On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Murong Yan listened attentively, her fingers unconsciously stroking the smooth porcelain wall of the teacup, sometimes frowning, sometimes nodding.

The atmosphere between the two of them switched seamlessly from an ambiguous one bordering on resentment to one of monarch and minister discussing national affairs.

Murong Yan has a quick mind and sharp insights. She either asks for details or makes supplements to Lin Zhen's suggestions, showing the strategic vision and decisiveness that a qualified emperor should have.

The only sounds in the warm room were the sound of tea and the two people's calm conversation.

Half an hour later, the discussion on military and national affairs came to an end.

The maid came forward silently and refilled the hot tea for the two of them.

Murong Yan waved her hand, signaling them to move away.

The air fell silent once more. The solemn expression on Murong Yan's face faded, replaced by a touch of ease and... a subtle hint of shyness.

She picked up a piece of kidney bean roll shaped like an exquisite rabbit and ate it in small bites, but her eyes wandered to the green bamboo outside the window, as if she was brewing something.

Lin Zhen looked at her quietly without urging her.

He understood Murong Yan's personality and knew that the more difficult it was for her to talk about something, the more important it was and the longer it would be weighing on her mind.

Finally, Murong Yan put down the kidney bean roll that she had only taken a small bite of, and her fingers nervously twisted the tassels on the brocade cushion.

She took a deep breath, as if making a great decision, and looked up at Lin Zhen. Her gaze was no longer as sharp as that of an emperor, nor was it as focused as when they had just discussed state affairs. Instead, it was filled with a deep confusion and... a hint of indescribable vulnerability and anticipation.

"Husband..." Her voice lowered, with a barely perceptible tremor, "I...I want to ask you something. A...private matter. I can only ask you."

"You say." Lin Zhen sat up straight with a serious expression.

Murong Yan's eyes wandered over Lin Zhen's face, as if to confirm his reliability.

Then, she leaned forward slightly, lowered her voice, and asked almost in a whisper:

"...Why...why can't I get pregnant?"

This sentence was like thunder, exploding in the quiet warm room!

Lin Zhen froze instantly!

Even though he was a man of deep thoughts and could remain calm even in the face of a huge army, he was caught off guard by this sudden and extremely private question!

Can’t get pregnant?!

He never expected that the deepest concern and expectation of this empress who controls the world and is decisive in killing people would be this!

After Murong Yan said this, her cheeks were already flushed, like the most gorgeous sunset in the sky, spreading all the way to her ears.

Those bright phoenix eyes were no longer as sharp and strong as before, but were filled with confusion, anxiety, grievance, and hidden underneath, a woman's most instinctive desire for the continuation of her bloodline.

She bit her lower lip slightly, looking like a helpless little girl, waiting for an answer from an adult.

"This..." Lin Zhen stuttered for a rare moment, his mind racing, and for a moment he didn't know how to answer.

He is the regent prince and also her husband, but the issue of offspring is not his sole responsibility. It involves the royal bloodline and the succession to the throne, which are earth-shaking events that shake the foundation of the country!

He carefully considered his words and spoke cautiously, "The matter of offspring concerns the bloodline of the state. It is determined by destiny, but also by human ethics... Your Majesty, please do not worry too much. Imperial Physician..."

"Don't mention those imperial physicians!" Murong Yan suddenly interrupted him, her voice filled with suppressed irritation and anger. "The Imperial Medical Bureau Director Zhang Jiebin, the Deputy Director Zhou Zhongjing, and seven or eight other imperial physicians who are known as the best in the country! They've taken my pulse countless times, and the prescriptions they've prescribed make me sick! They all said my pulse was stable, my body was healthy, and that the Dragon and Tiger's conjunction hadn't been missed! But what was the result?!"

Her voice became sharp, filled with uncontrollable grievance and anger.

"Year after year! Nothing happened! Qingwen and Qingxia gave birth to Chengyu and Chengshu for you! Yuewu and Gu Zhen also gave birth to daughters for you. But why did it have to be me?!"

She stood up suddenly and paced anxiously in front of the heated kang. Her bright yellow figure in the dim light looked like a phoenix trapped in a dragon robe.

"I asked the Embroidered Uniform Guards to investigate! If they can get pregnant, it means the problem isn't with you! Then where is the problem? With me?!"

She suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked down at Lin Zhen, her eyes filled with bloodshot and paranoid scrutiny: "Or is it... because you, Prince Lin, are afraid of me? Because I am the emperor? So when you are by my side, you never... never give your all?!"

She almost uttered the last few words through gritted teeth, her voice trembling, carrying with it an extreme sense of humiliation and the pain of not being acknowledged!

It's as if all her value as a woman is staked on this fertility!

"Your Majesty, be careful with your words!" Lin Zhen's expression suddenly changed!

This issue is too sharp and too dangerous!

It's almost questioning the emperor's dignity and his...ability!

He immediately stood up and bowed deeply. "Your Majesty is the Phoenix of the Ninth Heaven, the body of a true dragon and the Son of Heaven! I respect and fear Your Majesty, and my loyalty is as clear as the sun and the moon! I have absolutely no intention of disrespect! Matters of the bed were also the result of love, how dare I hold back? If I say this, I will never be able to atone for my sins, and I will even damage Your Majesty's prestige. I urge Your Majesty to be cautious with your words!"

His voice was strong, filled with fear and firm denial.

Seeing him deny it so nervously and solemnly, the paranoia and madness in Murong Yan's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a deeper fatigue and confusion.

She seemed to have lost all her strength. She slowly sat back on the warm kang and covered her face with her hands.

