SFL Chapter 53

After fainting, Sun Yanrou had a dream in which a high-ranking emperor fell in love with her. Despite their inability to openly be together due to their statuses, she lived just as comfortably as the empress in secret.

As for the empress, she had been living alone for years, driven almost mad by the pressure to produce an heir. Eventually, she died under mysterious circumstances in the palace.

Even though Sun Yanrou, as the favored concubine, benefited from this, she could not find much joy in it. Driven by despair, she took a risk and attempted to bear the emperor a child to solidify her position.

Little did she know, their affair would be discovered by Wang Huijun’s family. She almost lost her life along with the child at the hands of the Wang family.

With their forbidden love exposed, the empress did not stand by their side but sided with the Wang family, wanting to have Sun Yanrou killed.

At a critical moment, it was only because the emperor threatened her with the future of their offspring that she managed to survive the pressure from the Wang family and the empress.

Even after successfully saving her life, she remained terrified because this child was the emperor’s only offspring. What if it was a princess?

No one knew the immense pressure she endured after surviving, as she was constantly tormented by the gender of this child.

She was moved by the emperor’s feelings and efforts towards her, but also harbored some resentment towards him for pushing her into a corner with his actions.

Even though the emperor’s intention was to save her, without decisive action, she and the child would not have survived.

On the day of delivery, she was prepared for either outcome. Luckily, she gave birth to a prince, or rather, the future emperor.

Since the emperor could no longer have children, her child was his only offspring in this life. This meant her child was the designated crown prince, and as the mother of the crown prince, her status was no lower than that of the empress, even if she couldn’t flaunt it openly.

Despite the empress’s dislike for her, she had to treat her with respect because of her only grandson.

Just as she and the emperor were preparing to proclaim their son as the crown prince, her health suddenly deteriorated. She lingered on her sickbed for a few days before rapidly passing away.

It dawned on her too late that this was a move from the Wang family, as the emperor’s previous empress, a daughter of the Wang family, had died in the palace in a similar sudden and inexplicable manner.

Wang Huijun, the Empess from the Wang family, was killed by the Emperor himself.

Because she discovered a secret she shouldn’t have, she could no longer play the role of a good Empress and shield for him.

So she was the one who suffered for the emperor?!

From the moment Sun Yanrou understood this, her resentment towards the emperor reached its peak. However, she quickly calmed down, knowing that her time was short and she couldn’t offend the emperor at the final moment.

With tears, she persuaded the emperor to promise her to avenge her and to treat their child well. The child was still young and shouldn’t be bullied, and she also mentioned her family, and so on. The more she said, the more she couldn’t let go of her attachment to the world. In the end, she could only die with a heart full of unwillingness.

After death, perhaps due to her excessive resentment, she did not enter the underworld but stayed in the palace.

 

However, she never imagined that the emperor had such deep feelings for her. The emperor, who was willing to end his line for her, had a genuine heart that was beyond doubt. It was a pity that at that time, she was only focused on wealth and glory. She thought the emperor’s love was all part of a scheme and feared being exposed one day, so she dared not reveal her true self in front of the emperor.

Now she has nothing left, only a lonely soul, but she can see that true heart now.

However, she would rather not have seen it, because with emotions, the emperor, who had a soft spot, turned out to be so weak.

She watched in ethereal form as the emperor, because of her passing, coughed up blood, followed her path of lingering illness, and ultimately left behind their still-in-swaddling son before departing from the world.

At that moment, she wished she could kick open the coffin and come back to life to ask the emperor in person, “Was it worth it? Was it worth it for just me?”

In contrast to everything the emperor had given her, her response to him seemed so insignificant.

She saw the emperor’s soul drift out of his body. Before it could reach her, she watched helplessly as his soul, like spring snow, completely disappeared before her eyes.

Afterwards, her son, who was still in swaddling clothes, became the new emperor, and the Wang family, Queen Wang Huijun’s family, became powerful. This filled her with resentment, once again hoping that her son would grow up to avenge her as his mother.

However, since the Wang family harbored ambitions to be powerful, how could they turn a blind eye to the hatred between the new emperor and the Wang family?

Currently, the new emperor is still young and knows nothing. When he grows up, it will be difficult for the Wang family, as powerful ministers, to escape retribution.

The Wang family, therefore, took decisive action. They directly fed the new emperor the infertility drug that the former emperor had found, so before he could even grow up, the drug rendered the new emperor completely incapable of producing offspring. Before the new emperor grew up, the Wang family forced him to abdicate the throne directly to the Wang family.

From then on, the country fell into their hands.

She, who witnessed all of this, was on the verge of ascending to heaven.

Many people say that Wang Huijun was wrongly killed and now shows her spirit in heaven.

Nonsense. She had never seen the soul of Wang Huijun. Everything was a conspiracy orchestrated by the Wang family.

