A middle-aged emperor, childless, was blessed with a beautiful and pregnant concubine who entered th

The emperor raised his eyes.

The Empress Dowager did not avoid his gaze.

"She's here to pay her respects," the Empress Dowager said, "but also to probe the situation."

"That Pearl Nourishing and Tranquilizing Pill has been tested by the Imperial Hospital." The Empress Dowager's voice was very low, only she and her son could hear it. "The use of cinnabar in medicine has existed since ancient times."

"But cinnabar is cinnabar. If you use it for a long time, it will accumulate in your body little by little."

"Those shrewd people in the Imperial Hospital, couldn't they detect it?"

"They can detect it."

"But it's a calming pill, not poison."

"No one can say it's poison."

"Hasn't the Imperial Hospital noticed anything amiss when they examined the Consort's pulse after she's been taking these medications for so long?"

"They noticed it too, but they just called it 'fetal fire' or 'heart and kidney disharmony'."

"This is their own diagnosis, not something someone else forced upon them."

"Chaoyang did nothing." The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor. "She just sent a box of pills. The Imperial Hospital said there was nothing wrong with the pills, and everyone said they were good stuff."

"As for whether that child can be saved—that's up to fate."

"God willing?"

Emperor Qianwu finally spoke, his eyes glistening with tears.

"She calculated it correctly."

The Empress Dowager remained silent.

"She knew I wouldn't be able to find out about her," the emperor said. "She also knew that even if she did, I couldn't do anything to her."

The Empress Dowager picked up the string of eighteen beads again.

"Because the Imperial Concubine's child cannot be born." She said each word clearly, "Two princes who cannot be born are not worth exchanging your only princess for."

"You are the emperor, you should understand this principle better than I do."

The emperor closed his eyes.

In the end, it was the Empress Dowager who lost control of her emotions before Emperor Qianwu.

"Your Majesty, tell me, have we made mistakes all these years?"

"But Chaoyang is, after all, your only child, Your Majesty."

"If we don't care about her, who will we care about?"

"But it's us who spoiled her so much that she became arrogant and dared to harm the other children in Consort Zhen's womb!"

The Empress Dowager's body trembled slightly.

Zhu Lan quickly helped her up.

Emperor Qianwu looked grief-stricken.

"Mother, this is not your fault, you don't need to blame yourself."

The Empress Dowager wiped away her tears. "Chaoyang is a child I watched grow up. How could she have turned out like this?"

In fact, given the Empress Dowager and Emperor Qianwu's shrewdness and intelligence, they could easily have guessed what Consort Chen and her daughter were really thinking.

Consort Chen's mind was not complicated; she was not actually a very clever person.

Since giving birth to the princess, the emperor has showered her with unparalleled favor, which has made her lose her sense of proportion and develop unwarranted expectations.

But Chaoyang...

Because she was her only granddaughter, she was regarded as one of her own by the Empress Dowager.

Therefore, the Empress Dowager never truly understood this granddaughter.

What kind of person is Chaoyang?

Is she really that cunning?

The mother and son looked at each other in silence.

The next day at dawn, Princess Chaoyang entered the palace.

She first went to Cining Palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, accompanied her for half a cup of tea, and talked about the newly transplanted crabapple trees in Shou Kang Palace and the fresh water brought from the back garden of the Princess's residence.

The Empress Dowager did not mention that case.

Princess Chaoyang didn't ask.

At 1:45 AM, she rose to take her leave, saying she was going to the Qianqing Palace to pay her respects to Emperor Qianwu.

The Empress Dowager glanced at her.

"Go," the Empress Dowager said. "Your father has been in a bad mood these past two days. Say as little as you can."

Princess Chaoyang bowed her head: "Your subject will remember."

Qianqing Palace, East Warm Pavilion.

The emperor is reviewing memorials.

When the eunuch announced that "Princess Chaoyang has come to pay her respects," his pen paused for a moment.

The ink seeped onto the paper, staining the character "准" (zhun).

He closed the book and put it aside.

"Announce."

Princess Chaoyang, as Emperor Qianwu's only daughter, had never allowed anyone to announce her arrival before entering the imperial study, but this time she behaved quite properly.

Princess Chaoyang entered the palace and performed the full kneeling ceremony with utmost care.

The emperor did not call him to rise.

Princess Chaoyang then knelt down.

The warm room was so quiet that you could hear the howling of the north wind outside the window.

After a long silence, the emperor spoke: "What brings you to the palace?"

Princess Chaoyang raised her head.

She is seventeen years old this year and has just celebrated her birthday. She is even more beautiful and charming than ever.

Perhaps knowing that Emperor Qianwu was in a bad mood, she was no longer as carefree and lively as before. She looked at the emperor with a calm gaze.

"Your Majesty, I have come to apologize."

Emperor Qianwu remained silent.

Princess Chaoyang's voice was calm and unhurried:

"Those pearl beauty and calming pills were personally selected and prepared by your son, and then sent to Consort Zhen's palace."

"The Imperial Concubine drank it several times, and now she is seriously poisoned, and the imperial fetus is in critical condition."

"Regardless of whether the cinnabar was poisonous or not, and regardless of whether the Consort's poisoning was related to me, I cannot shirk my responsibility."

"Your subject is willing to accept the blame for the oversight."

After she finished speaking, she bowed her head and kowtowed, her forehead touching the gold brick, and remained there for a long time.

The emperor looked at her.

Looking at her kneeling posture, she was submissive, humble, and impeccable.

