In the blink of an eye, it was already the weather of severe winter, yet inside the great hall it was warm as spring.

Princess Qixia sat before the window, quietly gazing at the distant garden. The lotus pond no longer had lotus flowers, only covered with a layer of ice and snow. After Princess Qixia gave birth, she constantly refused to become close to the child, even refused to see his face. The Emperor sympathized with her feelings and worried she would harm herself, guarding her day and night. Yet her spirit seemed completely destroyed by childbirth. Most of the time she was silently speechless, her expression in a trance. The people of Zichen Hall spread rumors in secret—Princess Qixia had already gone mad. However, she knew she hadn’t gone mad, only that she was about to go mad.

Waaah—a burst of infant crying rang out.

In her trance, Qixia heard the crying. She was startled awake at once, hastily standing up and searching everywhere throughout the entire palace. The palace maids looked at each other face to face, at a loss.

“Did you hear? He’s crying! My baby is crying!” She spoke as if in a dream.

A trace of pleasant surprise floated across the palace maid’s face. Had the princess finally remembered her own child? She had constantly been immersed in her own emotions, fundamentally never caring about this child. Now it seemed the princess’s illness was nearly better. Thus, they quickly sent the baby’s cradle before Qixia and paid attention to her actions. Qixia walked to the cradle’s edge and with gentle movements picked up the infant in swaddling clothes, softly coaxing him. On her face was clearly maternal radiance. The infant in his mother’s embrace quickly fell sweetly asleep again. Qixia sighed with satisfaction, pressing her forehead against the child’s tender cheek.

Qixia accepted her fate. She knew this life already had no way to set down the heavy burden on her heart. But this child—in her selfish heart she prayed heaven would forgive him. If heavenly punishment descended, she was willing to bear it alone. People said infants also had memories. She had constantly refused to approach him, only because she didn’t want to leave memories of her as his mother in the child’s tender and pure eyes. But now, time was becoming less and less…

While stroking the infant’s birth hair, Qixia silently shed tears. The more she contemplated, the more the tears could not stop.

Just at this moment, the Emperor entered the door covered in the dust of travel. The purple sable cloak on his shoulders was covered with white snow. Ice crystals had condensed on his handsome face. The palace maids hastily went up to help him remove the cloak. He smiled and strode forward with large steps, but in the instant he saw Qixia’s tears, his face sank.

Qixia hastily placed the infant back in the cradle. Taking advantage of the instant of lowering her head, she concealed her tears. When she raised her head again, she had already recovered calm. “Your Majesty.”

He rushed over in a panic, cupping her face. “What is it? Who made you angry?”

Princess Qixia looked at him. Her jet-black eyes were moist and lustrous, like a deep pool, carrying ten thousand kinds of reluctance and sorrow. However, when the Emperor steadied himself to look, a trace of smile had already quickly appeared on her face. “I’m perfectly fine here. Who would come to make me angry?”

The Emperor was stunned. His expression did not become cheerful but instead asked with a gloomy face, “Don’t deceive me. If you’re perfectly fine, why cry? Exactly who is gossiping in your ear? Did the Empress come looking for you again? She has such audacity!”

Qixia hastily grabbed him. “No, no, it truly has nothing to do with the Empress. I saw you care for us mother and child so much, and recently no longer go to the rear palace. I worried rumors and gossip would arise, which would instead be bad for our son. This is only my heart of loving my child. What does it have to do with Her Majesty…”

The Emperor knit his brows. Since giving birth, Qixia had often been in a mental trance, uneasy day and night. He deeply knew where this unease came from, but he couldn’t dispel it. Qixia believed in Buddha. She believed in karmic reincarnation and retribution for good and evil. So she feared their feelings would anger the divine spirits, and in the future punishment would descend on this innocent child. But he didn’t believe. Not long after birth, he fell from an imperial prince of a nation to a prisoner. In prison he endured all kinds of torture, eating moldy food, drinking spoiled water, constantly having to endure the prison guards’ mockery. From the time he became aware, day and night he worried his time of death was approaching. This kind of torture was absolutely not something normal people could endure. If not for Qixia by his side, he would have already died a thousand, a hundred times.