The Wang family killed her, harmed her son, took away the emperor’s throne, and made them a family of three bear eternal infamy, a stain that could never be washed away.

With boundless resentment, Sun Yanrou, who had collapsed, opened her eyes.

She instinctively tried to leap up but found her body unusually heavy.

“What’s going on?” Sun Yanrou exclaimed in shock.

Coincidentally, her maid entered, calling her “Miss,” and then helped her to the mirror to freshen up.

Sun Yanrou, in a daze, was being attended to, and she looked at her rosy complexion in the mirror, unable to believe it, and touched her face.

This was her in her youth, this was her body!

“Miss”

Was she not married yet?

With these thoughts, a wave of memories flooded into her mind, causing Sun Yanrou’s face to change several times, finally settling on anger.

What on earth was going on? How could she be in her own home at this time? And how could that woman, Wang Huijun, have given birth? And to the crown prince, a position that belonged to her son!

Could it be that Wang Huijun, like her, also…?

Thinking of this, Sun Yanrou’s heart skipped a beat, but then she remembered that when Wang Huijun died in the previous life, she hadn’t been exposed, and she hadn’t seen Wang Huijun’s soul afterwards.

Wang Huijun is very likely unaware of her existence.

If that’s the case, then the enemy is in the light, while she is in the dark.

The current issue is, how can she enter the palace?

Inside the palace, when Sun Yanrou regained memories from her past life, Yun Jingli’s fingertips moved slightly.

Next to him, Wang Huijun lay peacefully, with two little cuties beside her. They had already drunk their fill of milk and were sleeping quietly.

To avoid waking them, Yun Jingli gently eased his movements.

The two children were no longer wrinkled like they were when they were born; they had become fair and tender, like two white and soft buns, exuding the scent of milk.

One of Wang Huijun’s favorite things now was to nurse these two little ones. Although they were initially a bit small due to being twins, they were healthy, and with careful care, they were no different from ordinary children.

Seeing Yun Jingli approach, Wang Huijun asked, “Your Majesty, why have you come?” After speaking, she glanced at herself. Despite wiping herself with a damp cloth, she still didn’t feel as refreshed as after a bath.

In this state, Wang Huijun naturally didn’t want to be seen by Yun Jingli, revealing an unflattering side to him.

“I came to see if the children have been bothering you,” Yun Jingli asked softly.

Wang Huijun smiled and replied, “They are very well-behaved, they eat and then sleep, they haven’t caused me any trouble.”

Moreover, with the help of the palace maids beside her, Wang Huijun wasn’t that tired.

However, becoming a mother inevitably diverted her attention to the children’s every move.

For example, since having the two children, Wang Huijun’s attention to Yun Jingli had decreased significantly.

When the children were very young, they changed almost every day, and Yun Jingli and Wang Huijun could see their changes every day.

As they grew a little older, the two children were no longer satisfied with being tightly swaddled; they wanted a bigger world.

Yun Jingli had become adept at holding the twins.

Naturally, a grand celebration was held for the full moon of the dragon and phoenix twins. Wang Huijun was in confinement for her postpartum recovery, so the arrangement of the banquet was left to the empress dowager.

Many officials attended the banquet, along with their families, making the event both crowded and festive.

Sun Yanrou’s father’s official position allowed him to attend the full moon banquet for the crown prince and the princess, but he had no intention of bringing Sun Yanrou, his daughter, along.

After all, Sun Yanrou had come out of the palace. What if someone recognized her?

They could bring their daughter back home, but they couldn’t openly embarrass the emperor.

So, from the beginning, Sun Yanrou was not on the guest list.

However, Sun Yanrou didn’t see it that way. She saw this banquet as a perfect opportunity to re-enter the palace. She dressed up early, hoping to catch the emperor’s attention.

But on the day of the banquet, she was told the terrible news that she couldn’t go at all.

“Dad, Mom, why can’t I go?” Sun Yanrou protested. She never expected her parents to be the first obstacle on her way back to the palace.

Sun Yanrou’s parents were surprised. “Have you forgotten your previous identity?”

“Are you dressed so brightly because you’re afraid no one will notice you?” Sun Yanrou’s mother scolded her for her choice of attire.

Those who knew the truth understood that she was going to the full moon banquet for the crown prince and princess. Those who didn’t know might have thought she was going to a beauty pageant.

“In that case, I’ll go back and change into something more modest. Mom, let Dad take me there. I want to see the empress dowager in the palace,” Sun Yanrou used the empress dowager as an excuse.

Her mother thought it wouldn’t hurt for her daughter to have a closer relationship with the empress dowager and advised, “Then quickly change into something more understated, don’t attract too much attention.”

Sun Yanrou obediently agreed, but after changing out of her outfit that she had carefully selected for days, she felt quite aggrieved.

If she were still the Noble Consort Sun, who would dare to question her preferences?