Chapter 37 Chapter 37 [VIP]
The whole night was spent in chaos.
From inside the curtain to the bath, from in front of the bronze mirror to the desk, and then from the side of the antique shelf to the side of the low table.
The emperor's morbid emotions, which he had suppressed for nearly a year, burst out in a burst of emotion.
He pinched Yuan Mu's wrist and said in a hoarse voice, "Look at who I am again, huh? Do you dare to call me the wrong person again?"
Deep in the emperor's dark eyes was a dark and gloomy desire for possessiveness and control.
He grasped Yuan Mu's slender waist and kissed her snow-white neck, leaving countless deep marks that could not be made worse.
It happened to be snowing outside.
As the year draws to a close, the wind blows coldly and snow falls heavily, and soon the ground is covered with snow.
Yuan Muchi bit his lips so hard that they were almost bleeding.
The emperor kneaded her lips and pushed his knuckles into them, forcing her teeth open, and a whimper escaped her.
Hearing Yuan Mu crying, his mood became better.
The emperor was very willing to love Yuan Mu. He was willing to give her whatever she wanted. Even if she didn't want it, he would take the initiative to bring it to her.
Luxurious silks and satins, beautiful exotic flowers and plants, including the position of imperial concubine which she didn't care about at all.
Yuan Mu didn't even ask for it, he just gave it all to her.
All of this is not because I hope to get something from her, but because I just hope she can smile.
But even with such a simple wish, Yuan Mu never fulfilled it.
She didn't like him, and this luxurious and magnificent palace became a cage that she ignored.
The whole night was chaotic.
Yuan Mu was able to hold back her tears at first, but later on she cried until her voice became hoarse, and her slender wrists drooped weakly, making it impossible for her to say anything.
But the crying plea did not win the emperor's forgiveness.
Instead, it gave rise to a more cruel desire to destroy.
When the sky was just beginning to brighten, the emperor finally let Yuan Mu go. There was still hostility in his eyes, and his gaze was dark.
But when dawn broke, he still had to deal with her affairs.
The Queen's Thousand Autumn Festival is coming soon.
Now that the prince has been born, Yuan Mu has been a royal concubine for more than half a year.
The emperor could not think of any reason to keep Yuan Ying alive. She was occupying the position of queen and causing a lot of trouble.
He had wanted to leave her to her own devices.
Yuan Ying was in poor health and had been sick since childhood. She almost died when she was about to enter the palace.
On the night Yuan Mu was poisoned, the emperor originally wanted to execute Yuan Ying as well.
Concubine De is a fool. She relies on the powerful influence of her family and thinks she can do anything.
The Gao family was very close to the emperor, so fortunately the Gao family did not get involved in this mess. The poison was obtained by Concubine De with the help of Concubine Liang, and was added to the fruit wine.
For this reason, she did not hesitate to drink a lot with them.
Chronic poison needs several doses to take effect. Defei was afraid that Yuan Mu would become suspicious, so she drank a lot herself.
The emperor was too lazy to care whether there would be any sequelae.
If Concubine De could die on her own, it would save him a lot of trouble.
But what the emperor didn't expect was that Yuan Ying was also involved. She secretly bribed the maid and added another chronic poison to Yuan Mu's plate.
Their ideas were all very good. After all, they were chronic poisons and would not take effect immediately.
Unexpectedly, the two poisons collided with each other, causing Yuan Mu to be poisoned directly.
Compared to the Defei, with whom the emperor had long been tired, Yuan Ying's sudden intervention made the emperor even more angry.
He really didn't understand where Yuan Ying's hatred for Yuan Mu came from.
She was the one who sent Yuan Mu in at the beginning. She was afraid that he would not touch Yuan Mu, so she specially gave him medicine and sent it to his bed.
When she was in the Yuan family, Yuan Ying was the eldest daughter who was high and mighty.
Yuan Mu, who has the same father and mother as her, has been raised in a farm for many years, and his status is not even as high as that of a servant.
Even after Yuan Mu entered the palace, the difference in their status remained huge.
The emperor couldn't understand why Yuan Ying would give up the position of queen and make things difficult for her sister?
What on earth was there about Yuan Mu that made Yuan Ying so jealous?
That night the emperor prepared to sentence Yuan Ying to death, but she suffered a heart attack first and almost died.
