In the sixteenth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, on the day of the birth of the last princess of the current Holy Virtue Emperor, General Yuwen Zhuo rebelled. The Imperial Guards were unable to resist, and the army escorted Yuwen Zhuo into the imperial city.
According to legend, on the day the princess was born, auspicious clouds filled the imperial city, and the people cried out that the heavens were blessing the Great Xia. His Majesty's health also improved overnight, and he held the little princess in his arms, showering her with affection, and bestowed upon her the title of Wenyi.
On the day the princess turned one month old, the floodwaters in the south receded, and the people rebuilt their new homes.
The day the princess left, a victory was won on the northwestern border, and the smoke of the great war had long since dissipated.
Princess Wenyi's birth mother was the most beautiful woman in the world, Consort Xue. Because of her daughter, she rose to the rank of Imperial Noble Consort of the second rank, second only to the Empress of the first rank.
To ensure the safety of his princess, His Majesty Saint-Deok even used his own personal guards to protect Princess Wenyi.
Such pampering placed Princess Wenyi in an even more precarious position.
Fortunately, with the master's guidance, Consort Xue avoided attending Princess Wenyi's first birthday celebration and instead secretly conducted the ceremony in private. The object that Wenyi picked up that day terrified Consort Xue, as it was enough to lead to the execution of her entire family.
Consort Xue fell silent after that, and even avoided the Emperor's summons on several occasions.
When Wen Yi was five years old, the little boy had already begun to show his beauty. Consort Xue was very worried. Everyone said that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Back then, His Majesty did not hesitate to fall out with the Prime Minister in order to get her. Since then, the Prime Minister resigned and went into seclusion, disappearing without a trace.
Now Wen Yi has grown up to be even more beautiful than she was back then, and she doesn't know how to hide Wen Yi's appearance.
"Mother, Wenyi has composed a new poem today. Please take a look." The little boy's face was covered in black ink, clearly from not noticing when he was holding the brush; his little hands were smeared with ink all over his face.
With his bright, black eyes like jewels, Bard blinked as he looked at his mother, his little face full of anticipation for her praise.
Consort Xue withdrew her sadness, gently stroked Wen Yi's hair, and praised, "Wen Yi's poems must be excellent."
The little boy puffed out his cheeks, his nostrils twitched slightly, and he hummed softly, turning his head away: "Mother Consort always lies to me. The other day, Mother Consort said that Wenyi's poem was good, so Wenyi showed it to my brothers. But my eldest brothers just laughed at me."
The little boy turned around, his soft hands grasping the snow-white imperial concubine's golden gauze robe, gently shaking it: "Mother, everyone says you are the most beautiful woman in the world, and also the most talented woman. Wenyi does not aspire to be as beautiful as Mother, but he would like to learn a thing or two from Mother's literary talent."
Consort Xue smiled, surprised that Wen Yi was already so old and already concerned about beauty. She wondered why Wen Yi thought he wouldn't be as beautiful as his mother when he grew up, but that was fine with her. She could let him grow up in peace.
"Mother, Mother." Wen Yi pouted angrily. His mother was staring at him in a daze, so he could only shake her arm and call to her.
Consort Xue suddenly came to her senses and chuckled as she poked Wen Yi's forehead: "I don't know who you got your temperament from, you're so impatient. A girl should be virtuous, gentle, and dignified. Look at you, you little rascal."
"Mother, if you make fun of me like this, I will leave and not come to see you again." Perhaps only this princess in the palace dares to threaten the Imperial Noble Consort in this way.
"His Majesty has arrived!"
A high-pitched, shrill voice echoed throughout Xuehua Palace, accompanied by dozens of kneeling sounds as the crowd shouted, "May Your Majesty be well!"
"Father is here." The little boy's eyes lit up, and he ran towards the door with small steps. Just as he was about to step out of the door, he bumped into that bright yellow figure.
The imposing figure was suddenly bumped by the little person, but remained in place. The little person, however, lost his balance and fell backward with a cry of surprise.
His Majesty immediately bent down, took a big step forward, and used his large hand to stop the little boy's soft body.
"Be careful, my precious child misses his father so much."
Consort Xue's heart, which had been pounding, finally settled. She walked over gracefully, bowing slightly. Her beautiful eyes, though filled with tenderness, remained completely calm. How long ago was it that His Majesty had promised to take only one of the three thousand beauties in the harem? Yet now, the room was filled with desolation.
The so-called genius and number one beauty is merely a collectible for His Majesty; after looking at her for a while, he gets tired of her.
Countless times she woke up in the middle of the night, her body ice-cold. As time went by, Consort Xue had long since gotten used to it, and no longer felt the same way about the emperor.
"Xue'er, how many times have I told you, there is no need to bow when you see me." After settling the servant, His Majesty took Xue Guifei's soft hand in his hand. The tenderness in his tiger eyes was so fake that it made Xue Guifei feel nauseous. However, she could only kneel down in fear and reply to His Majesty's words: "Your Majesty, I am a concubine in the harem and dare not break this rule, lest the palace servants overstep their bounds and cause chaos in the harem."
Looking at the humble figure crawling on the ground, a look of satisfaction flashed in Shengde's eyes. He quickly composed himself and then instructed his chief steward, Gao Gong, to help Consort Xue to her feet.
"Father, Wenyi just wrote a poem, but Mother is unwilling to give me any pointers." Little Wenyi would never know what kind of consequences his unintentional words would have.
Saint De's gentle expression instantly darkened as he looked at Consort Xue with a hint of reproach, "Wen Yi is a woman of our Great Xia Kingdom. Music, chess, calligraphy, and painting are essential skills. Why didn't Xue'er teach her these skills carefully?"
Consort Xue frowned slightly, a hint of worry in her eyes, and sighed softly, "Your Majesty is unaware that Wenyi is still young, and there is no rush for many things."
Saint-De was initially angry, but upon reflection, he realized that what she said seemed to make sense.
Seeing the beauty of Consort Xue, he had a sudden thought and ordered someone to take Wen Yi away.
A flicker of disgust flashed in Consort Xue's eyes, but she quickly smiled gently again...
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The wind was biting cold, and snowflakes were falling.
A thin figure paced anxiously behind the artificial hill, her slender fingers already turning white. Her eyes kept peering at the palace in the distance, but she could see nothing.
A series of hurried footsteps sounded, but paused in front of the artificial hill. Suppressing the fear and unease in her heart, she whispered to the artificial hill, "Your Majesty, the person is gone."
Her slender figure swayed like a willow leaf in the wind, her pale fingertips touching the sharp stone, leaving a shocking bloodstain.
Her voice was already hoarse, "Where is the Emperor?"
"His Majesty is in Yuhua Palace. He has decreed that no one is to disturb him." The palace maid choked up. Everyone in the palace knew that the entire palace was a den of wolves, and only Yonghua Palace was the safest place, simply because the person in that palace was Consort Xue.
"Go down."
The figure grew increasingly frail, so weak that it seemed a single snowflake could crush her.
"Your Majesty—" the palace maid sobbed softly. She was saddened by the passing of Consort Xue, but she knew even more that the person behind the artificial hill was the one who was truly heartbroken. "Please accept my condolences."
Of the three thousand rivers, I only drink from one. Is that romantic?
No.
This was the cruelest thing for the other women in the palace!
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