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

This was quite cruel to Consort Zhen, but it was no less cruel to her and her son.

"No matter how we try to save them, those two children will die in a month."

He remained silent for a long time.

"And then?" the Empress Dowager asked, looking into her son's eyes.

Emperor Qianwu closed his eyes tightly.

"Then……"

"The Chaoyang Sect will present a plaque to the palace to pay their respects to the Emperor."

Emperor Qianwu clenched his fists tightly.

"She would kneel before me and say, 'Father, please accept my condolences. Your health is of utmost importance.'"

His voice was very soft, as if he were talking about something that had already been destined.

Yes, he should have thought of that sooner.

He even considered having Chaoyang have a child and then making that child the crown prince. Did Chaoyang think the same way?

She wanted to clear away the obstacles for her child, to eliminate the offspring he had so longed for.

In that instant, Emperor Qianwu's heart was filled with tyranny, and he wished he could kill Chaoyang to avenge the two children in Consort Zhen's womb.

But he was the emperor, not just a husband or a father...

It took him a great deal of effort to calm down, and several blood vessels appeared in his eyes.

"She will be very filial."

The Empress Dowager did not respond.

The mother and son remained silent.

The candle wax dripped onto the candlestick, gradually solidifying into a small pile of pale wax.

"The two children," the Empress Dowager finally spoke, "I'll have someone draft a title for them."

The emperor looked at her.

"If they can be born, even if they only live for one day, they will still be of royal blood and should have names and surnames."

"They can't land," the emperor said.

The Empress Dowager did not refute it.

"Then let's give them names."

"So that their mother... has something to remember them by."

The emperor remained silent for a long time.

"it is good."

One month later, Consort Zhen suffered a miscarriage.

Two male fetuses, already formed.

The emperor personally drafted the posthumous title, bestowing upon him the titles of "Prince Daohuai" and "Prince Daonian," and he was buried in the imperial mausoleum.

Consort Zhen was overcome with grief and fainted several times.

The emperor issued an edict, bestowing a generous reward upon Consort Zhen.

On the third day after the funeral, Princess Chaoyang presented her nameplate to enter the palace.

She knelt in the East Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace to pay her respects to the emperor.

"My deepest condolences to my father."

She said, "The emperor's health is of utmost importance."

The emperor sat on his throne, looking at her.

She was indeed kneeling there, her eyes gentle and her back straight.

Just as he had imagined, her appearance gradually transformed into something repulsive in Emperor Qianwu's mind.

This is the man who caused the deaths of his two princes.

Those were the princes he had longed for for many years, two princes!

However, the prince had already passed away, and the baby was stillborn. Emperor Qianwu and the Empress Dowager secretly took a look and saw that the two children were covered in purplish-blue bruises, and their skin was still transparent, but their human shapes could be clearly seen.

This was the prince that the mother and son had longed for for many years, and at this moment, everyone clearly realized one thing.

Consort Zhen was not lying; she was indeed pregnant with His Majesty's children, and she was pregnant with twins at once.

She truly was the chosen one the abbot of Hanshan Temple had described.

It's a pity that the two children were not blessed, and Consort Zhen's fortune was not pure enough, so the children were able to come into this world alive.

If the person in front of him were not Chaoyang, but anyone else, Emperor Qianwu would surely have torn her to pieces!

Only in this way can he find some solace from the pain of losing his son.

But she is precisely the rising sun.

It is Chaoyang, his only surviving offspring.

Emperor Qianwu's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot. He stared intently at the rising sun, as if trying to bore a bloody hole into it.

Princess Chaoyang did not act too presumptuously. She obediently lowered her head and did not raise her head to provoke her father.

"I will take heed of your grief."

He said it heavily.

"I know that the Emperor's health is of utmost importance."

Princess Chaoyang cupped her hands in greeting, "In that case, I can rest assured."

Emperor Qianwu did not want to see her. If he had any other children, even another daughter, Emperor Qianwu would have executed Chaoyang immediately.

But now, he can't.

"Step back."