He is not afraid of getting his hands dirty.
The emperor ascended the throne by stepping on the blood of millions of people. The life and death of others are of little importance to him.
But he didn't want Yuan Mu to be contaminated by even the slightest bit of dust.
Of course he could help her kill all those who stood in her way, but in the future, history books would put the blame on her.
This is not what the emperor wants to see.
After issuing an imperial decree to imprison Yuan Ying in Yifeng Palace, he had his men cut off Yuan Ying's medicine and also forbade the imperial physician to treat her again.
The emperor silently waited for Yuan Ying to die, but unexpectedly, the little prince was born in the blink of an eye, and she was still alive and well.
He had no intention of celebrating the Centenary Festival with her anymore.
When the emperor first ascended the throne, he killed countless people. At that time, there were still his younger brother and the remnants of the deposed concubine in the court, who slandered him and accused him of patricide.
It was a year of internal and external troubles.
Earthquakes, droughts, floods, wars, and epidemics.
Various things are happening one after another,
How can he be sensible?
, kill them all.
Those families that should be exterminated should be exterminated, and those tribes that should be exterminated should be exterminated.
Gradually, no one dared to say anything, and domestic affairs became increasingly stable and peaceful.
On the way to Yifeng Palace, the emperor was thinking about how to let Yuan Ying die of natural causes, but then he felt that death from illness would be too easy for her.
It’s better to get rid of her first to avoid trouble with etiquette and law.
Yifeng Palace used to be the most magnificent palace in the harem, but since the palace gates were locked, it has become a gloomy place that is even more desolate than a cold palace or an abandoned palace.
At night, the young palace maids passing by did not dare to approach this place.
They had been husband and wife for two years, but the emperor had very little feelings for Empress Yuan.
He is a cold-hearted person by nature, and the fact that he has such strong feelings for Yuan Mu is an anomaly among his calmness.
After the emperor issued an edict to imprison Yuan Ying in Yifeng Palace, he did not stop his orders to monitor her.
Yuan Mu was pregnant, and he thought everyone around her was someone who wanted to harm her.
Especially people like Yuan Ying and Defei, who already had murderous intentions towards Yuan Mu.
When he stepped into the Yifeng Palace again, the emperor's expression was incredibly indifferent. There were no lights on in the palace, and the floor was littered with broken porcelain and old items. The water in the vase had spilled all over the floor, and no one was there to clean it up.
There were originally many attendants in Yifeng Palace.
But since Empress Yuan fell out of favor and was imprisoned, most of them were transferred elsewhere.
All palace servants who had some means and abilities tried their best to find another way out.
Now, there are only a few maids left by Yuan Ying's side. She used to have a reliable nanny, but it was that woman who gave her the idea to poison Yuan Mu.
The emperor ignored Yuan Ying's plea and had him executed.
The Yifeng Palace was desolate and dark, the window frames were covered with dust, and the antique display cabinets looked like old items that had been neglected for a long time, with cobwebs hanging from them.
As soon as he stepped in, the emperor's brows furrowed.
Yuan Mu likes cleanliness and has to bathe twice a day. He has been with her for a long time and gradually can't stand the dirt.
The hall was so dark that it looked like an empty temple, with only the ticking of a clepsydra clock.
Apart from that, there was the strong, sickening smell of alcohol.
There is wine stored in Yifeng Palace.
Ever since the previous luxurious supply was cut off, the wine stored in the palace became the last thing that Empress Yuan could squander.
She drank all day to drown her sorrows and often beat and scolded the few remaining maids in the palace.
Once, Yuan Ying even tried to hold the maid's hand and shove it into the stove, muttering nonsense: "Yuan Mu, you will not have a good ending..."
The emperor looked at her coldly once.
In front of Yuan Ying, he transferred the maids from Yifeng Palace and sent over a few maids who were good at martial arts. He said in a calm voice: "If there is any conflict in the future, don't worry about your status as queen."
The palace was dark and cold, filled with a sinister and ominous aura.
The emperor stood in the front hall for a while and decided not to go any further.
But when Empress Yuan heard the noise outside, she rushed out like a madman.
She had no makeup on her face and looked very sick. Her once bright face was covered with fine lines, as if she had aged by 20 or 30 years.
