Chapter 95 Heart Demon

Guan Suyi was stunned after just a quick glance. If this person didn’t take off his clothes, she would have never imagine what kind of trauma this body had suffered underneath the gorgeous robe.

He was indeed tall and majestic, and every bulging muscle contained terrifying power, but in addition to this, there were also scars intertwined over it, one by one, one after another, healed and injured, injured again then healed again. The so-called “cuts and bruises all over the body” was exactly this.

He had the deepest and deadliest scar on his left chest, which could be distinguished with the naked eye alone. At the beginning of the injury, it must have reached the heart and he almost died.

“You, aren’t you the young patriarch of the Jiuli clan?” Guan Suyi felt that she could hardly breathe, and she perfectly aware that she shouldn’t see things that don’t conform to etiquette, but she couldn’t look away no matter what.

“Young patriarch? How is that possible! That’s just the gold that was put on Zhen’s face by the courtiers after Zhen ascended the throne. You people from Central Plains likes a good face, whoever becomes the emperor has to make up an extraordinary origin and reputation.” Emperor Sheng Yuan’s eyes were dark and his expression was in a trance, as if he was remembering something.

“Madam, look at this,” he pointed to the scars on his left shoulder, “this is the scar left over from fighting with a lone wolf for food when Zhen was five years old. Due to the summer heat and mosquito bites, it festered for a month or two before gradually healed. And here, this is from the first time Zhen have been on the battlefield, and was slashed open by the enemy…”

He ran through them down one by one, each one was a piece of unforgettable pain, and each one was an unimaginable life and death situation. Guan Suyi thought it was a miracle that he could stand here calmly and recalled the past with her.

“How about this scar? Is it the most dangerous one?” Guan Suyi clearly didn’t want to respond, but it was difficult to restrain the pain and concern in her heart.

Emperor Sheng Yuan was silent for a long time before he said in dumb voice, “This is when Zhen stabbed oneself.”

Guan Suyi looked at him in horror, it was hard to imagine that a tyrant with heart as strong as iron and incomparable valiant like him would have the idea to kill himself. Why? What kind of tragic thing happened that made him so desperate that he didn’t even have the courage to live?

Emperor Sheng Yuan gently stroked the corners of her reddish eyes, and laughed in a deep voice, “Madam, it was you who saved Zhen. If it wasn’t for you, this stab would be nothing, maybe in the future Zhen would still stab a second, third, or multiple times until Zhen kill oneself.”

Guan Suyi’s face was pale, she wanted to ask but didn’t dare to. Her intuition told her that behind this fatal scar, there must be a deadly secret buried in it, and she was definitely not qualified to know. However, even if she didn’t ask, Emperor Sheng Yuan had already made up his mind to tell her everything.

“Speaking of which, Zhen’s life experience is not a secret. The entire Jiuli clan knows it. If the Han courtiers want to inquire, they should also know a thing or two.” He walked around the room without his shirt. As if remembering something, he handed over a piece of wood covered in silk cloth, and commanded softly, “Madam, open it and take a look.”

“This is a picture of hell?” Guan Suyi looked puzzled.

On the wooden board was a painting with extremely strong colors. In the center of the painting lies a woman with loose hair and a machete in her hand. A Rakshasa demon with green face and fangs cut through her towering belly and crawled out with a few pieces of intestines to suck the blood from her wrist. Blood, there was blood everywhere, and a large area of red was like flames burning the eyes of the onlookers, making people felt extremely uncomfortable and felt creepy at the same time.

The tragic death of the woman and the greedy and ferocious expression of the demon were vividly rendered by the superb painting skills, as if this was not a scene of hell, but a real occurrence.

Emperor Sheng Yuan’s answer confirmed this guess, “This is not a picture of hell, it’s the scene when Zhen was born.”

Guan Suyi’s heart skipped a beat, but she was not frightened, rather had a strong suspicion. Even if she didn’t want to see Emperor Sheng Yuan anymore, she had to admit that he was a benevolent ruler in this life. Even in the previous life, his idea of governing the country was correct, and his original intention was to benefit the people, but he had no way of doing it and took many detours.

If such person was a demon, then what about the last emperor of the previous dynasty?

“No, you are definitely not a Rakshasa demon. This painting is fictional.” She shook her head in denial.

The haze between Emperor Sheng Yuan’s brows completely dissipated, “It’s true that Zhen is not a Rakshasa demon, but this painting is not fictional. The woman in the painting is Zhen’s biological mother, Husu Liya, the first side wife of Zhen’s late father. You also know that our Jiuli people have three wives and four concubines system, one main wife and two side wives. If the side wife is strong, it can be on an equal footing with the main wife. Zhen’s mother was the most favored side wife of late father, and she was also the most capable, which means she had a tendency to replace the main wife, that is, the current Empress Dowager. Especially after she became pregnant, the contradiction between the two was almost irreconcilable, and it was on the verge of erupting. ”

He took the painting, his eyes were empty, “Do not know who did it, the Empress Dowager or other wives and concubines, in short, when Zhen was about to be born, she was chased down and fled into the valley for refuge. There, she gave birth to me, her belly was torn, her wrist was cut, and blood flowing all over the ground. The scene was very tragic, and there were wolves constantly wandering around, but because of the poisonous powder she cast, they never dared to approach. It was the Empress Dowager who first found her body, and Zhen was lying in a pool of blood at that time, sucking her wrist, feeding on blood, not dying of thirst and starvation, nor being eaten by wild animals, Zhen lived for three whole days before finally rescued.”

