Inside the door, Song Jiaye was enjoying himself with women in his arms. Outside the door, Li Qiyu was kneeling, refusing to rise.
At this moment, Li Qiyu had just been diagnosed as pregnant.
You know, it was no easy feat for the empress to conceive this child. After all, she and the emperor had been married for years without any news of pregnancy. Many people at that time thought that once the empress was pregnant, maybe the Li family would be spared and get amnesty.
However, no one had expected that right after the empress was confirmed to be pregnant, the emperor issued an imperial edict to raid the Li family.
The emperor's heart was cold. He showed not the slightest bit of mercy to the empress.
Zhong Yuxiu came to see the emperor. Seeing Li Qiyu kneeling on the ground, her eyes remained cold, not even a hint of sympathy.
This woman used to be the object of her envy, jealousy, and hatred.
She stood in front of Li Qiyu. In the past, it was only her who had to pay respects to Li Qiyu. But now, with Li Qiyu kneeling on the ground, she seemed like a servant at her feet.
Zhong Yuxiu kindly reminded her, "Stop kneeling. The Li family has committed the heinous crime of treason. Even if you keep kneeling, you can't change the fact that your family tried to usurp the throne."
"Ridiculous!" Li Qiyu looked up excitedly. "Our Li family is full of loyal and heroic people. We would never do such a thing."
"Never?" Zhong Yuxiu sneered. "Why don't you go and ask your good father what he did to help you secure the position of the empress?"
Zhong Yuxiu's words were heart - wrenching. The decline of the Li family started when she chose to marry Song Jiaye. Tens of thousands of heroic men could only be trapped in the barracks, watching their black hair turn white.
Facing Zhong Yuxiu's accusations, Li Qiyu could no longer be tough. She slumped to the ground weakly. Xiaoxuan, the maid who had been kneeling with her, quickly rushed to help her up.
At this time, Zhong Yuxiu squatted down and said in a voice only audible to them, "Do you know how envious I used to be of you? You're the daughter of a general with real military power. The man I dreamed of marrying, your Li family even looked down on and refused. At that time, I really envied you for having a general father who always thought about you."
There was a smug look of victory on Zhong Yuxiu's face.
"However, I don't envy you anymore. The world is still fair. All the gifts it gives you are secretly priced. Empress, you'd better be content. Stay calm. If you anger the emperor, your Li family will really be extinct."
"You..."
Xiaoxuan couldn't bear it anymore and rushed forward, wanting to tear Zhong Yuxiu's face. But Li Qiyu grabbed Xiaoxuan.
At this critical moment, she couldn't make any more mistakes.
She had to persuade the emperor to revoke the order.
Zhong Yuxiu watched Li Qiyu, who used to be so proud, now as meek as a quail. She thought to herself, "How boring." Then she stood up and was about to walk into the room. After taking a few steps, she seemed to remember something and turned back, adding, "Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you. The one who led the troops to raid your family is your childhood sweetheart. That's why they say, when one of your own turns against you, they're really ruthless."
Zhou Donglin...
It couldn't be him.
No, it couldn't be. He wouldn't do such a thing.
Li Qiyu stood there, stunned on the spot.
Just then, the weather seemed to be against her. It started to rain. It was early autumn, and as the saying goes, each autumn rain brings a chill. One could imagine how cold the rain was.
But this rain was far less cold than Li Qiyu's heart.
She looked at the Xiangfei Hall where the candles were already lit and listened to the giggles of the women inside. Tears mixed with rain slid down her face.
Song Jiaye, what on earth did I do wrong to you that you treat me like this?
You're so heartless!
In the end, Li Qiyu didn't wait for Song Jiaye's pardon.
She collapsed in the heavy rain and a pool of blood.
She had a miscarriage. Less than half a month after being diagnosed as pregnant, the child was gone.
Li Qiyu was in a coma for several days and nights. During this period, the emperor sent eunuchs to Li Qiyu's palace very frequently. The emperor's nervousness made the ministers speculate whether the emperor still had feelings for Li Qiyu.
Zhou Donglin also heard this rumor. He was in a slump for several days. It wasn't until he heard that Li Qiyu was ill that he forced himself to cheer up.
The Li family was gone. General Li set the fire himself.
He said that rather than being executed by his own monarch or beheaded by his own countrymen, he would rather end his own life to prove his innocence.
The whole family drank poison and died in the fire. The flag of the Li family's army fell in the fire, and the Li family was thus annihilated.
As for why Li Qiyu alone survived and now that she was ill, the emperor still sent people to show concern - it was just because of General Li's threat.
Before committing suicide, General Li entered the palace and threatened Song Jiaye.
Although the Li family's army was in disarray, General Li had many old subordinates. If anything happened to Li Qiyu, those old subordinates would carry out General Li's last order - to assassinate the emperor.
So, Song Jiaye didn't really want to save Li Qiyu. He just wanted to save himself.
The more Zhou Donglin thought about it, the angrier he got. Looking at the supervisor of the Directorate of Ceremonial who was drinking in front of him, he said, "Sir Supervisor, could you do me a favor?"
The empress was seriously ill, and the imperial physicians were at their wits' end. The emperor could only pin his hopes on metaphysics. Soon, the supervisor of the Directorate of Ceremonial climbed up the Star - Picking Tower to calculate the will of Heaven.
Not long after, the supervisor came down from the Star - Picking Tower. With a solemn expression, he said to Song Jiaye, who had been waiting beside him, "Your Majesty, this time the unlucky star is colliding with the Kunning Palace. I'm afraid the empress..."
"I don't care what method you use. I don't care about any unlucky star. She must not die. Do you hear me!"
The supervisor quickly knelt down and kowtowed. He said, "Your Majesty, calm down. I do have a method, but it requires your cooperation, Your Majesty."
"Speak!"
"The Star - Picking Tower was built to gather the spiritual energy of the stars in the sky. So I need Your Majesty to carry the empress to the Star - Picking Pavilion on the Star - Picking Tower. I will perform a spell for the empress and channel the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into her body. Maybe it can save the empress's life."
"Maybe?"
Hearing this, Song Jiaye frowned impatiently.
The supervisor quickly kowtowed.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty."
He would rather be scolded than make empty promises. The empress had just had a miscarriage and caught a cold. No one could bear such a situation.
Now he could only try this as a last resort.
Song Jiaye was furious looking at these useless officials who only knew how to kneel and kowtow, asking for forgiveness.
But now he had no other choice. He could only wave his hand and say, "Fine, I'll follow your advice."
At this time, the supervisor said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, when I perform the spell, please avoid the area. Otherwise, it may disturb the spiritual energy..."