Zhao Yan's body tensed up as he heard the voice. Tears welled up in Jiang Yin's eyes as he sobbed and looked at Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan kicked the smelly beggar away, and the coldness on his young face dissipated, replaced by a sweet and innocent smile that belonged to a child. He happily bounded away.
"Mother! Why have you come! Are you here to find little treasure?" Zhao Yan exclaimed.
"You didn't go to school, so why did you come here?" his mother asked.
"Little Star has left, and Yan'er is feeling sad, so I wanted to take a break," Zhao Yan replied.
"You're only five years old, and you came out alone without any guards. It's dangerous, you know?" his mother scolded.
"Yan'er has grown up and won't be in danger. Mother, you should trust Yan'er," he reassured her.
"Alright, let's go home with mother," she said.
"Ah! Father, you... why are you here too?" Zhao Yan exclaimed.
His voice was unusually childish and innocent, in stark contrast to the cold and indifferent child in the dilapidated temple.
The man's voice was cold, "I've come to see what mischief you're up to."
"Yan'er didn't do anything! Sob, sob, sob... Father is mean, mother, hug me!" Zhao Yan cried.
"Alright," his mother's voice softened with indulgence, "Ardu, don't be harsh on him. Yan'er is still young."
"Since A Ying is pleading for you, I'll let you off this time," his father relented.
"Thank you, Father! Horse ride! Kiss Father!" Zhao Yan exclaimed, delighted.
Outside the dilapidated temple, a sweet and happy conversation of a family of three could be heard.
Jiang Yin suppressed the bitter taste in his heart, feeling a pang of pain. Every part of his being twisted with agony. He struggled relentlessly, using all his strength to crawl out. He wanted to take one last look at A Ying.
The rope on his body drew blood, but he didn't stop. After much effort, he managed to stick his body out of the doorframe, only to see the woman getting on a carriage with the man's support.
He could only catch a glimpse of the woman's cherry blossom-like skirt and the joyful face of the little boy hopping around.
"Sob, sob, sob!" He desperately banged against the doorframe, hoping to attract A Ying's attention.
A Ying!
Please, just look at me one more time!
I have something to tell you!
Inside the carriage.
Gu Ying pulled the curtain and asked with confusion, "Du, did you hear something?"
Zhao Changdu glanced indifferently at the figure in the doorway of the dilapidated temple, then strode into the carriage. He extended his long arm and pulled the woman's slender waist into his embrace, biting her red lips and saying with a smile, "What sound? It's just the rustling of the wind through dry branches."
Gu Ying blushed, "Alright, alright. If someone sees us, they'll say you're corrupting me."
The man sneered, "Who's here? Besides, a husband kissing his own wife, does that count as corruption?"
Gu Ying's ears turned crimson, and if Hai Tang hadn't woken up and found that Yan'er was missing, they would still be in bed right now...
"That would mean they would say that Du, you are completely under my control and bewitched by me. You, the mighty Zhao Changdu, the God of War in Dong Li, have had your reputation tarnished so badly, while I remain unscathed."
Zhao Changdu held the young girl in his arms, his thin lips brushing against hers in a suggestive manner. "They don't understand that being under a strict wife's control can bring great happiness."
"So—" The five-year-old child squeezed between the two adults in the corner couldn't help but speak up. "In the eyes of my parents, am I not considered a person?"
Gu Ying quickly snapped back to reality and chuckled, pulling the child into her embrace. "Come on, let's go home!"
Just as Zhao Changdu was about to kiss his wife affectionately, their son interrupted, and a hint of irritation crossed his handsome face.
However, he didn't say anything in the end. The carriage slowly made its way into the city, and as he sat inside, Zhao Changdu lifted the curtain and caught sight of Jiang Yin spitting out a mouthful of blood-stained stone. Jiang Yin was shouting something, his gaze calm and indifferent.
It seemed that keeping him alive was a mistake.
Perhaps it was time to send him to hell.
Jiang Yin watched helplessly as the carriage disappeared into the distance, a bitter smile playing on his lips.
In the evening, another beggar entered and pulled down his pants.
He looked blankly towards the distant horizon, his eyes filled with deep exhaustion.
...
Two days later, a massive fire broke out in the Qifeng Palace, reducing the Empress and the Crown Prince to charred corpses.
The news shocked the entire nation.
Meanwhile, Li Hao, who was far away in Mount Tai, nearly fainted upon reading the four words "charred corpses" written on the letter in his hand.
No matter how the accompanying ministers tried to persuade him, Li Hao refused to stay in Mount Tai any longer.
The ceremony in Mount Tai had been a tremendous drain.
However, he ignored everything, and he rushed back to the capital overnight, covering a thousand miles.
It was said that on the day the Emperor returned to the palace, there was a torrential downpour. He rode his horse straight into the Empress's palace, his eyes bloodshot, crying inconsolably at the sight of the burned-down palace.
When he woke up, the Emperor inquired about the fire at the Qifeng Palace, refusing to believe the explanation that it was an accidental fire caused by a palace maid. He ordered the Internal Affairs Department, the Dali Temple, and the Imperial Inspectorate to jointly investigate the case.
There was no culprit found in this case, and the investigation yielded no results. In the end, it was left unresolved.
But losing the Empress enraged the Emperor, and in a fit of rage, he ordered the execution of all those who served in the Qifeng Palace, leaving the entire palace in a state of panic.
Afterward, the Emperor fell ill for a month. Not only did he neglect the court affairs for a month, but he also underwent a drastic change in temperament. He became unpredictable, and thoughts of suicide and dying for love gradually took hold of him.
Everyone in the harem was in a state of panic, and it was only then that Empress Dowager Su realized that in her son's heart, there was only one Ning Si.
All those so-called favored concubines were merely a charade put on to deceive outsiders, even the child in Sun's belly was not real!
The person he loved and cherished the most was always Empress Ning.
Empress Dowager Su, upon learning the truth, was filled with anger and regret at the loss of the Crown Prince.
"Hahaha, Empress Dowager, are you happy now? After losing Ah Si, you lost Xing'er, and Dong Li lost its future Crown Prince. Let the Li family be extinguished in my reign!"
"Emperor! How can you hate Empress Dowager so much!"
"If it weren't for my mother constantly targeting A Si, how could I have made such a foolish decision! Those concubines were all chosen for me by my mother, so let them accompany you instead! Guards, starting today, relocate all the women in the harem, including the Empress Dowager, to the suburban palace in the capital!"
"Hao'er..." Empress Su was almost driven to the point of spitting blood in anger.
But witnessing her son losing his sanity over a woman, she couldn't help but feel distressed as well.
From that point on, Li Hao's mental state deteriorated further, and he became increasingly deranged day by day, straying from being a wise monarch to becoming a tyrant.
After the Empress passed away, chaos engulfed the court, with daily tumultuous events unfolding.
However...
Ning Si, who was far away in the southern region, led a carefree and joyful life every day with little Yi Xing.
She didn't even know that the capital had descended into turmoil due to her supposed demise.