Chapter 1 Rebirth
The flowers are sparse and the sky is light, clouds come and go, and there are a few branches of snow.
The setting sun gradually sank below the lake, leaving a hazy glow that illuminated the Moon-Watching Pond.
The octagonal pavilion stands by the water, with curtains hanging lightly, the water gurgling, and the crackling sound of charcoal fire, which makes people feel even more sleepy.
Yueli leaned against the fence, her hands supporting her cheeks, her head nodding, her long eyelashes like butterfly wings casting a faint shadow.
With a "bang", the white forehead hit the fence. The woman suddenly frowned and opened her eyes.
Yueli looked ahead blankly. The eaves of the palaces stretched out into the distance and disappeared in the afterglow.
The woman's eyes were filled with lingering helplessness and fear.
She stood up by holding the porch pillar, feeling as if she was walking on clouds, her feet a little unsteady.
"Master, what's wrong with you?" A little maid with two buns on her hair was guarding outside the pavilion. She looked inside worriedly.
"Forsythia?"
How could it be Forsythia?
On the night of the palace coup, Lian Qiao and she tried to escape from the palace together, but they were separated on the way and their lives and deaths were unknown.
And hadn't she just been stabbed to death by the rebels?
Why did I see Forsythia again when I opened my eyes?
"Don't be too sad. Although His Majesty hasn't visited you these days, he hasn't gone to other palaces either." Lian Qiao thought she was unhappy because she had been ignored for a few days, so she bravely spoke to comfort her.
Yueli ignored her words and reached out to touch her belly. It was whole, without a hole.
She quickly ran out of the pavilion holding up her skirt, squatted down by the water and looked at her face.
Her beautiful face was reflected on the water surface, and her hair was adorned with jewels. She didn't look like she had when she fled in such a panic on the night of the coup.
"Ouch! Master, please slow down!"
Lian Qiao was startled by her actions and trotted after her, wrapping the woman's frail figure with the crescent-colored crane cloak in her arms.
"The ground is covered with snow. Get up quickly and don't fall into the water."
Yueli was lightly pulled away from the water. She lowered her eyes to look at the waning moon in the water. Snowflakes fell into it, breaking the tranquility of the lake.
Looking at everything in front of her, Yueli felt as if it was a dream and it was unreal.
"What day is it today?"
Although Lian Qiao thought her master might have been frozen silly, she still replied, "Today is the seventh day of the twelfth month of the fourth year of Cheng'an."
In the fourth year of Cheng'an, Yueli had just been in the palace for only four months.
She went back to the past.
Back to more than two years before the rebellion.
Yueli was born in Chunfeng Pavilion, a famous place in the Jiangnan area. In layman's terms, it is the place where Yangzhou skinny horses are trained.
There are many beauties in Jiangnan, but there are always some who are uniquely beautiful.
Yue Li was born with eyebrows like distant black, eyes like autumn water, cherry lips and a beautiful nose, and a skin as white as ice. Ever since she came of age, many wealthy young men from the Jiangnan area have wanted to buy her.
In July of the fourth year of Cheng'an, the emperor went on a southern tour. Yueli was originally bought by the local prefect to be presented to the famous General Xiao. However, she secretly glanced at General Xiao at the banquet. He was strong and burly, and looked like an evil ghost. Yueli wished she could grow two more legs and run away quickly.
She was sad and nauseous, and as she was wandering aimlessly in the garden, she bumped into a handsome young man coming out from behind the rockery.
The young man had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, handsome features, and an elegant demeanor. Most importantly, the jade pendant he wore around his waist was priceless Hetian jade!
When he just glanced at her and wanted to leave, Yueli boldly grabbed his sleeve:
"I want to serve you, sir..."
Anyone who can appear at the banquet at the prefect's house must be either rich or noble.
Yueli was right, it was just that this person was too expensive, too expensive.
After a night of passionate love, she realized that this man was actually the emperor!
It is widely known that the current emperor has a violent temper, is moody, and kills people without mercy. Yue Li realized this belatedly and felt a little scared.
But when she was brought to the Jiangning Palace and saw the magnificent palace, Yueli thought that it was okay for him to be violent, she could tolerate it.
She had been a favorite concubine for three years smoothly. She went from a lowly skinny girl from Yangzhou to the most favored Concubine Yu in the six palaces. She and His Majesty enjoyed revelry every night, living a life of drunkenness and dreams, until the spring of the seventh year of Cheng'an, when the virtuous king rebelled.
That night, the imperial city was covered in blood and wailing was everywhere. Yueli didn't know where the emperor had gone. She was very scared, so she grabbed some silver and tried to escape with Lianqiao.
The palace was in chaos. After the two got separated, Yue Li ran terrifiedly along the corridor towards the city gate under the cover of night.
The beacon fire is like the red sun, and the wolf smoke is like black clouds.
Overnight, mountains and rivers collapsed.
No matter how hard Yueli hid, she was still targeted by the rebels.
She was caught by several young soldiers and was almost raped. At the critical moment, hot blood splashed on her pale face.
When she opened her eyes, He Yanchen was standing in front of her, his tall figure looming over her.
He held out his hand to her.
The rebel's head rolled past her feet, and blood was dripping from the cold sword in the man's hand.
This time she was not abandoned.
"Your Majesty!" Yueli rushed up to him tremblingly and hugged him, crying and telling him how scared she was.
The man's cold and hard face was hidden in the darkness. Yue Li couldn't see his expression, but she could feel that he was no longer as lazy and careless as he usually was when he was with her.
He Yanchen was alone. He brought Yueli to the woods in the backyard of Zhuoyu Palace. This was Yueli's residence, where a large area of pear trees was planted. But she never knew there were so many winding roads here.
"Go straight from here and walk out."
He Yanchen let go of her hand. Yueli looked at him at a loss. Tears welled up in her eyes as she choked and said, "Your Majesty, won't you leave with me?"
She wanted to say that they could go together, to her hometown Jiangnan, and she would bring money with her so that she could support herself...
"His Majesty..."
Before she could finish her words, the man suddenly pressed the bloody sword against her neck.
"roll."
Yue Li's skirt and hairpin were disheveled. She wiped her tears with the back of her dirty hand. Under the man's cold gaze, she slowly backed away and ran forward faster and faster.
He Yanchen closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the woman's figure had disappeared, leaving only a white pear blossom spinning and falling on the ground.
He silently watched the fallen flowers withering in the wind. No matter how gorgeous and beautiful they were, they would eventually be blown away by the wind.
Yueli didn't know how long she had been running. For a woman like her who was so greedy for life and afraid of death and loved money so much, what she should do now was to run away quickly and use the money to live a comfortable life.
But for some reason, Yueli's steps became slower and slower...
She thought about how much He Yanchen doted on her over the years. The happiest time of her life was in the palace. With his support, she could slap anyone she disliked. She no longer had to be servile and bullied like she was in Chunfeng Pavilion.
She was so used to being surrounded by servants that she could hardly even dress herself.
Without him, how could she, a little loser, survive on her own?
And...and there are so many rebels, he will die if he doesn't leave!
Yueli stopped suddenly, then turned around and ran back quickly.
When she returned to her original place, she saw from afar He Yanchen being besieged by a group of people, his tough face stained with a few streaks of blood.
"His Majesty!"
Yueli instinctively wanted to help him, but she slipped on the sticky blood under her feet and ran straight into the rebel's blade.
She finally knew what it felt like to have her stomach pierced.
It seems like everyone is leaking...
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