Her eyes bulged in alarm, and when she realized what he was going to do, she dashed to him with reckless abandon.

“Your Majesty, the Empress sacrificed her life to give birth to this child for you. You can’t do this…”

However, before she could finish, the Emperor hurled her aside.

With a bang, she knocked her head heavily against the floor, causing stars to swim before her eyes.

All eyes widened in terror.

Long Yang stared expressionlessly at the tiny baby in his grasp.

She was beautiful, and unlike most babies who were born wrinkled, she had fair and rosy skin, and her lovely black eyes stared back at him innocently.

Long Yang was a little startled by her appearance, but the next moment, he remembered that it was this child who had caused Weiwei to lose blood and eventually her life.

Cruelty flashed in his eyes, and he abruptly released his hold.

“Ahhh…”

“No, Your Majesty…”

“Your Majesty…”

A chorus of overlapping shrieks rang out in the bedchamber, and some faint-hearted people averted their eyes.

Their faces turned pallor, Zhao Qian, Chu Qi, and Chu Yi made a lunge for the child faster than they had ever been.

Bam! All three heads crashed together, causing them to see stars.

However, they ignored the pain and turned to look at the child.

When Zhao Qian and Chu Yi saw the child safely wrapped in Chu Qi’s arms, they immediately exhaled a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness! Thank goodness he caught her!

Gazing at the tiny human in his embrace, Chu Qi heaved a sigh of relief as well.

Just then, the baby girl flashed him a bright smile.

He was dazed for a moment, then he tightened his arms around her.

Everyone’s shoulders relaxed when they saw that the youngest princess was fine.

They stepped forward and helped Chu Qi up.

At that moment, the baby girl suddenly started wailing, making Chu Qi jump. In a panic, he thrust the baby into the arms of a maidservant beside him.

The Dowager Duchess, who had been gripped with apprehension, was relieved to see that the child was all right.

However, when she saw the Emperor’s frightening expression, she could not bring herself to utter a single word of reproach.

She turned back to Lu Liangwei and combed her unkempt hair with her fingers, her heart full of anguish.

She had never imagined that there would be a day when she had to see her granddaughter die before herself.

Weiwei was still so young. How could Heaven be so unfair to her?

As she thought to herself bitterly, her gaze suddenly fell on the Buddhist prayer beads on her wrist.

On her birthday last year, Weiwei had specially taken a trip to Tianzhu Temple and asked for this string of prayer beads from the monk there.

As a Buddhist, she loved Weiwei’s gift very much.

The prayer beads had already become unusually smooth after being stroked by her every day during her prayer sessions.

After thinking for a while, she removed the prayer beads and put them on Lu Liangwei’s wrist, murmuring, “O Blessed Buddha, hear my prayer. If Weiwei can wake up, I’m willing to reduce my lifespan. Even if you wish to claim my life right away, I’ll gladly give it up to you…”

“Your Majesty, what are you doing?”

Just then, Zhu Yu let out a fearful cry.

The Dowager Duchess turned her head, only to meet Long Yang’s harrowing eyes.

His eyes were empty and lifeless, but there was also a maniacal storm brewing in them.

The Dowager Duchess was alarmed.

The Emperor had gone insane…

…

Lu Liang’s drifting soul saw a flash of golden light, and all of a sudden, she was sucked by an unknown force.

The night was silent except for the chirping of insects in the garden.

Lu Liangwei heaved a sigh of relief – she had finally returned to her body. She wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids were unusually heavy and refused to budge no matter what.

Yes, she had given birth to two children and spent all her energy. She was extremely exhausted and needed a good rest.

Lu Liangwei’s consciousness faded, and she fell into a deep sleep.

When she awoke again, the bedchamber was still as silent as a graveyard, which unsettled her greatly.

She mustered all her strength to open her eyes. Blinding light flooded her vision, and she blinked in discomfort.

All of a sudden, she heard a delighted voice. “Miss, you’re finally awake…”

Lu Liangwei turned her head, only to see Zhu Yu’s tear-streaked face staring back at her ecstatically.