"Must I watch that woman and her child in my harem with another man's child? Guards, throw them into prison immediately!"
Feng Xie's demeanor was violently cold as he ordered in a deep voice. Liu Liu's expression instantly turned stern. She shot to her feet and glared at the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, you have endured this for five years. Can you not endure it for a moment longer? If you touch that mother and son, and it is discovered that Yu Lou is your son, how will you account for yourself to Lou Si Jing?
If he is not your son, and you have alerted Feng Luo and harmed his son, how do you think he will react? What we should do is find out where he is hiding and who he is impersonating. That is how we can deal with him, do you understand?"
Liu Liu's sharp words finally calmed Feng Xie. He stood in the imperial chamber, gasping for breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart.
Fortunately, Liu Liu was calm, otherwise, he would have ruined everything. He was the ruler of a nation, responsible for his people and his realm. But Feng Luo, when pushed to the brink, would do anything. Thus, it was better for him to remain composed.
"Very well, Liu'er, you shall handle this matter entirely. I wish to know as soon as possible if that child is mine."
Feng Xie's cold declaration carried a sense of utter exhaustion. The night's turmoil had revealed that the child he had raised for five years was another man's.
This was a devastating blow to any man, let alone the most powerful man in the world, who was not exempt from such dreadful fate. Feng Xie simply wanted a moment of peace. He turned to look at Liu Liu.
"It's been a night, Liu'er must be tired. Rest for a while. I also wish to be alone."
"Alright, Your Majesty, please calm yourself."
Liu Liu nodded. Feng Xie's imperial yellow robe swept past like a streak of golden light. His straight back now carried an immeasurable weariness, and his steps were noticeably stiff.
Liu Liu sighed. There was nothing she could do to help him with this. If Yu Lou truly was Feng Luo's child, then this pain was something only he could bear.
Liu Liu actually knew that his pain stemmed from two factors. The primary factor was that he had once wanted to abort Mu Xing, to protect Yu Lou.
But in the end, Mu Xing was his child, and Yu Lou belonged to someone else. The second factor was that the Emperor's woman had been unfaithful, bearing an illegitimate child. If this were to get out, it would become the greatest joke in Tian Feng.
Having been up all night, Liu Liu was also exhausted. She tidied her disheveled clothes and climbed into bed to rest. Whatever needed to be done could wait until she had slept enough.
In Chang Xin Palace, Lou Si Jing had also been awake all night. He gazed at Wan Rong, who sat beside him.
Last night, a eunuch had come to search the palace. Fortunately, they hadn't noticed Wan Rong, but it had filled her with terror. She reached out and clutched Wan Rong.
"Wan Rong, why don't we leave together? Let's leave everything behind, we don't want any of this here. As long as our family is together, that's all that matters. Yu Lou has our love. Whoever wants this empire can have it. If the Emperor finds out about all this, he will kill Yu Lou. Can you bear to watch him die?"
Wan Rong's face was unusually calm. Only in his beautiful eyes did a storm surge. The corners of his lips curled into a cold smile as he looked at the woman beside him, inwardly scoffing.
This foolish woman actually thought he loved her. A cold-blooded man like him falling in love? He himself would find it strange.
His purpose in life was to humiliate Feng Xie and cause him pain. If he could seize his empire, even better. If not, he would exist like a ghost, ensuring Feng Xie's eternal unease.
The reason he had chosen to have a child with this woman was twofold: firstly, for his plan to seize the empire, and secondly, if the plan failed, he could use the child to humiliate Feng Xie.
His woman had been slept with by Feng Xie. This was an indelible shame for him for all eternity. Thinking that he had spent three years with this woman without touching her, and had to wait until Feng Xie had touched her once before he did, made him feel that this woman was tainted from head to toe.
Now, she was actually fantasizing about him taking them away. Wan Rong couldn't help but laugh, his expression shifting rapidly. However, he did not intend to provoke her yet.
Lou Si Jing had no idea of the tumultuous thoughts swirling in Wan Rong's mind. She continued to murmur softly, "Wan Rong, let's leave here. As long as our child Yu Lou is safe and well, that's all that matters."
Wan Rong's voice was as gentle as a breeze, "What are you thinking about? Yu Lou will become the Crown Prince. And what about your family, the Lou clan? Are we to abandon them all?"
Lou Si Jing was stunned. When she was with this man, she often forgot who she was and what she should do. If this man hadn't asked her to enter the palace back then, they would have been a very happy couple.
Thinking of this, a faint doubt arose in her heart: Did he love her? Did he truly love her?
"Wan Rong, have you ever loved me?"
Her lips trembled slightly. He was the first man she had ever met. He was not as tall and imposing as other men, but he possessed a graceful elegance that captivated her.
She remembered first meeting him in the garden of her home. He had come to teach her the zither, his long hair cascading down, adorned with a crystal hairpin, standing like a graceful jade under the scholar tree.
The flower petals fell all around him, showering him with their fragrance. In that first, entrancing moment, she had fallen in love with this man.
"Love?" A smile played on his lips. As it reached her ears, she immediately laughed, unaware that he was speaking sarcastically.
Every time he spoke sarcastically, this woman interpreted it as love for her. This made him feel that the woman was foolish, likely not even a fraction as clever as that other woman.
He suddenly wondered if, had he met that other woman instead, he would have already trampled Feng Xie underfoot. Unfortunately, this was merely a hypothetical scenario.
"Then what should we do now?" she asked softly, with the air of a dependent little bird, completely submitting to his next move.
"I will find an opportunity to personally kill the Crown Prince. Then I will send people to break into prison and rescue your Lou family."
Wan Rong spoke. In truth, he had no intention of rescuing the Lou family. He was merely appeasing her. He couldn't be bothered to save the Lou family; those people were of no use anymore, and might even cause trouble. Why bother keeping them?
Lou Si Jing was completely blinded by the man's supposed love. Otherwise, she should have realized that the Lou family, as high-profile criminals, would surely be heavily guarded. How could anyone easily rescue prisoners?
In Wei Yang Palace, Liu Liu paced back and forth in the hall, deep in thought. The palace maids and eunuchs dared not make a sound, wondering what the mistress was contemplating with such seriousness.
It turned out that the Chief Eunuch of the Harem, A Feng, had gone missing. Therefore, a new Chief Eunuch for the Harem had to be appointed.
Liu Liu was thinking about this matter, recalling how Xiao An Zi and Xiao Nian Zi, from the beginning when no one was willing to follow her, had voluntarily stayed by her side, their loyalty commendable.
If they had wanted to harm her, they would have succeeded long ago. Therefore, Liu Liu's delicate, slender eyebrows relaxed. She calmly called the two of them over.
"Xiao Nian Zi, Xiao An Zi?"
Upon hearing the Mistress's call, the two eunuchs immediately stepped forward and knelt in the center of the hall, awaiting the Mistress's command, unsure why she had summoned them.
Liu Liu looked with satisfaction at the two eunuchs who had followed her. Xiao An Zi was steady and meticulous in his work, while Xiao Nian Zi was quick-witted. Appointing them both as Chief Eunuchs of the Harem, to coordinate with each other, would allow for better management of the Harem.
"You two have been following me for some time and are familiar with all the affairs of the Harem. From today onwards, you will both serve as Chief Eunuchs of the Harem, coordinating with each other."