The fact that the Qianwan Emperor was injured was kept very secret. Aside from the close palace servants, almost no one knew. Zhang Kuo didn't even dare summon the royal physician, instead delivering medicinal powders every day for the Emperor to dress his own wounds.

The injury was on his lower back, making it quite inconvenient for him to treat it himself. As he reached his hand back holding the bandage soaked with medicinal powder, it would scatter and spill all over the floor. It hurt a lot, but somehow the pain wasn't unbearable. Amidst the stabbing, needle-like pain, there was actually a sense of liberating pleasure.

Even if it was painful... it was given by that person he doted on and spoiled in his heart, wishing he could indulge him even more.

Could this knife wound make him feel a bit better? With such a bad temper, harboring resentment for so long, could this gushing knife wound allow him to vent a little of that pent-up anger...

Thinking like this, an almost imperceptible, secret sweetness welled up from his heart, slowly entangling it like knitting, fine and dense.

Outside the curtains, spring was late to return. Palace maids laughed and chattered quietly as they swept away the withered flowers. Pink petals floated on the emerald water, gradually drifting away with the current. The swallows' chirping drifted in from the high latticed windows, mixing with the medicinal fragrance, making one drowsy.

The Qianwan Emperor tied off the bandages with some difficulty, his elbow knocking over the medicine bottles, scattering them across the table. Mingde, who had been dozing off, was startled awake. His little head swiveled around, looking very alert and guarded.

Seeing him like that, pitifully cute, the Qianwan Emperor couldn't help reaching out to stroke his face. "It's nothing, go back to sleep."

Mingde shook off his hand and let out a long yawn. He really couldn't be spoiled. After just being indulged for a few days, he displayed his full impatience and prickliness, looking incredibly proud.

The Qianwan Emperor wanted to pull him into an embrace, but Mingde batted his hand away. Then he leaned in closer and reached out to tie off the bandages. The boy's warm, slender fingers lightly brushed against his skin, a faint tickle that was almost unnoticeable. The Qianwan Emperor heard his own breathing grow heavy. He felt his muscles tense, as if his nerves were about to snap.

"Mingde..."

The boy behind him snorted through his nose.

"...Tomorrow is the official consort selection. Can you come with me?"

Mingde suddenly tightened the bandages fiercely. The Qianwan Emperor sucked in a cold breath, nearly jumping up. He heard Mingde's cool voice rise up lowly behind him. "What is Your Majesty doing? This subject's days are already unpleasant enough. Are you reminding me that the days to come will be even worse?"

The Qianwan Emperor suddenly realized his mistake. He turned around wanting to explain, but Mingde had already flung himself angrily onto the layered, cloud-like bedding. On the huge dragon bed, his thin figure was almost invisible, with only the sound of cold laughter ringing out.

"Mingde, Mingde," The Qianwan Emperor grabbed him, holding him tightly in his arms. "How could I think that... How could I mean that... You're such a fierce little thing, who in the rear palace could handle you?... No matter when, as long as you behave, you'll have the best days of all..."

The blankets were so soft, and that man's embrace was also cautious and gentle, as if afraid that using any force would break or damage him. But the resentment in Mingde's heart clawed at him like kitten paws. He didn't know why he was unhappy, but he just was. Those little needles lodged there, making him restless and agitated, almost wanting to jump up and bite something, to vent.

He burrowed into the blankets like he was throwing a tantrum, refusing to come out. The Qianwan Emperor held him tightly, kneading his thin body into his own embrace, continuously kissing his soft, cool, fine hair.

It was so gentle, as if wanting to write off all the previous brutality and suffering.

...What gives you the right to act like a good person? Have you forgotten all that blood and pain?

It's so unfair. When you want to be the villain, I have to obey. When you want to be the good guy, I have to be grateful. Is that how it is?

...It's useless. I won't listen to you, I won't...

