In a daze, he fell asleep in the bed where the two of them had once slept.

In his dream, he witnessed a great battle between two armies, and before him stood a woman in red armor, fighting her way through the enemy's blood.

But ultimately, outnumbered, the woman was pierced through the heart by a thousand swords. In her last moments, she looked back.

Shen Jinchen saw her face clearly; it was Cen Xi, the woman he had been longing for.

She smiled and spoke gently to him:

"I'm leaving. Take good care of the children I'm leaving behind."

Then she breathed her last in front of him.

"No!"

"No!"

Shen Jinchen frantically tried to grab her, but he couldn't get close to her no matter what he did. In the end, her body disappeared from his sight.

"No!!!"

With a loud shout, Shen Jinchen, drenched in cold sweat, climbed out of bed, panting heavily.

"No!"

Shen Jinchen muttered to himself for a while, as if he had thought of something. He suddenly jumped off the bed, and without calling the eunuch, he hurriedly put on a few clothes and ran out of Kunde Hall towards the East Palace.

The child! The child that Cen Xi risked her life to give birth to, he never saw him from the moment he was born, and even blamed his mother's death on him.

He... he has let his son down so much. He has also betrayed Cen Xi's trust in him.

The Eastern Palace.

Early in the morning, the emperor, unkempt and disheveled, barged into the East Palace, seized a eunuch, and demanded:

"Where is the Crown Prince? Where is the Crown Prince?"

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is still sleeping in the inner room."

The eunuch trembled and answered cautiously.

Before the eunuch could finish answering, Shen Jinchen was already gone. In the inner palace where the crown prince lived, the wet nurse was dressing the prince when suddenly a disheveled man burst in, shoved her, and snatched the crown prince into his arms.

The wet nurse, terrified, turned pale and cried out incoherently:

"Guards! Assassins! Assassins!"

After shouting, he collapsed and fainted.

His Majesty had issued an imperial decree for the Crown Prince's safety, so the Imperial Guards stormed in shortly afterward, armed with spears and swords. But upon seeing His Majesty enter, everyone was momentarily at a loss for what to do.

Hearing the wet nurse's screams, Qingyi, who was sleeping next door, opened her eyes, hastily threw on a robe, and rushed into the Crown Prince's palace. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Shen Jinchen and dismissed the imperial guards. She then left the palace to wash up.

Shen Jinchen held the Crown Prince for a long time, and even after Qingyi returned, he still showed no sign of letting go.

The woman in green tentatively asked:

"Your Majesty, why are you doing this today? Holding the little prince like this will hurt him."

The familiar voice reached his ears, and Shen Jinchen finally came to his senses, realizing what he had done, and loosened his grip.

"Are you the Emperor?"

Before Shen Jinchen could speak, the person in his arms spoke up and looked at him with a bewildered expression.

Why aren't you crying?

After calming down, Shen Jinchen stared at the little person in his arms and asked.

“I don’t like to cry. When I was little, I cried until no one paid attention to me, so I stopped crying.”

Crown Prince Junrong continued to blink as he gazed at Shen Jinchen.

"It is your father who has wronged you, it is your father who has wronged you, it is your father who has wronged you."

The innocent child's voice made Shen Jinchen feel ashamed. When he recalled Cen Xi lying on the corpses of Wanshan and smiling as she told him, "You must take good care of our son," his heart ached, and he hugged the little prince and burst into tears.

"It's alright. I am your son, and I forgive you. Your palace servants are still waiting outside for you to go to the morning court. A real man doesn't cry. Go on, I'll be fine."

The little prince nestled in Shen Jinchen's arms, acting like a little adult, wiping away Shen Jinchen's tears and earnestly trying to persuade him.

"you…"

The child's actions were so astonishing that Shen Jinchen, who had lived most of his life, had never seen a three-year-old behave like this. He was immediately startled and stood up, looking at him with a questioning expression.

"Don't look at me like that. I am precocious, have a photographic memory, and am extremely intelligent. Naturally, I understand many principles. Go, Father. You can come to see me after the morning court session."

Bei Ming Jun Rong had a sweet smile on his youthful face, but his tone was surprisingly mature.

"Damn it, you really are a monster born of your mother. Guards! Help me change my clothes and put on my hat."

After calming himself down and confirming that the clever little devil in front of him was indeed his son, Shen Jinchen glared at him and then called for the eunuch outside.

"yes!"

Just as Eunuch Li from outside arrived, he heard the emperor calling him from inside. He then rushed back into the palace, panting, and instructed people to dress Shen Jinchen in a dragon robe, cleanse his face, and tie his crown.

After everything was ready, Eunuch Li urged Shen Jinchen to go to court in a gentle tone.

Shen Jinchen glanced at his son, who was staring at him curiously, and said:

"Wait for me. I will come to see you after I finish court."

"Alright, don't be impulsive. Look at the way you rushed in just now, it was really unbearable to look at. Luckily I'm your son, otherwise you would have lost face big time."

Bei Ming Junrong nodded, and then earnestly advised Shen Jinchen.

"you…"

Shen Jinchen was surprised for a moment, then wiped his face speechlessly, turned around and left.

After she left, Bei Ming Jun Rong grabbed Qing Yi's sleeve and laughed heartily:

"Aunt Qing, look how funny my father is."

"Hmph, you're the one who's funny. I don't know who you took after. Even the Empress doesn't have a personality like yours. You wouldn't happen to be some kind of monster, would you?"

"You're the devil! This prince wants sweet milk pudding. Aunt Qing, go and make it for me."

Bei Ming Junrong rolled his eyes and then acted coquettishly towards Qingyi.

Shen Jinchen's actions this morning, however, and the fact that he stayed overnight at Kunde Palace yesterday, were quickly known to the observant civil and military officials.

Therefore, during the morning court session today, they were all somewhat absent-minded. Some would occasionally glance at Duke Ji and Duke Shen, and they all had a feeling that a storm was brewing.

After the court session, they secretly went to the residences of the Duke of Ji and the Duke of Shen.

The Duke of Ji and the Duke of Shen also met late at night.

"What happened three years ago is likely to be exposed."

Upon seeing Duke Ji, Duke Shen frowned and spoke.

"His Majesty was originally the chosen one of Heaven. He didn't realize it back then, but now that he has encountered a woman who resembles the late Empress, he's probably starting to overthink things. We've made a mistake in this move."

"So what should we do next?"

Duke Shen sighed helplessly.

"Next, I'm afraid we'll have to pay with our lives."

Duke Ji took a sip of wine and then laughed loudly.

"We did all this for his own good, to prevent him from being controlled by a woman. Can he really bring himself to kill us?"

"I don't know. He's an emperor, no longer the little boy we've always protected. I have a clear conscience. Let him kill me if he wants. What is there to fear in death?"

Ji Changming's eyes flickered, and he spoke helplessly.

"Forget it, you're right. What's done is done, and there's no point in saying anything now. Let him investigate. If he finds out the truth, it's our fate."