The first rain after the New Year finally fell. Concubine Shugui walked on the bluestone road holding an umbrella, ignoring the concubines and palace maids and eunuchs who wanted to pay respect to her but were unable to do so, and walked step by step towards the imperial guard of honor that was heading in this direction from afar.

There were no more endless palace maids and eunuchs following her, the only one was Lingsha who had served her into the palace. She had walked this road countless times. At that time, she was the emperor's most beloved woman, always accompanying the emperor to every corner, and behind her was the jealous gaze of a group of women.

The rain was getting heavier. Concubine Shu Gui looked up and saw that the picture of a beauty playing with butterflies on the umbrella had dimmed. She suddenly asked, "Lingsha, what gift did the emperor give you for this umbrella?"

"Your Highness, have you forgotten that the Emperor personally handed this to you when you came back from the Qianzheng Palace two years ago?" Lingsha watched the Emperor's carriage getting closer and closer, and whispered, "Then you were reluctant to use it, so you put it aside."

Concubine Shugui curled her lips and walked to between the two rockery, which was also the only way for the emperor to pass.

Gao Dezhong saw Consort Shugui standing in front of him, and he did not try to avoid her. He had no choice but to stop the carriage and said to Feng Jin in the imperial carriage, "Your Majesty, Consort Shugui wishes to see you."

The yellow curtain was gently pulled open, revealing Feng Jin's expressionless face. He looked at the woman in green in the rain, remaining silent.

Concubine Shugui moved her hand holding the umbrella handle and carefully put the umbrella aside, letting the rain wash her delicate eyebrows. She looked up at the superior man and slowly knelt down.

The whole road was silent. No one spoke, and no one moved. They looked at this woman who had once been the most favored woman in the harem with expressionless faces, as if they were looking at a blameless person.

"It's raining heavily, you should go back." Feng Jin's eyebrows moved slightly, and he sighed and said, "My order has been issued, and it will never be changed."

"Your Majesty, do you remember that you also said here that year that you would treat me as before," Concubine Shu Gui raised her chin and looked at Feng Jian with a smile, "Your Majesty, can you keep your promise?"

Feng Jin looked at her quietly, and after a while he said, "I will treat you as always."

After hearing this, Concubine Shugui laughed so hard that tears came out of her eyes. She covered her eyes and slowly stood up. For the first time, she looked at Feng Jin as an equal. "The beauty is still young, but the favor has ended. The emperor has indeed not changed. I asked for too much, and I am very unhappy that I couldn't get what I wanted." After saying this, she suddenly raised her voice and said, "Your Majesty! I was wrong!"

Gao Dezhong's heart skipped a beat at the sound. He quickly raised his head to look at Concubine Shu Gui, and saw the green figure flash by, and then with a bang, everything returned to silence again.

The bright red blood flowed along with the rain onto the bluestone slabs, turning into a light red stream that meandered to the foot of the imperial chariot.

He suddenly opened his eyes wide and turned to look at the emperor, but he only saw the emperor's eyes as calm as ink.

Gao Dezhong was stunned for a moment before he asked someone to call the imperial physician and to carry Concubine Shugui back to the palace. Hearing the cries of the maids who served Concubine Shugui, he asked someone to act more swiftly.

After a while, the road became quiet. Apart from the bloodstains that had been washed away by the rain, there was only the oil-paper umbrella that Shu Guifei had placed aside. The umbrella had just been knocked aside by the eunuch and the palace maid. It was covered with mud, water and grass leaves and looked in a shabby state.

"Let's go to Xihe Palace," Feng Jin closed his eyes and said, "Forget it, let's go back to the bedroom to take a shower and change clothes before going."

"Yes." Gao Dezhong lowered his head again and followed the chariot away.

The oil-paper umbrella was blown upside down by the wind, with the handle carved with auspicious dragons and phoenixes facing upwards, and the umbrella paper was soaked in the dirty water.

In the corner behind the rockery, Su Xiuyi looked at the deserted bluestone road with a pale face. Her hands holding the silk scarf were trembling. She held the hand of the palace maid for a long time before she found her voice again, "Go back to the palace."

"Your Highness, the Emperor said that he can summon Madam to the palace in a few days. If you want Madam to bring anything to the palace, let Fubao run errands for you," Yunxi gently massaged Zhuang Yuyan's ankle, "Don't let yourself be wronged."

