Wei Luo slept for a day and a night.

  When she woke up the next day, her body had already been cleaned and she had been changed into a cleaning sleeping robe. The first glimmer of dawn was peaking through the window and there was a smear of light turquoise at the horizon. She could faintly hear the sound of a palace servant moving around. Wei Luo turned her eyes to see a palace servant wearing a pink jacket and skirt closing the window.

  When the servant turned her head and saw that Wei Luo had woken up, she hurriedly saluted and said, “Your Highness, are you wake?”


  Wei Luo didn’t recognize her. She was probably one of Zhao Yang Hall’s servant girls. She asked, “What time is it?”


  The palace servant responded, “7 AM.”


  After the window was closed, the hall was very quiet. The palace servant saw that Wei Luo was looking around the room and knew that she was looking for someone, so she explained, “Prince Jing watched over you the entire night. He recently heard that Her Majesty has woken up, so he went to see her. He’ll probably be back soon. The little heir is sleeping in the side chamber and he’s being watched over by a wet nurse. If the princess consort wants to see the little heir, this servant can bring him over.”


  Wei Luo nodded, “Bring him over for me to see.” Since the baby had been born, she only had time to glance at him. She hadn’t properly seen what little watermelon looked like yet. Although he was a bit ugly, he was still her son. She wouldn’t dislike of him.

  The palace servant stepped forward, helped Wei Luo sit up, placed a large red pillow embroidered with gold and silver thread behind Wei Luo’s back, and added, “Your Highness, are you hungry? You should eat something first.”


  Wei Luo shook her head, “Bring over my baby first.”


  It wouldn’t be good for the palace servant to go against Wei Luo’s words. She went to the side chamber to bring the baby over.

  Little watermelon was wrapped in red swaddling clothes that were embroidered with lotus flowers. He had just finished drinking milk and hadn’t fallen back asleep yet, so his eyes were wide open. When the palace servant put him in Wei Luo’s arms, Wei Luo quietly sounded her surprise. It had only been a day and he already seemed not as ugly as yesterday. Wei Luo used her fingers to touch his face. It felt soft and plump. He was only a small ball, but he had tormented her quite a bit yesterday.

  Little watermelon met her gaze and opened his mouth to babble.

  No wonder Zhao Jie had said their baby looked like her. His black and bright eyes seemed as if they had been made from the same mold as hers and looked like pools of deep water that was so clear you could see the bottom of them. Wei Luo touched his eyebrows and also touched his nose and mouth. The more she looked, the more she cherished him. So, this was the little fellow that had stayed in her belly for ten moons. Wei Luo said, “Little watermelon, I’m your mother. Do you remember?”


  Little watermelon blinked and looked at her in confusion for a moment before he opened his small mouth and wrinkled his nose to let out a wide yawn.

  Wei Luo found his action funny. She copied what she had seen Liang Yu Rong do by lightly patting his back to coax him into sleeping. It only took a few moments before the little fellow fell asleep. He was obediently curled up in Wei Luo’s arms with his eyes closed and not fussing at all.

  The palace servant took an extra few glimpses out of curiosity. When the wet nurse had taken the little heir away last night, he had looked very pitiful as he cried and fussed. Why did he stop crying as soon as the princess consort was holding him? Could it be that a mother and child really did have a mutual sensitivity and connection with each other?

  After the palace servant looked at them for a while, she tried to persuade Wei Luo, “Your Highness, you just woke up. You shouldn’t exert yourself too much. This servant can return the little heir to the side chamber. Do you want to eat something?”


  Wei Luo tucked in the baby’s swaddling clothes. She felt reluctant to send him away, so she said, “I want to hold him for a little longer.”


  The palace servant couldn’t successful persuade her. Put into a difficult position, she could only leave the room to ask someone to inform Prince Jing. However, just as she stepped past the doorway, she saw Prince Jing in front of her. He was wearing a sky blue robe with a circular embroidery design in dark thread.

  “This servant greets Your Highness, Prince Jing.”


  Zhao Jie lifted his feet up as he crossed the doorway. He didn’t acknowledge the palace servant and directly went towards the inner room in the hall.

  Wei Luo was currently holding the baby and sitting against the head of the bed. Her head was lowered as she carefully looked over little watermelon. She stretched her hand out to touch his eyelashes. As she fondled him admiringly, she resembled a young girl that had gotten a new toy.

  As soon as Zhao Jie saw this, he stopped walking, stayed behind the eight-panel red sandalwood divider that was painted with joyful magpies, and quietly looked at them. However, after some time had passed, Wei Luo still didn’t notice him. She kept quietly teasing the child in her arms. Her lips were curved into a soft and sweet smile. She had never shown such a gentle and satisfied expression in front of Zhao Jie.

  Zhao Jie started to feel slightly jealous. He placed his hand by his mouth and quietly coughed.

  Wei Luo raised her head and finally noticed that he was here.

  Right after Zhao Jie had taken a step forward, she placed her forefinger on her lips and shushed him. “Be quieter, little watermelon just fell asleep.”


  Zhao Jie, “…”


  She had only recently gotten this son and she had already forgotten to care about her husband.

  Zhao Jie sat down on the bed, looked at his son that was peacefully sleeping, and asked, “I heard from the palace servant that you haven’t eaten yet after you work up. Why not? I’ll have the cooks prepare some dishes. You should at least eat some of the food once it’s ready.”


  Wei Luo’s was finally willing to look away from little watermelon. Her gaze landed on Zhao Jie.

  “I’m not that hungry… I heard that you went to see imperial mother. How is she? Is she okay?”


