Meng Shiwan's Birth Mother

On the other end of the communication mirror, Lu Yao asked in disbelief, "Dad got promoted?"

Meng Anli's face was etched with worry, unlike Lu Yao's cheerfulness.

"What's wrong? Is something amiss?" Lu Yao inquired.

"Given Meng Mingde's temperament, he'll definitely blame me and Uncle Lu for everything. The Heavenly Emperor protected me today, so he won't dare to trouble me for now. He'll definitely go after Uncle Lu, or even all of Niuyang Mountain. He's been idle at home for three years, who knows how many wicked schemes he's come up with."

Lu Yao patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. Although Dad seems rough around the edges, he's won many battles and has some wisdom. Niuyang Mountain isn't full of pushovers either. We'll deal with whatever comes our way."

"Open attacks are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against," Meng Anli said. "We still need to find something for him to do." She couldn't always be on the defensive. It was time to proactively give him something to deal with. After a moment of thought, she told Lu Yao, "A'Yao, tell them I'm still not well and ask for leave on my behalf."

"Where are you going? I'm coming too." Lu Yao still felt a pang of fear thinking about how Meng Anli had looked yesterday, covered in blood and collapsing in front of her.

Meng Anli held her hand. "Don't worry, it's a very safe place."

"I'll feel more at ease if I go with you."

Meng Anli's eyes flickered, and she curved her lips into a slight smile. "A'Yao, I'm in the Nascent Soul Stage now."

"What?" Lu Yao, who had just broken through to the Golden Core stage, was shocked.

"No wonder I couldn't sense your strength. You've advanced even further than me."

Meng Anli smiled and asked, "So, are you reassured if I go out?"

Lu Yao thought about it. If she hadn't tried to bring Meng Anli along yesterday, Anli probably wouldn't have been so severely injured. She said, "I'll stay and cultivate properly. How many days will you be gone?"

"Not sure yet," Meng Anli said, shaking the communication mirror in her hand. "We'll stay in touch through this."

"Okay."

Meng Anli waited until the disciples in the dormitory went to cultivate, then jumped out the window and left. She then headed straight for the mortal world. Within three breaths, she landed in the cold palace of the mortal realm. This cold palace was different from the ones in the storybooks she had read; it wasn't desolate or dilapidated at all. The open spaces were planted with fruits and vegetables, medicinal herbs, and beautiful flowers. A woman as beautiful as any immortal maiden, wearing a headscarf and rough cloth, was weeding in the vegetable garden. Beside her, a round-faced girl held a watermelon, eating it while half-heartedly calling out, "Mom, I'll help."

Empress Chu looked up at her, her eyes filled with a gentle smile. "You just eat, my dear." The young girl didn't hesitate. "Okay~"

Meng Anli thought to herself, this is her. Meng Shiwan's mother. She hadn't sought her out last time she passed through the mortal world because she had already confirmed Meng Shiwan's mother was a mortal, so there was no need to waste time looking for her. In any case, if she exposed even a hint of Meng Shiwan's identity, Meng Shiwan would feel guilty and wouldn't dare to verify it. She knew Empress Chu was Meng Shiwan's mother from her past life, when she overheard guards chatting while she was imprisoned. They said their young lady was about to get married and had brought her mother back. Their young lady's mother was the concubine of the mortal emperor. They said she was even more beautiful than an immortal fairy, with a gentle and compliant personality. They said she was chaste and, after marrying Meng Mingde, had never allowed the emperor to touch her again. Even when the emperor cast her into the cold palace and executed her entire family, Meng Mingde now treated her like a precious gem. This caused some dissatisfaction among his three sons. Meng Anli found it absurd. If one had such deep hatred for their family, would they rather be executed with their entire clan than be with their previous husband? What kind of chastity was that? She had died too early and never met this empress.

She had originally thought that since Meng Mingde loved her so much, she would send this consort to his side sooner and see if she could be of use to her.

But looking at Empress Chu's demeanor now, she didn't seem like someone who couldn't grasp the situation.

Meng Anli descended from the clouds, transforming into mortal attire.

Empress Chu, seeing her descend from the sky, turned pale and raised her hoe, shouting.

"What kind of demon are you?"

The girl stopped eating her melon and stood up to block Empress Chu, "Monster! Don't you dare hurt my mother!"

Meng Anli raised her hand, and the girl was instantly frozen in place, unable to move.

Empress Chu's hoe fell to the ground, and she stood trembling, unable to stand.

"You..." She swallowed hard, moving in front of the girl, "What do you want? Come at me!"

Meng Anli felt her reaction was a bit too extreme.

Many mortals cultivated immortality, and seeing someone fly or use magic shouldn't elicit such fear.

Especially consorts in the palace, they should have seen more.

Her reaction could only mean that the person who could fly had hurt her severely before.

She tested, "I am the daughter of Meng Mingde of Chongwu Mountain."

Empress Chu immediately broke down, covering her ears and shouting with hatred.

"Get lost! Get out! Everyone from Chongwu Mountain can die!"

Meng Anli's eyes showed pity; she was indeed hurt by Meng Mingde.

Meng Anli added, "But I hate Meng Mingde. He ruined me, and I want to kill him."

Her voice was not loud, and she deliberately slowed it down, which had a calming effect.

Empress Chu gradually calmed down.

She panted and asked uncertainly, "You hate Meng Mingde too?"

Meng Anli knew she had guessed correctly. "Yes, speaking of which, it all started because of your daughter. She came to the Heavenly Realm and schemed against me everywhere, causing me to lose the hearts of my father and brother. They dug out my inner core, completely disregarding my life."

As Meng Anli spoke, her eyes couldn't help but show hatred.

"I'm sorry," Empress Chu covered her face and apologized, her body going limp.

Meng Anli supported her.

Empress Chu still couldn't help but tremble with fear.

Meng Anli helped her to the grape trellis and asked, "Did you instigate your daughter to take revenge?"

"How would I dare?" Empress Chu smiled bitterly. "You immortals, with just a flick of your finger, we can't move. I just wanted to live a peaceful life with my daughter, but..."

Empress Chu paused, her face filled with sorrow.

Meng Anli felt a pang of sympathy. "Never mind, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't."

Empress Chu bit her lip. "Can you defeat Meng Mingde?"

"Not yet, but my master told me I can use a borrowed knife to kill. I will absolutely not let him go."

Meng Anli said sincerely, "I came to find you with the intention of using you."

Empress Chu's fists clenched. "Then I will tell you everything."