"Mother, get up, he's gone."

Helian Ci's voice was slightly hoarse and inscrutable, and his dark eyes stared at the direction where the crimson figure had left, growing increasingly cold.

His long, pale fingers unconsciously caressed the gleaming dagger hidden beneath his sleeve.

He vividly remembered that bitterly cold winter night, when the man, clad in a crimson dragon robe, trampled the old eunuch who had tried to kill him underfoot.

Standing high and mighty before me, the expression on its face was even more chilling than the biting wind.

He handed the dagger from the old eunuch's hand to himself; the sinister voice still echoed in his mind.

"If you want to live, you must learn how to make your enemies grovel at your feet, repenting and wailing."

On that bitterly cold winter night, she killed the old eunuch with her own hands, watching as the old eunuch, who usually swaggered and bullied her and her mother, cried out in agony and begged for mercy.

His initial fear gradually disappeared, replaced by a sense of exhilaration and pleasure.

Yes, that's right, it's delightful.

From the time he could remember, he had seen Helian Nie, his so-called father, only a handful of times. It wasn't that he hadn't resented and hated him.

But from that cold winter night onward, he stopped hating and stopped resenting.

Everyone in the Northern Yin Dynasty knows how Helian Nie, the emperor's father, obtained the throne.

In the imperial family, the strong prey on the weak, and the same applies to the harem. What is there to complain about?

He knew that Helian Yi hated his father, but he did not.

From that cold winter night onward, the blood flowing in his veins was most similar to that of his father, Emperor Helian Nie.

“Mother, he is not someone you should be attached to.”

Looking up, I inadvertently saw Consort Lian staring intently in the direction where that crimson figure had left.

Helian Ci's fingers, which were resting on his brocade robe, twitched slightly. He felt a pang of pity for his mother, but it was the truth.

Consort Lian's frail body trembled almost imperceptibly. She lowered her head, her beautiful eyes dimming with a hint of sadness on her slightly haggard face, and her lips trembled slightly as she spoke.

“My son, your mother knows.”

The fact that the Emperor was willing to rescue her and her child this time was already a great favor. How could she dare to hope that the Emperor would even give her a second glance?

Her beauty faded before her favor with the emperor ended. Not to mention, she had only been fortunate enough to receive the emperor's favor once in her life.

“Mother Consort…” Helian Ci’s long, pale fingers gently grasped Consort Lian’s hand. In the ruthless imperial family, he did not know how to comfort his mother.

"Oh, Ci'er, don't worry, your mother is fine, your mother understands."

Consort Lian quietly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and with her equally thin fingers, she grasped Helian Ci's hand in return.

Consort Lian gently stroked Helian Ci's temples, a smile appearing on her haggard face. Compared to her other sisters in the harem, she was fortunate; at least, she still had her Ci'er.

"Awoo~, Sister Moon."

Just as the mother and son were grieving, a soft, sweet little voice rang out, breaking the somewhat sorrowful atmosphere.

On the opposite side of the palace's porch, there was a tiny doll, dressed in a light pink undergarment.

Her little body swayed unsteadily, one of her short arms resting on the edge of the porch, the other rubbing her sleepy eyes, as she called out to Yue'er in a babyish voice.

Sitting in his wheelchair, Helian Ci's sickly pale face flashed a fleeting smile, his exceptionally red lips curving slightly.

Tsk, only this little crybaby is so heartless and oblivious to the hardships of life.