It was late at night.

Inside the Chenghua Hall of the Qin Prince's Mansion, the lights were still on full display.

Since waking up, he has ordered the royal army stationed throughout Western Qin to do everything in their power to find out news of Yi Shangyun.

However, to this day, no news has been received.

The thought that Yi Shangyun shouldn't be pregnant, but was actually pregnant, made him feel even more guilty and worried to the point of madness.

But gradually, Xuanyuan Han frowned and began to doubt himself.

"Could it be that all of this was merely my own delusion? Zhang Zhiyuan never brought any news that Yun'er was still alive while I was unconscious?!"

However, compared to this, he was obviously even more unable to accept the fact that Yi Shangyun had passed away.

"Impossible, impossible..."

"Yun'er can't die. She's a descendant of the Guardians, protected by the mysterious power of their lineage. She's so kind, so strong. She would never die so easily. No, she wouldn't..."

In a moment of desperation and anger, he lost his temper for the first time in his life and forcefully overturned everything on the table in front of him.

In the vast, silent hall, a series of crackling sounds suddenly rang out.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang, the deputy general guarding the door, felt both heartache and helplessness.

Never before had he seen his master so angry. Unexpectedly, Xuan Yuanhan had just ordered that no one was allowed to enter the palace to disturb him, so he could only silently guard the palace gate.

I was really worried and didn't know what to do.

At this moment, Consort Chun arrived at Chenghua Palace with Huan'er and happened to witness this scene.

Seeing the Dowager Consort arrive so late at night, Cheng Liang quickly straightened up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Your Highness, it's so late, why are you here so late..."

Before he could finish speaking, Consort Chun suddenly raised her hand to stop him and asked softly, "It's already so late, Your Highness, have you not yet retired? I see that the lights in Chenghua Palace are still on."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Liangdun regained his previous bitter expression and shook his head: "Zhang Zhiyuan has gone back on his word and denied what he whispered to Your Highness at the Prince's residence that day. The Prince's army has still not found any news of the Princess Consort. The Princess Consort is still pregnant, and Your Highness is so worried about this that he can't eat or sleep day and night. He's throwing a tantrum again now!"

Consort Chun glanced towards the interior of the hall and sighed softly.

Then she said to Huan'er beside her, "You wait here, I'll go in and take a look myself!"

Cheng Liang then took the tea tray from Huan'er and entered the main hall with Consort Chun.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he heard footsteps, Xuan Yuanhan shouted loudly.

"go out!"

"Who allowed you to come in!"

"Don't bother me, all of you!"

"Get out!"

Until he heard Consort Chun's voice: "My son has quite a temper. What, can't even his mother come in?"

Upon hearing the voice, Xuanyuan Han stopped talking and quickly stepped forward to bow, saying, "Mother, what brings you here?"

"In the dead of night, the prince made such a commotion in the mansion that it could probably be heard for miles around."

As Consort Chun spoke, she came in and saw that Xuan Yuanhan looked haggard. She felt sorry for him and went over to stroke his face.

He said incredulously, "This...this...how did it all get like this?"

Then, she turned to Cheng Liang, who had just entered the hall with her and was immediately squatting down to clean up the mess, and sternly rebuked him: "General Cheng, how are you taking care of your prince? If I hadn't come tonight, would his prince have fallen ill again? If this continues, can you bear the responsibility?"

Cheng Liang hurriedly knelt down and admitted his mistake: "It's all my fault. I failed to take good care of Your Highness. Please punish me, Your Highness!"

Seeing that Consort Chun looked serious, fearing that she really intended to punish him, Xuan Yuanhan said anxiously, "Have you finished the things I just asked you to do? What are you still standing here for? Hurry up and do them."

Cheng Liang knew that this was his master protecting him, so he agreed, "Yes, I will do it right away!"

So he left, carrying the mess he had just cleaned up.

Consort Chun immediately saw through Xuan Yuanhan's thoughts and said, "What errand is he running in the middle of the night? What, are you afraid of being punished by your mother, so you quickly sent him away!"

Xuanyuan Han then spoke to Consort Chun, explaining, "Mother, this is not Cheng Liang's fault. Please don't blame him. Your son... Your son..."

How could she not know her own son? Consort Chun gradually softened her stern expression and began to gently persuade him.

"Alright, I know you're worried sick and taking care of yourself because we still haven't found the Princess. But have you ever thought about what would happen if you fell ill? How would we find the Princess then?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Han looked into Consort Chun's eyes and asked quite seriously, "Does Mother also believe that Yun'er... is still alive?"

