In ancient times, she gave birth to seven daughters and was divorced by her husband's family.

The emperor's eyes twitched imperceptibly. "Oh, never mind. This is fine!"

Two more days of life is two more days.

The emperor nodded and agreed.

In fact, the emperor did not want to kill Pei Huizhou, and his previous anger had passed.

Thinking about every moment he had spent with Pei Huizhou, he softened his heart and felt extremely sad.

He thought, why not kick Pei Huizhou out and tell him never to return to Dawu again...

Wouldn't it be enough to destroy his martial arts, give him some money, and let him live as an ordinary person in the outside world?

Pei Huizhou wasn't a good kid, but if he could grow up smoothly...

Maybe I can live a bright and cheerful life like the prince.

The emperor's apology to him had already piled up in his heart and could not be expressed in words.

The more I think about it, the more I feel: Why not just let it go...

Isn’t Bai Lu living well now?

Just make a mistake and be wrong.

But when he thought of the sufferings Bai Lu had endured, the emperor hesitated again.

He was just struggling with this, but the Turkic Khan happened to cause such an incident, which gave him a logical reason.

Now, in order to save Bai Lu, Pei Huizhou must stay alive no matter what. Let’s just leave it at that for now. We can discuss the rest later. Let Pei Huizhou live a few more days first.

"Send an order immediately, telling them not to kill Pei Huizhou," the emperor instructed the Duke of Liang, adding, "Also, bring Pei Huizhou out and give him some training. Leave immediately and send him to Zhaozhou to exchange Bai Lu for him."

He waved his hand, his face filled with anxiety: "If Bai Lu can't be brought back, then you don't have to come back!"

Prime Minister Wang and Duke Liang responded quickly.

Both of them are important officials in the court. They set out together this time just to get Bai Lu back.

This matter had already alarmed the entire court.

The emperor issued a secret order, instructing his ministers not to spread the rumor that Bai Lu was abducted to Zhaozhou, and not to mention that he had met the prefect of Zhaozhou.

The ministers all knew the seriousness of the matter, and no one dared to say a word.

But Prime Minister Wang and Duke Liang packed up and left the city overnight, taking Pei Huizhou, who was originally scheduled to be executed...

No matter how big Kyoto is, it can't hide the truth.

Many ministers closed their doors to their houses and saw the women discussing among themselves, "What happened? Your Majesty actually sent Wang Shoufu and Duke Liang together?"

"Could it be that the Huns are about to surrender?"

"With such a big scene, what else could it be except the Xiongnu's surrender?"

"..."

Listening to these speculations, some ministers could not help but shake their heads and sigh, muttering to themselves: "What a sin, what a sin!"

"Anyway, don't ask too many questions. These are not things a woman should be involved in!!"

The situation in Kyoto has long been turbulent.

The day after Pei Huizhou left, the queen fell ill in the palace and was in critical condition.

Many ladies from Kyoto were summoned to the palace to talk to the queen and cheer her up.

When the emperor came back from the morning court, he didn't even enter the imperial study, but went straight to the queen's palace to accompany her.

Recently, the emperor has been very cold towards the queen. He almost sent her to the cold palace and even took away the phoenix seal and gave it directly to the concubines below.

Later, the emperor decided to suppress the queen's stupid behavior. After the imperial decree granting Bai Lu and Pei Huizhou's marriage was blamed on him, he did not intend to let the queen off easily.

I wanted to give her a light punishment but unexpectedly... the Queen's condition became even worse.

Now his life is in critical condition, he can hardly move, lying unconscious in bed.

After the ladies were summoned, they looked at each other with confusion on their faces.

The Queen is so ill, what's the point of Your Majesty calling them here?

This is totally useless.

They originally thought that the Queen might be unhappy about something, and they came to chat with her and relieve her boredom. Maybe the Queen's condition would get better, and they could also help a little.

But now, seeing the Queen in this state, everyone looked troubled, not knowing what to do...

At this time, General Murong's wife couldn't help but shake her head and sigh: "Alas, the Queen's condition, I'm afraid she won't be able to see the day when the Crown Prince marries the Crown Princess..."

As soon as these words fell, the emperor, who had just walked in, became furious and immediately said, "Bah!" "Go away! If you can't speak, get out now. We don't need you here!"

General Murong's wife's heart skipped a beat, and she felt secretly annoyed: Oh, it's all my fault for having such a stinky mouth, I kept talking nonsense!

She trembled and bowed to the emperor, wishing she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

At this moment, the queen suddenly woke up.

She slowly opened her eyes, looked up at the emperor, and said in a voice as weak as the wind: "Your Majesty, you are back."

