Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

When Yang Hui woke up that night, she felt inexplicably at peace.

Although her clothes were still soaked with cold sweat, she was no longer as afraid as usual.

Strangely, for a long time afterward, she slept soundly at night and never had nightmares again.

Days passed by, and soon it was time for her to give birth.

To welcome his first child, King Wu unusually set aside military affairs and did not take any concubines, instead spending the entire day in Ning'an Courtyard.

At dusk, after the sound of a baby crying rang out, King Wu rushed into the main house.

From then on, the Prince's Mansion had one more beautiful and delicate eldest daughter.

King Wu personally named her Zhao Wan. Not long after the news reached the capital, the emperor issued an edict bestowing upon her the title of Princess Fenghua.

The birth of Zhao Wan temporarily brought her parents closer together.

To see her, King Wu would make three trips a day to Ning'an Courtyard, and even wanted to stay overnight there.

They stopped because he snored at night and they were afraid of disturbing their daughter.

But this didn't last long, and soon new women entered the inner quarters.

King Wu began to spend his days and nights in his concubines' courtyards, and rarely had time to visit Ning'an Courtyard again.

At first, I came every day, then every other day, and then every three to five days.

Zhao Wan cried incessantly when she couldn't see her father, but even so, King Wu, who was immersed in the pleasures of love, could only blame the Queen for not taking good care of her daughter.

On that most disheartening night, Yang Hui had another dream.

She returned to the secret room, and the voice rang out once more.

"I can give you a way to make the prince always keep the princess in his heart and love her forever."

These words moved Yang Hui once again.

"What method?"

"Follow my recipe and brew some wine for the prince to drink."

King Wu rarely drank alcohol, so Yang Hui thought it wouldn't work.

The voice replied, "This is not ordinary wine, but medicinal wine. It contains common medicinal herbs, but I will add one more thing to it."

Yang Hui asked, "What did you put there? Could it be harmful to the Prince?"

The other party replied, "Of course not, but remember, when making the wine, take a section of the princess's hair and soak it together."

Upon waking, Yang Hui immediately instructed the servants in the courtyard to prepare medicinal herbs and brew wine overnight using the method given in her dream.

It will be ready to be taken out of the jar in just seven days.

She devised a plan and had a servant deliver it to King Wu.

After King Wu finished drinking, he indeed came to Ning'an Courtyard that very night. He not only praised the wine as delicious, but also personally coaxed Zhao Wan to sleep before leaving.

Knowing that the medicinal wine was effective, Yang Hui continued to brew wine.

King Wu was also very addicted to it; he felt uneasy if he didn't drink it for a day, and he also felt uneasy if he didn't see his daughter for a day.

Zhao Wan was practically pampered as she grew up. When she was five years old, news came from the capital that the Empress Dowager wanted to meet her granddaughter, so she personally sent someone to bring her into the palace to stay for a while.

During this time, King Wu was unable to see his daughter and fell ill. After recovering, his health deteriorated considerably.

Less than two years later, he retired from the Golden Feather Army and lived at home.

At this time, Zhao Wan was already seven years old.

In the same year, King Wu, who had retired from the army, acquired a beautiful concubine surnamed Du and doted on her.

Within a few months, Du became pregnant.

When this news reached Yang Hui's ears, she was inexplicably frightened.

Although King Wu still cherished Zhao Wan, he also longed for a son.

He would often take his seven-year-old daughter to Zhenxia Courtyard so that she could talk to the baby in her belly.

Zhao Wan was also disgusted by this, and after returning from Du's place, she went to her mother to cry and complain.

Hearing her daughter cry, Yang Hui became even more panicked; she wouldn't allow anyone to take away the love that belonged to her daughter.

So she began to desperately want to enter a dream, hoping that the "voice" in the dream would help her.

But the more she tried to have these dreams, the less she could dream about them.

Then, one night, a shadow suddenly appeared beside my bed: "You're looking for me?"

Yang Hui recognized the voice; it was the voice from her dream.

She said, "I want you to help me."

Shadow chuckled coldly, "Helping you isn't out of the question, but there will be a price to pay."

Yang Hui replied without hesitation, "Any price is acceptable!"

The shadow said again, "I want your body for my use."

Yang Hui immediately nodded: "As long as you can ensure my Wan'er grows up safely and without harm, and remains the prince's most beloved child forever, I will agree!"

Shadow readily agreed: "Then, everything will be as you wish."

After the sound faded, the shadow passed through Yang Hui's body, and she rolled off the bed, collapsing to the ground and convulsing violently.

After that, she could no longer move her legs and could only sit in a wheelchair.

She thought this was the price she had to pay.

However, this proved not to be the case.

From then on, her daughter often couldn't see her and would talk to another "self" in Ning'an Hospital.

She was in Ning'an Courtyard, able to hear, see, and even touch, yet she felt as if she were isolated.

The day of Du's delivery arrived quickly.

However, that night, instead of news of her giving birth, news of her disappearance came.

A pregnant woman who was about to give birth suddenly disappeared.

When Yang Hui heard the news, she didn't know how to feel. She had become accustomed to staying in the Prince's mansion like an outsider.

I've gotten used to it; another version of myself often appears within Ning'an Hospital.

Whenever "Yang Hui" appears, she is automatically isolated, as if she is in a dream world.

But she didn't mind, because Zhao Wan had indeed grown up peacefully amidst a great deal of love and affection.

However, King Wu was aging rapidly; although he was not yet forty, he looked like he was fifty.

He still drinks the wine brewed by the princess every day. The wine seems to have a kind of magic. After drinking it, he always thinks of the days when he was full of vigor on the battlefield.

One after another, the concubines in the inner quarters became pregnant, but none of them were able to give birth smoothly. They either died suddenly during labor or died just before giving birth.

Such things happened too many times, and all sorts of rumors spread, including tales of ghosts. Even King Wu, who had never believed in superstitions, wavered once.

However, the sorcerer he consulted still disappointed him. The sorcerer claimed that the palace was cursed and related to its predecessor, and urged him to move as soon as possible.

King Wu was furious upon hearing this, beat the sorcerer, and drove him out of Liangzhou City once again.

When the princess was fourteen, King Wu passed away. He died in the bed of one of his concubines, at the young age of thirty-nine.

To protect their reputation, they dared not spread the news, only saying that he had died of illness.

At this point, all the concubines in the inner quarters were dismissed. Of course, some, having no other way out, ended up killing themselves by crashing into King Wu's tomb.

Zhao Wan indeed became the only child in the Prince's mansion.

"To this day, I still don't know whether I was the one who killed your father..."

"But I am indeed deeply sinful and unforgivable..."