  Zhao Jie nodded, took the baby from Wei Luo’s arms, and handed him over to the nearby palace servant. “Bring him back to the side chamber.”


  When he looked back at Wei Luo, he saw that she looked very reluctant to part with their son, but she didn’t say anything. He said, “Imperial mother wasn’t injured. Her body is just somewhat weak. The imperial physician said she’d be fine after resting a few days. As for you, stay at Zhao Yang Hall and properly recuperate here. We’ll go back home once your body is recovered.”


  Wei Luo had just given birth, so it would be unsuitable for her to travel. Empress Chen was willing to let her stay at Zhao Yang Hall for the traditional one-month confinement period following childbirth. This showed that Empress Chen treasured her dearly.

  Wei Luo asked, “Then, where will imperial mother be staying?” She couldn’t cause the empress to have nowhere to go.

  Zhao Jie paused before saying, “Yang Xin Hall.”


  Yang Xin Hall was the emperor’s bedroom. It wouldn’t be inappropriate for Empress Chen to stay there. There probably wasn’t anything that Emperor Chong Zhen wished more for than this opportunity.

  Wei Luo was silent for a bit before she quietly said, “Oh.” She thought of what she had seen before she had started giving birth. Emperor Chong had rushed into the fire without regard for his life. Wei Luo had to admit that she had been very shocked. Emperor Chong Zhen valued Empress Chen more than his own life. Exactly, how much did he love her? Since he loved her so much, why did he abandon Empress Chen to favor only Noble Consort Ning? Would Empress Chen forgive him? Wei Luo couldn’t figure out the answers to these questions, so she stopped letting her imagination run wild.

  She said, “Why did Bao He Hall catch on fire? Did they figure out what happened?”


  Zhao Jie said, “Imperial mother had dismissed all of the palace servants and guards at the entrance. Although she hadn’t discovered the hidden guards, the fire had spread too quickly. By the time they noticed, it was already too late.”


  The implication was the Empress Chen had single-mindedly sought death. She had planned and prepared everything by herself. It wasn’t related to anyone else.

  Even thought he knew this, Emperor Chong Zhen was still determined to investigate the palace servants and guards that had been stationed at Bao He Hall to vent his anger.

  Wei Luo leaned against her pillow and didn’t say anything.

  Fortunately, this lifetime was different. Empress Chen had been rescued and hadn’t been burnt to ashes in the sea of fire, so that even her bones weren’t left behind for the emperor.

  A short while later, a palace servant walked into the room while carrying a vermillion tray that was painted with a sunflower pattern. She placed the tray down on a square table that was inlayed with gold and decorated with spirals that was near the head of the bed. She briefly saluted before withdrawing from the room.

  Zhao Jie picked up the bowl of pigeon and reishi mushroom soup, scooped a spoonful of soup, blew on it to cool it down, and brought the spoon to Wei Luo’s lips, “Here, take a sip.”


  Pigeon meat could help wounds heal and recover injuries completely. When it was cooked in soup, it was even more effective. Wei Luo also wanted to quickly recover, so she obediently drank the soup. After she finished drinking the soup, she ate some of the small, side dishes. Zhao Jie had handfed all of this food to her. Relying on the fact that she had recently given outstanding service, Wei Luo didn’t feel the slightest bit embarrassed. After eating, she comfortably lied back down on the bed. She didn’t dare to move around too much. Her lower body hurt too much when she did.

  A while later, her eyes turned and she looked as if she wanted to say something. Her fingers dug into Zhao Jie’s palm and scratched it.

  Zhao Jie’s thin lips lightly smiled and he asked, “What’s wrong?”


  Wei Luo whispered, “I want…”


  All humans need to go the bathroom and she had lied on this bed for a day and night without leaving. Zhao Jie clearly knew what she was referring to, but he deliberately pretended to not know. He quietly said, “Oh, what do you want?”


  Wei Luo’s face turned red and she glared at him. She didn’t say another word and only directly looked at him.

  When Zhao Jie had finally teased her enough, he chuckled, lifted her up from the bed, and carried her to the bathroom at the back of the hall.

  Zhao Jie placed her on the wooden container and asked her, “Do you need to me take off your pants?”


  Wei Luo bit her lip and said, “No need.” Then, she pushed him towards the outside.

  Zhao Jie didn’t resist and walked to behind the divider to wait.

  —


  During the first three days, Wei Luo couldn’t leave the bed by herself. She had her meals while sitting in the bed and everything was done by Zhao Jie. He even helped her with changing her clothes and going to the bathroom. At the beginning, she was thin-skinned and would blush with embarrassment every time Zhao Jie teased her.

  But now, she had lost her sensitivity. When Zhao Jie said teasing remarks, she would either glare at him with her limpid and glossy eyes or pinch the soft part of his flesh and say, “You’re not allowed to mention this.”


  Empress Chen had recently visited her a few times to tell her she could peacefully stay here for her one month confinement period after childbirth. During those visits, Empress Chen seemed liked she wasn’t in a good mood. So, Wei Luo would have a palace servant bring Zhao Xi over after they exchanged a few words. A faint smile appeared on Empress Chen’s face whenever she saw Zhao Xi.

  After many days of feeding, little Zhao Xi has already lost his ugliness. Not only was he no longer ugly, the little fellow now had a beautifully, exquisite appearance. With his rosy cheeks and white skin, he resembled a crystal-like white jade dumpling and was very lovable. Zhao Xi liked to laugh and wasn’t afraid of strangers at all. Whenever anyone played with him, his giggles could be heard from a far distance. All of the palace servants, whether it was servant girls or mamas, liked him.

  Empress Chen treated him like a piece of her heart. He was her favorite person. It made sense. She had been looking forward to having a grandson for many years. How could she not cherish him?

