Chapter 1149 - 1090. The Twenty Thousand Arrived At Chang’An
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(A/N: Don’t forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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Lie Fan watched them leave the study, the heavy rosewood doors clicking shut behind them. A quiet sigh of relief escaped him. The horrific, bloody burdens of the warlord era were finally beginning to fade, replaced by the brilliant, constructive challenges of a true sovereign. He had buried his past, he had deployed his armies to secure his future, and now, he was forging the economic and technological foundations of a golden age that would outlast them all.
Now, as the Emperor, he required the one thing that imperial edicts and military campaigns could never provide, the simple, profound warmth of his family.
Leaving the administrative wing behind, Lie Fan walked through the tranquil, winding corridors of the palace until he crossed the threshold into the Harem Palace.
The atmosphere here was a universe away from the blood and iron of the court. The air smelled of blooming jasmine and sweet incense, and the distant, joyous sound of children’s laughter echoed across the pristine courtyards.
As he stepped into the main garden, he found them gathered together in the late afternoon sun. His wives, Ying Yue, Diao Chan, Lu Lingqi, Cai Wenji, and Zhen Ji, were seated around a low stone table, sharing tea and gentle conversation while keeping a watchful eye on the imperial children playing on the manicured grass.
His eldest son, Muchen, the undisputed Crown Prince, was currently brandishing a small, blunted wooden training sword, vigorously defending a patch of flowers from his younger sisters and brothers.
When Ying Yue caught sight of him, her face instantly lit up. "Husband!" she called out, setting her teacup down and rising to greet him.
The political machinations, the executions, the shadow wars, they all evaporated the moment his family surrounded him. For the rest of the evening, Emperor Lie Fan was simply a father and a husband.