So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

Inside the tent, candlelight flickered, and maids carried basin after basin of hot water amidst the swirling cold wind. In the side room, a pot of medicine was boiling on a stove, and the air was filled with a bitter smell.

Xie Xun's gaze, like the dark waves of a vast ocean, quietly swept across the face of the woman lying on the couch. No matter how cold the wind outside was, it couldn't chill his eyes.

The young eunuch serving him leaned forward with a fawning expression, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on the birth of your son."

"Congratulations are due." Xie Xun's expression was calm. "Issue my decree: reward everyone in the palace!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey the decree."

The servants inside the tent instantly beamed with joy. The lamplight illuminated the pale face of the woman on the bed as the female official fed her the medicinal soup to help her have a safe pregnancy, spoonful by spoonful.

"How is she feeling?"

The military doctor lowered his head, carefully choosing his words, and respectfully said, "Madam's pulse is unstable, and there are signs of miscarriage. She should avoid strenuous exercise for the time being."

He was practically telling the emperor to exercise restraint, but Xie Xun showed no sign of unease, his gaze fixed intently on the person lying on the couch.

The lady-in-waiting who was feeding the medicine felt uneasy. She wiped the medicine from the corner of the lady's mouth with a handkerchief and bowed to make way for her.

"The lady is in good health and is out of danger, Your Majesty, please rest assured."

"You may all leave."

Everyone withdrew as if granted a pardon. The female official quickly packed up her medicine box and followed her master outside the screen.

The tent fell silent. Xie Xun lifted his robe and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at the still unconscious woman. His gaze then settled on her flat stomach.

He reached out and touched it, feeling the softness in his palm.

---

When Ning Yu woke up, it was already evening. Her consciousness was still hazy, and she vaguely saw a familiar dark figure sitting by the bed.

Tall and slender, dressed in a black and gold dragon-patterned brocade robe, he leaned against the bedside with his eyes slightly closed. His handsome and refined face was expressionless, indifferent and cold.

Xie Xun wasn't asleep. Noticing that she was awake, he opened his eyes and looked over.

No palace lanterns were lit inside Changxin Palace. The two men stared at each other in the dim light of the tent, and a heavy silence spread around them.

Ning Yu sensed something was wrong with his expression and propped herself up to sit up.

She had been changed out of her clothes and was now only wearing a thin gauze dress. She pulled the blanket over herself.

"You are pregnant with my child."

"It didn't fall out?" Disappointment flashed in Ning Yu's downcast eyes. She touched her flat, soft belly with her hand hidden under the blanket and hummed in response.

Xie Xun stared at her eyes and brows. "You look very unhappy."

Startled, she said calmly, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. I'm just a little tired."

"Don't you know?"

"have no idea."

He pressed further, "You didn't even know your period hadn't come?"

Ning Yu didn't want to argue with him, so she looked up at him and said, "Does Your Majesty suspect me? Do you suspect that I knew all along but deliberately didn't tell you?"

"Isn't that right?"

Her ankle was suddenly grabbed, and with a forceful pull, she was dragged to his side, her cheeks lifted abruptly to meet his sinister eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Ning Yu's hands trembled slightly as she gripped the bedsheets. She moved her lips and said, "I didn't see a doctor. I really don't know."

Unrepentant.

"Come in."

The nanny waiting outside immediately brought in the apothecary and the physician. When Ning Yu saw the two kneeling on the ground, she clenched her fists.

Xie Xun watched her expression closely. The apothecary kneeling on the ground secretly raised his eyelids to look, and when he saw that it really was that woman, his face turned pale.

The woman who often came to him for medicinal herbs turned out to be the lady kept in Changxin Palace. It's all over now.

"Let's see if you recognize them?"

Ning Yu fell silent.

Xie Xun was so angry that the veins on his hands, which were pinching her cheeks, bulged, and his cold eyes were full of hostility.

She knew, she knew she was pregnant but didn't tell him, and she never said a word during sex. Did she want him to kill their child with his own hands?!

Well done, truly well done.

"Tell me, why did you keep this from me?"

Ning Yu's jaw ached from his pinching, and her misty eyes met his dark, cold eyes. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her back.

The air felt like it was burning with fire. The palace servant who brought the medicine officer in quickly gave the two of them a wink and led them out, afraid of being a step too late.

The door was tightly closed, leaving only the two people inside the hall. Ning Yu, kneeling on the couch, shrank back slightly and moved her lips.

"I don't know how to tell you."

When she treated him so dismissively, Xie Xun shoved her face away.

Ning Yu hissed in pain and collapsed weakly onto the couch. She looked up at the figure standing beside the couch, whose aura was as terrifying as a demon.

"You knew perfectly well that you were pregnant, and when I was eagerly telling you about the child, you were still lying to me, saying that the child was fate. Ning Yu, how dare you!"

The teacup on the table was suddenly thrown to the ground with a bang, splashing water droplets all over the floor.

"You never intended to have this child; you've been lying to me from the very beginning."

A violent rage resounded in the hall, and the emperor's imposing aura made it hard for anyone in the entire palace to breathe. Ning Yu knew that nothing she said would make a difference, so she simply stopped arguing.

She sat up, supporting her stomach, and met his gaze with a cold expression.

"Since Your Majesty already has a guess in mind, why ask me?"

The relationship between the two, which had just begun to improve, crumbled instantly because of these words, like ice on the verge of breaking completely collapsing, with icy seawater sweeping over them.

"I'm right, you never intended to have this child, did you?"

"Your Majesty has asked me again and again, are you hoping I'll lie to you again and tell you I didn't want it?"

Xie Xun seemed to laugh in anger, "Fine, you don't even want to lie to me anymore."

She remained silent, silently confronting him.

"You never intended to stay by my side. Your unwillingness to tell me was a pretext to leave the palace, abort the child, and keep me from ever knowing about the child's existence."

"Yes, I never intended to give birth to this wretched child." Her red eyes were filled with hatred. "Xie Xun, listen carefully, I never intended to give birth to this child for you, not from the very beginning."

"If you don't want to have my child, whose child do you want? Your eldest brother's?"

The five fingers gripping her cheeks were so strong it felt like they wanted to crush her. His sudden approach carried the cold majesty of an emperor, and Ning Yu had no doubt that he could take her life with a single word.

But she didn't say anything against her conscience again. She told him, word by word, "I don't want to give birth to your child, no matter whose it is. I hate you."