Yi Mu pushed the Empress's hand away, his beautiful phoenix eyes fixed on the woman before him, trying to find any trace of panic on her face.

The Empress smiled and asked, "Is there anything dirty on my face?"

"You did this on purpose."

Yi Mu saw through that obvious feint perfectly.

"Your Majesty, I don't understand what you are saying."

The Queen's eyes fell to the window, where a tall, familiar-looking man stood.

A faint smile appeared on her lips. Taking advantage of Yi Mu's momentary lapse in attention, she suddenly stepped forward and hugged him, her voice soft and seductive.

“Your Majesty is right. I shouldn’t be jealous. Just as you said, men are just for amusement and cannot be kept forever. Your Majesty is young and curious, just playing around. I am broad-minded and don’t mind.”

Yi Mu frowned, not understanding what nonsense she was suddenly spouting.

"This woman must be crazy," he pushed the empress away.

The Empress stepped aside, and as she watched the figure outside the window sway slightly, a look of pleasure flashed in her eyes. She nestled into Yi Mu's arms like a boneless creature.

"Your Majesty loves the princess. I will bear you children from now on. I will bear as many as you like, as long as Your Majesty is pleased."

Realizing something, Yi Mu abruptly pushed away the leech-like queen and frantically looked out the window.

Bei Menlin walked in from outside, ignoring the Empress and staring intently at Yi Mu, coldly questioning him: "Just playing around?"

Yi Mu opened his mouth to explain, but the Empress suddenly rammed into him, stabbing him sharply with her finger.

Yi Mu was immediately unable to make a sound, and his movements were also restrained by an invisible force.

He didn't even have time to show any signs of anxiety.

Bei Menlin only saw Yi Mu looking at him calmly, without offering a single explanation.

They were standing about two arm's lengths apart, but why did he feel that Yi Mu was so far away, so far that he could barely see his face?

Were all those sweet words just manipulation, or were they a trap designed to secure the throne?

Or, as the Queen said, was he simply curious about how men interacted, which is why he approached him?

Bei Menlin could not accept either of them.

Bei Menlin pushed the Empress aside, walked up to Yi Mu, took a deep breath, suppressed his raging anger, stared into his eyes, and gently, slowly asked, "Answer me, are you playing with me?"

Yi Mu used all his willpower to resist the shackles on his body, repeatedly pounding on the invisible glass dome.

But it didn't work. His inner world erupted like a volcano, the sea reversed its course, and there were raging waves, but on the surface, he remained completely still.

He just stared coldly at Beimen Lin, watching the earth-shattering rage rise in his eyes, remaining unmoved.

How could he be so heartless?

Ever since Bei Menlin was kicked out of his home by his father when he was a child, he vowed that he would never let himself become a laughing stock again.

He believed in Emu and believed he would give him a reasonable explanation that the child was not his.

Before Yi Mu could give him a convincing explanation, he delivered a heavy blow to the head!

Bei Menlin thought he was invincible, but when he gave his heart to someone for the first time in his life, he was brutally trampled on.

It's become a laughing stock once again!

His hand was only a short distance from Yi Mu's neck. If he simply raised his hand, grasped the fragile neck, and gently twisted it, he could send this reckless man to his death.

No one dared to stop him; even the Empress's intervention was futile.

But Bei Menlin couldn't bear to do it. He was being a masochist; looking at that face and remembering how happy he used to be because of his smile, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Bei Menlin took one step, two steps, three steps back, until he could no longer reach Yi Mu, and then he stopped.

He looked at Yi Mu's face, his eyes no longer filled with deep affection and unwavering devotion, but only with cold resolve.

"From now on, you will guard your country. Only when the palace gates are wide open and you strip naked and jump off the Star Gazing Tower will I consider sparing your beloved woman and son."

You once stood behind the red gauze curtain, seducing me and making me fall in love with you.

Now you've severed all ties of affection with your own hands, allowing me to give up hope.

From now on, I will make you stand naked under the bright sky and suffer all kinds of humiliation, so that I can protect what is most precious to you!

Bei Menlin left the Empress's palace without looking back.

He didn't see that the person he thought was heartless shed a tear behind his back.