  Logically, Zhao Jie should be very happy to have such a lovable child. However, his mood hadn’t been good lately. It was probably because all of Wei Luo’s attention had been focused on little watermelon. She didn’t have any time to care about Zhao Jie. There were times when Zhao Jie had stood in front of her for a long without her noticing his presence. She was too focused on playing with little watermelon.

  As each day passed, Zhao Jie’s expression became worse and worse.

  On the day when little watermelon was one month old, Emperor Chong had arranged for his one-month-old birthday celebration to be held in the palace and invited the imperial court’s civil and military officers to the celebration. The occasion was quite grand.

  Little Zhao Xi was too young to understand what was happening. He only knew to cuddle with Wei Luo and monopolize her bosom and arms. He would occasionally blink, stick his tongue out, and yawn. His expressions were plentiful and fun to look at.

  During the banquet, Wei Luo held him in her arms and was reluctant to let him go. After the banquet ended, they returned to Zhao Yang Hall and Wei Luo personally gave Zhao Xi his bath. Afterwards, she placed him down on an arhat-style rattan bed with a red sandalwood frame and carefully wrapped him up in swaddling clothes.

  Wei Luo’s body had recovered pretty well during the past month. Perhaps, it was because she had gotten out of bed and walked around every day. Her waistline had slimmed down very quickly. There wasn’t any difference between her and a teenage girl that hadn’t given birth.

  Her cheeks had become sharp again and her skin continued to be white and soft. If little watermelon didn’t resemble her so much, people wouldn’t be able to tell that she was someone who had recently given birth.

  At this time, Wei Luo’s eyelashes were lowered. She wasn’t experienced with putting on the swaddling clothes and little watermelon was acting naughty. One moment he was kicking, the next moment he was stretching his arm. His playing around caused Wei Luo to not be able to put on his swaddling clothes for a long time. Fortunately, there was a heater in the room, so he wasn’t in danger of catching a cold.

  Surprisingly, Wei Luo wasn’t annoyed. She helplessly touched Zhao Xi’s little nose and said, “Stop moving. If you keep moving around, mother will be angry.”


  Zhao Xi’s long eyelashes fluttered as he blinked. When he looked at Wei Luo, it seemed as if he could understand her words.

  Wei Luo quickly finished wrapping Zhao Xi in the swaddling clothes. She lowered her head, kissed Zhao Xi’s forehead, and praised him, “So obedient.”


  On the side, Zhao Jie sneered as he watched them.

  As soon as Wei Luo raised her head, she saw Zhao Jie’s long face and couldn’t feeling surprised. She asked, “What’s wrong?”


  Zhao Jie said, “Imperial mother also likes him a lot. How about giving him to her and letting her raise him instead?”


  Wei Luo’s eyes immediately widen. She instinctively said, “No.” He was her child. She felt that she didn’t even have enough time to spend with him and spoil him. How could she bear to give him to someone else?

  Zhao Jie silently looked at her. His expression was very ugly.

  Wei Luo finally realized there was something wrong. She left Zhao Xi on the arhat bed and sat down across from Zhao Jie. “Are you upset?”


  Zhao Jie lowered his eyes and looked at her in askance. A while later, he said, “You tell me. How many days have you given me the cold shoulder?”


  Uhhh. Wei Luo awkwardly fidgeted with her fingers. She finally understood why his expression had looked so bad. But, she hadn’t treated him coldly. She had just slightly liked little watermelon too much… What mother wouldn’t love her son? Wei Luo felt as if she was being unjustly treated, but it wouldn’t be good for her express this feeling. After all, Zhao Jie needed to be comforted more than her.

  Thus, she said, “I didn’t give you the cold shoulder. You’re so much older than little watermelon. You can take care of yourself, but little watermelon can’t, so I have to care of him. Besides, you were the one that said, ‘I don’t like children. I only like this child because of you.’ Do you not like little watermelon anymore? Are you really going to be jealous over him?”


  The words, “I’m jealous”, was clearly written on Zhao Jie’s normally expressionless face.

  It was only now that Wei Luo realized how petty men could be. She wrapped her arms around Zhao Jie’s arm and raised her head to look at him. “Then, what do I have to do so that you won’t give him to imperial mother? Little watermelon is my son. I want to raise him myself.”


  Zhao Jie’s black eyes turned and landed on Wei Luo’s body.

  His prolonged stare made Wei Luo feel goosebumps rising on her body. She almost called out, “big brother” to beg him to stop.

  He finally moved. He raised his hand and tapped his own cheek. His beautiful, deep voice said, “Kiss me.”


  So, he had minded when she had recently kissed Zhao Xi’s forehead. Wei Luo pursed her lips. It wasn’t like she hadn’t kissed him before, so she held onto his neck and sincerely kissed his cheek with her small mouth. In order to curry favor with him, after she kissed his cheek, she slowly moved her lips to his mouth as she fluttered her eyelashes. She licked his lips and teeth to open them.

  Wei Luo raised her eyes to secretly look at him and saw Zhao Jie’s lowered eyes looking at her. His pupils were pitch-black and he wasn’t showing any reaction.

  Wei Luo closed her eyes to temper herself and rushed into his mouth. Because she had the intention of pleasing him, it was a very lingering kiss.

  A moment later, Zhao Jie turned himself over to press her down, seized control, and besieged her mouth.

  …


  A long time later, Zhao Jie finally let go Wei Luo’s mouth, but he stayed in the same position with his face touching hers. They were very close as he hoarsely said, “In the future, you’re not allowed to only show affection towards little watermelon.”


