The people in the palace gradually discovered that Empress Pei had changed. Previously, though she was strict with the Crown Prince on the surface, she actually cared for him. But now she spent all day summoning court officials, exhausting herself from dawn to dusk—how could she have time to raise the Crown Prince? The Empress’s behavior wasn’t strange, because rumors were spreading everywhere outside that the Emperor had thoughts of deposing the Empress, and had united with several ministers to impeach the Pei family. Under such circumstances, Empress Pei naturally had no time for tender feelings. She devoted most of her time to court affairs. A month later, she finally succeeded in suppressing the rising calls for deposing the Empress. When Empress Pei turned her attention back to caring for the Crown Prince, she discovered that the Crown Prince still relied on his wet nurse—whether eating, sleeping, or even using the toilet, he had to be with the wet nurse. She was very angry. A two-year-old child should be weaned. How could he grow up if he continued clinging to his wet nurse like this? So she expelled the wet nurse from the imperial palace and assigned others to care for the Crown Prince. For the young Crown Prince, driving away the wet nurse was like taking his life. So he cried and made scenes day and night, but who could disobey Empress Pei’s orders? The matter was settled.

In fact, Empress Pei’s decision couldn’t be said to lack reason, but it was too rational, too cold. When the Crown Prince was born, he had contracted dysentery and nearly lost his life. Later, every method was exhausted before he recovered, but his body was always very weak. He fell ill every few days—if not catching cold, then coughing. He was truly a sickly child, so his food and daily life required extra attention. The eunuchs and palace maids witnessed the wet nurse’s fate with their own eyes. Seeking no merit but only to avoid mistakes, no one dared get close to the Crown Prince. At mealtimes, the Crown Prince wasn’t even as tall as the table. They simply lifted him onto his chair but didn’t dare interfere with the Crown Prince’s eating habits, because Empress Pei wanted the Crown Prince to do everything personally—she didn’t allow anyone to feed him or arrange his dishes according to palace rules.

Over time, the Crown Prince became irritable, sensitive, and easily angered. When the eunuchs and palace maids discovered the Crown Prince couldn’t be managed, they had no choice but to report to Empress Pei. Empress Pei came to supervise personally. At this time the Crown Prince was merely a two-year-old child. After eating the dish in front of him, he craved the osmanthus duck across the way. Being small with short arms, he couldn’t reach it, so he simply half-knelt on the chair and reached across. When crossing over a bowl of soup, his knee accidentally slipped. The spoon fell into the soup bowl with a splash. Not only did the soup splash all over Empress Pei, even his own little lotus bowl fell to the ground and shattered.

Empress Pei flew into a rage: “What kind of behavior is this?! Where do you look like a Crown Prince!”

The little Crown Prince glared at her like an enemy. He couldn’t understand why his mother was so cold. In his eyes, this mother empress wasn’t even as close as the wet nurse. So he picked up the bowl of crystal lotus seed soup in front of him as a weapon and hurled it over. But being small without enough strength, it fell on the table before even reaching Empress Pei. Everyone was stunned.

Empress Pei’s anger was immediately ignited. She never imagined that anyone in this world would dare do such a thing. This child was born of her own body, yet he wasn’t like her at all. Why, why didn’t her son side with her, but instead learned everything from his father emperor to oppose her?!

In her fury, Empress Pei ordered the palace maids to immediately take the little Crown Prince away.

As soon as her words fell, the little Crown Prince began wailing loudly. Empress Pei said sternly: “Stop crying!” The little Crown Prince, severely scolded, couldn’t help trembling all over, his features twitching. Empress Pei looked at this child with difficulty accepting it. Suddenly, the Crown Prince got up and ran toward the door. Just as he reached outside, lightning instantly split the sky. A thunderclap descended from heaven, actually splitting a tall towering tree in the courtyard. Flames blazed fiercely, everything reflected in the child’s jet-black pupils. The little Crown Prince was scared deathly pale on the spot, trembling under the corridor pillars.

Empress Pei rushed out and embraced the deathly pale little Crown Prince in one motion. The child forgot to struggle, but she suddenly lost composure and shed tears. On this day, she suddenly realized she had been too severe. The Crown Prince was merely a two-year-old child. She had never before concerned herself with his food and daily life. Now when she had time to discipline him, she was always harsh with him—if not making him kneel in punishment, then not letting him eat.

“Yin’er, Mother Empress was wrong. Mother Empress will never scold you like this again!” Empress Pei embraced her son, speaking softly.

The little Crown Prince’s eyes dripped with tears, his lips blue-white, his entire body trembling, constantly shaking.

Pei Huaizhen hadn’t expected that this thunderclap would make the Crown Prince fall ill, and the illness lasted a very long time.

Pei Huaizhen entered the Eastern Palace. The entire hall was exceptionally quiet. The imperial physician held his breath and bowed to her in greeting. Empress Pei said: “How is the Crown Prince?”

