Chapter 307: Worth It

Chapter 307: Worth It

The clear, tender cry of the newborn baby made Yu Zheng's heart quiver slightly, his expression softening involuntarily as he rushed into the room, overwhelmed with joy.

"Your... Your Highness," Yu Zheng's sudden entrance startled Tanyu and the others.

Gui Momo, holding the freshly swaddled baby, led Tanyu and the others in congratulating Yu Zheng: "Congratulations, Your Highness, congratulations. The princess has given birth to a young prince, and both mother and child are safe and sound."

At this moment, nothing sounded sweeter than the phrase 'both mother and child are safe and sound.'

Yu Zheng approached, his dark eyes gleaming as he gazed at the wailing baby in the swaddle.

Gui Momo held the baby forward, and Yu Zheng reached out, gently yet somewhat awkwardly taking the child into his arms.

Miraculously, the baby stopped crying as soon as he was in Yu Zheng's arms, his wet eyes staring intently at Yu Zheng.

"What a clever boy, recognizing his father right after birth," Yu Lan teased.

Gui Momo also smiled and said, "Blood ties, father and son are connected."

Yu Zheng gazed at the child in his arms, the corners of his mouth lifting as he said, "Rewards, all of you shall be handsomely rewarded."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Tanyu and the others joyfully expressed their gratitude.

Jiang Shu, drenched in sweat, her face pale, breathed lightly, her almond eyes gently watching the father and son, a weak yet joyful smile on her lips.

Yu Zheng, holding the child, walked to the bedside and sat down, his heart aching with both pain and gratitude as he said, "Shu'er, this is our child."

"Yes," Jiang Shu softly responded, her eyes brimming with tears of excitement and joy as she looked at the baby's tender red face.

This was their child.

Yu Zheng took Jiang Shu's hand and gently held the baby's small hand, then covered them both with his large palm, enveloping the hands of mother and child.

Yu Lan stood by, moved by the heartwarming scene, wiping the moisture from the corners of her eyes as she said, "The baby hasn't been cleaned yet. I'll take him to be washed."

"Alright," Yu Zheng handed the child to Yu Lan.

Gui Momo and Chuyu went to the bathing room, leaving only Yu Zheng and Jiang Shu in the inner chamber.

"Shu'er, you've worked hard," Yu Zheng said, one hand holding Jiang Shu's hand, the other caressing her face.

Jiang Shu dodged, saying, "I must look terrible now, covered in sweat, unclean."

The weather was already hot, and during the birth, she had exerted all her strength, her body soaked in sweat, as if she had been pulled from water.

Not only that, she had just given birth, her clothes and bedding were soiled, and there had been no time to change them.

In such a state, she really didn't want to be close to Yu Zheng.

"Not terrible, very clean," Yu Zheng said, his long, jade-like fingers brushing the sweat-soaked strands of hair from Jiang Shu's face to her ear, then leaning down to kiss the beads of sweat on her forehead.

A faint blush appeared on Jiang Shu's pale cheeks, a smile playing on her lips.

The pain of two hours of labor turned into something worth it in this kiss.

Seeing the fatigue in Yu Zheng's eyes, Jiang Shu remembered the assassin's words and quickly asked, "Did you and His Majesty encounter assassins?"

Yu Zheng was slightly surprised, "How did you know?"

Jiang Shu informed him about the assassin incident at the mansion, and Yu Zheng's dark eyes grew cold.

He had expected Cao Qian to resort to extreme measures and take the opportunity to harm Jiang Shu, but fortunately, he had left shadow guards.

Jiang Shu was about to ask for more details about their encounter with the assassins when Yu Lan and the others came out with the baby.

Gui Momo said, "Your Highness, please wait outside while we clean and change the princess's clothes."

Jiang Shu was truly feeling uncomfortable.

Yu Zheng reluctantly got up and went outside.

Chuyu and the others worked swiftly, soon cleaning Jiang Shu and changing her clothes and bedding.

