AEKMEM chapter 39

Elves are born from the Elf Mother Tree, so they don’t understand blood ties between human parents.

Most of the cases An Qiao has heard of or seen involve parents loving their children. Even if they don’t love them, they are at most indifferent.

When he heard Scarface mention that Chu Heng’s mother had watched helplessly while space pirates kidnapped her young son, his worldview shattered.

It’s truly unimaginable and incomprehensible why a mother would do such a thing.

Chu Heng remained unmoved, his face calm. Perhaps he had been disappointed too many times, to the point that he no longer held any hope.

“Maybe he’s lying, trying to cause trouble,” An Qiao offered dryly.

“It’s probably true,” said Chu Heng. “I can sense her strange attitude toward me. She feels guilty yet is afraid to see me. Several times when her mental powers flared up and she wasn’t fully conscious, she kept apologizing to me.”

“Is Qiao Qiao worried about me?” He chuckled, changing the subject teasingly. “Now that you see how miserable I am, you won’t be angry that I hid your identity from you, will you?”

An Qiao: “… ”

Your current grinning face doesn’t show any sign of “misery.”

His anger had subsided considerably, and he’d almost forgotten about it. But now that Chu Heng had suddenly brought it up again, the memory resurfaced instantly.

“Look at your reaction,” he scoffed.

He could actually tell that Chu Heng was trying to change the subject, not wanting him to focus on his mother anymore. Chu Heng was indifferent and calm about it, neither needing nor wanting An Qiao to waste his energy worrying or comforting him.

**

Just as he was pondering how to deal with the Greedy Wolf Star Pirate Gang, his adjutant, Jiang Qi, arrived with Chu Heng’s personal guard.

“Your Highness! It’s so good to see you’re all right!” The giant snow wolf rushed over and transformed back into a human in an instant. He was panting heavily from exhaustion and surprise.

“Seeing you makes me feel relieved, too,” Chu Heng smiled.

Jiang Qi had rushed over and hadn’t had a chance to catch his breath. He was completely bewildered when Chu Heng asked him to handle the aftermath of the Greedy Wolf Star Pirate Group’s actions.

Jiang Qi: “?”

Who am I? Where am I?

When the Greedy Wolf Star Pirate tried to intercept and kill Chu Heng in front of the Elf Palace, he slaughtered a large number of them. On the cliff behind the mountain, An Qiao wiped out many of their elites. Adding to the casualties they suffered in the battle with the Burial Snowfield natives, they were now fewer than one-fifth of their original strength.

Jiang Qi led his personal guard to swiftly capture the remaining members of the Greedy Wolf Star Pirate. He interrogated some of the group’s leaders, including Scarface.

“The matter from back then has been clarified,” he reported to Chu Heng and An Qiao.

—Chu Heng had originally wanted to keep An Qiao in the dark, feeling that these old stories would only offend and upset him. However, An Qiao insisted on hearing it.

The Greedy Wolf Star Pirate had accepted a commission from a mysterious person. After this person guaranteed their cooperation, the pirates infiltrated the Imperial Capital Star, looking for an opportunity to kidnap Chu Heng’s newborn child.

As the political and military center of the empire, Imperial Capital Star normally had extremely strict screening procedures for personnel entering and leaving. However, due to the cooperation of insiders, the Greedy Wolf Star Pirates entered and left the Imperial Capital Star with remarkable ease.

At that time, Chu Heng had just been born and was still in the Royal Hospital. He was found to have extremely high Beastman talent, so much so that he was likely to become the empire’s crown prince.

Due to Chu Heng’s extraordinary talent, Emperor Chu Zhengming and Empress He Yun, whose marriage had broken down, ultimately did not divorce due to various considerations and the persuasion of relatives and friends.

However, even though they weren’t divorced, they didn’t care about their son, Chu Heng. They had no feelings for him, and their relationship with him was purely based on mutual benefit. Each was busy with their own lovers and didn’t bother to bring Chu Heng back to the palace for care, essentially “forgetting” him at the Royal Hospital.

—Normally, after a child is born, they stay in the hospital for a period of time to receive care from doctors and nurses. However, the royal family clearly didn’t lack staff, as princes were traditionally brought back to the palace for proper care.

Even though the Royal Hospital carried the “royal” title, its security was still inferior to the palace.

After considerable effort, elite members of the Greedy Wolf Star Pirate, who had infiltrated the capital planet with the help of personnel arranged by a mysterious figure, managed to take the newborn Chu Heng away from the Royal Hospital.

However, shortly after leaving the hospital, they coincidentally encountered Empress He Yun in a secluded corner of the hospital.

She was wearing a 2S-level energy shield bearing the insignia of the Imperial Empress.

Realizing they couldn’t break through the shield to attack He Yun immediately and fearing someone might arrive at any moment, the pirates fled with the baby.

With this unexpected turn of events, they thought their mission would most likely fail and that their lives might not be spared.

However, either from shock or a lapse in judgment, He Yun stood there dumbfounded. He didn’t shout for help or notify anyone immediately. He simply watched helplessly as the space pirates abducted Chu Heng.

A dozen minutes later, the Royal Hospital staff had discovered Chu Heng’s disappearance and reported it to the emperor. By then, the Star Pirate Gang had already left the capital planet with the help of some of the staff.

An Qiao felt anger and bewilderment toward Chu Heng. “Why did she do that?”

“Perhaps she was momentarily possessed,” said Chu Heng calmly, as if discussing someone insignificant. “She dislikes me. She hates my bloodshot eyes. She also felt that my existence hindered her pursuit of happiness because my birth and talents destined me to be the future crown prince of the empire. Marshal He wouldn’t allow her to divorce Chu Zhengming.”

