On the way back, Shen Miao thought about Empress Xiande’s words, her mind unable to calm for a long time.

In the end, Consort Lu was “safe with her child,” and Empress Xiande hadn’t been implicated in any trouble. It seemed like a perfectly satisfactory conclusion, yet Shen Miao felt something wasn’t quite right. By the time they returned to the Rui Prince’s mansion, it was almost daybreak. It was too late to sleep now, and besides, Shen Miao wasn’t in the mood to rest.

Seeing their state, Jingzhe and Guyu went to instruct the small kitchen to prepare some sweet soup for the two of them. Shen Miao and Xie Jingxing returned to their room, closed the door, sat at the table, and she looked at Xie Jingxing and asked, “Consort Lu is with child. What will happen to the Lu family now?”

Logically speaking, since Emperor Yongle had no other children, Consort Lu’s child would be precious. If she were carrying a son, the position of future crown prince would naturally belong to the child in Consort Lu’s womb, barring any unexpected circumstances. This should be the case, but in Empress Xiande’s words, she seemed unconcerned, which gave Shen Miao pause. Unless the Emperor had other children, why would he be so indifferent? With Consort Lu pregnant, would the Lu family become untouchable? Would the Emperor’s plans against the Lu family be suspended because of this?

Shen Miao thought this impossible.

Hearing her question, Xie Jingxing replied indifferently, “My royal brother has already moved against the Lu family. Whether the child is born or not makes no difference now.”

The implication was that Consort Lu’s child was one matter, and the Lu family’s fate was another. At most, Consort Lu might temporarily preserve her life because of the child, but the Lu family would still meet its downfall according to the original plan.

Shen Miao frowned slightly: “I had a conversation with the Empress and found something strange. I heard the Empress once had a miscarriage caused by Consort Lu. Whether this was intentional or not, even if the Empress is generous by nature, how could she watch Consort Lu live well for so many years without incident?”

Xie Jingxing, who was pouring tea for her, paused at these words.

Shen Miao fixed her gaze on him: “Tell me honestly, why doesn’t the Emperor have any children until now? Is it deliberate or unavoidable?”

She had been thinking about this and found it extremely strange that Emperor Yongle had no children. Every emperor, whether wise or foolish, would want as many offspring as possible. The more princes there were to balance each other, the more stable the imperial court would be. Even someone like Fu Xiuyi never lacked children. Shen Miao had found it puzzling before—how could Emperor Yongle, with such outstanding governance and prosperous subjects, still have an unstable court? Now she understood why. Because Emperor Yongle had no children, the court officials would have many complaints about this point alone. It was quite remarkable that Emperor Yongle had managed to maintain balance for so many years. If it had been an ordinary emperor without an heir, he might have been stripped of his imperial robe and driven from the throne to live as a commoner long ago.

After a long while, Xie Jingxing looked at Shen Miao, his gaze somewhat strange: “Do you want to know?”

“When you returned from the imperial hunting grounds unconscious, I sensed that some things would change. But at that time, I had just arrived in Luo Ye and didn’t understand the situation in Great Liang well, so I couldn’t be of much help. Apart from going to Fengtou Manor to find that ‘master,’ I couldn’t help with anything else,” Shen Miao said. “I don’t like being so passive. If someday you have important matters to attend to, I hope not to be useless. But I know nothing, so how can I help even if I want to?”

Xie Jingxing looked at her for a moment, then suddenly sighed, half reassured and half teasing as he stroked her head: “Our Jiaojiao not only knows how to calculate people’s intentions but also how to be considerate.”

Shen Miao pushed his hand away: “You can’t expect me to be just a rice worm who only knows how to eat.”

“I wouldn’t dare underestimate you,” Xie Jingxing sighed with a smile. “Since you want to know, I won’t hide it from you. You once told me you had a real dream, a tragic one. What I’m about to tell you isn’t a dream but something that truly happened.”

