The night was dark, as dark as ink.
A large group of crows circled in the air above the stage, letting out hoarse and shrill cries, causing people to feel anxious upon hearing it.
It was winter, the palace was dark, cold and damp, releasing a pungent smell of rot. Lian Si Yue closed his eyes and leaned on the bed, curled up into a ball.
Her cold had struck again and she was in so much pain that her legs were almost crippled. She could only sit there motionlessly.
"Esteemed Empress, Esteemed Empress, they're coming, someone's coming!" At this moment, the doors to the chamber suddenly opened, and the only servant girl by her side, Red Lotus, hurried in.
"Who's here?" Her thin hand subconsciously rested on her bulging belly. It had been a long time since the sun had set and her hair had dried up like wax. She had just turned thirty years old and there were a few strands of silver on her temples.
"It's the Emperor! The Emperor is here!" The Empress had been imprisoned in this ancient hall far away from the Imperial City for eight months, living in complete darkness. She had suffered ridicule and mistreatment, and now the Emperor had finally arrived.
"What did you say?" When Lian Si Yue heard this, his heart fiercely trembled. In an instant, his expression became extremely complicated: joy, sadness, pain.
"Servant saw clearly. He was carrying a palanquin and an imperial physician. Empress, it must be that Emperor pitied you and wanted to take you back to Changchun Palace. Servant congratulates the Empress, the Empress has finally raised her head. " The red lotus wiped its tears with the back of its swollen, chapped hand.
She was at a loss of what to say as she instructed, "Quick, Red Lotus, bring the copper mirror here and help me comb my makeup. Look at my old clothes, I don't know which one to wear."
The man was as handsome and steadfast as he remembered, clad in a bright yellow turtleneck with a narrow sleeved dragon robe that wrapped around his tall and broad body. His robe was embroidered with gold coiling dragons at the front and shoulders, and the belt around his waist was inlaid with gold amber.
After not seeing him for eight months, he had even more of the courage of the king of a country.
"Emperor!" Lian Si Yue lifted her lips, her voice hoarse and hoarse. Her heart that was already riddled with thousands of holes was actually carrying a little bit of lamentable anticipation.
"Do it." he said coldly, not answering her.
A few guards with sabers entered the room and roughly pressed her down on the bed. They stuck to her face and were unable to move. She forcefully arched her body, afraid that she would harm the fetus in her womb.
The head guard and imperial physician stood to one side. They looked as if they couldn't bear it, while Red Lotus trembled in fear as she knelt on the ground.
"You, what are you doing?" She understood that the reason he had come today was not to bring her back to the palace. It seemed that he had other plans.
"Big sister!" At this time, she heard another voice, like the beginning of a delicate warbler playing with the flute in the breeze, only to see Imperial Concubine Lian Shi Ya gently walk under the crowd of palace maids with graceful steps, towards Emperor Feng Qian Yue. She smiled at him, and then gently rested her head on his shoulder.
Lian Shi Ya, the Third Miss's concubine, the niece of the Great General Xiao Zhen Hai, the imperial concubine Feng Qian Yue doted on the most, the Great Zhou Dynasty's most prideful woman, was also a woman who had plotted so hard to steal everything from her!