Zhan widened his heavy eyes, staring at the land he hadn't truly lived in for a full year. From the car window, he scanned every corner of the familiar place. He sat alone in the backseat, the only other person with him being the woman he'd heard addressed as Lanhui. Ever since they disembarked from the plane, he hadn't seen Bai Wuxia or Lao anywhere. He noticed their absence, but said nothing. He didn't ask either... perhaps it was part of some plan. Maybe this was just how royals operated.
He gazed at the gate of their house the way a man freed from blindness might look at the sun. It was a house he had only spent two days in. A house he believed had been built with everything to impress....at the cost of his dignity.
"We're here," said the driver in the front seat, his voice snapping Zhan from his thoughts. Without looking at anyone, without even glancing at his luggage, he opened the door and stepped out.
Though it was night, though he hadn't fully memorized the layout of the house, he still remembered the entrance clearly. With a steady breath, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
He didn't forget the way to the sitting room either. He walked directly there, stopping only once he reached the entrance curtain. And it was then...then that the weight of everything struck him. Then that the fear of how his family would react surfaced. Then that the uncertainty of what kind of life awaited him returned. Slowly, as though reaching into a pit of snakes, he lifted the curtain.
From the shadows of the sitting room, Zhan saw Que sitting on the tiled floor. Beside her were Yulou and Ao, while Hanzhi lay stretched across Que's lap. They seemed to be watching something, too focused to notice the curtain being drawn.
On the couch to the side sat a woman...likely around thirty-eight...legs crossed, tapping away at her phone without much expression.
Suddenly, warm tears welled up in Zhan's eyes.
How had his siblings survived all this time without him? What had they felt during his absence? How had life treated them?
"How do we get in?"
Lanhui's voice behind him broke the moment. Turning, he saw her dragging his suitcases. He looked back into the room, took another step forward, and finally entered, offering a weak and halting greeting.
The others looked up at once, as if jolted by electricity. Shock gave way to joy almost instantly. They scrambled toward him, wrapping him in a tight embrace. He knelt down, gathering them all into his arms as they all began to cry at once.
"What's going on here? Who is this?"
The woman on the couch stood up, her tone puzzled. It was clear from her expression that she had no idea who Zhan was. None of the others responded; their tears were too thick for words. Lanhui turned to her politely and greeted her. The woman returned the greeting, now curious and wanting an explanation.
Before anyone could answer, Fenghua entered the sitting room.
"Que, what's with all the crying? And who's that?" She stopped mid-sentence the moment her eyes landed on Zhan, crouched in front of the others. Her eyes widened.
"Zhan? When did you arrive? When did you come back?"
He looked up at her and noticed immediately...she had changed. She looked nothing like she had when he left.
But before he could respond, Lanhui stepped in, her voice cutting through the flood of questions.
"Can we see the head of the house?"
She was speaking to Fenghua now, sensing she was the one more familiar with the household than the woman who had been sitting earlier.
Fenghua turned to her and nodded.
"Yes, let me inform him." Then she walked toward one of the interior doors, pausing now and then to glance back at Zhan before disappearing into the hallway.
He was in his sitting room, quietly eating a bowl of rice Cunxin had prepared...since it was her turn to cook...when Fenghua entered. Cunxin looked up, ready to scold her for barging in, but the message she brought silenced her immediately.
"He's back. Zhan has returned."
Xiao Yun felt his chest tighten, the food suddenly tasting bland. "I'm in trouble," he muttered under his breath.
Fenghua turned and walked back toward the sitting room, curious to witness the moment herself. Cunxin, frowning, asked skeptically,
"So it's true? They really brought him back after a year?"
Xiao Yun turned to her, confused by her tone, but said nothing. He simply stood, wiped his hands, grabbed his cap from the side, and headed for the sitting room.
As he entered, the sound of Que and the others crying hit his ears. He stopped and frowned, staring at them all.
"What sort of nonsense is this? Zhan, what's the meaning of this? Instead of being grateful that you've been reunited, you sit here crying like fools?"
The children quickly tried to pull themselves together, wiping their faces, though Zhan's tears continued to fall freely.
Lanhui respectfully greeted Xiao Yun and began speaking:
"I was instructed to return him to his father after exactly one year, according to the agreement made. The time has come. So here he is, as commanded by the Queen. He carries the official proof of separation. Everything that was his...should continue to be own by him...his clothing, marital property, everything. He's also been granted a grace period of one year, during which he can request anything further as part of his final settlement... However, the Queen also asked me to remind you: the severance is final and permanent."
Something pierced Zhan's chest...so deeply he couldn't hold back. He turned to Lanhui, a look that stopped her in her tracks. No matter how flawed his father had been, he was still his father. Delivering warnings to him through a servant...through a messenger like she was...was nothing but cruel. Disrespectful. Overbearing. Even if his father had brought this open himself, it stung to hear it stated like this.
Without another word, Zhan stood and grabbed the hands of Ao and Yulou. In a low voice, he said, "Take me to your room."
The girls quickly led the way, and Zhan followed behind to the same room he'd stayed in during his wedding. Nothing had changed...only that everything was spotless and neatly arranged, just as he expected. He knew his siblings wouldn't allow filth. He had trained them too well in cleanliness and calm.
