"Mm," Mu Xing nodded, nestling comfortably in his father and mother's embrace, closing his eyes to savor their affection.
In the evening, Feng Xie stayed at the Weiyang Palace for dinner before returning to the Imperial Study.
He had originally intended to stay the night in the Weiyang Palace, but that brat had hogged his mother, preventing him from getting close.
The thought made Feng Xie's expression turn sour, and he sat with a cold, silent face. Xiao Wanzi secretly chuckled, never expecting the Emperor to reach such a point, to be jealous of his own son. However, she dared not speak of it; the consequences of enraging him were too severe.
In the luxurious bedchamber of the Weiyang Palace, on the vermillion wooden bed, Liu Liu held her son's small body, gazing at him with affection.
Thinking of Feng Xie's pained expression earlier made her chuckle. Her eyes curved, rippling like a stirred pond. Mu Xing, sensing his mother's happiness, curiously inquired.
"Mother, what's wrong? You look so happy."
"Nothing, really. By the way, Mother wants you to do something tomorrow. Come here."
Liu Liu leaned down, whispering into her son's ear.
Mu Xing's large eyes shifted from surprise to smugness, and he grinned mischievously. The two of them, mother and son, like cats who had stolen fish, chattered away. Hong Xiu, standing at a distance, couldn't help but smile.
The autumn was deep, the air chilling. Within the imperial palace, mist swirled, blurring everything. The garden paths, pavilions, and ornate screens were all shrouded in a layer of crystalline moisture.
In the Changxin Palace, palace lanterns flickered. In the main hall, Lou Si paced restlessly. She was waiting for someone, but it was late, and he had yet to return. She was going mad with waiting, his shadow still unseen.
Suddenly, a palace maid rushed in from outside the hall. It was Xiao He, her personal maid brought from home. "Your Highness, I've searched everywhere, but I can't find Sister Wanrong. I wonder where she's gone?"
Lou Si's face turned pale. She shook her head repeatedly. He had gone to assassinate the Crown Prince this afternoon. The Crown Prince was unharmed, but he had disappeared.
Had they left any traces? If so, would that woman let them off?
But Wanrong was missing. What was going on? Most importantly, the Lou family had already been condemned. They were to be executed in three days. She had been counting on Wanrong to help her save her family.
"You may go," Lou Si said, her voice hoarse, sounding much older. She dared not imagine where Wanrong had gone.
Had he abandoned them, mother and son, and left the palace? She didn't believe it; it was impossible. Wanrong, no, Feng Luo, loved them. Wasn't he still after the throne?
How could he give them up so easily? Tears streamed down Lou Si's face, falling to the ground, clearly audible in the night.
She steadfastly refused to believe he would abandon them like this. She would sit here and wait for him. He would surely return. Even if he left, he would take her and their son with him, and they would leave the palace together to live in a paradise.
That night, Lou Si's tears almost ran dry.
At dawn, palace maids and eunuchs discovered that Consort De Lou's hair had turned completely white. She sat dazed and foolish in the main hall of the Changxin Palace. Her personal maid, Xiao He, doubtfully rubbed her eyes. Who was this woman?
Could it be her proud young mistress? Impossible. She rushed to her mistress's side, calling out with heartache, "Your Highness, what happened? Your Highness?"
Hearing the commotion, Prince Yu Lou also rushed in. Seeing his mother's hair completely white on the throne, he cried out in alarm, "Mother, what happened? Mother, what's wrong?"
Under the calls of her maid Xiao He and her son, Lou Si slowly came to her senses. Her gaze focused, and she spoke weakly, "What is it?"
"Mother, why is all your hair white?" Yu Lou reached out to touch Lou Si's cascading hair. Xiao He, beside them, reached out to stop Prince Yu Lou, but it was too late. Lou Si lowered her head, looking at the small bunch of white hair on her chest. She let out two silly laughs and showed no further reaction, standing up and walking towards the bedchamber behind.
"I'm tired and want to rest. Don't let anyone disturb me."
Her heart had died. She had been with him for eight years. They understood each other's personalities to a certain extent. Sometimes she doubted if he truly loved her, if he was merely using her.
But she had always deceived herself, telling herself that he loved her and Yu Lou. But was he tired of playing this game now? Had he discarded her and Yu Lou like dolls?
He had even spoken of killing the Crown Prince and saving the Lou family. In truth, had he ever seriously tried? Was his life only for the throne?
If he couldn't obtain it, then they, mother and son, would lose their value. But Yu Lou was his child! She cried out in her heart.
The short distance from the hall to the bedchamber felt impossibly long. Why couldn't she reach the end? She was almost unable to bear it, but for Yu Lou, she could not fall. She could not abandon her child.
"Xiao He, I'm scared," Yu Lou's fearful voice echoed from the main hall. Xiao He quickly comforted her young master. So many things had happened in the palace recently. She didn't understand why her mistress depended so much on Sister Wanrong.
Even she, her personal maid, was pushed to the side. She remembered that her mistress had liked a Qin musician in the manor. Although she thought that musician was nothing special, not even a fraction of the Emperor, it was because that musician, though a man, had the appearance of a woman, and his manner of speaking and walking were also feminine. Later, when her mistress married into the palace.
When Prince Yu Lou was born, she was startled. Prince Yu Lou looked too much like that Qin musician. But she dared not say anything. How could such a matter be spoken of casually?
"It's alright."
The eunuchs and palace maids in the Changxin Palace hall stared blankly at the disappearing Consort De. What had happened to her Highness? Her hair had turned white overnight.
Perhaps it was because of the imminent execution of the Lou family. It made sense; if an entire family was about to be executed, it was natural for her hair to turn white.
Consort De's hair turning white overnight quickly reached the Weiyang Palace. Liu Liu was having her breakfast when Ming Yue reported, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something strange happened last night?"
Liu Liu and Mu Xing, sitting at the breakfast table, both stopped what they were doing and looked at Ming Yue, whose face showed distress. "What is it?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, early this morning, news spread from the Changxin Palace that Consort De Lou's hair turned completely white overnight. Everyone says Consort De Lou learned of the Lou family's execution and worried herself into having white hair overnight. Many eunuchs and palace maids felt pity for her."
After Ming Yue finished, Liu Liu paused. Lou Si's hair turning white overnight was indeed pitiful. However, while others didn't know, she did. It was probably due to the disappearance of that Wanrong overnight. If she had truly worried herself into white hair over the Lou family's plight, why hadn't her hair turned white when the Lou family was first imprisoned? Now it had.
"Mother?"
Seeing Liu Liu's unsettled expression and the gloom in her eyes, Mu Xing wondered if his mother had proceeded with the task she had assigned him yesterday.
Liu Liu looked up, knowing her son felt a bit sorry for that woman. A child's heart was always soft. However, this matter was not simply about pity but concerned the royal bloodline.
If Yu Lou were truly the Emperor's child, then he naturally deserved to enjoy all the privileges of the imperial family. If he were not a child of the royal family at all, but the son of Feng Luo, then no matter how pitiable his circumstances, they could not show leniency.
Because when he grew up, he would become another Feng Luo, and then Tian Feng would face another calamity. One could never leave potential dangers behind. As a mother, she naturally had to plan for her own child.
"Proceed as planned," Liu Liu said, waving her hand, her demeanor exuding a cold, stern aura.
Mu Xing nodded. He didn't like that brat anyway. Although he didn't know why his mother wanted him to do this, his mother had said she would tell him when the time was right. Mu Xing quickly finished his breakfast and retreated.