Light rain fell outside the window.
Raindrops slid down the eaves, and a gust of wind carried waves of chill into the room.
Two days had passed since He Shu woke up.
Hua Yanyun sat in her study reviewing memorials, a large robe draped over her shoulders.
The patter of rain sounded quite pleasant to the ear.
A knock came at the door.
Hua Yanyun frowned slightly.
“Enter.”
The door opened.
The visitor was Hua Sang, which improved Hua Yanyun’s mood a little.
“Speak. What is it?”
Hua Sang’s expression remained calm, revealing nothing of her inner thoughts.
After bowing in greeting, Hua Sang began reporting her latest discovery.
“Supreme Grand Elder, this subordinate has brought a shocking new discovery. I won’t hide it from you—when I first received this information I was utterly stunned. If the evidence weren’t so credible, I would hardly dare believe it.”
Hua Sang’s words immediately piqued Hua Yanyun’s curiosity.
Raising an eyebrow, Hua Yanyun asked with interest, “Oh? What news could make you take it so seriously? Tell me.”
Hua Sang hesitated for a moment, looking as if she wanted to speak but held back. In the end she said, “This matter concerns He Wanyi. This subordinate has already uncovered He Wanyi’s true identity…”
Hua Sang recounted everything she had learned about He Shu in one breath.
Hua Yanyun slammed her hand on the table and stood up, completely abandoning the composure expected of a monarch.
“Is what you say true? He Shu could actually be He Xiu’s biological daughter?”
He Xiu had only ever had two daughters—the eldest, He Cen, and the second, He Ying.
He Shu’s age fell between He Cen’s and He Ying’s, and her temperament was completely different from He Xiu’s. The two were not alike at all.
Although Hua Yanyun had long noticed a certain similarity in appearance, she had never connected the dots.
After all, plenty of people in the world looked alike.
Hua Sang was startled by Hua Yanyun’s sudden reaction.
She had not expected such a strong response.
“There is a high probability that it is true, but it still requires Your Majesty to verify it personally.”
Hua Sang’s tone carried a note of uncertainty as she watched Hua Yanyun carefully.
“Hehehehe… Hahahahahahaha!!!”
Hua Yanyun suddenly covered half her face and burst into wild laughter.
The sound was filled with boundless excitement, as if she had discovered a priceless treasure.
“He Xiu, oh He Xiu, I truly must thank you! I never imagined you would send me such a magnificent gift!”
“To think you personally delivered your own biological daughter into my hands—ah hahahahahahaha~”
Hua Yanyun sat back down in her chair. She cupped her cheeks with both hands, her face twisted in a manic expression.
After a long while she finally calmed down and looked toward Hua Sang, who stood there hesitantly, wanting to leave yet not daring to move.
“Hua Sang, you have done well. We grant you permission to enter the national treasury and choose any artifact of equal rank. However, this matter must be kept strictly confidential. If any outsider learns of it, kill them on the spot.”
“We will personally verify the truth of this matter. There is no need for you to concern yourself further.”
With a wave of her sleeve, Hua Sang was pushed out the door by a powerful force.
A rolled imperial decree now rested in her arms.
Looking at the decree in her hands, Hua Sang carefully unrolled it.
When she saw its contents, her face lit up with delight.
Inside the study, Hua Yanyun lounged alone in her chair, legs crossed and propped on the table.
She had no interest in continuing to review the memorials.
Her mind was now entirely occupied with He Shu.
The more she connected the previously overlooked clues, the more convinced Hua Yanyun became that He Shu was almost certainly He Xiu’s biological daughter.
A question rose in her mind. She was very curious whether He Shu herself knew she was He Xiu’s biological daughter.
According to Hua Sang’s report, He Shu had been bullied by He Ying for five full years during her childhood without ever fighting back.
If she had known she was He Xiu’s daughter, she should not have stayed so silent.
Could it be that He Shu had realized the situation, yet He Xiu had simply ignored her true second daughter all along?
Hua Yanyun’s thinking was too narrow. In truth, during the twelve years He Shu had lived in the Southwind Immortal Kingdom, the number of times she had come face-to-face with He Xiu could be counted on one hand.
She had never had the chance to complain about He Ying’s constant bullying.
Besides, how could He Xiu not have known He Ying was bullying He Shu? She had simply turned a blind eye to it.
The Southwind diplomatic mission was already not far from Cloud Mist Immortal City.
Even though Hua Yanyun had secretly delayed their journey, they would arrive in at most eight days.
The mission was led by He Cen. Their purpose was obvious—to redeem He Shu.
In the past few days Hua Yanyun had indeed considered releasing He Shu if the Southwind Immortal Kingdom offered a suitable price.
But now she no longer wanted to let her go.
“As He Shu’s elder sister, it should be quite interesting to let He Cen meet her.”
He Shu had once been worlds apart from He Cen in status.
Now she had even lost her freedom.
A reunion after eighteen years in such an absurd scene—truly, one could only look forward to the moment they met.
“However, this means the second experiment will have to be moved up by one day. Will the little one’s body really be able to endure it?”
A trace of doubt rose in her heart, but Hua Yanyun felt it should be fine.
He Shu’s self-healing ability was indeed heaven-defying, and she had not starved her.
Five days should be enough for her to recover seventy to eighty percent.
During the previous experiment Hua Yanyun had drawn quite a lot of blood from He Shu.
After studying the samples, she discovered that even after leaving He Shu’s body, the blood still contained rich vitality and could serve as an excellent material for artifact refinement.
Its quality was no lower than Body Integration level, and this was only ordinary blood, not essence blood.
From this alone, one could say He Shu’s entire body was a living treasure trove.
Yesterday Hua Yanyun had handed some of He Shu’s blood to Hua Yao to be used as an auxiliary material in refining a long flute.
According to Hua Yao’s own words: “He Wanyi once specialized in the sound path. Refining her blood into a sound-path artifact is naturally the optimal choice.”
Hua Yanyun took the long flute out of her storage artifact and held it in her hands, examining it carefully.
The flute was straight and smooth, colored yellow-green, with a red tassel hanging from its end.
Its main body was made from thousand-year dusk bamboo of Body Integration grade, supplemented by various sound-path heavenly treasures and, most importantly, He Shu’s blood.
According to testing, the sounds produced by this Body Integration-grade flute artifact possessed the strange effect of violently shaking a person’s soul.
According to Hua Yao’s speculation, the reason the flute sounds could shake the soul was likely due to the use of He Shu’s blood.
Hua Yao had not named the flute herself. She had left the honor of naming it to Hua Yanyun.
“Why not call it Silent Sound?”
After casually choosing a name, Hua Yanyun put the long flute back into her storage artifact.