He sank down onto the floor and began crying again. The girls sat with him, holding him, crying too...they hadn't had enough of him yet. Only Que didn't follow, but Zhan didn't notice until later, when his heart told him he needed to stop crying. He had no other choice. If he continued, he would only pull his siblings further into sadness. He had to pull himself together. He wiped his tears, comforted the girls, and then went into their bathroom to wash his face, hoping the water might cool the storm inside him.
When he stepped back out, Que entered, dragging his suitcases. He turned away, not even wanting to look at them. He sat beside Ao and smiled at her gently...forcing it. She'd grown a little, grown sharper too, different from the last time he saw her.
Que walked over and placed something wrapped on his lap, along with his small bag. Zhan looked down, confused.
"It's your money," she explained. "The woman you came with gave it to Baba, but he refused it, said it was yours. Aunty Cunxin tried to convince him to accept it—she even offered to take it on your behalf—but he wouldn't budge. Please, Gege, don't reject it. It's your right. What they took from you before was enough. Let it be. If you don't accept this, nothing will change...they'll just go on as if nothing happened and continue living off what they stole from you."
Zhan looked at Que, his eyes glistening with tears. Her body language and words made it clear: she wasn't the same girl he left behind. Maturity had carved itself into her features. Had the burden left by his departure forced her to grow up this fast? Even though she was only two years younger than him, her plea touched him. Her effort to retrieve the package all the way from the sitting room told him how much it mattered to her. Refusing it now would be like throwing sand in her face.
With quiet wisdom, he replied, "It's not the money, Que. I just don't want to see it."
Que quickly removed the items from his lap. "I won't force you, Gege. But I'll store them safely for you, in case you ever need them." She stood, walked over to the wardrobe, opened the top compartment, and carefully tucked everything away.
Only then did Zhan begin looking around the room in earnest. That was when Chou came to mind.
"Where's Chou, my Fairy?" he asked softly. "She's the only one I haven't seen."
He turned his eyes toward Que just as she was returning to her seat. Her expression shifted instantly. She didn't answer. He looked to the others—same reaction. Each face clouded with a deep, silent worry.
Zhan's heart dropped.
Something terrible had happened to Chou.
They hadn't told him. His voice trembled as he turned back to Que.
"Que... what happened to her? Why didn't you tell me?"
She shook her head while looking at Zhan.
"Her mother's relatives came and took her away."
"Oh no heavens..." Zhan muttered, placing a hand on his head. Could this really be the final goodbye between him and Chou? Her mother's family? The same relatives no one had heard from in over five years?
"Gege, Chou was crying, saying she wouldn't go with them unless you returned. She said you promised to enroll her in school when you came back. She waited for you, crying, calling your name. We cried too. But they still dragged her away. They fought with Baba, but they were determined. They showed their mountain blood...they came strong and prepared. We all cried. She kept calling your name until they took her. For more than a week, we couldn't eat properly. We kept dreaming about her. In the end, we had to let go, because there was nothing we could do. But we still talk about her every day. Even just now before you entered, we were talking about her."
A fresh wave of anguish crashed over Zhan. He felt like his blood pressure was rising. Chou... his fairy. Of all his younger siblings, she was the one he had hoped most to see again. She understood him the best. Despite himself, he started crying again. There was no other way to let out the deep pain and frustration swelling in him.
Meanwhile, in New York:
Queen Zhaiye had organized a special celebration for Prince Yibo's academic achievement. His close family, especially those from his mother's side in Henan, were all present. Even Qiantang had come, bringing along a generous collection of congratulatory gifts. She had just one year left to complete her studies.
It was a beautiful and elegant gathering. Nearly every day was packed for Yibo, leaving him little time for rest. Finally, the day after the celebration, he managed to take a break. He locked himself in his room and turned off all his devices.
But even then, he couldn't sleep deeply. His dreams came quickly and disturbed him, forcing him awake. He tried adjusting his position, but sleep refused to return. In the end, he gave up and went out again despite needing the rest.
✨✨✨
Zhan sat beside Chou's bed...now his, ever since he refused to take the room he had once used for his wedding. He wore a thick pajama top and a winter cap to keep warm. It was around 7:30 in the morning.
The younger kids sat in front of him, dressed in their school uniforms and having breakfast...just tea and bread. From what he observed, their lives had changed. Not entirely, but by at least sixty percent. Now there was food in the house...morning, noon, and night. Hunger was no longer a constant companion.
Their father had managed to enroll them in an affordable school, and they hadn't missed their after-school lessons since. They no longer roamed the streets in rags like before. Although no one paid very close attention to them, the harshness of their treatment had decreased. Still, there was no warmth or proper care as they had once known.
Fenghua now focused entirely on her own children, just as she always had. Cunxin and the newly bride woman Zhan had found his father with....whom the children called Aunty...were only polite to Xiao Yun. But it was clear that they were both more invested in their own futures than anyone else's. Their affections seemed calculated, motivated by whatever financial stability they hoped to gain from his presence.
It was widely speculated that neither woman had children with Xiao Yun, and with no one truly tied to Xiao Yun, they suspected that when they eventually left, they'd take nothing and leave nothing behind.
Zhan watched the children chat as they ate until they finished. Then Que clapped her hands to usher them off to school. Zhan reached into his bag, hoping to give them something for the day... but it was empty. He wished he had something, anything, just to bring them more joy.
Still, he gave them warm wishes for the day, and they responded cheerfully before leaving. To them, this life was already a dream come true. They'd never known a time of consistent meals, school, and clean clothes from their father. Now they had all that. In their eyes, they lacked nothing.
Zhanxianyibo💚❤️💛