CHAPTER 721: CHAPTER 588: IDENTITY EXPOSED

For the Earth Venerate, the significance of the Feng Residence was special.

There was a time when Qing Feng, as she was then known, had resented Feng Lan for only caring about the battlefield and not her and Xinxin.

Until one day, Feng Lan told her that he wished to give her and Feng Xun a stable country, a place where their family of three could live carefree.

"Feng’er, give me ten years. In these ten years, I’ll be Beiqing’s War God, securing Beiqing’s territory. For the rest of my life, I’ll be your husband, Xinxin’s father. Then, I’ll take you to explore the Five Mountains."

Qing Feng agreed to Feng Lan’s request.

To fend off loneliness, she began to manage the Feng Residence.

It was the Feng Residence that gave her a completely new life.

Qing Feng had even thought that Feng Lan would use ten years to stabilize the nation, ensuring peace and security for the people of Beiqing.

And she, using the same ten years, managed the Feng Residence well, securing a worry-free life for their family of three.

Alas, the ten years have passed, and everything has changed.

The only consolation for Qing Feng was that the Feng Residence she regarded as her second home was thriving in Feng Xun’s hands.

Feng Lan had yet to create an impregnable nation for Beiqing.

Yet Feng Xun had, with his frail hands, turned the Beiqing Feng Residence into a dominant power on the mainland.

But now, Feng Xun was ready to give it all up because of a single sentence.

Thinking of this, the Earth Venerate felt a wave of regret.

Feng Xun seemed rather surprised that the Earth Venerate would ask him this question.

He pondered for a moment, then smiled knowingly.

"I’ve been Prince Feng for so many years; I’m tired of it. Just three more months, in these three months, I want to properly accompany my woman."

The Earth Venerate felt reassured, clearly understanding Feng Xun’s implied meaning.

Feng Xun was not someone who compromised easily.

At the very least, he had not yet relinquished the Phoenix Token.

The Earth Venerate and Ye Lingyue sat outside the carriage.

The temperature outside the carriage was vastly different from that inside.

In just an hour’s time, a thick layer of snow had accumulated outside the Imperial Palace.

In the bitter cold, the entire Imperial City was enveloped by snow and ice.

Fortunately, the military horses from the Feng Residence, waiting to pull the carriage, trudged through the deep snow, leaving behind deep tracks.

The wind howled loudly, causing the conversation between Ye Lingyue and the Earth Venerate to be intermittent.

"Do you know someone will come looking for you?"

The Earth Venerate grasped the reins, her wrist flicked, and the carriage sped up.

"I knew not only would you come back for me, but I also knew that you are Princess Qingfeng."

These words were spoken by Ye Lingyue just as a gust of fierce wind swept by.

The Earth Venerate’s hand shook, frozen in mid-air.

"If you don’t deny it, I’ll take it as your admission. I should have guessed earlier; your eyes really resemble Feng Xun’s, and also, you have many little mannerisms that are the same as his." Ye Lingyue touched her forehead gently.

It was not clear when she realized that the Earth Venerate was, in fact, Qing Feng.

Perhaps it was when Feng Xun mentioned that Heavenly Venerate had once had a relationship with Princess Qingfeng.

Or perhaps it was when the Ghost Sect sent word that the Earth Venerate had risen to fame over a decade ago, which coincidentally was also when Princess Qingfeng was said to have died.

Or perhaps it is that every time the Earth Venerate sees Feng Xun, an undetectable motherly love surfaces within her, even one she herself is unaware of.

"You are wrong, Qing Feng is already dead." The Earth Venerate said dryly.

"If Feng Lan were dead, then it wouldn’t matter if Qing Feng were dead too. But now that Feng Lan is alive again, how could Qing Feng be dead? Does she intend to let her man be with the sister who caused the ruin of her family?" Ye Lingyue’s words stung the Earth Venerate as she intended.

The reins in her hand suddenly jerked to a stop.

"If you were not Ye Lingyue, you would have died a thousand times over by now," the Earth Venerate was infuriated by Ye Lingyue’s words.

After all, she was still Qing Feng.

The Second Princess of Beiqing, in her lifetime, had only been bested by two individuals.

And Ye Lingyue, a mere teenager, or rather, her future daughter-in-law, dared to mock her mother-in-law with such scorn, which the Earth Venerate found hard to swallow.

"If I were to die, then the precious son in your carriage would remain a bachelor for life." Ye Lingyue curled her lip. "You wouldn’t want your Feng Family to end its lineage, would you?"

The Earth Venerate was rendered speechless.

She stared at Ye Lingyue’s shameless face and suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.

This girl always seemed to have a way to keep one from getting angry.

She admitted that she had come to love everything associated with Ye Lingyue.

"You’re so convinced that Xin Xin loves you, certain that he will never change his heart!" The Earth Venerate said irritably, although the annoyance had already faded from her eyes.

She remembered Feng Lan used to be so considerate and indulgent towards her, but now... tonight, he had even become violent, almost hurting himself.

"In this world, without whom can one not survive? If he is heartless, then I shall divorce him," Ye Lingyue said nonchalantly.

She was not some paragon of virtue and loyalty.

After experiencing her mother Ye Huangyu’s ordeal and Hong Fang’s heartlessness, men in Ye Lingyue’s eyes, were all much the same.

She did have a fondness for Feng Xun.

But it was undeniable that she was far from being deeply engraved in her heart.

The nightmare that haunted Ye Lingyue’s dreams, that persistent demon, was always present.

If he is heartless, then she shall divorce?

The Earth Venerate heard, momentarily forgetting to speak.

It was as if she was getting to know Ye Lingyue for the first time; her free-spirited nature carried a hint of rebelliousness.

Yet even for someone much older like the Earth Venerate, she couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

"It’s just my overthinking, Xin Xin would not let you down, he is not Feng Lan," the Earth Venerate muttered and swung her whip again.

The Earth Venerate truly adored Ye Lingyue, her future daughter-in-law.

When Qing Feng was a maiden, she too was a spirited character.

Yet compared to Ye Lingyue, she felt she fell short.

Just the fact that Ye Lingyue had turned the tables and eliminated Xue Pianran, her biggest rival in love, showed she was far more clever than the former herself.

The Earth Venerate had a premonition that if Ye Lingyue were to face Qingshuang, perhaps Qingshuang would not be her match either.

Regardless of whether their horoscopes clashed, the Earth Venerate had set her heart on Ye Lingyue as her daughter-in-law, just as Feng Xun had long set his heart on Ye Lingyue.

"Actually, perhaps Feng Lan, I mean Feng Xun’s father, wasn’t intentional today," Ye Lingyue glanced at the Earth Venerate, seeing her apparent distress.

One could imagine it, the heartache when a loved one suddenly changed and turned into a stranger.

This feeling must be as agonizing as being nibbled away by ants.

"It doesn’t matter whether it was intentional or not. He’s simply forgotten some past events, but his aversion to me is real. Perhaps Qingshuang has always been right, it was me who forced Feng Lan. She and Feng Lan were always the most suited for each other," the Earth Venerate said flatly.

"No, that’s not true, as long as Feng Lan remembers the past and recognizes you, he will surely apologize to you," Ye Lingyue hastened to say. "Actually... Feng Lan’s amnesia is somewhat related to me."