Chapter 289: Heart Like an Abyss

The guard stepped forward and bowed: "Empress Dowager, please return to the palace."

The Empress Dowager trembled all over, yet let out a cold laugh: "Do you think you've won?"

She swept past the bowed guards and said, "Even if these Nubi obey you, do you think the Emperor is truly as simple as you imagine?"

"Under his very nose, you still dare to be so brazen?"

"Do you truly believe he loves you so much that he can indulge you in anything?"

"How could you know what I'm thinking?" Wan Tang said calmly, "I've never found him simple."

"Let alone love."

Seeing the Empress Dowager still wearing a mocking expression, Wan Tang added slowly, "What I did today was never meant to be hidden from the Emperor."

The Empress Dowager's expression changed abruptly.

Wan Tang smiled lightly, "Do you think he would enjoy being constantly bossed around forever?"

She was the previous season's palace‑intrigue champion, never fearing the scheming of those ladies.

But what Wan Tang was referring to…

The Empress Dowager suddenly realized and shouted harshly, "Poisonous woman!"

Wan Tang was too lazy to listen to her insults and waved her hand indifferently.

The guard forced her into the Gongmen.

The heavy Gongmen closed.

Faintly, one could still hear from inside the Empress Dowager's unwilling roar.

The quarrels among women were nothing but petty jealousy, all to get a little closer to the Dragon Bed.

In the long run, it's merely about having offspring and fighting for the Crown Prince's position for them.

But the truly terrifying part…

Has never been the petty games between women and children.

Rather, it's that ruler's lofty, unapproachable oversight and scheming…

【Old witch, serves you right, seeing her like this makes me feel thrilled.】

【Actually, whether Chu Yunzheng knows Wan Tang's actions or not makes no difference. After all, Chu Yunzheng was already dissatisfied with the Empress Dowager, and today daring to publicly scheme against his daughter, his heart must have already harbored murderous intent.】

【But he is an Emperor, after all!】

【Indeed, he's an extremely hypocritical Emperor. He wants everything, gives her a good reputation, as long as Wan Tang can kill with relish, as long as she can live carefree.】

Wan Tang gave a bitter smile.

She had no notion of being carefree at all.

From the beginning to now, her starting point has always been just one.

To survive herself.

To have the people she cares about survive.

To live.

That became her sole obsession within the palace.

Night deepened, and the palace lamps flickered.

Wan Tang was already ready to retire.

The room opened, and Fēng xuě surged in.

Chu Yunzheng stepped into the hall, his gaze scanning everywhere; not seeing Minghui, he couldn't help but be surprised.

"Today I'm feeling a bit unwell, and since Hui Jiejie is so concerned about Minghui, let Little Luzi deliver it," Wan Tang said with a gentle smile, explaining softly.

Upon learning Minghui had gone to Hui Guifei's place, Chu Yunzheng simply nodded, "Going to Hui Guifei is fine."

He took Wan Tang's hand, "Today's matter has wronged you."

"I am not wronged," Wan Tang lowered her eyes.

"I am not incompetent," he said steadily, "I will surely protect you all."

"Be it the Northern Border or Bei Yue, anyone daring to insult the Emperor's daughter is dreaming," Chu Yunzheng said, his eyes filled with Yin Zhi.

Wan Tang even thought, this has nothing to do with Minghui.

Even if today the marriage proposal isn't for Minghui but for another same‑age Princess, Chu Yunzheng would still act the same.

After all, this slap is aimed at the Emperor's own face.

Wan Tang pretended not to know, leaning on his shoulder with a light laugh, "Emperor's brilliance and might are blessings for me and Minghui."

Warm palm gently brushed her abdomen, Chu Yunzheng's voice tinged with laughter, "When Minghui has a younger brother, see who dares to bully her."

In the candlelight, Wan Tang rested gently on his shoulder, a fragrant scent lingering in her hair.

"All matters of the Imperial harem are yours," he ran his hand over her dark hair, "State affairs are busy; I trust you can handle them properly."

"From now on, you need not report every matter."

Chu Yunzheng's eyes were full of indulgence.

