A Happy Event in a Farming Family: Marrying a Hunter

The emperor's eyes were dark, making his expression unreadable. "Yunluo, do you know what you're saying?"

Yun Luo withstood the murderous intent coming at her and calmed herself down. She couldn't panic at this moment. Whether she and Brother Qin could escape unscathed depended on this. "The Emperor is supreme, and no one under heaven dares to disobey him. But what if the Qin Marquis's family is innocent?"

"You mean... I was wrong?"

He was emperor his whole life, and he ascended to the throne at the age of fifteen. How could he be wrong?

Even if we're wrong, so what?

He is the emperor. So many years have passed. Even if he is wrong, he will continue to make the same mistake. If the Qin Marquis's family is punished, the historians will record a heavy sentence against him, and all his past achievements and contributions will be ruined.

He can't do this.

"Your Majesty, that's not what I meant..."

"Enough." The emperor said impatiently. "I don't care what you mean. The Qin family's crimes are irredeemable. I will let your rudeness slide because you are a woman and pregnant. However, you are Qin Zheng's wife, and that cannot be changed. Guards."

"emperor."

"Take this woman away and lock her in the Cold Green Palace. No one is allowed to approach her without my permission!"

"Yes!"

Yunlu had long expected this outcome, but she didn't expect it to be better than anticipated. She thought the emperor would imprison her in the imperial prison.

Yunlu was taken away, while the emperor stood in the imperial study, his expression unreadable.

After a long while, he turned back, took out a long-sealed memorial, which was densely covered with memorials from the Qin Marquis's mansion.

"emperor!"

The Empress brought in bird's nest porridge and noticed a folded document beside him. She said, "It's late, Your Majesty. Have something to eat and rest early."

"Empress, tell me, am I really wrong?" The emperor looked up at her, like a lost child who couldn't find his way.

The Empress walked behind the Emperor, patted his shoulders, and said softly, "I don't know about the affairs of the previous dynasty, but I can talk about Qin Zheng's wife. Does Your Majesty still remember our daughter, Changping?"

"remember."

Changping went to marry a foreign prince, thus maintaining peace between the two countries. However, the child was too homesick and fell ill. He passed away at a young age, which was a lifelong sorrow for him.

Seeing that his expression had softened, the Empress said, "No matter what the adults do, the child is always innocent. Especially that woman named Yunluo, whose child is not yet born. I have heard what she said today. She is just a wife who wants to protect her husband and a mother who wants to protect her child. When our Changping passed away, she left behind a two-year-old daughter. Wasn't she in the same boat?"

"But that child is a descendant of the Marquis of Qin!"

"What about future generations? The Qin Marquis's mansion no longer exists. Let alone whether the Emperor wants to punish Qin Zheng, even if he does, can the child in Yunluo's womb be executed as well? The child is innocent. Even for the sake of the Emperor's reputation, it is absolutely unacceptable."

"Your Majesty, have you dreamed of Changping? These days, I often think of how she used to follow us around and act cute when she was little. Those days were so wonderful. But Changping is gone. No matter how much I think about it or how much I regret it, she can't come back."

After saying this, she walked around to the emperor and said, "The matter of the Qin Marquis's residence is entirely up to Your Majesty to decide. I only hope that Your Majesty will not do anything that you will regret. I will take my leave."

The vast imperial study was now empty except for the emperor.

Regret?

Do you regret it?

He personally copied the name of his most capable general.

He did have his doubts at first, but because of his own selfish desires, he gave the order.

Over the years, his midnight dreams have been filled with the bloodshed of that night, and the fear of Qin Zheng returning for revenge.

Could it be that he was really wrong?

"Your Majesty," Wang Yun entered cautiously, "Prince Chen is kneeling outside, begging Your Majesty to spare Qin Zheng's life. Your Majesty, what do you think..."

"If he likes to kneel, then let him kneel," the emperor said.

Wang Yun was taken aback. The Emperor hadn't taken his anger out on Prince Chen?

"Wang Yun, what do you think of Qin Zheng?"

“This servant has been in the palace all along and knows very little about Qin Zheng. This servant is not sure either. However, since His Majesty has confined His Highness the Crown Prince, this servant found that he vomited quite a lot when interrogating His Highness the Crown Prince’s secret guards.”

"What is it?"

"This servant has heard that Qin Zheng has not had a good life in Qingshui Village these years. Before he got married, he lived in a thatched hut with his two children and made a living by hunting. He was a loner and the villagers did not like him much. After he got married, he seemed more human. Moreover, there is another matter. Qin Zheng once served as a soldier under General Li on the frontier. Later, all the clothes for General Li's camp in spring, summer, autumn and winter were made by his family's workshop. Moreover, he helped General Li quell the rebellion that occurred in the military camp. After quelling it, he returned to Qingshui Village and lived a peaceful life until the Crown Prince's men came after them, and the couple had no choice but to come to the capital."

The emperor frowned.

So many things have happened?

Seeing that the emperor hadn't shown any anger despite his lengthy explanation, Wang Yun boldly said, "Your Majesty, perhaps it's as Prince Chen said; Qin Zheng simply wants to give the Qin Marquis's mansion and the old Marquis an explanation, nothing more..."

He stopped mid-sentence, not daring to continue.

A long silence followed in the Imperial Study.

"Wang Yun, if you were in his shoes, would you also want an explanation?"

Wang Yun was terrified and sweating profusely, but he still nodded honestly, "If the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject must die. But the premise is that the subject cannot bear the burden that he should not bear. If I were to assume the position of Young Marquis Qin, perhaps I would also want an explanation to be worthy of the hundreds of lives lost in the Qin Marquis's mansion."

Hundreds of lives?

Before the emperor's eyes, the scene of rivers of blood flowed once again.

He opened his eyes and said, "Let's go, accompany me to the imperial prison. I haven't had a proper look at that child in many years."

"Yes."

……

In Hancui Palace, Yunluo waited anxiously. She didn't know how much her words affected the emperor, or if she had overestimated him.

Perhaps he is a ruthless and ambitious figure?

So Brother Qin's fate is only one...

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and a middle-aged woman entered. She was well-maintained and had a graceful and elegant figure, clearly indicating that she was of high status.

"you are……"

The middle-aged woman smiled gently, "I heard you're a very good cook?"

Yunluo, "..."

"This is Her Majesty the Empress!"

Yunlu was about to bow when the Empress stopped her, saying, "You're not feeling well, so you can skip it. I couldn't sleep and was a bit hungry. I happened to hear that you cooked for the Emperor a few days ago, and he loved it, so I came."

Did the Emperor imprison her?

The Empress asked her to cook again in the middle of the night?

Yunlu was filled with complicated thoughts. Could it be that there was a turning point in Brother Qin's matter?

Regardless, the Empress's signal reassured her somewhat, and she nodded, "Does Your Majesty wish to eat any dishes?"

The Empress thought for a while and said, "When my daughter was in the palace, she often made me a peach blossom pastry. It wasn't that she made it particularly well, but the taste was very special. The Imperial Kitchen made it many times, and it was delicious, but I always felt that something was missing."

Is the Empress missing her daughter?