Back then, when she followed the deposed crown prince to the royal tombs, not a single person from Duke Zhen’s household stood up for her—as if they couldn’t wait to disown her.
Now that she had made a comeback and the Duke’s house had fallen, she felt a sense of satisfaction. From now on, they would remain strangers. Since they abandoned her back then, they had no right to seek her out now.
After a welcome feast, Mingxi prepared to return to the palace.
At the gate, Bai Shixi said quietly, “I heard the court is pressing His Majesty to hold a consort selection. You…”
Mingxi smiled, “Worried for me?”
Bai Shixi nodded. “It would be one thing if you were just Duan Wangfei, but now you’re the empress…”
“Exactly. Which is why I’m waiting for His Majesty’s decree too,” Mingxi said with a grin. “You don’t need to worry. You’ve just come back after a long journey—if it weren’t to warm your residence, I’d have let you rest today.”
Knowing that Mingxi was someone who made up her own mind, Bai Shixi smiled and sent her off.
Just then, Xie Muhua returned from Ruian’s room. Seeing Bai Shixi, she said, “New place, unfamiliar bed—Ruian wasn’t sleeping well. I just went to check on her.”
Bai Shixi looked at her. “In the end, we’ve made it through.”
Xie Muhua looked up at the sky. “Yes. From now on, we live for ourselves.”
In the first half of their lives, they were bound by their families and had no say in their own fates—only to end up discarded. Once, they boarded the empress’s ship for the sake of mutual gain. But in the end, it was she who remembered them, supported them, protected them.
They would never tell Mingxi that the deposed crown prince’s death had been orchestrated by their own hands.
Xie Muhua had sought revenge for her son. Bai Shixi wanted a better future for her daughter. If the crown prince hadn’t been so depraved, they might have endured—but he left them no choice.
As for Jiang Sujie and Chen Rong…
They didn’t even need to intervene. Those two destroyed themselves.
Jiang Sujie tried to escape back to the capital, only to have her legs broken by the crown prince and thrown into confinement. Lacking medicine and care, she died shortly after.
Chen Rong fought for favor among palace maids, hoping to get pregnant and secure her position. But the crown prince was obsessed with new women and ignored her completely. Desperate for a child, she seduced a guard—and the crown prince killed her with his own hand.
Thinking back to when the deposed crown prince came to their courtyard with a knife in hand, the way his sinister gaze swept over them, how they trembled as they shielded Ruian behind them…
At that moment, she and Bai Shixi formed the intent to kill.
If the deposed crown prince didn’t die, they would eventually die by his hand.
They could die—but Ruian was still so young…
Fortunately, they had all survived. Those who deserved to die were dead, and now they could live well.
***
The clamor for the emperor to select concubines grew louder, but Mingxi remained firmly seated in the inner palace, going about her duties as usual.
Court officials submitted memorials stating that the empress had no children.
Xiao Muchen retorted, “The empress mourned the late emperor for three years. How could she bear children during that time?”
They then claimed the empress was jealous by nature, arguing that as empress, she should be magnanimous and motherly to the nation.
Xiao Muchen replied, “When I married, I promised not to take any concubines for ten years. A golden promise must not be broken!”
Court officials: …
They understood now—the emperor was dead set against taking new women. The empress hadn’t said a word, hadn’t even shown her face, yet she had the emperor wrapped tightly around her finger.
Ten years?
Fine. From the wedding until now, it wasn’t even a full ten years yet. They could wait.
Mingxi sat in the newly renovated Kunde Palace, reviewing the household accounts. The more she read, the deeper her brows furrowed.
She didn’t even hear Xiao Muchen enter—her eyes were fixed on the ledger.
“Why are you looking at that again?” Xiao Muchen grumbled, somewhat displeased.
Mingxi looked up at him. “Why are you back so early?”
Xiao Muchen said offhandedly, “I just finished scolding the ministers who pushed for a consort selection.”
Mingxi raised an eyebrow and said slowly, “The ministers aren’t entirely wrong. The ten-year term is nearly up. Your Majesty should begin making plans.”
Xiao Muchen: …
Mingxi closed the account book and looked at him with a teasing smile. “What, are you angry now?”
“You don’t trust me?”
Mingxi laughed. “How could I not? But we’re still young. This life is long. To say we’ll stay together forever—it’s still too soon.”