"Your Majesty, stop scolding her. She is not wrong."

"What are you doing summoning so many ladies into the palace? Let them go back..."

The voice sounded weak, as if it would die in the next second.

The emperor's eyes welled up, and he whispered, "Aren't these the sisters you mentioned earlier...who are all close friends?"

"If you don't like the concubines in the palace, then I will ask them to come and accompany you."

"Are you still not happy about this?"

The ladies hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed respectfully to the queen, but their hearts were filled with anxiety.

The air was silent for a long time, and the queen's voice became weaker and weaker, almost as if she was barely breathing.

"I don't like crowds."

"If Your Majesty wishes to accompany me, please let them leave first and you can talk to me alone."

"It's been a long time since I've had a proper conversation with you."

These words were spoken weakly, as if he would die at any moment.

The ladies did not dare to stay any longer. They only heard the emperor say to them in a stern voice, "All of you, go out."

"Yes."

The ladies all stood up and left, exchanging glances with each other as they left the house, and no one dared to say anything more.

After returning to their respective residences, General Murong's wife soon received invitations from other ladies of high rank. Everyone gathered in General Murong's residence, discussing with concern: "If the Empress is truly no longer able to live, and the position of Empress is left vacant, I'm afraid there will be chaos again."

"Once the harem is in turmoil, the former dynasty will certainly be uneasy. Who knows what kind of trouble the ministers will cause then..."

"There are still a few princes. Now that the queen is still here, it's fine."

"But if the Queen is gone...if their biological mother is made the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness's position will be unstable! This could even lead to a fight for the throne!"

After hearing this, General Murong's wife frowned, and surprisingly she no longer had the silly look she had when she was talking nonsense in front of the emperor.

She said calmly, "The Queen has three legitimate sons, why are you worrying so much?"

After hearing this, everyone twitched their lips and was speechless for a moment.

Yes, even if something happens to the crown prince, aren’t there still two other princes?

However, General Murong's wife quickly changed the subject and asked with some confusion, "You want to come to my house to talk, why did you specifically send me an invitation?"

Everyone looked at each other and then burst into laughter.

This is just an episode.

After all, even if the queen is really gone, her sons' status will not be threatened.

Besides, the emperor now feels guilty towards the queen, and he will certainly not mistreat her children badly in the future.

At this time, only the emperor and the queen were left in the queen's palace.

The queen struggled to sit up. The emperor looked at her and felt that she was even thinner than the last few times they met.

When I saw her at the window earlier, she was already very skinny.

Later, I found out about the stupid things she had done and had a big fight with her. Although I met her that time, I didn't look at her carefully, nor did I notice whether she had lost weight again.

But now, the queen is on the verge of death and is extremely ill. It is obvious that she is about to die, and all her vitality is almost exhausted.

The emperor felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he recalled what the imperial physician had said before.

I'm afraid the Queen won't be able to survive even ten days.

He closed his eyes silently, and when he opened them again, the corners of his eyes were red: "Queen, is there anything you want to say to me?"

He lowered his voice, as if afraid of disturbing her.

The Queen looked at the Emperor quietly for a long moment before she spoke softly, "Your Majesty, look... don't I look very ugly now?"

The emperor pondered for a moment and said seriously, "It's not ugly."

The queen curled her lips into a faint smile, but then she heard the emperor say, "You were never the most beautiful before, so it doesn't matter whether you are ugly or not."

"When I married you, I valued your virtue and moral character, not your looks."

He looked at the queen and softened his tone: "Queen, don't dwell on these trivial matters."

"You are like this now because of your illness."

"When you recover from your illness, your appearance will naturally return to normal."

The queen was speechless after being confronted by him. She just looked at him quietly, not wanting to argue with him. She only said softly: "Your Majesty, I am afraid that this illness of mine will not be cured."

"Let other sisters take care of the affairs in the palace from now on."

After hearing this, the emperor could no longer hold back his tears.

He wiped his eyes, knowing clearly.

This might be the last time they meet.

The next time we meet will be on the day the Queen passes away...

The Queen spoke slowly, her voice still weak: "The court is busy with affairs now, and Your Majesty is already too busy to attend to them, and cannot often accompany me..."

"I am very grateful that you can take the time to visit me today, and I don't want to be a burden to Your Majesty any longer."

"If there are any matters that require your attention, I would like to tell Your Majesty today."

The emperor opened his mouth, his tone somewhat helpless: "Why are you so pessimistic?"

"You are still young, and your children are not married yet. Don't you want to see them get married and start their own families?"

