Chapter 262: The Secret Unveiled

Chu Yunzheng's face turned grim as he listened to Xiao Sihai explain that this person was a key witness.

"She dares to speak against me?" Chu Yunzheng said coldly, his tone bearing undeniable authority, "Xiao Sihai, if you have nothing to say, get out of my sight."

"Emperor, calm your anger!" Xiao Sihai quickly bowed, his tone unusually firm, "What this lady says concerns the state itself, concerns the stability of the Northern Border."

"Old Minister offers his own head as guarantee; please, Emperor, be sure to let her finish speaking."

Chu Yunzheng suppressed his fury, sank heavily back onto the Dragon Throne, his gaze blazing as it fixed on the trembling Aunt Mei, "Speak!"

Aunt Mei fell to her knees with a thud, her voice trembling, "I (serving woman)… I was originally the late Madam—no, I was the accompanying maid of Madam Wang Jingyi..."

She began her account; at first Chu Yunzheng wore a blank expression, as if merely hearing old gossip.

"In truth, the Madam bore only two children for General Xu—a son and a daughter. The youngest son, Xu Yanchuan, was not born of the Madam at all!"

Chu Yunzheng raised an eyebrow at the words, letting out an ambiguous snort, "So what of it?"

"I appoint people based on talent, not on legitimacy or birth," he thought of the people outside the hall in the Fēng xuě, his tone growing increasingly impatient.

Aunt Mei shivered at his attitude, yet dared not stop.

She continued, "It... it is because... because Lord General Xu Chengyuan."

"He kept a woman outside... that woman is an orphan of the Mo Family!"

Chu Yunzheng's casual demeanor suddenly hardened; he leaned forward slightly, his sharp gaze fixed on Aunt Mei.

Aunt Mei felt the pressure of that stare and quickened her speech.

"That concubine originally bore only a daughter; though the Lord favored her, he did not take it seriously, treating her merely as a concubine."

"But later that woman became pregnant again, and it was a male fetus!"

"The Madam... she grew jealous, fearing that boy would threaten her own child's position, so she conspired with the Lord, swapping the child!"

She described in detail how Wang Jingyi pretended to give birth, how the boy born to the concubine was brought into the residence as a legitimate son, and how the concubine and her daughter were dealt with.

Although she did not state Wan Tang's mother's ultimate fate, the vague words were enough to let one imagine the filth and cruelty involved.

Chu Yunzheng's complexion grew darker with each of her words, as if a layer of ice were forming over him.

Has Wan Tang indeed still been hiding this from him?

Xiao Sihai, seeing this, immediately fanned the flames, his voice rising, "Emperor, you have heard it all!"

"This is nothing but the Mo Family's calculated revenge."

"They sent a daughter into the Imperial harem to confuse the holy heart and sow chaos in the palace corridors."

"Then they had a son pose as a Xu Family legitimate heir, usurping military command and taking charge of the Northern Border army."

"Their purpose, obvious as day, is to overturn my Fengqi realm and seize your throne!"

Chu Yunzheng snapped his gaze upward, looking at Xiao Sihai, his eyes icy and piercing, yet he did not act immediately.

The hall fell into a strange dead silence, only the faint crackle of burning coals and Aunt Mei's suppressed sobbing breaking it.

After a long while, Chu Yunzheng slowly leaned back against the seat.

He closed his eyes, rubbed his throbbing temples, and when he opened them again, his eyes held a bottomless abyss.

He waved his hand, his voice carrying extreme fatigue and indifference:

"I... understand."

"What you have said, I will consider."

"Now, leave."

Xiao Sihai and his party exited Yangxin Hall, and as they passed the kneeling Wan Tang in the snow, his steps faltered slightly.

From his lofty height he cast a glance down, a faint cold hum escaping his nostrils.

His tone laced with sarcasm, "Virtuous Consort truly knows how to bend and stretch."

Wan Tang seemed not to have heard, still bowing her head, keeping her hands clasped in prayer and kneeling on the ground like a statue carved of ice and snow, silent and motionless.

A moment later, Chu Yunzheng stepped out of the hall.

His steps heavy, he halted as he passed Wan Tang.

He merely tossed out a cold remark, as if stating a mundane fact:

"Minghui is with the Empress Mother."

"The old lady misses her granddaughter; she will take her in for two days only."

"You... need not throw a fit here."

Wan Tang snapped her head up, her frozen, pale face bearing an unusually steadfast gaze.

Her voice, trembling slightly from the cold, was crystal clear: "Emperor, I humbly implore you, return Minghui to Changle Palace."

Chu Yunzheng's steps halted, he turned his head aside, a cold curve lifting his lips.

The smile never reached his eyes: "She is the Empress Mother, Minghui's imperial grandmother."

"Grandparent and grandchild closeness, familial joy—what's wrong with that?"

Wan Tang's body trembled subtly, not from the cold but from the unmistakable implication of separation in those words.

Chu Yunzheng watched her stubborn kneeling, his mind a swirl of irritation and rising anger.

Yet he still forced his emotions down, reaching out to help her up.

His tone softened slightly, "Get up, the snow is heavy; you risk freezing your body."

However, Wan Tang sidestepped his hand, still kneeling firmly in place.

She repeated, "Please, Emperor, return Minghui."

That avoidance fully ignited Chu Yunzheng's suppressed fury.

His outstretched hand froze mid‑air, then snapped back sharply.

The last trace of gentleness vanished from his face, replaced by imperial coldness and authority.

"It seems I have indeed spoiled you with my daily indulgence, causing you to be so ungrateful!"

His voice was icy, tinged with indignant anger, "Since you love kneeling so much, then… kneel properly!"

