Chapter 229: Loyal and Devoted to the Nation

The heavy footsteps of the Duke of Ning gradually faded away, disappearing at the end of the palace corridor.

Wan Tang stood frozen in place, the composure she had barely maintained completely crumbling, leaving only unspeakable pain on her face.

Hui Guifei glanced at her and said calmly to her younger sister beside her, "Ning'er, go to the small kitchen and see if the lotus seed soup simmering for Minghui is ready."

Ning Daying obediently acknowledged and withdrew.

Only the two of them remained in the room, along with Minghui sleeping soundly on the couch.

Hui Guifei withdrew her gaze from the doorway, her tone unusually calm.

It even carried a trace of distant reminiscence: "About Old Mo, when I was a child, I secretly overheard many stories about him in my father's study."

Wan Tang jerked her head up, looking at her in disbelief.

A bitter curve tugged at the corner of Hui Guifei's lips as her gaze fell on her own knuckles, slightly roughened from martial practice: "As the legitimate daughter of a Guogong Mansion, I just had to love martial arts instead of rouge and powder. Speaking of it... it was also influenced by his legends."

She paused, her voice softening slightly, as if sinking into distant memories, "The first real sword I ever held in my life was shoved into my hands by him."

"Right under the old locust tree in the back courtyard, he demonstrated the two most basic starting stances."

Wan Tang's eyes instantly lit up, as if catching a glimmer of light in endless darkness.

She stepped forward eagerly, her voice trembling with excitement: "Hui Jiejie! Please... tell me anything about him, anything at all!"

Hui Guifei's gaze drifted out the window, as if piercing through the palace walls and returning to a distant childhood.

Her voice shed its usual sharpness, carrying a pure reverence:

"Old Mo... your maternal grandfather, he was a truly towering figure."

"He deployed troops like a god, loved his soldiers like his own children, and his lifelong pursuit was nothing more than peace on the borders and a peaceful life for the common people."

Her fingertips unconsciously traced patterns on the brocade quilt, as if sketching some kind of formation diagram, "I once hid outside my father's study and overheard him discussing with his staff Old Mo's victory against overwhelming odds in the 'Battle of Cangyun Gorge'—that strategic mastery, that utter loyalty to the nation and its people..."

She paused, her tone growing heavier, with a regret hard to let go of: "His integrity, his ambitions—they were exactly like Yue Wumu in the history books."

"Loyal and devoted to the nation, yet..."

She swallowed the rest of her words, merely shaking her head, "As for why he was later branded a 'traitor,' even my father probably didn't know the true secrets behind it."

"It was like a fog too thick to disperse. In the final years of the Late Emperor's reign, many things became taboo."

Seeing the light that had just kindled in Wan Tang's eyes gradually replaced by disappointment, she said seriously, "But remember this: the Mo Family could never be traitors."

Hui Guifei's voice was resolute, carrying the certainty unique to a martial noble house: "It was the Late Emperor who wronged the Mo Family."

She looked at Wan Tang, her eyes showing a rare, almost blunt reassurance: "So you don't need to feel bad about this, let alone doubt yourself."

"The blood of the Mo Family flows in your veins. This is not your burden—it should be your backbone."

The moment Hui Guifei finished speaking, the taut string in Wan Tang's heart suddenly snapped.

Her shoulders trembled, and she nearly curled up.

Seeing her about to cry, Hui Guifei's eyes also showed panic.

Even if she tried to speak, she couldn't manage a single comforting word.

She suddenly struck out—not a gentle pat, but a palm full of force, landing heavily on Wan Tang's back!

"Cough!" Caught off guard, Wan Tang was sent stumbling forward by the fierce blow, her chest churning with qi and blood, a coppery taste instantly rising in her throat.

She turned back in disbelief to look at Hui Guifei, who had struck her.

"Whining and crying—what kind of sight is that!"

Hui Guifei's brows shot up, her tone harsh, "Is the descendant of the Mo Family's backbone this soft?"

"Straighten your back for me!"

Wan Tang was completely stunned by the blow; the pain made her vision go dark.

