"Mother, you haven't answered me yet. Why are you here?" Zhao Yangzi stared at Madam Zhu, showing no sign of relenting, and asked again.
"I, I came to see a friend..." Madam Zhu looked at Ju Yin, her sole intention being to witness the downfall of this vixen.
"Who is your friend?"
"Yang'er, you are my mother's guest. You need not press her further!" Dongfang Taiyi's voice resounded.
"Shut up! Is Yang'er also a name you can call him?" Zhao Yangzi suddenly erupted in fury, unleashing a surge of sword energy towards Dongfang Taiyi.
"Master!" Ming Feng swiftly intercepted the sword energy. Everyone watched as he held a peculiar turtle shell, its pure white and crystalline surface forming a shield before Dongfang Taiyi.
Dongfang Taiyi's expression remained calm, his body unmoving, as if Zhao Yangzi's sword energy was utterly insignificant.
"Very good. There are always those who don't know their place and get in the way!" Zhao Yangzi suppressed his anger, a growing suspicion dawning upon him!
"Young Master Zhao, if you wish to disrespect my Master, you must first get past me!"
"Hmph, come then!"
"Wait!" Zhao Xiangzi suddenly spoke, addressing Madam Zhu.
"Mother, do you know Dongfang Taiyi? Why does he look exactly like Father? At this point, what else do you have to hide?"
"Zhi Jing, what is there to hide now? We have not seen each other for hundreds of years; you and I are both old!" Dongfang Taiyi said.
Madam Zhu's heart was filled with turmoil. She had never expected to reveal the truth under such circumstances. Under the gaze of everyone present, and especially in front of her son, she dreaded losing face. Regardless, the person who had been her partner was the Sect Master of Chaotian Sect, not this Dongfang Taiyi. This was the fact, and she did not want to overturn it.
Seeing this situation, Ju Yin inwardly exclaimed, "No way, could Qing Yang and Qing Yin's origins be unusual?" Looking at Dongfang Taiyi's face, identical to that of Sect Master Zhao, she suddenly dared not speculate further. Madam Zhu was truly a formidable woman. Sect Master Zhao had worn a cuckold's horns, and quite securely at that!
"What am I hiding? It's you! It's you! It's all your fault!" Madam Zhu suddenly broke down into tears. The past was irretrievable. She loved Sect Master Zhao. If that wench hadn't seduced her husband back then, her husband wouldn't have neglected her. She wouldn't have mistakenly identified Dongfang Taiyi as her husband, leading to a grave error! But if it hadn't been for him back then, she wouldn't have conceived Yang'er and Xiang'er. The joy her husband had shown upon learning of her pregnancy felt like a dream. Her status was also solidified by these two children!
She harbored both hatred and gratitude towards Dongfang Taiyi. Back then, when she was confined to the detached courtyard and drowning her sorrows, she had, through her drunken haze, seen her husband push open the door. She had rushed forward, overjoyed, believing her husband still loved her. After a few days of being together, her husband had been solicitous and exceedingly attentive. At that moment, she felt fortunate that she hadn't loved the wrong person. Her husband had been momentarily foolish, but he had repented, and her resentment had lessened considerably. Her hatred for that wench who had momentarily stolen her husband's affection also diminished. In the future, she would cripple that woman's cultivation and keep her confined to the detached courtyard until old age, sparing her life!
But the truth that followed struck her like the sky collapsing. After ten days together, she noticed many changes in her husband's habits. Even his favorite spiritual wine and delicacies had changed. He enjoyed tea and incense! She knew that habits couldn't change overnight, and suspicion began to form. Finally, she caught him in a slip-up, and he revealed that he was Dongfang Taiyi, his twin brother. She felt the world spin, her entire world collapsing. She had become a promiscuous woman, betraying her husband!
Dongfang Taiyi had secretly returned to the sect that year, filled with resentment. He, too, was an heir, yet he had been expelled from the sect. Was it merely because his cultivation methods went against the sect's tenets that he was branded with baseless accusations and even lost his inheritance rights? He was indignant. He had snuck back to evade patrolling disciples and mistakenly entered Madam Zhu's small courtyard. His original intention was revenge, but to his surprise, over the brief period of one month, he had fallen in love with her. However, Madam Zhu deeply loved her brother and refused to leave with him, even stabbing him. In the end, after learning of her pregnancy, he had even devised a plan to have his brother visit the courtyard, making it seem natural for Sect Master Zhao to believe the child was his own!
Madam Zhu's demeanor was one of utter collapse. Questioned by her two sons, faced with their cold gazes, she became agitated and nonsensically mumbled, blurting out the events of that year!
"This is not my fault. It's all your fault, your father's fault for falling in love with someone else back then, and it's your fault, Dongfang Taiyi, for taking advantage of my vulnerability, ah~~~~" Madam Zhu shrieked hysterically.
"Mother!" Zhao Xiangzi, unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward and embraced Madam Zhu.
"Yang'er, Mother is sorry. Yang'er, Xiang'er, Mother didn't do it on purpose. Mother is also from a good family..." Madam Zhu remained fixated on her past actions, initially wishing to kill Dongfang Taiyi. But in the end, she could no longer distinguish her own emotions, her behavior becoming increasingly erratic!
Hearing this, Ju Yin looked at Madam Zhu and felt an inexplicable pity. In ancient times, women were expected to be faithful to their husbands once married. These experiences were indeed the root of Madam Zhu's suffering. Yet, she still didn't understand why Madam Zhu hated her.
"Madam Zhu, fidelity is not just for women; it applies to men as well. Sect Master Zhao taking a concubine was also a betrayal of you..." Ju Yin paused, not continuing further. She glanced at the imperturbable Dongfang Taiyi and continued,
"Dongfang Taiyi being expelled from the sect is likely not as simple as that. You cultivate evil arts, using human souls as nourishment to increase your cultivation. This is the true reason why the sect could not tolerate you!"
"Presumptuous! Who permitted you to disrespect my Master!" Ming Feng glared furiously!
"Slap!" Caught off guard, Ming Feng's face was suddenly struck and turned aside.
"And who gave you the audacity to disrespect my Lord? When adults are speaking, why should a child interject!" Feng Chu flicked his fingers, as if flicking away unseen dirt.
"You, who are you to dare hit me!" Ming Feng, enraged, unfurled his Zhan Tian Halberd, about to advance... but was stopped by Dongfang Taiyi's shout!
Just then, Zhao Yangzi slowly walked towards Madam Zhu, his voice calm, "Mother, he deceived you. That year, the sect's library caught fire, and many precious books were stolen, including ancient forbidden arts. Father knew he was responsible but spared him due to their brotherhood, never pursuing him to the end. He claimed they were burned in the fire, but in reality, Dongfang Taiyi stole them.
To retaliate against Father, he not only tricked you but also used the sect's resources to plunder spirit beasts on the Tian Chen Continent. The Royal Beast Sect was also founded by him." Zhao Yangzi had already uncovered some clues. Upon seeing the fierce beast Gui Che, and during his initial encounter with Ye Ju, he had been attacked and obtained a Soul Capturing Bell. The aura from the bell shared the same origin as Gui Che. He pieced everything together, yet he could never have imagined that this seemingly righteous individual was his father. He truly found it hard to believe.