Awakening with doubt, awaiting the Emperor's arrival.
As dawn approached, Li Hehua vaguely felt someone gently stroking her face; the hand felt so familiar.
But when he woke up and opened his eyes, he looked around and found that there was no one else besides himself.
Li Hehua inwardly mocked herself.
Yeah, why would anyone come to see me? I must be... crazy.
The jailer brought Li Hehua a sumptuous meal, which she ate despite having no appetite.
It was noon soon, and Li Hehua was taken to the Xuanwumen vegetable market. The Li family and many people came to watch, and the people, not knowing the reason, insulted Li Hehua.
"Really, I heard the Emperor dotes on her a lot. Why would she be so foolish as to have an affair? Wouldn't it be better to just be the Emperor's favored concubine?"
"Exactly, she's probably a fickle woman, you really can't tell..."
The Li family members were filled with heartache, but there was nothing they could do.
Young Li Xingyi knew nothing, but she knew her aunt was innocent. She rushed forward, stood in front of Li Hehua, and opened her arms, saying, "You are not allowed to talk about my aunt! My aunt is innocent!"
The people, of course, paid no attention to what a little child was saying and continued talking to themselves. Li Xingyi's eyes were filled with tears, and she gritted her teeth in anger. Just as she was about to say something more, a voice came from behind her, and she turned around.
"Xingyi, there's no need to say anything more. Your aunt is fine. Aunt... as long as you believe in me, that's enough. Remember, the most ruthless family is the imperial family. Don't—fall in love with them. Your aunt hopes you can be happy."
It seems the effects of the medicine have worn off.
Li Hehua's gentle words and kind smile were deeply imprinted in the eyes of young Li Xingyi. She still wanted to say something, but Li Fengtan quickly came up and took Li Xingyi away.
When the time came, the executioner took the wine, took a sip and spat it onto his knife. While shouting "The wronged have their culprits, and the debtors have their debtors," he raised his knife and slashed down, blood flowing everywhere.
In April of the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Dewei, Consort Li was beheaded and her head displayed in public at the Xuanwumen Market the following day for having an affair.
Seeing all this, Li Xingyi cried out, "Auntie!" and then fainted.
Whether it was divine mercy or because of injustice, the rain followed the fall of the knife, and it was unclear whether the people on the nearby high-rise were shedding tears or simply being splashed by the rain.
He reached out and caught the rainwater, quietly looking at his right hand. The raindrops fell onto his hand, one by one, like blooming lotus flowers.
The person beside him urged, "Your Majesty, it's time to return to the palace."
The man said, "Let's go."
Then the high-rise building was deserted, and the taciturn Wuyan became even more silent.
That day, the lotus flowers in the capital city were in full bloom!
Six months later, Li Hehua's personal maid, Qin'er, suddenly shouted at the entrance of Xuanzheng Hall: "Your Majesty, Consort Li Hehua is innocent! This servant begs Your Majesty to clear Consort's name!"
The guards at the palace gate, of course, would not stand idly by, so they came over to drive Qin'er away. When they saw that driving her away was useless, they started to drag her. Qin'er struggled in every way, repeatedly saying, "Your Majesty, Your Highness is innocent!"
Finally, whether Qi Lie couldn't stand it anymore or softened his heart, he sent out the chief eunuch. As soon as the chief eunuch came out, he asked, "What are you doing?"
Upon seeing this, the guard immediately released his grip and returned to his original position. The head eunuch then pointed at Qin'er and said, "You, come in with me!"
Qin'er was overjoyed to hear this and followed them into the Xuanzheng Hall.
Without looking up, Qi Lie continued handling official business while asking, "What evidence do you have to prove that Consort Li is innocent?"
Qin'er immediately took out a pulse diagnosis record that had been destroyed and obtained from who-knows-where, and knelt on the ground to present it with both hands, saying, "This is a pulse diagnosis record from six months ago that this servant found. Please take a look, Your Majesty. This item will surely prove Your Highness's innocence."
The head eunuch then took the pulse record and handed it to Qi Lie. Qi Lie stopped writing, took it and looked at it. When he saw that Consort Li Hehua was pregnant, he remained silent for a long time, and finally slowly closed his eyes.