“Maybe she thought that if I disappeared, she would be free. Later, she probably regretted it, but it was too late.”

With a loud “smash,” An Qiao, breath ragged with rage, lost control and smashed the stone table beside him. Chu Heng’s eyelids twitched violently. “…”

Damn it! There are other people around. As a “low-level elf,” isn’t this a bit out of character?

But he couldn’t worry about concealing An Qiao’s true identity right now.

“I’m fine,” he quickly reassured An Qiao, gently patting his back to calm him down. “Okay, don’t be angry. It’s not worth getting angry over such unimportant people.”

“Does your hand hurt?”

An Qiao: “…”

Slightly calmer now, he looked at Chu Heng—or rather, looked into his eyes. “Your eyes are so beautiful. she’s blind if she’s afraid of them.”

This was both a compliment and a consolation.

“Yes, you’re right.” Chu Heng readily agreed as he skillfully calmed the agitated cat.

He felt a mix of helplessness and uncontrollable joy.

He was genuinely protective of An Qiao and touched that An Qiao had said his eyes were beautiful.

“This…” After a moment of shock, Jiang Qi uttered a questioning and incredulous sound.

His voice drew An Qiao and Chu Heng’s attention away from each other slightly.

Following Jiang Qi’s gaze, An Qiao saw the stone table beside him, shattered by a single blow of his rage.

An Qiao: “… ”

He coughed lightly. “This stone table is such poor quality. I didn’t use any force; it shattered with just a light tap.”

Chu Heng quickly chimed in, “That’s right. The quality is terrible. I’ve never seen such cheap, counterfeit stone. It’s more fragile than cardboard.”

Jiang Qi: “… ”

I have eyes to see, okay?

But, since Chu Heng didn’t want him to pursue the matter further, Jiang Qi naturally wouldn’t do anything more, even though he had his doubts.

“There’s still one question we haven’t been able to answer: Who commissioned the Wolf Star Pirates to abduct Your Highness back then? Even they themselves don’t know the answer. They’re only guessing that it was a very powerful figure in the Imperial Capital Star.”

At this point, Jiang Qi paused. “Your Highness, do you think this person could be from the current Empress’s maternal family—the Mo family?”

At that time, the Mo family almost completely controlled the Fifth Army Corps of the Empire. They had the ability to work with the Wolf Star Pirates on the Imperial Capital Star to abduct Chu Heng when he was just a few days old and still in the Royal Hospital.

The Mo family also had motive. The current empress had already gotten close to Emperor Chu Zhengming and was pregnant with his child. Working with the Greedy Wolf Star Pirates to get rid of the extraordinarily gifted Chu Heng early on was a real possibility.

“Not the Mo family,” Chu Heng said, shaking his head. “Although the Mo family certainly had such thoughts, they wouldn’t dare. They know deep down that the old man is actually wary of them.”

Chu Zhengming is a very controlling person.

Back then, besides its political nature, the alliance between Chu Zhengming and He Yun was actually based on mutual affection. However, their personality clashes became apparent not long after their marriage.

Chu Zhengming is domineering and extremely controlling. He wants his wife to be gentle, virtuous, and a capable helper.

But He Yun, the only daughter of Marshal He and a rare elven being, was spoiled. Though she appeared gentle and delicate, she was actually arrogant and headstrong, yearning for romantic love. She hoped her lover would always put her first, spend time with her, and show her romantic affection.

She complained that he was always busy with official duties, had no time for her, and didn’t buy her flowers or gifts to show his affection.

Chu Zhengming was furious as well. Her occasional spoiled and willful behavior at home was already unbearable, but she displayed a complete lack of emotional intelligence in public. Out of spite, during the customary opening dance at banquets, the empress publicly refused to dance, making herself a laughingstock.

Their relationship quickly deteriorated, and they each began having affairs.

The current empress’s stable position was due not only to her family background, which Chu Zhengming could exploit, but also to her outstanding beauty, talent, and gentle, obedient nature, which allowed him to “control” her.

The current empress was shrewd, patient, and a skilled actress. She showed immense love for Emperor Chu Zhengming. In fact, she was willing to bear his child herself. In this era, with advanced reproductive technologies, there was no need for her to endure pregnancy and childbirth.

With the support of Emperor Chu Zhengming, the Mo family quickly gained complete control of the Fifth Army Corps, which they had previously only partially controlled.

However, the Mo family was actually constrained by Emperor Chu and could only rely on him.

Jiang Qi was puzzled. “If not the Mo family, then who?”

Chu Heng, however, remained calm. “Whoever it is, they’ll eventually slip up,” he said.

Jiang Qi said, “By the way, there’s another clue about this mysterious person.”

“When the Greedy Wolf Star Pirate Gang entered the Burial Spirit Snowfield, that mysterious person gave them a task. They were to do their best to find something left behind by the elves that could enhance the innate abilities of the beastmen. It seems this mysterious person is desperate to improve their own abilities.”

Chu Heng said, “Which beastman doesn’t yearn to improve their innate abilities? This clue is about…” “It’s useless.”

“Ah! Speaking of elves, I almost forgot!” Jiang Qi suddenly slapped his forehead. “His Majesty the Emperor can’t contact you at the moment, so he asked me, his adjutant, to tell you not to forget your mission or your responsibilities as the crown prince of the empire after you arrive on Water Blue Star.”

“Remember to diligently search for the elf that appeared in the Star Beast Forest. Make sure you find that elf before anyone else does and befriend him.”

An Qiao, the “elf” being searched for: “…”

Fortunately, no one knows yet that he is “that elf.”

Chu Heng: “…”

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