After marrying the fierce god, her handsome young husband was pampered to the extreme.

After the meal, Huayue reluctantly parted ways with everyone.

The people from the Weifeng Martial Arts School were all friends that Huayue made after coming to Yanru.

Despite the significant difference in their social status, they got along very well.

As Hua Yue approached the palace gate, just as she was about to go in, Chi Xu grabbed her wrist.

Hua Yue looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong?"

"Little eggplant."

"Um?"

Chi Xu said, "No matter what decision you make, I will be by your side."

Hua Yue blinked and stayed by his side.

How can I accompany you?

Hua Yue pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, "You want to go to the palace to become a eunuch?"

After all, emperors were always accompanied by eunuchs.

Chi Xu: "?"

Chi Xu: "..."

Chi Xu had a headache. "Don't talk nonsense."

He pushed the small eggplant toward the palace gate. "Go in."

"Why are you acting so mysteriously?" Hua Yue turned her head and instructed, "I'll be studying starting tomorrow, so don't bother me."

Chi Xu waved to him, "I'll try my best."

Hua Yue looked at him as if he were a bunch of cronies.

But when he looked at the man with a focused gaze, he saw a hint of gentleness in the man's eyes under the moonlight.

Hua Yue quickly turned her head back, patted her cheeks, and said, "It's an illusion, it must be an illusion."

Chi Xu, that bastard, has always liked to tease him since he was a child.

He could never be gentle.

Upon returning to her palace, Huayue found a person sitting in the main hall.

He asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why are you here?"

Kong Sangqi said, "I came to see you."

Hua Yue said "Oh," and then added, "Now that you've seen it, hurry back."

He paused, then said somewhat awkwardly, "You have to attend court early tomorrow."

Kong Sangqi raised the corners of his mouth, clearly in a good mood. "Concerned about me?"

Hua Yue rolled her eyes. "Stop trying to glorify yourself."

"I heard from the Imperial Advisor that you are willing to become the Crown Prince," Kong Sangqi said. "A-Yue, I am very happy."

Hua Yue said, "You're celebrating too soon."

"What do you mean?"

Hua Yue stated frankly, "Once I become emperor, I will never fight against the Great Yin again."

Kong Sangqi said, "When the time comes, the imperial power will be in your hands. You can do whatever you want, and I will not interfere."

Seeing that he didn't object, Hua Yue asked in surprise, "Didn't you always want to annex Da Yin? You're giving up already?"

"That was true before, but now, I am willing to give up the war for you," Kong Sangqi said.

Hua Yue simply couldn't believe that an ambitious person would suddenly claim to have no desires or wants.

Who knows what mischief they're up to!

Kong Sangqi knew that Hua Yue didn't believe him, but he wasn't surprised.

After all, before they recognized each other, the two sides were still enemies.

"I once thought that as long as I held great power and controlled the country, that would be my life's pursuit..."

At this point, Kong Sangqi's expression turned somewhat sorrowful. "Your little father died because of me. Only now do I realize that there are things in this world more important than ambition."

Kong Sangqi also had a lover who accompanied him in his youth, but his beloved died on the road to the throne that year.

At that time, Kong Sangqi was unaware of what he had lost.

Looking back suddenly, he stood at the highest point and realized how cold and lonely it was.

In a daze, Kong Sangqi seemed to see him in Hua Yue's face.

He whispered, "Chensha..."

"What's so important?"

Hua Yue's voice shattered the illusion before them, and Chen Sha's face gradually faded, replaced by their child.

A face younger than Chen Sha's.

Kong Sangqi said, "You."

Hua Yue scratched her face, her expression particularly unnatural.

What exactly did he mean? It sounds like he's being insulted.

Whether it's a good thing or not, it doesn't sound like a compliment.

Kong Sangqi said, "A Yue, this Yanru land is the only thing I can be proud of in my life."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Besides that, I really don't know how to make it up to you."

Having been in Yanru for so long, this was the first time Huayue had ever heard him mention his stepfather.

When he first arrived in Yanru, he was very curious about his biological stepfather.

He asked several palace servants, but without exception they all remained silent.

The deceased empress is a taboo subject that everyone keeps in mind.

Now that Kong Sangqi had brought it up himself, Hua Yue asked, "My little father... what kind of person is he?"

Kong Sangqi seemed lost in memories. He thought quietly for a long time before saying, "He was a clever boy, and you look a lot like him. As for his temper, it's neither good nor bad. If I make him angry, he'll throw a tantrum and ignore me for a long time."

Hua Yue then asked, "How did he die? Is it related to you?"

Kong Sangqi was stunned for a moment, then his whole body seemed to have been drained of its energy by a monster, and he drooped his head listlessly.

"Yes," Kong Sangqi said softly, "I am the culprit who killed him."

Hua Yue pursed her lips, feeling somewhat sad.

He had never met him before... Maybe he had met him when he was very young, but he had no memory of him at that time, and his knowledge of his stepfather was completely blank.

"It's getting late, A-Yue, go to sleep early." Kong Sangqi got up and left. Just as he got into the sedan chair, Hua Yue chased after him.

"Kong Sangqi, I no longer hate you." Hua Yue waved to him, "Be careful on your way back."

Kong Sangqi was taken aback, then chuckled helplessly, "This child has no manners."

The eunuch serving nearby was inwardly turbulent.

They knew the eldest prince was favored, but they never imagined he was favored this much.

Calling the emperor by his given name would have been a capital offense for anyone else.

However, when such a rebellious act was committed by the eldest prince, the emperor was not only not angry, but also doted on him.

Kong Sangqi returned to his palace. He stared at the portrait hanging in his bedroom and finally shed a tear.

Chensha hated him until her death.

That night, Kong Sangqi dreamed of Chen Sha again.

In the dream, after the old emperor fell ill, a silent power struggle began, almost bringing the struggle for the throne into the open.

The crown prince, appointed by the old emperor, was weak-willed and only had the advantage of being born of the empress.

He was no match for his brothers; it was a miracle he survived.

The crown prince was like a puppet; in the court, only the second prince and the fifth prince were evenly matched.

Although the old emperor had one foot in the coffin, he clung to life, lingering on his sickbed, unwilling to leave.

Neither the second nor the fifth son wanted to bear the stigma of patricide, and with power firmly in their grasp, a terminally ill old emperor posed no threat to them.

During the years when Kong Sangqi and the Fifth Prince fought the fiercest, the entire Yanru was filled with bloodshed.

Later, Kong Sangqi narrowly won a move, forcing the already desperate Fifth Prince to resort to desperate measures and send men to capture Chen Sha.

At that time, Chensha had just given birth and was very weak.

The Fifth Prince tied Chen Sha to the edge of the cliff and presented Kong Sangqi with two choices.

Which would you choose: the throne or the beauty?