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  The Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, wearing a four-clawed dragon robe and a wing-shaped crown on his head, appeared majestically in the main hall of the Kun Ning Palace. He was about thirty years old, with a slender and straight figure, a thin face as white as snow, and a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes that seemed to hold a smile, looking very elegant and refined.

  His Majesty arrived, and the entire hall from the empress to the palace maids all knelt down. Ming Xuan and Huang Yi naturally couldn't escape either. The two exchanged a glance, then quietly moved their bodies to the back, imitating others' mannerisms as they paid respects, being extremely low-key, burying their heads very low, fearing to attract attention, but also not wanting anyone to pick out any mistakes.

  The Emperor still recognized them at first glance, he first declared a pause, letting everyone reseat themselves, and then sat down with Empress Pei on the Golden Phoenix Throne before turning around to ask with a smile, "Are these two the Princess of Anping and Huang Yiniang?"

  Ming Xuan's eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and she felt a slight discomfort in her heart.

  She's actually quite all right, as the younger sister of the first empress and also half-aunt to the emperor. Now she is also the princess consort of Anping, they met at the Lantern Festival banquet on the 15th day of the first month, so it wouldn't be too much for her to pay respects in front of him. But Huang Yi is an unmarried girl, the emperor openly naming her like this is actually quite abrupt.

  At the moment of slight hesitation, she felt a gentle tug on her sleeve from behind and suppressed her thoughts. With a respectful yet distant smile, she took a step forward and bowed, "The wife of Anping Wangfu's Gu family has seen Your Majesty, wishing Your Majesty eternal prosperity and peace."

  Huang Yi followed closely behind Ming Xuan, mimicking her movements as she recited it once again.

  The emperor's curious gaze kept turning on Huang Yi, with a few points of inquiry and scrutiny. He seemed to be chatting lightly with Huang Yi for a few sentences, although he didn't explicitly point out Huang Yi's identity, but only talked about the customs and people of Nanjiang, yet successfully led the topic to Lin'nan.

  This topic, Imperial Concubine Gu seemed to be still in a nonchalant manner, while Yu Hui Fei's face was slightly awkward, even with a few evasive. On the other hand, Empress Pei took over the conversation enthusiastically and lightly, occasionally harmonizing with the Emperor, as if they were a loving couple, completely dispelling the rumors of "treading on thin ice" between the Emperor and Empress in the imperial court.

  Although Huang Yi felt that the emperor and empress's enthusiasm for her was a bit strange, she had always been a straightforward person. Although she had learned the rules of the Zhou Dynasty very well, those deep twists and turns still didn't quite make sense to her. In their Miao tribe, men and women were open and honest with each other, and they valued simplicity and efficiency in their actions, unlike the Zhou Dynasty which had many taboos and complexities. Therefore, she actually didn't think it was inappropriate to discuss some southern customs with the emperor at this moment.

  However, she also resolutely refused to say another word. Most of the time, it was the emperor and empress who asked questions, and she picked out the key points to answer briefly and concisely.

  The emperor listened very seriously, with a look of great admiration on his face, but occasionally when his eyes glanced at Ming Xuan, he would suddenly dodge for no reason.

  Ming Xuan's heart was filled with wonder, she actually didn't remember how her past self and the emperor were related. But thinking about it, they should have been quite familiar with each other. Her older sister Ming Rong married the emperor at 16 years old and became his ninth imperial concubine for eight years until he ascended to the throne of Zhou Dynasty. During those eight years, as Ming Rong's only younger sister, Ming Xuan must have visited the Ninth Imperial Prince's residence before.

  At that time, the Ninth Prince's power was weak, while the Gu family of Yongning Houfu was a prominent and powerful family. The third master of the Gu family was once the top scholar in the imperial examination during the previous emperor's reign. Although he was only an idle official in the court, his learning and character were highly appreciated by the previous emperor. For such a family-in-law, regardless of whether the Ninth Prince was sincere or not, they would not intentionally keep their distance. Moreover, according to rumors, the Ninth Prince and his wife had a harmonious relationship, with deep affection for each other. Based on this, Ming Xuan and the Ninth Prince should have been familiar with each other in the past.

  Is it because of shame?

  Is it still because you dare not face it?

  Or is it because of something else?

  The year that the Yuhe Palace sent back to Yongning Houfu, the relics of Yuan Fei were all letters and notes. Sometimes it was a simple hand-painted picture with poems that expressed deep emotions; sometimes it was a passage of heartfelt feelings, straightforward and clear, reflecting Yuan Fei's state of mind at that time; sometimes it was endless sorrow and grievance, with every word and phrase implying more than what was explicitly stated.

  Ming Xuan carefully looked through every word and sentence, but there was nothing valuable in the box of relics. Instead, it contained Yuan Fei's heart journey over the years, her entwined love with the Emperor, as well as resentment, sorrow, and longing. In a rare ancient book, she once accidentally dropped a letter while flipping through its pages. It was written by the current Emperor when he was still the 9th prince. The slender handwriting was somewhat ethereal, but the words that fell on the page were extremely heavy: "Together in life and death, let us make a pact. Holding your hand, growing old together."

  Four years ago, Gu Mingrong was still not old, the fragrance color was still bright and colorful like the western sky cloud, shining with a touching light. However, the emperor had already insisted on sacrificing her for the great cause of the Jiangshan. Talking about the 15th night's reminiscence in the Yonghe Palace, it is said that at that time, no one knew Yuanfei's situation. Alas, those excuses were all laughable to her.