“The journey from Luo Ye to Dingjing takes at least half a year even on the fastest horses. You’ve probably been wondering why I became the son of the Marquis of Lin’an, and why, knowing my true identity for all these years, I didn’t return to Great Liang. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to return, but because I couldn’t.”

His gaze gradually grew sharper.

Xie Jingxing’s real name was Xie Yuan, with the courtesy name Jingxing, taken from the phrase “look up to the mountain, follow the righteous path.” This name represented the hope of the one who named him that he would become a person of noble character. Whether this name ultimately fulfilled its meaning or not, it certainly showed the deep love of the person who gave it to him.

His father, Emperor Xiaowu Xie Yilong, gave him his name, while his mother, Empress Dowager Jingxian, Empress Xiao, gave him his courtesy name.

Emperor Xiaowu Xie Yilong was once the most outstanding prince in the Great Liang dynasty. He commanded military power, pacified the four seas, was handsome and spirited, full of vigor and ambition. If there was one flaw, it was that he was the youngest son, and the Great Liang imperial family traditionally favored the eldest, not the youngest—a rule since ancient times. But Xie Yilong was too exceptional. Exceptionally talented people either take worldly matters lightly with detachment, or they harbor ambitions difficult to contain. Unfortunately, Xie Yilong was the latter. Additionally, the crown prince at that time was far inferior to him, so Xie Yilong eventually embarked on the path to seize the throne.

Xie Yilong’s path to the throne was quite smooth. He had natural advantages—born of the Empress, with illustrious military achievements. In the end, Xie Yilong schemed against his full-blooded elder brother, the Crown Prince, causing the death of his birth mother through anger, controlling his father, and finally successfully obtaining the position of Emperor Xiaowu.

On the path to seizing the throne, one must inevitably sacrifice some things, such as familial affection or romantic love. Of course, for Xie Yilong, these were not important. He was an ambitious man, so in the end, he married the daughter of Left Prime Minister Xiao. The Xiao family was a leader among civil officials, and marrying the Xiao family’s daughter would essentially win over half the civil official families in Great Liang. Moreover, the Xiao family’s daughter was exceptionally beautiful and intelligent, a smart beauty—this marriage was extremely advantageous.

So after ascending the throne, Emperor Xiaowu and Empress Jingxian maintained a cold but respectful relationship. Emperor Xiaowu was a wise ruler, and Empress Jingxian was known throughout the land for her virtue—seemingly a good match. Soon after, Empress Jingxian gave birth to their eldest son, Xie Chi, who was established as the Crown Prince. The territory of Great Liang gradually expanded, and its national strength steadily rose to the top among the three kingdoms. Everything appeared perfectly harmonious.

But in this world, the most difficult thing to retain is constancy.

Those who suffer with you in hardship will not necessarily share in your prosperity.

Empress Xiao married Emperor Xiaowu during chaotic times. The couple complemented each other in civil and military matters—Xie Yilong had ambition, Empress Xiao was steady; Xie Yilong was cunning, and Empress Xiao was resourceful.

But as external enemies gradually disappeared, the spearhead turned toward those closest.

Emperor Xiaowu was ambitious—he had used schemes to seize the throne, and suspicion was in his nature. He gradually suspected the Xiao family of wanting to control power as imperial in-laws. The more virtuous and intelligent Empress Xiao appeared, the more suspicious Emperor Xiaowu became. To balance the Xiao family’s power, Emperor Xiaowu widely recruited women into his harem, many from families that opposed the Xiao family. He promoted them, letting the Xiao family battle with them in court while making Empress Xiao fight with these women’s families in the harem.

Empress Xiao was intelligent and dignified. After marriage, she always followed the family teaching of regarding her husband as her heaven. Moreover, Xie Yilong was indeed an outstanding man, and they had gotten along well for many years. But those unruly women gradually began to scheme desperately to bear imperial sons, even threatening Xie Chi’s position as Crown Prince. Empress Xiao finally could not stand by and do nothing.

