"How did she shine so brightly?" Lu Wanqing asked Xiao Bao, unable to stop herself.
Lu Yang turned, picked up a glass of water from the side, and held it to Xiao Bao's lips.
Just as Xiao Bao was about to speak, she saw the water her father was offering and couldn't help but look up at him.
Xiao Bao was truly thirsty. She had spoken so much that she was a little tired. Fortunately, her dad was smart and knew to give her water.
Taking a sip of water from her dad's hand, Xiao Bao drank.
"Talk after you've rested," Lu Yang said.
Xiao Bao nodded quickly, "Okay!"
The events of her past life were too heavy for Xiao Bao. She had been too young then to even speak clearly, and the bad woman wouldn't appear for many years. So, she had been wondering how to tell her dad and mom about her past life. However, Xiao Bao was just a child. She had thought about it for a long time but still hadn't figured out how to explain it to everyone.
Fortunately, tonight she got drunk and accidentally let it slip. Now she could explain everything and wouldn't have to carry so many secrets alone anymore.
"She was... she was super amazing. She was great at fighting, wilderness survival, and building mechs. She knew so many things. Many people on the interstellar network said she was like Mom!"
Lu Wanqing was stunned. She subconsciously glanced at Harvey, then back at Xiao Bao, and asked, "Like me?"
Xiao Bao looked at her mother, then at Brother Harvey, and finally back at her mom, nodding heavily, "Yes!"
Xiao Bao said solemnly in her soft voice, "That woman was a great fighter. During competitions, she could do wilderness survival. She knew many life skills, like living in the wild and cooking. Her dishes were also delicious. Many viewers on the interstellar network loved watching her live streams, and mechs... She was a solo combatant, but during battles, several times at the most critical moments, she would secretly repair mechs for the Imperial Military Academy. Brother Harvey's mech was repaired by her!"
"Mom, everyone on the interstellar network said that bad woman was a lot like you. I don't think so at all! That woman was so ugly, she didn't look like Mom one bit!" Xiao Bao said the last sentence with great anger.
Lu Wanqing: "..."
Like her?
This was, to say the least, something Lu Wanqing had not expected.
Harvey's eyes widened too. He looked at Xiao Bao, disbelieving that anyone in the future could be like his mother. It was impossible!
After speaking, Xiao Bao also became angry. She glared at Brother Harvey, held back for a moment, and then couldn't help but curse, "Brother Harvey, you're such an idiot!"
Harvey snapped back to attention instantly and retorted, "I am not!"
He wouldn't be so foolish as to like that bad woman just because she had Mom's skills and then end up harming everyone.
"What happened next? Why did Harvey fall for that woman... What did that woman do?" Lu Wanqing continued to press.
Xiao Bao said, puffing out her cheeks indignantly, "I don't know the specifics, but Ying Huohuo told me that woman was very wicked. She liked another man but still strung Brother Harvey along. Brother Harvey did so many things for her, and in the end, she framed Brother Harvey..."
Xiao Bao said, huffing and puffing, growing more and more angry as she spoke.
Lu Wanqing reached out and gently patted Xiao Bao's back, comforting her, "Don't rush, speak slowly."
Hearing her mother's words, Xiao Bao calmed down a lot. She thought for a moment, then continued, "It's like... that woman used to be a space pirate. She was the daughter of a great space pirate. She used special connections to get a fake ID to attend school and then worked her way up to the Imperial Military Academy."
"Later, that woman's identity seemed to have issues. Brother Harvey helped her resolve it. But then someone found out, and they dug it up, saying Brother Harvey was helping that woman. They claimed Brother Harvey was a former space pirate and had always colluded with space pirates. They also said... they said many terrible things about space pirates harming people. They suggested that Brother Harvey might have been involved in those incidents with the space pirates."
"This news hit the trending list. Many people in the Empire became agitated. They demanded that Mom and Dad enforce imperial law and arrest and execute Brother Harvey. They said... they said the Empire absolutely could not tolerate space pirates, and the Imperial family certainly could not collude with them."
"Mom and Dad were unwilling to kill Brother Harvey, so the people of the Empire were furious. They protested every day. They even said... they said Dad was useless, that he used to be very powerful, but since being with Mom, he had become useless. The Empire didn't need such an Emperor. The Empire..."
"Then it became chaotic, and many people started fighting. They said they wanted Dad to abdicate, that he wasn't fit to be the Emperor of the Empire. They listed so many, so many crimes..."
"Then so many things happened. Mom and Dad disappeared during the war and were unheard of for a long time. Many people said Mom and Dad were dead. Brother Harvey was also killed by that bad woman. Sister Yaya died saving Brother Harvey, and Brother Xiao Yi, Brother Lan Lan, Sister Shu Shu, Sister Cui Cui, everyone met with misfortune."
Xiao Bao spoke haltingly, her words a little jumbled and unclear. As she spoke, the little one's tears began to fall in large drops. She was so sad.
Lu Wanqing's heart, however, was in turmoil. At first listen, this seemed to be Harvey's fault, that everything started because Harvey fell for that woman...
But having lived in high places for a long time, one couldn't help but think of other possibilities.
This series of events, at first glance, appeared to be an attack on Harvey, but upon closer inspection, it looked more like a power struggle for the throne.
Throughout history, there have been no eternal emperors. After a dynasty had lasted for decades, or even centuries, various reasons would eventually lead to certain events, culminating in a change of reign and a new leader.
"Third Brother, how long have you been the Emperor of the Empire?" Lu Wanqing thought, and couldn't help but ask Lu Yang.
Lu Yang looked at Lu Wanqing and said, "Over three hundred years."
More than three hundred years ago, at that time, neither the Empire nor the Federation truly existed. Most of the humans in the interstellar space lived on a planet-by-planet basis, each on their own world.
At some point, some people became unwilling to rule just one planet and began their campaigns of conquest. Moreover, the Zerg were also restless, launching frequent sneak attacks.
Back then, Lu Yang purely had no goal in life; he just wanted to survive because he was waiting for someone.
After Qingqing's accident that year, she quietly left behind everyone's backs, but in reality, everyone knew when she left.
However, everyone knew that Qingqing's illness was truly incurable, and staying in the hospital was just waiting for death. Since she was so unwilling to die in front of them, they didn't have the heart to break her last wish. Therefore, until the very end, they never appeared before her. They simply followed secretly, watching from the shadows as she went to the North Pole and finally lay down in the world of ice and snow.
Seeing her lying motionless in the ice, they finally panicked. They disregarded her wish and rushed over to save her. But Qingqing's illness was indeed too severe. Even after stabilizing her vital signs, Qingqing eventually remained in a coma, becoming a vegetative state.
They took care of her for several years...
Lu Yang thought subconsciously, and suddenly realized. He was shocked. He seemed to... remember what had happened before?