Pei Huaizhen spread out the rice paper, but the brush in her hand had yet to fall. Before her was placed a plum blossom painting that Qixia had personally drawn. A spring breeze blew past, shaking loose a tree full of plum red—everywhere was a scene of falling flowers. On the painting was only one line: “In this world are limitless skilled hands at painting, yet a heart full of sorrow cannot be depicted.”

How many things in the world cannot be portrayed—how could it be limited to just sorrow? In the world there were too many unsatisfactory matters, too many unhappy people. If one allowed others to manipulate everything, how could one become happy…

Princess Qixia spoke so freely and easily, but she was just an infatuated fool. And what about her, Pei Huaizhen? As Empress, as a woman she had already reached the pinnacle—talented, beautiful, powerful. While talking and laughing she could control the life and death of the world’s people. Yet she still had things she could not obtain. Yuan Jinfeng hoped she would willingly be a figurehead Empress, but the Empress was also a woman, and of course hoped her husband would see only her alone. Facing the Emperor’s coldness, she either had to desperately endure, turning a blind eye to his behavior, living so helplessly, becoming a walking corpse wearing a phoenix crown. Or else, she had to desperately fight, desperately seize, making him guard only her alone for his entire life, stabilizing this position as Empress.

She smiled faintly, using a paperweight to press down the painting, preparing to begin writing. However, at this moment a clamorous uproar of people and horses startled her. She raised her head. At the doorway, Yuan Jinfeng in dragon robes had already strode in with large steps. Last time he came it was for Princess Qixia’s wedding, so this time what was it for—

The circles under his eyes were slightly dark. His cheeks were somewhat thinner compared to their last meeting. That kind of explosive rage made him lose his usual calm and composure, completely transforming him into another person.

“Your Majesty, this is my sleeping palace. Barging in like this—are you lacking even basic respect for me as Empress?” Pei Huaizhen lightly knit her brows.

“Don’t put on an act. Cui Jing actually confined her to the inner chambers, not giving her food or water. This is the excellent prince consort you all selected for her!” His expression was extremely ugly, clearly at the edge of eruption.

In an instant, Pei Huaizhen’s calm mood immediately surged violently. He still loved the other party. Even though that person had already married, even though that person was equivalent to betraying the love between them, he still only thought of her! She laughed coldly, her icy gaze shooting directly at his face. “Your Majesty, the prince consort possesses both civil and military talents and refined elegance. He was infatuated with Princess Qixia. After the princess married, the husband and wife should naturally be harmonious. Yet Your Majesty again and again disregards his status to force meetings with her, even constantly monitoring the prince consort’s every move. Your behavior—is it helping the princess, or are you trying to provoke discord in their husband-wife relationship?”

Yuan Jinfeng’s heart felt as if it had been stabbed. His expression changed drastically. “That’s because this audacious thing has constantly favored his concubine and neglected the princess!”

Not long after the princess’s wedding, a beautiful and gentle Taoye appeared beside the prince consort. She had been sent as a gift to the prince consort by the meddlesome Censor-in-Chief. Taoye was beautiful in appearance, skilled in song and dance. Almost in an instant she captured the prince consort’s heart, and that very night remained by his side. Thus, the prince consort no longer insisted on accompanying the princess for the night. Two months later, Taoye announced the joyous news of pregnancy. One more month, and she was elevated to concubine. This matter spread in a clamor throughout the entire capital. Some people even dug up quite a few secrets of the Cui family, making it so the Cui family members had no face to see anyone. Prince Consort Cui’s elderly father had no choice but to personally apologize to the princess.

“Taoye’s appearance is extremely similar to the princess. The Censor-in-Chief secretly sought her out to curry favor with Your Majesty. But why did Your Majesty bestow her upon the prince consort?” Pei Huaizhen smiled. Only she herself knew how sarcastic this smile was. Her husband had schemed deliberately, only to create discord in the relationship between the princess and prince consort. He clearly knew Qixia had made up her mind to sever ties with him cleanly. He clearly knew the prince consort had loved the princess from long ago. Yet he deliberately sent a beautiful Taoye—what were his intentions?!

“I married my most beloved younger sister to him—it’s his good fortune, the Cui family’s glory. Even if I gave him a block of wood, he must worship it like a Buddha! You’re right—I did send Taoye. This was to make him stop harassing the princess’s peace. But I never imagined he would dare abuse the princess behind people’s backs!”