  Wei Luo’s tongue had become numb from his sucking. Her eyes were watery and she was quietly gasping.

  Zhao Jie bit her ear and added, “You have to show that you love me too.”


  Wei Luo’s cheeks turned red and she slowly nodded.

  —


  A month later, Wei Luo and Zhao Jie moved out of Zhao Yang Hall and brought little watermelon with them as they returned home.

  After the three of them left, Zhao Yang Hall instantly became a lonelier and colder place.

  Empress Chen moved back to Zhao Yang Hall after Emperor Chong Zhen lost his reason to keep her in his hall.

  During this past month, although they didn’t exchanged many words while they lived under the same roof, Emperor Chong Zhen felt that it was still better than living in his hall by himself. Seeing Empress Chen leaving him without any hesitation, he felt that Yang Xin Hall was too spacious and empty. He actually felt somewhat not used to living here alone now.

  A few days later, Empress Chen came to the imperial study of her own initiative to look for him and he felt quite overwhelmed by her favor.

  Zhao Zhi Qing had become injured in order to save the empress. Most of the injuries had been healed after the past month of care and he didn’t bring this topic up. Empress Chen had also kept silent. The two of them had a tacit understanding to not mention this matter as if this fire had never occurred. Zhao Zhi Qing clearly knew that he was lying to himself, but he didn’t want to say the truth. He was scared that if he said anything, then even the shallow peace between them couldn’t be kept.

  Empress Chen stood in front of the red sandalwood table with curved edges and looked at the emperor, who was wearing a golden robe embroidered with dragons and auspicious clouds and sitting on his throne. She opened her mouth to say, “This consort has a request for His Majesty.”


  Emperor Chong Zhen looked at her and had a bad feeling. A while later, he said, “Please say it.”


  Empress Chen had probably already made up her mind. Neither fast nor slow, she said, “This consort wants to move to Shan An Temple to study and practice Buddhism. Your Majesty, please agree.”


  Emperor Chong Zhen tightened his grip on the report he was holding and stared at her.

  Shan An Temple was a temple that had been renovated by the imperial family. It was outside the palace, but it wasn’t far away. It would only take about fifteen minutes to go there. It was only during the New Year that the palace would organize for imperial concubines to go there to burn incense and worship Buddha. Now, Empress Chen was offering to move there of her own initiative to study and practice Buddhism. Emperor Chong didn’t return to his senses for a long time.

  Empress Chen silently stood there as she waited for him to agree.

  For a long time, Emperor Chong Zhen went back and forth between tightening and loosening his grip on the report he was holding. His voice was hoarse and sounded powerless as he asked, “Wan Wan, does this emperor really not have any chance left?”


  Empress Chen lowered her eyes and looked at the table in front of the emperor instead of looking at him. Her voice was smooth as she asked, “Your Majesty, are you agreeing?”


  Emperor Chong Zhen walk out from behind his desk and stopped in front of Empress Chen. Only two steps separated them, but it felt as if they were at two different ends of the world. He gave an irrelevant answer, “Did you start the fire in Bao He Hall?”


  After a moment of silence, Empress Chen nodded and said, “Yes.”


  “Why did you do that?” Emperor Chong watched her as he finally asked the question that had been clogging his heart, “Have you really given up all hope towards this emperor?”


  Empress Chen thought for a moment before she said, “Your Majesty, you don’t need to say these words. Your Majesty, you saved this consort. This consort is very grateful, but doesn’t have a reason to continuing living in the palace. If this consort continues to stay here, this consort will only do more foolish things.” She raised her eyes and looked at the man in front of her. In a flash, so many years had passed by. They actually looked like strangers in front of each other. The shadows of their past selves no longer existed.

  “Your Majesty, you don’t need to compensate me for the things that happened in the past. I’ve already let go of past grudges. As the emperor, you have to shoulder and accept heavier responsibilities than the average person. Your actions were also reasonable. It’s only that my heart is small-minded and I can’t tolerate those choices.”


  Emperor Chong Zhen quietly looked at her. He bitterly and painfully smiled, “So, you’re still unwilling to forgive this emperor.”


  If she had let go past grudges, why wouldn’t she look at him? Why would she insist on going to an unpleasant place like Shan An Temple? There was no way he would agree.

  Empress Chen didn’t respond.

  Zhao Zhi Qing couldn’t resist holding her hand. His voice was low and had a slight begging tone as he said, “Wan Wan, this emperor was wrong. This emperor shouldn’t have neglected you, much less suppress House Chen behind your back. Could you please not leave this emperor? I’ll properly compensate you for the past. In the future, I won’t go to anyone else. I’ll disband the imperial harem and only be with you. I’ll abdicate my position as the emperor. We’ll travel the world together. Didn’t you use to say that you like the scenery in Wu county the most? We can settle down there. As long as it makes you happy, we never have to come back to the capital.”


  Empress Chen looked at Zhao Zhi Qing for a long time before expressionless taking her hand away from his. “Your Majesty, it’s too late to say these words.”


  She looked as if she had thought of something. Her eyes seemed lost in thought for a moment. Soon after, she said in a slightly regretful tone, “Back when I wanted to hear these words, you would be in Ning-shi‘s bedroom. Everyone in the palace saw how much you valued her. You even granted her many special privileges. After Liuli’s life was saved from the poison and I wanted to investigate to find the true culprit, you blamed me for being overly suspicious. You accused me of panicking and treating everyone as the enemy. Now, Ning-shi is dead and I don’t have any other desires. Your Majesty, please take back your words. This consort just wants to peacefully live life. Your Majesty, please graciously permit this consort’s only long-standing wish.