Before running out of the inner hall, Empress Yuan grabbed the sleeve of the maid beside her and asked repeatedly, "Did that bitch Yuan Mu fall out of favor?"
"Did she miscarry?" she asked expectantly. "Or did she die in childbirth?"
The maid frowned and shook her head. Just as she was about to say something, Empress Yuan rushed out without caring about anything: "Forget it, what do you know!"
She had no regard for etiquette or her usual posture.
The elegance of the noble lady disappeared, leaving only extreme paranoia and morbidity.
Empress Yuan's voice was shrill: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, do you still remember A Ying——"
She had lost a lot of weight, but the resentment in her eyes had become even stronger.
Before Empress Yuan could pounce on him, the guards beside the emperor drew their swords and blocked his way.
He stood among the bodyguards, his face cold and his expression dignified, his eyes and brows filled with a sense of alienation that kept people at a distance.
The emperor said slowly, "What do you look like?"
His expression was calm, but he did not hide the boredom in his eyes.
Empress Yuan's heart immediately turned cold. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she choked with sobs as she said, "Your Majesty, I am your first wife. How can you completely abandon me just because of other people's slander?"
Her rationality seemed to return a little.
But the emperor was in no mood to reminisce about the past or express his affection to her.
His tone was cold: "Did someone force you to poison Yuan Mu?"
For aristocratic families, marriage is inevitable.
It doesn't matter who becomes his wife. The two of them don't have much friendship, and being able to get along on the surface is already the greatest respect you can give her.
But Yuan Ying was too greedy, she wanted too much.
The emperor smiled sarcastically and said, "You haven't had a good time these past six months, have you?"
His cold look was very similar to Yuan Wei, and Yuan Ying's sad expression suddenly became distorted.
Her teeth chattered as she growled, "We've been husband and wife for three years, Your Majesty! Are you so heartless and ungracious?"
The emperor had heard too many similar words.
"So what do you say? You're getting in the way of your sister's position," he said in a cold voice. "I'll give you one last option. Ask to be deposed, that would be considered a way to save some dignity."
The emperor's words were like a sharp blade, piercing straight into Empress Yuan's chest.
After hearing what he said, what could she not understand?
Yuan Mu was afraid that not only did she give birth to a child successfully, but she also gave birth to the crown prince she had been dreaming of!
Empress Yuan's eyes went dark, her body swayed, and she fell to the ground, covering her face and crying.
It's completely crazy.
The emperor stayed in this palace for a long time and felt dirty all over.
He didn't want to stay any longer, his eyes were full of disgust: "You'd better take care of yourself."
But Empress Yuan suddenly laughed strangely, her voice shrill: "You will regret this, Your Majesty! You will definitely regret this!"
The emperor didn't want to listen and turned away.
But Empress Yuan suddenly changed the subject and started scolding Yuan Mu, and the emperor stopped in his tracks.
"Yuan Mu, that bitch, will get her comeuppance for stealing someone else's husband!" She said in a shrill voice, "She's so lowly, she doesn't deserve to be the queen at all!"
The emperor took the sword from Wei Cong's hand and walked towards Empress Yuan, with murderous intent obvious in his eyes.
"Who are you to mention her?" His voice was extremely cold.
Empress Yuan was mentally ill and confused.
Her memory seemed to suddenly return to the past, and she cried mournfully, "Your Highness, why are you breaking off the engagement? In what way am I not better than that little country bitch?"
The emperor was in no mood to listen to Empress Yuan's nonsense anymore.
There was a murderous intent so thick in his eyes that it could not be dissolved, and the deep chill was as cold as the abyss of water.
-
Yuan Mu slept for a whole day.
She hasn't had nightmares for a long time since she got pregnant.
But today, Yuan Mu was awakened by nightmares several times. She was tired and very sleepy, and fell asleep again quickly after waking up.
So the nightmare kept coming back.
It was not until the new moon rose that Yuan Mu finally broke free from the chaotic state.
She had a headache, body aches, and her throat was so sore that she couldn't speak.
Yuan Mu's dreams were filled with thick, gray fog. Only when he was about to wake up did he dream of the green mountains and clear waters described in the travel notes.
She rubbed her eyes and sat up. When she realized that this was Qingning Palace, her dark emotions suddenly overturned.
