Liu Nana bit down on her lower lip. All she wanted was to meet her husband and spend time with him. It wasn’t appropriate to be intimate while the time to mourn over the deceased empress dowager hadn’t been over. Since then, she concentrated on placating the people. All she wanted was to support her husband to her best abilities and let him rest at ease. 

Regrettably, her level of concern wasn’t reciprocated. She let her guard down. She thought that with her biggest hurdle, the empress dowager gone, her position in the palace was unshakeable. However, it was her own conceitedness that made her overlook the hidden dagger behind her. The always lacking wife behind her, who should have lost her backing, actually used the situation to get near the emperor. Consort Wei fell sick from grief and asked for the emperor’s presence. The emperor couldn’t simply ignore Consort Wei in the current situation and had to comfort her, else the Wei family would riot if her well-being was in danger. 

Liu Nana understood.

Even a dry seed can bloom into a beautiful flower when nurtured steadily. They spent time together and got closer while Liu Nana had done public service like a fool day by day. Arrogant as she was, she didn’t question where the emperor had spent the lonely nights without her during the past weeks. It was only when her trusted aide told her the shocking truth–Consort Wei was pregnant!

“If you understand then go now. I have to look after Zhu-er and our child.”

Wei Yizhu.

The spurned consort gained the affection of the emperor and gouge out the empress, who was careless.

She wanted to ridicule herself for being ingenuous and trusting towards men. Only a few days after being the single woman in his eyes, Liu Nana was tossed aside because another woman dropped a few tears. The anger in her belly accumulated and she behaved differently from her normal self.

For the first time, the couple quarreled. It was because the emperor had forgone his promise to his love and followed the tradition of his predecessors.

“I don’t understand, I don’t understand! Ah! Your promise to love only me, was it a lie all along?!”

For the first time, Gao Qingxuan saw his gentle mother raise her voice.

Slap–! The crisp sound of a rough hand hitting fragile skin reverberated in the room.

For the first time, he saw his father raise his hands against his mother. 

“Liu Nana, you are hereby grounded for three months for flouting our authority.”

The little boy didn’t dare to move. His eyes became glassy and he couldn’t understand the situation. Both adults hadn’t noticed their son’s arrival and showed him their unsightly dispute. It was just a thin curtain that hid Gao Qingxuan and Rong XingLi from them, but for the little boy, it was the last fortress that saved him from the cruel truth he hadn’t wanted to know.

He didn’t wish to stay any second longer and silently backed out of the imperial study without Rong XingLi’s knowledge. The head steward hastily reached for the mischievous duo as soon as they came out. If he was lucky, then he would only be suspended and not dismissed for failing his duty. 

However, he was surprised to see only the boy coming out. The pet wasn’t with him. Before he could ask anything, the prince said something unexpected.

“I wasn’t here. I didn’t see anything.”

The head steward and eunuch Wang were stunned by his words. What did they mean and why was a five year old saying them in such an intense tone that didn’t match his milky voice?

Something was wrong, that wasn’t their naive prince! His eyes were lifeless, or to be more precise: ruthless. They gave them a creepy shudder. Stumped by his presence, the two servants took a step back. They rubbed their eyes in disbelief and by the time they woke up from their stupor, the little boy reverted back to the weak boy they knew.

Gao Qingxuan’s eyes and nose were red, and tears rolled along his wet lashes. The boy ran away with small steps. There was no goal or direction. 

Thud!

He ran until he bumped into someone. The man with a scholar’s robe and enigmatic smile reached out his hand towards Gao Qingxuan.

“Young Crown Prince, are you hurt?”

The small milkbun looked at the owner of the hand.

“Sniff, sniff. Teacher Fu…”

***

Back in the imperial study were only Liu Nana and Rong XingLi left. The emperor exited after a few more words with a flick of his sleeve. 

“Liu Nana, I also forbid you to contact Zhu-er until the baby is safely delivered.

“You should reflect on your behavior.

“By the time I come back, I want you to have disappeared from here.”

The dignified empress plopped to the floor as soon as the emperor stepped out. Her fairytale ended and she could barely hold back her tears. A few minutes later a small creature peeked out from the curtain. Thanks to his small frame, Rong XingLi remained undetected until the end. 

He panicked earlier when the emperor came towards them, just to realize that his bun left before him. But his thoughts were currently occupied by something else entirely. 

Pregnant? Consort Wei is pregnant even though Liu Nana is still alive and healthy?! How fickle could the heart of Gao Tianlu be, ah!

Several questions bubbled up in his head, however not only did Gao Qingxuan disappear, his family’s Jing Yi wasn’t by his side either to inquire about the situation.

Is it the world’s law playing me dirty again? Should I search for them or… Damn, why didn’t I realize that he ran off earlier?