The Qianwan Emperor seemed unable to hear those tiny resentful thoughts full of terror and hatred. He bent down to kiss Mingde's hair, from the nape of his neck down his spine, kissing so gently. It was as if he had shed the body of an emperor, leaving behind the soul of an ordinary man, lovesick and anxious.

The next day was the official consort selection.

Eight hundred beauties gathered in one hall. In pairs, they stepped forward, curtseying gracefully towards the lofty Son of Heaven behind the beaded curtains. Those who remained had the chance to receive favor. Those who received favor had the chance to be granted the title of consort and bear sons. A young lady's initial yearning for wealth and status all hinged on that graceful curtsey.

The night before the selection, Lady Chang of Yun Prefecture was respectfully invited to the Jing'an Hall by the Empress's palace. The Empress reclined on the brocaded couch in Purple Cloud Palace, staring at her for a while before slowly saying, "Come here."

Lady Chang timidly approached. Suddenly, she saw two well-maintained fingers, clearly used to a life of luxury, reach out and gently tilt her chin up. Lady Chang weakly raised her gaze to meet the Empress's appraising eyes.

"So similar..." The Empress sighed. "...That hint of charm, those eyes..."

Lady Chang trembled. "This commoner doesn't dare!"

"What's there to not dare," the Empress smiled, releasing her hand. With a dignified air, she picked up the maple leaf tea beside her. "This appearance of yours is your ultimate weapon. What do women in the rear palace rely on? Isn't it just this face?"

Lady Chang hurriedly knelt on the ground. "This servant... this servant absolutely does not dare harbor any presumptuous thoughts. This servant only wishes to serve Your Majesty and will certainly maintain wifely virtue..."

The Empress let out a cold laugh and suddenly set down the teacup with a crisp clang.

"Wifely virtue? What is wifely virtue? A woman without talent is virtuous, but look at the favored women in this harem - which one of them is not skilled in all the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting? The Emperor will not like you stubbornly clinging to wifely virtue like a wooden block. He likes your face! Do you understand? Your face, it happens to perfectly suit the Emperor's taste!"

Lady Chang tremblingly knelt down. The Empress was angered seeing this and slapped the table, saying: "Stand up!"

Lady Chang was so frightened she dared not move. The Empress pulled her up and said sternly: "Stand straight! Have some dignity as a master! Don't act like a pitiful little wife, who owes you money? Put on an arrogant air! When you see the Emperor tomorrow, don't kneel and talk to him! How's this for being arrogant!"

Lady Chang stammered in fear: "Empress, Empress, but...but I..."

The Empress waved her hand and said: "Nanny!"

The trusted old nanny behind her immediately stepped forward and bowed. The Empress pointed at Lady Chang and said coldly: "Take her down and train her, model her every word and action after Lord Mingde. Tell her she need not go to the palace hall tomorrow, just send her to my palace to present to the Emperor. She is my...my last resort..."

The nanny was not surprised at all. She acknowledged the order, and led Lady Chang out.

Lady Chang was in a daze the whole time, as if she understood nothing, yet countless people were pushing her forward. She was pulled out the door in a stupor. The Empress stared at the direction she disappeared in. After a long while, she collapsed wearily onto the luxurious phoenix chair.

Princess Qinghe quietly emerged from behind the layers of beaded curtains and silently knelt beside the Empress. The two women were speechless for a long time. Finally, the Empress let out a long sigh and slowly asked: "Ah Zui, do you think I am...too..."

Ah Zui suddenly interrupted: "Your Highness is doing it all for the Crown Prince."

The Empress lowered her gaze. A bowl of pitch-black soup sat quietly in front of her.

It was the top-grade safflower decoction prepared to be fed to Lady Chang later. One bowl of it would make her infertile for life...

"She is different from me. It would be hard for me to never bear children in my life, but for her it doesn't matter. As long as the Emperor favors her for a day, she will enjoy a day of wealth and honor..."

Ah Zui listened in silence, gently placing a hand on her own slightly bulging belly.

