“Xie Junlin, you seized your subject’s wife! You’ve made loyal ministers lose heart! You’re unworthy of being the Son of Heaven! Aren’t you afraid you’ll die without a burial ground!”
…
The dream abruptly ended there.
The woman’s disgusted gaze and icy tone left Xie Junlin chilled to the bone. He suddenly jolted awake from the dream.
Sitting up while hugging the quilt, the faint candlelight filtering through the bed curtains vaguely illuminated his handsome features.
“I actually dreamed of that child again!”
“The vision I saw yesterday was indeed not my imagination after all. This is truly heaven’s guidance, the manifestation of our ancestors…”
He stared at the bed curtains, his fingers clenched tightly.
Even though he had already awakened, his entire body still retained the joy from moments earlier when his son had clung to his leg calling him Imperial Father.
Utterly profound joy.
No one could understand his current delight and excitement.
What kind of surprise would it be for someone who had longed for a child for over a decade with no results until despair, to suddenly discover he might very likely have his own flesh and blood flowing with his blood?
Moreover, that child wasn’t an arrogant, domineering, and annoying little devil incarnate. That child was well-behaved, adorable, and clingy, embodying all that is wonderful—exactly the perfect child he had most desired!
Xie Junlin couldn’t conceal the joy in his eyes.
Yet alongside this joy, he felt unease.
Because in the dream, his child’s mother was actually Ling Zhao’s newlywed wife!
It was he who had seized his subject’s wife! It was he who was shameless and despicable! It was he who had stolen another man’s wife to bear him a child!
Xie Junlin’s gaze turned complex.
“No.”
“How could I… do such a despicable thing?”
“The Xiao family has produced generations of loyal martyrs. The Old General spent half his life guarding our realm on horseback, with several of his children having sacrificed themselves for the court. Now Xiao Lingzhao is equally loyal to his sovereign and country—before his illness struck, he was constantly defending our borders for me, showing such unwavering loyalty…”
“How could I forcibly seize the Xiao family’s daughter-in-law? How could I take Ling Zhao’s wife?”
“He’s not like me, with countless concubines in the rear palace. In all his grown years, he has only loved this one girl. How could I take away his only beloved?”
Xie Junlin lowered his gaze, slowly shaking his head.
He wouldn’t do such a thing.
He wasn’t a fatuous ruler. He wouldn’t do something that would make loyal ministers and fine generals lose heart.
After a long silence, Xie Junlin slowly spoke, his voice hoarse—
“But…”
“That girl can bear my child…”
Gazing at the flickering candle flame, he recalled how difficult these years of endurance had been.
How those ministers had urged him to adopt another’s child, how many times his mother had sat alone by the window shedding tears for him…
At every palace banquet, how pitifully he and his mother had sat on their high seats, eagerly watching other families’ children. And when the banquets ended, how disheartened both he and his mother had been…
He needed a child.
His mother also dreamed of having a grandson, having beseeched countless gods and buddhas for this very wish.
This realm, too, must have an heir.
Xie Junlin murmured to himself.
“I’ve been childless for many years. Countless people secretly mock me, ridicule me. Though I am the Son of Heaven, I’ve never been able to hold my head high…”
“If I had a child, I could finally feel proud and elated. My realm wouldn’t fall into outsiders’ hands. Such a wonderful prospect—could I truly refuse it?””This girl who can bear me a child—can I truly control my heart and not take her for myself?”
Xie Junlin was tormented by immense inner conflict.
On one side stood the loyal Xiao family, full of devoted martyrs—his conscience wouldn’t permit him to do such a thing.
On the other side was the prospect of a biological son who could inherit his empire and help him wipe away past humiliations…
What should he choose?
Xie Junlin spent the entire night struggling in agony.
He didn’t sleep at all.
When Chen Hai came to wake him for the morning court session and drew aside the bed curtains, he immediately noticed the dark circles under Xie Junlin’s eyes.
Chen Hai was startled.
“Your Majesty, what’s wrong? Are you unwell? Should this old servant summon the Imperial Physician?”
After sitting rigidly for hours, Xie Junlin’s head throbbed with pain.
“No need.”
He spoke slowly, realizing his voice was unusually hoarse.
Hearing his voice, Chen Hai grew even more concerned.
“Your Majesty, please don’t push yourself. Let this old servant call an Imperial Physician to examine you. You look so haggard, and your voice is raspy—this doesn’t seem like nothing’s wrong at all.”
Xie Junlin knew his own condition, but this was too private a matter to share with anyone.
He gestured for Chen Hai not to worry. After having Chen Hai assist him with dressing and washing, he led his attendants to the morning court session.
Passing through the garden, he paused to glance around.
He said quietly to Chen Hai, “I vaguely remember how lively this garden used to be in previous years, with Imperial Concubines always waiting here for me to pass by.”
Chen Hai smiled. “Indeed, Your Majesty. The ladies were so talented—some played the zither here, others came early in the morning to dance gracefully, trying every means to catch Your Majesty’s attention…”
A trace of self-mockery flashed in Xie Junlin’s eyes. “What a pity they probably never imagined they’d exhaust themselves seeking favor and hoping to bear a prince, only to encounter an emperor who can’t produce heirs. While other emperors’ concubines gather to scheme in palace intrigues, mine likely compete to see who can curse me more viciously and satisfyingly.”
Chen Hai’s expression stiffened.
He cautiously replied, “Your Majesty, you shouldn’t say such things. They are your Imperial Concubines—in their hearts, your favor is far more important than offspring. They miss you dearly and long every day for you to visit their chambers…”
The self-mockery in Xie Junlin’s eyes deepened.
He had truly harmed these women.
He could neither give them children nor offer them affection.
Perhaps he should release those concubines willing to leave the palace.
What difference was there between guarding someone like him—who couldn’t produce heirs and showed little interest in women—and living in widowhood?
Xie Junlin arrived at the main hall and took his seat on the dragon throne.
Looking down at the dense crowd of officials, he instinctively searched for Xiao Lingzhao among them.
But after scanning the entire assembly, he couldn’t find him.
Xie Junlin’s eyes darkened.
Ling Zhao hadn’t come.
Of course—last night was Ling Zhao’s wedding night. Ling Zhao was probably being intimate with that girl, likely keeping her up half the night. How could he possibly get out of bed now?
Xie Junlin scoffed quietly.
Enough—why was he thinking about this? They were a properly married couple—their closeness was appropriate. What right did he have to feel despondent?
Just because he’d dreamed that the man’s wife bore him a child, did that give him the right to envy their marital intimacy?
He had no such right.
He had been too late—that girl was already Ling Zhao’s wife. He would never have the right to feel jealous.
Just as Xie Junlin was adjusting these abnormal emotions, a minister suddenly stepped forward from below and immediately began pressuring him to appoint a crown prince.”Your Majesty, I beg your forgiveness for my boldness, but I believe the matter of selecting a child from the imperial clan to be adopted into your care should be initiated.”
“Only a child raised by you from a young age will form a close bond with you. By raising the child yourself, you need not worry about them being corrupted by their birth parents’ influence. As the saying goes, ‘teach by precept and example’—only a child personally nurtured by your side will truly become your reflection.”
“…”