An guifei was lying on the bed, letting his imagination run wild. His entire body was tense in preparation for what was to come. The room was very quiet, intensifying his sensitivity and sense of hearing. He heard the Empress rustling and a.s.sumed that she had set down her book. He heard footsteps walking towards the bed…this feeling of impending doom made An guifei's breathing come to a standstill.

Guifei: Imperial Consort of the highest rank and is below the Empress

Qianhe Liyou silently stood in front of the bed, as predicted by An guifei, and was looking at the beautiful scene in front of her, but indifferently. At this point, one could only say that she was not l.u.s.tful.

“Sleep.” Qianhe Liyou said as she picked up a quilt on the bed, gently covering An guifei's body. She then turned back to the table and continued to read her book. This boy's every word and action was really too foolish.

On the bed, An guifei's eyes snapped open. He closed his eyes in a panic after remembering the Empress' order, but he couldn't calm himself. Did the Empress truly mean what he thought she said? This, this was too absurd.

An guifei's thoughts were panicked and complicated. He didn't dare to move a single inch while lying on the bed. He conjured terrifying situations in his head for a while, imagining the Empress' next movements, switching from trembling from fear to feeling intensely curious and wanting to open his eyes. Eventually, after a fitful night of imagination and conjuring up dark imagery, he finally fell asleep after much torment around zis.h.i.+ (11 pm – 1 am).

“Empress, is Your Majesty not resting?” The moon had already risen far into the dark sky, but the Empress still hadn't moved to retire for the night. The King Consort was still kneeling outside the Empress' quarters. Feng Ying hesitated to ask. There had been many court and palace matters to handle,  and the changed Empress had turned taciturn and uncommunicative.

“You are all dismissed.”

“Yes.” Fengying and several palace attendants withdrew, but Feng Ying stayed close to the entrance of the hall, standing by to wait on the Empress. Not too far away was the kneeling King Consort. She couldn't see his face or what expression he currently had, but judging from his trembling body, the King Consort was really suffering.

Alas, everyone in the palace understood the Empress' temperament and disposition. She had never been a caring or considerate person, so why torture yourself so on such a person? Feng Ying inwardly sighed.

After a while had pa.s.sed, Qianhe Liyou set down the book in her hand. Although she was not sleepy, she didn't want to sit there all night. After thinking of this, she walked over to the bed and picked up the sleeping An guifei, moving him closer to the inner side of the bed to make s.p.a.ce for herself. Keeping her outer wear on, she laid on the outer side of the bed. Although she had not touched An guifei too much, this kind of intimacy was rare to her as she was quite sensitive to the smell of humans. If she didn't like someone, she would never allow that person in question to be in such close proximity.

The smell of this man was very light, with hints of sweetness, and she was not disgusted…

Before sunrise the next day, Qianhe Liyou got up and walked out of her quarters. Luo Weiqing was still kneeling at the entrance.

“No one can force zhen to do what zhen does not want to do. Do you really think that just by kneeling here, it'll convince zhen and make zhen pity you?” Qianhe Liyou's cold tone was filled with a trace of unconcealable anger. Such stubborn people really made her feel a little agitated.

“Empress…cough, this consort dares not. This consort is simply exerting the utmost of my abilities and resigning the rest to the decree of Heaven!”*This weak voice interrupted by bouts of coughing still had the vigor of determination and perseverance holding it up. He had already gone numb all over after kneeling for a day and night. He didn't know how long it would go on, but he wasn't planning on giving up.

*Here, Luo Weiqing is doing the best she can and leaving her fate and the result of her efforts to the will of the heavens. You can think of it like 'man proposes, G.o.d disposes'.

“….Good, very good.” Seeing Luo Weiqing's stubborn response, Qianhe Liyou was surprised. Her anger gradually subsided, but she was still unwilling to agree to his request. In a daze, she just said two 'good' phrases and left the Qin Palace.

“Empress.” Feng Ying had heard word from other palace attendants that the Empress had risen, and had hurried over. She quickly followed behind the Empress, a little doubtful. Judging from this direction, just where was the Empress headed?

“To the Sky Prison.” She had no plans on changing her previous decision, but she wanted to see that man and planned to give that man one final chance to beg her for forgiveness. This could be regarded as the actions brought about by Luo Weiqing's request.

The Sky Prison was located on the north side of the Imperial Palace, a quarter of an hour's walk for Qianhe Liyou. As she quietly approached the desolate Sky Prison, she quickly pa.s.sed the surprised prison guards and ordered someone to retrieve Situ Hongyu.

