged with towering waves of anger.

He said nothing and yanked over Qing Feng, imprisoning her in his embrace.

"You are not going anywhere."

As he spoke, he intended to forcefully take her away, but the Young Heavenly Venerate naturally refused to let him do so.

But the repute of Feng Qian’s genius was not unfounded; with three moves he pushed back the Young Heavenly Venerate, carrying Princess Qingfeng away swiftly.

By the time the Young Heavenly Venerate gave chase, there was no sign of Qing Feng.

The Young Heavenly Venerate immediately sought out the Former Beiqing Emperor, who ordered an immediate search of the Feng Residence. They searched for nearly a month with no news of Feng Lan and Princess Qingfeng.

It wasn’t until three months later that Feng Lan returned with Princess Qingfeng.

When the two appeared before Emperor Beiqing and the former Heavenly Venerate, Feng Lan’s hand was tightly clasping Qing Feng’s.

The beautiful little face of Qing Feng regained its former radiance, now with an added tender charm unique to a young woman.

Later on, Feng Lan was punished by the Former Beiqing Emperor with a month’s confinement.

A month later, he asked for Princess Qingfeng’s hand in marriage, and before long Princess Qingfeng was to be married into the Feng Residence, becoming Princess Consort Feng.

When the Young Heavenly Venerate learned of this news, he had already returned to the Tongtian Pavilion, disregarding his master’s objections in his desire to find Qing Feng.

"Master, Feng Lan’s destiny is full of hardships; she won’t be happy with him," he said.

But the former Heavenly Venerate replied,

"Disciple, whether Qing Feng and Feng Lan will be happy or not is predestined. The fact that you couldn’t take Qing Feng away back then, that too was fate."

More than half a year later, Princess Consort Feng gave birth to their first child, a beautiful infant who inherited all the best traits from her and Feng Lan.

When the male infant reached full-term, the Young Heavenly Venerate, having taken over the Tongtian Pavilion, went to visit Prince Feng and his wife on his master’s orders.

In just a year, Qing Feng had transformed from a young girl into a beautiful young matron.

She was no longer clumsy as she had been in the Imperial Palace.

Or one could say, Princess Qingfeng was never a clumsy person.

Her "clumsiness" was simply a disguise.

She was inherently gentle and virtuous by nature.

In the profound depths of Beiqing Palace, her "foolishness" spared her much unnecessary trouble, and it was precisely that "foolishness" that fulfilled her union with Feng Lan.

It was not until she married into the Feng Residence and was protected by the man she loved most that she discarded her "clumsy" façade, becoming the most outstanding mistress of Beiqing Feng Mansion.

Cradling the little boy with a face full of maternal love, Feng Lan stood by her side, supporting his beloved wife.

That Beiqing War God, who forced the Heavenly Venerate to retreat with three moves, awkwardly hummed an off-key nursery rhyme. His eyes, tender and serene, held only his wife and child.

The Heavenly Venerate withdrew in sorrow, having thought he had only lost to Feng Lan in timing.

But it wasn’t until that moment that he realized he had lost to Feng Lan for a lifetime.

That man had loved the woman known as Qing Feng earlier and deeper than he ever did.

Since then, the Heavenly Venerate lived a reclusive life in the Tongtian Pavilion, yet news of Qing Feng and Feng Lan still occasionally reached his ears.

He learned one year that Qing Feng’s fate was threatened by a calamity of bloodshed, but by the time he arrived, everything was already too late.

Feng Lan was dead, and Qing Feng, with an unborn child in her womb, fell from a cliff, while Feng Xun was taken away by Emperor Beiqing.

The Heavenly Venerate, at the cost of his Star Power, reached Qing Feng before Emperor Beiqing’s men.

Regrettably, she was on her last breath, her child was lost, and her face was disfigured by the jagged rocks and thorns at the bottom of the cliff.

The Heavenly Venerate brought her back to the Tongtian Pavilion where she awoke to the news of Feng Lan’s death.

She stood atop a mountaintop encased in vast white snow, gazing over the expansive Qing Province Continent, her eyes long devoid of tears.

The Heavenly Venerate thought Qing Feng would return to Beiqing to find Feng Xun, but to everyone’s surprise, she chose to stay in the Tongtian Pavilion and became the Earth Venerate.

In a short span of ten years, Qing Feng revealed those sharp edges she had hidden in her youth, proving to be an unmatched genius as her master had described.

She studied Star Power, astrology, and Martial Arts, grasping the concepts immediately. Her Martial Arts Cultivation reached levels not even the Heavenly Venerate knew.

The former Heavenly Venerate once claimed that if Qing Feng were a man, she would surely match Feng Lan as a talent of Beiqing.

In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed, and Qing Feng became the Earth Venerate of the Tongtian Pavilion, a name that stood alongside the Heavenly Venerate on the mainland. Yet, all this could not bring back what she had lost.

She faced everything, even the news of her master’s death years ago, expressionlessly.

Today, after so many years since the Heavenly Venerate rescued her, is the first time he has seen her lose composure.

"So you still remember you are Prince Feng’s mother. If so, why didn’t you seek him out back then?" the Heavenly Venerate sighed.

He knew that all these years, Qing Feng had been enduring, unwilling to find Prince Feng.

That child always believed he had lost his parents. He witnessed his mother die before his eyes. Sickly and frail, yet with his slender shoulders, he took on the burden of Beiqing Feng Mansion.

"I had my compelling reasons. If I stayed by his side, I fear he would never have grown up," Qing Feng said earlier, gazing at Feng Xun in the tent.

That was her and Feng Lan’s son, with eyes like hers, features and stature like Feng Lan’s—perhaps even more outstanding than Feng Lan.

Qing Feng barely managed to control her emotions and not come forward to recognize Feng Xun.

In a blink, Feng Xun was already sixteen years old. He had found someone he adored, the same woman from before.

Qing Feng reflected on the appearance of Ye Lingyue, with a hint of contemplation in her gaze.

So her Xinxin liked that kind of woman.

But...

"Elder brother, you just mentioned that woman’s birth chart is incompatible with Xinxin’s. How can that be?" Qing Feng glanced at the sheet of paper in the Heavenly Venerate’s hand.

"This woman’s fate carries evil, and her astrological chart is exceedingly peculiar. You too are versed in the art of destiny, have a look," the Heavenly Venerate said, handing over the birth chart of Ye Lingyue to Qing Feng.