Princess Chaoyang raised her eyes, but Emperor Qianwu did not look at her. She still bowed respectfully and then slowly withdrew.

Her efforts were not in vain; she had completely killed that wretched woman Zhou's child.

And she was not punished in any way.

Anyone who tries to take her things deserves to die!

……

Weiyang Palace.

Zhou Mingyi reclined on the chaise lounge by the window.

She wore a plain white nightgown, with only a single white silk flower in her hair.

Her face was as pale as paper from postpartum blood loss, with dark circles under her eyes and slightly swollen eyelids, clearly signs of crying.

On the small table beside the couch were two small brocade boxes.

The brocade box was empty.

Originally, it contained the posthumous title personally written by the emperor: "Mourning" or "Remembering".

When he was buried in the imperial mausoleum yesterday, the brocade box was buried along with the coffin.

But she kept the empty box.

Keep it within easy reach, and look at it frequently.

Shi Liu knelt beside the couch, massaging her calves, her eyes red-rimmed.

"Your Majesty, please eat something... The imperial physician said your body is weak; if you continue like this, what will become of you in the future?"

Zhou Mingyi shook her head, her voice weak: "I can't eat."

Shi Liu's tears fell.

"Your Highness! The two young princes have already passed away. If you continue to degrade yourself like this, how can their spirits rest in peace?"

Zhou Mingyi remained silent.

She reached out and gently stroked the two empty brocade boxes.

"Pomegranate," she said softly, "Do you think... they resent me?"

Shi Liu exclaimed anxiously, "What are you saying, Your Highness!"

"You are the birth mother of the princes, carrying them for ten months, longing for them day and night, protecting them night and night!"

"Who in this palace doesn't know this? How could the princes possibly resent you?"

Zhou Mingyi shook her head.

"I blame myself for being useless," she said. "I blame myself for not being able to protect them. I blame myself for letting those with ulterior motives get close to them."

Shiliu didn't dare to reply.

Zhou Mingyi raised her eyelids and stared out the window, lost in thought.

The spring chill was still in the air outside the window, and the crabapple branches, which had just sprouted tender buds, were so heavy that they could not lift their heads.

She heard a faint sound of bells coming from outside the palace.

Emperor Qianwu dared not come to see her, but she knew that he came every day and was outside the palace at this moment.

"That pearl pill," she suddenly said, "I should have been wary of it sooner."

Shi Liu's body stiffened.

"Your Majesty..."

"The imperial physician said it wasn't poison."

Zhou Mingyi's voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself, "The use of cinnabar in medicine has existed since ancient times."

"It's because my body is weak and I can't tolerate strong tonics."

"It was Consort Liu's use of leeches and horseflies, those potent poisons, that was the root of the problem."

"But those pearl pills..." she lowered her eyes, "I've been taking them for a while, and I feel dry every day."

"I can't sleep at night, my heart races, and my gums bleed easily. I asked the imperial physician, and he said it was due to fetal heat."

"It's not that I haven't had my suspicions."

Her voice trembled slightly, "But who should I suspect?"

Shi Liu's breathing became lighter.

"The princess has been escorting her for three years. Nothing has ever gone wrong."

Zhou Mingyi said softly, "It just so happens that I...it just so happens that I ran into Liu Zhaoyi's vile drugs."

She closed her eyes.

"What a coincidence!"

Shiliu didn't dare to reply.

The hall remained silent for a long time.

Zhou Mingyi opened her eyes, a faint smile appearing on her pale face.

"That's enough."

"The cases are all closed."

"Liu was executed."

"Your Majesty has your own difficulties, and the Empress Dowager has her own considerations."

"What can I, a concubine who has lost her child, do besides grieve and accept the inevitable?"

She lowered her eyes, her fingers stroking the empty box slightly curled.

"I just wanted to..."

"I just want to give birth to my child safely and peacefully."

These words were heavy, making it hard for Pomegranate and Wax Apple to breathe.

Knowing that she wasn't from Zhou Mingyi's family, Lianwu stood silently to the side.

Just then, a soft knock came from outside the hall.

