At this moment, Hongli's heart was pounding, because he was unsure of Yushan's choice. They were from two different worlds; he couldn't truly be by her side. And what about her? Would she be with Fu Qing?

He desperately wanted to know Yu Shan's answer, but the moment she spoke, his consciousness suddenly vanished, and Yu Shan's figure disappeared instantly. When Hongli regained his senses, he found himself in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Logically, he should sleep longer at night, so the dream should be longer. But tonight, he woke up as soon as he saw Yu Shan. Hongli felt strange and subconsciously looked at the ring on his hand. His heart skipped a beat because the ring was gone!

The nervous Hongli immediately got out of the tent and was surprised to find that there was someone sitting at the table, it was the Empress Dowager!

"Your Majesty? What brings you to my bedchamber in the dead of night?"

The Empress Dowager slowly turned her head, her expression somewhat sinister as she looked at him. "If I hadn't come soon, you would have lost your life!"

The sharp-eyed Hongli immediately noticed that she was clutching the opal ring in her hand, and he instantly became alert.

"What are you doing with the ring? Give it to me!"

His eyes changed instantly, and the Empress Dowager became even more suspicious. "Emperor, why do you value this ring so much?"

Hongli immediately stood up and walked towards the Empress Dowager. He was unwilling to explain further and solemnly declared, "This has nothing to do with you. Give it back to me!"

The Empress Dowager assumed that the ring was possessed by a demon, and that her recent haggard appearance was all due to the ring. She forbade her from wearing it again!

"Mind your own business! Give me back the ring!" Hongli suddenly shouted, his attitude extremely cold, as if he were treating her as an enemy, showing no regard for her as his mother. The Empress Dowager increasingly felt that the Emperor was bewitched by the ring, and in a fit of rage, she threw it into the brazier of charcoal!

In that instant, Hongli's mind went blank. He rushed over like a madman, ignoring how hot the charcoal was, and reached his hand directly into the fire to search for the opal. His fingers were burned, but he didn't care and quickly pulled out the opal ring.

Unfortunately, opals are afraid of fire; if they come into contact with fire, they will shatter within moments!

When he pulled out the ring, the opal on it had already shattered!

The opal is broken! Without the opal, how can he see Yu Shan? If he can't see Yu Shan in the future, how will he go on living like this?

Enraged, Hongli let out a desperate roar, drew a sword from the wooden shelf beside him, and pointed it at the Empress Dowager's neck!

Upon seeing this, the Empress Dowager's eyes widened in fright. Pointing at him, she shouted in a trembling voice, "Rebellion! Rebellion! Are you trying to kill your mother?"

Hongli had never hated anyone so much. His bloodshot eyes were like those of a demon, as if he wanted to devour her! If the woman in front of him were not his mother, he would have stabbed her without hesitation!

But she was his biological mother. How could he, as a son, lay a hand on his own mother? He still had a shred of mercy for his mother, but what about her?

Yu Shan was the only solace in his lonely life, and this opal was the only way to see her. Now that the ring has been destroyed by the Empress Dowager, will he and Yu Shan really be separated into two different worlds and never have any contact again?