What happened last night flooded into my mind like a tide.
Yuan Mu felt a sudden pain in the bloody area on her forehead. She wanted to get out of bed, but suddenly she found a long silver chain tied around her ankle.
She is extremely sensitive to thin metal chains.
Yuan Mu curled up in the tent. She immediately took off her nightgown and felt it all over. She only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there was nothing else abnormal on her body.
But when she looked down at the thin silver chain again, her emotions still collapsed for a moment.
The thin chain was connected to the bedpost and was very long, enough for her to walk around the inner hall.
But the mere existence of such an object triggered all of Yuan Mu's dark memories.
The emperor had previously used chains on her.
At that time, she tried to go on a hunger strike and hang herself, which completely angered him, so he took such extreme measures to restrict her.
Yuan Mu pulled the thin silver chain, his chest heaving and his body trembling uncontrollably.
She didn't know why he suddenly did this?
The silver chain looked very thin, tied around the slender ankle, and emitted a silver halo, as harmless as moonlight.
But it can't be broken no matter what.
Yuan Mu used all her strength to pull it away, she even wanted to bite it with her teeth.
The sound of metal clashing suddenly filled the silent palace. The maid opened the curtain, hung it on the golden hook, and called out urgently, "My Lady!"
Yuan Mu's eyes were red and filled with tears.
She seemed to have turned back into the helpless and frightened child who had just entered the palace.
Weak, helpless, nervous and afraid.
"Untie it..." Yuan Mu said in a tearful voice, "Untie it for me..."
Her tears fell down, and her knuckles clenched the thin chain so tightly that her palms were almost bleeding.
The maid hugged Yuan Mu lovingly and said in a low voice, "Don't be afraid, His Majesty will be back soon and he will untie it for you..."
Such comfort is very powerless.
Yuan Mu was under great stress. She was already a mother, but she suddenly burst into tears.
She cried so hard that she was out of breath.
The eunuch hurried to convey the message to the emperor. He had a lot of things to do today. After the court meeting, he had been dealing with the matter of the deposed queen.
He came back to see Yuan Mu once, without even having lunch, and left again, discussing matters in the Xuanzheng Hall until now.
The night was dark and the emperor returned on the frost and snow. Before he entered the inner hall, he heard Yuan Mu's crying.
The only thing that went smoothly for him in the past two days was to completely abolish Yuan Ying. The imperial edict had been issued, and perhaps the news would be announced to the world without having to wait until tomorrow.
The eunuch said nervously, "Your Majesty, the Queen is not in good condition. She has been crying since she woke up..."
The emperor nodded slightly and said nothing more.
He walked towards the inner hall casually.
Yuan Mu's snow-white outer robe was half-off, and the thin straps of her light-colored undergarment were disheveled. Her black hair, which had grown to her hips, was disheveled, and her face was covered with tears.
She sat in the tent with her knees together like a child, wiping her tears with her slender white fingers, crying pitifully and helplessly.
The emperor intended to teach Yuan Mu a lesson.
But seeing that she was crying with tears in her eyes, his expression finally softened a little.
The maid was half-holding Yuan Mu. When she saw the emperor coming, she quickly let go of Yuan Mu and stood up to salute: "This slave greets His Majesty."
Yuan Mu raised her long eyelashes helplessly and looked at the emperor. She stumbled to her feet and climbed onto his shoulders crying, "Untie me..."
Her voice was originally hoarse, and when she cried it was like fruits and vegetables that had been splashed in well water, with a sandy sweetness like a small hook.
Yuan Mu's ankles were so thin that they could barely support a silver chain.
She walked barefoot on the carpet, tears streaming down her face.
The emperor carried Yuan Mu back into the tent. He stroked her back and gently pinched her ankles.
His voice was very soft: "What's wrong? Did it hurt you?"
The lonely ankle bone looks like it is made of fine jade, with an almost morbid beauty.
The emperor's knuckles pinched the white piece, and when the jade ring and the silver chain collided with each other, it aroused the deepest fear in Yuan Mu's heart.
She hugged his neck tightly, crying: "I don't want to, I don't want this..."
Yuan Mu cried harder and harder, and her tears were about to soak the emperor's shoulders.
She is always particularly obedient at times like this.
