Mei Fei did not disappoint her family, or those in Kyoto and even the entire Qing Kingdom who were wary of the Third Prince, Li Chengping. She successfully gave birth to a son in the autumn of the twelfth year of Qingli. Amidst the tense situation in the northern war, the imperial family adding a new member was undoubtedly excellent news and a promising omen.

It was just a pity that her origins were not particularly noble, and her family residence was small. Otherwise, Kyoto would surely have been even more lively because of the birth of this young prince.

Over the years, the Third Prince, Li Chengping, had gradually grown up, consistently presenting a very steady and knowledgeable demeanor in public. Furthermore, now that he was attending court sessions in the Imperial Study and being personally educated by Grand Scholar Hu, he should have been the ideal candidate for the Crown Prince. In theory, Mei Fei's childbirth should not have caused too much commotion.

However, not all the court officials had forgotten about the Baoyue Brothel incident of that year. On the surface, it was a conflict between Fan Xian and the Second Prince, but Fan Xian's second brother and the Third Prince were pushed to the forefront. Fan Xian's second brother had fled to Northern Qi and had yet to return. While the Third Prince's role in the matter was glossed over by the palace, it did not escape the eyes of most people.

More importantly, everyone knew that this prince had a close relationship with Fan Xian, unlike any other. And now, Fan Xian, due to the incident of publicly killing officials in the street, only had a reputation for being tyrannical and sinister within the Qing Dynasty's civil service system. No one wanted Fan Xian to have a chance to make a comeback in the future.

Most crucially, there were simply too many intelligent people in the Qing Kingdom's bureaucracy. Although His Majesty had not explicitly stated it, after cleansing the Overwatch Council many years later, he chose to select new consorts to enter the palace once again. These individuals had long guessed His Majesty's intentions. Therefore, this addition to the imperial family carried a subtle, mysterious feeling.

The joyous news from the palace was not officially announced, but the ubiquitous tongues had already spread it out of the palace in advance. Overnight, all the ministers learned of the matter. Some ministers concerned about the country were worried, some were secretly excited, some breathed a sigh of relief, while more people ultimately became nervous.

While the ministers were at their residences contemplating what kind of magnificent congratulatory verses they should write for the morning court, the Emperor, who had become a father late in life, was not as moved as these outsiders.

The Imperial Study's writing eunuch, Hong Zhu, remained kneeling obediently beside the Emperor's soft couch. His knees were already aching, and cold sweat streamed down his back. This was because a long time had passed since the message was delivered, but the Emperor had remained silently reclining on the soft couch, not showing the slightest joy, not even the interest to rise and visit Mei Fei's palace.

Hong Zhu did not know what had happened, let alone what His Majesty was thinking. He was simply nervous. He did not know that Fan Xian was still alive and heading towards Qing's capital, Kyoto. He only acted according to his duty as a eunuch slave, kowtowing again and cautiously reminding His Majesty that perhaps he should rise.

The Emperor waved his hand with some annoyance, not showing anger, but neither did he rise. Instead, he said to the eunuch Yao beside him, "Do you think... I will have the chance to watch this son grow to adulthood?"

Eunuch Yao's heart trembled slightly. He quickly lowered his body, put on a smiling face, and said a lot of nonsense, nothing more than praising His Majesty's flourishing years and his longevity.

A trace of fatigue flashed across the Emperor's thin face. The corners of his lips curved slightly, giving a self-deprecating smile, not knowing whether he was mocking the people of the world or himself. If Chen Pingping were still alive, how would he answer this question? He would probably be much more interesting than Eunuch Yao. It was just that that old dog seemed to have died a long time ago...

Looking at the unchanging deep palace night, he suddenly thought of the letter that the Second Prince had left him a few years ago, and he also thought of what the Crown Prince had said during their last conversation.

"...Please be merciful to those who are still alive, Father."

Li Chengqian's voice seemed to echo in his ears at this moment, causing the Emperor's heart to clench slightly, his brow to furrow slightly, and he sighed softly, "Who will be merciful to Me?"

……

……

The next day, the ministers, who were preparing to submit congratulatory memorials and flatter His Majesty, were stunned to learn shocking and confusing news.

Mei Fei had given birth to a son, but suffered a massive postpartum hemorrhage. The imperial physicians tried to save her all night, but they were unable to, and she unfortunately passed away in the palace. Fortunately, the little prince, who was born without a mother, was in good health. In addition to his sorrow over Mei Fei's death, His Majesty ordered the Consort Yi of the Shufang Palace to raise him.

Consort Yi of Shufang Palace to raise him meant that this consort would be the young prince's mother in the future. Upon realizing this, the ministers who had been pondering the future ownership of the Qing Dragon Throne were speechless. They knew very well that His Majesty's arrangement had basically eliminated the possibility of this young prince ascending the throne in the future.

Mei Fei was dead, the young prince had no support in the palace, and the Mei family was extremely weak. Raised by Consort Yi, how could he have any chance of success?

The midday sun shone on the glorious palace walls, adding a lot of warmth to this autumn day. However, the warmth inside the palace was not sufficient, especially in Mei Fei's palace, which was now desolate and silent. The newborn prince had already been taken away, and the nanny and related palace maids and servants had also gone to the Shufang Palace. Apart from the faint sound of crying, there was no trace of joy.