Once everything was in order, Chuyu and the others took the baby and left, and Yu Zheng lifted the curtain and entered.

"Why are you back so early?" Yu Lan asked curiously.

With no outsiders in the room, Yu Zheng told Jiang Shu and Yu Lan about the incident at Tianji Mountain.

Both were deeply shocked to hear it, and Yu Lan angrily said, "Cao Qian is truly ruthless, even willing to harm his own nephew."

Yu Zheng stayed silent, raising a hand to rub his temples.

After staying up all night, finishing the morning prayers without breakfast, and rushing back to the mansion, Yu Zheng now felt exhausted and hungry.

Jiang Shu, who had just given birth, was also utterly exhausted and needed rest.

So Yu Lan stood up and said, "I'll have some food brought over. You two eat and then rest for a while."

"Thank you, sister," Yu Zheng said.

Shortly after Yu Lan left, Tanyu brought the food.

Yu Zheng helped Jiang Shu sit up and fed her himself.

After eating, Yu Zheng undressed and lay down beside Jiang Shu.

Jiang Shu spotted the bandages on his arm and shoulder and exclaimed in shock, "You're injured."

Yu Zheng casually replied, "Just a minor wound, nothing to worry about."

"Rest now, I still need to go to the palace later," Yu Zheng said, kissing Jiang Shu's cheek reassuringly and holding her as he closed his eyes contentedly.

East Palace.

The bright sun illuminated the blood-soaked ground, a gruesome sight.

Noble Consort Yu and Xie Wanruo stood beneath the corridor, with heavy guards in front of them.

The Empress and Cao Muxue stood at the courtyard gate, glaring at them with anger and hatred across the yard filled with corpses.

The Empress's two hundred guards were no match for the five hundred imperial guards, and most of the bodies in the yard were from the Yongning Palace guards.

After a half-hour of intense fighting, only half of the guards in front of the Empress remained.

"Aunt... Aunt," Cao Muxue, who had never seen so many corpses, was terrified.

Looking at the gruesome scene of corpses and blood, Noble Consort Yu frowned and asked gravely, "Empress, do you wish to continue?"

Hearing this, the Yongning Palace guards tightened their grip on their swords and glanced uncertainly at the Empress.

Continuing the fight would only lead to more deaths with no resolution.

The Empress realized she was powerless against Noble Consort Yu and Xie Wanruo at this point.

“Back to Yongning Palace,” the Empress spat, shooting a venomous glare at Noble Consort Yu before reluctantly turning away.

Cao Muxue stuck close to the Empress, too afraid to remain alone in the Eastern Palace.

Back in Yongning Palace, the Empress furiously smashed the teacup on the table.

“Aunt, what do we do now?” Cao Muxue asked, her voice trembling.

The Empress shot her an irritated glare. “What else can we do? We’re stuck waiting for your father to return.”

If Cao Qian’s plan succeeds and the Emperor and Yu Zheng are dead, handling Noble Consort Yu and Xie Wanruo will be a breeze.

But if it fails…

No, it can’t fail! Failure isn’t an option!

The Empress gripped the armrest of her chair tightly, each passing moment feeling like an eternity of torture.

As the sun neared its peak, hurried footsteps finally echoed from outside the hall.

“Your Majesty, the Emperor… he’s returned,” the guard blurted out urgently.

“What?”

The Empress thought she’d misheard. She stood up and demanded, “What did you say? The Emperor… he’s back?”

“Yes.”

“And the Crown Prince?” The Empress’s voice shook slightly.

The guard hesitated. “Your Royal Highness… he’s gravely injured and unconscious.”

“How could this happen?” The Empress was stunned, sinking weakly back into her seat.

“And my… my father?” Cao Muxue swallowed hard, her voice trembling with fear.

The guard replied, “Unknown…”

With the Emperor alive, Cao Qian’s fate was clear: captured or killed.

The Empress knew their turn was coming.

Regicide was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine clans.

“Aunt…” Cao Muxue looked at the Empress, her face filled with despair and fear, her body trembling uncontrollably.