Every woman, even the weakest, can become a fierce beast to protect her child. Empress Xiao was not a fragile white rabbit. From a prominent family like the Xiaos, her ability to become their most outstanding daughter naturally meant she had her mind. She began to counter-attack fiercely.

Having walked through chaotic times with Emperor Xiaowu, Empress Xiao’s abilities were not to be underestimated. Those pampered women who only knew how to enjoy luxury were no match for her—they merely invited humiliation. Xie Chi remained safe, and Empress Xiao won victory after victory. Her displayed strength and intelligence effectively intimidated these women, and for a time, no one dared act rashly.

However, as clever as Empress Xiao was, she made one mistake. The more outstanding she appeared, the more uncomfortable Emperor Xiaowu felt.

Emperor Xiaowu became increasingly wary of her and began looking for ways to find fault. Initially, he just found a few opponents for Empress Xiao in the harem, then coldly observed their conflicts. Later, however, he unconsciously began to favor her opponents, making everything Empress Xiao did seem wrong. He also began to openly and unhesitatingly suppress the Xiao family.

Empress Xiao felt distressed, but she still believed Emperor Xiaowu was her husband. Who doesn’t make mistakes sometimes in life? She only needed to protect her position, ensure Xie Chi grew up safely, and see him successfully inherit the Great Liang throne.

Who would have thought these women would target Xie Chi?

During that period, Emperor Xiaowu suddenly became affectionate toward Empress Xiao, though she didn’t know why. Not long after, Prime Minister Xiao suddenly volunteered to resign from office.

Xie Yilong was indeed a very skilled manipulator, and although the Xiao family was formidable, they were no match for Xie Yilong. The Xiao family had produced an empress only once in hundreds of years, and for this empress, they were willing to sacrifice themselves.

By the time Empress Xiao learned of this, it was too late. She realized that those nights of affection were actions full of calculation by Xie Yilong, which disgusted her deeply. But unexpectedly, she became pregnant.

This child in her womb was different from Xie Chi—it was coming into this world under Xie Yilong’s deliberate and false schemes. During her pregnancy, Empress Xiao often thought that if it were a son, he must not be like his father. He could have ambition and employ endless schemes, but he must never casually use people’s true feelings—that was the most despicable behavior, also the most shameful.

After becoming pregnant, many things became inconvenient for Empress Xiao, but she never expected someone would take advantage of this time to target Xie Chi.

Xie Chi was poisoned.

It was an extremely potent poison. If not for the old friendship between the head of the Gao family and Prime Minister Xiao, if the head of the Gao family hadn’t personally intervened, Xie Chi might not have survived. Although he survived, the head of the Gao family declared that the poison had entered his intestines and was merely delaying the inevitable—Xie Chi would not live past thirty-five, and the poison would affect his offspring. Any future children of Xie Chi would likely be born weak or carry the poison, which was certainly not a good thing.

The head of the Gao family was a rare master physician in the world. If even he said this, Xie Chi’s fate seemed predetermined. The perpetrators had aimed to take Xie Chi’s life; if they couldn’t kill him, they would still ruin his future.

Empress Xiao never imagined that she, once the most outstanding legitimate daughter of the Xiao family, the once-glorious Empress Jingxian, renowned for her virtue throughout the land, would one day fall to such a state. Her family had voluntarily withdrawn from Great Liang’s officialdom to protect her, and her two children—one made incomplete by schemes, fated not to live past middle age, and one conceived under toxic plotting.

The poisoner was found to be the Emperor’s newly elevated favored consort. Empress Xiao had the consort bound in the imperial garden and carved her flesh piece by piece, watching her take her last breath. All the palace maids and eunuchs in the imperial garden nearly fainted at the sight, but Empress Xiao found it strangely meaningless.