Mei Fei's body had been tidied up and lay quietly on the large bed, not yet moved. This beautiful young woman, who had once met Fan Xian, had not escaped the misfortune of the palace. Perhaps due to excessive blood loss, her face was as white as frost, reflecting a cold, unwilling light in the midday sun.

Fan Xian had sincerely wished her to give birth to a princess. However, unfortunately and pitifully, she had successfully given birth to a prince after all. Fan Xian was initially worried that the prince born to Mei Fei would bring unrest and bloodshed to the palace again when he grew up, but even he probably did not expect that Mei Fei would pay with her life for the young prince's birth.

Ah, the midday sun shines as brilliantly as this palace, but how can it still be so cold when it shines on that pretty white face?

……

……

Fan Residence, side study.

Fan Shuning and Fan Liang, the siblings, were taking an afternoon nap accompanied by Sisi. The sunlight shone on the trees and flowers in the Fan Residence's garden, painting the window of the study with intricate light and shadows.

Inside the study, Lin Wan'er sat solemnly beside the desk. After a long silence, she finally couldn't help but sigh and said, "Mei Fei's life was also a bit bitter, but it's good this way. Handing him over to Consort Yi to raise will prevent future turmoil."

At this time, only she and her sister-in-law, Fan Ruoruo, were in the room. Over the past half year, the two of them had often entered the palace to accompany His Majesty, who was growing old, and were very clear about the matters in the palace. They had also met Mei Fei, who was as pure and proud as snow plum, several times and were not unfamiliar with her. However, they never expected that Mei Fei would die in childbirth last night.

Fan Ruoruo was not a talkative person, but hearing her sister-in-law's sigh, after a long silence, she raised her head, looked into her eyes, and said faintly, "You can only blame her parents for sending her to that shameful place."

This sentence was once mentioned by Yuan Chun in *The Story of the Stone*, which Lin Wan'er naturally knew was written by Fan Xian. However, she was so intelligent and quick-witted that she immediately understood the hidden meaning in her sister's words. She frowned slightly and asked, "His Majesty's bloodline is thin, and Consort Yi has been in charge of the palace all along. We know her character. Surely she wouldn't..."

They both knew what she meant by "wouldn't." Fan Ruoruo pondered for a moment and then shook her head, saying, "Consort Yi is certainly not that kind of person, but... I took Mei Fei's pulse several times in the palace and listened to the fetal heart sounds many times. After being provoked by Brother on the seventh day of the month, she was extra careful and cautious and had been taking good care of herself. Her body was even stronger than when she first entered the palace. In my opinion, even though it was her first child, it shouldn't have caused such a big problem."

"Childbirth is always prone to accidents." Lin Wan'er said with lingering fear, thinking of the time she gave birth to Fan Liang.

After frowning for a long time, Fan Ruoruo still slowly shook her head, "I heard it was a natural birth, but I still think this matter is a bit strange."

After a long silence in the study, Lin Wan'er lowered her voice and said to her, "But that doesn't make sense."

Indeed, it didn't make sense. There were always many shady things in the Qing Kingdom's palace, but no one dared to do such terrible things. Especially since the dragon seed that Mei Fei was carrying was obtained by His Majesty in his old age, the palace had always been personally managed by Eunuch Yao, and even the Shufang Palace had not intervened to avoid suspicion. Who could have harmed Mei Fei?

Fan Ruoruo suddenly said softly, "Mei Fei's due date was later than the originally calculated time."

Lin Wan'er's heart trembled slightly, and she looked at her eyes in disbelief, asking, "Who has such great audacity?"

Fan Ruoruo shook her head and replied, "Being in the forbidden palace, during that time, His Majesty stayed at her place every day. Naturally, no one had the audacity to violate the imperial family's authority... Now that I think about it, I'm afraid that Mei Fei was young and confused at the time. She only sought His Majesty's favor and mistakenly reported it. Fortunately, it was a mistake that turned out to be correct, and it didn't cause a big mess."

Lin Wan'er sighed, "I really don't know what she was thinking."

"She was young and didn't know anything. It's still her father and brothers who are to blame for selling her into the palace just to seek glory. I'm afraid this matter was their family's idea." Fan Ruoruo sneered, "Her family is only a small family, and the palace hasn't held a draft for many years. I'm afraid they don't know the taboos at all, and they're so bold... Mei Fei's death is inseparable from them."

Hearing this, Lin Wan'er finally understood and guessed correctly, but she still couldn't believe her ears and said blankly, "Although it's the crime of deceiving the emperor, she did just give birth to a prince and didn't do anything rebellious, so how... could she die for no reason?"

"Who knows what His Majesty is thinking." A faint melancholy appeared between Fan Ruoruo's brows, and she said, "It's just that the child who was born without a mother is suffering."

In the Qing Kingdom, many years ago, there was also a child who was born without a mother. However, he still grew up healthy and happy under the legacy of his mother. It was just obvious that Mei Fei, who was illuminated by the midday sun, could not be like Ye Qingmei, standing in the dark and watching her son.

No one also thought that the death of Mei Fei was only because Fan Xian had said to the emperor that Mei Fei was not as good as Consort Yi after all, and Emperor had also figured out some things.