"Where to start... First, yesterday afternoon it started raining, and Mei Gui had her trusted aunt, the eunuch's wife, bribe the gatekeeper to sneak in a famous female doctor from the capital - she really wants to know if the baby is a boy or girl."

  "That old woman confirmed it was a girl with her special 'line pulse' technique, and Mei Gui was very disappointed. But what she didn't expect was that the Empress would personally come over, smiling as she revealed the truth... However, the Empress then proposed a very tempting plan..."

  "That's right, have the female doctor provide a harmless abortifacient, get rid of this fetus, and then frame consorts Zhou and Qi... I can even imagine what the Empress would say - nothing more than that it's just a girl anyway, so there's no great loss. The palace will make sure to support you from now on, get rid of consorts Zhou and Qi, guarantee your safety, and take over the Emperor's favor... Consort Mei was already uneasy about the 'Juxiang Garden incident', and with Consort Qi deeply in the Emperor's favor, she decided to cooperate with the Empress, taking a risk."

  "What made me think of all this was this jade pendant. When I went to the kitchen to get a food box, in the mixed smell of dishes, I faintly smelled a medicinal scent, and I couldn't be sure, so I searched for medicine residue under the stove, but unexpectedly found this..."

  Yuanyu's hands were clenched into fists, her eyes deep and icy cold, already furious to the extreme.

  "Last time at the banquet, Mei Gui already knew that I could distinguish various medicinal scents, so she didn't dare to bring the medicine bowl into her own palace, and could only secretly drink it all in one breath in the kitchen. She hastily burned the remaining medicine, but accidentally dropped her jade Linglong into the ashes."

  After a calm and meticulous analysis, Yuan Qi was furious. He suddenly swung his sleeve, sweeping down the blue pen holder on the table, and coldly shouted: "You wicked woman, how dare you harm my flesh and blood!"

  He was so angry that he trembled slightly: "I have always been kind to Mei, loving and respecting her innocent and pure nature. I didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, she would become such a viper, even able to harm her own flesh and blood!"

  He said to the end, already slightly sentimental, this world's most prominent Jiuwu Zizun, a young man of only twenty years old, was born cold and unfeeling, rarely showing affection for a woman, yet unexpectedly ending up like this.

  Chenlu retorted, "Your Majesty is wrong. This matter cannot be blamed entirely on Mei Cui... The truth is like an onion in the countryside, peel off one layer and there's another hidden beneath!"

  Yuan Qi listened and felt that she had an ulterior motive, becoming vigilant that there was something fishy about it. He calmed down and signaled with his eyes for Chen Lu to continue.

  "You just think about it, why did Mei Gui let the divine doctor sneak into the palace, and the empress arrived in time? And... I also know a thing or two about medicine, a one-month-old fetus hasn't even taken shape yet, and you can diagnose whether it's a boy or girl with just one pulse, it's truly absurd!"

  The emperor was suddenly enlightened and woke up with a start, his heart racing with shock: "Could it be... that this child is not a girl, but..."

  "I've already said it, no one can determine the sex of a baby in just one month, so that female doctor must have been bribed. At that time, she only needs to say it's a girl, so the sex of the fetus will probably remain a mystery forever."

  She looked at Yuan Qi with hatred and anger, her eyes almost bursting, and added the final straw: "The Empress must not have thought of such a vicious plan. Her previous plan was so shallow! I'm afraid someone is plotting behind her back."

  Yuan Qi sneered coldly: "The Empress's mind is not so clever, with the Queen Mother being a female Zhuge Liang, what can't be done?"

  His face was stern and cold, but his smile grew more and more joyful: "The Lin family... relied on their skirt ties to climb up in the previous dynasty, and now they are even more arrogant... The Empress Dowager has dominated the court for many years, tyrannical and overbearing, as if she were the supreme ruler of the palace. Her two elder brothers, one is incompetent and useless, the other is even more ruthless and greedy, with what qualifications can they be called princes?! Let's wait and see... I am in my prime, how can I not eliminate these tigers, wolves, snakes, and rats?!"

  Morning dew lowered its head, covering the silent smile on its lips... It has finally come to this!

  She quietly savored the emperor's gnashing teeth, satisfied to know that the seeds of hatred she had sown had finally sprouted. It would continue to grow and thrive, and one day it would make this mother-son pair kill each other.

  Yuanyu stood in front of the window, taking deep breaths. After calming down slightly, he spoke with a hint of melancholy: "It's truly laughable... As the Emperor, I possess all four seas and yet, when it comes to being close to my family, there isn't a single one. The Empress Dowager is so overbearing and tyrannical, trying to turn me into a puppet. The Empress... seeing her hypocritical and weak appearance makes me sick. As for the concubines, no matter how good of a girl they are, once they enter this dye vat-like palace, they all become terrifying like ghosts. No one can escape... And as for my beloved brothers, humph, I'm afraid they're just waiting for me to die an untimely death so they can inherit the throne..."

