Chapter 442: So I Call Her My Mother‑in‑Law—What

Ting Yu Xuan, Han Xing returned, saying there was no news about Wuhen; as soon as the words fell, a figure gracefully descended.

A few people stared, and to their astonishment it was Wuhen.

Their reactions were quite surprised; evidently they hadn't expected Wuhen to appear at this moment.

After recovering, Han Xing, Leng Yue, and Bai Bing sensibly entered the room, leaving the spacious courtyard to Ye Qingran and Wuhen.

Ye Qingran stared steadily at Wuhen.

Wuhen showed no change, exactly the same as before the departure.

Seeing him again, she suddenly felt that the current Wuhen seemed, like the former Fu Hanxiu, to give her an unfathomably mysterious impression...

Moreover, for some unknown reason, during his absence she missed him, but after Fu Hanxiu returned, that longing seemed to have ceased.

It was as if he had already returned.

This was undoubtedly a strange experience.

It felt as if Wuhen and Fu Hanxiu could replace each other.

"You've returned?"

Ye Qingran gave a faint smile and glided toward him with graceful steps.

The two were within arm's reach. Wuhen reached out to grasp her waist, but she evaded.

She curved the corners of her lips in a half‑smile, "Is there nothing you wish to tell me?"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left without saying goodbye."

Ye Qingran let out an "oh", lightly nodded, "So you know you left without informing anyone."

The man she liked, without a word, vanished for a while, then reappeared.

Whether others could accept it, she didn't know; she simply disliked this experience.

"Won't you explain?"

She looked up at him, gazing straight into his eyes.

Wuhen's eyes were somewhat similar to Fu Hanxiu's.

But the colors of their pupils differed.

Fu Hanxiu's pupils were ink‑black, like an Abyss—deep and mysterious. Wuhen's pupils were brown, exuding a different charm.

These two pairs of eyes overlapped remarkably in her mind.

Wuhen pursed his lips.

Wuhen didn't know what to say.

Wuhen didn't want to tell more lies, yet dared not speak the truth.

This feeling caused Wuhen pain.

Wuhen was never normally a conflicted person; even when facing life‑or‑death choices, he never hesitated.

But when confronting Ye Qingran, Wuhen considered many things, becoming unlike himself.

Perhaps because Wuhen's mind was now in turmoil, Ye Qingran increasingly felt that aside from this face, Wuhen was a mistaken impression of Fu Hanxiu!

Her gaze flickered.

In her mind, memories of Wuhen and Fu Hanxiu surged and intertwined, and the two silhouettes kept overlapping.

Her gaze grew ever more profound.

"Actually..."

Before she could finish, Ye Qingran interrupted.

"Sit down first and have a cup of tea."

She took his hand and walked toward the stone table beneath the tree, elegantly brewing a cup of tea for Wuhen.

"Why are you so nervous? I'm not blaming you. If you don't want to speak, don't speak now; when you're ready, tell me."

Ye Qingran pushed the tea cup before him, propping her chin with one hand, a considerate smile on her face.

Wuhen was startled.

Wuhen wondered why he felt Ye Qingran seemed to have become a different person all of a sudden.

Nevertheless, her words gave Wuhen a chance to catch his breath.

Wuhen lifted the tea cup and took a light sip.

Ye Qingran, who personally witnessed Wuhen drinking the tea, flashed a sharp gleam in her eyes.

Xiqi Mountain, the site of the Imperial Tomb.

The terrain here stretches endlessly, with magnificent mountains and rivers, and a dragon vein buried underground.

Back then, Dingyuan Marquis Yun Sui Feng, due to his illustrious war achievements, was granted a special honor by the Donglin Emperor and was interred in the Imperial Tomb.

In the blink of an eye, nearly ten years had passed.

On this day, the sky was clear and bright, a sunny day.

Ye Qingran stood before Yun Sui Feng's tombstone and respectfully bowed three times.

Although Yun Sui Feng was not her biological mother in the true sense, since she inherited this body, she became her mother.