  Emperor Chong Zhen’s body trembled. His mood had plunged to a helpless all-time low from Empress Chen’s words.

  She had gained her peace. But what about him? Who would be with him to pass the lonely and long second half of his life?

  Emperor Chong Zhen’s voice was choked with emotion, “Wan Wan… this emperor doesn’t want graciously permit.”


  Empress Chen froze for a moment. Soon after, her expression became cold and she said, “Then, this consort can only stay in Zhao Yang Hall and practice Buddhism. Your Majesty, please don’t blame this consort.”


  The imperial study was quiet. Nothing could be heard from the outside. Eunuch Chu was holding his horsetail whisk as he stood outside the doors. He looked at the empty, azure sky above the imperial palace. He thought that if the empress could reconcile with the emperor, everything would be good again. During the past few days when the empress wouldn’t pay attention the emperor, the emperor hadn’t eaten much during his meals.

  Emperor Chong Zhen raised his hand and briefly covered his eyes before firmly dragging his hand down from his face. His eyes were red and his voice was hoarse as he said, “Okay, this emperor agrees.”


  Empress Chen lowered her eyes and said, “Thank you very much, Your Majesty.”


  After Empress Chen left, Emperor Chong Zhen sat in the imperial study in a daze for a long time. It felt as if his entire body had been hollowed out.

  When Eunuch Chu came into the study to bring tea and saw this sight, he was very frightened. He put down the colorful teacup and said, “Your Majesty? Your Majesty?”


  Emperor Chong Zhen returned to his senses and looked around. Empress Chen had left a long time ago. He let out a long sight and in a mournful tone, he said, “Eunuch Chu.”


  Eunuch Chu said, “This servant is here.”


  Emperor Chong Zhen closed his eyes and said, “This emperor’s heart… feels too painful.”


  * Note: Just wanted to note it’s intentional that during parts of their dialogue they switch from the formal speech, “this emperor” and “this consort” to “I”.

  —


  Prince Jing’s residence.

  Wei Luo discovered that babies really changed to fast. In only a short three months, little Zhao Xi had changed from a wrinkly little monkey to a beautiful baby boy that looked as if he was carved from white jade. Every day, Wei Luo would spend half the day playing with him. The little fellow liked Wei Luo the most. As soon as he saw her, he would start babbling happily and stretch out his short arms that resembled lotus roots for Wei Luo to pick him up. Wei Luo’s heart would melt every time she saw this.

  This little fellow didn’t behave like Zhao Jie at all. Instead, he had the same personality as Wei Luo when she was a child. He liked to smile, cling to people, and act slightly mischievous. Wei Luo felt this was good too. Zhao Jie had a really strange personality. It wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing for their son to be like him.

  As for the rest of the day… naturally, she had to spend it with a certain man.

  As an adult, it was quite ridiculous of him to be jealous of his own son. In her mind, Wei Luo would criticize his shortcomings, but she wouldn’t dare to show this on her face. She could only obediently pander to him. It was probably because when Wei Luo showed that she cared more about their son than Zhao Jie, Zhao Jie’s face would sink and he would torment her once nighttime came.

  With this in mind, how could Wei Luo dare to neglect him?

  Today, Wei Luo was shaking a rattle drum in front of little watermelon. The pellets attached to the red strings on the sides of the toy repeatedly struck the surface of the toy and produced a “ding dong ding dong” sound each time. Little watermelon’s large black eyes followed the movement of the rattle drum. His laugher never stopped as he stretched his hand out to try to grab the toy in Wei Luo’s hand. Wei Luo used a silk handkerchief to wipe to drool from the corners of his mouth.

  “Look at you. You’re drooling again. Little watermelon, you’re so dirty.”


  Little Zhao Xi didn’t understand her words. He just wanted the rattle drum.

  Wei Luo didn’t give him the toy. She deliberately moved it slightly farther away and shook the toy in the air. “Do you want it?”


  Little Zhao Xi was very anxious. He gurgled as he continued to stretch his hand out. Unfortunately, his soft, fleshy arm was too short. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t reach the toy.

  Wei Luo didn’t tease him for too long. She soon put the rattle drum in his hand and little Zhao Xi happily held it. He was young and his hand was small, so he didn’t have a good hold on it, much less know how to play with it. There was only way to express his fondness – putting it in his mouth. Only a short time had passed before the sides of the toy was covered in his saliva. His large, limpid eyes that didn’t understand anything yet looked at Wei Luo and he opened his mouth to babble.

  Wei Luo took the rattle drum from his hand, wiped the drool from his chin again, and furrowed her brow. “Aiya, why are you such a glutton? You can’t eat this. It’s dirty.” As she said this, she scratched little Zhao Xi’s nose.

  Little Zhao Xi didn’t understand her actions, but he didn’t fuss. His eyes turned and he looked behind Wei Luo.

  Wei Luo noticed his gaze and turned around to look. Zhao Jie had recently come inside. There was a strong, cold wind blowing outside. When he came inside, he brought in a gust of the cold air inside with him. He didn’t directly walk to Wei Luo and Zhao Xi. First, he went to the nearby fireside to warm his hands. When the coldness in his body has vanished, he went over to them and asked, “What happened? Is watermelon not listening to you?”


  Wei Luo shook her head and said, “No.” She helped Zhao Jie take off his fox fur cloak and asked, “Did you go to the palace? How is His Majesty’s health?”


  Zhao Jie’s tone was calm as he said, “It’s not good. He couldn’t even leave his bed yesterday.”


  Wei Luo didn’t say anything after hearing these words.