Emperor Xiaowu naturally severely reprimanded the consort, personally judged her crimes, and comforted Empress Xiao. Listening to his gentle words, Empress Xiao’s heart was as cold as ice, filled with wariness and vigilance.

Did Emperor Xiaowu know about this incident? Empress Xiao felt that after being husband and wife for so many years, she should reassess him properly. Even if Emperor Xiaowu was unaware, this consort had been promoted specifically to deal with Empress Xiao. “I did not kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me.”

While Empress Xiao became increasingly wary, she pretended to be languishing due to her son’s misfortune.

The fact that Xie Chi carried an incurable poison was not made public, but who knew if people would find out in the future? However, Empress Xiao’s greatest concern was the future—the child in her womb was about to be born. Emperor Xiaowu bore a grudge against the Xiao family over Xie Chi, and if something happened to Xie Chi in the future, and if the child in her womb was a son, this child would replace Xie Chi as Crown Prince. How could she know he wouldn’t become the next Xie Chi? If it were a daughter, Empress Xiao didn’t want her to remain in the palace, being manipulated daily and unable to control her destiny.

Most importantly, Empress Xiao was about to begin her counterattack. After giving birth to this child, she would repay all the suffering experienced by the Xiao family, Xie Chi, and herself, with interest. For a newborn child, there would be many inconveniences, and the child might even be used against her, so she needed to devise a plan.

In the tale of a cat substituted for a prince, typically, the substituted prince is sent far away from what should have been his, while the impostor receives what does not belong to him.

Empress Xiao handed her newborn child to a trusted servant and said, “Look up to the mountain, follow the righteous path—his courtesy name will be Jingxing. If one day he grows up to be a man of integrity, he may use schemes both open and covert, but he must never exploit people’s true feelings.” She hardened her heart to look at her child one last time and said, “Take him away.”

Two months, half a year’s journey from Luo Ye to Dingjing, racing horses to death—this was Xie Yuan’s first encounter with the world, yet what greeted him was flight. During those days of escape, he opened his eyes wide, babbled his first words, and learned to interact with the world.

In Dingjing, at the Marquis of Lin’an’s mansion, Princess Yuqing was about to give birth.

Empress Xiao’s trusted servant had originally followed her orders to send Xie Yuan to an ordinary wealthy family, far from court politics. But that day, while investigating in the streets, the servant accidentally learned that Princess Yuqing was also about to give birth, and the child’s name had already been chosen—Jingxing.

The servant thought, What a coincidence.

That night, amid bitter wind and rain, a heavy downpour fell on Dingjing. The rain diluted the blood of childbirth spread across the courtyard, the woman’s painful moans, and the gradually weakening cries of an infant.

That child, surnamed Xie and named Jingxing, a child with deep connections to Xie Yuan, died before even entering the world. The servant, holding the swaddled infant, hesitated for a moment but decided that he would be grateful for his entire life.

He transformed Xie Yuan into Xie Jingxing. From then on, Jingxing was his name, no longer a courtesy name. The young heir of the Marquis of Lin’an’s family carried the expectations of both Empress Xiao and Princess Yuqing, living well in this world.

Not long after, the initially selected wealthy family in Dingjing was massacred in one night. The reason wasn’t clear, but those in the know understood that Emperor Xiaowu had finally discovered the truth and had sent people thousands of miles to silence them. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, due to the servant’s split-second decision, Xie Jingxing had avoided this life-or-death calamity by a stroke of luck.

It seemed predestined.

The Marquis of Lin’an’s household was also filled with unending filth. Madam Fang and her two sons constantly created trouble. Xie Jingxing’s only support was Xie Ding’s affection, but even that wasn’t necessarily beneficial, as Xie Ding was often away campaigning. For a young child to survive among wolves and tigers was already difficult. If not for the secret assistance of Empress Xiao’s trusted servant, he might have long become a pile of yellow earth, meeting the real heir of the Marquis of Lin’an’s family underground. Moreover, the Ming Qi Emperor secretly suppressed the Xie family.

