Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

As night fell, in front of Yu Ling Shuang's wooden house.

"Madam, are you asleep?"

Shen Lang knocked on the door and asked softly.

A moment later, the door to the wooden house opened.

What brings you to me so late?

Yu Ling Shuang simply couldn't stand Shen Lang.

Especially those deep eyes, it's impossible to see what kind of emotions are hidden within them.

"Jiang Yue wants to see you," Shen Lang explained his purpose. "It would be best if Madam went to speak with her and made things clear."

Yu Ling Shuang: "Why doesn't she come to see me in person?"

Shen Lang: "I don't know either. It would be best if Madam went to explain it to her herself."

Yu Ling Shuang took a deep breath: "Fine, let's go."

So the two of them, one in front of the other, braved the wind and snow and slowly walked towards the back mountain of Blackwater City.

The two remained silent the entire way, the atmosphere as oppressive as the dreadful weather, chillingly cold.

It wasn't until the two stepped into the back mountain that Yu Ling Shuang spoke: "How did you and the prince meet and get together?"

Shen Lang calmly replied, "It's just fate. Xuan'er trusts me, and I trust Xuan'er. There's no scheming between us, so we naturally got together."

Yu Ling Shuang nodded: "You are of commoner origin, yet you have become a member of the royal family. It is all because of the Emperor's favor towards you."

However, you must also be aware of your status and position. After all, she is the Queen of the Great Chu Kingdom, and she cannot possibly have only one man in her life. Do you understand what I mean?

"Also, once I return to the palace, you should address me respectfully as Empress Dowager. The proper etiquette must still be observed."

These days the situation is unusual, so I won't hold it against you. Do you understand?

Shen Lang smiled without saying a word; such clumsy attempts at provocation were not clever to him.

Seeing that Shen Lang didn't respond, Yu Ling Shuang didn't know what to say for a moment.

It wasn't until the two arrived at a cave with a campfire burning that Shen Lang finally spoke.

“Madam, your daughter is waiting for you in the cave ahead. I won’t disturb your reunion.”

After saying that, he retreated a hundred paces away from the cave and disappeared into the twilight amidst the wind and snow.

Yu Ling Shuang tightened her winter clothes and stepped into the cave.

"Mother, you've finally arrived."

When Jiang Yue saw Yu Ling Shuang arrive, she immediately greeted her warmly.

Feeling this long-lost familiar sensation, Yu Ling Shuang couldn't help but frown.

At this moment, Jiang Yue still had bloodstains on her face, bright red liquid was still dripping from her hands, and she exuded a strong smell of blood.

Yu Ling Shuang glanced at the corner behind Jiang Yue, where two deer lay, and a skewer of roasted deer meat was on the fire.

Having experienced the dignified and elegant Jiang Mengxuan by her side these past few days, and seeing Jiang Yue's crazy state, she felt even more disgusted with her daughter.

Jiang Yue, oblivious to the displeasure on Yu Ling Shuang's face, grabbed her hand and asked, "Mother, is my sister going back to the palace? Can she take us back with her to live a good life?"

Yu Ling Shuang calmly withdrew her hand from her grasp and said coldly, "I'm asking you, what exactly happened between you and your sister, and why couldn't you subdue her?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yue immediately knelt on the ground and carefully replied, "I'm sorry, Mother, I have disappointed you. Actually, my sister was no match for me at all back then."

But Shen Lang suddenly told me that he had a way to make Mother look at me in a new light, which is why I…

"So you took it upon yourself to cooperate with her and deceive me? Jiang Yue, how dare you be so bold as to not even consult me?!" Yu Ling Shuang's tone grew increasingly cold.

"I'm sorry, Mother. I wanted your approval so much, so I did this... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Did I do something to upset you?"

Jiang Yue knelt on the ground, repeatedly begging Yu Ling Shuang for forgiveness.

"What a despicable person." Yu Ling Shuang sneered. "Since you can make your own decisions, then you can walk your own path from now on."

Jiang Yue was taken aback by his words: "Mother, what do you mean by that?"

