This man had once been her lifelong support and destination, but he had also personally destroyed their years of marital affection and sent her only brother to his death.
In the imperial family, there is no father-son, no brotherly, and naturally… no spousal love.
“Creak,” the palace door opened wide, and a gust of wind swept into the warm palace. Fu Ling’s expression changed, and she quickly withdrew her hand as if burned, throwing the cloth into the water basin and standing up, shouting sharply: “Who’s outside?”
“Do not be afraid, Your Highness.”
Yan Xiaohan walked in from the door, bowed to her, and had Yuan Zhen close the door. He walked to the imperial bed and lowered his head to check the Emperor’s condition.
Fu Ling recognized Yan Xiaohan. She knew he had helped her before, but she also hated him for defiling her brother. Feeling guilty, her tone was slightly cold and panicked: “Why are you here?”
“
“To help you,” Yan Xiaohan said calmly, “As the Crown Prince’s mother, it’s better not to be tainted with the stigma of regicide.”
Fu Ling was stunned: “You…”
“Has Your Highness forgotten? I have people around you,” Yan Xiaohan lifted the incense burner lid and sprinkled new incense. Then he explained leisurely: “Even without your intervention, the Emperor’s final day is tonight. Let me handle such an infamously disgraceful deed. Don’t dirty your hands.”
His tone and demeanor carried an inexplicably trustworthy feeling. Fu Ling stared blankly at his mourning clothes, simultaneously disbelieving and suddenly understanding, murmuring: “The Emperor’s illness… was all your doing? Was it for… him?”
The Emperor on the bed convulsed, breathing rapidly, making “he-he” phlegm sounds.
“It is for him, but not entirely because of this incident,” Yan Xiaohan smiled, “Hasn’t Your Highness noticed? Since arriving in the capital, the Emperor has never had an heir.”
After the Emperor’s return to the capital, he secretly instructed Yuan Zhen to add medicine to the Emperor’s tea.
People of the time favored tea, and the Emperor especially loved it. Yuan Zhen had gained the Emperor’s favor with his tea-brewing skills. Yan Xiaohan provided a herb similar in shape and smell to tea leaves, toxic and capable of reducing fertility. After drinking this “contraceptive tea” for years, the Emperor indeed produced no royal offspring.
