Mi Shan was taken aback, a moment of surprise flashing in her eyes.

Has her behavior become that obvious?

Even Achan could see it, so surely the Emperor was well aware of it as well.

She doesn't love the emperor, nor does she love anyone else, but now, her feelings have changed slightly. What if the emperor notices this in the future?

"Your Majesty, is A-Chan talking too much?"

Seeing her calm demeanor and deep, dark eyes, Achan was so frightened that she immediately knelt down, thinking that she had said or done something wrong.

"It's alright, get up." Mi Shan frowned, determined to cover it up, while casually making up an excuse to brush it off.

"I was just thinking about Consort Ru. Before she served the Emperor last time, she asked me to take her pulse. I determined that it was the right time for her to conceive. Plus, I gave her that medicine. Now it should be a sure thing."

Mi Shan's eyes flickered, and after a moment's thought, she spoke.

"So, the imperial physician went there probably because of her pregnancy."

"What?" Achan exclaimed in surprise, "She's pregnant! That's wonderful news, so why didn't the Empress Dowager say anything?"

Mi Shan shook her head slightly: "Her current status is incomparable to what it used to be. Even if she speaks out, she cannot compete with the Empress, and it will easily attract jealousy. Then there will be endless trouble."

"Having been in the harem for so many years, she should know that without any support, everyone in the harem can overpower her. She is nothing more than an empty shell with the title of Imperial Noble Consort."

"Your Majesty is so thoughtful. I didn't think that much about it. In that case, it's indeed best to keep it a secret," Achan said.

Mi Shan gave a word of advice: "Be careful with everything related to Consort Ru's palace from now on. But you're leaving the palace soon, so remember to tell Xun'er later."

"Yes, I understand."

After they finished speaking, they quietly returned to the palace when no one was around.

Mi Shan changed her clothes, turned off the lights, and went to bed.

He took out the inextinguishable flame hidden under the bed, played with it for a while in the darkness, placed it on the bedside table, and fell asleep watching the leaping flame inside.

...

"Xie Ling, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Me? Of course, I'll be the emperor."

"How boring. Your parents only have you as their son, so you're destined to be the emperor. Don't you think being an emperor is very unhappy?"

“What’s wrong with that? I can have anything I want.” Xie Ling said, then turned to look at the innocent little girl with two pigtails in front of her.

In my dream, the faces of the little girl and the little boy were blurry, with only faint outlines visible.

It's still that mountain, still that vibrant red maple forest. The fiery red color burns the entire forest, blending seamlessly with the sunset-colored sky.

He can have anything he wants.

Including you.

It seemed as if a voice was echoing in my chest.

"But you'll be very tired too. You'll have a lot of things to do and a lot of people to take care of. Then I'll become unimportant, and you won't even think of me for ten days or half a month."

The little girl rested her chin on her hand and said listlessly, her voice filled with deep disappointment.