“Brother.”
Huang Quan looked at him. “You don’t need to worry so much. Just treat this like any previous training. I’m by your side, and I will protect you.”
Just as her brother had protected her before.
Nangong Mian’s eyes turned slightly red as he looked at her. “Quan Quan…”
“Brother, we’re almost at the Nangong residence. Don’t cry.” Seeing his reddened eyes, Huang Quan quickly said.
She was most afraid of seeing people cry.
Nangong Mian nodded, holding back the urge to cry. “Don’t worry, Quan Quan. I won’t cry.”
After saying this, he wiped away the tears that had already fallen.
Seeing him like this, Huang Quan’s heart ached as well.
Di Qin reached out and gently patted Huang Quan’s head in a comforting manner.
Huang Quan turned to look at him, showing a faint smile, and then looked back at Nangong Mian.
The speed of the winged snow lion was fast, and they soon arrived at the Nangong residence.
The carriage did not stop outside the residence but flew directly inside, landing within the grounds.
Seeing the Crown Prince’s carriage, the servants hurried to notify the head of the household.
Nangong Yi and Nangong Qiu had brought Nangong Qingle back to the residence earlier, waiting for Huang Quan and the others to arrive. When they received the news, they quickly came over. However…
It was too ostentatious.
In the entire Tianqi Empire, the only one who could have a sacred beast pull their carriage was Crown Prince Di Qin. Previously, there were rumors that Nangong Qingle would marry the Crown Prince, leading everyone in the Nangong family to believe it was a certainty. So, upon hearing that the Crown Prince had arrived, they all rushed over.
Seeing so many people gathering, Nangong Yi scolded, “Is everyone idle with nothing to do?”
“Uncle…” A young lady from the Nangong family called out, wanting to act coy and stay, but Nangong Yi shot her a stern look. “Go back.”
The young lady bit her lip, unwilling to leave.
“The Crown Prince has given an order.”
Yongzhou jumped down from the carriage and addressed the group that had come to greet them, “Only the Nangong family head and Nangong Qiu should remain. Everyone else must leave immediately.”
Although it was the Nangong residence, who would dare to disobey the Crown Prince’s orders?
As soon as the command was given, those who had been reluctant to leave now dispersed, albeit very slowly. The young ladies of the Nangong family kept glancing back repeatedly.
Di Qin, however, remained seated in the carriage, not getting out until everyone had left.
Once the others were gone, Di Qin finally stepped down from the carriage. Following him were Nangong Mian, who wore a mask, and Huang Quan.
Huang Quan addressed Nangong Yi, “Nangong family head, where is Nangong Qingle?”
“I have confined her in the isolation room,” Nangong Yi replied, looking at Huang Quan and the others. “Come, I will take you there.”
Huang Quan nodded, “Alright.”
Without further ado, Nangong Yi led the group toward the isolation room.
As the first family of the Tianqi Empire, the Nangong estate covered an extensive area, with exquisite and magnificent architecture. The estate included rock gardens, flowing water, pavilions, and various buildings.
The Nangong family’s isolation room was located far from the main residential areas, deep within the estate, in a very quiet place. It took more than a quarter of an hour to reach it from the front courtyard.
Ahead were two towers, one tall and the other shorter.
The taller one had many floors, while the shorter one had only five.
Nangong Qiu explained to them, “The tall tower is the place for seclusion, where our grandfather is currently in seclusion. The shorter one is the isolation room, used for contemplation and reflection.”
“Nangong Qingle is on the first floor,” Nangong Qiu continued. “Let’s go inside.”
“Hmm,” Huang Quan responded, then followed Nangong Qiu into the isolation room.
Reaching the first floor, they pushed open the heavy door made of special materials. As soon as they entered, they saw Nangong Qingle sitting on the bed.
When Huang Quan and the others saw Nangong Qingle, she also noticed them.
Seeing Huang Quan and Nangong Mian, Nangong Qingle was initially stunned. Then, she immediately stood up and ran towards them excitedly.
“So, you knew all along!” Nangong Qingle exclaimed. “I knew something was off when they confined me for no reason!”
Even though her soul was controlled by Huang Quan, Nangong Qingle never imagined that the Nangong family had already discovered she was an impostor. Now it seemed that they knew even before Huang Quan took action against her!
“Why do you act so self-righteous?” Huang Quan said as she walked over to a chair and sat down, looking at Nangong Qingle. “You impersonated someone to infiltrate the Nangong family and deceived them. Now that you’ve been exposed, what right do you have to question us?”
Nangong Qingle looked at Huang Quan angrily. “What do you want?”
“Do you remember what I left on you before?” Huang Quan smiled slightly. “That wasn’t a joke.”
Recalling Huang Quan’s previous threat of ‘soul scattering,’ Nangong Qingle’s face, which had been flushed with anger, instantly turned pale. Even her voice weakened. “What… what do you want?”
“I just have a few questions for you,” Huang Quan said, propping her head up with one hand and looking at her calmly. “If you answer truthfully, you might live. If you lie, you’ll never leave this isolation room.”
Nangong Qingle looked around at the others, but none of them spoke, clearly indicating they were all following Huang Quan’s lead.
At that moment, Nangong Qingle truly felt fear.
She was truly afraid of her soul being scattered.
Looking at Huang Quan, Nangong Qingle said fearfully, “Ask, I… I will definitely tell you everything honestly…”
Huang Quan looked at her and said, “You have only one chance. If you choose to tell the truth, you cannot lie to me. If you lie…”
“Don’t worry!” Seeing Huang Quan’s smiling face, Nangong Qingle felt a chill rise from her feet and rush to her brain. She quickly said, “I won’t lie to you. I will tell you everything honestly.”
“Good,” Huang Quan said, looking at her. “I will start asking now.”
Nangong Qingle nodded.
“First question, your identity.”
Nangong Qingle said, “I am of the Spirit Clan, but not purely. My mother was the daughter of the Spirit Clan leader, but not born of his main wife. My mother… was born to a maidservant who served the Spirit Clan leader.”
“Second question, my mother’s identity.”
Hearing this question, Nangong Qingle hesitated.
Huang Quan looked at her, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Don’t want to say?”
“No, no…” Nangong Qingle shook her head vigorously. “It’s not that I don’t want to say, it’s just that your mother’s identity is rather special…”
“Don’t worry about whether it’s special or not. Just tell the truth.”
Hearing this, Nangong Qingle dared not hesitate any longer and quickly said, “Your mother is the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Clan, a person of extremely high status in the Spirit Clan. My mother’s status is low; she was your mother’s maidservant.”
After listening to Nangong Qingle’s explanation, everyone understood why Nangong Qingle bore a slight resemblance to Huang Quan’s mother.
Nangong Qingle’s mother and Huang Quan’s mother were half-sisters, sharing the same father but different mothers. One had a noble status, and the other had a lowly status.