Xiao Muchen gritted his teeth. “They’re only pressing me because I have no sons. Once you give birth to a legitimate heir, I’ll make him crown prince and shut them up for good. Once we have children, they’ll have no excuse to attack you.”
Mingxi: …
That was quite the leap.
By tradition, mourning a former emperor for one year symbolized three years. But she knew Xiao Muchen had insisted on mourning the full term—not because he had to, but because he didn’t want her to feel hurt. He truly had mourned sincerely for three full years.
As for what the future held, she couldn’t say—but for now, she knew that his heart belonged to her alone.
Three months later, good news came from the palace: the empress was pregnant.
Ten months later, she gave birth to the emperor’s firstborn son.
At this time, Duan Ning was assigned to a provincial post; Duan Qi and Duan Sirui—one returned to the capital to serve in government, the other was sent to Donggang.
Duan Qi was steady beyond his years, while Duan Ning advanced step by step with firm resolve. In just a few short years, both their ranks rose quickly.
When the emperor’s firstborn was born, he was overjoyed. He elevated Marquis Zhenhai to Duke Zhenhai, and Marquis Dingyuan to Marquess Dingyuan. Duan Ning, posted in the provinces, was now a high-ranking regional governor. The empress’s family basked in glory.
When the ten-year period was up, the ministers once again urged the emperor to choose consorts. But now the empress had two sons. The emperor rejected the proposal, saying he was too busy with state affairs to manage the inner palace.
When officials raised the issue again, the emperor directly exiled them from the capital: “If you’re so idle that all you care about is my harem, I’ll find you some work.”
The emperor had no shortage of tasks to hand out.
Three top-ranking officials were sent out in a row. The court immediately quieted. No one dared mention consort selection again.
And it was from this event that everyone realized: the current emperor was not like the last. Once his mind was made up, no one could shake it.
At the same time, the story of how the emperor and empress had set their ten-year vow before marriage began to circulate among the common folk. Their deep, enduring love, and the fact that the emperor still hadn’t taken any concubines even after ten years, sparked a new trend across Great Chu—men choosing not to take concubines.
Meanwhile, Gao Zhan, plagued by illness and nearing death, had a dream. In the dream, he was brimming with ambition and success—a life completely unlike the one he lived now.
He awoke with a pale face, muttering like a madman: “Wrong… it was all wrong… it shouldn’t have been like this…”
“Gao Zhan died?” she asked Xiao Muchen.
Xiao Muchen nodded. “They said that before he died, he kept saying he was wrong, that everything was wrong. Not sure if he truly repented or was just confused.”
Back then, Gao Zhan had atoned for his crimes and wasn’t executed, but his career was over. The Gao family collapsed, and he became a commoner—drunken, aimless, wasting away.
Mingxi had long since severed all ties with him. She didn’t care about his end.
But hearing Xiao Muchen speak, she paused briefly.
And so what?
In this life, she had nothing to do with him.
Even if mistakes were made, they were his.
She rose and walked to Xiao Muchen, gazing into his eyes.
He took her hand. “What’s wrong?”
With a gentle smile, Mingxi wrapped her arms around his waist. “To have a husband like this—what more could a wife ask for?”
Xiao Muchen gritted his teeth. “You’re only realizing this now?”
Mingxi laughed.
She had always known—she’d just been afraid to believe it.
Hearing her bright laughter, Xiao Muchen smiled too.
To have a wife like this—what more could a husband ask for?
Another novel completed!!! Thank you to all the readers who joined us on this journey and supported my translations, it really does mean a lot!!! <3 If you enjoyed the translations and the novel, please make sure to give the novel a good rating and review on Novelupdates or donate on Ko-fi or Paypal <3P.S. Go check out the other amazing novels being translated on this site :))
If I am correct the story is complete right??
What a journey it has been. Even though the final chapters felt more like narration, the story was fulfilling.❤️❤️
Each day I spent the night hours waiting for this update. Now what am I supposed to do??😢
Its true that everything beautiful comes to and end.
But I would read this over and over as it was really enjoyabable and just my type of favorite genere.
“If you’re so idle that all you care about is my harem, I’ll find you some work.”
Knew that he would do something like this ever since he had fallen for her.😂
Thanks for daily translations and hardwork…You were a reason I had a beautiful night time.💕