"Everything I want is in the palace. Even if it's not there, the emperor has specially arranged for someone to bring it into the palace. Why would I need my mother to bring it in for me?" Zhuang Yuyan smiled. The palace was uneasy now, and she didn't want Madam Zhuang to bring things into the palace and become the target of other people's schemes.

Thinking about Madam Zhuang, whom she had never really met, she did not have any special expectations, after all, she was not her real mother. As long as the old lady lived a peaceful and happy life, she would be satisfied.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty," Fu Bao ran in with a face full of rain, and stammered, "It was just reported that Concubine Shu Gui committed suicide by hitting her head in front of the Emperor!"

"What?" Zhuang Yuyan sat up straight and looked at Fubao in shock. "Shu Guifei?! Committed suicide?"

Fu Bao wiped the rain off his face and panted, "The news has spread all over the palace. The Empress has already gone to Anqing Palace. The Imperial Hospital has also sent many doctors there. I don't know what the situation is now."

Zhuang Luoyan was stunned for a moment. In her imagination, Concubine Shugui was always graceful and charming. How could such a woman commit suicide in front of the emperor? How desperate and courageous was she? Her brows wrinkled unconsciously. "Go get some good tonic and deliver it to Anqing Palace in person. Come back after Concubine Shugui is fine."

Perhaps the only truly noble woman in the harem is not Xu Zhaorong or Qian Wanyi, but this Qingcheng Shuguifei.

No one in the room could believe the news. After Fubao left, Yunxi said in disbelief, "How could things turn out like this?" Concubine Shugui committed suicide in front of the emperor, which was a serious crime. If the emperor got angry, not to mention saving her father and brother, even her mother and brother would be implicated.

Zhuang Yuyan sat silently, and sighed when she heard Yunxi's words. There was no place in the harem for a person who was truly in love. If the person she loved wanted to kill her father and brother, how could Concubine Shugui survive? She couldn't hate the emperor. She couldn't forget the death of her father and brother and serve the emperor. It was better for her to die in a blaze of glory and leave a peaceful life.

Living happily with the enemy who killed his father and brother only happens in novels or to ungrateful people. A woman like Su Ruizi, the noble concubine, seems gentle but arrogant. This decisive way is her final choice.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Zhuang Yuyan raised her head and saw Feng Jin and Gao Dezhong walking in from the door. She was slightly startled. Today the emperor allowed the eunuch to report, which showed that his mood was different from usual.

"It's raining so hard, why is the emperor here?" Zhuang Yuyan helped Yunxi stand up, but before she took a few steps, she was supported by Feng Jin. She deliberately observed the emperor's expression for a few more times before speaking, "The kitchen just made pigeon soup, and I asked someone to serve a bowl to the emperor to taste."

"No, I have no appetite." Feng Jin reached out and gently stroked her belly. "Is my child well behaved today?"

Zhuang Yuyan placed her hand on the back of his hand, then slowly held his hand: "Your Majesty, I and the child are both fine."

The warmth on the back of his hand brought a hint of smile to Feng Jian's face. He waved his hand to let the people in the room leave, then gently took Zhuang Yuyan into his arms: "You and your child must be well in the future. I will always treat you and the child well."

Feng Jin's clothes were a little cold. When Zhuang Yuyan touched them, her face felt cold for a moment before she adjusted. When she heard Feng Jin's words, she was slightly stunned. After a pause, she said, "Your Majesty..."

Patting her back gently, Feng Jin said, "I suddenly remembered that your birthday is in August, right?"

Zhuang Yuyan didn't understand why he suddenly asked this question, so she could only say, "Well, I still remember that Your Majesty asked me about my birthday, and then you specially held a banquet for me and promoted me. It seems like it happened just yesterday."

"Let's give you a big birthday this year. By then our child will have been a month old," Feng Jin stroked her face, "and I'll give you another gift then."

Zhuang Yuyan immediately laughed: "Then I'll make a note of it. If you don't keep your word, I'll laugh at you with the children!"

Feng Jin chuckled, slowly let her go, and said, "What should I tell the child today? How about the story of the old cow licking the goat?"

As she listened to Feng Jin's gentle voice telling the story, Zhuang Yuyan suddenly thought, was that the fragile emotion of an emperor? It was a pity that the emotion dissipated too quickly, making her unable to distinguish it clearly.

Perhaps those who can become emperors have already become indifferent to emotions.