Great Qian Dynasty. The Longxi Border Pass.

Luo Yu stood inside the military tent, his heart pounding with unease. His hands subconsiously gripped the edges of his rough hemp robes as his gaze darted around the interior.

Candlelight flickered, casting dancing shadows against the canvas. Weapons hung from racks on both sides, blades and swords crisscrossed, exuding a chilling, metallic aura. Clad in coarse cloth, he looked utterly out of place amidst this martial solemnity.

For seventeen years, the orphan and the widow had scraped by in a remote mountain village. Then, out of nowhere, he learned that his biological father was none other than the dynasty's General of the East. Who could remain calm in the face of such news?

"Yu'er, don't be nervous. We have to face this sooner or later."

The middle-aged man who spoke was his father, General Wu Chengliang. Beside him stood the woman who was, by nature, his mother, Luo Yunshu, an ordinary peasant woman of the Longxi frontier.

Years ago, when Wu Chengliang was campaigning in Longxi, he had fallen in love with Luo Yunshu at first sight. They conceived a son, but fate played a cruel trick on them; a chaotic battle separated the lovers. It had taken Wu Chengliang seventeen years to locate the mother and son, finally.

Luo Yu took a deep breath, steadying his mind.

He was about to meet Wu Chengliang's only legal wife, the Matriarch of the Wu Clan, Chang Rushuang. As long as she nodded her head, he and his mother could enter the General's Manor with their heads held high.

"Yu'er, don't be afraid."

Luo Yunshu smiled at her son. Her eyes seemed to say that no matter what happened, his mother would always be by his side.

Footsteps echoed outside. Luo Yu instinctively looked up.

Chang Rushuang walked in slowly. She wore a long purple brocade gown, the hem embroidered with cloud patterns outlined in gold thread. She was dignified and undeniably noble, her gaze deep and piercing as if she could see through the mother and son with a single glance.

Wu Chengliang, who had just told Luo Yu not to be nervous, suddenly became cramped and awkward himself. He spoke with a sheepish smile:

"This... this is the Yunshu and Yu'er I mentioned to you before."

Having an illegitimate son on the outside and bringing the mistress and child home to meet the legal wife, what man under the heavens would dare face such a scene without sweating?

However, the expected cold shoulder and glare did not appear. Instead, Chang Rushuang walked up to Luo Yu with great warmth and lovingly patted his head.

"He is born handsome. He has his father's look in his youth. Can he read?"

Madam Chang's enthusiasm left Luo Yu a bit dazed, but he answered honestly, "Mother paid for a few years of private schooling. I have studied poetry."

"Have you practiced martial arts?"

"There were uncles and elders in the village who retired from the border army. I practiced fists and kicks with them."

Wu Chengliang and Luo Yunshu were both dumbfounded. Was this... going too smoothly?

"So, he is well-versed in both civil and martial arts?"

Madam Chang chuckled softly, then posed a question. "Your father was recently promoted to Great General of the East, a rising star in the court. However, those aristocratic clans privately mock your father as a brute, a savage who only knows how to speak with his blade. They despise him.

"Today, the Seven Nations are at war, and the flames of battle burn across the sky. Our Great Qian Dynasty's imperial family is declining, while the aristocratic clans stand like forests, fighting for power and profit. We face troubles both internal and external. I ask you: to govern a country, should one value the civil or the martial?"

Luo Yu knew this was Madam Chang's test. He answered thoughtfully, "In times of prosperity, rule with civil arts; in times of chaos, one must prioritize martial power!"

"Well said!

"Your father joined the army at seventeen. He has fought for thirty years to reach the rank of Great General. Now, the world is in chaos, and the common people are treated like straw dogs. You are exactly seventeen this year, born on the frontier, and you have seen the suffering of the world. Do you have ambition in your chest?"

"I wish to learn from my father."

Luo Yu inhaled deeply, his voice rising with conviction. "Why should a man not wield the Wu hook, to trample the beacon smoke and pacify the Nine Provinces!"

"Quite the tone you have there." Madam Chang laughed again. "At least your literary talent is better than your father's."

Wu Chengliang was incredibly relieved and kept winking at Luo Yu.

Luo Yu understood immediately. He picked up the tea bowl, held it respectfully with both hands, and presented it to Madam Chang.

"Please, Mother, have some tea."

The tent fell into silence. Wu Chengliang and Luo Yunshu's hearts rose to their throats. As long as Madam Chang drank this cup of tea, it symbolized that she had accepted the mother and son into the family.

A playful glint flashed in Chang Rushuang's eyes. She took the tea bowl... but then set it back down on the table.

"The tea is still scalding; there is no rush to drink it. Do you wish for you and your mother to follow us back to the Capital? To enter the Wu Residence?"

"Yes."

Luo Yu responded firmly. "My mother raised me alone, enduring endless hardships. This junior believes the Wu Clan owes my mother a proper title.

