I was forbidden to move again.

Instead of calling it a restriction, I prefer to think of it as imprisonment.

Everyone avoids me like a snake or scorpion.

The bold ones have started to secretly trip me up.

Looking at the food box on the table.

Those two palace maids discuss without any restraint.

"Can this really work? What if it kills her?"

"Don't worry, it won't kill her, at most it's just some spoiled food."

"But she's carrying the emperor's child in her belly."

Laughter gradually grows louder.

"Hmph, who can guarantee that the child is definitely the emperor's? A geisha, how disgusting."

I don't know how long it took before a ray of light finally seeped into the dark palace.

"Sister Jiang, it's been many days, how did you end up like this?"

Hearing the voice, I knew it was Song Wenying who had come.

But I really had no strength to deal with her.

Seeing me silent.

She immediately got angry, rushed towards me, and tightly grabbed my neck.

"Jiang Lier, what are you pretending to be with me here?"

I closed my eyes, not struggling.

If she could strangle me, that would be a decent way to die.

She suddenly laughed, loosened her grip.

The laughter was grating.

"Sister Jiang, Sister Jiang, why do you want to compete with me?"

"A geisha, becoming the empress."

"And me, a prime minister's daughter, can only be a noble concubine, still subject to others' whims."

"Do you know how those noble ladies in the capital talk behind my back, making fun of me!"

She suddenly touched my belly.

"Is this child really the emperor's?"

"You probably don't know, right? Now inside and outside the palace, there's a lot of talk, saying your child is not the emperor's."

"Even the ministers in the court are pressuring the emperor, a geisha's child can never become the legitimate heir!"

Hearing this, I opened my eyes and stared directly at her.

Ha.

The ministers in the court?

Behind this, her prime minister father must have played a part in inciting them.

She took out a white porcelain bottle from her sleeve.

"Jiang Lier, I think you're a smart person."

"If you take this, you'll survive."

I took the bottle, knowing very well what was inside.

Song Wenying was open and unashamed.

The only reason being, this was also Shen Weiming's intention.

Her hand rested on her belly.

"Child, your daddy can't tolerate the two of us anymore."

Enough.

Enough, it's probably our fate in this lifetime.

But I really can't accept it, can't accept it.

Why did Weiming seem like a different person.

And... the face of that unfamiliar man.

Is all of this really just my illusion?