Yu Ling Shuang: "I raised you for twenty years, and that's more than enough. Now that you've reached a level of cultivation, there are few in the martial world who can harm you."

So, from now on, you must walk your own path. Our mother-daughter relationship has come to an end today.

"No! I don't want to leave my mother."

Jiang Yue became agitated and rushed forward to hug Yu Ling Shuang's leg.

"Mother, don't you want me anymore? Are you blaming me for not telling your sister beforehand?"

"Then I'll go kill my sister right now. Please don't leave me. I can't live without my mother."

"Go away!"

Instead of feeling sorry for Jiang Yue's desperate pleas, Yu Ling Shuang kicked her away.

"How dare you, you bitch? Jiang Yue, let me tell you, the mother-daughter relationship between us is over."

"From now on, you can go wherever you want, and you don't have to worry about being punished by me anymore. Isn't that great!"

Jiang Yue's heart skipped a beat, and she collapsed to the ground, her expression blank.

"Let's part amicably. I'm seeing you today to tell you that you don't need to stay by my side anymore. Go."

After saying that, Yu Ling Shuang turned to leave.

"Hahaha……"

Suddenly, Jiang Yue's maniacal laughter came from behind.

"Mother, are you planning to just leave me like this? Are you planning to go back to the palace with my sister and live the life of a superior person?"

Yu Ling Shuang was taken aback upon hearing this, then turned around angrily and asked, "Who told you that?"

The next moment, a photographic jade tablet appeared in Jiang Yue's hand.

"Mother, these are the things you said to your sister during the day, and they've all been recorded."

I truly never imagined that after spending twenty years with you, we wouldn't be as close as we are to each other in just a few days with my sister.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that my mother, who was always so high and mighty, would ever have a day when she had to bow and scrape before someone."

Yu Ling Shuang panicked slightly and hurriedly explained, "Don't misunderstand, it's not what you think..."

"Then what exactly is it?!"

Jiang Yue shouted and smashed the photographic jade disc in her hand directly into her face.

"Mother, for the past twenty years I have always been submissive to you. If you tell me to go east, I would never dare to go west."

I've suffered far more than my peers. Do you remember when I was fourteen? You said that to toughen me up, you didn't hesitate to drug me and then have a dozen bandits defile me.

At that time, I really hated you, but I still held onto a sliver of hope that you were doing it for my own good, so I didn't hate you.

From then on, I practiced diligently day and night. What was it all for? Wasn't it so that when you saw me, you would show a look of approval in your eyes?

But why, after twenty years of being together, have I never felt the feeling of motherly love from you? I used to think your love was selfish...

Unexpectedly, she gave herself completely to a woman she had only met a few times, and even wanted to abandon me and return to the palace with her?

"Mother, for the past twenty years, haven't I been working hard to bring you back to the palace? Why are you so biased? Tell me, why is that!"

Yu Ling Shuang was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to explain.

Jiang Yue had completely gone mad at this moment, a bloodthirsty smile on her lips.

"Mother, I won't let you abandon me. You've controlled me my whole life, how could I let you leave at a time like this?"

What am I supposed to do now that you're gone?! What am I supposed to do?!

"You, what are you going to do?"

"Mother, I don't want to be separated from you. We will never be separated."

Yu Ling Shuang's eyelids twitched. Seeing Jiang Yue walking towards her with bloodshot eyes, she immediately turned around and was about to run out of the cave.

But as soon as she turned around, Jiang Yue covered her mouth with her bloodied hand.

"Mother, even if we die, we will be together..."

"Do not……"

"Hahaha, Mother, we... can be together forever."

The next moment, Jiang Yue exhausted all her cultivation, and her body burst into flames, enveloping herself and Yu Ling Shuang together.

Shen Lang watched this scene from a distance with an expressionless face, and finally sighed helplessly.

With a startling explosion, the entire cave was instantly submerged in snow bricks, turning it into a tomb.

This is how the absurd lives of the mother and daughter, who had been entangled for twenty years, came to an end.