"Your, Your Majesty said what?"

Suddenly hearing Yuwen Lan say such a thing, the usually composed Empress Dowager was so shocked that she stuttered.

Yanshu also looked at him in shock.

Yuwen Lan paused for a moment, then said, "Mother, since you are tired of the palace, why not find a suitable person to spend the rest of your life with? Mr. Qi once taught me, and since then, I’ve known he has true talent. Over the past few days, I've come to see that his character is noble, and of all the people I've encountered, only he is worthy of you."

After his words fell, the two of them remained stunned.

The Empress Dowager thought to herself, ...Does he really think Mr. Qi is a good match for me?

Yanshu also pondered, Does the Emperor really think highly of Mr. Qi? But before, it seemed like he disliked him...

Yuwen Lan: ...

Cough, that was in the past. Now is now…

At this moment, Yanshu quickly spoke up, "Your Majesty is wise! I too think Mr. Qi has noble character and a delicate mind. Moreover, the academy environment is also good. If Mr. Qi could take care of the Empress Dowager, Your Majesty need not worry, and I’ll also be at ease."

— Heh, anyway, no matter what the Emperor thinks, this opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. As a loyal fan of their ‘ship’, she had to help the Empress Dowager and her idol!

After all, this might be their last chance.

When Yanshu said this, the Empress Dowager froze for a moment, then playfully scolded, "This child..."

But in her heart, she was already wondering, Could it really happen? Could I be with him?

Yanshu nodded vigorously in her mind. However, the Empress Dowager sighed and said, "How could that be? I am the Empress Dowager, and there are so many eyes watching me..."

Before she could finish, she suddenly stopped herself. How did she end up saying that out loud?

But then, Yanshu quickly spoke again, "That’s not a problem at all. Every time Your Majesty leaves the palace, you wear a veil, and no one at the academy has seen you. If you change your identity, wouldn't that work?"

The Empress Dowager froze again. "Then... how should I change?"

Yuwen Lan spoke, "As long as you are happy, I will make arrangements for everything."

--

The next day, as news of the white crane Taoist’s capture spread, the people learned that not only had the Taoist conspired to rebel and harm the common folk, but he had also impersonated a physician, incited Concubine Wang's family to smuggle poison into the palace, and had poisoned the Empress Dowager.

The Emperor was furious and ordered the Taoist’s execution at noon on the same day, which brought great relief to the people.

However, it did not restore the Empress Dowager's health.

As days passed, her condition grew worse. Even the renowned healer, Imperial Physician Xun Lan, was helpless.

On New Year's Eve and the first day of the new year, the guests who came to the palace for the New Year greetings could not see the Empress Dowager's face, only the smell of medicinal herbs from the palace.

Everyone was deeply concerned, hoping that Consort Yi would give birth to the imperial heir soon to bring the Empress Dowager some joy.

Ci’an Palace.

Today was the third day of the new year. After receiving guests in the palace for the New Year greetings during the day, Yanshu and Yuwen Lan arrived at Ci'an Palace in the evening.

After dismissing the attendants, only the three of them remained in the palace.

They saw that, after some time spent using the bone-pressing technique, the Empress Dowager’s appearance had changed.

Those who saw her daily might not notice it, but those who hadn’t seen her in a few days could tell that her nose bridge, cheekbones, and eye shape had changed from before.

They believed that soon, even her old acquaintances wouldn’t recognize her.

When the Empress Dowager saw Yanshu’s pregnant belly, she worried, “It’s already time, why are you still walking around? What if you suddenly go into labor? What will we do?”

Yanshu gently touched her belly and smiled, “The Imperial Doctor says it’s good to walk around at this stage; it can help with labor. Since we’re already in the palace, the midwife and wet nurse have already been arranged. If I go into labor, we’ll just give birth.”

The Empress Dowager was amused and laughed, “I rarely see you so carefree. Well, it's good. People with a carefree heart always have good fortune.”

Yanshu smiled and thanked the Empress Dowager, but then saw Yuwen Lan ask, “Mother, how are you these days? Can you still tolerate the bone-pressing technique?”

The Empress Dowager replied, “I’m fine, Your Majesty, no need to worry. Right now, Consort Yi is the most important, we must not neglect her.”

Yuwen Lan responded, “Mother, rest assured, I will protect her and the child.”