After speaking, he gave her no more glance, brushed his sleeve and turned.

In the instant he turned, Wan Tang's spine, which she had been forcing upright, trembled ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly.

The fine snow grains gradually turned into snowflakes, fluttering and falling silently.

Winter has truly arrived.

【Useless, the Dog Emperor already knows the relationship between you and Xu Yanchuan. He probably won't get through tonight; the paired dossiers will be sent up. Demand Xu Yanchuan's recall and imprisonment in the Heavenly Prison.】

【After all, in their eyes, a mere woman cannot stir any waves. But if it were a man, especially a man wielding a Hundred Thousand Army, the concept is entirely different.】

【But what about Tangtang? Which mother would watch her child being snatched by wolves, eyes wide open, without fear at all?】

Li Ping'er hurried over, holding an umbrella, and upon seeing Wan Tang almost covered in snow, her eyes instantly reddened.

She quickened her steps forward, crouched down, her voice trembling with sobs: "Sister, let's go back! If you keep kneeling, your body will collapse!"

Wan Tang slowly lifted her head, frost gathering on her long eyelashes.

She looked at Li Ping'er and asked only one sentence, her voice so light it was almost scattered by the Fēng xuě: "Minghui… have you returned?"

Li Ping'er choked and shook her head.

Wan Tang no longer looked at her, lowered her eyelids again, straightened her spine, long frozen numb, silently indicating her decision.

Li Ping'er, knowing she could not persuade her, wept and held the umbrella over Wan Tang's head as much as possible, while she herself was half exposed to the snow.

After a while, Xiao Shunzi also ran over through the snow.

His expression anxious, he whispered, "Madam, Nubi begs you, please return first!"

"Deliberate carefully!"

Wan Tang slowly shook her head, her voice hoarse from the cold: "I cannot leave the palace."

She paused, then looked sharply at Xiao Shunzi, "Find an excuse and leave the palace immediately."

"Xu Yanchuan is likely to be urgently recalled to the Capital in a few days."

"The journey will certainly not be peaceful."

"You must make thorough preparations and ensure his safe arrival."

Xiao Shunzi's expression hardened, and he nodded heavily: "Nubi understands!"

"Madam, take care," he said, giving Wan Tang a deep glance as she knelt in the snow, gritting his teeth before turning and disappearing swiftly into the Fēng xuě.

After an unknown amount of time, a pair of palace boots stained with snow stopped before Wan Tang.

Consort Hui did not use an umbrella; snowflakes covered her ink‑black hair and shoulders.

She looked at Wan Tang, offered no extra consolation, and asked in a deep voice: "Has your secret been discovered?"

Wan Tang lifted her eyes, meeting Consort Hui's understanding gaze, and nodded lightly.

Consort Hui was silent for a moment, looking at Wan Tang's lips turned blue‑purple by the cold and her face almost devoid of color.

She suddenly sighed: "Winter has come; it is cold outside."

"Return quickly."

Her tone, unusually, carried a barely perceptible softness: "After spring arrives and the ice and snow melt, you may go out again."

Wan Tang only shook her head, her voice weak yet firm: "Thanks to Sister Hui for caring, I still cannot leave."

Consort Hui stood before her, posture as upright as a pine, and in the Fēng xuě exuded a dignified, unyielding aura of a woman who would not yield to men.

She gave Wan Tang a deep glance, then suddenly raised her hand and removed the ink‑black, gold‑threaded brocade cloak she wore.

The swift motion draped the cloak over Wan Tang's nearly frozen body, and she carefully fastened the sash.

She looked at Wan Tang, her eyes complex, bearing a hint of emotion, a hint of helplessness, and a trace of pity she herself had not yet recognized:

"This is why I would rather grow old alone than be accompanied."

Her voice, wavering in the Fēng xuě, said, "Having ties is like handing a knife directly into the enemy's hand."

She gave a self‑deprecating smile, the smile carrying a world‑worn bleakness yet also an unwavering resolve:

"Enough."

"It must be that in my previous life I owed you."

Having said that, she did not linger, and turned resolutely.

She stepped on the deep snow, walking farther step by step; her silhouette, amid the swirling snow, was solitary, upright, and steadfast.

In the Yangxin Hall, candles burned brightly, yet they could not dispel the gloom clouding Chu Yunzheng's brows.

He stood by the window with his arms crossed, watching the snow outside fall ever more fiercely.

His gaze pierced the Fēng xuě, as if he could see the figure still stubbornly kneeling outside the hall.

His expression, complex and unreadable, unexpectedly revealed a hint of sorrow he himself had never noticed.

Xiao Dongzi stepped forward quietly, cautiously reporting, "Emperor, Virtuous Consort is still kneeling outside."

"The snow is falling so heavily that a layer is almost covering her body."

Chu Yunzheng remained still, silent for a moment, then whispered, "She was already chilled in the Cold Palace; she fears the cold most…"

Xiao Dongzi's eyes lit up at the words, thinking the Emperor had softened, and hurriedly continued, "Indeed, Your Majesty, in this bitter cold, how can the Lady's golden body endure?"

"Perhaps let the Lady come in first to warm herself; whatever she wishes to say…"

"Then let her stay kneeling."

Chu Yunzheng abruptly cut him off, his voice cold and hard, bearing a petulant resolve.

He slowly turned, his face devoid of any warmth, only the cold and self‑mockery born of betrayal and scheming.

"She is so clever, her methods so formidable; why would she still need my protection?"

He twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a bitter, mocking smile: "She is too capable…"

"Perhaps even I, in her eyes, am merely a pawn she can manipulate at will."