In the early morning, the various palaces within the Imperial Palace were bathed in the glow of the morning clouds, shimmering with iridescent light and exuding a majestic aura.
Wen Chu sat in the pavilion at the center of the lake, gazing lost in thought toward the direction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
“Father Emperor, who is my mother?”
A little boy of about three years old asked Wen Chu in a cute, milky voice.
Wen Chu turned his eyes, looking down at the little boy with a gentle and warm expression.
He did not immediately answer the boy’s question. Instead, he hesitated, his delicate white fingertips tapping rhythmically against the gold-inlaid wine pot on the white marble table.
The one who gives birth is the mother. Since he had given birth to Yu’er, then the “mother” Yu’er was asking about was himself.
Wen Chu had been weak and sickly since childhood. Once, when he was critically ill, he was fortunate enough to have his life saved by a Miaojiang apothecary using witchcraft and voodoo. However, the mother-gu implanted in Wen Chu’s body had granted him, a man, the ability to bear children.
Yu’er tilted his beautifully sculpted, porcelain-like little face, looking at Wen Chu with eyes full of expectation, waiting for an answer.
Wen Chu understood the child’s thoughts; he simply wanted to know who both of his parents were. Whether it was a father or a mother, bringing new life into the world was, in the end, not something one person could do alone. Some things did not go as Heaven wished, or perhaps Heaven was deliberately teasing him. After a period of confusion, Heaven had bestowed this child upon him without letting him know who the child’s father was.
His peripheral vision caught sight of the wine pot on the table. Wen Chu arched his handsome eyebrows slightly, pointed to the wine cup, and said in a coaxing tone, “This is Yu’er’s mother!”
Hearing this, Yu’er blinked his clear, bright eyes and looked at the wine cup, exclaiming with surprise, “Mother is a wine pot!”
Eunuch Chang, who was attending to them nearby, could not help but chuckle.
Wen Chu had a gentle and soft temperament; he usually did not punish his servants for being unprofessional, especially Eunuch Chang, who had been with him for many years. Eunuch Chang naturally understood Wen Chu very well. After laughing, all that remained in his heart was a sense of pity for the Emperor. He glanced at the wine pot on the table; the Emperor had certainly not lied to the Crown Prince—his father was indeed a bottle of wine.
Four years ago, on the day the Emperor ascended the throne, if he hadn’t been drunk, how could the events that followed have ever happened?
The child, still innocent and naive about the ways of the world, was easy to deceive. Once he heard Wen Chu say the wine pot was his mother, he hugged the pot and began calling it “Mother.”
Wen Chu watched the joyful Yu’er and tilted his head slightly, offering a faint smile. However, if one looked closely, a sense of disappointment flickered in the depths of his eyes.
A familiar set of footsteps that made his heart tremble echoed nearby. Wen Chu’s expression stiffened, though only in a way that was almost imperceptible.
The man who approached had a tall, straight, and lean build. He wore a complicated and magnificent black-and-gold robe, and his long, raven-black hair was held up by a high black jade crown. His sword-like eyebrows swept toward his temples, his phoenix-shaped eyes were commanding, the bridge of his nose was high and straight, and his thin lips were well-defined. He was devastatingly handsome, possessing a peerless, heavenly grace; yet, he was as cold as ice and snow gloomy, arrogant, and aloof, making others afraid to approach him.
Eunuch Chang bowed respectfully and said, “Greetings, Prince Regent.”
Yu’er hugged the wine pot and toddled over, raising his little face to point at the pot in his arms. “Uncle, Father Emperor says Yu’er’s mother is a wine pot.”
Xie Huaixiao’s deep, cold eyes flickered toward Wen Chu, who was looking down at his wine. He rubbed Yu’er’s little head and said, “Your Father Emperor is teasing you. When you grow up, you will know who your mother is.”
As he spoke, he glanced at an attendant. The next moment, the attendant led Yu’er away from the pavilion.
Xie Huaixiao’s gaze landed on Wen Chu. “Why did you not attend the morning court session today?”
Wen Chu finished the last drop of wine in his cup. “To the morning court, my presence or absence makes no difference.”
The citizens of the Great Zhou nation all knew that the Prince Regent held absolute power over the world, while he was merely a puppet emperor.
Wen Chu wanted more wine, but remembered that the wine pot had been taken away by Yu’er. He set down his wine cup, stood up, and prepared to return to his sleeping quarters to continue drinking.
As he brushed past Xie Huaixiao, his chin was suddenly met with a cold touch. Xie Huaixiao grabbed it, forcing Wen Chu’s head up, and pressed him against the cold structural pillar.