Inside the Dongsheng Imperial Palace.
Three months had passed. Dongfang Yi's belly had bulged noticeably. The imperial physician who came to feel her pulse said that her pulse was extremely strong and there must be a little prince in her womb.
She naturally didn't care about such words. After all, she would be equally happy whether it was a boy or a girl. But the empress dowager beside her would beam with joy at such words. Her wrinkled face almost bloomed with smiles. Then she said excitedly, "Good! You must take good care of my little imperial grandson!"
After all, she was an old woman. And Helian Qi was different from other emperors. He was not fond of women, so there were few concubines in the harem. Not to mention anyone who could give birth to a child for him. So now that she saw there would be a successor to the Helian family, she was naturally overjoyed.
After the empress dowager left, Donghua walked over slowly. Dongfang Yi couldn't wait to ask, "Any news from the Eastern Pass?"
Donghua shook her head and said, "We haven't received any letters from the front line for over a month. But there were only good news in the previous two months. So, Your Highness, you don't have to worry!"
Hearing this, Dongfang Yi couldn't help feeling a twinge of uneasiness. One month was not a short time on the battlefield. Could something unexpected have happened?
Seeing her mistress so worried, Donghua immediately comforted her, "Your Highness, don't be so anxious. Ruyi wrote to me and said that the battle was going smoothly and the army should be returning in triumph soon. You're pregnant now, so you mustn't keep anything on your mind."
After saying this with a smile, she handed over the ginseng tea in her hand.
Although Dongfang Yi agreed with a few words on the surface, she still had some doubts in her heart. But for the sake of the baby in her womb, she must stay calm.
As the sky was getting dark, it was rather restless near the imperial city. Tian Gang and his men had been lurking silently. They were about to sneak in secretly, capture the queen and the empress dowager as hostages. Even if Helian Qi came back, there would be nothing he could do, for his lair would have been occupied.
At a signal, all the men sneaked into the palace over the city wall.
The others went to distract the imperial guards, while he silently sneaked in one direction...
Inside the residence of Princess Shangyang, Yi'er had fallen asleep. She stretched and was about to go back to her room. Just then, a figure ran past behind her.
She turned around warily, raising her hand in a defensive posture, and then asked, "Who's there?!"
"It's me..." A male voice came from behind. She immediately turned around and saw the black - clothed man slowly take off his veil.
Suddenly, the scar on his face was exposed to the air.
"You... You are..." Princess Shangyang couldn't believe it, so she stammered and didn't dare to ask.
Tian Gang walked up to her step by step. His old eyes were filled with tenderness. Then he said, "It's me, younger sister!"
"Is it really you, Fourth Imperial Brother!" She exclaimed. Her eyes immediately turned red. Then she said, "I didn't expect you were still alive. I thought..."
The rest of her words were drowned out by her tears.
In the past, they had the best relationship among the siblings, but they were toyed with by fate. He was rumored to have disappeared without a trace.
"Come with me, younger sister. The Helian royal family is about to perish soon!" Tian Gang said and tried to pull the woman in front of him away.
But after hearing his words, Princess Shangyang frowned tightly. Then she asked, "What did you say? Who are you serving now? What's going to happen to the Helian family? Did you come here tonight with some plot?!"
She asked word by word, on the verge of crying. At this moment, she seemed to understand something. Why did her long - lost imperial brother suddenly appear? Why was there such a long scar on his face...
Hearing this, Tian Gang gritted his teeth tightly and said with hatred, "The Helian family is heartless and unjust. I've cut off all ties with the Helian family. Now I only recognize you as my sister!"
Hearing this, Princess Shangyang's eyes were filled with disbelief. Then she said in a panicked voice, "What are you talking about? Do you know that His Majesty..."
Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted sharply, "Don't mention him to me. It's all because of him that I've lost my family and become what I am today!"
Hearing this, she shook her head heavily. She didn't expect that the man in front of her had such a deep misunderstanding.
"It was all because of the national situation back then..." She began to talk about what had happened in the past.
Back then, three princes fought for the throne. The former emperor was the most promising candidate to succeed the throne. But as soon as the news spread, he was hated by the second and the third princes. So they joined hands to try to poison him. But in the end, the former emperor saw through their plot. Heart - broken, he imprisoned them in the dungeon. Later, they cut their throats and committed suicide in the dungeon.
The former emperor knew that he only had his fourth younger brother left. But Helian Gang seemed to have misunderstood him at that time. He thought that the former emperor was so cruel that he had killed the other two brothers. So he left the palace and lived with the woman he loved.
The former emperor knew that this was the life he wanted, so he didn't want to interfere. But one summer, news came from outside the palace that there was an accident in the mansion where he lived. His wife and children died, and Helian Gang disappeared...
She stopped talking here, for she didn't know what happened next. After hearing these words, the man in front of her showed a look of collapse on his face. He knew that his sister would never lie to him. He didn't expect that he had been misunderstanding for so long.
Why didn't he suspect that it was just a coincidence that the master of the Golden Wolf Guards saved him just when he was in trouble? He should have thought that there was something fishy about it earlier.
Thinking of this, he hugged his head and cried. Choking with sobs, he said, "What's the difference between what I've done and serving the enemy? It wasn't His Majesty who killed my wife and children, but I've served the enemy who killed my wife for so many years!"
His emotions were on the verge of collapse. His eyes were blood - shot.
Princess Shangyang couldn't bear to watch any longer. Then she comforted him lovingly, "Fortunately, you haven't done anything irreparable. Brother, you still have a chance to turn back. As long as you're willing to trust me!"
Hearing this, Helian Gang raised his head and said, "Do I really have a chance to turn back? Don't you blame me?"
Hearing this, she smiled faintly. Then she hugged her imperial brother in her arms and continued, "You're my imperial brother, the closest person to me now. How could I blame you?"
Hearing this, the man felt a little more at ease. Then, as if he had thought of something, he said, "Oh no! The palace is about to be in great danger. We must stop it immediately!"
After saying that, the two rushed to inform the queen and the empress dowager. Everyone gathered together.