The Empress Dowager nodded and said, “It’s getting late, you two should go rest. It’s cold outside, be careful on the road.”

The two of them agreed and left Ci'an Palace.

As Yanshu had said to the Empress Dowager earlier, walking around was beneficial for labor, so she didn’t want to ride in the sedan. She decided to walk back to Ganlu Palace.

Yuwen Lan accompanied her.

The air tonight was a bit damp. Yanshu looked up at the sky, seeing the heavy clouds and no stars, her eyes brightened and she said, “It looks like it’s going to snow again? Hehe, then tomorrow night we can have hot pot again!”

Yuwen Lan smiled and said, “You can eat it any day. Why wait for the snow?”

Yanshu laughed, “Because snow makes the atmosphere perfect for hot pot…”

Before she could finish, she suddenly stopped.

Yuwen Lan raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Why did you stop talking?”

She stood still for a while, then looked at him in disbelief and said, “Your Majesty, I think I’m about to give birth…”

Indeed, just now, she had suddenly felt a warm flow from her belly, something she couldn’t stop, and it seemed like her water had broken...

Hearing this, Yuwen Lan was also shocked, quickly calling out, “Someone, prepare the sedan!”

But Yanshu quickly stopped him, “No, I can’t move anymore. If I do, the amniotic fluid will flow more, and the baby will be in danger…”

“What?” Yuwen Lan froze, not thinking much, and directly picked her up, rushing towards Ganlu Palace.

Although she had prepared herself, Yanshu now truly understood how painful childbirth could be.

It was so painful that if the system hadn’t constantly reminded her not to scream, to avoid losing strength and making the labor more difficult, and given many examples to keep her nervous, she might have screamed.

Luckily, she had eaten a good meal for dinner, and with three midwives guiding her, she did well in her pre-birth training. After enduring several hours of labor pains that lasted nearly the entire night, she finally gave birth to the baby.

It was a baby boy, rosy and white, with a loud cry. Weighing six pounds and six ounces, a lucky number.

Seeing mother and child safe, Yuwen Lan was overjoyed. When the midwife wrapped the baby in a swaddle and handed him to Yuwen Lan, he almost didn’t dare to move.

This was his child, his baby, the new life created with the person he loved.

His life had finally continued.

He leaned down and kissed Yanshu’s sweaty forehead, speaking softly, “You’ve worked hard.”

Yanshu, exhausted, opened her eyes and asked, “What time is it?”

Yuwen Lan gently replied, “It’s almost dawn. Go to sleep. I’ll take care of the baby.”

Yanshu nodded and closed her eyes, feeling at ease and falling asleep.

In her drowsy state, she suddenly remembered something—

Since the onset of labor pains, she hadn’t heard anyone’s thoughts?

Hmm, what’s going on?

Did her mind-reading ability disappear?

Or was she just too exhausted to notice?

But at that moment, she was too tired to think further, having gone through the entire night without sleep. She fell asleep.

While Yanshu rested, Yuwen Lan personally took the baby to Ci'an Palace.

The Empress Dowager had been worried the entire night after hearing about Yanshu’s labor. Seeing her son personally bring the baby to her, she was both surprised and overjoyed.

She carefully took the baby in her arms, barely able to take her eyes off him, and said while admiring, “This child looks so much like His Majesty when he was young. Look at his eye shape, you can tell he’ll have big eyes. And his earlobes, they’re like his mother’s. He’s a blessed child.”

Yuwen Lan also leaned in to take a look, nodding as he listened.

Just as he was about to speak, the baby, who had been sound asleep, suddenly opened his eyes.

Mother and son froze, thinking the baby was about to cry.

But to their surprise, the baby simply looked at them quietly without crying.

After a while, he closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.

The Empress Dowager gently handed the baby back to Yuwen Lan, saying softly, “I’m at ease after seeing him. Take him back quickly, or he might wake up hungry later.”

Yuwen Lan nodded and answered softly, careful not to disturb the baby.

However, the Empress Dowager spoke again, “Consort Yi has done much for Your Majesty. You should reward her well. In my opinion, she has a kind heart, a broad mind, and is wise. Now, she has given birth to the heir. She is fit to be the Empress.”