  Since Empress Chen moved to Shan An Temple two months ago, Emperor Chong Zhen fallen gravely ill and hadn’t recovered. Medicine hadn’t been effective. He had been a perfectly healthy person, who had suddenly fallen ill without any prior symptoms. During the past two months, the imperial physicians had taken turns trying to treat Emperor Chong Zhen to no effect. Emperor Chong Zhen hadn’t gone to the morning court to listen to the courtiers and decide on political affairs for over half a month. He had ordered Zhao Jie to act as a temporary regent and handle the governmental affairs on his behalf. Thus, Zhao Jie had been very been busy lately with this work. He would frequently leave early and return late. He hadn’t been able to properly spend time with Wei Luo for a long time.

  Zhao Jie held Wei Luo’s hand, furrowed his eyebrows, and said, “Why is your hand so cold?”


  Wei Luo said, “The weather is too cold. I recently went outside to sweep some of the snow from the plum blossoms. I can use it to make tea in the coming year.”


  Zhao Jie felt heartache. “In the future, have the servants do this instead. What if you freeze yourself doing this?”


  Wei Luo said, “This type of thing is only fun if I do it myself. It won’t be fun if someone else does it for me.”


  Zhao Jie didn’t argue about this with her. He had servants bring in two more burning charcoal basins, brought Wei Luo onto his lap, and warmed her hands with his hands. Zhao Jie’s big hands firmly wrapped around Wei Luo’s hands and very quickly warmed them up.

  Lately, it was rare for Zhao Jie to come home in time for dinner. After they finished dinner, a wet nurse carried little Zhao Xi back to the side room. Zhao Jie and Wei Luo washed up before lying down on their Chinese cedar bed that was decoratively carved with clouds.

  Zhao Jie stretched his hand out to pull Wei Luo closer so that his chest was pressed against Wei Luo’s back and his chin was placed on her shoulder. He slowly and quietly said, “Ah Luo.”


  Wei Luo was slightly sleepy and said, “En.”


  Zhao Jie was silent for a while as if he was deliberating something, “I might not come back tomorrow. You and Xi-er have to properly stay home. Don’t go anywhere.”


  Wei Luo opened her eyes and became less sleepy. “Why won’t you come back? Where are you going?”


  Zhao Jie hugged her tighter, but his voice was as calm as always. “I’ve been busy with the governmental affairs recently. Imperial father hasn’t recovered from his illness, so I have to stay in the palace to deal with his work. Once these matters are handled, I’ll come back and spend time with you and Xi-er.

  Wei Luo turned around and burrowed her soft, fragrant body into his arms. She spoke in a low voice, “Then, quickly finish your work. Don’t tire yourself out.” After saying this, she added, “We have spent time together in a long time. I kind of miss you.”


  Zhao Jie felt deeply touched by her words. He lowered his head to kiss the top of Wei Luo’s head. “Okay, in the future, I’ll stay with you every day.”


  Wei Luo quietly said, “En.” Soon after, she fell asleep.

  Zhao Jie moved slightly back and parted Wei Luo’s black hair back to see her small, soft, white face that was as lustrous as gems. Zhao Jie carefully stroked her face, from her eyebrows to her nose, from her nose to her mouth. Every time he moved his hand, he felt reluctant to let her go. After he had touched enough, he finally said, “Wait for me to return.”


  The next day, Zhao Jie left before the sun came up. During the past period, he had always left this early, so Wei Luo didn’t think anything of it. Like every other day, she washed her face and ate breakfast before going to playing with little Zhao Xi.

  When noon arrived, Wei Luo went to sit in the verandah while holding little Zhao Xi. It was cold outside, so Wei Luo had little Zhao Xi tightly wrapped up and only his black eyes were exposed. It was clearly noon, but the northern side seemed as if it was being burned. It seemed as if half the sky had turned red with orange clouds.

  Wei Luo looked at the sky for a moment before deciding that it was too cold here and carried little Zhao Xi back inside.

  The little fellow had been perfectly fine, but a moment later, he suddenly started to wail. No matter how she tried to coax him, he wouldn’t stop. He grasped the lapel of Wei Luo’s robe and cried as if he was so sad that he wanted to die. Wei Luo felt heartache seeing him like this.

  On the side, the wet nurse said, “The little heir is probably hungry. Let this servant feed him.”


  Wei Luo thought for a moment. She shook her head and said, “I’ll do it. You can withdraw.”


  Since little Zhao Xi had been born, Wei Luo hadn’t fed him milk many times. Wei Luo’s milk wasn’t much and Zhao Jie drank most of it, so little Zhao Xi didn’t receive much of it. Coincidentally, Zhao Jie hadn’t been home much during the past few days and Wei Luo had accumulated milk, so she fed it to Zhao Xi today. As expected, the little fellow was hungry. He sucked Wei Luo’s nipple and started drinking. He didn’t cry or fuss as he eagerly drank.

  Wei Luo used her fingers to wipe the tears from his eyelashes. She said with a smile, “You’re so silly. Crying just because you’re hungry…”


  The little fellow whimpered for a bit and continued drinking.

  After Wei Luo finished feeding him milk, it was time for Zhao Xi to sleep. She carried him back to the cradle in the side room. After she coaxed him into sleeping soundly, she walked out of the room.

  Bai Lan came into the courtyard. Her expression was slightly strange. She seemed as if she wanted to say something, but she kept stopping before the words came out. “Your Majesty…”


  Wei Luo asked, “What’s wrong?”


  Bai Lan followed Wei Luo inside. In a baffled voice, she said, “When this servant wanted to go out to buy something, this servant saw many guards standing outside the residence. Not only are there guards at the front entrance, there’s also guards protecting the corner and side entrances as well. What do you think is happening? Hasn’t the capital been peaceful lately?”


