He knew that acknowledging Ai Wange would expose his weakness, but he didn't care. If he couldn't even protect the one he loved, then he might as well not be the crown prince.
Seeing him like this, the emperor took a deep breath, feeling somewhat helpless.
Xuan Yi looked at his father and said very seriously, "In this life, I only want her, and I will do everything in my power to protect her, even if it means sacrificing my own life."
Seeing the unwavering determination in his son's eyes, he continued, "But things in life are destined to go against your expectations. Marrying the daughter of a minister to stabilize the court is something you must do."
“I don’t need it. If I can only secure my position through these means, I’d rather not have this position at all.”
Hearing his son's extremely firm words, the emperor felt a tremor in his heart. If he had been so firm back then, would the empress have survived?
When the Imperial Concubine refused to go on the marriage alliance, there was actually another reason why she did so, which both the Imperial Concubine and General Jian knew.
That is, if I say I like the Imperial Concubine so much in this situation, then she will always be my favorite concubine, and I will do my best to protect her. However, the intrigues of the harem may still fall on her.
The imperial concubine knew the palace was treacherous, and she also knew that she had already lost her freedom the moment the other side named her for the marriage alliance.
But compared to those who would rather stay in their own country, marriage alliances are a spineless and terrifying thing.
So the imperial concubine agreed. Because there was an element of mutual exploitation between them, they could only remain friends and would not cross that line.
On the surface, the imperial concubine seemed to receive countless honors, but in reality, the closest thing the emperor could do to her was perhaps just hold her hand in front of others.
Even though almost everyone believed that the Imperial Concubine was the Emperor's favorite, some people still felt that as long as the Empress lived, she would always be a threat to them.
They were also aware of the Jian family's power, so at most she could only be a Noble Consort. If she became Empress and gave birth to a legitimate son, the Jian family would threaten the Emperor's position, and the Emperor would certainly not allow a Noble Consort to become Empress.
So, they only have a chance to become empresses when the empress dies. They don't care whether the emperor loves them the most or not, as long as they can secure their position as empresses.
So, an accident still occurred due to a lapse in judgment. The Empress was poisoned, and because of her pregnancy, it was difficult to remove the poison.
The toxins did not affect the fetus. Xuan Yi was already eight months pregnant at the time, but the only way to completely clear the toxins was after giving birth or having an abortion.
The empress did not want to give up the child and decided to undergo complete treatment only after giving birth.
However, after two months, the poisoning had become very severe. Although it couldn't kill her immediately, it would be very difficult to completely remove the toxins.
Therefore, after Xuan Yi was born, the Empress's health was always poor, and this was the reason why she died when he was young.
Neither the Empress nor the Emperor blamed the child. One felt guilty for being too careless and failing to protect herself and the child, thankfully the child was unharmed.
The other was even more remorseful, feeling that he had failed to protect the Empress and his child, and that such a thing had happened to the Empress.
He had promised to protect her for life, yet he still led her astray. The emperor loved the empress but also felt guilty, which is why he grew increasingly fond of the crown prince.
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