"...Besides, Bai Lu is a miracle doctor. Once I rescue her, I'll let her treat you. You'll definitely get better."

The Queen listened and smiled slowly: "Your Majesty, you can deceive others, but you can't deceive me."

"I know my own body best."

"Besides, I harmed Bai Lu before. When she returns, I'm afraid she'll break off relations with me... I just hope she won't become estranged from the children."

As she spoke, she pulled out a handwritten letter from her pillow and solemnly handed it to the emperor: "Your Majesty, this is a letter of apology written by me to Bai Lu. Please pass it to her later."

"By the time Bai Lu is rescued, I'm afraid I'll no longer be here."

"...This letter, please consider it as my last writing."

The queen knew that Bailu was always generous, and the children had never done anything to her or treated her unfairly.

Although the queen knew all this, she was still afraid that there would be problems between Bai Lu and the children, so she wrote this letter of apology, taking all the blame on herself.

This way, I can feel more at ease when she leaves.

The emperor clutched the letter tightly and said nothing.

The Queen spoke again, "Your Majesty...Also, this letter is for you."

She took out another letter and handed it over. The emperor looked at the words "Your Majesty's Personal Letter" on the envelope and was stunned. "If you have anything to say, why don't you tell me in person?"

"There are some things that if I tell Your Majesty in person, you won't listen."

"It would be better to wait until I die, and then you can see."

The queen smiled softly.

The emperor nodded and said repeatedly, "I understand. I will keep these letters carefully and read them later."

"I will never peek, don't worry."

The queen nodded with satisfaction and asked the emperor to put the letter away.

Then the two sat side by side and talked about the past.

As they chatted, the Queen suddenly asked out of nowhere, "Your Majesty, have you ever really liked me all these years?"

The emperor was stunned for a moment, and then he nodded and said, "I really didn't like you at the beginning."

"I originally liked the lady from the Zhao family, and there's nothing to hide from you."

"But later, I really like you..."

The Queen looked at him and smiled slowly: "Your Majesty, have you ever really loved me?"

The emperor shook his head helplessly: "Queen, it's already this late, stop talking nonsense."

"Can I still lie to you?"

"You don't like me at all." The Queen said softly, "If you really like me, no matter what I do, you will tolerate me just like you tolerated Pei Huizhou."

The emperor was suddenly stunned!

Yes, if I really like the queen, I will forgive her no matter what mistakes she makes.

But...he didn't.

The Queen spoke slowly again: "Pei Huizhou was released by you later, right?"

The emperor lowered his head in silence, not daring to look her in the eye.

Suddenly, the Queen raised her voice and said, "Your Majesty, do you know why I suddenly became seriously ill?"

"It's because... you let that bastard Pei Huizhou out!"

The emperor suddenly opened his eyes wide and turned to look at the queen!

But the queen, who had always been gentle and docile, now showed a ferocious look, like an enraged beast.

"That bitch Pei Huizhou, he's the child of that old bitch!!"

"Do you really like the Zhao family's wife? Haha! It seems that you don't even understand yourself!!"

"You don't like me, nor do you like the Zhao family's wife!"

"From the beginning to the end, you've always loved that old bitch Pei Huizhou's mother!"

"So no matter what Pei Huizhou did, you can forgive him!"

"Even if he hurt Mrs. Zhao's only daughter... and hurt Bai Lu, you can forgive him!"

"Why? Why? We are your closest relatives!"

"Our Bai family has paid so much for you, yet you treat our Bai family so badly!"

The queen grabbed the emperor's shoulders tightly and shook him continuously.

The emperor never expected that the queen, who had been bedridden for a long time, would have so much strength at this moment!

His dragon robe was nearly torn, and the Queen's nails were digging into his flesh!

The Queen screamed, her voice filled with despair: "Our daughters of the Bai family... me, and Bai Lu, have all been terribly harmed by you..."

She no longer calls herself a concubine.

"What love, what favor, it's all fake! We are nothing but victims of your politics!"

"I entered the palace as a teenager and married a man I didn't love, and who didn't love me either! I competed for favors with so many women! I used my belly as a tool for reproduction, giving birth to one child after another, and then miscarrying one after another! Backstabbing! Poison! Witchcraft... I've seen everything dirty in the palace. Your palace may appear glamorous on the surface, but it's rotten inside!"

"I've been so disgusted for so many years!"

"Because of you, Bai Lu was lost as a pariah at a young age. She married a peasant. Divorced due to a difficult childbirth. She was labeled a widow and raised seven children, never marrying again. Her mother died young, her father didn't love her, and her brother died young..."

"Bai Lu and I have been adrift in this life... We've never been able to be ourselves..."