"It's not that I want to harm her. She can't offend me, so why would I want to harm her to be childless for life? If she wants to blame someone, let her blame the Emperor! Who told her to have a face so similar to Mingde's! Others may not be able to establish their son as Crown Prince even if they bear children, but if she bears a child, the Crown Prince will be finished!"

Ah Zui was slightly startled: "But Your Highness, Lady Chang is not of noble birth. The court officials will strongly oppose establishing her child as Crown Prince. The Emperor may not..."

"You don't know what's on the Emperor's mind," the Empress interrupted her, unable to suppress the intensity in her tone, with the ending notes even sounding sharp.

"I once spent a fortune to extract a sentence from the Emperor's top confidant, Eunuch Zhang. At that time, it was when Noble Consort Ding was pregnant. Eunuch Zhang asked the Emperor if it was possible to establish Noble Consort Ding's unborn child as the new Crown Prince. At that time, Mingde was asleep. The Emperor pointed at him and said to Eunuch Zhang...'I wish to have another heir. I do not ask for a similar temperament or character, only for an appearance 80% alike. If it is a son, he can be established as Crown Prince and ascend the throne as Emperor after my passing. If it is a daughter, she can be conferred the title of Phoenix Crown Princess, to listen to politics behind a curtain of beads, with power over the whole world.'"

Ah Zui turned pale with fright.

The meaning of the Emperor's words was that as long as he had a child with an appearance 80% similar to Shangguan Mingde, he could raise the child as if it were...his and Mingde's child!

The Empress pressed her long, beautiful fake nails tightly against the tabletop, her knuckles turning pale white: "As long as Lady Chang goes to serve the Emperor, Mingde will definitely be able to escape...After all, he is not a girl and cannot hold the Emperor's favor for long...If it were a girl with that face, the Emperor definitely, definitely would not keep holding onto Mingde and refuse to let go..."

"My child," the Empress tightly covered her mouth, even her sobs were suppressed very low, extremely repressed, "Even if he has no choice but to be sent to that man to be ruined, it's just suffering some grievances for a time. How can he be tormented to death in that man's hands? He's not a woman who can be conferred the title of consort. What if he gets old and ugly in the future? What will happen to him then? Who will save him? Who will love him?..."

Therefore, Lady Chang must go serve the Emperor and become Shangguan Mingde's replacement.

She will enjoy the utmost glory and wealth. Except for not being able to bear children, as long as the Emperor still likes Shangguan Mingde for a day, she can enjoy imperial favor for a day.

For an ordinary woman, what more could she ask for? What else could she have to complain about?...

On the second day of selecting consorts, layers of beaded curtains hung high beside the Emperor on the Xiuyuan Hall. A beauty could be vaguely seen sitting behind the curtains, watching the people come and go with a cold gaze. A corner of his robe fluttered in the wind, expressing charm without uttering a word.

On that day, out of eight hundred beauties, none were selected.

The Emperor's decree: Since none possess both virtue and beauty, none shall be selected to enter the palace. The Empress is ordered to select the best ones to be rewarded to the princes and nobles. The harem need not keep anyone.

Out of these eight hundred top beauties gathered from all over the world, actually not a single one...could catch the Emperor's eye.

That very night, as soon as the Qianwan Emperor returned to the palace, the Empress sent someone to request an audience with the Emperor, saying there was an urgent matter to discuss and begging the Emperor to visit Jing'an Hall.

The Qianwan Emperor sneered, not knowing what excuse this "virtuous Empress" had to consult him about this time. This woman was constantly thinking of ways to remove Mingde from his side, as if that would make everything perfect.

He leisurely made his way to Jing'an Hall. The palace maids beside the Empress were all waiting outside the door, kneeling in a sea of black. After entering, the Empress knelt on the ground, wearing neat and tidy court attire, performing the ritual of three bows and nine kowtows, loudly proclaiming: "Long live my Emperor, long live, long live..."