The emperor put his arm around Yuan Mu's waist, kissed her forehead lightly, and whispered, "You haven't eaten all day, eat something first."
He looked exceptionally calm when he said this.
Yuan Mu's heartstrings were tense, she was in intense fear, and all the terrible memories came flooding back.
But when she heard the emperor say this, she suddenly calmed down for a moment.
Yuan Mu has been in the palace for almost three years. She is now a noble concubine and the mother of the prince, no longer the ignorant girl who was imprisoned in the palace and tortured at will by him.
He couldn't keep her locked up for that long.
Yuan Mu forced herself to calm down. She gradually stopped crying, tears in her eyes, but she did not argue any more.
She sat obediently in the emperor's arms, letting him carry her to the low table, and then he picked up the jade chopsticks to feed her.
Yuan Mu didn't eat much and lost his appetite before he even started drinking the porridge.
The emperor reluctantly lifted her skirt, rubbed her belly, and said softly, "You eat so little, when will you gain more weight?"
Yuan Mu didn't gain much weight during her pregnancy.
But compared to before when she was so thin that her joints were protruding, she is much better now.
The emperor did not force Yuan Mu too much. While he continued to eat, she leaned on his shoulder and shed tears silently.
This look is very pitiful and heartbreaking.
After the meal, the emperor rubbed Yuan Mu's black hair, changed his posture and held her in his arms.
"Today, your sister requested to be deposed as empress, and the decree has been issued," he said with a smile. "We'll hold the ceremony to crown her empress next spring, okay?"
The emperor spoke as if he was coaxing a child.
Yuan Mu's body was tense, but he was suddenly stunned when he heard these words.
She had been in the palace for a long time and didn't know what was going on with Yuan Ying. She only knew that after the incident, Yuan Ying had been imprisoned in Yifeng Palace.
The emperor's expression was excessively gentle, as if he was talking about an insignificant person rather than his once beloved wife.
Yuan Mu's knuckles clenched uncontrollably.
But her expression didn't show any abnormality. Tears flickered in her watery eyes, and she shook her head in a sobbing voice: "I want to untie it. Can I untie it for a while first?"
There was a strong fear in Yuan Mu's eyes.
When she was afraid, she would start to behave very well, listening to whatever the emperor said and obeying whatever he asked her to do.
The emperor smiled and shook his head.
"That won't do," he said softly, "If it's untied, A'Luo will abandon me and the little prince again."
Yuan Mu said repeatedly: "I won't, I won't!"
Her tears were about to fall again.
"I will be a good boy from now on..." Yuan Mu cried, "Please, can you untie me..."
She cried pitifully, but she didn't look like that when she said those words last night.
The emperor kissed Yuan Mu's face and whispered, "It depends on your performance, A'luo."
After he said this, her heart died.
Yuan Mu couldn't help but get angry. She picked up the pillow beside the couch and threw it at the emperor, her face flushed with anger.
When the emperor saw her like this, he smiled gently.
Yuan Mu cried for a long time, but after venting, she only felt powerless in her heart.
How naive is she to believe Li Conglu's words again and again?
Yuan Mu clasped the thin bracelet on her wrist. For the first time, she had the urge to take off the jade bracelet and throw it away and smash it to pieces.
Why did she save him in the first place?
She should have watched him die.
This was the first time that such a dark thought arose in Yuan Mu's mind, but after her thoughts became clear, she couldn't help but shed tears again.
She hated his lies and deceptions, she hated his cruelty and heartlessness.
She hated herself even more for being young and ignorant.
Yuan Mu had been living in chaos for several days. She was in a daze and her mood never improved whenever she thought of the thin chain between her ankles.
Even the sight of her infant son in swaddling clothes caused her intense pain.
The Imperial Medical Bureau had originally prepared medicine for weaning.
But Yuan Mu's milk supply was very little, and she would only occasionally experience bloating and pain, which was a feeling that was difficult to describe.
She didn't want to tell the emperor, but he soon discovered it.
The fragrant flower juice failed to nourish offspring and all fell between the man's lips and teeth.
Yuan Mu was almost tortured to death by the emperor. When she was with him at night, she had to close her eyes because she was afraid that he would see the hatred in her eyes.
When he forced her to look up, she began to cry.
Yuan Mu spent many days in chaos like this, and she no longer had the courage to fight.
