Chapter 3: 3.第3章 重生

“Your Majesty, this old servant is here!” Soaking wet from head to toe, Eunuch Shun entered from outside in a state of utter disarray, collapsing to his knees with a heavy thud. He then scrambled and crawled toward the Empress, kowtowing desperately.

“Fu Shun, get up and speak quickly!” Tang Wanqiu shouted loudly.

“Your Majesty...” As soon as Fu Shun opened his mouth, before a word could escape, tears began to flow.

Seeing Fu Shun’s state, Tang Wanqiu’s heart sank violently.

She clenched her fists and spoke with difficulty, “Has something happened to the Duke of Ding’s Estate?”

“Your Majesty, General Tang has conspired with the enemy and betrayed the nation. The Emperor has issued an edict: the entire Duke’s Estate is to be executed...”

*Boom!* Tang Wanqiu felt her vision go black as the entire sky collapsed upon her; her world was destroyed in that instant...

“Father! Mother!”

Using every ounce of her strength, Tang Wanqiu finally screamed those two words from her chest. The heart within her chest, which had already shattered ten years ago, was now completely pulverized, splintering into countless pieces.

“Your Majesty...”

Only Yu Niang’s panicked cries reached her ears. Tang Wanqiu felt as if she were drowning, constantly sinking, sinking...

*Father, Mother, wait for your daughter. I am coming to join you right now.*

“Miss, Miss! What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Yu Niang’s tense, concerned voice drifted into her ears.

A nightmare?

If only all of this were just a nightmare!

But the Emperor’s words are not jokes; the imperial edict has been issued, and everything is set in stone. She now only prayed for a swift death, hoping she could still catch up to the pace of her father, mother, elder brother, and the rest of the Tang family.

To be able to reunite with them on the road to the Yellow Springs. If they cannot meet in life, may they be able to plunge into the Yellow Springs together in death.

“Yu Niang, was that Qiu'er calling just now?” A deep, masculine voice rang out, suddenly causing Tang Wanqiu’s tightly closed hands to grip hard.

*Father? It’s Father’s voice, she actually heard Father’s voice!* Tang Wanqiu was overcome with emotion!

She hadn't expected that even in a dream, she could hear her father's voice; with this, she would die without regrets.

Before Tang Wanqiu’s shock could subside, an anxious voice rang out again, “Yu Niang, what happened? Why did the Miss cry out so piercingly?”

That kind and gentle voice was clearly that of the mother she had missed day and night!

Tang Wanqiu could no longer use "excitement" to describe her current feelings. Heat began to well up in her eyes, yet she did not dare open them, fearing that once she did, she would have to face that broken, shattered reality once more.

*Heavens, if this truly is a dream, please do not let me wake up!*

This was the scene she had yearned for day and night within the Kunning Palace, yet she had never been able to fulfill her wish.

Thinking back, how many years had it been since she had seen her father and mother?

Twelve years, perhaps! That year, because she had suffered a miscarriage, once the news spread, that man had made an exception to allow her parents to enter the palace to visit her once, solely to appease her eldest brother who was fighting enemies at the border.

From then on, she had never seen her two parents again.

“General, Madam! It seems the Miss is having a nightmare.”

That was Yu Niang’s voice. Yu Niang had called her "Miss" again!

Ever since she had married, Yu Niang had strictly observed etiquette, insisting on calling her "Your Majesty." Even during these years when she had been confined to the Kunning Palace, Yu Niang had never once overstepped her bounds.

A nightmare?

No, this was a beautiful dream! To be able to hear her parents' voices in a dream, to be able to hear Yu Niang call her "Miss" again in a dream—this was absolutely a wonderful, magnificent dream. She hoped she would never wake up, and that this dream would continue forever.