Chapter 149: 149 – Ren Gets A Huge Shock
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Ren was quite taken aback. He had met this hacker of Wolf's once, back when he and Fang had visited the Dragon Nation for a vacation. Ren had been very impressed with this guy, and he knew that his hacking skills were amongst the best in the world. So, if the Valley Kingdom was so paranoid about all this information that this guy had managed to get that they almost caught hold of him – Ren couldn't even begin to imagine what other dark secrets the royal family of the Valley Kingdom was trying to hide!
"Have you been able to find out anything else about the late crown princess? Is it certain that she is dead? And what about her husband from the Dragon Nation?" Ren asked.
"It is certain that she is dead, and so is her husband. They were assassinated by mercenaries on the orders of the current empress of the Valley Kingdom and her father, who is the richest man in the Valley Kingdom and also the biggest supporter of the current emperor, his son in law," Wolf said. He hesitated.
"What is it?" Ren demanded. An ominous feeling rose up in his heart.
Wolf sighed. "I am not sure if I want to tell you this or not…" he murmured.
"Tell me," Ren said, rubbing his temples. He had a feeling that this was going to be a huge problem for him and Fang, just from the look on Wolf's face.
"Actually, there are two things," Wolf said.
"Just tell me, Wolf," Ren said tiredly.
"The man from the Dragon Nation, with whom the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom had eloped with – the identity of that man is not simple," Wolf said. "He was the half brother of the current Dragon Queen, and it is rumoured that he was her favourite brother. He was a reclusive person and never appeared in public, so very few people knew what he looked like, even in the Dragon Nation, let alone in other countries. This prince had turned down the position of the crown prince when it was offered to him and nominated his half sister instead, stating that he wasn't even one sixth as capable as his sister, and if the Dragon Nation was to have a decent future, his half sister – the current Dragon Queen was the only good choice for a monarch. The late prince, although reclusive, had a lot of influence, so his words spurred the previous Dragon King to choose the current Dragon Queen as his successor."
Ren frowned. "If it was the princess of one country marrying the prince of another country – what was the problem? Their social status is more or less the same, isn't it? Why did they need to elope? Why did they need to go into hiding?" he asked. "As far as I know, there is no enmity between the Valley Kingdom and the Dragon Nation, is there?"
Wolf shook his head. "There isn't – or, at least, there isn't on the surface. However, the current emperor and the current empress of the Valley Kingdom had their designs on the throne, and the crown princess marrying another prince – that would make her position rather strong, wouldn't it? Especially when it was the favourite half brother of the next Dragon Queen – and the current empress always had her eye on the throne. From what I have been able to gather, the current emperor is a rather weak man – both in will and in body, and he simply goes by whatever his empress tells him. The only thing he is good at is procreation, it seems, for he has managed to produce nine children – one from each of his women – he also keeps three male concubines, by the way, in addition to his one empress, three wives and five female concubines. The seventh prince is the son of the current empress, as you know. Of the other eight, there are four princes and four princesses. Three of the princesses are married to foreign nationals and don't live in the Valley Kingdom, and one princess is married to the son of the prime minister of the Valley Kingdom. Of the four princes, only the two eldest are married, and one lives overseas. The seventh prince and the ninth prince are yet to be officially married, although they keep several concubines."
Ren rubbed his temples again. "Why is this relevant to the prince from the Dragon Nation?" he asked.
"The current empress is an ambitious woman," Wolf said. "She has had her eye on the throne for a very long time. So, she started spreading rumours of the elopement with an unknown foreigner of the crown princess to depose her – but the previous empress didn't disinherit her until the end. Then the previous empress died suddenly, and it was announced that the crown princess was missing and had already been disinherited because she eloped with a shady foreigner, and the current emperor, with the support of his in laws, ascended to the throne."
"Why was the crown princess missing?" Ren asked. "She would have known what was going on in her family, right?"
