Transmigration: From Farmer To Empress

Chapter 2132 - 34: The Grand Finale (Part 4)

After leaving the teahouse, the two walked silently for a long time before Nangong Yi finally said quietly, "Let Brother Ying take a look. Some things can’t be avoided by hiding; they must be faced when the time comes."

Cai Wei hesitated for a moment before letting Brother Ying out to take a look at Mingzhu’s situation.

As expected, after a glance, Brother Ying exclaimed, "Master, the princess—she’s changed her appearance and looks older than you now!"

Even though they were prepared mentally, hearing their daughter had aged into an elder, Nangong Yi and Cai Wei couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.

When they left, Mingzhu was seventeen; in the blink of an eye, forty years had passed. Now she was fifty-seven or fifty-eight, and nearly sixty years old. How could she not change her appearance?

"Have another look at Jin’er and Yu’er. Are they both doing well?"

Brother Ying widened his eyes and looked a few more times before squawking, "They’re fine, just changed too..."

What they’ve changed into, even if Brother Ying didn’t say, Cai Wei knew.

She returned Brother Ying to space and softly said, "Let’s go see Mingzhu."

Nangong Yi nodded and followed Cai Wei towards the direction of the palace.

...

Inside the Qing Luo Kingdom’s palace, Wanyan Chao, clad in a brilliant yellow dragon robe, sat powerfully behind the dragon case reviewing memorials. The empress, Nangong Mingzhu, sat not far from him, attentively examining the account books of the Imperial Harem. A eunuch serving outside came in, holding a crystal plate with two dazzling pearls inside.

It was almost dark, and the lamps in the hall had not been lit, yet when the two pearls were presented, the hall instantly overflowed with radiant colors, as if it were daylight.

Mingzhu suddenly opened her eyes wide, and Wanyan Chao also looked at the pearls in astonishment, forgetting the vermilion pen in his hand.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Your Highness, there is a man and woman outside the palace gate offering treasures."

The eunuch knelt on the ground, raising the crystal plate high above his head.

"Quick, present it!" Mingzhu called out urgently.

A senior palace maid quickly stepped forward, took the crystal tray from the eunuch’s hands, and placed it on Wanyan Chao’s dragon desk.

Mingzhu also walked over, her fingers trembling slightly, as she picked up a pearl from the plate and examined it closely.

"That’s right, they’re identical to the two pearls Father and Mother gave us. Your Majesty, see? Aren’t they just like the two pearls Father and Mother gave us?"

Wanyan Chao picked up the other pearl and looked at it for a long time, then said loudly, "Quick, invite the two offering the treasure in."

At this moment, both Mingzhu and Wanyan Chao were extremely emotional.

Forty years ago, after their parents-in-law left them, they lost all news of them. They searched for many years but never found them. Until now, the whereabouts of their parents-in-law remained a mystery.

Back then, when their parents-in-law left Qing Luo, they mentioned going to Great Yong. However, the spies and secret agents of Great Jin and Qing Luo nearly turned Great Yong upside down without finding a trace. Knowing their exceptional means, everyone never worried about them encountering any mishaps but felt puzzled and missed them due to the mystery of their whereabouts.

Now, suddenly seeing these two pearls evoked a strange feeling in Mingzhu and Wanyan Chao—that they had returned!

Such pearls were rare and exotic treasures in the world, only held by the mother-in-law. They were originally obtained in Qing Luo and due to their extraordinary preciousness, their mother-in-law gifted them two at their grand wedding. These two pearls, along with the two left by their imperial parents, were given to their several children to be passed down as family heirlooms.

Therefore, there were not many in the world who could produce such two pearls, or rather, only their parents-in-law could possess such treasures. So, upon seeing the pearls, the couple couldn’t help but wonder who had arrived.

Before long, a palace maid led in the two offering the treasures. The pair walked side by side, and they were so splendid in appearance, it was as if they were celestial beings, immediately illuminating the entire hall and drawing everyone’s attention.

As soon as Nangong Yi and Cai Wei entered, they recognized the dignified and affluent middle-aged woman beside the dragon desk as Mingzhu, forty years later.

The Mingzhu of now lacked the youthful and charming innocence of her maiden days. She wore gorgeous attire, her expression solemn, appearing every bit the composed and dignified empress. Seeing their beloved daughter transform into an elder of over fifty in the blink of an eye filled the couple with deep sorrow, heartache, and regret.