She behaved very obediently every day, sealed up all her travel notes, and never said a word about "leaving the palace" again.
Finally, when the New Year was approaching, the emperor let down his guard.
Yuan Mu’s previous guess was correct. With her current status and position, it was impossible for her to remain invisible for long.
The day she walked out of Qingning Palace again, she truly felt what it meant to see the light of day again.
The winter scenery of the Lishan Palace is also very beautiful.
Yuan Mu was wearing a crane-white outer cloak and followed the emperor, accompanied by many people she was familiar with.
He invited the King of Chu, the Xi brothers and sisters, the Hanlin scholars, the female officials, and even her sister and aunt.
After Yuan Mu was conferred the title of Imperial Concubine, her sister Yuan Yin was also conferred the title of Princess, and Concubine Yu was even conferred the title of Lady with Imperial Noble Consort. These were all measures taken by the emperor to control her.
But seeing that they are living well, she still feels happy for them.
Yuan Mu hasn't appeared in public for a long time.
The King of Chu was sent by the Emperor to Shuofang as a pacification envoy.
He was dressed in red, but his appearance was much more mature than before. There was a slight stubble on his chin, and the youthfulness in him was gradually fading, and he looked like a young man.
But when he saw Yuan Mu coming, the King of Chu raised his eyebrows slightly and called out, "My Queen, how are you?"
The emperor hugged her slender waist, and there were tears in her eyes.
Hearing this, Yuan Mu raised her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling, and her eyes were filled with weakness and helplessness as if she was asking for help.
Her voice trembled slightly: "Your Highness is well."
The King of Chu was stunned, but before he could say anything, the Emperor took Yuan Mu away.
"Let's rest for a while," the emperor said softly, "you can go around first."
His expression was calm, but there was a hint of darkness in his eyes.
After being led into the main hall by the emperor, Yuan Mu didn't even have time to react before he held her waist. She cried out in a sobbing voice, "Your Majesty!"
He lifted up her skirt and said slowly, "Your voice is all messed up. Do you like dead things so much?"
Yuan Mu's eyes were filled with tears, but she could not struggle and could only allow the emperor to torture her.
The jade artifact fell to the ground with a dull sound.
Yuan Mu thought that she would feel a little better after leaving the palace, but the reality was even worse.
It was snowing heavily outside. She was held in the hot spring by the emperor. Her long eyelashes trembled, but she could do nothing.
Yuan Mu only attended briefly several banquets around the New Year. The emperor was always by her side, and she didn't even have the chance to say a few words to others.
His fondness for her gradually became known to everyone.
Even foreign envoys presented mandarin ducks, a symbol of harmonious marriage, as New Year gifts.
This is truly a case of all the love being showered on one person.
But Yuan Mu's condition was getting worse and worse. When she stood on the terrace of the main hall, a cold wind blew across her face.
At this moment, she could realize it very clearly.
If the emperor wanted, he could treat her like this for the rest of his life.
Whenever she thought of this, Yuan Mu could no longer pretend. Her nerves were on the verge of collapse. Zhang Yuanpan asked her tactfully if she wanted to open a case to avoid receiving too much favor.
What if I don’t accept the favor?
The crown prince has been born, and the emperor took contraceptive medicine not long ago.
His goal was not to have many children, but to trap her completely by his side.
Finally, after the beginning of spring, when Yuan Mu was about to return to Beijing, he found an opportunity.
The emperor was very busy those days, and she had time to talk to her former relatives and friends.
On the day of seeing Xi Lanyan again, Xi Rongjing was also there. He avoided his sister and said softly, "Have you encountered any difficulties?"
Yuan Mu almost couldn't help but tell him everything, but when the words came to her lips, she still didn't dare to say a word to him.
Xi Rongjing stared at her, then said slowly, "Don't be afraid. Everything will get better."
He gave her a faint smile, still like the brother in blue in her memory.
Yuan Mu couldn't help but shed tears. After the Xi brothers and sisters left that day, she cried for a long time. It was not until she met the King of Chu the next day that her mood improved a lot.
He looked at her calmly and said softly, "Why have you lost so much weight?"
The King of Chu came with Yuan Yin and Aunt Yu.
If he could see it, they would naturally understand it even more clearly.
