Shen Qingqiu shook his head, his eyes fixed on the tree buds that were growing thicker and thicker outside the window, "Suo Xin, the scene that has appeared in my mind countless times will never come true again. It's all my fault for not protecting that child."
"Your Majesty, this is not your fault. The Queen is so cruel that she even spared an unborn child."
When thinking of the child, Shen Qingqiu's tears fell again.
The wind gradually picked up. Seeing that Shen Qingqiu was unwilling to enter the house, Suo Xin sighed, went into the inner room and got a blanket. When he came out, Gu Yanwei had already appeared behind Shen Qingqiu.
Suo Xin was about to shout, but Gu Yanwei made a gesture to silence her. He took the blanket from Suo Xin's hand, slowly walked behind Shen Qingqiu, and covered her with the blanket.
"I'm not cold."
"You've just recovered, you can't catch a cold, sit for a while and then go rest." Gu Yanwei gently put his arm around Shen Qingqiu's waist from behind.
"His Majesty."
Her face was no longer as pale as it was a few days ago, but she was so thin that it made people feel distressed. Seeing Shen Qingqiu torturing himself like this, Gu Yanwei's heart felt like it was being cut into pieces by a knife.
What he wanted to say, at this moment, he couldn't open his mouth.
Perhaps he could tell that he was worried, Shen Qingqiu leaned closer to him and said, "Your Majesty, do you have something to tell me?"
After thinking for a long time, Gu Yanwei nodded and said, "Qingqiu, will you hate me for just confining the queen to her own palace?"
Shen Qingqiu shook his head, "I know you have your own difficulties. After all, she is the queen. Although you are the emperor, you cannot make the decision to depose the queen alone."
Shen Qingqiu knew without thinking that with Gu Yanwei's anger at the time, he must have wanted to depose the queen, but he didn't do so, he must have been stopped by the ministers.
She understands it all.
"But Qingqiu, General Li came to see me today."
"About the Queen's matter?"
Gu Yanwei nodded, and placed his hands on Shen Qingqiu's shoulders. The two looked at each other for a long time before Gu Yanwei said, "General Li is willing to use the military power in exchange for letting me release the queen."
Shen Qingqiu's heart felt like someone had thrown a huge rock into it. At this moment, he was almost unable to breathe due to the pressure.
"What do you think?"
Gu Yanwei lowered his head. Taking away the military power from General Li was what his father had wanted to do. Today he finally had the opportunity. He had to admit that he accepted General Li's deal from the bottom of his heart, but he also felt sad for Shen Qingqiu.
Looking at his appearance, Shen Qingqiu also understood.
“Your Majesty, others think that you are the ruler of a country who holds great power and controls life and death, but only I know how difficult it is for you. This child has no fate with us, but if he can do something for the emperor, it is his blessing. You don’t have to consider me.” Shen Qingqiu stretched out his hand and stroked Gu Yanwei’s frown.
Gu Yanwei gently grasped her wrist and pulled her into his arms, "Qingqiu, we will have children in the future. We will have as many as you want."
——
"Empress, you haven't eaten for several days. Please eat something, otherwise your body will not be able to bear it!" Chun'er had reheated the food again and again, but Li Wanting still had no intention of moving.
Seeing her own queen giving up on herself like this, Chun'er couldn't help but shed tears.
"My lady, please don't be like this. The emperor is just angry with you for a while. After this period of time, I will send someone to the mansion to ask the master for help. There will definitely be a way to get you out."
"Chun'er." Chun'er hadn't heard Li Wanting speak for several days. When she heard her speak, she was already sobbing.
"My lady, you are finally willing to speak. You are going to scare me to death."
"Chun'er, tell me, wasn't it a mistake for me to enter the palace? I knew the emperor didn't have me in his heart, but I still went through so much trouble to enter the palace. Everything I have today is my own fault, right?"
"Your Highness, this is not your fault. It is Concubine De who is occupying the Emperor. You are the Empress and the mother of the country."
"Hmph, the mother of a country." Li Wanting sneered, tears rolling down the corners of her eyes.
At this moment, the gate outside the palace was suddenly opened, and Eunuch Li walked in with the imperial edict.
"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims that the Empress made a serious mistake in a moment of confusion, and considering that she has a repentant heart, she will be released from her house arrest starting tomorrow."
"That's great, that's great." Chun'er was so excited when she heard the news that she almost jumped up, but Li Wanting was still staring at the imperial edict in Eunuch Li's hand in a daze.
"Empress, please accept my order."
Li Wanting stood up staggeringly and took the imperial edict from Eunuch Li. When the edict came into her hands, she still couldn't believe that the emperor was willing to release her.
"Eunuch, why is His Majesty suddenly willing to let me go?"
Eunuch Li smiled and said, "The Empress should thank General Li for this. General Li came to see the Emperor early this morning and said something. Later, the Emperor issued this imperial decree. In short, it is a good thing that the Empress can lift the house arrest. I congratulate the Empress."
"Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, I will return immediately to report."
After Eunuch Li left, Chun'er quickly helped Li Wanting sit on the chair and happily looked at the imperial edict in her hand, "Your Majesty, that's great. The emperor must have you in his heart, otherwise he wouldn't have lifted your confinement so quickly. It's great."
"Hmph." Li Wanting looked at the imperial edict, and a tear suddenly flowed from the corner of her eye. "Is he thinking of me? I'm afraid he's thinking of the military power in my father's hands." She suddenly wiped the tears from her face, looked at Chun'er and said, "Pack your things quickly, I want to leave the palace to see my father."
"You can't do that, Madam. It is a serious crime for a concubine to leave the palace without permission. You have just been released from house arrest by the Emperor. If you leave the palace now, I am afraid that the Emperor will..."
"Don't tell me these things. I have to see my father today no matter what." Li Wanting threw the imperial edict to the ground. At the moment, she just wanted to know what price her father had used to exchange her freedom with the emperor.
"Empress." Li Wanting was getting angry when General Li's voice suddenly came from outside the door.
Li Wanting looked outside the door and saw General Li had appeared at the door without warning.
"Father."
General Li walked slowly towards Li Wanting, "I am here to see Her Majesty the Queen."
"Father, please get up quickly." Li Wanting helped General Li up, tears streaming down her face, "Father, your daughter finally gets to see you."
General Li patted Li Wanting's back gently and said, "My daughter has been wronged."
"Father, why is His Majesty suddenly willing to let me go? What exactly are you offering to His Majesty in exchange? Your military power?" Li Wanting asked cautiously.
Looking at her old father, she felt so heartbroken that she couldn't breathe. She knew better than anyone how much the emperor feared her father. In order to let her enter the palace as queen, her father had threatened His Majesty. But now, in order to make up for the mistakes she had made, she asked her father to hand over the military power. She was such a ridiculous daughter.
General Li looked at his daughter and said, "Wanting, you must remember that you will always be the most beloved daughter of your mother and me. Everything your father has is yours. No matter what you want, I will do everything I can to help you get it. No matter what you do wrong, you will have the support of the General's Mansion behind you."
"Father." Li Wanting leaned tightly into General Li's arms, sobbing, "Father, perhaps we were wrong from the very beginning. His Majesty doesn't have me in his heart at all. Apart from the throne, your daughter has nothing. In the past six months since entering the palace, your daughter has gained nothing, and you have lost your military power. Father, your daughter is unfilial."
General Li patted Li Wanting's back gently, just like when they were little.
"Father, I don't want to be the queen anymore. I really don't want to be the queen anymore. I want to go home and stay with you and mother forever."
"Wanting, look at me." General Li held Li Wanting's head and forced her to look into his eyes. "Now, we have come to this point. You are already the most honorable queen, and your father has already handed over the military power for you. But you must not give up just because of the current predicament. This is definitely not my daughter."
"But father..." Tears still flowed uncontrollably.
"Wanting, don't be afraid. As long as you don't give up, you will always be the queen, and our Li family will still have a chance to turn things around. But if you give up, then everything your father has done for you will be in vain."
"Father."
"Okay." General Li wiped away Li Wanting's tears and said, "Dad knows you have been wronged, but for the sake of the Li family, you must stand up and never surrender!"
A few months passed in a flash, and Shen Qingqiu's health was getting better day by day.
The trees in the Changchun Palace courtyard had grown lush and leafy. When Shen Qingqiu had nothing to do, he would go back to water the trees, but he would occasionally think of the child who had not been born in time, and he would always secretly wipe away his tears alone at night.
Chun'er saw it all, but didn't know what to say to comfort her.
Unconsciously, Gu Yanwei had appeared in front of her. When Chun'er was about to remind Shen Qingqiu, Gu Yanwei made a gesture to keep quiet.
When Shen Qingqiu raised his head again, Gu Yanwei's face suddenly appeared before him.
"Your Majesty, when did you come?"
I've just arrived and I saw you were watering the plants very carefully, so I didn't disturb you.
Shen Qingqiu smiled, looked at the tree behind him that was already a head taller than him, and said: "This tree was planted for our little prince. Although he will never have the chance to see it again, I still want to take good care of it. Maybe the child can see it in heaven, and then he can feel our love for him."
Seeing Shen Qingqiu still immersed in the grief of losing her child, Gu Yanwei felt very distressed. He had said countless words of comfort over the past few months, but he still couldn't make her get out of the pain.
"Qingqiu." Gu Yanwei moved Shen Qingqiu's body over and made her look at him, saying, "Qingqiu, if the child in heaven saw you torturing yourself like this, he would definitely feel very uncomfortable. Qingqiu, the child is gone, but we still have a long, long way to go, and we still have the rest of our lives to accompany each other. I don't want you to live in pain all day long."
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