Zhang Chen saw Jiang Nan, and Jiang Nan naturally saw Zhang Chen, surrounded by the crowd at its center, the focus of all eyes.
At that moment, Zhang Chen stood upheld by everyone in the very middle, dazzling like a star in the heavens.
"Why are you among the Great Victory Royal Family's ranks?" Upon hearing Jiang Nan's cry, Zhang Chen slowly walked before her. Decades had passed, and Jiang Nan had aged beyond recognition; only the faint outline of her former appearance remained.
"After heaven and earth underwent their great upheaval, I married a prince of the Great Victory Royal Family." Jiang Nan's lips were steeped in bitterness. "I had wanted to go north to find you, but the realm was ravaged by war. How could a frail woman like me cross ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers to seek you out?"
Jiang Nan stared fixedly at Zhang Chen, her gaze falling upon his face. Decades had passed, yet Zhang Chen remained exactly as he had been, unchanged in the slightest. Zhang Chen waved his hand. "Release her."
A constable stepped forward and unlocked Jiang Nan's shackles. The places where the manacles had bound her were already a bloody mess of flesh, covered in thick scabs. Jiang Nan came before Zhang Chen, fell directly to her knees, and pleaded, "Zhang Chen, I beg you—release my daughter, my son, and my grandchildren too. You are now the lofty ruler of the north. To you, they are no more than insects. I beg you!"
"You have children too? Thinking about it, that makes sense. You married into the Great Victory Royal Family—how could you not have children?" Zhang Chen lowered his head to look at Jiang Nan, his eyes filled with tangled emotions.
"Come out quickly and pay your respects