The wide sleeves of the bright yellow dragon robe slipped down, revealing two wrists as white as jade but trembling slightly.

After a long while, her shoulders twitched slightly, and low, suppressed sobs, like the cries of a wounded cub, flowed out intermittently from between her fingers.

"Then...then why...tell me...why...why has God been so cruel to me...I just want...to have a child of our own...to watch him grow up...to be as lively and lovely as Cheng Yu and Cheng Shu...to watch him inherit this kingdom...why is it so difficult..."

Her words were broken, filled with helplessness, despair and deep resentment.

She was no longer the emperor who commanded the world, but just a desperate and helpless woman who was trapped in the dilemma of having a child.

Lin Zhen was shocked beyond words when he saw her like this.

He had never seen Murong Yan so vulnerable before. He was even a little at a loss.

After hesitating for a moment, he slowly sat down beside the warm kang, getting closer to her.

He did not try to touch her, but said in a very low and steady voice: "Don't underestimate yourself. What the imperial physician said must have a basis. I think, either... or..." He thought quickly in his mind of possible excuses.

"Perhaps Your Majesty is worried about state affairs, rising early and sleeping late, and overexerting himself mentally? You must know that mental fatigue disperses the essence, and worry damages the spleen, causing imbalances in the Ren and Chong meridians. This matter requires rest and relaxation. Furthermore, Your Majesty and I... after all... after all, our time is different, and we are often apart for far too long. Perhaps... our destiny has not arrived yet?"

Murong Yan's sobbing gradually subsided.

She slowly lowered her hand from covering her face, revealing her red eyes and tear-stained temples. Those watery phoenix eyes, filled with endless grievance, looked at him: "Rest? Relax? With all the mountains and rivers of this country and countless memorials, which one can I rest in peace about? In the dead of night, when I was dizzy from reviewing memorials, the midnight snack delivered by the imperial kitchen was 'Eight Treasures Yulin Soup' personally made by the Imperial Physician Zhang Jiebin!

A thick layer of precious medicinal herb residue settled at the bottom of the bowl! As I drank, I kept wondering… Is there any hope of fulfilling my wish in this bitter water?

Her words were tinged with bitter sarcasm. "We've been together so little... Lin Zhen, do you think I don't want you by my side all the time? But you're the Prince Regent! You're the 'Buddha of all families' in Hu County! How many eyes are on you and me, both inside and outside the court? What can I...what can I do? Lock you up in the Yangxin Palace? Let you become a sycophantic minister who only knows the pleasures of sex?"

She smiled self-deprecatingly, and tears began to fall again.

Lin Zhen was silent.

He knew that Murong Yan was telling the truth.

Their status meant they couldn't spend time together like ordinary couples, enjoying the joys of family. The hardships and constraints of the imperial palace weighed even more heavily on Murong Yan than he had imagined.

"Maybe... maybe it's because I didn't cultivate myself in my previous life, so this life is destined..." Murong Yan murmured, her tone sad.

"Yan'er!" Lin Zhen interrupted her abruptly. His voice was low, but it was filled with unquestionable firmness. "The Way of Heaven is profound and far-reaching. How can we speculate on it? Your Majesty, as a woman, inherited the throne. You have cultivated virtuous policies at home and defended against powerful enemies abroad. You have brought peace to the world of Daqian and have enabled the people to live and work in peace. This is an unprecedented virtue! Immeasurable merit!"

Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune, and will surely be blessed by Heaven! The matter of an heir is merely... merely a matter of time."

He could no longer use any excuses to shirk responsibility, and could only comfort her with words like "merit", "great blessing", and "divine favor", trying to give her a glimmer of hope that was vague but indispensable.

At the same time, he could only emphasize again, "I must also share your Majesty's worries, fulfill my duties to the country, and do my best for my family."

"Do your best..." Murong Yan chewed on these four words, looking at him with red and swollen eyes. Her gaze was like a deep pool, wanting to suck Lin Zhen in completely.

"How can you overcome it? Are you going to be as passionate and affectionate as you were to the little phoenix of the Liu family last night?" Her words were filled with biting jealousy and questioning. Her body leaned forward slightly again, her full breasts almost touching Lin Zhen's lapel, and a complex and inexplicable fire burned in her phoenix eyes.

Lin Zhen's body tensed up instantly, and an indescribable feeling of oppression came over him.

He opened his mouth, but found that any explanation was pale and powerless at this moment, and any excuse might lead to deeper misunderstanding.

He could only look at her helplessly, with a barely perceptible hint of pleading.

Looking at Lin Zhen's bewildered and helpless expression, the jealousy and questioning in Murong Yan's eyes slowly turned into a deep, insoluble sadness and bitterness.

She turned away, her voice filled with boundless fatigue: "Forget it... I... I am just sad. Watching Cheng Yu and Cheng Shu running around in the palace, watching other concubines get pregnant... I... I am just... a woman who wants to be a mother."

The last few words were as light as a mosquito's whisper, with a heartbreaking fragility.

The warm room fell into a suffocating silence once again, the only sound remaining was the flickering, crackling sound of the candlelight in the gilded dragon candlestick.

After an unknown amount of time, Murong Yan slowly stood up, walked to the imperial desk, picked up a memorial, and seemed to want to get back to work, but her fingertips were trembling slightly and she couldn't concentrate at all.

She put down the memorial, turned her back to Lin Zhen, and her voice returned to calm, though with a barely perceptible choke: "Let's stop here for today. I'm tired."

Her words were a clear warning to leave.

Lin Zhen felt a mixture of emotions. He could see Murong Yan's inner pain and her forced strength.

He stood up: "I'd better stay with you, what if it happens this time?"