The Slender Waist-Chapter 219 - 156: Marriage by Rites_2

He was the Emperor.

Bearing such humiliation, enduring the mockery of the entire world, silently raising Pei Jue’s illegitimate child, even bestowing upon him the Xiao surname and granting him the status of the eldest imperial son...

But she...

Her body might have been in Cao Camp, but her heart remained with Han; not a single day did she forget Pei Jue, even though they later had Yuchu. In her heart, it was always that illegitimate child she cherished the most.

Back then, he was filled with resentment.

At his most bitter moments, he wished he could kill mother and son.

But in the end, he could not bring himself to do it.

The child called him "Father Emperor," respected him, feared him, and even tried to draw close to him. Even knowing that the boy was hers and Pei Jue’s, he could not bring himself to lay a hand on him.

He neglected her, neglected Xiao Qu, and allowed Lady Chen and Madam Feng Ying and daughter to plot in secret, embarrassing the mother and son...

As long as she came to him, he would have helped her.

But every time she opened her mouth to plead, it was invariably for that illegitimate child.

Only for that child would she kneel down.

Especially after Wen Xingsu’s death, she became even more silent, her face thinned beyond recognition. Even when she was punished to the Cold Palace, even when stripped of the title of Empress, she never yielded.

All of this was the result of her own doing, pitiful yet hateful. She got exactly what she brought upon herself.

He was the Emperor.

Was he expected to lower himself and plead with her?

Not until he learned of her death.

She died!

Died in the Cold Palace.

Died as Pei Jue breached Tai City...

If she had only waited a bit longer, perhaps she could have seen the web he had spun, trapping the man she pined over for years in Yuzhao Hall, how he had Pei Jue’s body torn to pieces and displayed at the city gates.

Originally, Pei Jue should not have entered the palace unprepared, with his massive army still outside the city, and one hundred thousand Imperial Guards still defending the imperial city. As a Great General who had fought on many battlefields, how could he not know how foolish it was to risk himself?

But Pei Jue came anyway.

Just like that day at Shiguan Dock, when he chased her on horseback, Pei Jue never gave up over the years, intent on snatching away his Empress.

It’s just that, she would never know any of these things.

She died with hatred for Pei Jue and for him.

When he first learned of Feng Yun’s death, he wasn’t heartbroken for too long.

From a young age, he had been obsessed with power; the refined elegance of a noble family was just a facade. What he truly desired was to avenge his parents, lacking what some call romantic emotions.

It was the same with Feng Ying, and it was the same with Feng Yun.

To him, women were just ornaments, not necessities.

If there was a difference, it was that she was more beautiful than Feng Ying, more to his liking, and harder for him to let go of...

In those years they spent together, his visits to Feng Ying’s palace could be counted on one hand, yet he dutifully visited her palace twice each month without fail.

Once in the middle of the month, and once at the end.

He was not a man of strong desires.

The court and the commoners both said the Emperor was diligent in affairs of state and never indulged in beauties, but only heaven knew how many times he stopped outside Yuzhao Palace, restraining himself and turning away.

He, too, could become obsessed. Profoundly so.

Otherwise, how could he have drugged Feng Ying, preventing her from bearing offspring, so that she would never become a mother for her entire life?

Wasn’t it all to ensure she remained honored as the mother of his child, graced with wealth and ranks?

No one knew how much he longed for the mid-month and month-end to arrive, and the days spent in her room felt like celebration. No one knew how deeply satisfied he was to hold her in his arms and be entangled with her in the dark of night.

It was only rational restraint that kept him from indulging.

The gentle township is the hero’s tomb.

She was poison, addictive, and once touched, one could never give her up, willing to give her his heart, to grovel at her feet, just for the sight of her joyful smile...

If he were an ordinary husband, he might have done so.

But he was the Emperor!

As ordained by heaven, two Emperors of Yanping lost their realms due to their indulgence in pleasures.

He could not do the deeds of a foolish ruler!

He would not allow years of tireless effort to be ruined in a single moment.

When Feng Yun died, he even felt a sense of relief within his heart—there was no one left in the world who could affect his emotions. Moreover, her death brought Pei Jue, allowing him to turn defeat into victory, to change the course of the battle, and from then on, the geopolitical situation between the north and south was altered, establishing his legacy as a benevolent ruler for ages to come.

Yet, as the days since Feng Yun’s death grew longer, his numb emotions slowly began to awaken, and missing her became painful, even leading to panic...

A month after Feng Yun’s death.

He held a grand funeral for her.

He buried her under the title "Great Martyr Empress of Daqi," recording the cause of her death as "Enemy invasion, Empress’ martyrdom" in the history books, and moved her coffin to his Imperial Mausoleum, hoping to be interred with her after death. He also named their son as the Crown Prince.

After his death, the realm he painstakingly nurtured for his entire life would belong to their son.

On the day her coffin was moved to the underground palace, he opened the casket to see her.

He thought that seeing her changed from a beautiful woman to decaying flesh would rid him of his obsession.

Unexpectedly, it led to unbearable pain, he collapsed on the spot, plunging into a nightmare ever since.

When she was interred, her coffin and the underground palace were filled with burial items, many of which he added later. Xiao Rong joked that he was almost willing to bury the entire realm with her...

The Emperor’s respect for his legitimate wife earned him endless praise.

However, merely three days later, a violent storm arrived. A lightning strike collapsed the underground palace, large trees fell over, and the whole mountain crumbled down.

She alone was buried underground, just like her days in Qi Palace...

She would rather suffer alone than share the splendor with him.

Though he was an Emperor, the richest man under heaven, with the power in his grasp, he could never regain that glorious face.

Loss is eternal.

The young girl who once called him "Xiao San Brother" under an umbrella in Yueya Alley, who loved him, hated him, was loved and hated by him, and who influenced his feelings for all his life, would never return.

He died in the thirteenth year of Yuchu.

By then, the landslides on Yunmang Mountain, where she was buried, had exposed bald patches of yellow earth, overgrown with wild grass and lush trees.

The Imperial Physician said he died of grief.

He was advised every day to drink medicinal soups, to nourish his body.

Yet he felt being an Emperor was tiring, and the moment of his death was paradoxically the most relaxing.

All aspirations turned to ashes, all was put to rest.

Who would have thought that heaven would actually give him a chance to start all over...

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back before his seizure of the throne, with plenty of time to strategize.

And the punishment from heaven was that he had returned too late.

Feng Jingteng had already dedicated her to Pei Jue, and he had also agreed to marry Feng Yun’s younger sister, Feng Ying, from the Feng Family.

All the suffering from his past life, he had to relive it all over again.