The baby-making system is unreliable

"No, Eagle... I can't leave you alone..." Yun Ning'an was already sobbing uncontrollably.

"Silly girl, don't cry." Nurzhuo Ying wiped away her tears, his eyes gentle yet firm.

“Look into my eyes. Remember, no matter where you are in Chang'an or at the ends of the earth, I, Nurzhuoying, will always be your eagle.”

"I will protect you and our child like a shadow. Once the storm has passed, I will definitely come to find you both."

He pulled a pendant made of wolf fang from his pocket and placed it in her hand: "Take this, as if I'm with you. Be careful on the road, and when you get to the capital, find a way to send me a message."

Nurzhuo Ying helped her to her feet and draped a thick fox fur cloak over her, covering her still-not-yet-obvious belly.

“Go home. Our child needs a safe place to be born.”

Yun Ning'an gripped the wolf fang pendant tightly in her hand; the cold touch brought a sliver of clarity to her chaotic mind. She knew she had no choice. For the child in her womb, and for Nurzhuoying's sacrifice, she had to live.

She took one last look at the golden tent that had given her a brief but unforgettable happiness, then turned and walked out of the tent.

Nurzhuoying stood at the tent entrance, watching her figure disappear behind the carriage curtain, and watching the troop slowly start moving, gradually blending into the twilight of the grassland.

The tenderness and reluctance on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a chilling killing intent. He turned and walked towards his tent, where his scimitar and warhorse were already prepared.

Yun Ning'an, sitting in the bumpy carriage, clutched her abdomen tightly, her tears long since dried.

As she gazed at the rapidly receding grassland outside the window, only one thought occupied her mind: Go home and get help!

The frost of the fifteen days was etched on Yun Ning'an's haggard face, but it could not hide the urgency in her eyes.

As soon as the carriage stopped in front of the palace gate, she ignored Yun Ziyuan's attempts to stop her and staggered into the imperial study. The emperor, her father, was sitting on the dragon throne, wearily rubbing his temples.

"Father!" Yun Ning'an collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face. "I beg you, for the sake of our blood ties, send troops to the Turks! Nurzhuoying... he's in dire straits trying to protect me!"

The emperor's brush paused in mid-air, ink dripping and spreading into a dark cloud. He looked up, his gaze complex as he looked at his daughter who had weathered many storms. Before he could speak, Consort He's cold voice came from outside the hall.

"How dare you! Your safe return is thanks to your brother's efforts; how much trouble would it have taken to save him?!"

With a soft rustling of the beaded curtain, Consort He, dressed in splendid attire, walked in with unhurried steps, followed closely by Yun Ziyuan, whose expression was inscrutable.

Without even glancing at her kneeling daughter, she walked straight to the emperor, curtsied, and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects. My daughter has been traveling a long way and may have been possessed, for she has uttered such treacherous and harmful words. Please forgive her, Your Majesty."

"Mother!" Yun Ning'an looked up in disbelief. "I'm not lying! Ashina Sun has already..."

"Shut up!" Consort He interrupted her sharply, her eyes as sharp as knives. "Do you know what you're saying? Send troops to the Turks? Do you want hundreds of thousands of my soldiers to die for you... for a Turkic husband?"

"Mother, he is my husband, my husband!! The child in my womb cannot be without a father, I beg you, Father and Mother..."

Yun Ning'an's voice choked with emotion. She suddenly realized that in this magnificent palace, her suffering, her sorrow, and even the unborn child in her womb were nothing more than a pawn, a transaction.

Yun Ziyuan stepped forward and whispered, "Sister, please don't say anymore. Father is unwell, and Mother is only thinking of the bigger picture."

"The Turkic mutiny is an internal affair, and we have no reason to interfere. Moreover, the more chaotic the Turkic situation is, the more advantageous it is for us. Raising troops at this time would be without justification and would only give others ammunition to criticize us."

"No legitimate reason for your actions?" Yun Ning'an gave a bitter smile. She looked at her younger brother, the brother she once loved most, who now seemed so unfamiliar. "Ziyuan, you won't help me either? You're my own brother!"

Yun Ziyuan avoided her gaze, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. Although he felt reluctant, he could only remain silent.

Consort He stepped forward and personally helped her up, her tone suddenly softening, yet carrying an undeniable authority: "Ning'an, you're tired. Go back to Zhaoning Palace and rest well. As for the matter of the Turks, your father and brother will take care of it for you, and they will certainly not let you suffer any injustice."

"Your most important thing right now is to take care of the baby in your belly. That's the most important thing."