After a moment of silence, she opened her eyes and said to the chief eunuch, "Announce to the world! Give the Li family some compensation, and posthumously confer upon Li Hehua the title of Consort Deqing."
"Just say that Shi Fa deliberately framed Li Hehua. The Shi family wanted to take advantage of the concubines, and when they failed, they plotted this. The Shi family will still be exiled to the frontier, and the Empress will still be confined!"
The head steward, after listening, exclaimed in surprise, "Ah?"
After being glanced at by Qi Lie, he immediately replied, "Yes, Your servant obeys."
The head eunuch couldn't fathom Qi Lie's thoughts.
Your Majesty, you coldly beheaded him before, but now you're offering compensation and even visiting him before you die. Truly, the heart of a ruler is unfathomable, and serving a ruler is like walking on thin ice!
No one knows whether Qi Lie regrets his plan to use Li Hehua to frame Shi Faxia. Perhaps he really did have a little affection for the woman who rushed to bring him ginger soup in the snow because she was afraid he would be cold!
But how can flames touch a lotus flower?
In October of the fourth year of Dewei's reign, after announcing this to the world, the people's discussions changed again.
"Hey! I told you she was innocent!"
"When did you say that? You're shameless! If you ask me, she shouldn't have gone out alone. See? This is what happens!"
"You can't say that. She also wanted to tell His Majesty about the child. Alas! You can never judge a book by its cover. I never expected Prime Minister Shi to be such a shameless scoundrel!"
"Exactly! Exactly! Shameless! Luckily he's been executed! Otherwise, what would become of the women in the capital!"
"Yes, the world is going to the dogs, people's hearts are no longer what they used to be!" "Right, who knows if everyone in the Shi family is like this..."
Upon learning of this, Shi Hui went berserk in the palace, screaming, "Your Majesty! My father is innocent! It must have been that vile woman Li Hehua who seduced him! My father had no intention of having relations with any of the concubines! Your Majesty! You can't do this..."
From then on, her hatred for the Li family reached its peak, after all, not only had her father died because of her, but her family had also declined.
Her own people had been exiled to that harsh and cold frontier, and she secretly made a vow in her heart.
From this day forward, I, Shi Hui, will never let the Li family live under the same sky! It will be a fight to the death!
Meanwhile, Qi Lie was giving the Li family box after box of compensation.
The Li family had always known that Li Hehua was innocent. They didn't care about compensation or not, as long as Li Hehua's innocence was cleared. It was as if they could feel that Li Hehua was finally at ease.
Li Xingyi dreamt of Li Hehua's story. His beloved aunt was wrongly accused and beheaded, and he was powerless to do anything about it. The events at the execution ground were still vivid in his mind. When the knife fell, she was still calling out "Aunt!"
Startled awake, Qingyi and Qianwu rushed in to check on Li Xingyi. Upon seeing her condition, they asked hurriedly, "Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Li Xingyi was in a daze for a moment before she remembered that she had married Qi Dou yesterday and was already the Empress, the mother of the nation, and that such a thing had happened that morning.
...I dreamt about it again.
Li Xingyi straightened his expression and asked, "I am unharmed. How is Your Majesty?"
Qianwu replied, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has gone to Cining Palace."
Upon hearing this, Li Xingyi knew what Qi Dou was going to do.
They must have gone to confront Shi Hui.
...Let's go take a look.
Then she looked at Qingyi and said, "Help me change my clothes, I'm going to Cining Palace."
After hearing this, Qingyi followed the order and helped Li Xingyi get dressed, while she made a guess in her mind.
Is Master about to begin?
Just then, a voice came from outside, "What's wrong?"
Then Qi Dou walked in. Upon seeing him, Li Xingyi calmly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
Qi Dou said gently, "No need for formalities."
Li Xingyi straightened up and looked at Qi Dou, asking, "Did Your Majesty go to Cining Palace for Shi Yan and the imperial concubine selection?"
Qi Dou smiled gently and replied, "Yes and no. I was just going to pay my respects. As for the selection of concubines, I said you can do whatever you want."
Although she knew that half of it was a lie, Li Xingyi did not intend to expose him. She said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will make preparations for the selection of concubines."
