Chapter 300: Extra One: Want to See Her?

Extra One: Want to See Her?

Chi Nan Yi and Mo Junyan entered the Palace to pay their respects on the second day after their marriage.

The Emperor had been waiting in the Imperial Study since early morning.

"Xiao Li Zi, go urge them—what are those two dawdling for!"

Li Gonggong responded and prepared to leave, but before he had taken two steps he was called back.

"Enough, enough, they're newlyweds, it's normal for them to rise late," the Emperor said, picking up a memorial and reading a few pages before irritably tossing it aside: "That brat can't forget the matter of entering the Palace to pay his respects, can he?"

At that moment, a young eunuch hurried in: "Your Majesty…"

"But have the two arrived?"

"No, Your Majesty, it's not the Crown Prince and Crown Princess; a message came from the Cold Palace—Empress wishes to see you."

"Hmph!" the Emperor snorted coldly.

Sensing his mood shift, Li Gonggong patted the young eunuch's head: "Heartless thing, why bring this up on such a joyous day? You've angered the Emperor—watch your head carefully."

The eunuch wore a bitter expression; Li Gonggong intended to dismiss him, but the eunuch's feet seemed rooted, refusing to move an inch.

"Tsk, what are you still lingering here for?"

"Your Majesty," the eunuch thought a moment, then whispered: "Empress says there is a matter concerning White Noble Consort that she wishes to tell you."

White Noble Consort…

Li Gonggong's complexion changed abruptly, and he hurriedly turned to face the Emperor behind him.

His previously jubilant face was now clouded with murderous intent.

His eyes darkened as he stared at the eunuch, and in a deep voice he said word for word: "What did you just say?"

"No, Your Majesty, Empress said it concerns White Noble Consort; I dared not delay, so I came to the Imperial Study to find you."

The Emperor slammed the tea cup he held onto the table; the cup shattered into pieces, porcelain shards scattering across the floor.

He rose in anger, strode out of the Imperial Study, and headed toward the Cold Palace.

At that moment, in the Cold Palace, the Empress sat before a cracked bronze mirror, lifted a comb to smooth her temples; after only a few months, her hair had already turned gray, and her once radiant face was now marked by fatigue.

"Your Majesty, will the Emperor truly come?"

【4】 In the Cold Palace, only her personal attendant remained.

In the Cold Palace, only her personal nanny was there.

"He will," the Empress smiled faintly: "As long as the White family is mentioned, the Emperor will come to see me at any time."

"Your Majesty, White Noble Consort is your final bargaining chip; if used now…"

"No need now—must we wait until the day I die to use her?" the Empress said calmly: "It was the Emperor who first showed me no mercy; since he is merciless, I will no longer show any courtesy either."

At that moment, footsteps sounded outside the Cold Palace.

The Empress's lips curled slightly, half mock, half self‑derision: "What did I just say? The Emperor—he will certainly come."

As soon as the words left her mouth, the room's door was violently kicked open.

A bright yellow figure appeared in the doorway.

The Emperor's eyes brimmed with anger as he stared at her with a cold expression.

"Qin, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"Your Majesty, why stand at the doorway? I have tea in my chamber—though not your Dragon Well, it is still fragrant. Would you like to taste it?"

The Emperor heard this, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes: "I have no time for your nonsense; speak quickly."

"Hehe, Your Majesty really is hot‑tempered; this is just like years ago. I still remember, on the day of the Empress's coronation, the words you said to me," she lifted her wrist, pointing to the jade bracelet on it, eyes full of affection: "You said I should wear this bracelet every day, as a symbol of your love that would stay with me forever. Do you still remember?"

The Emperor furrowed his brows, his face impatient: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Since I came to your side, Emperor, you have dote on me; who wouldn't praise the deep love between emperor and empress? I also believed your feelings were sincere, that you loved me. I longed daily to bear you offspring, to give you a son, but the princess I gave birth to died prematurely, and since then I have had no children. I thought I had damaged my own foundation, so the palace physicians have been treating me for years, yet I never saw a single son or daughter." After speaking, she brushed her hand over the bracelet on her wrist: "Later, my father secretly brought a Qin family physician into the palace to examine my pulse, and I learned that it wasn't my body that was harmed; it was you, Emperor, who prevented me from bearing children! Even when I later used secret methods, I could only become pregnant barely, and could not keep the child."

At this point, her eyes burned with fury as she pointed at the bracelet and shouted, "It was you, Emperor! You personally destroyed my chance to become a mother! This is not a jade bracelet at all—it's the Hu Shan Emerald from the Northern Frontier! Its effect surpasses musk, yet it is colorless and odorless; wearing it long‑term renders a woman completely infertile. From the start, Your Majesty never intended me to bear children!" The Empress stared, eyes wide with despair, and said, "Why! Emperor, why treat me this way? I have been devoted to you, how could you…"

"Devoted entirely?" the Emperor sneered: "Your devotion, Empress, is a burden I cannot bear." His gaze was indifferent as he looked at the woman who kept proclaiming her love for him: "Your devotion has never been for me, but for the power and status I can grant you. You now claim love for me, yet if you bore a son, you would be eager for my swift demise."

The Empress was left speechless.

"Today I will not listen to your nonsense; tell me what the matter concerning the White family actually is," the Emperor said.

"Heh, I never expected that wretch, long dead for years, could still be on the Emperor's mind like this."

"Silence!" the Emperor shouted angrily: "You have no right to call her that."

"What, do you think I forced her to death?" the Empress's eyes flashed with madness: "It was you, Emperor! You personally forced her to die! For your great cause and empire, you sacrificed her in your arms."

The Emperor heard this, and veins bulged on his forehead.

"What, have I struck a sore spot, Emperor?" the Empress said, looking at his suffering, and laughed gleefully: "The only woman in this world who ever truly loved you has been forced to death by you; I wonder what you feel inside, Emperor."

"You!"

"Your Majesty wishes to see her again?" the Empress whispered: "If you agree to one request of mine, I will allow you to meet the White family."