Chapter 450 Is it that you don't cherish it, or that you're too greedy?

The two maids beside Gao Zhaoyue were not surprised and quietly retreated to wait outside the gauze curtain.

She patted his head with her palm and said, "You've come to your mother for comfort?"

Yuwen Tiancheng closed his eyes wearily and nodded.

Gao Zhaoyue noticed that his emotions were not right and said, "After all, it was your father who died. No matter how cruel and immoral he was, he still had some affection for you and the late empress."

She asked softly, "What? You regret it?"

Yuwen Tiancheng opened his eyes, and a ripple stirred in his previously calm and numb gaze.

"I have regrets."

Gao Zhaoyue's expression immediately turned stern, and she frowned as she said, "Tiancheng, you promised me—"

Although their relationship was not merely an exchange of interests, but also involved other factors, after killing Yuwen Shuo and seizing power in Xijin, their next step was to seek revenge against the Emperor of Beili for the death of Yuwen Tianqing.

Yuwen Tiancheng said, "I will never go back on my word."

Gao Zhaoyue asked, "Then what do you mean? What are you regretting?"

Yuwen Tiancheng saw her furrowed brows, which resembled distant mountains, and he reached out to smooth them.

"I regret bringing you to his palace today, allowing you to see him again."

Gao Zhaoyue chuckled softly; men are no less jealous than women.

She stroked his young and handsome face and said, "I came here just to settle things with him. With him dead, the hatred in my heart will fade."

Yuwen Tiancheng stared at her lips and called out.

"Mother."

Although he called her that, he never regarded her as his mother after he came of age.

Besides, the old emperor had long since stripped her of her title, and she and he had no relationship whatsoever anymore, so he shouldn't call her that anymore.

But changing the name feels like something is missing.

But he didn't want to think that there was always another person standing between him and her, so he still had to make a change.

Gao Zhaoyue knew what he wanted, so she took the initiative to move closer to him.

Her lips were soft and fragrant, but her body remained cold.

Yuwen Tiancheng closed his eyes. Even though he knew that Gao Zhaoyue was only using him, he was willing to accept it and drink poison to quench his thirst.

Twenty years have passed; she has changed, yet she hasn't.

She still has that stunning face, but her tender heart has long been sealed off after experiencing the vicissitudes of life, and can no longer let in new people.

Yuwen Tiancheng's breathing became erratic, and his consciousness returned to the past...

"Tiancheng, did you fall and hurt yourself during your horse riding lesson? Why hasn't anyone treated your wound? Come to Mother's palace, I'll apply medicine for you."

Gao Zhaoyue was a princess of the Tianyue clan. She had only been in the palace for a few months and knew some of the rumors circulating in the palace. She sighed and comforted the little prince, who was only up to her waist.

"It's not that Her Majesty the Empress doesn't like you, she just doesn't like children."

Because Empress Xiao harbored hatred for the emperor, she also disliked her own son. Yuwen Tiancheng sat on Gao Zhaoyue's lap, experiencing the warmth and softness of his mother's embrace for the first time.

Another year has passed.

Gao Zhaoyue gave birth to a prince and was promoted to the rank of Consort. She held the baby boy in her arms and looked tenderly at the Crown Prince, who was now almost up to her chest.

"Tiancheng, this is your younger brother. How about you take him along to play with you from now on?"

Looking at the wrinkled baby, and watching her lower her head to place a kiss on his little face, Yuwen Tiancheng felt a surge of jealousy.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye. Gao Zhaoyue was imprisoned in the palace, and even her newborn daughter was taken away.

Under the cover of darkness, Yuwen Tiancheng climbed over the wall to see her.

Gao Zhaoyue was startled and said, "Tiancheng, why are you here? Your father forbids anyone from visiting you. Hurry up and leave, lest you be discovered!"

Coincidentally, she also encountered the old eunuch who came to deliver the poisoned wine and white silk, and she hid Yuwen Tiancheng under the bed.

The old eunuch waited at the door. Gao Zhaoyue, her eyes red, picked up the white silk ribbon. She no longer held any hope for Yuwen Shuo, who had turned his back on her.

Fortunately, her clan possessed many extraordinary abilities; she could hold her breath for three days, fooling Yuwen Shuo, but she had to first swear a blood oath. Therefore, Yuwen Tiancheng, who remained at the scene, was the only one who knew she had faked her death...

At this moment, the sounds of mourning music and weeping are deafening outside.

The two people huddled together in the side hall, their necks intertwined, were not paying enough attention.

Yuwen Tiancheng was lost in his memories, his tightly closed eyelids twitching slightly. Now, Yuwen Tianqing was dead, and Yuwen Shuo was dead too. She was finally completely his alone.

What Gao Zhaoyue was thinking about was how to make Bei Li pay for her son's life.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

The pattern of striking the door twice, then four times, and then three times indicates that a scout is coming to deliver a message.

Gao Zhaoyue decisively separated from him; her breath was alluring, but her eyes were clear.

"Tiancheng, let him in."

Yuwen Tiancheng, panting, looked at her face, which showed no emotion whatsoever, and pulled her hand to his waist.

Gao Zhaoyue asked, "Tiancheng, what are you doing?"

Yuwen Tiancheng said, "Do you know what I want?"

Gao Zhaoyue said anxiously, "When is it not possible? There's something important to do right now."

Yuwen Tiancheng said, "You wanted me to raise an army to attack Beili, so I mobilized 300,000 troops and stationed them on the northern border. You wanted my father to die, and I did that too."

He gripped her hand tightly, so tightly that her fingertips lost all color.

"Is it because what I offered you was too easily given to you, causing you to not cherish it, or are you just too greedy?"

Gao Zhaoyue observed his expression. After all, she had watched him grow up since he was a child, so she could understand his emotions. She stroked his chest with her other hand.

"Tiancheng, are you jealous? I've already said that I don't even hate Yuwen Shuo anymore."

Yuwen Tiancheng said, "But there is one more person you hate. When you hear news of him, you don't even want to deal with me anymore."

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhaoyue asked, "Are you referring to the emperor of Beili?" She smiled and said, "Tiancheng, you're wronging me. We've never even met."

Yuwen Tiancheng said, "Judging from my mother's tone, she seems to be looking forward to seeing me."

Gao Zhaoyue scoffed, "Looking forward to it? How could I not look forward to it? Just thinking about my son dying far from home, his body torn apart after death, makes my heart ache every moment."

A dark glint flashed in Yuwen Tiancheng's eyes as he gradually loosened the restraints.

Gao Zhaoyue did not pull her hand away, but instead wrapped it around his waist, trying to calm his displeasure.

Yuwen Tiancheng could never resist such a gentle and loving environment.

He tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and asked, "How would you like him to die?"

Gao Zhaoyue whispered in his ear, "Let him feel the pain in his heart, let him experience the feeling of losing a loved one."

Yuwen Tiancheng said, "Although the young prince stayed in Lin'an, he was guarded day and night by a large number of skilled men, and the people from Xijin could not get close to him."

He sarcastically remarked, "Besides, emperors are all ruthless; losing their own flesh and blood is nothing to them."

Gao Zhaoyue's fingers traced along his earlobe as she said, "That's true. I've recently heard an interesting rumor."

Yuwen Tiancheng's breathing was heavy as he asked, "What rumors?"