“Reporting to Your Ladyship, the Crown Prince was originally frightened. For ordinary people, one or two doses of medicine to calm the heart would suffice. But the Crown Prince is after all too young—it actually triggered his old illness. Your Ladyship, this malaria can be major or minor. This humble minister fears…”

“It’s already been a month with no improvement. You’re truly a useless waste!” The Empress’s voice couldn’t conceal a kind of exasperated emotion. “It’s just a little malaria. Could it really endanger the Crown Prince’s life?”

The imperial physician feared saying the wrong thing and lowered his head: “Your Ladyship, perhaps we should convene a consultation at the Imperial Medical Academy…”

“A consultation? You’re already the best imperial physician in Yuexi at treating children’s illnesses. Could there be someone whose medical skills surpass yours?”

The imperial physician naturally knew this, and he also knew the Crown Prince’s condition was very serious, probably life-threatening. Though he dared not say it, the Crown Prince’s fever had never broken. The Empress was no fool—she had probably already guessed something.

“The Crown Prince is only slightly frightened. Do you understand my meaning?”

“Your Ladyship…”

“All children are like this. Even hearing thunder can frighten them half to death. Not recovering in ten days or half a month is only because of being too young. Therefore, the Crown Prince’s body has no major problems—he only needs quiet rest and should not be easily disturbed by outsiders.” The Empress’s voice was very low, faintly revealing intimidation.

The imperial physician wanted to say this matter should best be reported to the Emperor, but seeing the Empress’s expression, he ultimately said nothing.

“Yes.”

“The Crown Prince needs to find a place for quiet rest. Does the imperial physician have any place to recommend?” Empress Pei asked this way.

“Several hundred miles from the capital, there’s a place called Yujiang Peak. In the mountains there are hot springs—best for recuperation. Moreover, the environment is secluded with no one to disturb…” The imperial physician comprehended the Empress’s intention and said against his conscience.

“What we discussed today, and the Crown Prince’s illness…”

“This humble minister has already forgotten everything.” This Empress Pei was truly a beauty who made people afraid.

“If outsiders inquire…”

“The Crown Prince is merely frightened. If he goes to the hot springs for recuperation, he can recover soon.”

“The imperial physician is indeed a clever person.” Empress Pei waved her hand. “Remember you must take good care of the Crown Prince. If there are any rumors in the palace, I’ll hold you accountable.”

After the imperial physician withdrew, for the first time a desolate expression appeared in Empress Pei’s beautiful eyes.

The Crown Prince she had painstakingly given birth to had actually contracted a serious illness.

Why did Heaven always want to strip away everything that belonged to her?

In the palace, green trees provided shade, cicadas called continuously. Empress Pei stood alone under the corridor, her face showing cold, deathly stillness. She thought for a while before turning to enter the hall.

**Eight Months Later, Hot Springs Villa**

Empress Pei walked rapidly along the pebble path, hurrying all the way to the room entrance. The door was suddenly pushed open by her. Cold wind howled in. The candlelight in the room flickered in the wind. The bed curtains responded to the cold wind bursting through the door like sails billowed by wind on ocean waves. The little Crown Prince lay straight on the bed, his face covered with white gauze. Empress Pei lifted the white gauze and saw only a thin, pale little face, teardrops still hanging at the corners of his eyes. Instantly, her tears welled up and barely fell.

Everyone was trembling, not from grief but from fear.

Empress Pei’s heart involuntarily clenched tight, as if gripped by a hand, her body also beginning to tremble unceasingly. After a long time, when she slowly calmed down, she commanded sternly: “Everyone here—execute them immediately!”

The Pei residence’s iron guards rushed in and dragged out all the palace maids and eunuchs. Everyone cried in a heap. After the sounds of pleading and cursing made noise for a while, calm finally returned. When Empress Pei’s gaze fell on Female Official Xin, she immediately knelt on the ground: “Your Ladyship, this servant’s loyalty to you is absolute…”

Empress Pei said indifferently: “That’s why I’m keeping you.”

News of the Crown Prince’s death was completely sealed—not a trace leaked out. All who knew permanently closed their mouths. Even the imperial physician drunkenly fell into a lake and died a month later.

In the villa, Empress Pei sat before a cradle, looking at the infant’s face with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile: “This child is truly exceptionally beautiful. I think he’s even more adorable than the little prince Qixia and Yuan Jinfeng bore.”

Female Official Xin remained silent, looking at Empress Pei’s expression with some fear. She always felt Her Ladyship was somewhat abnormal, ever since the Crown Prince died…

Eight months after Pei Yuan left, Princess Qixia prematurely gave birth to an infant. This child was naturally extremely beautiful and adorable, like Heaven’s favored one. Indeed, inheriting the genes of the Yuan family’s peerless beauty and the powerful and prosperous Pei clan, such a child would surely have limitless potential in the future.

But Empress Pei not only concealed the child’s existence, she also sent a letter to Pei Yuan saying Princess Qixia had died. Qixia was indeed dead. After the child was born, she could no longer endure this torment and hanged herself with the long curtains. The beautiful princess’s tragic state before death—no one wanted to look at it again.

Empress Pei’s sharp fingernails traced across the infant’s tender face, the corners of her lips slowly revealing a terrifying smile.

Female Official Xin’s heart immediately tightened.