Consort He paused, a cold smile curving her lips, her eyes gleaming with a terrifying shrewdness.

“If a brute from the grasslands were truly capable, he should have led you back to fight his way out, instead of leaving you alone to come and beg for help.”

Her words were like a poisoned dagger, piercing Yun Ning'an's heart with pinpoint accuracy.

She understood that her mother had never intended to save Nurzhuoying from the beginning; in fact, she might have even hoped that he would die in the Turkic lands.

"Did my mother bring me back not out of consideration for family ties, but to control me and the child?"

Her mother rescued her not out of kinship, but for control, for the sake of the "little wolf cub" in her womb who could become a bargaining chip.

"Guards, escort the Second Princess back to the palace. No one is to disturb her without my order." Consort He turned away from her and said softly to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, look at this child. She's been through a lot and is quite confused. I've already ordered someone to prepare a calming soup so she can rest properly."

The palace servants stepped forward and, half-helping and half-pushing, led Yun Ning'an out. She did not struggle, but only glanced back as she walked out of the imperial study.

The emperor leaned wearily against the dragon throne, his eyes closed and silent, a silence that was also a form of approval.

His mother stood beside him, her posture dignified and graceful, yet her eyes were as cold as ice.

Meanwhile, her younger brother, Yun Ziyuan, was looking down as he organized the memorials on the table, seemingly unable to meet her gaze.

"It was you, it was you who wanted to send me to a marriage alliance!" Yun Ning'an stood before the high jade steps, her voice like shattered jade hitting the ground, clear yet trembling.

She gazed at the boundless sky, the world vast, yet it seemed there was no place for her to belong.

The wind lifted the hem of her plain white skirt, making her sway like a lone bird with a broken wing.

Her eyes were filled with tears, yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall. Her gaze swept over the tightly closed vermilion gate deep within the palace walls, as if trying to pierce through the layers of palace walls and look into the hearts of those who had personally pushed her into the abyss.

“I went, I went to the place you wanted me to go! I finally got used to it, accepted it, but now…”

Yun Ning'an looked up at the sky, her voice hoarse, yet each word was like a knife, "In this short year, I learned the Hu language in the wind and sand, listened to the war drums in the tent, and longed for my hometown on snowy nights..."

"But now, you won't even save my husband! Why?! Why is this happening?!"

The wind swept through the palace walls, lifting a stray strand of her hair, its chill biting cold.

She's back. But this time, the difference is that her heart is also locked inside.

Yun Ning'an staggered a step, her fingertips gripping the white marble railing tightly, her knuckles turning white.

“You call me a princess, yet you make me a sacrificial offering; you call me a member of the bloodline, yet you even block my way home…”

“What you’ve always wanted is power, not me.” She chuckled softly, tears finally falling. “What you want is complete obedience.”

……

News of the Turkic affairs quickly reached Yun Xinrou's ears, and she naturally learned of her return to the capital.

Yun Xinrou was sitting on a soft couch by the window, holding the infant Nan Yu in her arms. The child was sleeping soundly, his little face rosy and his breathing as soft as a feather.

She gently brushed aside the soft baby hair on his forehead with her fingertips, her lips curving slightly as if she were about to laugh out loud. But the smile didn't reach her eyes; it froze on her brow and turned into a long sigh.

“I can understand why Father did this; he was thinking of the bigger picture,” Yun Xinrou whispered, her voice as soft as a leaf falling into a deep pool.

"I just hope my second sister can take care of herself and give birth to her child safely. After all, that child is truly innocent."

Lin Xia stood behind the curtain, her brows furrowed. After a moment of contemplation, she slowly spoke: "I'm afraid His Majesty might not keep him... After all, that child has Turkic blood in his veins."

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent. It was as if even Nan Yu's breath had paused for a moment.

Yun Xinrou's fingers trembled suddenly, her fingertips stopping at the child's brow, as if burned by those words. She slowly raised her eyes, her gaze like the moon reflected in a cold pool, cold yet clear.

"Not staying? Not staying?! Not staying?" She murmured, repeating those two words as if it were the first time she had heard Lin Xiashen say them aloud.

She slowly withdrew her hand, her fingertips icy cold. She looked down at Nan Yu, and the child seemed to sense the change in his mother's emotions; his little mouth twitched, and he looked like he was about to cry.

Yun Xinrou quickly picked him up, gently patted him, and softly coaxed him, "Nanyu, don't cry, Mother is here. Don't be afraid, Mother is here!"

As she soothed the child, her thoughts drifted far away. Although her second sister, Yun Ning'an, didn't get along with her, she now faced this predicament.