Yuan Yin was always silent every time she saw Yuan Mu, but when she saw Yuan Mu that day, Yuan Yin suddenly threw herself into her arms and burst into tears.
Yuan Mu held Yuan Yin's back. Her lips were tightly pursed, so she didn't cry at that moment.
The ceremony of crowning the queen is already being prepared.
By the end of February at the latest, Yuan Mu will ascend to the highest position among women in the world.
But there was no joy in her heart.
From an orphan raised in a farm to the queen who rules the country.
Yuan Mu now has everything, but she doesn't even have a pair of hands to hold behind her.
The night before leaving the Lishan Palace, Yuan Mu went up to the Moon-Watching Tower for stargazing for the last time.
These days, her greatest interest at night is to come here to watch the moon. Only when she looks at the boundless sky will her heart not be so painful and collapsed.
Yuan Mu carried the little prince upstairs. He stretched out his little hand, wanting to touch her face.
She looked at the young boy and tears immediately fell.
Yuan Mu stood by the railing, his coat blown up by the cold wind, and his black hair also flew high.
How reluctant she was to leave this little child, but the emperor was cold-blooded and the royal family was ruthless. Rather than letting him suffer alone in the Forbidden Palace, it would be better to take him away with her.
Yuan Mu's long eyelashes kept trembling.
The people who were serving her nearby knew that she was in a bad mood, so they did not wait by her side everywhere.
It was for this reason that the emperor relaxed his control over Yuan Mu.
But he didn't expect that this moment of negligence would almost lead to such a disaster.
When the emperor came over, half of Yuan Mu's body was about to jump out of the railing, and his heart almost stopped beating at that moment.
Instincts act before consciousness.
The emperor's blood was roaring, and his anger was about to burst through his veins.
He held Yuan Mu's waist tightly, his voice incredibly cold: "What do you want to do, A'Luo?"
Yuan Mu's face was covered with tears. She finally gave up all pretense and cried out, "I want to leave you, I want to leave you forever..."
That night was extremely chaotic.
The emotions of both people reached a breaking point.
The emperor's bottom line is life and death. He thought that after so many times, Yuan Mu should be able to understand it.
But the truth is, she will never understand.
When pain exceeds the limit of endurance, all rationality will gradually disappear.
After the punishment period ended, Yuan Mu didn't even have the courage to think back. After returning from the palace, she had been imprisoned in the palace.
Freedom, dignity, and even the most basic human rights have been completely deprived.
She didn't know how she got through it.
By the time Yuan Mu stepped out of the inner hall, it was already mid-February, but what made her most devastated was what happened afterwards.
She followed the familiar path and when she reached the little prince's bedside, he disappeared.
"You promised me before!" Yuan Mu shook his head and said, "You said that as long as I'm obedient, you'll let me raise him myself..."
She doesn't have a strong maternal instinct, but after spending these days together day and night, the child has become an inseparable part of her.
He was an individual separated from her body, but in another way he became an existence that could never be separated from her life.
Yuan Mu grabbed the emperor's sleeve and cried very hard.
The purpose of the crown prince's existence is to inherit the throne. Since ancient times, nothing good has happened when the relationship between the queen and the crown prince is too close.
When the emperor grows old, the queen, as the mother of the crown prince, will no longer remember the kindness they once showed to each other. Her heart will only be towards her child, who shares the same blood with her.
The emperor's brows were cold and his eyes were dark: "Noble Concubine, do you think you are worthy of raising the crown prince?"
Yuan Mu looked at him blankly, his voice helpless: "But that's my child..."
She felt helpless and a dull pain filled her chest.
"You lost your virginity before marriage, are fickle and promiscuous, and indulge in debauchery," the emperor's voice was extremely cold and heartless. "Can a woman like you really raise a good child?"
Many people have said unpleasant things to Yuan Mu.
She had also heard much harsher words.
But no one's words could bring such sharp pain to Yuan Mu as the emperor's did.
He turned and left without even glancing at her.
Yuan Mu stared blankly at the emperor's back. She suddenly felt that her life was absurd to the extreme, like a huge joke.
No matter how hard she struggled, nothing would change.
Yuan Mu returned to Qingning Palace in a daze. She lay on her back in the tent, finally falling into complete despair, igniting the quiet and cold palace.
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