"There aren't exact records, but it seems that the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince of the Dragon Nation had been deliberately kept out of the loop and cooped up somewhere – I am not yet certain whether it was an abduction and captivity, or mere deception and containment," Wolf said.
"There are records of a baby," Wolf said. "A child of the late crown princess of the Valley Kingdom, and the prince from the Dragon Nation."
Ren's heart stuttered. "A baby…?" he asked faintly. "When?"
"The records of the baby indicate that the baby was born just before the time when the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince of the Dragon Nation were missing and no one knew where they were," Wolf said.
Ren frowned. "That was twenty years ago, right?" he asked. Relief swept over his entire body as an almost physical sensation. "If the baby was born over twenty years ago, it is clearly not Fang."
"Yes," Wolf said with a nod. "Also, the baby was a girl, and she is also recorded to have died along with the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince from the Dragon Nation," he added. "But we are unable to find any traces or verify the report of her death. For the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince from the Dragon Nation – my people have been able to confirm independently also that they were indeed murdered back then – but for the baby – their daughter – we are unable to verify this."
Ren sighed. "Let's keep looking," he said. "I don't see what else we can do."
Wolf nodded. "Yes, we're on it," he said. "There is another thing you need to know, Ren."
Ren raised his eyebrows. "What else? We're sure that Fang is not that missing child already, aren't we? The age doesn't match, and neither does the gender," he pointed out.
Wolf sighed. "We found a few pictures," he said quietly.
"Pictures of…?" Ren asked.
"Pictures of the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince from the Dragon Nation," Wolf said in a quiet voice. "And their baby daughter as well."
"And…?" Ren asked, the ominous feeling returning to him as his heart dropped to the ground all of a sudden. He didn't want to listen to Wolf any more – in fact, he just wanted to turn tail and run away!
Wolf didn't reply. He handed over some pictures to Ren.
Ren glanced at the pictures and froze in shock. crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince from the Dragon Nation looked remarkably similar to Fang! How could Ren fail to recognise those unique purple eyes of Fang that featured on the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom? How could Ren not see the elegant nose and the high cheekbones of his beloved Fang reflected on the face of the prince from the Dragon Nation? The fine, dark hair of the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom – even in the unmoving picture, Ren could feel that it was the same as his Fang's. How many times had Ren run his fingers through those fine, silky strands that he would not be able to recognise them?! And the shape of those ears of the prince from the Dragon Nation – how many times had Ren touched the very same ears on Fang?
And their little daughter – she was a replica of Sylvia's human form! The same purple eyes that were clearly a legacy of the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom, and same face shape and nose as the prince of the Dragon Nation as well.
There could be no doubt these people were biological relatives of Fang! There could be no doubt about that at all!
"How can this be possible?" Ren asked in a whisper, looking at Wolf blankly. "Why do they all look like Fang…?"
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Ren was quite taken aback. He had met this hacker of Wolf's once, back when he and Fang had visited the Dragon Nation for a vacation. Ren had been very impressed with this guy, and he knew that his hacking skills were amongst the best in the world. So, if the Valley Kingdom was so paranoid about all this information that this guy had managed to get that they almost caught hold of him – Ren couldn't even begin to imagine what other dark secrets the royal family of the Valley Kingdom was trying to hide!
"Have you been able to find out anything else about the late crown princess? Is it certain that she is dead? And what about her husband from the Dragon Nation?" Ren asked.
"It is certain that she is dead, and so is her husband. They were assassinated by mercenaries on the orders of the current empress of the Valley Kingdom and her father, who is the richest man in the Valley Kingdom and also the biggest supporter of the current emperor, his son in law," Wolf said. He hesitated.
"What is it?" Ren demanded. An ominous feeling rose up in his heart.
Wolf sighed. "I am not sure if I want to tell you this or not…" he murmured.
"Tell me," Ren said, rubbing his temples. He had a feeling that this was going to be a huge problem for him and Fang, just from the look on Wolf's face.
"Actually, there are two things," Wolf said.
"Just tell me, Wolf," Ren said tiredly.