“That’s because Your Majesty completely enraged the prince consort! Clearly he married a wife yet Your Majesty never permitted him to enter the bridal chamber. Clearly he had a beautiful concubine yet she was only a substitute. Your Majesty also sends people to warn him every day, ordering him to kneel bare-backed and barefoot in the study to repent his mistaken behavior in marrying the princess! The prince consort today was molded by Your Majesty’s own hands. The person who made the princess become unhappy is you!” Pei Huaizhen word by word shook out all the words in the bottom of her heart, like sharp arrows piercing through Yuan Jinfeng’s heart.

Yuan Jinfeng stared at Pei Huaizhen. “You’ve been monitoring my actions all along?”

Pei Huaizhen neither dodged nor avoided, facing his eyes directly. “Yes, I’ve been watching Your Majesty all along, because I am the Empress, the mother of the nation. I cannot allow Your Majesty to do utterly confused things!”

The other party pressed aggressively. Yuan Jinfeng suddenly fell into silence. After a long while, he stared at the Empress, his tone like a knife, firm and cold. “I will bring the princess back.”

“Your Majesty cannot bring her back into the palace. If you bring her back, you must give her a consort title.”

A surge of hot blood rushed to his head. Qixia would forever be a princess and would not become his consort. Once he gave Qixia a consort title, it would be equivalent to telling everyone he and Qixia had an affair. This secret concealed for so many years in the imperial court would be exposed before everyone in one stroke.

“Are you threatening me?!”

“If Your Majesty wishes to think so, then think so.”

Yuan Jinfeng’s clenched fists crackled. A vein also appeared on his forehead. “Good, my Empress is truly excellent, thinking so thoroughly for me! Why don’t you say it’s because you’re jealous of Qixia, because I’ve never loved you, because as soon as you entered the palace you guarded an empty chamber alone, so you want me to suffer, want Qixia to suffer!”

His voice was suppressed, carrying indescribable pain.

“The person truly fallen into jealousy is Your Majesty, because you can never make the woman you love stand in the sunlight!” Pei Huaizhen suddenly smiled. That smile was so cold, so cruel, simply like a devil pointing straight at the heart.

Yuan Jinfeng was so angry he didn’t want to say another word to her. He turned and left with a flick of his sleeves.

Pei Huaizhen slowly sat down. After the intense outburst, her body became soft and limp, as if suddenly emptied by angry emotions. But at the same time, the fury in her heart rose unprecedentedly high. She had already been learning—learning how to win his heart, learning to be a virtuous and gentle empress. She even from the bottom of her heart hoped this matter would end here. Whether it was Yuan Jinfeng or Qixia, she had already done her utmost. Yet the other party was still unsatisfied, constantly pressing her, forcing her into a corner, and still viciously humiliating her!

In her heart it was as if a poisoned thorn had been inserted, instantly causing unbearable pain. Her eyes fell on that plum blossom painting. She suddenly snatched it up and tore it to shreds, scattering them into the air. Wind blew in from the open window. With a whoosh, the fragments of the plum blossom painting were blown into fluttering flight, swirling endlessly. Finally, a fragment fell at Female Official Xin’s feet. She glanced down and saw only the character for “heart,” then Empress Pei walked past her side, stepping straight over the character for heart.

Pei Huaizhen acted as if nothing had happened, turning a blind eye to everything. The Emperor once again brought Princess Qixia back into the palace, even exiling Prince Consort Cui. It was said that during the exile journey, the prince consort was grief-stricken and indignant beyond measure, and threw himself into a well at a post station and died. The Emperor did not stop there. He did a very strange thing. Never having selected consorts before, he suddenly filled all four consort positions. The palace gained Noble Consort Zhou, Imperial Consort Chen, Consort Guo, and Consort Hu—several people, instantly becoming lively. When Pei Huaizhen heard about it, she only laughed coldly. She understood very clearly the Emperor’s purpose in doing this. It was nothing more than to conceal Princess Qixia’s matter and block the mouths of court officials. As long as daughters entered the palace, there was the possibility of bearing imperial princes. Those aristocratic families would naturally know how to choose. These consorts were very interested in Princess Qixia. They sent palace maids to privately investigate everything about this princess. Unfortunately, Qixia remained behind closed doors. The Emperor deliberately protected her. What they obtained was only a small amount of ambiguous and unclear information.

