Chapter 489 - 489: Protect Your Brother
Lan Xiyao and Bing Suwan fell silent after hearing their daughter’s words. Their expressions turned cold as Lan Ruozhu held his sister’s hand and said,
“I’ll protect my sister.”
“You’re a good boy,” Lan Xiyao said.
Bing Suwan hugged Lan Ruobing, asking, “You could tell?”
“Father, Mother, the emperor wants to harm my brother,” Lan Ruobing insisted, “I want to protect my brother.”
Her words caused her mother’s heart to ache as a tear fell from Bing Suwan’s eyes. “You silly child.”
‘It’s our responsibility to protect our children. How could we let her do it instead?’
Bing Suwan blamed herself. She felt she had failed to protect her two children well. Meanwhile, Lan Xiyao felt even more distressed when he saw his wife crying.
He put his arm around her shoulder and whispered, “I’m sorry. I didn’t protect them well enough.”
He blamed himself too.
Bing Suwan shook her head. “It’s not your fault. The emperor has always wanted to get his hands on our deceased royal’s mansion. He will do it, no matter what we do to prevent it.
“However, since our daughter outsmarted him this time, he can’t do anything for now. Instead, he will try to appease you.”
Lan Xiyao touched his daughter’s hair. It was his one-year-old daughter who protected them. He told her, “Don’t take any more risks like that next time, understand? Let your mother and I do it.”
Bing Suwan said, “The emperor wants to poison Ruozhu.”
She did not notice what was amiss then, but she did later. She could smell something even though the poison was colorless and odorless.
“Chu Gujian might have poisoned Ruozhu without our daughter’s intelligence and observance.” Bing Suwan’s expression was cold and sharp when she said that. At that moment, she seemed utterly different from her usual gentle self.
Lan Ruobing looked at her mother and knew she was not a simple person and that her mother’s identity and ability were extraordinary.
‘Mother came from ordinary people in others’ eyes, but no one knows her true identity.’
Lan Xiyao’s expression changed abruptly. “Poison?”
“Yes, it was poison,” Bing Suwan nodded thoughtfully.
“What poison? How could he have hidden the poison? Suwan, you can counteract the poison he had, right?” Lan Xiyao feared Chu Gujian would try to poison his children again.
If the emperor was determined to poison them and even arranged for assassins to kill Lan Xiyao’s family, the two parents might be unable to guard against it.
“He hid the poison in his sleeve.” Bing Suwan shook her head. “He couldn’t reveal it, and I found out then. Still, I’m guessing it was no ordinary poison, so there’s likely no cure.”
Lan Xiyao’s expression turned solemn when he heard that. His entire body exuded a cold aura while a powerful bloodthirsty killing intent spread around him.
Lan Ruobing was shocked when she saw the changes in her parents. She knew they were not simple people. Fortunately, her father was not blinded by loyalty.
Unlike most, her two parents could think and judge for themselves, so she felt relieved. She knew she had to protect her family well in the future. Lan Ruobing attentively listened to her parents and realized she had gathered a wealth of information.
Lan Xiyao said indifferently, “So, Chu Gujian has a poison master working for him. There’s someone even better at using poisons than the Bing clan?”
Bing Suwan replied, “There might be some hidden sects in other corners of the country we don’t know about. What we must do now is to protect our children better. If the emperor invites us to his palace again after this incident, we must find an excuse not to go.”
Since Chu Gujian had almost harmed their children, he could no longer say anything if the two parents refused to enter his palace. All in all, Lan Ruobing’s intelligence and observance resolved the crisis.
Bing Suwan hugged her daughter. She knew Lan Ruobing was too bright and became a little worried.
‘Could she be the chosen one? If she is, I must prepare early for what may be.’ She held her daughter in her arms with a heavy heart.
Lan Xiyao pondered before saying, “Chu Gujian has a hidden force behind him, too. They’re formidable. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to ascend the throne back then. Still, we can’t touch him since we know nothing about those hidden forces.”
Bing Suwan had observed the palace’s strength and knew how heavily guarded it was. Moreover, the emperor had experts protecting him from behind the scenes.
Even if the duo wanted to touch Chu Gujian, it would not be easy. Furthermore, Chu Country would have internal strife if they touched the emperor. If that happened, the war would continue, and more people would suffer.
That was why Lan Xiyao was highly concerned, mainly because he had more to consider now if he wanted to take action. Moreover, retaliating was not straightforward because he had to protect his family.
Lan Ruozhu felt frightened earlier and grabbed Lan Ruobing’s hand. He only felt better whenever he was close to his sister.
Lan Ruobing patted her brother’s hand with her tiny hand. “I’m okay, Brother.”
She had been training herself to speak more as soon as she learned how to. Although her voice was still childish and her words were unclear, she spoke quite a lot.
On the other hand, Lan Ruozhu did not speak much, but his pronunciation was clear and accurate. Still, his sister could feel his emotions and knew what he was thinking just by looking at his expression.
Lan Ruozhu’s mood improved a bit with his sister’s comfort. His face was pale as he felt frightened just now. He had yet to recover because his sister had almost fallen to her death a while ago.
After returning to the mansion, Lan Xiyao summoned the hidden guards and mansion guards to emphasize something, while Bing Suwan stayed with the kids and gave them some calming soup before coaxing them to sleep.
She feared the two children would be frightened, but Lan Ruobing did not feel scared. Although what she did was risky, she wanted to protect her family.
Lan Ruobing dreamed for the first time that night. She dreamt of the palace and saw the emperor entering his chambers. There was a secret chamber behind his bedroom where he pressed a button which opened it.
A man covered in a black robe and mask walked out, and Chu Gujian told him, “I didn’t get to use the poison.”
The black-robed man said coldly, “Find another opportunity to use it. There’s no cure for this poison. If you succeed, you will no longer need to fear the deceased royal’s mansion threatening you.”
Chu Gujian said, “Indeed, Lan Xiyao will have to die eventually. As long as he dies, his son will inherit the mansion and its residents. A poisoned kid won’t live for long, either. Everything in the deceased royal’s mansion will be mine by then.
“I finally found a reason to get Lan Xiyao to bring them into the palace so that I could poison them. But now that they suspect me, getting them into the palace again won’t be easy.” Chu Gujan was gloomy when he said this..