"The man from the Dragon Nation, with whom the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom had eloped with – the identity of that man is not simple," Wolf said. "He was the half brother of the current Dragon Queen, and it is rumoured that he was her favourite brother. He was a reclusive person and never appeared in public, so very few people knew what he looked like, even in the Dragon Nation, let alone in other countries. This prince had turned down the position of the crown prince when it was offered to him and nominated his half sister instead, stating that he wasn't even one sixth as capable as his sister, and if the Dragon Nation was to have a decent future, his half sister – the current Dragon Queen was the only good choice for a monarch. The late prince, although reclusive, had a lot of influence, so his words spurred the previous Dragon King to choose the current Dragon Queen as his successor."
Ren frowned. "If it was the princess of one country marrying the prince of another country – what was the problem? Their social status is more or less the same, isn't it? Why did they need to elope? Why did they need to go into hiding?" he asked. "As far as I know, there is no enmity between the Valley Kingdom and the Dragon Nation, is there?"
Wolf shook his head. "There isn't – or, at least, there isn't on the surface. However, the current emperor and the current empress of the Valley Kingdom had their designs on the throne, and the crown princess marrying another prince – that would make her position rather strong, wouldn't it? Especially when it was the favourite half brother of the next Dragon Queen – and the current empress always had her eye on the throne. From what I have been able to gather, the current emperor is a rather weak man – both in will and in body, and he simply goes by whatever his empress tells him. The only thing he is good at is procreation, it seems, for he has managed to produce nine children – one from each of his women – he also keeps three male concubines, by the way, in addition to his one empress, three wives and five female concubines. The seventh prince is the son of the current empress, as you know. Of the other eight, there are four princes and four princesses. Three of the princesses are married to foreign nationals and don't live in the Valley Kingdom, and one princess is married to the son of the prime minister of the Valley Kingdom. Of the four princes, only the two eldest are married, and one lives overseas. The seventh prince and the ninth prince are yet to be officially married, although they keep several concubines."
Ren rubbed his temples again. "Why is this relevant to the prince from the Dragon Nation?" he asked.
"The current empress is an ambitious woman," Wolf said. "She has had her eye on the throne for a very long time. So, she started spreading rumours of the elopement with an unknown foreigner of the crown princess to depose her – but the previous empress didn't disinherit her until the end. Then the previous empress died suddenly, and it was announced that the crown princess was missing and had already been disinherited because she eloped with a shady foreigner, and the current emperor, with the support of his in laws, ascended to the throne."
"Why was the crown princess missing?" Ren asked. "She would have known what was going on in her family, right?"
"There aren't exact records, but it seems that the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince of the Dragon Nation had been deliberately kept out of the loop and cooped up somewhere – I am not yet certain whether it was an abduction and captivity, or mere deception and containment," Wolf said.
"There are records of a baby," Wolf said. "A child of the late crown princess of the Valley Kingdom, and the prince from the Dragon Nation."
Ren's heart stuttered. "A baby…?" he asked faintly. "When?"
"The records of the baby indicate that the baby was born just before the time when the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince of the Dragon Nation were missing and no one knew where they were," Wolf said.
Ren frowned. "That was twenty years ago, right?" he asked. Relief swept over his entire body as an almost physical sensation. "If the baby was born over twenty years ago, it is clearly not Fang."
"Yes," Wolf said with a nod. "Also, the baby was a girl, and she is also recorded to have died along with the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince from the Dragon Nation," he added. "But we are unable to find any traces or verify the report of her death. For the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince from the Dragon Nation – my people have been able to confirm independently also that they were indeed murdered back then – but for the baby – their daughter – we are unable to verify this."
Ren sighed. "Let's keep looking," he said. "I don't see what else we can do."
Wolf nodded. "Yes, we're on it," he said. "There is another thing you need to know, Ren."
Ren raised his eyebrows. "What else? We're sure that Fang is not that missing child already, aren't we? The age doesn't match, and neither does the gender," he pointed out.