"Is this compensation from the Emperor?" Wan Tang's lips curled in a smile, her voice tinged with a hint of pride.

Yet her face showed not a hint of affection.

Only caution and restraint.

"No," he said, looking down at her, his gaze deep, "It's a reward."

The curtain swayed lightly, warmth pulsing.

If there weren't an unborn child in her womb, it would probably have been another night of indulgent revelry.

The door opened, cold air surged in, and the room suddenly grew much colder.

Watching the actions that love herself, it was still a bit faster than Chu Yunzheng said.

No problem.

In the end, the outcome is the same, so that's fine.

Wan Tang lay on the bed, constantly feeling cold.

Even though the little servant had already added silver carbon and extra bedding, and her body was already damp with fine sweat, she still felt cold.

Her hands and feet couldn't stop trembling.

The daughter is ultimately a Princess of the Fengqi Kingdom; Wan Tang can leave, but she cannot.

If I weren't here, I truly can't imagine what Minghui would be like.

That night, Wan Tang ultimately lost sleep.

【Dog Emperor, Dog man, indeed the only way to vent emotions is this.】

【Otherwise why call him a dog man? He only knows how to howl at women.】

【Just a second ago he said he loved Wan Tang, and now he's still on a sixteen‑year‑old fangirl, using force?】

【Disgusting! Refuse to watch.】

The Barrage's sound kept broadcasting real‑time battle updates about Chu Yunzheng.

Wan Tang kept her eyes open until dawn.

She simply threw on a cloak and stood by the window.

Her gaze couldn't help but look at the Ginkgo tree.

Snow piled on the branches, truly another scene.

Foot of the mountain.

A small farmhouse courtyard.

Just as the bell rang, Su Yanci rose to practice swordsmanship.

Wearing a coarse cloth robe, his long sword traced a cold arc in the courtyard.

Though his attire was simple, the elegance in his features could not be concealed.

The mute woman leaned by the door and watched for a long time, smile evident in the corners of her eyes and brows.

She pinched a handkerchief and stepped forward, intending to wipe the fine sweat from his forehead.

Su Yanci sheathed his sword, stepped back half a pace, and smoothly avoided, "No need to trouble you, miss."

The mute woman was not annoyed, gesturing with both hands in concern.

"You mean my wound is no longer serious?"

She nodded forcefully and made a few more gestures.

"So I can choose to stay, or to leave?"

Seeing her nod again, Su Yanci's brows flickered with a hint of complexity.

Upon careful calculation, he had been recuperating here for over two months.

When Wan Tang left, she was not entirely comatose, only the injuries were too severe—she could not speak, could not move her hands.

But he heard Wan Tang's words clearly.

This, perhaps also rebirth.

Now here, a single stay already amounts to two months.

One would think that the Su Yanci famed throughout the Capital has long been dead!

Leave?

Su Yanci looked at the mute woman.

Over two months, she never left, caring for him day and night. This friendship, even a fool could see it.

If she took the silver money Wan Tang left, that would be fine.

But she did not.

Pure as wild chrysanthemums by the roadside, not the most beautiful, yet possessing the gentlest medicinal property.

Even if she cannot be a primary wife, at least a concubine is deserved.

"Miss, I will never forget the debt of your rescue," he said in a low voice, "In theory, I should offer my body to repay this kindness."

"But…"

He gazed at those clear eyes, and finally spoke with difficulty: "My heart already belongs to someone; I truly cannot do it."

The light in the mute woman's eyes dimmed.

She silently removed the faded bracelet from her wrist and gently placed it in his palm.

She made a few more gestures.

She gave it.

Su Yanci stared at the old bracelet in his hand, thoughts swirling.

In that place where every step is hard, is it still okay?

Su Yanci's face showed a hint of pain as he forced the bracelet onto his own hand.

The mute woman was slightly startled, but said nothing.

She merely stepped back, keeping a more appropriate distance between them.

Capital, Imperial City.

Outside Cining Palace, guards' spears crossed.

"Empress Dowager, please return; not letting you go out is also a kindness!"

"Mainly Imperial Noble Consort worries about the snow being slippery; in case you fall."