His Qixia—so lovely, so gentle—she was the only hope in that dark period. She was more thin and weak than him, more pitiable. Clearly terrified to the point of sleeplessness, she constantly comforted him, protected him. At that time, he was only a prisoner, living in a pitch-black prison where he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. He couldn’t even distinguish Qixia’s face. But they loved each other—not for status, not for position, not for appearance, only because they were each other’s sole companion. Later, he became ruler of a nation. By his side were countless consorts. But he deeply knew their love fundamentally wasn’t for him as a person. They loved that his status was exalted, his appearance handsome, his mind shrewd. Laughable—if they had encountered that youth in prison who was afraid and terrified to the point of sleepless days and nights, probably no one would be willing to lower their noble head to take one more look.

In the world no one was more important than Qixia, yet she had fallen ill, sick to the point of once refusing to care for her own child. Now seeing her like this, clearly she remembered—remembered this child was their flesh and blood. Everything was improving…

He looked at Qixia and said gently, “Pei Huaizhen is a cunning fox. Qixia, you must not proactively approach her.”

Princess Qixia smiled. “The Empress is different from everyone else. She’s the most intelligent, most capable woman I’ve seen. I often think, if the person you met first wasn’t me, you would have fallen in love with her too.”

A trace of sarcastic arc appeared on Yuan Jinfeng’s thin lips. In his mind he instantly thought of Pei Huaizhen’s absolutely gorgeous face. What surged up afterward, aside from disgust, was nothing else. “She is very intelligent, but in the end she’s not my Qixia. Besides Qixia, I won’t love anyone. I’ve given her the most supreme status. This is already the limit. Qixia, don’t force me anymore.”

Before his beloved woman, he had never used the word “we.” Between them, such distance was unnecessary.

“I naturally know your intentions. Now this love has already extended to the child. But excessive doting will only shorten the child’s life. If you truly love our child with a sincere heart, I beg you—send him out of the palace and find an ordinary family to raise him.”

“Qixia, you’ve gone mad! This is your own flesh and blood. You can actually bear to say such words?!” He was astonished. On his face appeared unprecedented gloom.

“But he shouldn’t have been born!” A trace of despair surged across Princess Qixia’s beautiful face. Her fingers subconsciously tightly clutched his sleeve. “You and I are both sinners. Do you want this sin to extend to an innocent child! He’s still small now and knows nothing. But after he grows up, how do you want him to face everyone pointing fingers at him?!”

In an instant, Yuan Jinfeng’s tenacious and cold heart seemed pierced with pain. For a long while he couldn’t speak a single word. Finally, he moved his lips, only saying word by word, “I will make everyone under heaven close their mouths!”

“Your Majesty, that’s only because they don’t dare speak!” Princess Qixia felt she was about to suffocate. In this intense love and terrible persistence, she was bit by bit being dismembered and disassembled. She must leave here, otherwise she would definitely be driven mad by this terrible sense of guilt. She could endure being cursed and reviled by others, but absolutely could not destroy her own child. Such a well-behaved child—heaven was willing to give him a healthy body, which was already mercy. She couldn’t be greedy anymore…

“Qixia, you need not worry about anything. Just trust me.” He said this, his brow and eyes resolute.

Sharp pain arose in Princess Qixia’s heart, but her emotions gradually quieted. She leaned into the other party’s embrace and slowly said, “I trust you. You’ll definitely protect him well.”

From this day onward, Qixia’s increasingly trance-like spirit seemed to recover somewhat. When happy, she was even willing to walk around the small garden outside. Seeing his beloved gradually recovering her health, the large stone in Yuan Jinfeng’s heart finally fell. His thoughts also returned to matters of court.

When he returned to Zichen Hall, the sky had already darkened. Red candles were lit. Qixia sat beneath the candles, head lowered, quietly embroidering something. Yuan Jinfeng quietly came behind her and in one motion pulled out the embroidery hoop from her fingertips. Qixia was startled, then laughed lightly. “Your Majesty has returned.”

Yuan Jinfeng looked at the embroidery hoop in his hand. On it was embroidered a Hundred Sons picture with varying forms. Little children smiled happily, either tumbling or frolicking—vivid and lifelike, very lively. His fingers brushed over the embroidery hoop. His brow and eyes relaxed in a smile. “Why expend such effort? The palace has embroidery women. If you hurt your eyes, I’ll be heartbroken.”

Qixia’s gaze gently fell on the embroidery hoop. “This is a belly covering I’m making with my own hands. The significance is different. I hope it can protect the child for a peaceful life.”

Yuan Jinfeng put down the embroidery hoop and with gentle movements drew her into his embrace. “Rest assured. I’ve already arranged an open and upright background for him. I absolutely won’t let him suffer the slightest grievance. Qixia, this is the greatest concession I can make.”