The trembling in her body grew from subtle to violent, the pain turning her eye rims red, but the tears actually stopped.

She took a deep breath, still in pain, but truly obeyed.

Slowly, bit by bit, she straightened her slightly hunched back, standing ramrod straight.

In those tear-filled red eyes, something was shattering, and then, reforming.

【Ah... so this is how our Xiao Huihui comforts people? It's so special it's a bit hard to accept!】

【I guarantee Wan Tang is going to be sore for a week.】

【Sorry, I laughed. I can't imagine how many finger-shaped palm prints are on Wan Tang's back.】

【It's like she comforted her, but also like she didn't...】

【Stop laughing, okay? Tangtang has her pride too! Actually, if she wants to know what happened back then, it's simple! After all, Yan Wang was involved in that case back then. What's more, Yan Wang is still gathering evidence of the crimes.】

【Even though Wan Tang sent Qi Er to investigate, wasn't the little information Qi Er had also given by Yan Wang?】

Is Yan Wang really investigating?

Why would he investigate?

Wan Tang was puzzled.

Cining Palace.

Chu Yunzheng sat upright in the lower left seat, his fingertips idly tracing the blue-and-white patterns on his teacup.

The Empress Dowager leaned back on the Empress Dowager's Bed, her eyes half-closed, the prayer beads on her wrist turning slowly.

"The Emperor didn't come today just to share this cup of pre-rain Longjing with me, did he?" The Empress Dowager's voice was calm, but carried a sharp edge.

Chu Yunzheng lifted his eyes, a slight smile on his lips: "Your Majesty is wise. The Empress has lost her virtue and is unworthy to be a model for the women of the realm. Your son wishes to depose her."

"Emperor!" The Empress Dowager's eyes snapped open, a sharp light flashing, "Matters of the empress's position concern the foundation of the state—how can you speak lightly of deposing her?"

"What's more, the woman by your side now is of the Mo Family's blood!"

"Don't forget, the Mo Family's affairs cannot see the light of day!"

"The Late Emperor's spirit in heaven would never allow the daughter of a traitor to hold a high consort rank!"

"Your Majesty also knows it's a consort rank, not the empress's position." Chu Yunzheng retorted.

The Empress Dowager merely let out a light laugh, saying nonchalantly, "I've heard a little about what happened at Jingren Palace."

"The imperial harem has always been a foggy place, so why must Your Majesty take matters between women so seriously?" The Empress Dowager still appeared unconcerned.

Chu Yunzheng set down his teacup unhurriedly; the crisp clink of porcelain was especially clear in the silence. "But that person is no ordinary woman—she is Hui Guifei. She is my daughter."

Chu Yunzheng's gaze turned cold: "Mother, you should know better than I what the Duke of Ning's existence means."

"What it means to be a pillar of the state—Mother, does your son need to explain it?"

The Empress Dowager fell silent.

Chu Yunzheng continued: "If the Xiao Family's conduct were blameless, I naturally would not have conceived this intention."

"Unfortunately," his tone shifted, his eyes like blades tempered in ice, "by now, Ouyang Qing should have already arrived at the Xiao residence."

"What does Mother suppose he will uncover in that mansion?"

The Empress Dowager's fingers, which had been counting her prayer beads, came to a halt.

Chu Yunzheng's tone was flat, but every word carried immense weight: "The Xiao Family has quite the nerve—they actually dared to secretly detain my chief eunuch, Li Defu."

"I am very curious—what were they hoping to pry out of the mouth of someone close to me?"

"Impossible!" The Empress Dowager abruptly sat up straight, her phoenix eyes wide. "The Xiao Family would never do something so foolish! This is a frame-up!"

Chu Yunzheng said no more, merely lowering his eyes to take a light sip of tea, perfectly composed.

The Empress Dowager stared at him fixedly, her chest rising and falling slightly.

After a long moment, she seemed suddenly drained of all strength, collapsing back against the soft cushion and letting out an ambiguous, cold laugh: "Heh... the Emperor truly has grown his wings now, even scheming against me."

Chu Yunzheng remained silent.