  "I'm really suffering, so lonely... Indeed, being an emperor is a solitary existence without any discount... Can you understand my sorrow, Chenlu?"

  His embarrassment, anger, desolation, and the deepest weakness in his heart all burst out in an instant. He almost lost control as he asked Chenluo, but when he turned back, he was suddenly doused by those clear and cold eyes, which calmed down the turmoil in his heart.

  Those eyes are as clear and refreshing as the cycles of time, but at a glance, they seem to capture one's heart and soul.

  But she alone, as when first seen, had never been tainted by worldly impurities.

  "Every time I see you, it's like the icy snow of December, chilling me to the bone..." Yuan Qi said with a bitter smile, but unexpectedly, another sentence emerged from his heart...

  Even the most unfeeling things can move people.

  He gently asked: "I am feeling suffocated at this moment, can you play the zither?"

  Chenlu didn't answer. He suddenly came to his senses and smiled wryly, "I forgot, you're from the jianghu... Never mind, just stand aside and listen to me play a tune."

  He washed his hands, took over the jade qin under the window, tuned it a bit, and started playing with ease.

  The sound of the qin was very stirring, but it had suppressed too much sorrow and pain. After just a few notes, there was a loud "twang" as the string snapped in two.

  Yuan Qigong smiled wryly: "Elegant music requires incense and a calm mind, but this child is indeed not suited for music."

  Morning dew looked at him and finally spoke: "You're thinking too little of me, even if I'm a Jianghu person, I also know a bit about music - is there a flute here?"

  Yuan Qi was slightly surprised and still ordered Qin Xi to bring the best one.

  This was a short flute carved out of green jade, its body crystal clear and translucent, looking not like an ordinary object. After wiping it with morning dew, he put it to his lips, just about to start playing, when Yuan Qi suddenly approached him and said: "It's stifling here after all, let's go upstairs."

  He unexpectedly took Morning Dew's hand and with a swing of his arm, they leaped onto the rooftop.

  Morning dew did not think he would make such a move, after sitting down, she quietly struggled free from his grasp.

  The flute sound, from the highest part of the entire imperial palace, faintly echoed.

  At first, it was a bit awkward, but gradually became familiar. Unbeknownst to me, I fell into a certain daze. The flute sound, as ethereal as the heavenly music, floated uncertainly in the night sky. Looking down, the countless palaces and jade buildings below were also dull and colorless. In the vast expanse of the universe, only this flute sound remained, eternal and indestructible.

  That is the hundred flowers in full bloom, with purple and red hues of prosperity like a dream...

  But all was paid for with broken tiles and crumbling walls...

  That is a loving couple's whispering dependence on each other...

  But unexpectedly, it was unavoidable, worldly feelings and human hearts...

  That is the heroic dance of spear and shield, eight thousand miles of road with clouds and moon, a magnificent passion on the battlefield...

  But in the end, it is not allowed for people to see each other's white hair...

  The flute sound is more and more trembling, hiding, but decisive, confused, yet suddenly awakened, this unspeakable eternal sorrow, finally transcending into the clear and vastness of the universe.

  Yuan Qi only felt a lump in his heart, and suddenly he felt empty. He couldn't help but want to let out a long sigh.

  Two people sat side by side, under the twinkling starry sky, each lost in their own thoughts.

  He remembered that the world was difficult, but he was no longer disturbed. He only felt that heaven would entrust great responsibility to this person, and must first make his heart and will suffer - he was still young, with a lot of time, and it was enough for him to know one person in his life, why bother asking others to understand?

  She was a bit dazed. Many years ago, that smiling young man with eyebrows and eyes also played a tune for himself with deep emotions...

  What a wonderful night it was, unfortunately, time is ruthless and things are no longer as they used to be.

  In a daze, she seemed to hear a clear and beautiful female voice singing:

  Smiling and gazing with a desire to sing, high clouds remain still, emerald peaks towering.

  Copper stage, where to return with longing gaze? Jade carriage, how many times forgotten to go back.

  The southern geese have flown away by the side of the Qingtai Road, while northerners are passing through the delicate-waisted palace.

  This sound of a broken heart is not from today, what can be done about the fragrance of the lamp?

  ……

  Note: Li Shangyin's "Hearing a Song"

  (The first volume ends here, please look forward to the second volume tomorrow at the same time. Some of you may think that the protagonist hasn't done anything big yet, but I think that the first volume is a period of hiding one's light and biding one's time, and in the second volume, the protagonist will shine brightly and there will be a small climax from the beginning. Please continue to support me and give me your recommendation votes~ I thank you again)