“After going back, the Empress Dowager found the most skilled Dongyang painter, described the real scene according to the narration of everyone present, and presented it to the late father.” He nodded at the painting and sighed, “So that’s how this painting of Rakshasa descending to earth was made.”

Guan Suyi didn’t show it on her face, but a storm had already set off in her heart. If this painting was sent to the late emperor, the result could be imagined. If he could pierce his mother’s belly, emerge from her body, and eat her blood to tenaciously survive, how could one know that he would not kill his own father and harm the clan in the future? How much the late emperor loved the side wife, that’s how much he hated this demon baby, how could he allow him to survive?

Emperor Sheng Yuan smiled and stroked her pale cheeks, comforting, “Madam, don’t be afraid, late father is not such a heartless person, he didn’t kill Zhen personally, he just threw Zhen into the deep mountain to feed the wolves.”

Isn’t that called heartless? What horrific things have he experienced to think that it was good that his father did not personally kill him? Guan Suyi’s eyes turned red, and a layer of water mist slowly emerged from her dark eyes.

“Madam, don’t cry, everything is over. You feel sorry for Zhen, Zhen know.” Speaking of the most unbearable past, at this moment Emperor Sheng Yuan  did not feel the slightest pain, and he would not pick up the sword and desperately harm himself. He just wanted to hug Madam who was crying for him, looked at her quietly for a while, kissed her for a while, listened to her choked sobbing and even exasperated scolding, then all the pain would be smoothed out.

“Who cares about you? Shameless bastard!” Guan Suyi barely suppressed her tears, but her voice was trembling.

“Okay, Zhen is a bastard, Zhen is shameless.” Emperor Sheng Yuan held Madam’s soft and boneless hand and slapped it twice on his face, and said while sighing, “Unexpectedly late father didn’t want Zhen, but the wolves took and carefully raised Zhen. Before the age of three, Zhen followed them to learn to hunt, eating raw meat and drank animal blood, couldn’t speak and only roared. One day, accidentally the imperial sister was lost in the mountain and ran into Zhen, and gave Zhen a roasted chicken leg. That taste, Zhen can never forget until now.” As he spoke, he laughed, as if it was such a beautiful memory.

“The imperial sister is the grand princess?” Guan Suyi asked in a hoarse voice.

“Yes, it’s her. Since then she often came to see Zhen, taught Zhen to talk, make a fire, eat cooked food, drink boiled water, and tell Zhen that Zhen is not a beast, but a human being, a person with flesh and blood and thoughts. So no matter what the imperial sister did, Zhen can always forgive her, because without her, there would not be Zhen right now. After a few years, the clan threw a group of children into the mountains, to let them fight for their lives with wild beasts, tried to cultivate a group of dead soldiers, and then Zhen got mixed in. Zhen’s martial arts were all learned from beasts, the dexterity of apes, the ferocity of tigers, the ruthlessness of wolves, which definitely much stronger than those children, so Zhen naturally became the leader and led them to stumble and survive. One group of children left, another batch of children came, and unknowingly Zhen took control of the dead soldiers of the Jiuli tribe.”

“You are really blessed!” Guan Suyi was shocked, and said in her heart: this person is really the true dragon emperor, right? Otherwise, how could he come back from death’s door over and over again?

“Zhen did have a little bit of luck. After cultivating a large number of dead soldiers, the Jiuli tribe gradually annexed the surrounding small tribes and began to expand outward little by little, so Zhen mixed into the army again, defeated the enemy one after another, and made great achievements. When late father discovered Zhen’s identity, Zhen was already holding a heavy army and become unstoppable, so he had to pinch his nose and recognize Zhen. However, Zhen was never his son, just a sharp weapon, and had no existential value except to expand territory for him. Waiting for this sharp weapon to break, then it’s time to throw it away. While he directed Zhen to fight in the front, he let a few of Zhen’s brothers to devour Zhen’s forces, and coldly watched them unite to strangle Zhen.”

Having said this, he sneered, “But waste is waste, let alone joining forces, even if they were given another hundred of lives, they were no match for Zhen. Later, Zhen went straight to Yanjing and became the emperor, and later, the Empress Dowager gave this painting to Zhen as a gift for ascending the throne, making Zhen felt death was better than living.” His eyes began to turn red, “Zhen has always been thinking since Zhen was a child, why do others have fathers and mothers, but Zhen have no one; why can others growing up at home, and Zhen was the only one who was abandoned in the wilderness. Who is Zhen’s mother, and why Zhen is regarded as a demon by the clansman? In the passage of time, in the torment of suffering, this question gradually became Zhen’s inner demon, and the Empress Dowager completely released this inner demon, intending to kill Zhen without a fight, and she almost succeeded.”

Guan Suyi was shock speechless for a while, and slowly straightened her train of thoughts. She looked at the painting in her hand again, and said with certainty, “Your Majesty, she lied to you. This painting is not a Rakshasa descending to earth, but a goddess protecting her child! ”

Emperor Sheng Yuan suddenly laughed, gently wrapped his arms around Madam’s thin shoulders, and murmured, “Madam’s eyes are still the brightest and can penetrate deeply. Without Madam, Zhen might be haunted by this inner demon for the rest of Zhen’s life, mad to the point of death. Madam, it’s you who saved Zhen.”

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