He couldn't help but think back to the past, when had this child ever been so well-behaved when entering his study?

His feelings were very complicated; he was both angry and helpless.

Even if he knew that she was involved in this matter, could he just ignore it and kill Chaoyang?

If Consort Zhen's child cannot be born, she will be his only offspring in this life.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, slowly closed his eyes, and suddenly felt extremely tired.

"You failed to notice?" His voice was not loud, even calm. "Chaoyang, you are my only son. Since childhood, your grandmother and I have loved you like a precious treasure."

"You're always so considerate and filial, how can you say you failed in your duty?"

Princess Chaoyang did not look up.

"You are a master strategist," the emperor said. "It wasn't the box of pills you sent that harmed people; it was the box of pills you sent that turned into a trap that harmed them."

"Cinnabar is not a poison."

"But the cinnabar had been accumulating in the Consort's body for several months. If she then used those potent blood-breaking and stasis-removing medicines, they would become extremely poisonous."

"You didn't poison it." The emperor's voice suddenly lowered. "You just knew that someone would use that box of pills to their advantage."

"You don't even need to know who that person is, or conspire with her. You just need to place the pieces on the board, and someone else will make the moves for you."

"You sit here cleanly and wait to see how this game of chess ends."

Princess Chaoyang finally raised her head.

There was no panic, no guilt, not even an explanation in her eyes, only a deep and profound calm.

"Is Father finished speaking?" she asked.

The emperor looked at her.

"Then let me say a few words."

Princess Chaoyang straightened up, her kneeling posture still upright.

"I started sending cinnabar into the pills three years ago."

"Give it to the Empress Dowager and to the pregnant concubines in each palace. There has been no trouble in the past three years."

Her voice was calm and unhurried, "Because cinnabar is not a poison. The imperial physicians know this, the concubines know this, and Father Emperor knows this too."

"Then why did this particular incident happen?" she asked, then answered herself, "Because someone added something else to the Imperial Concubine's medicine."

Leeches, horseflies, and saffron.

"Those things were not given by your son."

"Your subject only sent a box of calming pills."

"Just like before."

"As for the chess pieces and chessboard that Your Majesty mentioned..." She paused slightly, "Your subject is dull-witted and does not understand what Father is saying."

The warm room fell silent again.

The emperor looked at her.

She knelt there, her eyes gentle and her back straight.

He recalled that more than ten years ago, when she was only four years old and his only child, she was dressed in a riot of colors and bowed to him respectfully at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet that year.

At that moment, his heart melted.

This was his daughter, his only child.

Even if it were a daughter, he would protect her for the rest of his life.

Even if the child makes a terrible mistake.

In fact, he and Chaoyang have a long history together.

To him, Chaoyang was unlike any other emperor or imperial heir. She was his only child.

Sometimes, Emperor Qianwu even felt that he was more devoted to his daughter Chaoyang than any other father to his daughter.

But why would Chaoyang want to harm Zhou's unborn child?

Doesn't she want younger siblings?

If Chaoyang were a prince, Emperor Qianwu might have been more at ease.

But she...

This child caused his other children, the children he had longed for for so many years, to be unable to be born...

In fact, Consort Zhen was carrying twins!

This made it impossible for Emperor Qianwu to believe, and he could never forgive himself.

"Chaoyang," the emperor began, "Do you hate me? What do you hate me for?"

Princess Chaoyang was stunned for a moment.

Then she smiled.

What does she hate? Naturally, she hates that since he already has her, why does he still want other children?

Is she not good enough?

So what if she's just a princess?

Who says a princess can't inherit the throne?

Her father had already granted her a fiefdom, a fief, and even allowed her to raise a private army, so why couldn't he pass the throne to her as well?

Instead, they demanded other offspring!

"Father," she said, "I hate no one."

How could she say she hated him?

She's like the rising sun!

She is the only son of the Emperor and the most noble princess in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.

In the future, when she becomes the Crown Princess, she will become the ruler of the entire Great Zhou!

Does she need to hate others?

She doesn't know how and doesn't use it.

She would not hate her father.

It was because of her father, because she was her father's daughter, that she was able to sit on that throne.

"Father and Grandmother cherish Chaoyang like a precious jewel, how could you think that way?"

She seemed genuinely puzzled.

The emperor did not answer.

Princess Chaoyang did not ask any more questions.

She bowed again to complete the final kowtow.

"Your Majesty, I have come to the palace today for two reasons: first, to plead guilty, and second, to ask for Your Majesty's permission to enter the Cold Palace and see Consort Liu."

The emperor's brow twitched slightly.

"Why would you want to see her?"

Princess Chaoyang raised her head.

"I want to know," she said, "what she was thinking before she died."

The emperor did not answer immediately.

He looked at Chaoyang, his only daughter whom he had doted on since childhood.

He suddenly realized that he had never truly understood her.

"Go ahead," he finally said.

Princess Chaoyang kowtowed to express her gratitude.

She got up, stepped back to the threshold, and suddenly stopped.

She didn't turn around, but simply turned her face to the side, her voice very soft:

"Father, what did the Imperial Hospital say about Consort Zhen's pregnancy?"

The emperor did not answer.

Princess Chaoyang waited for a while but received no answer.

She stopped waiting.

She stepped across the threshold, and in truth, it was obvious without even asking that the wretched woman's pregnancy was doomed.

But she had to put on an act; at least before ascending the throne, she couldn't afford to break ties with her father.

She gazed at the sunlight overhead, an uncontrollable smile playing on her lips, her eyes brimming with an undisguised madness.