She was the Empress, carrying the legitimate son of the Central Palace, yet she walked on thin ice within these deep palace walls.
She had been planning how to evade the Emperor's and the Wang family's watchful eyes, how to send her child out of the palace, so that he could live freely, unbound by any constraints, under the vast heavens.
She never expected that the opportunity would come with her aunt's passing.
Even in her final moments, the Emperor did not visit her. Only she was by her side.
Her aunt held her hand, smiling at her, as if she knew everything.
Later, she confirmed, her aunt knew everything.
Otherwise, how could she, on her own, have concealed the fact that she had not miscarried?
Her aunt said she was tired, and wondered if the late Emperor would wish to see her.
Her aunt said she regretted nothing she had done, except for letting her enter the palace.
Her disposition was not suited for the palace.
She said, "Jiaojiao, your aunt is sorry for you!"
Her aunt, on her deathbed, kept gazing towards the door. She must have desperately wished to see her son one last time.
The messengers she sent to Taiji Hall returned one by one with the same news: the Emperor was not in the palace.
Later, she learned that the Noble Consort was pregnant and, missing her family, the Emperor had accompanied her in disguise to Cheng'en Hou Mansion.
Her aunt had lived her entire life for others. In her dying moments, her only wish remained unfulfilled.
That night, she wept inconsolably, but her aunt could not be brought back.
From then on, no one would shelter her, no one would love her like her aunt did.
It was for the best, it was truly for the best.
Henceforth, her aunt would no longer be tormented between the Emperor's will and the family's interests, her heart and mind exhausted.
She only hoped her aunt would be reborn into a wealthy family, living a life of carefree joy, with a harmonious marriage and children and grandchildren surrounding her.
It was for the best, it was truly for the best.
Let her understand the Emperor's iron heart. She no longer dared to foolishly hope he would call her "Jiaojiao" again.
With her aunt's death, her own heart died with her.
From then on, there was no one in this deep palace who was connected to her.
Before her aunt's death, she left a final wish: to have the funeral rites held at Phoenix Mountain for eighty-one days before interment in the imperial mausoleum.
The Emperor and the Empress Dowager had been estranged for a long time. Perhaps it was the last shred of maternal affection, or perhaps it was guilt for not seeing her aunt one last time, but ultimately, he agreed.
She knew this was her aunt's final protection for her.
She requested to leave the palace to guard the Empress Dowager's mourning rites, and the Emperor granted her permission.
Those guarding the mourning rites at Phoenix Mountain were all former attendants of her aunt's palace. No matter how wary the Emperor was of her aunt, he would not guard against a dead person.
Beside her aunt's coffin, she gave birth to her child. The pain was excruciating, and at that moment, she felt she could not go on living.
She even thought it was for the best; she wouldn't have to see him again, and she could stay with her aunt. Yet, at that time, she still wished to see him one last time.
But she knew he would not come.
Even if he did, he might very well kill her child.
Living, it was truly exhausting!
When she felt she could no longer endure, she faintly heard her aunt's gentle voice calling her to live, not for the Emperor, not for the Wang family, but to hear her child call her "Mother."
For the child.
She lived.
Alas, they only had one day of mother-child connection.
She never expected to see Xie Yuanlang again after so many years.
Even less did she expect that he would...
She understood her aunt's intentions, but she could not go with him.
She could not implicate others.
She was the Empress of Great Wei.
She was the legitimate daughter of the Wang clan.
In terms of intelligence and strategy, she was far inferior to her aunt.
Yet, in her lifetime, she did not wish to see the Wang family suffer calamity, nor did she wish for the Emperor to be plagued by sleepless nights whenever he saw her.
After all, as long as she, the Empress of the Central Palace, remained in the palace, even if she could not bear a son, she could adopt a child from another consort, and would eventually become a threat.
Death?
That was even more impossible.
The Empress Dowager had passed away, and rumors were rife. If she were to die as well, the Wang family would naturally use it to their advantage.
The united opposition of the Five Great Clans would cause the imperial court to lose credibility, and the hard-won stability would be shattered once more.
Therefore, when she proposed to remain at Qianshan Temple to pray for Great Wei, the Emperor agreed.