"How audacious!" Empress Dowager's phoenix eyes held authority, "I want to see my own son; when is it your turn to block?"

Unfortunately, that guard just stood there unmoving.

It seemed he couldn't feel the Empress Dowager's fury in the slightest.

"You... you..." the Empress Dowager was not lightly angry.

She pulled off a golden hairpin and pressed it to her throat: "Do you intend to let me die before you?"

Her chest heaved violently with anger.

Yet she also deeply knew that the situation was already lost.

Now everything had already become a world apart from the past.

Moreover, after a night of contemplation, Wan Tang's words proved to be the truth.

At last, the palace doors opened.

Chu Yunzheng looked up from the memorials, smiling as he greeted: "Mother Empress, why have you come?"

He personally assisted, his brows and eyes gentle, "But were the Guanren's attentions insufficient?"

The Empress Dowager touched her temple, her voice weary: "Emperor, I am old now."

"I have been trapped in this deep palace for half my life; now I only wish to find a pure temple, to pray to Buddha daily."

"It would also be good to pray for the Emperor and for the Fengqi Kingdom."

Leaving the Imperial Palace already signaled that the Empress Dowager was yielding, unwilling to continue being drawn into the conflict.

Chu Yunzheng, however, gave no answer to this request.

Chu Yunzheng held the teapot, pouring tea, his tone deferential: "If Mother Empress wishes to convalesce, I will order the repair of the Huguo Temple."

"Whatever Mother Empress desires, I shall gladly fulfill, never allowing her to suffer the slightest grievance."

Chu Yunzheng spoke as such.

But the Empress Dowager felt a tingling on her back.

She could only steel herself and cope.

"Since the Emperor has approved, that is naturally best," she seized the moment: "Then I shall return to the palace to settle matters and depart from today onward."

Chu Yunzheng neither said good nor bad, but suddenly clapped his hands.

Xiao Dongzi brought a copper basin; the charcoal crackled, raising a faint wisp of smoke.

"These are medicinal herbs grown in Consort Chen's courtyard," Chu Yunzheng said, holding tongs to stir the charcoal, "they are said to be life‑saving."

"While warming myself once, I unintentionally dropped a leaf into the fire basin," he said.

"To my surprise, the burning produced a remarkable effect, which truly shocked me at the time."

"I have wanted to invite Mother Empress to try it together, but being busy, I never found the chance."

Chu Yunzheng's words were airtight: "Mother Empress happens to be here today, so I will promptly pay my respects to her."

The Empress Dowager instinctively leaned back, but gradually the exotic fragrance captured her.

She felt all worries melt away, as if drifting toward transcendence.

"Good, truly good," a blush rose at the corners of her eyes, "even I have never smelled such a wonderful scent."

"The point is, its medicinal effect is unique; I have had a pounding headache today, and now it has eased."

"Consort Chen is truly capable; with her looking after the Emperor, I feel at ease."

Chu Yunzheng gazed at his mother's entranced face, softly ordering: "Collect the remaining charcoal carefully and send the Empress Dowager back to the palace."

When the palace doors closed, a chill spread across his smile.

And that pot of intoxicating charcoal was being respectfully carried to Cining Palace.

【My heavens, what did Chu Yunzheng give? Can this thing also be used for warming?】

【If used medically, it truly is the best analgesic. But to use it for that drifting sensation, that is truly an irreversible damnation.】

【I remember clearly, when Wan Tang first cultivated it, she told Chu Yunzheng explicitly about its pros and cons.】

【The point is, she repeatedly warned that it must not be cultivated on a large scale; it can only be used medicinally.】

【He... how ruthless!】

Wan Tang's complexion changed abruptly upon hearing this.

She burst out of the palace doors, disregarding the pressing snow, and kept scrabbling in the garden.

At last she found that plant.

She ripped it out violently.

"Your Highness..." Xiao Luzi was quite frightened, hurried out: "What are you doing?"

"Take care of your body!"

"You are currently pregnant."

Wan Tang seemed not to hear, her eyes fixed intently on the plant in her hand.

Her voice trembled terrifyingly: "Quick, bury this deep underground; do not, do not let it appear in the palace again."