Yuan Jinfeng had always refused to agree to send the child into the common people. Under Princess Qixia’s repeated insistence, in the end he only agreed to arrange a reasonable and logical background for the child so he wouldn’t be criticized.

This stubborn man who refused to admit defeat was using his own strength alone to resist the entire fury of Yuexi. He clearly knew the court officials were already discussing in confusion, the situation ready to explode at a touch… Qixia could only sigh lightly, slowly raising her face. “Good, I’ll listen to you in everything.”

Joy arose in Yuan Jinfeng’s heart. For a long time, Qixia had been in a cold war with him over this matter. He was busy every day with open strife and veiled struggles in court. At night when he returned, he also had to think of ways to make her happy. It was truly too exhausting. Tonight’s Qixia had less stubbornness. The atmosphere between the two seemed to return to the past. He slowly lowered his head. His lips fell on Qixia’s forehead, slowly moving to her eyes, nose, mouth. Qixia was rarely docile, allowing his movements. Under the candlelight, her face was dyed with a layer of red glow, appearing especially beautiful. Yuan Jinfeng’s heart suddenly beat hard. His long arm extended and he picked her up in one motion, walking straight toward the depths of the curtains.

Qixia was held by him, yet was unprecedentedly quiet. Previously, she always incomparably resisted his approach. Now with this appearance, she must have truly thought things through… Yuan Jinfeng couldn’t describe the wild joy in his heart. He slowly set down his beloved and said gently, “Qixia, we’ll be together—together for a lifetime.”

Princess Qixia looked at his incomparably handsome face, feeling that warm breath almost falling on her face. She involuntarily trembled. He noticed and gently embraced her, as if wanting to use his scalding body to melt her coldness.

Yuan Jinfeng gazed at Qixia with focused expression. Her eyes seemed like a pool of spring water. Before he knew it, she had obtained all his heart and spirit. Only when her body in his embrace became increasingly warm did he press his lips on her lips. Before he knew it, delicate kisses finally transformed into wild disorder. She didn’t open her mouth to refuse, always so gentle, so obedient, willingly entangled with him, using every method to cooperate with him. The two clung to each other desperately, unprecedentedly joyful.

At the third watch, the palace drum sounded. Qixia slowly opened her eyes, extended her hand to gently move aside Yuan Jinfeng’s arm resting on her waist, then sat up from the bed. Moonlight shone through the gauze window. Her body appeared even more delicate and beautiful. Her dark hair quietly draped over her shoulders. She only quietly gazed at the sleeping Yuan Jinfeng. At this moment the Emperor was quiet, gentle—completely different from the man who easily became angry in ordinary days. Her hand seemed about to fall on his slightly knit brow, but ultimately only stopped in midair, fundamentally unable to descend.

It should end—this love, this hate, everything here. Since the sin began with her, it should end with her.

Large drops of tears flowed from her beautiful eyes, only falling on the brocade quilt. She said softly, “In the future without me, what will you do…”

Qixia sat at the bedside for a while, then rose with light movements and put on the clothing she had prepared long ago. She knew tonight no one would be present, because he didn’t like others spying on their intimate affairs. And he himself… Red candles burned with hypnotic incense. He would sleep well through the night. Thus, she opened the palace door. A gust of cold wind blew in. A trace of smile floated across her pale face. Without looking back again, she walked out.

This sleep was exceptionally sweet. Yuan Jinfeng was awakened by the startled cries of eunuchs and palace maids. He abruptly sat up from the bed. Subconsciously he felt around—the space beside him was already ice-cold. His heart turned cold. He seemed to sense something. Without even time to put on an outer garment, he ran out.

In the garden was an icy world of snow. Thick white snow had accumulated on the ground. When everyone rushed in panic to the garden’s lotus pond, they all saw—a woman in red clothing lay face-up beneath the floating ice, her face beautiful, her expression peaceful.

She had walked straight toward the lotus pond. She fundamentally intended to die, so last night she had been so tender and affectionate… Everything was only to deceive him, to make him think their new life together was about to begin… But only now did he understand—it was all fake!

Yuan Jinfeng only felt ten thousand arrows piercing his heart, in agony wishing for death. One hand covered his chest as he bent over, yet with a “wah” sound he spewed out a great mouthful of blood…

Everyone was panic-stricken. They could only watch helplessly as their Emperor crashed thunderously down…