That familiar voice reminded her of the times she had met the emperor.

However, at this point, she could no longer lift her head, and even in the last moments of her life, she could not take one last look at the man with the golden mask who was supposed to accompany her for the rest of her life.

In the moments before her consciousness faded, her memories of her past with the emperor flashed through her mind like a fleeting glimpse.

Back then, emperors didn't wear golden imperial robes like they do now.

In a village littered with severed limbs, a young girl kneels on the blood-stained ground, her large eyes staring blankly at the person before her.

The person in front of me, whose gender I couldn't tell, wore a dark metal mask and black armor covered in red and yellow bits of flesh and blood from the battle.

He casually tossed a large sword, already riddled with nicks and chips, aside.

"May I have your name?"

The man stood there, kneeling before the girl on the ground, uttering a cold yet steady male voice.

The girl being questioned looked at the man in black armor with some confusion, and stammered as she answered:

“I…I am Zhao Li, Zhao…Li.”

After hearing the girl's answer, the man in black armor picked her up, hoisted her onto his shoulder, and ran quickly out of the village.

The girl, carried on his shoulders, was carried away from the village by him, bumping along the way. After running out of the village, the man's mature and steady voice entered her ears again.

"Zhao Li, from now on, you will be the Queen of the Empire, my Emperor's consort."

...

Inside a palace covered with red flowers, men and women dressed in magnificent attire were all looking up at a couple in the center of the hall.

Standing beside the couple was Marshal Maurice, who looked like a young man.

He stood beside the two men, holding what appeared to be an invitation, and read it aloud to the crowd in the hall:

"Now that the empire has been established for three years, the emperor has taken Zhao Li as his concubine. The whole country is celebrating and all citizens of the empire will have a three-day holiday to celebrate the new concubine."

At this moment, Zhao Li looked at the emperor standing beside her with loving eyes. He was no longer wearing the dark metal mask, but a golden mask that exuded luxury.

"Your Majesty, I want to be with you forever!"

At this moment, Zhao Li was constantly expressing her admiration for the emperor in her heart.

But she didn't dare to tell him her true feelings.

...

Inside a grand hall bathed in soft white light, nurses dressed in white coats were walking around.

Zhao Li was lying on a large, white bed in the center of the hall, holding a newborn baby in her arms.

The emperor, dressed in a long black robe, sat quietly beside her.

She glanced at the baby in her arms, then at the emperor seated beside her, and said weakly, having just given birth:

"My husband, this is our son. What should we name him?"

"Whatever."

However, after uttering these words, the emperor left the palace after witnessing the birth of his son, leaving behind Zhao Li, who was lying on the bed in a daze, and many nurses in the palace.

…………