Lifting her chin slightly, Lady Liu straightened up just a little, smugness creeping into her tone. "Wenxian was rescued by Prince An himself. Their feelings for each other run deep, but status stands in the way. That's why we've come to Your Grace today. If you could say a few kind words to His Majesty, perhaps he might issue a marriage decree. Then they could finally be together."
Meng Wenyao nearly choked on her tea. When did those two start hooking up? Was this some twisted fate? In their last life, they'd been husband and wife—still tangled up in this one too.Back then, Prince An had become emperor, and Meng Wenxian had betrayed her own blood—patricide, fratricide, you name it—all to clear the path for him. Who knows if she ever sat securely on the throne as empress?
But this time, she would bear the emperor's heir. This time, Prince An would never get close to the Dragon Throne. In fact, for her child to secure his future, Prince An would have to die.He had only a little time left to prance around. If Meng Wenxian married him, they could just die tragically together. A poetic little ending.
So many things had happened, so fast, that Meng Wenyao hadn't had a moment to strategize how to handle the Empress Consort and Prince An at once. But now it was clear—His Majesty no longer had affection for the consort. If he wanted to get rid of her, it would be as easy as flicking a fly.
Prince An, though, was trickier. He was the only surviving child of the emperor's late elder brother. His Majesty still had a sliver of affection for that boy. So Meng Wenyao needed a workaround.
If the imperial consort discovered that Prince An had seduced Meng Wenxian—who had been married to Wei Quan—would she start suspecting Prince An had killed Wei Quan just to take his woman?
Oh, that was a delicious thought.
Smiling faintly, Meng Wenyao said, "Lady Liu speaks from the heart. We are family, after all. I'll find a good moment to bring it up with His Majesty."
Overjoyed at how smoothly things were going, the mother and daughter left the palace in high spirits.
Meanwhile, a eunuch came to summon Meng Wenyao to Chang Le Palace—by order of the Empress Dowager. On her way there, she ran into the emperor himself.Both of us summoned at once? That can't be for tea and cookies.
But as they entered, the Empress Dowager greeted them with a serene smile and glowing cheeks. "No need for ceremony. I just got some excellent tea, and you two came to mind. Come sit and try it."
Meng Wenyao kept her expression carefully polite. She had learned the hard way that behind the Empress Dowager's gentle words were often traps big enough to swallow you whole.She sipped quietly, offering a few well-timed compliments, waiting for the old woman to spring her plot.
"I'm getting old," the Empress Dowager began with a nostalgic sigh. "What worries me most now is you and that poor boy your brother left behind."
The emperor immediately replied, "Your concern is appreciated, Mother. I'm doing well."
She nodded, pleased. "You've done wonderfully. I couldn't be more proud. But that child—he's nearly grown now. I'm an old woman; I like festivities. His coming-of-age ceremony... why not hold it here in the palace? I'd love to see it with my own eyes."
Meng Wenyao's expression didn't flicker, but her mind was racing.Normally, a prince of the royal clan—especially one not directly in line for the throne—would hold his ji li (coming-of-age ceremony) in his own residence. Hosting it in the palace? That was the emperor's privilege. This was as good as acknowledging Prince An as his heir—minus the formal entry in the jade records.
The emperor glanced at Meng Wenyao, then at her still-flat belly, a strange heaviness settling in his chest.Before her, he'd given up on ever having a child. Years of illness had eroded any hope. But now... now there was a chance. For a while, he'd been elated, sleepless with anticipation. Then came doubt.
What if he'd gotten his hopes up for nothing? What if she couldn't carry to term? Or worse, what if he couldn't even give her a child? He didn't want to push her, didn't want to burden her with his unspoken fears.
So after a pause, he answered simply, "Very well."
The Empress Dowager beamed. "Make sure it's a grand event," she told Meng Wenyao. "And now that you're overseeing the harem, if anything confuses you, come to me first."
Meng Wenyao bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."
She glanced at the emperor again. She couldn't read his expression, but she knew he had to feel it—that bitterness.
With no heir, the court scorned him for failing to preserve the bloodline. The harem treated him like a means to an end. Even his mother had begun dropping hints, asking him to write a will like he was a dying man.Now the two of them left Chang Le Palace hand in hand. The dragon carriage was quiet on the way back to Hanxiang Hall. Neither said a word.
Back in their private chamber, the emperor pushed her gently against the wall, his eyes searching.
"What's wrong?"
Meng Wenyao tilted her chin defiantly, eyes red. "I want to give you a child. A child with our blood."
The emperor stared at her, stunned. His voice trembled, half in awe, half in pain. "Wenyao… having you is enough for me."
"But it's not enough for me," she whispered. "I want to bear your child."
His hand cupped her cheek, thumb brushing lightly over her skin. "Silly girl… haven't you heard? I can't have children."
"I've never heard that," she said firmly. "You're a man, of course you don't bear children. But I do. And that's enough."
He let out a helpless laugh, swept her into a kiss so deep it nearly stole her breath. When they finally broke apart, he murmured against her lips, "It's daytime. You'll get me into trouble."
Collapsed against his chest, breathless and flushed, Meng Wenyao muttered, "Who's seducing who, exactly?"
As preparations for Prince An's ceremony got underway, Meng Wenyao continued her subtle work—summoning Meng Wenxian now and then, dropping vague hints about imperial decrees, marriage prospects, destiny.Sure enough, rumors reached the ears of the deposed Imperial Consort. With her own well-placed spies, it didn't take long to learn that Meng Wenxian and Prince An had been sharing a bed.
"Wretched woman!"
A teacup flew across the room, shattering into the wall. The consort wasn't done—she looked about ready to reduce her entire palace to rubble.
"I knew she was trouble. First she ruins my son, now she's clinging to Prince An? Dream on!"
A trembling maid tried to gently reason, "Your Majesty, the favored consort now is Lady Chen. That Meng girl is her sister. It's not impossible that she could be granted the marriage…"
SLAP!The maid stumbled back, clutching her cheek.
"They're all vipers!" the consort hissed. "They think I'm finished, that they can just walk over me. Pathetic!"
The palace was filled with fear—just the day before, a young eunuch had been nearly beaten to death for saying the wrong thing.
The consort's eyes narrowed with cold fury. "You. Take this gold hairpin and deliver it to Ruyi in Hanxiang Hall. Tell her I want to see her—privately."
And just like that, another web began to spin.