Upon seeing the midwife’s expression, Emperor Tai’an’s heart sank.

Having heard no infant’s cry this whole time, could it be—thinking that Noble Lady Wu might have given birth to a stillborn child, Emperor Tai’an’s face became covered with a layer of frost.

“Rise!”

This low shout made the midwife immediately stand up.

With a taut face, Emperor Tai’an extended his hand and pulled aside the swaddling to look.

Within the bright red swaddling was a tiny infant who, though somewhat wrinkled, showed refined features.

More importantly, he had his eyes slightly open, his little mouth moving.

The child was alive!

Emperor Tai’an’s joyful emotions burst forth instantly, only to be pulled back by reason.

Something was wrong. If the child were safe and healthy, even if it were a princess, these people should be offering congratulations in succession, not looking as if great disaster had struck.

After all, no children had been born in the imperial palace for over ten years. Even for Emperor Tai’an, though a princess would be disappointing, ultimately becoming a father again would be cause for joy.

At his age, if he could produce a princess, he could produce a prince.

“What’s wrong with the child?” Emperor Tai’an lowered his voice, his sharp eyes fixed intently on the midwife.

The midwife’s face was deathly pale, her lips equally white. Though it was an early winter night, a layer of sweat had appeared on her forehead. She extended a trembling hand to unwrap the lower part of the swaddling and turned it slightly.

Emperor Tai’an’s eyes swept over the male infant’s identifying feature, and then his pupils contracted sharply, filled with horror and disbelief.

“This, what is this?” Even the Emperor, who could keep his composure upon hearing of war chaos in the north, retreated several steps, his complexion hardly better than that of the midwife holding the child.

He trembled, terrified, and suddenly turned his head to dry heave.

“Your Majesty!”

The latter half of the night in the palace was destined to be a dark latter half.

Emperor Tai’an sat on the heated brick bed with his hair disheveled, yet his entire body was terribly cold.

“Your Majesty, please drink some hot water.” Liu Chuan held the water cup before Emperor Tai’an.

He too had stayed up until now and, like the few “fortunate ones” in Hua’an Palace, knew the reason for His Majesty’s reaction.

He knew the fate of these informed individuals—most would permanently close their mouths, while the remainder would carry this secret to their deaths.

Emperor Tai’an remained unmoved by the hot water Liu Chuan offered, murmuring, “I consider myself not particularly muddled—why would there be such punishment?”

“Your Majesty, don’t think that way. This isn’t your fault—”

“Then whose fault do you say it is?” Emperor Tai’an’s bloodshot eyes glared at Liu Chuan as he asked through gritted teeth, “Noble Lady Wu’s?”

Liu Chuan’s lips trembled as large beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead.

Was it Noble Lady Wu’s fault?

How could a perfectly fine woman give birth to such a child?

Yet even if Noble Lady Wu were guilty, she had already met her fragrant demise with a cup of poisoned wine.

“Can’t answer?” Emperor Tai’an asked Liu Chuan, and also himself. In the end he actually laughed. “I understand now. This is Heaven’s will, Heaven’s will…”

Heaven’s will could never be forced. He had been unwilling to accept it, and what he obtained through seeking was a monstrosity.

At this time in Yuhe Palace, a solitary lamp swayed its light and shadow—Consort Zhuang also couldn’t sleep.

She stood up wearing her outer garments and looked toward the direction of the warm chamber.

The little prince was now in the warm chamber of her sleeping quarters.

She had seen him—he was a male infant with refined features who could be called beautiful.

Originally, this child should have had boundless fortune. As long as he was born safely, the position of heir apparent would be in his grasp, and thereafter he would have no competitors.

Unfortunately, that was only originally.

Consort Zhuang thought of Noble Lady Wu, who had been force-fed poisoned wine while unconscious, and for a moment felt she was both unfortunate and fortunate.