Wolf sighed. "We found a few pictures," he said quietly.
"Pictures of…?" Ren asked.
"Pictures of the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince from the Dragon Nation," Wolf said in a quiet voice. "And their baby daughter as well."
"And…?" Ren asked, the ominous feeling returning to him as his heart dropped to the ground all of a sudden. He didn't want to listen to Wolf any more – in fact, he just wanted to turn tail and run away!
Wolf didn't reply. He handed over some pictures to Ren.
Ren glanced at the pictures and froze in shock. crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince from the Dragon Nation looked remarkably similar to Fang! How could Ren fail to recognise those unique purple eyes of Fang that featured on the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom? How could Ren not see the elegant nose and the high cheekbones of his beloved Fang reflected on the face of the prince from the Dragon Nation? The fine, dark hair of the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom – even in the unmoving picture, Ren could feel that it was the same as his Fang's. How many times had Ren run his fingers through those fine, silky strands that he would not be able to recognise them?! And the shape of those ears of the prince from the Dragon Nation – how many times had Ren touched the very same ears on Fang?
And their little daughter – she was a replica of Sylvia's human form! The same purple eyes that were clearly a legacy of the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom, and same face shape and nose as the prince of the Dragon Nation as well.
There could be no doubt these people were biological relatives of Fang! There could be no doubt about that at all!
"How can this be possible?" Ren asked in a whisper, looking at Wolf blankly. "Why do they all look like Fang…?"
Ren was quite taken aback. He had met this hacker of Wolf's once, back when he and Fang had visited the Dragon Nation for a vacation. Ren had been very impressed with this guy, and he knew that his hacking skills were amongst the best in the world. So, if the Valley Kingdom was so paranoid about all this information that this guy had managed to get that they almost caught hold of him Ren couldn't even begin to imagine what other dark secrets the royal family of the Valley Kingdom was trying to hide!"Have you been able to find out anything else about the late crown princess? Is it certain that she is dead? And what about her husband from the Dragon Nation?" Ren asked."It is certain that she is dead, and so is her husband. They were assassinated by mercenaries on the orders of the current empress of the Valley Kingdom and her father, who is the richest man in the Valley Kingdom and also the biggest supporter of the current emperor, his son in law," Wolf said. He hesitated."What is it?" Ren demanded. An ominous feeling rose up in his heart.Wolf sighed. "I am not sure if I want to tell you this or not" he murmured."Tell me," Ren said, rubbing his temples. He had a feeling that this was going to be a huge problem for him and Fang, just from the look on Wolf's face."Actually, there are two things," Wolf said."Just tell me, Wolf," Ren said tiredly."The man from the Dragon Nation, with whom the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom had eloped with the identity of that man is not simple," Wolf said. "He was the half brother of the current Dragon Queen, and it is rumoured that he was her favourite brother. He was a reclusive person and never appeared in public, so very few people knew what he looked like, even in the Dragon Nation, let alone in other countries. This prince had turned down the position of the crown prince when it was offered to him and nominated his half sister instead, stating that he wasn't even one sixth as capable as his sister, and if the Dragon Nation was to have a decent future, his half sister the current Dragon Queen was the only good choice for a monarch. The late prince, although reclusive, had a lot of influence, so his words spurred the previous Dragon King to choose the current Dragon Queen as his successor."Ren frowned. "If it was the princess of one country marrying the prince of another country what was the problem? Their social status is more or less the same, isn't it? Why did they need to elope? Why did they need to go into hiding?" he asked. "As far as I know, there is no enmity between the Valley Kingdom and the Dragon Nation, is there?"Wolf shook his head. "There isn't or, at least, there isn't on the surface. However, the current emperor and the current empress of the Valley Kingdom had their designs on the throne, and the crown princess marrying another prince that would make her position rather strong, wouldn't it? Especially when it was the favourite half brother of the next Dragon Queen and the current empress always had her eye on the throne. From what I have been able to gather, the current emperor is a rather weak man both in will and in body, and he simply goes by whatever his empress tells him. The only thing he is good