1682 In the Palace Hall
Liang Shufen took no time to leave the teleportation platform and fly the group over to the Palace. There were more guards and servants in the palace than ever, and many didn't recognize Liang Shufen at all.
Still, there was enough old blood that they quickly started welcoming the woman and started notifying the others of their arrival.
Long Huan followed close behind with Hannah half in his embrace. Whisker rode on Hannah's shoulders and behind them, Zhan Luoyang followed.
This was the first time she had ever left the Eastern Continent, so the changes for her were astounding, to say the least. Most of all, she felt the complete lack in the density of the Qi in this place.
She had heard of the reason why the other continents weren't on par with the Eastern Continent, and she finally got to experience the answer herself.
With such low Qi, it would be hard for anyone to produce fighters as capable as the ones in the Eastern Continent. That only made her more curious about Alex and how he came to be where had been.
"Who amongst the 8 is awake?" Liang Shufen asked one of the servants that was passing by.
"Most elders are in close cultivation, Elder Liang," the servant answered, failing to hide the curiosity of the individuals that were behind the woman. "But Elder Kang and Elder Ren should be available. Ah, Lady Lin is also available."
"Tell them all to meet me in the Palace hall immediately, even the ones that are in cultivation," the woman said. "Also, make sure the information about my arrival does not leave the palace. I will punish anyone who is found to spread the news of my arrival."
The servant gulped in near horror at the demand and nodded quickly.
Liang Shufen continued walking and soon they were all entering the throne room with seats all around. At the front were two seats, a seat of the King, and a seat of the Ruler.
On the seat of the king was the golden crown with rubies encrusted on them.
Everyone sat down around the room, waiting for the people who had been called to arrive.
Footsteps sounded outside soon enough and a young woman quickly walked in.
"Elder Liang, I heard you were back," a young woman walked in. "Is Father back too?"
Ronron wore a white dress with beautiful embroidery on it. She had a green shawl around her, and her hair was tied in a ponytail with a few jewelry on it.
She looked no different from how she did nearly 20 years ago when Alex and the rest had left. What had changed was her cultivation base. She had cultivated as well as anyone could have, and was now in the Saint Condensation 4th realm.
She had broken through to the Saint realm sometime in the past 2 decades.
"Greetings, Princess Maron." Liang Shufen got to her feet and bowed. "I'm afraid his Majesty hasn't returned."
"Oh! Since you came back, I thought…" Ronron sighed. "Never mind then. Did you come back alone?"
Long Huan was immediately confused. "Princess?" he turned to look at Liang Shufen. "Is she Alex's sister?" he asked. That would make her Hannah's cousin too.
"She said Father though," Zhan Luoyang muttered softly. Her confusion echoed Long Huan's confusion as well.
Liang Shufen heard their confusion and sighed. "Let me introduce her. This is Maron Benton, Princess of the Southern Continent, His Majesty's daughter."
"What?" Zhan Luoyang was the first to speak out loud. "His Majesty has a daughter? Wasn't he looking for a wife still? Does that mean there is a Queen too?"
"Oh? Father was looking for a wife?" Ronron asked curiously and turned to Liang Shufen for answers.
"Princess, I'm afraid I cannot answer your questions right now. I need to urgently talk with the other elders," Liang Shufen said.
"Ah, I'm sorry if I was disturbing. Can I stay or should I leave?" she asked.
Liang Shufen didn't know what to make her do. She would find out sooner or later anyway. "You can stay," she said with a sigh.
More footsteps rang outside and Liang Shufen looked out. Only, the elders were still not here. Who had come instead was Graham and Helen.
"Is my son back?" Helen asked as soon as she walked into the room. She wore a pretty red robe and looked no older than her early 40s. Her cultivation base had also significantly improved, placing her in the middle of the Saint Foundation realms.
Graham, on the other hand, wore very simple clothes that made him look like a worker instead. He wore a blue robe with no sleeves or collar and showed a lot of chest too. His pants were short too, all of which showed his incredibly built muscles.
"Your Highness, His Majesty hasn't returned," Liang Shufen said, fearing the moment she would have to break the news. Before she could do that, however, Helen seemed to have started paying attention to the ones that were in the room.
"Who are they?" she asked.
"Ah, this is lady Zhan Luoyang of the Eastern Continent. She is engaged to the Crown Prince of the Azure Imperium," Liang Shufen introduced the woman.
"And this is—"
"Are you Alex's mother?" Long Huan asked.
Helen slowly nodded. "I am," she said. It was rare that she got to hear her son's name from someone else's mouth. It was usually 'the king' or 'His Majesty'.
Long Huan took a deep breath and spoke even as another figure walked in. "I am Long Huan, the 2nd prince of the Azure Imperium," he said, before pulling up Hannah from beside him. "And… I'm her Husband."
Helen gave a confused look. "Who is she?" she asked.
Long Huan slowly lifted Hannah's veil and then took off her mask. Her face was extremely wrinkled and her hair was white. But even so, Helen and Graham immediately recognized who she was.
However, before either could move, the newly arrived person had already moved before them.
Liz appeared next to her daughter in an instant, taking her into her embrace. "Hannah!" she screamed in both joy and sadness. "You're back. You're finally back, my child."
Liz's cries filled the room for a long moment. She was very much happy to have gotten her daughter back. She quickly wiped her tears and looked at Hannah before sadness welled up on her face.
"What is wrong with you, Hannah? Why won't you speak?" Liz asked, concerned.
"She cannot speak," Long Huan quickly said. "She… she is poisoned and can't do much of anything at all. She can only feel someone's touches and that's it."
"What?" Liz asked. "What do you mean she's poisoned? Who poisoned my daughter?"
Long Huan gulped. He had been skeptical for a while, but hearing the word 'daughter' come out of the woman's mouth confirmed his suspicions.
This was his Mother-in-law whom he had been fearing to meet for the past some time now.
He had expected many things about his Mother-in-law, many things that could be possible. But one thing he had never expected her to be was young.
Looking at her and then at Hannah, it was difficult to say which one of them was the child, and which one was the mother.