"Furthermore, Mother suffered too much in her early years, leaving her with deep-rooted ailments. Her health is deteriorating, and she often coughs up blood. The doctors at the border pass cannot cure her, but there are divine physicians in the Capital who surely can. The Matriarch has a benevolent heart; I hope you will accept us."

"So that is how it is."

Madam Chang neither agreed nor refused. Her reaction was strangely flat. "It is not that this Lady is unwilling to accept you. After all, you are the Wu family's own flesh and blood. But the Wu Clan is a noble house of the court. Suddenly bringing an illegitimate son back to the Capital will inevitably invite gossip.

"There are countless eyes in the court staring at the Wu family. One wrong move could bring trouble to your father. Therefore, this matter requires careful consideration."

Luo Yu's heart sank. This attitude... was not good.

"Oh, look, the tea has gone cold. Take it away."

Madam Chang smiled, changing the subject. "Your mother is in poor health and should not stand for long. Support her and take her to rest first. We will discuss this again another day."

With words spoken to such a point, Luo Yu had no choice but to bow. "This junior takes his leave."

The moment the mother and son stepped out of the military tent, Luo Yunshu let out a sigh of relief. "Madam Chang seems kind and amiable. She holds no hostility toward us."

"Perhaps."

Luo Yu glanced back at the tent, his brow furrowed. "But that cup of tea... she never drank it."

Several military tents were pitched in the empty yellow sands. Fierce soldiers with sharp blades hanging at their waists patrolled back and forth. As the personal guard of the General of the East, every one of them was a battle-hardened warrior.

The frail Luo Yunshu coughed up blood several more times before lying down early. Luo Yu sat by the sickbed, staring blankly into space.

Just as Madam Chang had said, the Seven Nations were in constant warfare, and the people had no way to make a living.

He was a native border citizen of Great Qian. Longxi was located on the western frontier, where the Western Qiang cavalry often crossed the border to plunder, leaving the people in unspeakable misery.

His mother had dragged him up from infancy, suffering every hardship for nearly two decades until her body collapsed. That was why he had secretly sworn to send his mother into the Wu Manor, to give her the dignity and title she deserved.

Although he was only seventeen, his character was far more mature than that of his peers. This was because, ten years ago, a special segment of memories had suddenly appeared in his brain.

These memories came from a different world called Earth. Their owner was a decisive, cold-blooded mercenary.

This memory had imperceptibly changed him. If not for the need to care for his mother, he would have long since left the small mountain village to break into the wider world.

"Yu'er, do you hold resentment toward your father in your heart?"

Luo Yunshu's weak voice pulled Luo Yu back from his daze.

"Back then, it wasn't that your father abandoned us. The battlefield was chaotic, and we were separated. All these years, he has been looking for us. He never gave up."

"I know. Yu'er doesn't blame Father."

Luo Yu smiled softly and held his mother's hand. "I just want Mother to live in the Capital, to have a proper title, and to enjoy her old age in peace."

"Hehe, Yu'er is truly filial."

As the mother and son chatted, Madam Chang suddenly lifted the tent flap and entered. She was holding a bowl of medicinal soup. This scene confused Luo Yu slightly.

Luo Yunshu struggled to prop herself up, speaking politely, "Madam, what is this...?"

"Chengliang said you were very ill, and I couldn't set my mind at ease."

Madam Chang smiled amiably and handed over the medicine bowl. "Fortunately, I have learned some medical arts and brought along some soothing herbs. Drink this soup first; it should alleviate your condition."

Luo Yu sniffed the air. He indeed smelled the scent of medicinal herbs. A warmth rose in his heart. Madam Chang really was kind-hearted.

"Thank you, Madam."

Luo Yunshu took the soup and drank it down in a few gulps.

But in the very next instant, the bowl slipped from her fingers and crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces. Luo Yunshu pitched forward and collapsed by the bed, unconscious.

"Mother!"

Luo Yu's face changed drastically. Realization struck him like lightning, and he whipped his head around to glare at Madam Chang.

"What did you give my mother?!"

"You really are foolish."

All the earlier benevolence and warmth vanished from Chang Rushuang's face instantly. In their place was a look of sheer viciousness and mockery.

"Two outsiders want to march into the Wu family home grandly? Did you think I would actually serve you with my heart?

"What your mother just drank... was fatal poison!"

NOTES

Wu hook: A curved sword from the Warring States period, often used in poetry to symbolize martial valor, military service, or the desire to serve one's country in battle.

Nine Provinces: A poetic, ancient name for China or the known world/realm.

Tea Ceremony: In traditional Chinese culture, the act of a junior offering tea to a senior (or a secondary wife/child to the main wife) acts as a formal request for acceptance. Drinking the tea signifies approval; refusing it (or claiming it's "too hot") signifies rejection.

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Chapter 1: 1. The Bastard Son

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