  Wei Luo paused. She turned around and asked, “Did you personally see this?”


  Bai Lan nodded with certainty. “Your Highness, there isn’t anything wrong with this servant’s vision. This servant really did see this. There are many guards inside and outside the residence.”


  Wei Luo pursed her lips and thought of the words that Zhao Jie had said to her last night. She had though those were just ordinary instructions. After all, Zhao Jie hadn’t said anything else. However, from the current situation, it wasn’t as simple as she had thought. What exactly was Zhao Jie planning? Why didn’t he tell her? Was he in danger?

  Wei Luo passed the afternoon with an unquiet mind. When little Zhao Xi woke up, Wei Luo brought him into her arms to coax.

  Fortunately, the little fellow was very good. After she fed him, he played by himself. His large, dark, limpid, eyes would occasionally turn to look at her and he would babble sounds that nobody could understand.

  By the time it was nightfall, Bai Lan had gone out and brought back shocking news.

  The fifth prince and Prince Rui had rebelled! The two of them had brought all of the soldiers they had control over. They invaded the palace to force Emperor Chong Zhen to abdicate.

  Wei Luo had been drinking tea. When she heard this news, her hand shook and the tea spilled onto her hand. Without thinking, she asked, “What about Zhao Jie?”


  Bai Lan said, “This servant heard that His Highness Prince Jing is guarding Han Yuan Hall. This servant doesn’t know the details of the situation.” After saying this, she glanced at Wei Luo’s pale face and said, “Your Highness, the prince probably didn’t tell you anything because he didn’t want you to worry. Look, there are so many guards in the residence. You can see how much the prince cares about you.”


  Wei Luo also knew this. At this moment, she shouldn’t be concerned about why Zhao Jie didn’t tell her anything. Instead, she was worried about his current safety. The fifth prince and Prince Rui had work together to instigate a rebellion. They had probably prepared for this in advance. Would Zhao Jie be able to stop them? Emperor Chong Zhen was also sick and probably wouldn’t be able to help. Wei Luo was very worried about Zhao Jie.

  Preoccupied with these thoughts, Wei Luo walked back and forth. When she looked up, the sky wasn’t dark yet.

  She didn’t know the situation in the palace. She wanted to send Bai Lan out to ask around, but the residence was too tightly guarded. Bai Lan had gone out too much and was stopped by the guards at the entrances.

  The only thing that Wei Luo could do was wait.

  Wei Luo barely closed her eyes this night. As soon as she closed her eyes, she would see Zhao Jie holding a sword and riding a horse. She was scared of seeing something happening to him, so she sat on the couch that was near the window the entire night until the sky gradually revealed a smear of pale blue. This night had finally passed.

  Wei Luo jumped down from the couch, hurriedly washed her face, and started to walk out of the room.

  Seeing this sight, Jin Lu and Bai Lan hurriedly stopped her. “Your Highness, where are you going?”


  Wei Luo said, “I’m going to go and ask what’s happening in the palace.”


  Jin Lu and Bai Lan couldn’t stop her. They could only take out a fox fur cloak for her to put on and go with her. But, just as they walked to the front entrance, two black-robed guards stopped them.

  One of the guards said, “Greetings, Your Highness. The prince has ordered for the princess consort and little heir to remain in the residence. It’s dangerous outside. Your Highness, please return.”


  Wei Luo didn’t go back. She looked at the guard and said, “Tell me, how is the prince right now? Where is he?”


  The guard’s expression didn’t change. He said, “To respond to the princess consort, this subordinate doesn’t know. This subordinate’s task is to protect the princess consort.”


  Wei Luo didn’t move. She looked towards the north side of the capital from the front entrance. The palace seemed exceptionally tranquil. What was happening there?”


  She bit her bottom lip. A moment later, she made her decision. She pushed the two guard’s swords and said, “Step aside!”


  She couldn’t keep waiting. She had to know how Zhao Jie was.

  The guards didn’t dare to injure her. They hurriedly put away their swords. A flash of imposingness had let her walk out of the residence.

  The guards chased after her. They hadn’t run far before they saw a large military group ahead of them. They immediately stopped.

  Wei Luo stood outside of the residence’s entrance and saw people riding horses as they headed towards here from far away.

  Very quickly, a man on a horse stopped in front of Wei Luo. The wind brought over the scent of blood. Zhao Jie flipped over and dismounted from the horse. He hadn’t had time to change out of his full suit of ming guang armor and the sword that was hanging on his waist was still stained with blood from beheading someone recently. Zhao Jie looked at the scene in front of him. First, he coldly swept his gaze across the guards behind Wei Luo, then he looked at her. His voice was clearly gentle as he said, “Why did you come out? Didn’t I tell you to stay at home?”


  Wei Luo flattened her mouth and blamed him, “It’s your fault for not explaining things clearly. Why did you hide such a monumental matter from me?”


  Zhao Jie curved his lips and said, “I didn’t want to make you worry.”


  She complained angrily in heart. She would only be more worried if he acted so mysteriously! But, seeing that he was completely fine, she let out a sigh in relief. She couldn’t help rushing over into his arms.

  Zhao Jie instinctively retreated half a step and said, “I’m dirty.”


  Wei Luo didn’t care. She tightly hugged his waist. She could feel the heat of his body even with ming guang armor between them. She furiously said, “If you ever do this again, I’ll never forgive you.”


  Zhao Jie helplessly smiled. He stroked her hair, “En. In the future, I’ll tell you everything.”


