An Sheng frowned suspiciously, then watched as Old Xu brought forward a person.
"Granny Sun?"
Sun Cai, seeing his mother, immediately grew wary and shielded An Sheng. "What are you trying to do? Do you mean harm to Her Highness the Princess?"
Granny Sun's face twisted in pain. "My son, she is a rebel conspiring against the throne. Why are you still protecting her?"
Sun Cai retorted, "Her Highness is a peerless talent with grand ambitions. Even if she aspires to rule this nation, what of it? Do not taint her with words like 'rebel'!"
Granny Sun froze, then let out a bitter laugh. "Old Xu was right... You’ve been bewitched by her..." She took a deep breath before glaring hatefully at An Sheng. "Princess, do you remember Sleeping Buddha Temple?"
"Sleeping Buddha Temple?"
Wasn’t that the place where, after giving birth, she had exchanged her child with Xie Yuan’s son?
An Sheng stared at her. "What are you implying?"
"Ha! What am I implying? I’m telling you—Yan Zheng is not your son!!!"
"!!!"
The entire palace was stunned.
The Emperor’s eyelids twitched as he glanced at An Sheng, only to see her erupt in fury, like a lioness gone mad. "You LIE!!!"
"Lie?" Granny Sun’s eyes gleamed. She had waited twenty years for this moment, eager to proclaim the truth to the world. "That day, you ordered me to swap the infants. I obeyed and carried your child out, but the moment I stepped outside, I saw his face had turned blue—he wasn’t breathing! I rushed back to tell you, but you, in your madness, didn’t even let me finish before stabbing your own son to death!"
An Sheng’s face drained of color. "B-but I heard a baby’s cry..."
"That was the Third Young Master’s cry! Princess, think carefully—after arriving at the temple, did you ever see the Third Young Master? And after giving birth, did you ever lay eyes on your own son?"
An Sheng’s chest heaved violently as a horrifying realization crept into her mind.
Yes... That night at the temple, this wretched servant had claimed the Third Young Master was ill and kept him from her. And after childbirth, she had never looked at her own son’s face...
From start to finish, she had never seen either child’s true appearance.
How could she have known the difference?
"But... I was afraid that if I saw him, I wouldn’t be able to let go..."
An Sheng murmured, her usually arrogant face now stricken with panic.
Granny Sun finally saw the look she had longed for and burst into triumphant laughter. "Yes! Yes! You were afraid, so you never looked at your own son. So when you killed him, you didn’t know—you had no idea! Ha! This is retribution! The wheel of karma turns, and justice is served!!"
An Sheng’s mind exploded in a deafening roar. She staggered, nearly collapsing.
Her attendants rushed to steady her. "Your Highness!"
But she could no longer hear them. Her hands trembled, her heart quaked—her entire body shook uncontrollably.
If Granny Sun spoke the truth, then her son—the flesh of her womb—had died that stormy night long ago...
Then what had all her sleepless nights, her meticulous schemes, been for?
What had her torment in separating mother and child, her joy in watching Yan Xu suffer silently, all been for?!
What had any of it MEANT?!
As if the past twenty years had dissolved into mist, she became the butt of a cosmic joke. A metallic tang rose in her throat, and she could no longer hold it back—
"Pfft!"
Blood sprayed onto the floor in a gruesome crimson splash.
Sun Cai’s eyes turned icy. Slowly, he lifted his head. "You made Her Highness vomit blood?"
Granny Sun, overjoyed to see her son, cried out, "Yes! My Cai’er! Now you see how ruthless this woman is—so vile she wouldn’t even spare her own flesh and blood! Come, my son, return to your mother. Let us live peacefully together and never have anything to do with this madwoman again!"
She hurried forward. Yan Zheng moved to block her, but it was too late.
The moment she reached Sun Cai—
Thud!
A dagger plunged into her abdomen.
"Guh..."
Granny Sun stared in disbelief at her son, only to see his face twisted in malice, his voice colder than a demon’s. "I warned you—not a single scratch on Her Highness. Since you made her unwittingly kill her own child, I’ll slaughter you myself. Let you taste the agony of a child murdering their mother!"
BOOM!
Lightning split the sky, thunder shaking the hearts of all present.
Mother killing child. Child killing mother.
What greater sin could there be?
Old Xu stamped his foot in despair. Who could have imagined Sun Cai would become a beast who’d slaughter his own mother without blinking?
Only Granny Sun, blood gurgling in her mouth, weakly raised a crimson-stained hand to caress her son’s face. "Cai... Cai’er... Mother failed you... I couldn’t protect you..." Gasping, she turned with great effort to Yan Zheng, her eyes pleading.
A mother’s love—even in death, she sought to secure her son’s survival.
Yan Zheng tightened his grip on Chu Ruoyan’s hand and gave a slight nod.
Seemingly at peace, Granny Sun turned back to gaze adoringly at her son. "Cai’er... remember... how you loved... honey syrup... as a child... Mother will... make you... some..."
Her last word faded.
Her hand fell limp.
Blood streaked Sun Cai’s face, yet he didn’t flinch. He yanked the blade free and tossed her aside like garbage.
"Your Highness."
He knelt before An Sheng, presenting the bloodied dagger with both hands. "The villain who harmed you is dead. I am ashamed to share her blood. Grant me the honor of dying by your will!"
An Sheng’s blurred vision slowly cleared as she focused on the dagger. Her lips quivered. "Cai’er... Will you call me 'Mother'?"
Sun Cai’s face lit with ecstasy. Without hesitation, he kowtowed. "MOTHER!!"
That word—the one her true son, lost twenty years ago, had never spoken. The one Yan Zheng, the imposter, had never uttered.
Now, she finally heard it. Her shattered mind began to piece itself back together.
Digging her nails into her palms, she snapped her head up. "Good! My son! Since we have nothing left—we fight to the death!"
Wei Lian, seizing the moment, dragged the Emperor before her.
"Elder Brother, I ask you one last time—will you abdicate?"
The Emperor turned away, unyielding.
A bloodthirsty glint flashed in An Sheng’s eyes. "Fine! Then we’ll walk the Yellow Springs together!"
She snatched Wei Lian’s blade and raised it—
"STOP!!"
Empress Dowager Su’s anguished cry rang out.
An Sheng ignored her.
The Empress Dowager shrieked, "Qin’er! Don’t you want to know why the General never kept his promise to marry you?!"