Yuwen Lan smiled and said, “Mother, don’t worry. Tomorrow I’ll issue the decree. After their one-month celebration, we’ll conduct the coronation ceremony.”

The Empress Dowager nodded. “In that case, I can rest assured.”

The son she had raised would never be like the previous one. He would treat those he loved with care.

The next morning, the imperial edict was indeed issued, declaring Consort Yi's childbirth a merit and promoting her to Empress. Her father, the Duke of Zhongrong, was elevated to Duke of Zhongyi, her mother was honored with a first-class title, and her brother became the heir to the Duke of Zhongyi.

After the cleansing banquet, the Emperor personally named the child—Yuwen Heng, meaning the continuation of the glory of the Yuwen clan’s ancestors.

At the same time, the child was declared the Crown Prince.

As days passed, by the end of the first month, the warm spring wind had arrived in the capital.

Taking advantage of the spring breeze, the grand ceremony for the Empress and the Crown Prince’s one-month celebration took place.

The officials and the common folk were all uplifted—now the empire had an Empress, and a Crown Prince, bringing vitality to the court.

But not long after, came the news of the Empress Dowager’s passing, and the Emperor ordered the entire country to mourn her.

Mid-February, the spring flowers began to bloom in the mountains.

Qi Shuguang stood under a tree, watching the approaching figure, struggling to hide the warmth in his eyes, saying, “I welcome you, Madam.”

The Empress Dowager had long removed her veil, smiling at him, “We’re family now. No need for formalities.”

Qi Shuguang smiled back, then took her hand and led her to a place full of blooming flowers.

Life should be like these flowers, blooming freely across the mountains, shouldn’t it?

Meanwhile, in the palace, Yanshu, who had finished reminiscing about the scene, couldn’t help but shed tears.

Her great patron and idol had finally come together. It was so hard and so emotional!

After crying for a while, she was about to wipe her tears when she looked down and saw the baby staring at her with his little lips pouting, as if about to cry.

Yanshu paused, wondering what was going on. Was the baby secretly wet?

But when she checked, the swaddle was dry.

The baby had just been fed, so he shouldn’t be hungry.

She asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Of course, the baby couldn’t answer her, but he looked at her with big, dark eyes, seemingly feeling quite wronged.

Yanshu, “…”

Ah, this was her first time as a mother, and without her mind-reading ability, she really couldn’t figure out what this little one was thinking.

Forget it, at least he wasn’t crying. She’d take the opportunity to enjoy her CP!

After crying from the emotions, she felt comforted, knowing that the Empress Dowager and her idol were finally together, able to spend the rest of their lives side by side.

While smiling to herself, she looked down again and saw her baby smiling at her.

Yanshu was delighted, “You can smile now?”

After she spoke, the baby blinked and smiled again.

Mother and son smiled at each other for a while, and Yanshu suddenly realized, maybe the baby could sense her emotions?

When she was tearfully happy, he pouted, and now that she smiled, he smiled too?

Oh my! Realizing this, she suddenly paused, could it be that her lost mind-reading ability went to her son?

Excited, she opened her eyes wide, “This is amazing!”

When she spoke, the baby smiled again.

Yanshu was sure now.

It must be!

Because the baby was still young, he probably didn’t understand people’s thoughts, but he could feel people’s happiness.

As he grew older, he would be able to discern the good from the bad, and protect himself!

What a good thing!

Yanshu was overjoyed and quickly kissed the baby repeatedly.

Just then, Yuwen Lan entered the room.

Seeing her like this, he curiously asked, “What’s going on?”

She replied, “Nothing, just that the baby is so smart, I’m happy.”

Cough, she better not tell him about the baby’s mind-reading ability, or her past use of it would be exposed!

Yuwen Lan was also surprised, realizing that his mind-reading ability might have been inherited?

He then purposely asked, “How is the baby smart?”

Yanshu smiled and said, “The baby and I are in sync, when I’m happy, he’s happy too.”

Yuwen Lan nodded, “Indeed, he’s smart!”

Then he picked up the plump little one and smiled, “Is the baby really this amazing?”

The baby smiled at him.

Yuwen Lan’s heart melted. He leaned down and kissed the baby’s soft, milky face.

Yanshu proudly said, “Our baby is amazing!”

Yuwen Lan nodded, kissed her milky face, and said, “Just like you.”