  Thus, the group of subordinates watched as their cold-blooded prince hugged his princess consort in front of everyone. His warm and pampering expression made him look as if he wasn’t the same person that had recently beheaded Prince Rui with one slash of his sword. Zhao Jie hugged Wei Luo for a long time without moving. When Wei Luo stopped being angry and raised her head, her face immediately turned red in embarrassment when she saw the numerous soldiers standing behind him.

  Zhao Jie chuckled. He turned around and said to the group of people, “Yu Zhi, bring everyone back to Shen Ji Barracks and wait for this prince’s orders.”


  Yu Zhi acknowledged his order and led the group of soldiers back to Shen Ji Baracks.

  Wei Luo held Zhao Jie’s hand, turned around, and started heading back to their home with hurried steps, “Come with me.”


  She hadn’t properly settled the score with him yet.

  —


  When the fifth prince and Prince Rui had tried to force the emperor to abdicate, Zhao Jie had killed Prince Rui on the spot and locked up the fifth prince in the imperial prison. He had stripped away his title of prince. After a date was selected, he would be exiled a thousand kilometers away. Prince Rui’s household was also punished for his crime. The men would be exiled and the women would be sold as slaves. Prince Rui’s heir, Zhao Jue, couldn’t endure hardship on the way to being sent to exile and died of exhaustion on the road. Rumors said that he wasn’t even buried with a decent tombstone. He was casually left behind in a desolate area in the countryside.

  It was only now that Wei Luo found out about the truth. Emperor Chong Zhen had faked his recent grave illness to lure Prince Rui and Zhao Zhang’s ambitions to the surface.

  Zhao Jie had clearly known the truth, but he hadn’t revealed a word of this to Wei Luo.

  Wei Luo felt truly angry for a while.

  After the attempt at forcing the emperor to abdicate, Emperor Chong Zhen used the excuse of his poor health as a reason to pass his throne to Zhao Jie.

  The civil and military officials had all witnessed Zhao Jie pacifying the attempted rebellion and no one objected to Emperor Chong Zhen’s decision this time. After discussing which auspicious day the event should be held, the officials urged Zhao Jie to ascend as the new emperor.

  However, Zhao Jie wasn’t as anxious as them. Emperor Chong Zhen continued to be the emperor for two more months while he brought Wei Luo and little Zhao Xi to Jiangnan for a vacation. Because Zhao Jie had promised Wei Luo that he would properly spend time with her after finishing his official work, this vacation ended up lasting two months and made Emperor Chong Zhen and the court officials very anxious.

  Emperor Chong Zhen was impatient because he wanted to go to Shan An Temple to look for Wan Wan. The officials were fretful because Emperor Chong Zhen didn’t attend morning court. With no one to take charge of the governmental affairs, the accumulated stacks of reports to the emperor were almost as large as a mountain!

  After Zhao Jie finally returned from Jiangnan, Emperor Chong Zhen officially abdicated. Zhao Jie sat on the golden throne carved with dragons. He was wearing the emperor’s ceremonial robes and imperial crown with twelve rows of pearls. His expression was calm as he faced the kowtowing military and civil officials. He raised his hand and said, “You may all rise.”


  Zhao Jie only exchanged a few sentences with the officials before hurriedly leaving Jin Hall and returning to Wu Shuang Hall.

  Zhao Jie had specially ordered for this hall to be built for Wei Luo. The construction had started before they left for Jiangnan. Zhao Yang Hall would be left reserved for Empress Chen. Also, Wu Shuang Hall was closer to the emperor’s personal hall than Zhao Yang Hall. Of course, in the future, Zhao Jie would probably only stay at Wu Shuang Hall.

  Wu Shuang Hall’s layout and ornaments was somewhat similar to Prince Jing’s residence. Everything was arranged in accordance to Wei Luo’s preference.

  There was a large greenhouse behind this hall. Inside the greenhouse, there were expensive flowers that Zhao Jie had ordered to people to find and bring back. There was a swing next to the greenhouse. Across from the swing, there was a grape trellis. During summer, Wei Luo would be able to cool off in the shade and easily eat fresh grapes. Wei Luo naturally liked this back garden.

  She carried Zhao Xi as she walked around. She asked, “Little watermelon, do you like this?”


  Zhao Xi stretched out his short arms that resembled lotus roots and babbled towards the swing. It was evident that he taken a fancy to the swing, so Wei Luo carried him over there to play.

  When Zhao Jie came back, he happened to see Wei Luo sitting on the swing while holding little Zhao Xi, who resembled a rice ball. They leisurely swung back and forth.

  Wei Luo’s eyes were lowered to look at little Zhao Xi. Perhaps, he was feeling happy from playing on the swing. The little fellow jubilantly curved his eyes into smiling crescents. His smile was infectious and Wei Luo also curved her large eyes in response. She scratched his little nose. This pair of adult and child had similar faces. Zhao Jie stood close by and silently looked them. He didn’t know when his own lips had also curved into a smile.

  Wei Luo always brought him a sense of satisfaction; even becoming emperor hadn’t given him this feeling.

  Zhao Jie walked forward and asked, “Do you like this place?”


  Wei Luo raised her head to look at him. She smiled and nodded. “I like it. Little watermelon likes it a lot too.” She suddenly thought of something and asked, “Don’t you have to meet with the military and civil officers? Why did you come back so early?”


  Zhao Jie stopped in front of her, leaned over, gently touched her forehead, and said, “I came back to keep my wife company.”


  Wei Luo pursed her lips and cast him a rebuking glance. “You’ve become the emperor and you’re still not acting proper.”


  Zhao Jie chuckled. He said into her ear, “Properness is for outsiders to see. In front of Ah Luo, I don’t need to be proper.”