By now he was used to operating alone, since there were times he couldn’t tag along his little dumpling. Jing Yi would follow Gao Qingxuan in that case and Rong XingLi was sure that he did the same at this moment. No notification was good information, after all, it meant that Gao Qingxuan’s well-being was not in danger. It was a quite different story with Liu Nana. Her lips trembled from anger and—

Crash!

The jade hairpin she received from Gao Tianlu as a token of their love shattered on the stone floor. The light gently shone on the milk-white halves of the pin that were thrown on the floor. Liu Nana saw her treasure split in two and reached toward one half. She held the broken pin tightly in her fist and finally let loose the tears that welled up in her eyes.

“Wuwuwu…”

It was quite sight to behold, at least for Rong XingLi, who up until now only saw her strong and impenetrable front as the empress. Never had he imagined that Liu Nana would break down so easily. 

The little fox tottered towards to her with silent steps. Liu Nana clutched the broken hairpin until her hand turned wan and blue veins popped out. 

Well, she is still young...but that is no reason to harm yourself ba.

Rong XingLi gently nestled his cheek against her jade white hand while swinging his tail in relaxing motion. Liu Nana was startled by the sudden warmth that touched her hand, but that lasted only for a moment. 

“Sniff. Are you trying to comfort me?” 

The little fox tilted his head. It then hooked his tail around her wrist and cuddled himself to a fluff ball. Of course, Rong XingLi didn’t close his eyes. When he came closer, he discovered a streak of red dripping out from her fist. She gripped the sharp end of the broken hairpin without regarding her own health. 

He didn’t like where this was going. 

The world already swallowed the life of the empress dowager but was still coveting another life. He was truly glad to have remained with Liu Nana. How could he face Gao Qingxuan in the future if he had let harm come to his mother? 

He knew that Liu Nana likes cleanliness, therefore he would never lick her like he would Gao Qingxuan to cheer him up. Instead, he took the indirect way to comfort her by just being there. 

And it worked. 

Liu Nana let go of the sharp jade junk and began to laugh self-depravingly. 

“You little thing are very good at comforting. Since you came on your own, I, will use you as much as I can ba.”

Thus, a certain fox was picked up and tightly squeezed by the empress. Rong XingLi felt tears falling on his head while he was in her embrace. He didn’t struggle. After all, he was there too and could understand her. The feeling of being replaced was truly unbearable.

“Awwr~” —It hurts. I know, but don’t injure yourself like this ma? Our family’s Qingxuan will be upset.

Rong XingLi tapped lightly on her injured hand, which was only covered by a handkerchief. 

“Arf.” —Treat it or a scar will remain. 

Liu Nana chuckled softly, “Our family’s Kumquat is very attentive, unlike the emperor. That won’t do. I need to treat it properly.”

The bloody handkerchief was thrown to the side and she stood up with her head held high. 

Why was she harming herself when she hadn’t done anything wrong? That’s right, she didn’t do anything wrong. So why would she lament a man who betrayed her trust? She provided a healthy heir and still had her family to back up. There was nothing to fear. She could lead a leisure life even without Gao Tianlu’s affection.

“Head Steward,” Liu Nana called, “bring the imperial physician.”

The steward hastily stepped inside and nearly got a heart attack when he saw the bloody hand and the fox cub. 

“Your highness, t-the cub! Did the cub hurt our highness?”

“Kumquat? He hasn’t done anything. Just call the physician and clean this mess.”

“En.” The steward bowed his head respectfully before turning to the other eunuch, “Old Wang, call the physician ba!”

He didn’t dare to delay and moved to clean the mess. When he saw the two halves of white jade he sucked in a cold breath of air. The token of the love between the emperor and empress was thrown away. He vaguely knew that they would fall apart because of Consort Wei, but he didn’t expect them to fall out this much. Deep in thoughts, he was stunned by Liu Nana’s next inquiry.

“Where did this little guy come from? Why is he not with Qingxuan?”

The head steward became the next heart attack. Just as he wanted to stammer out an excuse, the little fox cried out pitiful and tapped lightly on Liu Nana’s arm with the injured hand. As if to remind her to hurry to get treatment. The empress shoved her question to the back of her mind. Sooner or later, she had to prepare Qingxuan to fight for the crown anyway. She only had wished that the need for it came later...

While Liu Nana planned the future for her son, a nervous fox couldn’t wait to get back. He finally got a message from Jing Yi, but the content wasn’t what he hoped for.

“Attention!— Host has to reunite with the male lead immediately.”

tiaf

I-I drew and wrote the script for a short BL VN. (I mostly went wild with drawing good-looking boys)

BL VN

And BL illustration that I still haven't finished (/□＼*)・゜(shameless plug following)

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