The Empress Dowager took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she had recovered some of her former dignity: "Enough."

"The Empress can be deposed, but the choice of the new Empress must be personally decided by me."

"Agreed." Chu Yunzheng answered promptly, then shifted his tone. "Since the Duke of Ning defended Virtuous Consort today and rendered a service to the state, I should also grant the Old Minister some face."

"Virtuous Consort will no longer be pursued."

"Let it be as if her being cast into the Cold Palace never happened."

"Emperor!" The Empress Dowager's voice suddenly turned shrill. "You intend to keep that scourge?!"

Chu Yunzheng slowly rose to his feet, his bright yellow dragon robe radiating an oppressive aura as he looked down at the Empress Dowager from on high.

His tone brooked no argument: "Mother, I came today to inform you, not to discuss."

"Just as, back then, when Mother sealed the verdict on the Mo Family matter, you only informed me."

Having said this, he gave a slight nod: "Your son takes his leave."

As he turned to leave, the hem of his robe stirred a cold draft, ruffling the immaculate silver hair at the Empress Dowager's temple.

She stared at the Emperor's resolute retreating figure, her nails digging deep into her palm, her eyes frozen in a dead stillness.

【This Dog Emperor is actually quite imposing—this move of his really surprised me.】

【Is this love for Tangtang, or...?】

【After all, he went head-to-head with the Empress Dowager for Wan Tang!】

Wan Tang listened closely to the Barrage recounting what had happened at Cining Palace.

Yet a mocking, cold smile curled at the corners of her mouth.

How could Chu Yunzheng have done it for her?

It was merely to appease the Duke of Ning.

It was merely that the imperial harem also needed someone—someone who could maintain the balance of the harem.

Wan Tang's eyes held a deep weariness.

At this moment, she herself did not know where she stood in the Emperor's heart—was it the Xiao Family, Xu Chengyuan...

The Phoenix Luan Spring Favor Carriage rumbled over the bluestone path, sending Wan Tang back to Palace of Eternal Joy.

The moment the palace gates opened, turbulent currents surged beneath the seemingly calm surface of the imperial harem.

Everyone was uneasy, whispering among themselves.

No one could say why this Virtuous Consort had suddenly fallen from favor and been cast into the Cold Palace, and now they could even less fathom why she had returned in such glory.

Her rank had not been reduced, and the Emperor's will was unfathomable.

Wan Tang, supported by a palace maid's hand, stepped down from the imperial carriage and crossed the threshold of Palace of Eternal Joy.

Though only a few short months had passed, it truly felt like a lifetime.

The halls were the same, the plants and trees still familiar, but people's hearts were no longer as they had been.

The wet nurse brought Minghui forward; the little girl babbled and could already toddle a few steps.

Wan Tang's heart ached, and she hugged her daughter tightly in her arms, as if trying to make up for all the lost time.

The preciousness of having regained what was lost moved all the Guanren around them.

She had just settled into the main hall.

Liu Guiren, having heard the news, came forward enthusiastically to pay her respects, her words sincere and her posture humble.

Wan Tang responded with a faint smile on her face, but her gaze passed over her and landed on Su Guiren, who stood silently in the back.

Thinking of Su Yanci's aid in the Cold Palace and the agreement between them,

Wan Tang's smile deepened, and her tone carried an unfeigned warmth: "Sister Su, it's been so many days—how have you grown so thin?"

"Come, step forward and let your elder sister take a good look at you."

As she spoke, she naturally reached out her hand, intending to take Su Guiren's hand.

Unexpectedly, Su Guiren recoiled as if burned, yanking her hand back into her sleeve and stepping back half a pace, her eyes downcast, her manner distant: "Greetings to Virtuous Consort."

"Your subject has not been feeling well lately and fears passing an illness on to Your Ladyship. I beg leave to withdraw."

Before her words had even faded, she had already bent her knee in a salute, and without waiting for Wan Tang's response, turned and hurried away, leaving behind a distant and resolute back.

Wan Tang's outstretched hand froze in midair, and the smile on her face slowly solidified.