The Qianwan Emperor sneered: "Empress, there's no need for such empty formalities. What, summoning me in the middle of the night, do you have some ancestral instructions to hold over my head again?"

The Empress stood up and looked directly at the Emperor, her voice slightly trembling: "...No, I...I recently obtained a beauty and wish to present her to Your Majesty." She stepped aside, allowing the Qianwan Emperor's gaze to pass by her. In the glorious candlelight stood a woman, slender in stature, with beautiful eyes and brows, distinct facial features, pale and lean.

She wasn't wearing any fine clothes, but rather wrapped in a set of old men's garments, in a faded white color that immediately brought to mind the soft, snug texture of the cotton sleeves.

The Qianwan Emperor was stunned.

The Empress quietly knelt down: "Your Majesty, are you satisfied?"

...Satisfied?

...Are you satisfied?

Li Ji himself didn't know if he was satisfied or not. His heart was seized by an indescribable emotion, a little sour, a little sad.

...That child, he must have had such a pitiful and fragile demeanor too...

He must have also... been offered up like this... terrified, afraid, struggling desperately yet watching helplessly as he was swallowed by the vortex of fate...

...If only he could protect him... If only he could let him sit in that most revered position, openly and uprightly, declaring to everyone how much he loved him...

If only he could give him everything he had...

The Empress raised her face and saw the expression on the Qianwan Emperor's face. This man's expression was strange. He seemed to be looking at Shangguan Mingde, but with a tender, sorrowful look, as if filled with infinite love.

The Empress shook her head. How could that be? Whenever this man looked at Mingde, he always held a blade, clearly declaring at all times: if you don't obey, I will cut you down. Such obvious threats and oppression, when had they ever carried a hint of affection?

"...Very good," the Qianwan Emperor slowly spoke, "Very good..."

Lady Chang trembled slightly. She didn't know why the Emperor said it was very good, she didn't even know if the Emperor was truly pleased. Perhaps in the next second, this unpredictable Son of Heaven would abruptly change his mind and drag her out to be chopped into pieces.

The Qianwan Emperor did not do as she imagined. He stood there for a while, dazedly opening his mouth, his voice so vague it didn't even seem his own.

"Someone... I have decided to confer upon her the title of... Virtuous Consort."

The chief eunuch behind him nearly dropped what he was holding. Virtuous Consort, a rank among the four first-class consorts. To be directly promoted to Virtuous Consort without ever being favored or having offspring was unprecedented in the entire history of the imperial harem.

The Qianwan Emperor didn't even ask what her name was. He didn't care what her name was, nor did he care about her background. In his eyes, she was nothing more than a repository that closely resembled Mingde, upon whom he could openly bestow favor and affection.

The Empress's fingers were trembling. Everything had gone so smoothly, even more smoothly than she had imagined. When the Qianwan Emperor looked at Lady Chang, there was even an intoxicated, joyful tenderness in his eyes.

"Your Majesty," the Empress let out a sigh of relief, her voice brimming with delight, "Will you be staying in the Virtuous Consort's palace tonight?"

The Qianwan Emperor glanced back at her, as if finding it very strange: "Of course not."

Not only the Empress, but everyone was startled.

"Let her stay with the Empress for now. After some time, build a new palace for her. Remember, give her only the best of everything. No one is to neglect her."

The Qianwan Emperor took half a step back and spoke with a smile: "Zhang Kuo."

Zhang Kuo hurriedly bowed: "Your servant is here."

"Let us return to Qingzhen Palace."

The Qianwan Emperor turned and strode out. Zhang Kuo stumbled and staggered after him.

Everyone was immersed in a state of great bewilderment. The Empress knelt on the ground, almost too stiff to move.

...What was... what exactly was this... why was this happening?...

Huge questions gradually welled up from her heart. It seemed some answer was on the verge of emerging, but no one could give her a response.

The palace doors were wide open, and the enchanting spring night breeze blew in. The huge candles flickered, and that trembling flame inexplicably made one feel a hint of inexplicable chill.