Yun Sui Feng's appearance fulfilled her long‑standing wish to have a family of parents.

Even though she had never seen this so‑called mother with her own eyes, she still held her image in memory.

"Xiao Hu, Xiao Chen, come here."

Ye Qingran waved, and the two children hurried over.

"The one living here is your grandmother; could you bow to grandma?"

"Grandmother?"

The two children had no concept of a grandmother.

"Grandmother is my mother's mother."

Ye Qingran gently explained.

As they savored the meaning behind the sentence, Xiaohu Xiaocheng's eyes showed a hint of sadness.

Grandmother is my mother's mother; Grandmother has passed away, so my mother must be very sad, right?

After all, they have never dared to imagine what kind of gloom their lives would fall into if one day their mother left them.

They clenched Ye Qingran's hand.

Ye Qingran knew what they were thinking, but she did not explain much, only patting their heads.

She really didn't want them, at this age, to receive so much information about life and death.

The two children knelt together and respectfully kowtowed three times.

"Grandmother, although Xiao Hu has never seen you, Xiao Hu knows you must be the best grandmother in the world! So Xiao Hu will forever respect you and love you, and hopes that your spirit in heaven can be happy, and also bless my mother to be happy and healthy!"

"Grandmother, my name is Fu Qianchen, I am my mother's child. I only learned today that you are my mother's mother. To have given birth to such an outstanding daughter, you must be especially, especially outstanding! Unfortunately, Xiao Chen does not have the honor of meeting you, to call you 'Grandmother' in front of you."

Children's words have always been the truest.

In the innocent tones of the two children, there was a deep respect and affection for this never‑met grandmother.

It makes one hear it and can't help but have tears well up.

Ye Qingran pursed her lips, looked at the children, then at the tombstone.

Yet a flash of deep meaning passed through her eyes.

Yun Sui Feng, is she really already gone?

Just as the two children stood up, a voice came from behind them.

"Mother-in-law, please receive a bow from your young son‑in‑law."

Mother‑in‑law?

Young son‑in‑law?

Everyone opened their mouths and turned to look.

Fu Hanxiu, wearing a black long robe, had a solemn expression.

He walked to the spot where Xiaohu Xiaocheng had just knelt and bowed three times.

Han Xing Leng Yue and the others were slightly startled.

The Emperor Sovereign, who sits atop the summit of the deer hunt, would one day lower his dignity and bow to others?

I have to say, this is a rare sight.

She watched him finish bowing with her eyes wide open, and only then did Ye Qingran come to her senses.

What's going on?

Fu Hanxiu, which act is this?

"Emperor Sovereign, did you take a wrong turn?"

"No," Fu Hanxiu denied.

"But this is my mother's tomb..."

"I know," Fu Hanxiu nodded.

You damn know, and you're still babbling nonsense here?

What mother‑in‑law? What young son‑in‑law?

It sounds as if they were already married!

"Are they your children?"

"Yes!"

"Are they my children?"

"... Yes."

"Then if I call you mother‑in‑law, what's the problem?"

Ye Qingran: "......"

Can't explain!

"Fine, do as you wish." Ye Qingran, already exhausted of retorting, simply turned her gaze back to the tomb behind the tombstone and instructed Qin Feng and the others standing nearby: "Open the tomb."

After speaking, she also ordered Bai Bing: "Take Xiaohu Xiaocheng back."

In a tomb chamber like this, the yin energy is too heavy; it's best the children not go in.

Xiao Chen and Xiao Hu didn't cause a fuss, and obediently followed Bai Bing away.

Back then, Yun Sui Feng's tomb chamber was arranged and built by the Imperial Clan; Donglin Emperor had the blueprints and mechanism layout, and Ye Qingran had already obtained them.

Therefore, opening the tomb posed no obstacle for her.

The massive stone doors slid aside to both sides, emitting a deafening roar and raising clouds of dust.

Soon, the noise faded, and the entrance, like a giant beast opening its massive jaws, led into the endless Abyss, causing an involuntary sense of unknown fear.