  As the king of the Great Zhou, the entire vast territory of the Zhou Dynasty was his, couldn't even grasp the guard of the imperial palace? The Yonghe Palace was sealed off for seven days, and the Empress and the palace maids were not allowed to enter or leave. There were heavy troops guarding the front of the hall, and whatever the Emperor said, she didn't know about it, and she absolutely didn't believe in such nonsense! However, at that time, the imperial court was turbulent, and he had just ascended to the throne without the previous emperor's will in his hand. He was somewhat illegitimate and couldn't convince the officials for a while. The remnants of the second prince were still provoking and shouting everywhere. Busy stabilizing his own regime, he didn't have the extra energy to deal with the affairs of the imperial palace.

  For an extremely ambitious king, keeping his throne is far more important than the safety of his queen.

  Later on, the mistake had already been made, and the Emperor knew that he had been remiss. For the sake of imperial dignity and face, he absolutely could not admit those oversights in front of a few palace maids. This was the reason for the rumors circulating outside the palace that Empress Yuan had starved herself to death. Because for the Emperor, Empress Yuan's chastity and loyalty were more acceptable than her actual cause of death, as she had cut ties with her parents during her lifetime.

  The so-called promise of life and death is just a promise after all.

  A hint of mockery and bitterness flashed in her eyes under the drooping eyelids.

  She thought that in the previous life, although women's rights were said to have been liberated, women were still a vulnerable group. Under the system of monogamy, how many men abandoned their wives and chased after flowers, and how many men discarded their wives who had gone through thick and thin with them on the road to wealth and glory or after they had achieved it? There were countless men who sacrificed their families and wives for their careers.

  And here is the ancient Zhou Dynasty, although it is a non-existent dynasty in history. According to the folk customs and habits here, at least five hundred years have passed since her previous life. Here, men having three wives and four concubines are legal, and being fond of new things and tired of old ones is normal. This is an era where male power and husband's rights are like two heavy mountains pressing on women's heads. How can she ask for and look at them with the standards of her previous life?

  Moreover, this man before us is the ruler of the world under the heavens, the monarch of the Zhou dynasty.

  In this era where imperial power trumps moral ethics, she had no way to accuse and despise the emperor for abandoning his promise from back then.

  After leaving Kun Ning Palace and changing to a sedan chair at An He Gate, after getting into the carriage of her own An Ping Wang Fu, Huang Yi changed from her previous silence. She tilted her head and said, "The Emperor and Empress have been asking me about Nan Jiang, but they haven't mentioned anything that would reveal my identity or mention Miao Zhai's mysteriousness. I'm a bit puzzled, what do they want to do with this behavior?"

  Ming Xuan's emotions had been somewhat down since the emperor arrived, until Huang Yi brought up this topic, and she slightly recovered. She furrowed her brow and said, "I'm not too clear either, let's go back to the mansion and ask Prince Wang for his opinion, we should also send someone to invite brother over to discuss it. I always feel that the emperor is being a bit too enthusiastic, which is unusual and suspicious. I'm afraid..."

  She was afraid that the emperor didn't know which string was wrong and wanted to personally take Huang Yi as his concubine, but she swallowed back this half sentence and didn't say it out loud.

  "What's wrong with Huang Yi? She smiled and shook her head, saying, "Xuan sister is here again. What I said to you the other day has all been forgotten. Although I'm wearing the clothes of a Central Plains person now, my whole body is poisonous. If I don't want to, anyone who gets within five steps of me will not have a good outcome. The emperor is not stupid either."

  Plotting against the Emperor is a heinous crime that would bring calamity to the entire Miao village, possibly even leading to its destruction. However, for the Emperor himself, no matter how great the commotion after his death, the assassin would be punished, and the Miao people would be buried with him - all of this would have lost its significance to him. Once he's dead, it's all over; the power he now tightly grasps in his hands would legally fall into someone else's possession, having nothing more to do with him.

  Huang Yi said nothing wrong, Your Majesty attaches so much importance to his throne and will certainly not do such a thing.

  Ming Xuan was not so optimistic. She carefully considered the meaning of Empress Pei's declaration that she and Huang Yi would enter the palace to pay their respects today, and two points could be confirmed.

  Firstly, Empress Pei must have acted under the Emperor's instructions; otherwise, given her current situation in the palace, she would not dare to take matters into her own hands and intervene in the affairs of Lin Nan. Secondly, the Emperor's desire to see Huang Yi is certainly not just about wanting to give her away in marriage to a minister; if it were merely an imperial decree for betrothal, the Emperor only needed to confirm Huang Yi's identity, and there would be no need to know what she looks like or what kind of temperament she has.

  The encounter in front of Kun Ning Palace, and the truth revealed by Ming Xuan in the side hall, made her certain that it was all a trap set by Empress Pei to take down Yu Huifeng, who had been deeply involved in the case of the former crown princess. At present, among the imperial consorts in the palace, only Yu Huifeng posed a direct and dangerous threat to Empress Pei's position. With her son being the eldest prince and her family becoming increasingly prominent, Yu Huifeng could replace Empress Pei as the mistress of the inner palace at any time, especially since Empress Pei's own family had fallen from power and had no backing.

  Ming Xuan was thinking, when she suddenly felt a violent shock to the carriage body. She quickly grabbed Huang Yi's hand, fearing that another intense impact would throw both of them out of the carriage. Fortunately, she had worried too much, and it was just a false alarm. The carriage stopped abruptly with a creak, but did not continue to have any intense collisions.

  She lifted the car curtain with a lingering fear, only to meet a pair of deep and cold eyes.

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