"Then I should stay here till lord comes."
"No, Granny Wu. The help you have provided till now was more than enough for me. I will handle things from here," Feng Ruyan said, now looking much more livelier than a few minutes before. A soft white light was circulating around her body, healing her in the process.
The process was slow, but effective. Slowly she was getting back to her perfect health, but with how her condition was at the moment, she was far from fit.
"You are in no condition to take care of yourself, let alone your baby," Granny Wu said, her tone was that of a strict mother.
"I know you have taken a huge risk by coming here, Granny Wu. I don't want you to cause anymore trouble than I already had," Ruyan said.
"If I cared about such things, I would have not even come here. Now that I have done all of the hard work, you don't even want me to play with this cute boy? How heartless," Granny Wu acted out.
"Hehehe, I am sorry, Granny. If that is the case, please consider this room as your own, though there is nothing much to consider here," Ruyan said with a chuckle.
Half a day passed like this, with Granny Wu spreading her focus thin between taking care of the new mother and baby.
Suddenly, the candlelight in the room flickered, as the air in the room seemed to tighten, pressing down on everyone present.
Then, a presence arrived.
Cao Tianwei. The current head of the Cao clan.
He entered the chamber with measured steps, his expression unreadable, his black and gold robes unstained by the world's filth. He did not need to announce himself; the sheer force of his existence made the air tremble. The moment his gaze fell upon the bloodied floor, the tired form of Ruyan clearly showing any lack of proper delivery, his expression barely shifted—but the temperature of the room seemed to drop several degrees. And the maids bowing out of the house as if to welcome him went pale, all of them having a single thought in their mind:
'Why is the clan head here? Wasn't she a lowly maid who somehow got the ire of the lady of the house?' Clearly none of the maids had any idea about the truth, but the possibilities coming in their minds were enough to scare their souls out of their bodies.
He turned to the head maid of the chamber and the same maid who had tried to stop Granny Wu from helping Ruyan. His voice was cold, devoid of emotion. "Did no one assist her?"
The maids lowered their heads, their bodies shaking, but none dared to speak, or more likely they couldn't—the fear in their hearts was gripping their mouths like a vice. But for the clan head, the answer was clear enough.
"Kill them."
The order was delivered with the same detachment one might have when brushing away dust from their robes. Instantly, two shadow beasts emerged from his shadow, and before any of the maids could beg or flee, darkness engulfed all of the maids in the area.
Some of them tried to say something at the last moment, but the orders were already given and Tianwei was not going to take them back. After handling the inconvenience, his gaze returned to the child in Feng Ruyan's arms.
She held the baby closer, instinctively protective. Despite her exhaustion, her eyes were looking towards the massacre that had happened so casually; there was not even a trace left of the previous tens of maids.
Cao Tianwei did not comment on it.
He stepped closer, peering down at the infant wrapped in silk. Black hair, amber eyes—his blood, undeniably so. The boy stared up at him, small yet unwavering, as if he already recognized the figure before him.
For a brief moment, something flickered in Cao Tianwei's gaze, but it was gone before it could be understood. Though he was not here to see the child, like it was the most natural thing to do, he took the baby's hand and suddenly a small cut appeared on his finger.
Ruyan got visibly tensed at this, but she couldn't do anything at all. It was not because Tianwei was using any method to stop her or anything; she just instinctually couldn't bring herself to move. Also, knowing what was going on also stopped her worries a little.
A blood drop came out of the baby's hand and he began crying from the pain, but suddenly the cut vanished like it was never there in the first place. Ruyan quickly cradled her son closer, rocking him gently as she whispered soothing words. 'Shh, little one, mother is here…'
Tianwei didn't even look toward them and just took out a crystal out of seemingly nowhere. As soon as he dropped the blood drop on the crystal, it shined in two colors.
The crystal absorbed the blood drop, and for a moment, nothing happened. Then, a glow emerged—two distinct colors swirling within the translucent surface.
A dull yellow light flickered first, weak and unimpressive. It was a combat talent evaluation. Cao Tianwei's gaze remained impassive as if the talent of his child didn't concern him, but Ruyan became tense. In the world where strength reigned supreme, her child had so little talent for combat?
But then, an intense indigo hue surged forth, deep and commanding, washing over the yellow like an ocean swallowing a flickering flame. The room, already silent under Tianwei's presence, seemed to still even further.
Feng Ruyan's breath hitched. Indigo.
Cao Tianwei watched the phenomenon unfold, his expression unreadable. Then, he spoke, his tone as indifferent as ever.
"A decent talent."
It may have been an understatement of the century. All of the people in the area—Granny Wu, Ruyan, even the shadow guards accompanying Tianwei—looked toward him in shock.
There are 7 levels in anyone's talent – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Any minor sect will treat a yellow talent individual as a prodigy, any mid-level clan will have green as its prodigy, and major sects have blue as their prodigy; they will empty their vaults for their cultivation.
Since the Cao was at the level of any major sect, the yellow talent of combat was mediocre here, but indigo? That is something any major sect can start a war for, and here the clan head was saying it was a 'decent' talent. Their shock was understandable, but the most shocked person was the lady who had just entered the building, Madam Cao, the main wife of Cao Tianwei.
"Indigo level talent in beast taming? There must have been some mis…" her words froze in her mouth when Tianwei looked toward her. Understanding her mistake, she quickly prostrated herself.
"I am sorry, my lord," Lian said, but Tianwei didn't even spare her any look after that, and since he had not said anything, the lady couldn't even bring herself up. The humility she was feeling was burning a hole in her heart, but it was still bearable, as the other option was losing her life.
Soon the crystal dimmed, its glow fading away. He turned his gaze back to Feng Ruyan, who was still gently rocking their child, her grip on him a fraction tighter than before.
"This child will be named Cao Lin. You will take him to the Palace of Concubines. From now on, that will be your residence," he stated. His voice held no room for argument.
Feng Ruyan's expression tightened, but she nodded. She had expected this. This was now her fate. But even if she could not change this, she would ensure her son's survival. Still, she was not willing to let her son be cast aside so easily. A son of a concubine will never be treated the same as the heir of the clan; he will always receive lesser treatment than them.
Cao Tianwei, as if reading her thoughts, added, "Do not misunderstand. This child bears my name. That is more than what many can claim."
A cold reassurance, but one nonetheless. Even though Ruyan didn't fully understand the meaning behind those words, others in the room clearly understood what it meant: the child now had the protection of the name of the clan head of the Cao clan. If someone dared to harm him directly, they should be ready to die in the most horrific way along with their nine generations and family.
As he turned to leave, his gaze briefly met that of his main wife, still kneeling in the hallway. Without a change in expression, he spoke, his words carrying an unspoken warning.
"I don't want to deal with any more nuisance because of politics. Make sure it never comes in the way of my plans."
With that, he disappeared into the shadows of the corridor, leaving behind a mother holding her newborn son, surrounded by the silence of those who remained alive.
Cao Lin's life had begun—with blood, with expectation, and with a name that bound him to a father who saw him as nothing more than another piece on the board.