Consort Chun pulled Xuan Yuanhan to sit down and said slowly, "I have always believed that Yun'er is a lucky person. She has experienced so much hardship and danger, and every time she has managed to turn misfortune into good fortune. So how could she not do it this time?"

Xuanyuan Han listened, but he was still worried.

Consort Chun continued, "She is a descendant of the Guardians and has the responsibility to protect all living beings. She would not perish so easily!"

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Handun's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Consort Chun's face once more, exclaiming, "Mother?"

Consort Chun looked at him firmly, not allowing him to doubt her any longer: "My son, do not hide it from your mother any longer. Perhaps, your mother knew even earlier than you that she is the descendant of the guardian who has been lost to our Western Qin for many years!"

Xuanyuan Han asked, puzzled, "When did you find out, Mother?"

Consort Chun did not answer his question immediately, but instead picked up the soup bowl she had brought and stirred it gently a couple of times.

She handed it to Xuanyuan Han and said with heartache, "You've just recovered from a serious illness. You've been too anxious and upset because of this matter. This is a Four Gods Soup that your mother personally cooked for you. Drink this soup first!"

Seeing that Xuanyuan Han finally obeyed and took the bowl of soup, he slowly drank it.

Recalling the past, Consort Chun slowly said, "Actually, my mother already knew back in Peach Blossom Village! However, she was completely unaware of her own special identity. Later, before we even knew her feelings, we parted ways in haste..."

Recalling those days spent together, only to part ways so hastily in the end, Consort Chun felt deep regret: "At that time, my mother thought that I would never see her again in this lifetime."

But who would have thought that the world, though not so big, would be so small, that the two of them would meet again, and this meeting brought her both joy and surprise.

"After all the twists and turns, I never expected that she would become my daughter-in-law! My mother is both happy and scared!"

"My mother is truly happy for my son, that he has married such a wonderful princess."

"She is indeed very good—kind, brave, resolute, and upright. She is the best woman Mother Consort has ever met, surpassing any noblewoman."

"But Mother is also terrified. She is afraid that once her identity is exposed, you, my son, will become the target of everyone's hatred and be hated by all the eyes of the world."

"So initially, Mother Consort wanted her to leave you voluntarily..."

Having said that, Xuanyuan Han firmly stated his position, saying, "Mother, don't think about it anymore. Now that I have chosen her, she is the only one for me in this life. Even if it costs me my life, I will not hesitate."

Consort Chun sighed heavily and said, "I fear that the truth will eventually come out. The guardian belongs only to the Emperor!"

At this moment, Xuanyuan Han suddenly blurted out: "But what if the current emperor is not the true emperor?"

Upon hearing this, Consort Chun looked utterly astonished and asked, "What did you say?"

Xuanyuan Han stared fixedly ahead, saying nothing more.

Consort Chun was indeed shocked by this news.

But putting everything else aside for now, if you think about what happened next, what she found even more unbelievable was the conclusion.

"If...if the real emperor isn't the one in the palace, then only..."

Consort Chun dared not think any further.

After a long while, she weakly said, "In that case, the guardian can only belong to you, my son."

At this point, Xuanyuan Han finally spoke again, saying, "She can only belong to me alone. No one else dares to try and take her away from me!"

However, Consort Chun seemed to be deep in thought, slowly shaking her head repeatedly: "No, no..."

Upon seeing this, Xuanyuan Han asked, "What's wrong?"

As Consort Chun recalled, she said, "Although the Guardian can only serve the Emperor, she cannot be favored by him. Back then, your father defied ancestral rules and, after seeing the Guardian's portrait, became obsessed with her. He even disregarded everyone's objections and wanted to bring her into the harem as a concubine. This led to the Guardian being lost in an accident on her way to the palace. Without the Guardian, your father became increasingly depressed and eventually passed away!"

Xuanyuan Han refused to believe that the Guardian's accident was due to this reason, and retorted, "The Guardian must have been ambushed and lost back then, how could it be because of Father? If it weren't for Yun'er, what use would I have for this world?"

Seeing that he was determined to go his own way, just like the late emperor, Consort Chun anxiously tried to persuade him further: "My son... you must never repeat your father's mistakes. Don't you understand that perhaps Yun'er's departure this time was caused by your actions? For the sake of all the people, you must never..."

However, Xuanyuan Han remained obstinate and refused to listen to reason, saying, "Mother, it's late, you should go back to Zihe Pavilion to rest! Your son should also rest!"

Consort Chun looked at his suddenly resolute face, but still tried to persuade him: "My son..."

Unexpectedly, Xuanyuan Han walked away from Chenghua Hall first.