"Yunyu… all I want is to be with you forever. But why is it so difficult?"

Huang Shu spent the night cuddling with his wife, thinking of a life where they didn't have many worries, just between two of them…

**

Huang Shu woke up in the morning groggily. He dreamed of a good thing, with his wife and him riding the horse together. Bai Yunyu rested his head on Huang Shu's shoulder while they rode the horse.

It was cliche, but enough to fill Huang Shu's good dream.

And he woke up groggily since the good dream had disappeared.

He gave his wife a good morning kiss and said, "Wife, I had a good dream last night. Will you wake up sooner, so we can realize that dream? I want to bring you somewhere nicer than the Imperial Palace."

Huang Shu then continued his morning court report duty and then proceeded to hear all complaints until the evening. There were problems with the military, it lacked a central figure, and it might crumble soon.

No matter which general Huang Shu appointed to unite the military together, there would be a clash here and there, and he actually knew the real reason.

Because there was no Bai Yunyu there. He was fated to be the real commander in charge, even though he was an Empress.

Bai Yunyu was supposed to be the one who led the military. It was in his bone. Although he was an Empress, Huang Shu realized that Yunyu was a talented and charismatic commander.

Huang Shu realized it since the last world. He really had no control over the military when all generals embargoed him after their Empress Xiuying's death.

They cared and respected Yunyu more than him, yet, Yunyu never actually took any achievement that he deserved. Instead, he gave it all to him since he was the Golden Emperor, Emperor Xianliang.

'Husband, everything I do is because I want to support you. You said to me that you want to be the greatest Emperor ever lived. So I will help you with whatever I have.'

'Husband, I may not be able to give you the best resource from my family, but believe me, I will be useful for your goal as well.'

'But I just want one thing… please keep loving me, husband.'

…

'Ah, I've hurt Yunyu, I stole his freedom twice, and I ruined his life twice because of my negligence and carelessness…'

Huang Shu lowered his head and covered his face with his sleeve. He didn't want to cry in front of the ministers. Even if he was in a fragile state right now, he didn't want to look weak in front of the ministers.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Prime Minister Xi asked.

"Zhen is alright. No need to worry," Huang Shu replied and continued reading the report.

**

In the late noon, Huang Shu finished the meeting with the minister and went to his room to finish writing letters to few high ranked generals to make sure they defend the borders against the attack because they still had to prepare the attack against the barbarians, they would usually raid the village in the border for their livestock and grain, because they wanted to prepare for autumn and winter.

He also wrote to Yunyu's father, aka his father-in-law, about Yunyu's condition. He didn't want Yunyu's dad to get saddened once he heard about his only son's condition.

At least not now, so he lied in the letter, telling his father-in-law that Yunyu was alright, and he was just relaxing since he was pregnant. But he couldn't get visited, at least not now.

Huang Shu massaged his temple as he was in such a heavy mood nowadays. He could usually handle this as long as Bai Yunyu was here.

In the previous timeline, Yunyu helped him a lot with many things, but it was he who never recognize Yunyu's effort.

In this timeline, he wanted to dote on Yunyu. As long as Yunyu smiled at him, then he would get an energy boost throughout the day.

He sighed and called the servant to serve tea.

A maid came in and served tea for the Emperor, "Your Majesty, this tea is a gift from Prime Minister Xi. He said it's good for Your Majesty's health."

Emperor Xianliang raised his brow. Prime Minister Xi was the one that cared the most about his wellbeing, so he had zero suspicion about him, "Good, you can leave now."

The maid closed the door, leaving the Emperor alone.

Emperor Xianliang poured the tea on the cup and then sipped it. He took few more sips and continued writing letters and reading more reports.

Until the door suddenly opened, with a strong fragrance coming from someone at the door.

Huang Shu darted his eyes and saw Xi Yue standing with a smile on her face. She had a strong flowery fragrance on her, and also, she was covered in loose hanfu.

"Lady Xi Yue, why are you here?" Emperor Xianliang asked.

"Your Majesty, I'm here to help you vent a bit of your stress…"

Xi Yue suddenly took out a key in her pocket and then locked the door. She walked closer towards Emperor Xianliang, still with a smile on her face.

Huang Shu frowned, "I don't need you to—ACK!"

Huang Shu suddenly got a heart attack, as if he had been punched in his chest. His heart was beating rapidly until he lost his strength and slumped to the ground, clutching his chest.

Huang Shu looked up with a glare at Xi Yue, who still had a smile on her face.

"What did you do to me?"

"Your Majesty, I didn't do anything bad to you…" Xi Yue started untying her sash and then took off her hanfu, revealing the slender and beautiful body of a young woman. Xi Yue was only wearing thin undergarments that were almost see-through.

"Your Majesty, my grandfather is worried about the future of our nation. This nation is big and prosperous, but without an heir, there is nothing but a downfall."

"Your Majesty, I have been in love with you for so long, but instead, you decided to marry someone like Bai Yunyu, who has no backing and nothing worth other than his body."

"If it's just because he fits your beauty standard, then I can do it as well…"

Huang Shu gritted his teeth, the pain in his chest had lessened, but he was still weakened. He guessed that he had been poisoned, just like his wife.

"What did you do to me?"

Xi Yue had a thin smile, "The tea from my grandfather has been poisoned. I won't tell what type of poison it is. But it's deadly enough to kill you in an hour if you don't drink the antidote right away."

"I hide the antidote, and only I know where the antidote is."

"Your Majesty, I can always give you the antidote. But I want you to do something for me," Xi Yue sat on the bed and fondled her breast seductively.

"Your Majesty, your strength has been recovered, right? You will get your second deadly heart attack in an hour if you don't drink the antidote."

"I will give you the antidote. All you need to do is pour your Jing on me. I want to bear your baby and become your wife, Huang Shu."