Chapter 354: The Ruler of the World Has Arrived

The delivery room door swung open, and the heavy creak was especially grating.

Wan Tang walked out.

She showed no expression on her face, her eyes hollow, and she limped outward.

Chu Yunzheng stood nearby, and seeing her like that, his heart sank.

There was no longer that bright, flamboyant woman in the world.

Wan Tang looked at the dark sky, struggled to speak: "Sister, she's gone."

Jingren Palace, everyone mourned.

Xiao Dongzi hurried out.

High‑pitched voices rose, and from outside the palace a deep bell tolled, one after another, slow and heavy.

"Hui Guifei has passed away…"

Wan Tang seemed not to hear the bell, and she ignored Chu Yunzheng before her.

She only dragged her injured leg, stepped to the midwife, and silently extended both hands.

The midwife, shaken by the tragic aura around her, carefully placed the swaddling cloth into her arms.

Wan Tang lowered her head, looking at the wrinkled, still‑sleeping baby in her arms.

She saw in his brows and eyes a faint trace belonging to Hui Guifei.

And that mouth was exactly like Xiao Chuan's.

The tears she had held back finally burst, large drops splashing onto the baby's swaddling cloth.

Chu Yunzheng watched the scene, opened his mouth, and trembling, reached out to touch Wan Tang.

But as his hand was about to reach her, Wan Tang pulled away.

"Take the Little Prince to Kunning Palace," Wan Tang said first, her voice hoarse and unquestionable, "I will raise him myself."

Chu Yunzheng's brows immediately knit, displeased, "Empress, does this violate the rules?"

What bothered Chu Yunzheng more was that now these matters didn't even need his consultation?

"Rules?" Wan Tang snapped her head up, tears still wet, "I am the Empress, the principal mother of the inner palace; raising the Prince is fully legitimate."

"This is ancestral law, also Palace Rules. I see no Bushi."

Every word she uttered rang like metal, exuding a chilling aura.

Chu Yunzheng was stunned by the sting; the woman before him still had the same brows and eyes, yet she was a world apart from the woman who once filled his sight.

Wan Tang's every word was justified, leaving no room for rebuttal.

The matter was indeed reasonable; the only irritating part was Wan Tang's attitude—did she even consider the Emperor in her eyes?

Chu Yunzheng snorted coldly through his nostrils and turned to leave.

"Emperor." Wan Tang spoke.

Chu Yunzheng suddenly turned back, a strange feeling in his heart, an indescribable anticipation.

Unfortunately, Wan Tang's tone remained firm: "Hui Jiejie is gone; I hope the Emperor keeps his promise to her and does not renege."

"I do not need the Empress's reminder!"

Chu Yunzheng's voice turned cold, his eyes indifferent: "And the Empress, why did she just return from Baoguo Temple?"

Between them, the last thread of affection was frozen by mutual indifference.

Wan Tang scoffed: "Emperor, your reach is boundless; whatever I encountered in Baoguo Temple, could the Emperor not know?"

"Hmph!" Chu Yunzheng's face warmed with anger: "The Empress truly is no longer as before; she only makes me feel unfamiliar."

"Perhaps you and I have never truly known each other." Wan Tang regarded the lord before her as if he were a passerby.

Chu Yunzheng's gaze was shocking, his hand couldn't help but clench, hearing the baby's cries in his arms, he gritted his teeth hard: "Today I think of your grief, and your reckless words."

"When tonight passes, I will see the you of old."

Wan Tang pressed her lips tight and gave no reply.

Watching Chu Yunzheng leave Jingren Palace, she then held the child, stepping slowly, struggling to depart.

Kunning Palace.

Because of Ning Daying and Hui Guifei's affairs, most people were in Jingren Palace.

Only two palace lanterns burned alone.

Wan Tang refused the Guanren's lantern keeper, and would not allow anyone to follow; she held the child herself and walked toward the sleeping chambers.

In the courtyard, the Ginkgo tree's leaves fell and fluttered in the night, covering the ground in gold.

A slender figure stood silently in the shadows.

Even clad in night‑cloaked garb, a single glance was enough for Wan Tang to recognize Su Yanci.

She held the child and stepped closer.

It seemed that the nearer she got to that person, the more her shattered heart could be mended.

She gazed at the other, her voice both light and heavy: "Now, do you understand why I must return?"

The person beneath the tree gave no reply, only becoming more solitary.

Wan Tang lowered her head, gazing affectionately at the baby in her arms, a bitter smile appearing: "When the realm changes hands, there must first be a master; only then can we have a backbone."

She lifted her eyes, all tender emotion hidden in her gaze: "Now the master is in my womb; great matters can be accomplished."

Su Yanci stepped forward at her words, emotions slightly agitated.

"So, the child you have been waiting for is Hui Guifei's?"

"Hui Jiejie's child is my child, the child of my Mo Family." Wan Tang spoke each word deliberately, unwavering.

Su Yanci's face was full of incomprehension: "But you should know, everyone's supporter is you!"

Speaking, his gaze slowly dropped, landing on Wan Tang's lower abdomen.

Wan Tang suddenly feels a pang in her heart, and her eyes reveal an unmistakable sorrow.

Voice trembling: "After Yan Wang's arrow, I can never have children again…"

Su Yanci suddenly lifts their head, eyes fixed on Wan Tang.

Their arms keep trembling, ultimately unable to take that step, they step forward two paces and stand before Wan Tang.

She lowers her head, looking at the child in the swaddling cloth.

Seeing that mouth, her eyes panic, then instantly calm.

In a low voice she asks: "The ruler of the world chosen by the Empress must surely be the most suitable candidate."

"But now the Empress has suddenly returned, the Emperor will inevitably become suspicious; have you thought about how to respond?"

Wan Tang's emotions remain steady: "This day will come sooner or later; it only speeds everything up."

"If I don't return today, Bai Li will not let this child go."

Su Yanci, surprised, asks: "Does she still intend to harm the Imperial Heir?"

"No!" Wan Tang says icily: "Bai Li cannot bear a healthy child; only by having a child under her knee can she ascend to the Empress position."

"Do you truly think she harms her own body merely to target a small Answering?"

Wan Tang's face turns pale, anger burning in her eyes: "This child—don't even think of letting Bai Li raise it for a while; even spending a quarter hour alone with her is unacceptable!"

The last two words, Wan Tang said with too much force.

Su Yanci takes a deep breath, their gaze at Wan Tang full of heartache.

Yet also understands that this is not a moment for tenderness: "I will handle everything."

"Go then!"

Wan Tang's tone deepens: "I don't trust others; I need two masters who can constantly protect the child."

Su Yanci looks at the child, as if looking at their own blood relative: "Rest assured, I will arrange it personally."

"Hmm!"

Wan Tang's tone softens, she looks at Su Yanci, a bitter smile on her face: "You can easily see that everyone will have something to attend to."

"They are the ones who stir up the trouble; haven't they been guessing what I intend to do all along?"

"No more guessing; now, I will let them know."