Xuanyuan Mo had planned it all out, believing he could use the rest of his life to make up for the woman he loved. However, the things he had done in the past were neither honorable nor discreet.
“This man was truly unlucky. Even drinking water could get stuck in his teeth.”
That day, after court, he was preparing to select something nice to send to the Imperial Concubine when Eunuch Li came running over in a panic. “What’s wrong?”
“Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Empress and Lan Zhaoyi have gone to the Imperial Concubine’s palace together.” Eunuch Li, having long understood how much the Emperor cared about the Imperial Concubine, didn’t dare delay for even a moment when he got the news.
Xuanyuan Mo’s face went pale. He quickly remembered that An Ningxiang also knew a secret. Without sparing another thought, he dashed off toward the Imperial Concubine’s palace.
Eunuch Li only saw a blur as Xuanyuan Mo vanished and hurried to catch up with small, quick steps.
“How is it that the Empress has time to visit today?”
An Ningxiang, supported by Chunxue, stood in the hall, her gaze fixed on Tang Guo. She suddenly realized that over the years, the Imperial Concubine’s face had only grown more beautiful. Time seemed to treat her kindly, leaving no trace upon her features.
That slight lift of her gaze, with eyes brimming with allure, could truly steal someone’s soul with just one glance. Putting everything else aside, the Imperial Concubine’s beauty was truly unmatched.
Today, she had only one goal, to destroy Xuanyuan Mo’s hope. Xuanyuan Mo had gone too far, leaving her with no hope at all. She could no longer care about anything else. Xuanyuan Mo thought he could console her with the An family.
But that wasn’t the case. She wasn’t even a legitimate daughter of the An family. Her mother hadn’t been properly married into the family but had been forcibly taken.
If she hadn’t been selected as Empress by Xuanyuan Mo, the An family wouldn’t have remembered her at all.
Recently, she had received a letter informing her that her mother had already become a nun. Taking advantage of An Ningxiang’s firm position as Empress, her mother had decisively severed ties with the An family and left.
It was Xuanyuan Mo’s love that had made her forget her mother’s warnings.
But she couldn’t accept this outcome. She was carrying the Emperor’s child, and knowing Xuanyuan Mo’s personality, this might be his only heir. Unless she killed the Imperial Concubine, Xuanyuan Mo wouldn’t kill her.
She suddenly found it laughable that the new life she had once anticipated with joy had ended up being used by her in this way.
Today, she had come to expose the truth. Xuanyuan Mo had wronged her, and she wouldn’t let him succeed. Why should she have to bear the consequences of everything alone?
She had merely accepted his love and given him her heart, only to end up like this.
“I’ve come today to have a good chat with the Imperial Concubine.”
Tang Guo remained seated, sipping her tea. “Chat about what?”
An Ningxiang no longer cared. She casually found a seat and sat down. “There’s so much to talk about. Anything and everything.” She glanced around at the various decorations in the room, and a pang of pain struck her heart. Xuanyuan Mo truly did shower the Imperial Concubine with affection.
She took a deep breath and forced a smile. “I must congratulate the Imperial Concubine on regaining favor.”
“The Empress came all this way just to say that?”
“Of course not.”
An Ningxiang replied, leaning forward suddenly. Her gaze swept over the intricately crafted incense burner. There was no incense burning today. She knew the Imperial Concubine liked to burn incense in the afternoons, so she had deliberately chosen to come close to noon. “Does the Imperial Concubine still burn this incense?”
At first, she hadn’t known there was an issue with the incense. Later, she found out through Lan Zhaoyi. And why had Lan Zhaoyi chosen to help her? That was a more interesting question.
Lan Zhaoyi was one of Xuanyuan Mo’s confidantes, but she was deeply in love with him. Naturally, she wasn’t willing to let the Imperial Concubine have it so easy.
The person who provided the incense was acquainted with Lan Zhaoyi, which was how she had learned about it.
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