She was eating pickled cucumbers in large bites, hoping that she could feel the urge to vomit.

Song Zhi watched as Hua Fei shoved cucumber after cucumber into her mouth, her heart aching as tears fell from her eyes.

“Your Majesty, you can’t keep eating like this, the sour cucumbers are bad for your stomach!”

Hua Fei ignored Song Zhi and continued eating without a care.

At this moment, she no longer resembled the proud, arrogant, and untouchable Hua Fei—high above everyone, looking down on all beneath her.

Now, she was nothing more than a pitiful woman, desperately longing to bear a child of her own!

“Ugh!”

Finally, she felt the nausea and wanted to throw up.

Song Zhi gently patted her back, filled with worry as she spoke softly:

“Your Majesty, please don’t make things harder for yourself like this!”

After vomiting, Hua Fei slowly lifted her head, her hand pressing against her chest. In an instant, her eyes filled with tears, but then she suddenly smiled.

“I’ve thrown up… Song Zhi, I threw up. Aren’t you happy for me?”

Song Zhi had seen Hua Fei do this to herself more than once.

Over the years, whenever she saw another concubine pregnant, she would use this method to numb herself, trying to convince herself that she could also bear a child…

All of this caused Song Zhi to feel an unbearable ache in her heart.

But she couldn’t bring herself to shatter Hua Fei’s dream…

So, she stayed kneeling on the ground, looking at Hua Fei with eyes full of pain, enduring her anger and curses.

Seeing her kneeling there, Hua Fei suddenly pushed her aside and snapped:

“Quickly, go fetch the Imperial Physician!”

After saying this, Hua Fei burst into tears, her voice trembling with pain: “Why, ever since I lost that child, can’t I have one these past years?!”

Song Zhi struggled to get up from the floor and grabbed Hua Fei’s sleeve, trying to comfort her:

“Your Majesty, you’re still young. It will happen eventually.”

“I had one before… it was a boy…”

Hua Fei said, tears streaming down her face as the memory of when Duan Fei had given her medicine flashed through her mind.

She gritted her teeth and muttered with deep malice, “It’s because of her!”

Duan Fei and she were enemies because of the loss of her child, and no matter what, she could never forgive that woman!

At the thought of this, her anger boiled over!

She jumped out of bed, surrounded by a group of servants, and stormed toward Duan Fei’s palace in a fit of rage.

Upon hearing the commotion outside, Duan Fei already knew what was coming.

Jixiang hurriedly put down the bowl she was holding and knelt at the door, trying to stop Hua Fei from entering:

“Your Majesty, Duan Fei has already gone to sleep. If you wish to see her, please come back tomorrow.”

Hua Fei, however, was already beyond the point of restraint, her anger impossible to contain: “Get out of the way!”

Though Jixiang was terrified, she still wanted to protect her mistress, so she stood her ground, kneeling in place without moving.

Hua Fei glanced at Zhou Ninghai, and he understood immediately. He stepped forward and kicked Jixiang aside.

Once inside, Duan Fei looked at her with an indifferent expression, which only fanned the flames of Hua Fei’s fury even further.

“Slap!”

Hua Fei struck Duan Fei across the face.

Duan Fei was sent stumbling back onto the bed, gasping for breath.

When she lifted her head, blood was already trickling from the corner of her mouth.

She looked at Hua Fei and smiled, saying, “How many years has it been? Every time you throw a tantrum and storm into my palace, it’s always the same.”

“How many years!” Hua Fei glared at Duan Fei, her eyes full of rage. “Just thinking about the child I lost makes me want to tear you apart and drink your blood!”

“Eat my flesh, drink my blood… hasn’t it always been like this all these years?”

Duan Fei’s eyes were filled with hatred, and it seemed she felt just as strongly as Hua Fei did.

“I truly hate you. I wish I could kill you with my own hands!”

Duan Fei couldn’t stop herself from laughing, though it was filled with disdain, unwillingness, and an immeasurable amount of hatred.

She laughed so hard that she began coughing: “I’m here, suffering in bed, worse than death. Isn’t that more painful than killing me?”

“Even if you’re suffering like this, it can never compare to the pain of losing a child!” Hua Fei said, choking on her tears.

When the Emperor ascended to the throne, he made Duan Fei his consort, equal to Hua Fei, and even spared her life. How could Hua Fei not hate her?

She gritted her teeth and spat out, “A vicious woman like you deserves to be turned into a human-scorpion and left to die!”

But Duan Fei replied that if she were truly so guilty, the Emperor would never have let her live until now.

Looking back on it all, Hua Fei’s heart ached.

She said that Duan Fei was the one she had trusted the most in the entire palace, but who could have known she would be so cruel and poison her to cause her child’s death?

Duan Fei, however, claimed that it was Hua Fei who, without cause, blamed everything on her.

One night, Hua Fei barged into her chambers and forced her to drink a pot of safflower.

Duan Fei went on to say that while Hua Fei lost her child, she herself could never have another.

Her words, filled with blame, hinted that Hua Fei’s cruelty had brought this upon her.

Hua Fei said she deserved it, wishing she would be barren forever.

If only Hua Fei had evidence, Duan Fei would have long since been turned to ashes.

After venting her fury, Hua Fei returned to Qingliang Palace with her entourage.

As soon as they rested, she heard Wen Yi crying.

Annoyed, Hua Fei tossed the covers aside: “Why does this child cry day and night? How am I supposed to sleep like this?”

She ordered Song Zhi to fetch the wet nurse.

As Wen Yi’s cries grew louder, Hua Fei glared at the wet nurse and said:

“How are you two caring for the princess? She’s crying so much that I can’t even sleep!”

The wet nurse, patting Wen Yi’s back, tried to explain:

“I’ve tried everything, but perhaps the princess is still not used to being away from her birth mother, and that’s why she’s disturbing Your Majesty’s rest.”

Hua Fei coldly responded, “So, you’ve really tried everything, and nothing works?”

The wet nurse nodded in confirmation.

Hua Fei instructed Song Zhi to bring Wen Yi to her.

But no matter how she rocked the child, Wen Yi’s cries wouldn’t stop.

Losing her patience, Hua Fei ordered Song Zhi to fetch the calming medicine the Imperial Physician had prescribed and give it to Wen Yi.

The wet nurse, worried about the baby, reminded Hua Fei that the princess was still too young to take such medicine.

Hua Fei retorted, saying the princess could handle it. Why couldn’t she? Ignoring the wet nurse’s concerns, she gave the medicine to Wen Yi herself.

She then warned the wet nurse not to speak out of turn.

A few days later, everyone gathered at the Peach Blossom Grove to greet the Empress.

“An Chang’An, now that you’re pregnant, how are you feeling?”

The Empress smiled at An Lingrong.

“Thanks to Your Majesty’s care, everything is going well,” An Lingrong replied.

“That’s good.” The Empress then smiled and looked at Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang:

“Speaking of which, it’s actually Concubine Shen and Concubine Guan who have been serving the Emperor the longest. Now that An Chang’An is over a month pregnant, you two should put in more effort!”

“It’s just that I and Sister Mei are unlucky, unlike Sister An, who has such good fortune!”

Zhen Huan smiled at An Lingrong, then turned to the Empress.

“You’re both still young and loved by the Emperor. Sooner or later, you’ll both have your own children.”