Unfortunate because her hope of rising in status through her son had been dashed and she’d lost her life, fortunate because Noble Lady Wu died without knowing what kind of monstrosity she had given birth to.

The infant’s crying suddenly came. Actually the crying wasn’t particularly loud, but because it was so quiet, it could be heard clearly.

Consort Zhuang’s heart jumped as her face turned pale with fright.

The Emperor had asked her to temporarily care for the little prince, but until now she hadn’t had the courage to approach this child by even half a step.

The child who looked so normal actually had a tail growing from his bottom!

As a fellow woman who had also been a mother, it was true she sympathized with Noble Lady Wu’s fate, but she could also understand the Emperor’s ruthlessness.

The war chaos had only just been quelled, yet the imperial family had given birth to a prince with a tail. Once this spread, rumors that the Great Zhou would perish would certainly arise everywhere.

The infant continued to cry, sounding like a little kitten.

Consort Zhuang felt vexed and irritated, both disgusted and afraid. She couldn’t explain why, but in the end she still walked toward the warm chamber.

“Your Ladyship.” The palace servants responsible for caring for the little prince paid their respects one after another.

Due to the little prince’s abnormality, not all the palace servants originally prepared for the little prince were being used. Temporarily there was only one wet nurse, one nanny, and two steady palace maids guarding the warm chamber.

“Did he disturb you?” the nanny asked carefully.

Consort Zhuang didn’t respond to the nanny’s words. At a glance she saw the infant being held and soothed by the wet nurse.

The infant wrapped in swaddling was tiny and soft. Those eyes clearly couldn’t see anything clearly yet, but they met Consort Zhuang’s gaze.

Innocent, ignorant, pure—eyes that knew nothing of the future storms of the mortal world.

Consort Zhuang’s eyes suddenly stung, and her heart softened.

“Take good care of the little prince. You must not neglect him. You must remember—this is the little prince.”

“Yes.” The palace servants answered in unison, putting away their contemptuous thoughts due to Consort Zhuang’s reprimanding words.

Indeed, no matter what, this was still a prince, and he was being raised by Consort Zhuang’s side. If they were foolish enough to neglect him, disaster might very well befall them.

Consort Zhuang, seeing they had truly listened, glanced at the small infant once more before turning to return to her room.

She actually had no certainty in her heart, not knowing how the Emperor would ultimately arrange for this child. After the Emperor completely calmed down, it was also possible he would dispose of this child as he had disposed of Noble Lady Wu…

The tiny, soft infant flashed through her mind, and Consort Zhuang sighed inwardly.

So be it. At least during these few days in her palace, she would treat that pitiful child well.

This night, many people didn’t sleep soundly. When they discovered the Emperor hadn’t attended court, their curiosity immediately couldn’t be suppressed. They surrounded Liu Chuan, who announced such matters, to inquire.

Liu Chuan let out a heavy sigh.

This sigh startled the scene into silence, followed immediately by more urgent questioning. “Eunuch Liu, what exactly is the situation?”

Liu Chuan swept his gaze over the assembled officials, his face heavy as he said, “Noble Lady Wu gave birth to the little prince last night but died of hemorrhaging.”

The crowd blurted out, “What about the little prince—”

To be frank, they only cared about the imperial heir.

“The little prince… his condition also isn’t very good…” Liu Chuan said haltingly before quickly leaving.

Thus the officials and nobles soon all knew that the newly born little prince had an illness brought from the womb, and whether he could be raised successfully was still uncertain.

Because of this, the Emperor hadn’t attended court for several days.

The officials unanimously expressed understanding. After all, aside from Prince Liang, the Emperor only had this one little prince as a son.

Emperor Tai’an truly had no mood to deal with court officials. These past few days his mind had been full of thoughts about what to do with this child.

Perhaps letting this child follow his birth mother in death would be best for everyone, including himself.

Emperor Tai’an thought this way as he slowly walked toward Consort Zhuang’s sleeping quarters.