Shi Liu hurriedly wiped away her tears, got up and opened the door.

A young eunuch stood bowing outside the door, his voice extremely low:

"Aunt Pomegranate, His Majesty has arrived."

Shi Liu's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly turned around to report.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingyi slowly sat up, a slight smile playing on her lips. He had finally come.

The pain of losing her child was even greater for Emperor Qianwu than for her.

She straightened her hair in front of the bronze mirror, then lowered her eyes, reverting to her gaunt, sickly appearance.

Help me up.

"Kneel to welcome Your Majesty."

When Emperor Qianwu entered the palace, Zhou Mingyi was already kneeling beside the couch.

She was dressed in plain clothes, without any makeup, and looked extremely haggard.

Less than twenty days postpartum, her once full cheeks had sunken, her chin was pointed, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

She knelt there, her forehead touching the cold gold bricks.

Emperor Qianwu's heart clenched.

"stand up."

He personally went to help her up, asking, "Who told you to kneel?"

Zhou Mingyi did not get up immediately.

She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"This concubine..." Her voice was terribly hoarse, "This concubine has no face to meet the Emperor."

Emperor Qianwu's hand froze in mid-air.

"I failed to protect Your Highnesses." Her voice was broken, like withered leaves shattering in the wind. "His Majesty entrusted the princes to me, and I have failed His Majesty..."

As she spoke, she finally raised her head.

There were no tears in those eyes; they must have cried themselves dry.

Only red eye sockets and deep emptiness in the eyes.

Emperor Qianwu looked into those eyes.

He recalled a month ago when she was walking in the Imperial Garden, heavily pregnant, with two babies kicking inside her. She smiled and took his hand to touch it.

He recalled her saying, "Your Majesty, I dreamt of two children, one who looked like you, and one who looked like me."

He remembered her saying, "Your Majesty, would you like to give them some nice names?"

The two children have now been buried in the imperial mausoleum.

Two names, engraved on the cold stone tablet.

Emperor Qianwu closed his eyes.

"It's not your fault," he heard himself say. "It's me... who failed to protect you and your child."

Zhou Mingyi shook her head.

She lowered her eyes, her voice very soft:

"This concubine dares not blame Your Majesty."

"I only lament my own lack of fortune. I could not keep Your Majesty's child."

She paused.

"It's also the fault of... the person who truly killed them."

The hall suddenly fell silent.

Zhou Mingyi didn't say anything more. Some things are better left unsaid and should be left to the left to the left.

But like a thorn, it will pierce Emperor Qianwu's flesh.

She lowered her head, her slender fingers stroking the two empty brocade boxes beside the bed.

again and again.

Emperor Qianwu looked at her pale fingers and at the two empty brocade boxes.

He suddenly wanted to ask her, "Do you know who it is?"

Whom do you suspect?

Who is the person you hate?

But he couldn't bring himself to ask.

Because he knows the answer.

But he couldn't bear that answer.

"...Take good care of yourself."

His voice was hoarse, "I will come to see you another day."

Zhou Mingyi knelt down to see him off.

She knelt there, watching his figure disappear outside the palace gate.

Her face remained sorrowful, but something flashed very lightly and quickly in her eyes.

After Emperor Qianwu left, Shiliu helped Zhou Mingyi back to her bed.

The palace doors closed.

Zhou Mingyi leaned against the pillow, closed her eyes, and exhaled a long, deep breath.

Shiliu knelt beside the bed, tucking the blanket around her, her voice extremely low:

"Your Majesty, weren't your words just now... a bit too risky?"

Zhou Mingyi did not open her eyes.

"What did you say?"

"You said 'the person who truly killed them'," Shi Liu said carefully, "If word gets out..."

"So what if it gets out?"

Zhou Mingyi opened her eyes.

Her voice was still soft and gentle, but somehow, the sorrow from before had vanished from that gentle and soothing tone.

"I'm telling the truth," she said. "The two children were indeed murdered."

"As for who that person is—" she paused, "His Majesty knows. The Empress Dowager knows. The entire palace knows."

"It's just that no one dares to say it out loud."