“Empress, you have finally come…” Situ Hongyu was dressed in a white prison uniform. When he caught sight of the Empress, he instantly burst into tears, his charming looks reduced to a haggard and pale face.

“All of you…get out.” Qianhe Liyou dismissed every attendant and guard present.

“Situ Hongyu, zhen is here to give you one last chance. You can say whatever you have to say. If you are able to convince zhen, you and your child may have the slim possibility of survival. If you cannot convince zhen, then you and our child will leave this world together.” If he could state any legitimate reason, she could make an excuse to not kill the mother-child pair.

“….Empress, Your Majesty is really ruthless. There are some things that if this consort says, Your Majesty will not believe me. This consort really did not know of my Mother's rebellious thoughts. Although this consort indeed hopes for the Situ family clan to flourish magnificently, never did I harbor any traitorous intentions against you, the Empress…”

“Enough. Zhen doesn't want to hear this. If you have nothing else to say, zhen will leave.” Qianhe Liyou had interrupted Situ Hongyu, not wanting to hear those words right now.

A look of panic flashed over Situ Hongyu's face and he anxiously uttered: “Empress, this consort doesn't want to go this far, but this consort has always been of one mind and heart to the Empress. Now that it has come to this point, this consort doesn't dare to ask for more and merely hopes that the Empress, on account of past tenderness, can let this consort give birth to this child. No matter how many faults this consort may have, this child in my stomach is still, after all, the Empress' own flesh and blood.” Now that he was in this precarious situation, he really had nothing else he wanted. He only hoped that he could safely bring this child into the world and he would be satisfied.

“Zhen doesn't want this child, it is absolutely meaningless to zhen.” With just this level of pleading, she could not be convinced.

“Empress, is Your Majesty punis.h.i.+ng this consort? This consort has nothing left, only this child left, the blood and flesh of your n.o.ble lineage. How can Your Majesty say it means nothing to you? Empress, this consort begs you, just spare this child! He is innocent, just a poor little soul doomed to lose his father before he can even learn to speak. Can Your Majesty not even tolerate your own child?”

“You also know that it is destined to be unhappy. Then why should this child be born?”

“No, this consort does not know that. This consort only knows that this child has the right to be born into this world. In the past, this consort had made mistakes and did a lot of unforgivable things. Those innocent lives were lost because of my actions. This consort can't even be considered human and now knows that it was wrong. This consort understands that this is so-called retribution, the karmic cycle returning oneself. This consort's last wish and hope is that this child can be carried to term safely. Empress, Your Majesty has promised this consort before, you said that as long as it is within your capabilities to do so, you would fulfill this consort's request. At this consort's birthday banquet, Your Majesty also said your gift was a promise. Once this consort thought of something, Your Majesty was prepared to give it. Now that it has come to this point, your consort has nothing else to ask for. I just hope that Your Majesty can keep your promise and let this child be. Whether the child is born, whether it will suffer or live happily in the future, this consort is considered to have fulfilled his obligation as a father…” Situ Hongyu became more emotional as time went on, tears uncontrollably flowing down his face as he begged the cold person in front of him.

He didn't know what should be said to persuade the Empress. He only knew to beg and plead for the child in his stomach, intently wis.h.i.+ng and hoping that he would be able to keep this child.

Qianhe Liyou regarded the man's ugly and hot tears, his unattractive crying face and suddenly reached out a hand to touch the man's messy hair. Then, as if she realized what she had just done, she jerked her hand away in surprise.

“Zhen promises you, you are allowed to give birth to this child.” She remembered those promises and seeing how miserable this man looked, she knew that he was being sincere. Particularly, she was reminded of Luo Weiqing, the King Consort's words. This child still held no meaning to her and she wasn't expectant of this child's birth. On the other hand, she didn't particularly dislike the child's birth. She merely regarded this child as a remedy for past sentiments, a form of farewell and memorial to the past. This couldn't be regarded as repayment in a relations.h.i.+p where nothing was considered owed. Hence, she spared this child.

“Truly? Thank you Your Majesty, Empress, thank you, this consort knew, knew you would…”

Qianhe Liyou didn't want to listen to the rest of what Situ Hongyu had to say. With a quick turn, she left the Sky Prison. The lingering coldness and unclean living environment of the Sky Prison was not suitable for pregnant men. She ordered Feng Ying to escort Situ Hongyu out and arrange for a residence in the Cold Palace.

After leaving the Sky Prison, Qianhe Liyou walked towards her bedroom quarters. Luo Weiqing was still kneeling there, a stubborn back facing him.