Qi Dou's eyes went from being somewhat disappointed to being somewhat angry, and finally to being helpless.
...Never mind, I had too high expectations.
Li Xingyi saw that Qi Dou was standing there without saying anything, just like before.
Not again?
She tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, is there anything else?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Dou understood the meaning and smiled, "No, I will come to see you again tonight. You should rest well. I need to attend to state affairs now."
Before Li Xingyi could reply, Qi Dou walked out. She could only bow to Qi Dou's back and say, "Your Majesty, I respectfully see you off."
After Qi Dou left, Li Xingyi recalled the scene that had suddenly appeared in her mind that morning, and she said, "Qianwu, go prepare dinner."
Qianwu paused for a moment after hearing this, and then said, "Yes, this servant will take her leave."
Qianwu wasn't supposed to personally prepare dinner at the imperial kitchen, but she couldn't refuse Li Xingyi's order, so she had no choice but to obey.
Li Xingyi said to the others, "You may all leave now. I wish to stay in peace for a while. Qingyi will stay with me."
Upon hearing this, everyone bowed and said, "Yes."
The room was suddenly empty except for the two of them. Li Xingyi lowered his eyes and said, "Qingyi, a strange image appeared in my mind this morning."
Qingyi paused upon hearing this, and asked, "Your Majesty, what scene is it?"
Li Xingyi slowly recounted: "The figure of a boy, whose face I couldn't see, I only knew that he was crying and saying something in front of me?"
Qingyi thought for a moment and said, "Does Your Majesty want to ask if you have seen this boy?"
Li Xingyi glanced at her and said, "I just feel that the scene could only have occurred during the time of Frostfrost Sect, but I have no recollection of it. I clearly remember everything that happened at Frostfrost Sect, but I have no clue about this matter. I want to ask if I have ever suffered from amnesia?"
Qingyi was taken aback and said, "Your Majesty, isn't your memory perfect? How could you have lost your memory? I've always been with you and don't know what you're describing."
Li Xingyi lowered his eyes and said, "That's true, it's just a scene. I was overthinking it."
After a long while, dinner was prepared, and Li Xingyi began to eat. Then he began to check the financial situation of the harem. After that, he asked the maids to prepare the things needed for bathing. After bathing, he began to wait for Qi Dou's arrival. Li Xingyi picked up a book to read to pass the time.
When Qi Dou finished dealing with government affairs and arrived at Fengyi Palace, he saw Li Xingyi asleep on the table with a book underneath him.
Qi Dou chuckled softly, then gently walked over and picked up Li Xingyi, carrying her towards the bed. Li Xingyi seemed to sense something and immediately opened her eyes, her hand swiftly reaching for Qi Dou's neck. When she saw it was Qi Dou, her hand immediately stopped, and she quietly put away the needle in her hand, saying discreetly, "Your Majesty, you've come."
Qi Dou grunted in response, showing no concern whatsoever about the fact that he had almost died just now.
Seeing that he was holding her, Li Xingyi said, "Your Majesty, you can put me down now. I can walk by myself."
Upon hearing this, Qi Dou looked down at Li Xingyi and said, "It's alright."
Li Xingyi could say nothing after hearing this, so he let it go.
Seeing this, Qi Dou continued to hold Li Xingyi until he placed him on the bed. Only after settling Li Xingyi down did he ask, "Why aren't you sleeping on the bed?"
Li Xingyi looked at him and explained in his heart.
This is naturally due to the rules of the palace; concubines can only rest when they are certain that the emperor will not come.
Therefore, Li Xingyi had no choice but to wait, not to mention that Li Xingyi couldn't possibly really want to wait for Qi Dou.
But she couldn't say those words aloud; she could only say, "Because Your Majesty said you would come tonight, I am waiting for you."
Qi Dou sat on the edge of the bed without speaking, simply watching Li Xingyi. Li Xingyi, puzzled, asked, "Your Majesty?"
Qi Dou then spoke up: "Next time, if you're sleepy, just go to sleep."
“You don’t need to wait for me anymore, and don’t sleep on the table anymore, it’ll be uncomfortable. Also… when it’s just the two of us, you don’t need to call me Your Majesty, have you forgotten, Xingyi?” he said.
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