Just then, a guard entered, knelt, and reported: “Your Ladyship, the three groups of people the Emperor sent out were indeed all decoys. The real prince was entrusted to Qi Zheng to be sent out of the country. Now Qi Zheng awaits an audience with Your Ladyship. Regarding that prince…”

“Bring the little prince and the child Taoye bore back then.” Empress Pei said coldly.

Female Official Xin looked at Empress Pei in shock. She didn’t know what Her Ladyship intended to do. Taoye’s son was born very handsome and adorable. Just three years old this year, ever since his mother died in the flower pond in place of Qixia, he had been carefully cared for and supervised by people sent by Empress Pei. At this moment he was being led in, looking at Empress Pei with a face full of curiosity. While Qixia and Yuan Jinfeng’s child was only just over a year old, obediently sleeping in Qi Zheng’s embrace.

Empress Pei glanced at the three-year-old child and the infant in the cradle, smiling as she said to Qi Zheng: “Take both these children to Dali.”

“Your Ladyship, His Majesty he…”

Empress Pei’s gaze fell on the child just over a year old in his embrace. She proactively extended her hand: “Give him to me.”

Qi Zheng lowered his eyes slightly. His entire family’s lives were all in the Emperor’s hands, so the Emperor thought he was loyal. But from the very beginning, he had been a traitor. Even if it meant being disloyal, he had to abandon this trust the Emperor placed in him. So he carefully handed the little prince to the Empress.

“How to make him believe—that depends on your ability.” Empress Pei said lightly.

Qi Zheng’s face stiffened. Ultimately, with a wooden expression, he withdrew with the two children.

Empress Pei stared at his back and ordered the guards beside her: “Proceed according to the original plan.”

“Yes.”

“This child has a full forehead—at one glance you can tell he’s very fortunate.” Empress Pei carefully examined the child in her embrace for a while. The child suddenly woke, opening a pair of pure eyes to look at Empress Pei. She smiled: “When he grows up, he’ll surely be a good emperor.”

The child was young and didn’t know what was happening. Instead, he reached out his hand toward Empress Pei, wrapping around her neck, pressing against her cheek, quite intimately.

Female Official Xin hesitated greatly: “Your Ladyship, this child—”

Empress Pei laughed softly and kissed the child’s forehead once, stroking his tender cheek: “From now on, he must be called Crown Prince.”

“But His Majesty will surely discover—”

“No, he won’t.” Empress Pei’s smile at the corners of her lips didn’t change, her eyes revealing their customary cold sharpness.

Three months later, Empress Pei returned to the capital first, leaving the young and frail Crown Prince behind to continue recuperating. Not until a year and a half later did the Crown Prince return to the capital, even more beautiful and adorable than before. Empress Pei’s instruction of him also became even more severe and focused. Female Official Xin watched, growing increasingly terrified. She didn’t know whether she herself had gone mad or Empress Pei had gone mad—why would she do such a thing, using her rival’s child to replace the dead Crown Prince? This was truly too terrifying. But the thing she feared most didn’t happen. The Crown Prince and the little prince were only a year apart in age. The real Crown Prince’s body had been very poor, always somewhat frailer than ordinary children. Moreover, children changed from month to month—their original appearance simply couldn’t be discerned. Yuan Jinfeng after all wasn’t as careful as a birth mother, and furthermore never liked seeing the Crown Prince, so he actually didn’t notice.

The Empress sat before her bronze mirror arranging her appearance. The young Crown Prince ran in with pattering steps, holding a blooming pear blossom branch in his hand: “Mother Empress, for you!”

His jet-black eyes stared intently, looking toward Pei Huaizhen with admiration.

Pear blossoms again. After being dazed for a long time, Empress Pei curved the corners of her mouth, revealing a strange smile: “Thank you.”

Her expression, in this instant, was like a calm lake surface having a stone viciously thrown into it—hideously distorted for only a brief instant before rapidly returning to calm.

The former Crown Prince, seeing her, only had limitless fear.

But the current Crown Prince always stared at her calling “Mother Empress.”

The Crown Prince’s eyes were pure as white snow, not carrying a trace of filth. She almost wanted to avoid such a gaze.

Yet there was no avoiding it. That whiteness deeply pained her heart.

She suddenly extended her slender, pale hand and gently gripped the Crown Prince’s throat: “Good child, die together with Mother Empress, all right?”

Her fingers gradually closed, exerting force, slowly tightening. The Crown Prince looked at her in terror, his eyes full of confusion. He was too young—he didn’t even understand the meaning of these words.

A cold gleam flashed through the depths of Pei Huaizhen’s eyes, becoming stiff and cold.

Hurried footsteps sounded: “Crown Prince Your Highness, don’t disturb Her Ladyship!” Female Official Xin ran in from outside the hall. Empress Pei awakened in time and released the Crown Prince, smoothly embracing him as if nothing had happened.

Female Official Xin looked at this scene in shock. Looking for so long, even the Empress’s form became illusory and unfathomable.

She only heard the Empress smile, showing a rarely gentle appearance: “Mother Empress likes this pear blossom very much. You’re truly a good child.”