Chapter 277 - 275. Acceptance I

Third-person POV

Sunlight shone upon the long-separated family, enhancing the light smile on their lips. Only the sound of the rustling leaves was heard, it was indeed quiet but the silence was very peaceful. Every second that passed by was full of serenity.

Who would have thought that they would encounter Hong er here of all the places that they had investigated? What made Meiyun more confused was how they couldn't find Hong er when they had searched the Cursed Land for countless times. Although Weisheng had sworn to Tao Qi that he would never lay even a step on the Cursed Land, it didn't mean that he would just give up.

The place that he caught his attention the most was the Cursed Land and he wouldn't just let it go just because of a mere spirit's threat. The one who couldn't enter was him, but he could deploy one of his most trusted people and brought along a crow puppet with them. The crow puppet's sight was connected to Weisheng's sight, however, it was recently developed by Bai Huiqing therefore it could only be used only for a short while.

The troops were sent out every month to inspect every corner of the world, yet they always came back empty-handed. As time passed by, most of the people started to believe that Hong er had died but Weisheng persistently refused to believe it. The proof that Hong er was living somewhere out there was in front of his eyes. Murong Qing was still alive with Hong er's bright golden eyes attached to her skull.

Thousands of questions appeared in Meiyun and Di Shang's head, nevertheless they didn't want to disturb the serene atmosphere and chose to stand in silence at the side.

A few moments later, Zhang Wei noticed that Hong er's body started to twist in discomfort. Zhang Wei took the initiative to break the silence by grabbing Weisheng's hand.

"Imperial Father, Imperial Mother's body is very frail. She tirelessly took care of me these past two days so let her rest." Zhang Wei's stoic expression melted in an instant at the thought of Hong er spoiling him.

Weisheng heard what Zhang Wei said loud and clear, moreover, he also noticed that Hong er started to wiggle in his embrace. Yet, his hands remained unmoving. The strong arms that wrapped around her body loosened but still restrained Hong er from taking a step back.

Although she found herself enjoying the warmth from both father and son pair, she felt ashamed of herself as someone who already had a husband to feel pleased from being embraced by a random man. Therefore, Hong er raised her hand and gently tapped the muscular arm as a sign to Weisheng to release her.

Zhang Wei saw his father being stubborn suddenly felt annoyed, he tugged his father's sleeve harder and gave Weisheng a cold stare.

"Imperial Father, Imperial Mother is tired and you are hurting her. This son understands that Imperial Father had longed for Imperial Mother but please be considerate of her body." Zhang Wei's voice carried a faint commanding tone.

No one could deny that Zhang Wei was the exact copy of Weisheng, not only the face but also the charisma and domineering aura that they were carrying. However, Zhang Wei had a more playful personality that he inherited from his mother. Meanwhile, Rong Ai was Hong er's duplicate, from her appearance, her way of thinking, and sympathetic towards the weaker, though she had her father's cold and distant demeanor. Each twin had their own distinct charm that pulled other's attention on them.

Therefore when Zhang Wei's voice traveled through the forest, Meiyun and Di Shang sighed, 'Here we go again.'

Seeing that Weisheng was still frozen on his spot, he put more force in pulling Weisheng's sleeve. Nevertheless, no matter how annoyed he was by Weisheng, he still had to be respectful towards Weisheng as Weisheng was his father and an emperor.

"Five more minutes." A deep voice resounded

The hoarse voice came out weirdly soft. Zhang Wei who wanted to argue with Weisheng abruptly stopped when he felt the grip on his hand tightened but not enough to hurt him. Then he looked up to Hong er's serene face.

Hong er let out a soft sigh of defeat, she guessed that the giant man and the little boy were bickering. Knowing that the man wouldn't admit his loss to the little boy and it seemed like he mumbled something on her neck, she lightly gripped on the Zhang Wei's hand to show that she was fine.

Zhang Wei frowned and continued to send dead glares to his father, 'Since mother gave her consent to this, I will just stay silent.'

(A/N: Zhang Wei and Rong Ai call their parents with 'Father' and 'Mother' if they are alone or talking to themselves. But they use honorifics such as 'Imperial Father' and 'Imperial Mother' when they are in public.)

Gladly, Weisheng stayed true to his words. After exactly 5 minutes, he very reluctantly loosened his grip and took a small step back. Hong er let out a long sigh as she finally could breathe freely again, she didn't know why her heart was so stuffy that it made her brain numb. Hong er pondered for a while but she still couldn't describe the feeling with words.

'I feel sad but also happy, what does this mean?' Hong er questioned herself in her heart.

Although Weisheng had let her go, his eyes stayed on Hong er for the whole time. He examined her from head to toe and felt his heart was stabbed with thousands of needles, especially the blindfold that wrapped tightly around Hong er's head. The worse thing was that he knew exactly why she wore the blindfold and the fact that he couldn't do anything to prevent this from happening.

"I am sorry…" Weisheng whispered his apology under his breath as he gently caressed her soft pale cheek with his rough thumb.

Hong er immediately dodged to the side as soon as a warm touch came in contact with her skin. She glanced around as her face scrunched up in distress. Zhang Wei confidently approached Hong er and took her cold slender hand with his warm and small hand.

"Mother, it is okay, I am here." Zhang Wei said with a voice filled with warmth.

He still said it even after knowing that she couldn't hear him. But to his surprise, it seemed like Hong er understood what he was trying to say just by a touch. Hong er calmed down and started to write on Zhang Wei's palm while incoherently murmuring the words.

"Do you know who that man is? Can you ask him why he suddenly hugs me? Did he perhaps mistake me for someone?" Hong er bombarded Zhang Wei with questions.

Zhang Wei knew well Hong er's concerns, yet he couldn't deceive himself and Hong er any further.

He grabbed Hong er's hand and wrote, "He is my father…"

Hong er's face muscle loosened as the corner of her lips raised into a reassuring smile. But her relaxed face froze from the next word Zhang Wei wrote.

"…and your husband."