As soon as she opened her eyes, she was forcibly carried back to the East Palace by the paranoid pri

Of course you can. He Yue repeated this sentence silently. She raised her eyes and looked directly at Emperor Jingmu. "Your Majesty, are you going to let me leave the palace? Why?"

She had only met Emperor Jingmu a few times. Why would he help her? Or did he want to use her to deal with Ning Rushong? It was a well-known fact that Emperor Jingmu and the Crown Prince were not on good terms.

"I owe your late husband a favor and I just want to repay it as soon as possible." Emperor Jingmu Qingyong's face remained calm and he took a sip of tea.

What? He Yue's pupils shrank, and she clenched her lowered hands suddenly, her finger bones turning white from the force. She felt as if something sharp had cut into her heart, and her voice was stagnant. "How could he know His Majesty?"

Her thoughts were in a mess and she fell into a state of great confusion.

The cup was gently placed on the table. Emperor Jingmu looked at He Yue's pale and bitter face and said, "Why not? Duan Qidai was once my best friend."

He Yue had never mentioned Duan Qidai's name to anyone. Ever since she traveled to ancient times, she had never thought that one day she would hear this unforgettable name again from someone else's mouth.

"Once." He Yue stood up in a panic, muttering with anticipation on her face, "What about now? Where is he?"

Her hand was shaking as she pointed at herself, her movements erratically. "Does he know I'm in the East Palace? Did he ask you to help me?"

He Yue had lost all her usual calmness, forgot all about hierarchy, and kept asking questions in confusion.

"Duan Qidai is your late husband." Emperor Jingmu emphasized the word "late husband".

My late husband, is Duan Qidai dead? He Yue lost her strength and sat back in her seat. She asked Emperor Jingmu unwillingly, "Then how do you know the relationship between him and me?"

Duan Qidai disappeared at the beginning, and it turned out that he had traveled to ancient times just like her. She finally got news about him again in the present, but was told that he was dead. This was like a sharp blade piercing through the chest, presenting all the bloody things before her eyes.

"I have seen the painting he made for you, and I know your name." Emperor Jingmu handed He Yue a snow-white silk handkerchief and spoke slowly and gently, not caring about her loss of composure, or rather, her current state was within his expectations. "Before he died, he engraved your name into the Duan family genealogy. He said that this was the delusion he had longed for all his life."

He Yue took the handkerchief but did not wipe away the tears that appeared out of nowhere. She wanted to say something but she was like a born mute and could not utter a single syllable.

Her shoulders couldn't stop shaking, her pearl hairpins and rings jingled, she raised her arm to pull out the hairpin and placed it casually on the table, her body hunched over and her back almost broke.

Emperor Jingmu picked up the rosary beads in his hand and stroked them one by one, his eyes half closed. After a long while, he spoke again, "Please accept my condolences. He told me that he didn't want you to come to this world, but he was afraid that things would go against his wishes, so he also left a way out for you. I am that most appropriate way out."

Indeed, there is no better way out than that of an emperor.

Emperor Jingmu took out a letter from the Taoist scripture compartment and placed it in front of He Yue. "This is the letter he wrote before his death. I am leaving it here."

He Yue's eyes were misty and she could not see clearly. She blinked hard and wiped her tear-stained hands with a handkerchief before she carefully took the envelope. When her fingers touched the outer edge of the envelope, she suddenly felt its reality.

She didn't dare to look at the letter now. She pressed it hard against her heart, but she tore open the scar that had not healed for many years.

It hurts so much! He Yue rested her other hand on the table to support her jagged spine. Duan Qidai, my heart hurts so much!

"I can help you fake your death and leave the palace. Then the Duan family will come to pick you up. You can stay in the Duan family." Emperor Jingmu said in a slow tone.

The Duan family is a reclusive family located in Xihedao. Most of the family members are scholars, but very few of them serve as officials in the court.

"When?" He Yue raised her head slightly, her willow-leaf eyes filled with silence.

Emperor Jingmu handed her a jade bracelet beside the table and explained, "It will take at least half a year. This jade bracelet can be opened. There are six fake death pills inside. Take one pill a month. From the surface, you will have a congenital disease and will slowly weaken until death. No imperial doctor can detect it."

He Yue carefully put the letter aside, forced herself to put the jade bracelet on her hand, and said in a dumb voice, "Medicine is three-quarters poisonous. What are the side effects of this medicine?"

"I have been weak for several years." Emperor Jingmu replied. He laid out all the facts before her. "The Crown Prince and I have not yet reached the point where we are completely at odds, so we cannot let him find out. I can only help you in this way."

He Yue's eyes fell on the letter, and he spoke slowly and gently, "It's really unfair. It's obvious that all the faults are on the prince, but I have to bear all the pain."

"I didn't want to marry him, so he led his army to take it away. I didn't want to stay in the East Palace, but I had to pay a heavy price."

She stroked the surface of the letter with her fingers. "He has everything materially, so he finds it a bit boring and uses me to fill the warmth and tenderness he wants. How can this be called logic?"

Soothing and cool incense was burning in the eight-sided incense cauldron in the inner hall of Kunning Palace. Emperor Jingmu and He Yue sat facing each other.

Emperor Jingmu pondered for a moment and gave an objective answer, "There is no justice in the world, and this is even more true in the palace. Some people are born noble, while others are rotten in the mud. The prince is a powerful person who grew up surrounded by gold and jade. It's not his fault that he can't learn to treat others fairly."

Since He Yue is powerless to resist the imperial power, he can only submit and obey. This is the truth.

Emperor Jingmu stood up calmly and said, "Take some time to adjust your appearance and state of mind, then you can go back to Biyuan."

Emperor Jingmu bent down, picked up the Taoist scripture and left through the side door of the inner hall.