The Emperor began to frequent the rear palace. After the four consorts came the Empress. Pei Huaizhen had never imagined she would encounter such awkwardness—sharing a bed with a man who extremely detested her. After all the palace maids withdrew, only then did he approach her according to standard procedure. “…I never knew before that there was a woman who could make one feel disgusted to the point of vomiting. You’ve truly opened my eyes.”

This time, he didn’t use “we.” He used “I.”

From beginning to end, what he wanted was only Qixia’s safety, only the Pei family’s compromise, not Pei Huaizhen herself.

She allowed the man’s hands to unfasten her clothing. The undergarment reflected her snowy skin and jade flesh, revealing a pearl-like soft luster. Her brow and eyes were calm as she said softly, “Your Majesty, worldly affairs will not go entirely as one wishes. Each of us must learn to compromise.”

His voice carried a bit of a teeth-grinding flavor. “Compromise?! It was your father who threatened me. He wants a crown prince of Pei bloodline. Ha, what a laughable person.”

“Most laughable is that Your Majesty clearly knows he’s threatening, yet still must do as he says.” Pei Huaizhen laughed lightly.

Between them was full of hatred and hostility, yet they still lay on one bed. The words “Your Majesty” spoken from those delicate red lips appeared incomparably contemptuous. He carried malice as he slowly approached her lips.

Her fingers blocked his. “You may not.”

He raised his eyebrows. His eyes were like stars, his brows like knife cuts. His handsome face was full of questions.

Under such a gaze, her fingertips began to feel cold, but her face was completely unconcerned. “I find it dirty.”

He grabbed her wrist in one motion and pressed it against the pillow. “Pei Huaizhen, you!”

“Huaizhen is my maiden name,” her eyes stared at the other party, looking into that bottomless abyss. “Please call me Empress, Your Majesty.”

She was Pei Huaizhen. She could climb onto the dragon bed for family interests, but absolutely would not kneel down and beg for scraps, crying and sobbing like other women. That was too ugly, too base. She disdained it.

He looked at her, a trace of sarcastic emotion slowly appearing in his eyes.

She likewise looked at the other party. Having reached this point, she could still be wounded by his expression.

Deep in his eyes a flame ignited. It had nothing to do with desire—it was completely a conquering urge faintly tinged with hatred.

Their tightly pressed bodies revealed his determination at this moment. The undergarment was ripped open in one motion. Her snowy skin was completely exposed to the air. His movements carried reckless fury and humiliating despair. He gnawed and kissed endlessly along the curve of her shoulder. She could only allow him to do as he pleased with her, yet unable to break free. Bodies intertwined, grinding with fire-like scorching fierce flames…

Rather than saying it was imperial favor, it was more like endless torment. After all, what kind of fate was this?

Her entire person was forcibly turned over. It was as if he extremely detested seeing her face. Her body was forced to press between the brocade quilt and the man.

Her body was pulled into a tightly strung bow by the sudden pain. Biting her teeth as if to struggle free, ultimately she couldn’t use half her strength. As breathing became difficult, her vision began to blur. Her body was covered in cold sweat. Her entire person was in unbearable pain. Her fingertips trembled ceaselessly.

On the vermilion lacquer and gold-inlaid dressing table, the bronze mirror reflected the red candles. Candle tears rolled down the table. Throughout, she remained expressionless.

His and Qixia’s love itself was a sin. If they could not love each other, why meet?

His and her hatred likewise could not be escaped. If this life was destined to come for hatred, why marry?

Love—no choice. Hate—no escape.

The pain expanded infinitely at a terrifying speed. She was heavily engulfed in darkness.

At dawn, she rose from the wide bed, stepping on the soft brocade scattered messily on the floor. The Emperor had long since departed. Pei Huaizhen looked at herself through the bronze mirror. The person in the mirror had dark hair cascading down like a waterfall, delicate brows and eyes, coral-colored lips. Her snow-colored skin was lifeless. On her shoulders and neck remained only miserable bruises and dark purple teeth marks, as if she had endured a terrible invasion.

This was her first night as Empress spent with the Emperor, and from today onward such nights would constantly repeat. He was punishing her, punishing the Pei family. As a man, he vented all the pain of not being able to stay with his beloved on her. Ha, this was Yuan Jinfeng.

The woman with the ice-cold face in the mirror was silent for a long time, finally curving her lips. Her eyes wide open, like a pool of man-devouring dead water.

She would rather be queen in loneliness than slave in prosperity.

Yuan Jinfeng, in this battle, I will surely win.