In such an environment, Xie Jingxing gradually grew up. He was grateful to the trusted servant for placing him in such a cruel environment, preparing him for the rugged path ahead. He became cynical, with a casual smile, lazily riding his horse through the streets and alleys of Dingjing city. He was mischievous and troublesome, causing headaches, but truly grew into the man of integrity Empress Xiao had hoped for—a man who could stand independently. He never exploited anyone’s feelings. On the surface, he was casual and teasing, but he respected every genuine emotion—toward Princess Rongxin, toward Su Mingfeng, toward the Marquis of Lin’an, and Shen Miao. He lived well in Dingjing, Ming Qi, relying solely on himself, and developed the ability to secretly contend with enemies.

And what of Empress Xiao?

During those years, Empress Xiao missed her younger son, grieved for her elder son’s plight, and was determined to strike back.

“You fear this empire falling into the Xiao family’s hands? You care most about this? I will seize it from your hands and trample it under my feet. When that happens, will you feel even a hint of regret for what you’ve done?”

Empress Xiao, a daughter of the Xiao family, was as resourceful as any man. Her anger made her even more spirited, while Emperor Xiaowu had already begun to age. The concubines in the harem divided his attention, and his former ambition gradually faded after he believed himself secure.

Born in sorrow, die in peace.

When Emperor Xiaowu died, only Empress Xiao was by his side. She said, “Your Majesty, please rest assured. We have been husband and wife; this concubine will not let you be too lonely on the path to the Yellow Springs. All the women and concubines in this palace whom you have favored, this concubine will send them all to accompany you, along with your children, none will be missed except the Crown Prince.”

Emperor Xiaowu’s eyes widened.

“Also,” Empress Xiao seemed to remember something and leaned close to his ear, “our younger son is doing well. Your Majesty once sent people to hunt him down in Ming Qi, but they killed the wrong person. In a few more years, when the court has settled, this concubine will bring him back to acknowledge his ancestors. The Great Liang empire must have someone to continue it. This concubine is soft-hearted, so the brothers still use the Xiao surname. If this concubine were as hard-hearted as Your Majesty, this Great Liang empire would truly change dynasties.”

“Your Majesty, journey well. This empire, this concubine will hold onto for now.” Empress Xiao stood by the bed, smiling softly.

Emperor Xiaowu died with his eyes open.

The Empress Jingxian became the Empress Dowager Jingxian.

Xie Chi became Emperor Yongle.

Xie Jingxing was still in Dingjing, Ming Qi, feeling his way through the darkness. He vaguely learned of his origins but was warned that his birth father was hunting him down, while his birth mother had trapped his birth father. Now was a crucial moment; he couldn’t act rashly.

The world works in strange ways. Empress Dowager Jingxian truly did as she said, cleaning out the imperial harem completely. Those who had once been overbearing toward her and her son finally became companions for Emperor Xiaowu on his path to the Yellow Springs. She told Xie Chi, now Emperor Yongle, “This old one has aged and cannot manage many outside affairs, but a clean harem is something I can give you. From now on, there will be no villains in this harem. You only need to promise this old one one thing—hold this empire firmly in your hand, never let it decline.”

The Lu family and the Ye family were Emperor Xiaowu’s confidants, extremely cunning. A centipede dies but never goes rigid. Due to their complex influence, they couldn’t be uprooted easily. Emperor Yongle had been secretly planning to deal with these two families.

Empress Dowager Jingxian passed away two years later. She suddenly collapsed while reading a memorial from the Lu family and never woke up. The Gao family said it was due to exhaustion and the depletion of her life force. But just the day before, she had been spiritedly discussing with Emperor Yongle whether to try something new for this year’s ceremony, and perhaps find a way to bring Xie Jingxing back to Great Liang for a visit.

Life is unpredictable. In her lifetime, she never had the chance to reunite with Xie Yuan.

Thus, they were separated forever by heaven and earth.