Wei Lindong tried cooking a few times but found she had little talent. Stubborn, she returned to the kitchen but found the smell of oil and smoke made her retch. Xi Yaya thought this was a new game and imitated her. During a meal, Xi Linxuan saw this and, thinking his daughter was unwell, hurriedly called a royal physician. It turned out the little girl was fine – it was her mother who was experiencing symptoms.
Xi Linxuan was overjoyed, spinning Wei Lindong around on the ground: “This time, we won’t let my brother-in-law name the child.”
Wei Lindong was also happy.
She had always hoped to have several children, and this child could be born in a stable environment, allowing her to make up for her shortcomings with Yaya.
The pregnancy was easier this time, and her joy grew daily. Wei Lindong often visited her mother-in-law in the palace, who wanted her to find happiness to be a filial daughter-in-law. One day, while chatting with her mother-in-law, Xi Yaya was chasing a colorful mountain pheasant in the courtyard. The panicked pheasant ran towards the gate, and Wei Lindong watched as Yaya bumped into a tall, dark figure and pushed him away with her dirty hands.
“Your… Your Majesty…” Fan Meiren, nervous from not seeing the Emperor for a long time, said.
“Not at all like a princess, more like a wild mountain monkey,” the unmoved figure replied.
“This concubine pays respects to Your Majesty,” Fan Meiren pulled Wei Lindong down to kneel.
The Emperor, somewhat impatient, ignored them and lifted Xi Yaya to meet his gaze: “Unruly. Taiping, take her back and discipline her.”
An old eunuch bent to take the child, who then cried out, speaking her first word: “Mother!”
Wei Lindong’s journey back to the Eastern Palace was chaotic. On a late summer day, her hands were cold with fear, and she harbored an unprecedented hatred for the lofty figure of the emperor.
How could she and Xi Linxuan act to please him? Did he want their family completely destroyed? Emperor, if you harm my daughter, I swear I will repay you a hundredfold.