“You’re right, it’s still undecided whether to keep or leave this child.” Yun Xinrou’s voice lowered, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

“I know my father’s temperament better than anyone. He wants absolute control and unquestionable imperial power. How could he tolerate a princess who returns with a ‘stain’, a child carrying the blood of an ‘enemy’ nation?”

The only reason it can still be kept is because the situation in the Turkic Khaganate is still unsettled, and we cannot act rashly for the time being.

Regardless of whether the child survives or not, Nurzhuoying is in danger. What the Emperor and his people probably want is for the entire Turkic Khaganate to be without a ruler.

And this child, he might become... become the last bloodline of the Turkic royal family, wouldn't that put us in a dilemma?

Could we use this child to unify the Turkic peoples? But what if this child grows up and seeks revenge?

If he wanted revenge, he should have sought it out on his uncles and aunts, but we... his maternal uncle stood by and did nothing, so it's hard to say whether he did anything underhanded.

Lin Xia quietly stepped forward, seemingly sensing her hesitation: "Your Highness, this matter is dangerous. If you intervene... you may bring trouble upon yourself."

"I'm just thinking about how to keep this child alive!" Yun Xinrou turned her head, her eyes sharp as blades, but when she looked at her son's younger brother, her gaze softened. "Since becoming a mother, I can't help but feel reluctant to part with these little lives whenever I see them."

She gently pressed Nan against her chest, as if trying to build a wall for him with her own body heat.

"My second sister has never liked me, and I had no intention of interfering in her affairs. But the fate of the child in her womb is ultimately a sword hanging over her head, unavoidable, causing her great unease."

Yun Xinrou walked slowly to the bed and gently laid the sleeping Nan Yu down, her movements as tender as caressing a feather. She straightened up, her gaze suddenly sharpening, like a cold star breaking through the fog, and looked straight at Lin Xiashen: "I need to go back to the palace to see Yun Ning'an."

Lin Xiashen's pupils contracted, and his voice tightened slightly: "But if Your Highness is implicated... there are spies everywhere in the palace, and His Majesty has long been wary of the Turkic bloodline. If you go there, it will be tantamount to putting yourself in danger."

"Then let it be involved. Anyway, my relationship with my father... has always been sometimes good and sometimes bad." She raised her hand, her fingertips gently stroking Nan's tender cheek, as if trying to etch his warmth into her palm.

Then, she looked up at Lin Xiashen, her eyes, which had once been filled with gentleness and forbearance, now held a resolute fire.

She paused, her voice lowering slightly, as if talking to herself, or perhaps sighing, "But... if I go to see her, she will probably still treat me like a stranger. But even so, I have no choice but to see her this one time."

The night was as dark as ink, the palace walls towered high, and the cold moon hung above the eaves, casting a pale, frosty glow. Yun Xinrou donned a black cloak, her silver ornaments jingling softly, yet her steps were as steady as a rock.

Lin Xiashen hesitated for a moment, then finally gripped the hilt of his sword and whispered, "I'll go with you."

“No need.” Yun Xinrou turned around and smiled, a smile like a plum blossom in the snow, lonely yet proud. “Why are you keeping an eye on us girls? You should take care of Nan and Anran. The two children will cry when they wake up.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she stepped onto the bluestone steps, her figure gradually disappearing into the night mist. The palace gates were not closed, yet they seemed to weigh a ton.

The guards recognized her face and, in their astonishment, tried to stop her, but were intimidated by her gaze.

Those gazes were like blades, slicing through cowardice; no one dared to stop them.

The long street was deserted, with only the echo of her footsteps. She walked along the once bustling palace road and finally stopped in front of the "Cold Fragrance Palace" in a secluded corner.

The door was mottled, and the candlelight was dim, casting a slender figure on the window paper, quietly playing the zither. The melody was mournful and plaintive.

Yun Xinrou raised her hand and gently knocked on the door knocker.

The sound of the piano stopped suddenly.

After a moment of silence, a clear, cold voice came from inside, completely calm: "Knowing that I am being held in solitary confinement, why have you come here?"

“I’ve come to see you,” Yun Xinrou said softly but firmly, her fingers curled as she glanced at the figures in the shadows. “I’ve come to see my second sister and the child in her womb.”

The door slowly opened, and Yun Ning stood under the lamp, dressed in white as snow, her face pale, but her eyes were like cold stars, as cold as ever.

She looked at Yun Xinrou, her lips slightly raised, but the smile did not reach her eyes: "Your Highness is now so noble, yet you still care about someone like me who has lost all hope? That's truly rare."