Feng Xie's breathing grew heavy upon hearing Liu Liu's words, a chilling aura radiating from him, for this was a bastard child.
How could he accept Liu'er wanting to save this spawn? He wished he could strike down both mother and son with a single blow, to have the audacity to cuckold him and bear an illegitimate child.
This was a lifelong shame for an emperor, along with his own past shameful deeds.
Feng Xie suffered a blow no less than Lou Si Jing, his expression equally grim. He glared at Yu Lou on the grand bed. Seeing his eyes tightly shut and his breathing ceased, his heart ached at that moment. He realized he too could feel pain.
"Quick, look, what's wrong with Yu Lou?"
Even the normally stern had moments of heart tremor. Perhaps it was Yu Lou's final murmur, the way he looked at him with such longing, perhaps he yearned for an embrace or a lullaby.
What was his fault? At this moment, Feng Xie's heart was filled with pain and hatred, a complex mix of emotions.
Zhi Gu immediately leaped forward and quickly took Yu Lou's pulse. After a moment, her expression turned grim as she shook her head, "Prince Yu Lou was too agitated just now, his blood circulation was too rapid, the poison has infiltrated his heart. He is dead."
As soon as the imperial physician finished speaking, Lou Si Jing, who had been kneeling on the ground, sprang up like a madwoman. She lunged towards the grand bed, picked up her child, and yelled at the imperial physician, "You're spouting nonsense, nonsense! He's not beyond saving. He's clearly asleep. Look how rosy his complexion is! How can my Yu Lou be beyond saving? He is the apple of his mother's eye! Yu Lou, sleep, my darling, sleep quickly, your mother is waiting for you to wake up!"
Lou Si Jing, having suffered such a grievous blow, seemed to lose her sanity. She would laugh one moment and cry the next, her hair dishevelled, her clothes torn. Clutching Yu Lou, her expression was one of complete madness. Lou Si Jing had gone mad.
How should she be dealt with? Liu Liu looked back at the Emperor, heartbroken by this outcome. In truth, at the last moment, she hadn't wanted Yu Lou to die.
Because he still held a yearning in his heart, a sliver of purity. He had been ruined by Feng Luo and Lou Si Jing. If they hadn't entered the palace then, if they had lived a contented life outside, how happy their family would have been, Liu Liu sighed.
She immediately ordered eunuchs to guard Chang Xin Palace and observe whether she was truly mad or feigning it. If she was truly mad, they could only spare her life.
If she was feigning madness, she would ultimately have to be punished. For a consort to engage in illicit affairs and give birth to an illegitimate child, such a royal scandal would completely disgrace the Emperor of Tian Feng Dynasty.
Lou Si Jing clutched Yu Lou all night. Yu Lou was already dead.
Liu Liu ordered people to knock Lou Si Jing unconscious, replace Prince Yu Lou, and send him out of the palace for burial.
As for this incident, Liu Liu and Mu Xing both felt immense self-reproach. If it hadn't been for their plan, Yu Lou wouldn't have died. It was just that no one had anticipated that at the final moment, Yu Lou would be so agitated by the Emperor's arrival. Otherwise, he wouldn't have died. Clearly, he deeply cherished Feng Xie and yearned for his father's love, never receiving his father's embrace until his death.
Lou Si Jing had gone mad. Liu Liu sent people to place her in the cold palace to live. The Lou family was executed as scheduled three days later, bringing much stability to the court.
As for the Protector General Sima Pingchao, he was also kept in check by the affairs of the Lou and Zhang families and showed no further activity. However, Feng Xie had already ordered people to specifically monitor Sima Pingchao's movements.
From now on, he could no longer allow any faction to grow too powerful. Once they became powerful, it would be a matter of great cost and labour.
In the cold palace, Lou Si Jing held a rectangular wooden pillow, rocking back and forth, occasionally humming an indistinct tune. In the last rays of autumn sunlight, she appeared so pitiful. Endless weariness stained her robes, and her once beautiful raven hair had turned white. Her youthful beauty had been ruined by the hands of one man.
Liu Liu, leading a few eunuchs and palace maids, gazed at her from across a railing, her heart filled with an indescribable pang of sorrow. Beauty fades quickly. Feng Luo, how could you bear it? Why did you vanish at the last moment, leaving them, mother and son, to fend for themselves?
Liu Liu walked silently behind Lou Si Jing and stood still. She reached out and patted her shoulder. Lou Si Jing turned her head, made a very angry shushing gesture, and glared at Liu Liu reproachfully. She continued to speak, "Don't disturb the baby, he's asleep."
She was so cautious, as if she were truly holding her beloved son. Liu Liu suddenly began to understand why Yu Lou had been so spoiled.
Because Lou Si Jing felt guilty towards him, she doted on him excessively. Because she couldn't directly provide Yu Lou with fatherly love, she harboured great guilt towards the child in her heart. By accompanying him so cautiously, it had led to his arrogant disposition.
However, regarding Lou Si Jing's madness, Liu Liu couldn't help but feel suspicious. Was she truly mad or merely pretending?
If she was truly mad, Liu Liu wouldn't mind letting her live peacefully in the palace for the rest of her life. But if she was feigning madness, how much hatred would she harbour? Then her son, Mu Xing, would be in danger.
However, after several days of observation, Liu Liu found that this woman seemed genuinely mad. If she wasn't mad, her acting skills would be too superb. Every time she stood far away, she would act like a fool, crying and laughing, sometimes even grabbing dirty things to eat, stuffing them into her mouth.
Liu Liu pondered, would a normal person behave like this? Could they endure it? The answer was no. Perhaps Lou Si Jing was truly mad, but Liu Liu dared not be careless.
Because a mother who had lost her child could do anything. Most importantly, if all of this was a disguise by Lou Si Jing, then one thing was certain.
Lou Si Jing possessed astonishing martial arts skills. Perhaps before Yu Lou's death, she had already prepared to leave the palace. It was just that they had arrived too quickly, catching her off guard and leading to Yu Lou's demise.
Liu Liu thought, then lowered her head to look closely again. Her slender hand reached out and touched Lou Si Jing's pulse. There was no inner energy. Perhaps she could seal her acupoints with golden needles.
But she couldn't possibly check all the acupoints on her body one by one. For now, she could only assume Lou Si Jing was mad. Liu Liu released her hand, looking at Lou Si Jing's expressionless, oblivious state with a faint smile.
She should still find an opportunity to inform the Emperor and send her out of the palace. This would put her mind at ease.
In the sunlight, Lou Si Jing's face was almost transparent, showing no hint of joy or sorrow.
Her appearance at this moment perfectly matched that of a simpleton, even her movements were the signature gestures of a fool. One hand was in her mouth, the other cradling a wooden pillow. Logically, Liu Liu shouldn't doubt her, but she was still afraid.
She feared that this woman staying in the palace would be detrimental to Mu Xing, which was why she had tried every means to test her, until she was convinced she was truly foolish. However, after several attempts to test her, she still couldn't be entirely certain that this woman was completely foolish.
"Ri Ying, send two subordinates to protect Consort De outside the cold palace," she finally decided to send two people to monitor her movements. If she was faking it, a temporary disguise might be possible, but she didn't believe she could maintain it for a year or two. She would eventually reveal her true colours.
"Yes, Empress," Ri Ying nodded. His tall frame turned, and he went to select two capable subordinates, instructing them to guard the outside of the cold palace and report any developments to the Empress immediately.