Aunt Yue warned Yao Ling about this matter and told her to be careful in the future. She wasn't allowed to tell other people her real ident.i.ty --- just in case, the enemy got the wind of it. It would be dangerous for her if Aunt Yue's speculation was right. It was hard to find the culprit because they were hidden in the dark --- unlike them.

There must be a traitor among them! It was the most possible explanation. Aunt Yue emphasized this matter a few times until she felt satisfied and saw that Yao Ling understood the consequences if other people found out her real ident.i.ty as a pure Bei Yue.

After warning her, Aunt Yue started the continuation of the story once again.

Aunt Yue and Rong Qiu tried to make a plan together, but the latter was pretty stubborn and kept trying to choose to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Rong Qiu was a good leader, but he was too honest. Su Wan was usually the sly ones between the couple if Aunt Yue really admitted it. Despite her gentleness, Su Wan was very smart!

Aunt Yue got a headache because of her son's stubbornness, thus, she decided to make a side plan which Rong Qiu didn't know about.

Yao Ling started to grasp what her grandmother was going to say. However, she chose to listen because she didn't know whether her guess was correct or not. "Grandmother, what happened next? My parents were separated since that moment, right? Have they ever meet each other again after that?"

Aunt Yue sighed and admitted, "You are so clever! Indeed, they were separated since your mother went to prison. And no... they have never met each other ever again after that."

"How?" Yao Ling asked in a low voice.

"The Han Emperor had been told about my power, thus, the separation occurred. They deliberately used the commoners' life to force me to submit to them. I can only promise them that I will use my power the next day," Aunt Yue explained. Aunt Yue had prayed to the Big Buddha that her power really would be unlocked the next day --- after all, it was just a guess that her power would be locked for a few weeks. No one from her family had ever tried to leave their homeland, thus, Aunt Yue was also gambling back then.

The Han Emperor didn't fully believe in Aunt Yue's power but he was also curious. If he was able to control Aunt Yue, he would be able to take over the world. Without those pieces of knowledge and hopes, he would kill all of the people in the s.h.i.+p in one swoop.

"And then? Was your power unlocked the next day?" Yao Ling asked.

"Fortunately... yes," Aunt Yue answered. If it wasn't, she would also feel at a loss...

"Then... how the Han Emperor reacted?" Yao Ling felt really curious about the old man's expression.

"Once I displayed a little bit of my power, he was entranced and I could see the greed in his eyes... He promised me that he would quickly let go of all the people that were confined in the prison if I worked for him. If I refused, he would show no mercy. Finally, we made a deal!"

After all... Aunt Yue had no other choice but accepted the deal...

Yao Ling sighed in pain --- she felt that she could understand how desperate the situation back then. Her clan's future was on the hand of her grandmother... what if the power was still locked? She believed that her grandmother would die in regret.

"Did he really release the prisoners?" Yao Ling asked curiously.

Aunt Yue nodded. "I saw it with my own eyes. Little Qiu was the one who helped me make sure that the Han Emperor was really following his part of the deal. However, he wouldn't let go of your father! The Han Emperor was quite clever... if he released Rong Qiu, there was a chance that I would mislead him and didn't tell him the real reading..."

Yao Ling started to understand her parents' personality and she asked, "Did my father accept the arrangement?"

"That was actually the problem... Rong Qiu was a proud person and he chose to die rather than become a puppet," Aunt Yue explained in a sad voice. She fought a lot with Rong Qiu about it... It made Aunt Yue feel a ma.s.sive headache back then. Aunt Yue wanted them to stay there quietly at least for a few years and observed what happened to their people.

However, Rong Qiu disagreed. Not only because of his stubbornness, but he was also worried about the pregnant Su Wan. Once Rong Qiu knew that his wife was able to leave, he insisted that they should only pretend to submit to them. Once the right time came, they should leave and try to find Su Wan. However, since when running away was easy?

They were in a foreign kingdom and didn't know anything about it. Not only that, if they were hastily running away, what if the Han Emperor hunted the rest of their people and killed them?

In this matter, Yao Ling found that her grandmother was more clearheaded than her father. She asked, "Why...? Why did my father seem to be so muddleheaded?" In Yao Ling's mind, if he was the future leader, he should think of his people first.

Aunt Yue sighed. "It can't be blamed solely on your father..."

Yao Ling looked at Aunt Yue in confusion. Her father was the one who made such a decision, then who else could they blame ah~?

"You need to know about the real reason because it will affect your life too," Aunt Yue said softly. "Once you get married and make love... you will have a bond with your spouse."

"Bond? What kind of bond?" Yao Ling furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. There were so many pieces of information that she needed to digest in one go and she started to understand how Xiao Fang had felt back then.

"When you made love... have your husband ever told you that something weird happened back then?" Aunt Yue asked curiously.

Yao Ling shook her head. They just consumed the marriage a few days ago and then she touched the symbols. After that... she started to realize something, she didn't know where she was! Suddenly, her grandmother appeared out of nowhere! Yao Ling gasped and asked, "Grandmother... what actually happened to me?! Where am I? Where is Yao Ying?"

Aunt Yue noticed that her granddaughter was in a panic, thus, she explained everything. Yao Ling felt her knees go weak. She couldn't believe that she was actually in a coma and her grandmother was meeting her inside her dream!

What kind of weird thing was this?!

Yao Ling asked, "But why does this dream feel so real? I can feel my own heartbeat and even feel pain!"

Aunt Yue laughed, "Because, in a way, this can be said as a different reality... this isn't just a simple dream... I used my power..."

Yao Ling nodded in understanding. Then, she admitted, "We just consumed the marriage the day before I touched the symbols, so even if there was something weird happened, my husband wouldn't have the chance to tell me."

Aunt Yue merely gaped at her. No wonder Yao Ling seemed to be oblivious to everything, hence Aunt Yue decided to explain once again. "You should ask your husband whether there was a s.h.i.+ning birthmark on your body. The shape should be a crescent moon," Aunt Yue said.

"What's the connection between the birthmark and the bond?" Yao Ling asked. She couldn't believe that there was a part of her body that actually could glow! What kind of crazy thing was that? For her real clan, it must be an ordinary thing. But for Yao Ling who lived on the outside world, she felt that it was so magical!