at is procreation, it seems, for he has managed to produce nine children one from each of his women he also keeps three male concubines, by the way, in addition to his one empress, three wives and five female concubines. The seventh prince is the son of the current empress, as you know. Of the other eight, there are four princes and four princesses. Three of the princesses are married to foreign nationals and don't live in the Valley Kingdom, and one princess is married to the son of the prime minister of the Valley Kingdom. Of the four princes, only the two eldest are married, and one lives overseas. The seventh prince and the ninth prince are yet to be officially married, although they keep several concubines."Ren rubbed his temples again. "Why is this relevant to the prince from the Dragon Nation?" he asked."The current empress is an ambitious woman," Wolf said. "She has had her eye on the throne for a very long time. So, she started spreading rumours of the elopement with an unknown foreigner of the crown princess to depose her but the previous empress didn't disinherit her until the end. Then the previous empress died suddenly, and it was announced that the crown princess was missing and had already been disinherited because she eloped with a shady foreigner, and the current emperor, with the support of his in laws, ascended to the throne.""Why was the crown princess missing?" Ren asked. "She would have known what was going on in her family, right?""There aren't exact records, but it seems that the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince of the Dragon Nation had been deliberately kept out of the loop and cooped up somewhere I am not yet certain whether it was an abduction and captivity, or mere deception and containment," Wolf said."There are records of a baby," Wolf said. "A child of the late crown princess of the Valley Kingdom, and the prince from the Dragon Nation."Ren's heart stuttered. "A baby?" he asked faintly. "When?""The records of the baby indicate that the baby was born just before the time when the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince of the Dragon Nation were missing and no one knew where they were," Wolf said.Ren frowned. "That was twenty years ago, right?" he asked. Relief swept over his entire body as an almost physical sensation. "If the baby was born over twenty years ago, it is clearly not Fang.""Yes," Wolf said with a nod. "Also, the baby was a girl, and she is also recorded to have died along with the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince from the Dragon Nation," he added. "But we are unable to find any traces or verify the report of her death. For the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince from the Dragon Nation my people have been able to confirm independently also that they were indeed murdered back then but for the baby their daughter we are unable to verify this."Ren sighed. "Let's keep looking," he said. "I don't see what else we can do."Wolf nodded. "Yes, we're on it," he said. "There is another thing you need to know, Ren."Ren raised his eyebrows. "What else? We're sure that Fang is not that missing child already, aren't we? The age doesn't match, and neither does the gender," he pointed out.Wolf sighed. "We found a few pictures," he said quietly."Pictures of?" Ren asked."Pictures of the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince from the Dragon Nation," Wolf said in a quiet voice. "And their baby daughter as well.""And?" Ren asked, the ominous feeling returning to him as his heart dropped to the ground all of a sudden. He didn't want to listen to Wolf any more in fact, he just wanted to turn tail and run away!Wolf didn't reply. He handed over some pictures to Ren.Ren glanced at the pictures and froze in shock. crown princess of the Valley Kingdom and the prince from the Dragon Nation looked remarkably similar to Fang! How could Ren fail to recognise those unique purple eyes of Fang that featured on the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom? How could Ren not see the elegant nose and the high cheekbones of his beloved Fang reflected on the face of the prince from the Dragon Nation? The fine, dark hair of the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom even in the unmoving picture, Ren could feel that it was the same as his Fang's. How many times had Ren run his fingers through those fine, silky strands that he would not be able to recognise them?! And the shape of those ears of the prince from the Dragon Nation how many times had Ren touched the very same ears on Fang?And their little daughter she was a replica of Sylvia's human form! The same purple eyes that were clearly a legacy of the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom, and same face shape and nose as the prince of the Dragon Nation as well.There could be no doubt these people were biological relatives of Fang! There could be no doubt about that at all!"How can this be possible?" Ren asked in a whisper, looking at Wolf blankly. "Why do they all look like Fang?"
