nownovels Chapter 446
Chapter 446
Chu Ruoyan thought of her lost twins, and a dull ache suddenly struck her heart.
But immediately after, there was another clear, bright cry. The two cries intertwined, making a trace of hope irresistibly bloom in the depths of her heart.
What if?
What if they were still alive?
She turned her head to look at Yan Zheng, only to see the emperor with his brows tightly furrowed, staring motionless into the wooden cabin.
A moment later, Qin Yiru came out holding two children, his face full of joy: "They're alive, they're alive! This box is more capable than this old man; Daniu and Erniu have really been saved!"
Chu Ruoyan's body swayed slightly as she stared wide-eyed at the swaddling clothes wrapped around them.
The bright yellow fabric, embroidered with a pattern of carp leaping over the dragon gate, was exactly what she had prepared for her two children back then!
The joy of regaining what was lost almost drowned her completely, but fearing it was just a fleeting dream, she hurriedly and tremblingly sought confirmation from the man: "Yan Zheng... are those, are they..."
"They are our children." The emperor held her hand, as if injecting her with a dose of reassurance, repeating word by word, "Both children, they both are!"
Chu Ruoyan's body trembled violently, and tears burst from her eyes.
She had never thought, never imagined that the children were still alive!
She had thought that, just like the phrase "closest yet most distant" spoken by Liao Kong, her eldest brother and her two children had all left her...
But as it turned out, they hadn't!
Low sobs escaped from her throat, yet they were filled with incomparable joy, relief, and even gratitude!
Yun Lang nodded in gratification, and Yan Zheng also unloaded the heavy boulder from his heart. He supported her and was about to step forward when suddenly a sharp shout came from the side: "Qing'er!!!"
The few of them turned around, only to see the Princess Consort's wooden body suddenly tremble, followed by violent convulsions.
The Regent grabbed her with extreme tension, the expression on his face looking as if he wanted to devour someone: "Save her!!!"
Qin Yiru was so frightened that he hurried over, momentarily forgetting to hand the infants in his arms to someone else.
As he got closer, the two children seemed to sense the cold and fierce aura emanating from their grandfather, and they cried even louder.
The Regent, immensely irritated and with a surge of hostility in his eyes, waved his hand, about to shove him away.
In the nick of time, a voice as light as a feather suddenly sounded—
"Why... are you scaring the children..."
The man instinctively furrowed his brows, but then, remembering something, he turned his head in disbelief.
He saw the Princess Consort, dressed in a green silk skirt, still standing quietly beside him, but on that wooden, hollow face that hadn't shown a trace of emotion for over ten years, there was a change for the first time.
Light returned to her eyes, and the corners of her mouth curved up into a slight smile...
Although it was small, this extremely subtle change was still noticed by the man.
He froze on the spot, followed by shock and wild ecstasy!
"Qing'er, you... you're awake?"
Terrified that it was a hallucination, he stared at the person in front of him without even daring to blink.
The Princess Consort moved her lips again. Having not spoken for years, she was somewhat unaccustomed to it: "Mhm..."
Hearing this undeniably certain sound, a tremor resonated in the Regent's chest. He tightly grasped her hand: "Good, good, as long as you are awake! It's good that you're awake!" After speaking, his cold, lightning-like gaze swept over Qin Yiru. The latter, as if waking from a dream, hurriedly handed the children over to Yan and Chu, and went to check the Princess Consort's pulse.
Strangely enough, the pulse that had previously been stagnant and unmoving suddenly sprang to life.
Although still very weak, it was like a long-dried riverbed suddenly receiving a flow of water; everything was gradually reviving.
Qin Yiru widened his eyes. Having practiced medicine for most of his life, he had never seen such a bizarre situation.
The Regent shot him a cold glare, frightening him into quickly telling the truth. Then he asked curiously, "Princess Consort, do you remember what just happened?"
The Princess Consort said blankly, "I only remember that I seemed to have a very long dream... and then I heard Miaomiao's or Langlang's voice, and I woke up..."
Qin Yiru clapped his hands and said, "That's it, that makes sense! Ancient records from the Western Frontiers state that this Gu poison has no cure, but they left one final sentence, saying that whether it is Zhuangzi dreaming of the butterfly, or the butterfly dreaming of Zhuangzi, it remains unknown—"
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the Regent: "Speak plainly!"
Chu Ruoyan's mouth twitched slightly. Her biological father was truly blunt, but she was also anxious to know her mother's condition, so she stared intently at Qin Yiru.
Although Qin Yiru had an eccentric temper, facing this lord, he could only bow his head: "Your Highness, what this old man means is that although this Gu can draw a person into a dream from which they never wake, the dream of Zhuangzi's butterfly is ever-changing. It can also awaken a person from the great dream of life, only we never knew the method! It must be that before Her Highness was severely injured, what she worried about most was the safety of her children, so their cries were the key to waking her up!!"
Everyone suddenly understood.
Unfortunately, at that time, Yun Miao had already gone missing, and Yun Zhao and Yun Lang had already become adults. Even if they were found later, they could no longer produce the cries of an infant.
It was only today, by a lucky coincidence, that the cries of the grandchildren brought back for emergency treatment finally woke her!
The Regent was ecstatic: "No matter what, it's good that she's awake! It's good that she's awake!"
"Mother!!" Yun Lang dashed forward in a single stride, but he startled the Princess Consort. "You, you are..."
Looking at that head full of white hair and a face that closely resembled her husband's, it took her a long while before she hesitantly asked, "Are you... father-in-law?"
Yun Lang froze, and dark clouds gathered on the Regent's face.
Qin Yiru wanted to laugh but forcefully held it in, and then heard the Princess Consort muttering to herself, "No, father-in-law has passed away, and you are too young..."
Chu Ruoyan suppressed her upturned lips and stepped forward: "Mother, this is second brother Yun Lang, do you not remember?"
"Langlang?" The Princess Consort was taken aback.
Yun Lang nodded vigorously, his face full of excitement as if he had a thousand words to say. The Princess Consort suddenly remembered something and looked at Chu Ruoyan again: "You, you just called me mother... then who are you?"
Chu Ruoyan pursed her lips and curtsied: "Mother, Miaomiao pays her respects to you."
The Princess Consort looked in shock at her two children who had suddenly grown up, and then turned to look at her husband, only to see that fine lines had been added to the corners of his eyes and brows. She had only slept for a while, so how did it seem like the whole world had changed?
A sudden pain struck her chest, and she furrowed her brows tightly.
"Qing'er!"
"Mother!"
"Mother!"
"Princess Consort!"
Everyone exclaimed in unison. Qin Yiru hurriedly checked her pulse and then said, "It's fine. Her Highness just woke up suddenly and received a shock. Her body is weak and will need to rest and recuperate for some time."
As soon as the words fell, the Regent picked her up without another word and walked away.
With his imposing aura of killing gods and buddhas if they dared to block his path, no one dared to stop him.
The crowd stood looking at each other for quite a while. Yun Lang muttered a couple of curses under his breath, then reached out to touch the two children's little faces: "My little nephews are the capable ones; they woke up their grandmother with just a cry!"
Before his hand could even touch those pink, chubby little cheeks, he was stopped by Yan Zheng.
The emperor cast a cold sidelong glance at him: "You call them 'little nephews' quite smoothly. Why, aren't you going to tell your sister what names you gave them?"
Yun Lang choked on his words, and Chu Ruoyan asked curiously, "What names were chosen? Second brother has brilliant literary talent, so the names he picked must be excellent, right?"