Chapter 219: So She Had Already Paid This Price?

"Mandarin Duck Knot."

Mu Yunlian was just about to leave when Rong Yin suddenly spoke, his words stopping him in his tracks.

Rong Yin: "Her Majesty was afflicted with the Mandarin Duck Knot. She survived it through sheer will alone. She... will never be able to have children in this lifetime."

Mu Yunlian’s upturned eyes narrowed. "So, you knew too."

Mu Yunlian glanced at the vial of medicine. "Since you know Her Majesty can’t conceive, will you still drink it? Or are you saying that even if you can’t have children with Her Majesty, you still want them with someone else?"

Rong Yin’s dark, hostile eyes glared at him. "What happens between me and Her Majesty is none of your concern."

"You’re wrong. Everything about Her Majesty concerns me."

Mu Yunlian had gotten what he wanted, and his words were now filled with confidence.

"My body, my heart, and my soul all belong to Her Majesty."

"I may not be able to have Her Majesty all to myself, but I will not allow anyone with a wavering heart to get close to her. If you don’t have the resolve to bet your entire life on her, then get out of the game while you still can!"

Mu Yunlian was like a wicked dragon guarding its treasure, eager to utterly annihilate any thief who dared to try and steal it.

Rong Yin clenched his fists, suppressing his rage. "You’re a latecomer. What right do you have to be so triumphant?"

"By the right that I love her, respect her, and would give my life for her."

"Besides... who says I’m the latecomer?" ’When I first fell in love with Her Majesty, who knows where you even were.’

But the events of his past life were a secret between him and Her Majesty. No one else was worthy of knowing.

After Mu Yunlian left, Rong Yin stood rooted to the spot for a long time. He picked up the box and handed it to Qing Feng. "Take this to Han Yang for inspection."

Mu Yunlian probably wouldn’t dare to harm him so openly, but there wasn’t enough trust between them for him to just swallow any medicine he was given.

Rong Yin started toward Zichen Palace. ’Her Majesty should be washing up for the night around this time.’

’So, it turns out Her Majesty doesn’t want children.’

Previously, Han Yang had said Her Majesty would be unable to conceive in the future. Fearing it would break her heart, he had told Han Yang to keep it a secret. He never imagined that this very secret was the reason she had rejected him time and time again.

"Your Majesty, the Regent King has arrived."

Rong Yin did not enter directly, waiting at the entrance instead. At this moment, he wasn’t sure if the Emperor wanted to see him.

Fortunately, Nanny Yang came out a moment later. "My Prince, Her Majesty will see you."

Rong Yin composed himself before finally stepping inside.

Xiao Yang had already washed up and was dressed in a white nightgown, looking ready for bed.

"Your Majesty." Rong Yin walked over and, heedless of the transgression, pulled her directly into his embrace.

Being so close, he could clearly see the amorous marks covering her neck and the skin below.

"It’s so late. Is something the matter?"

Rong Yin: "I... missed you?"

Xiao Yang heard the broken, sorrowful tone in his voice but offered no comfort. She was a scoundrel, but she didn’t force things on people.

Rong Yin closed his eyes, unable to look at those glaring marks, and gently kissed the ends of Xiao Yang’s hair. "Does Your Majesty not like children?"

Xiao Yang: "What did Mu Yunlian tell you?"

Rong Yin: "He said he drank the sterility medicine."

Xiao Yang was speechless. ’Why does that guy just blab everything to everyone?’

She sighed. "I truly have no intention of having children, but it’s not like I’d make someone drink sterility medicine. I didn’t even know what it was when he drank it."

Rong Yin: "Then... does Your Majesty feel especially sorry for him?"

Xiao Yang didn’t answer right away. ’Feel sorry for him? Not really. But it wouldn’t be true to say I feel nothing at all.’

’But after weighing all her thoughts, she still just thought he was an idiot.’

’She was used to being selfish, loving only herself, so she couldn’t understand why anyone would harm their own body for someone else’s sake.’

Xiao Yang’s silence was, in fact, already an answer. She did feel sorry for Mu Yunlian.

Rong Yin: "The Mandarin Duck Knot."

Xiao Yang: "Hm?"

Rong Yin chose his words carefully as he slowly revealed the truth. "Your Majesty was afflicted with the Mandarin Duck Knot. When Han Yang examined you, he confirmed that you would likely never be able to bear children."

Upon learning the truth, Xiao Yang was genuinely stunned. "..."

’So much for not having to suffer. Turns out, I already went through it?’

Rong Yin: "Your Majesty is so young. I feared you wouldn’t be able to accept it, so I had Han Yang keep it from you and also had him research a possible cure."

Xiao Yang’s feelings at that moment were complicated.

’She thought there were no more secrets in the court that could be hidden from her, but it turned out the biggest secret was about her own body.’

’Something was wrong with her own body and she didn’t even know. This truly was a case of the darkest place being under the lamp.’

"This would be considered the crime of deceiving the monarch, wouldn’t it?"

Rong Yin released her and knelt. "It would."

He accepted the charge.

Xiao Yang: "You wouldn’t have come to tell me this for no reason. Does Mu Yunlian know, too?"

Rong Yin: "Yes."

Now Xiao Yang was confused. If Mu Yunlian knew, why didn’t he tell her? Why drink the sterility medicine instead?

But she soon figured it out.

’Before drinking it, Mu Yunlian had asked her very clearly if she wanted children. If she said yes, perhaps her condition could still be treated. If she said no, then by drinking the medicine, he would win her sympathy, demonstrate his resolve, and use her pity for him as an excuse to be wantonly bold.’

’That cunning fox!’

"We understand... The crime of deceiving the monarch will be forgiven this one time."

"This subject will never repeat the offense."

"You may leave."

Xiao Yang wanted to be alone for a while.

Rong Yin left Zichen Palace and went to the Imperial Medical Bureau. Han Yang had already finished analyzing the medicine.

"It is indeed a sterility medicine, but snake gallbladder and coptis root have been added to it."

Rong Yin: "Is there a problem with that?"

Han Yang: "It doesn’t affect the potency. It just makes it exceptionally fishy and bitter—even harder to stomach."

There was no doubt this was Mu Yunlian’s malicious touch. He couldn’t poison Rong Yin to death, but he could certainly try to make him nauseous.

Han Yang: "May I ask where the Prince acquired this medicine? It’s incredibly potent. If someone actually drinks it, I’m afraid there’s no turning back. It must be used with extreme caution."

Rong Yin said nothing more, simply indicating he understood before taking the medicine and leaving.

Upon returning to his manor, he took a sip of tea, stared at the vial for a moment, then pulled out the stopper and downed it in one go.

"Urk..."

It was so bitter and fishy he almost threw it back up. It truly was nauseating.

He hastily gulped down a cup of tea, forcing it down his throat.

The taste was so foul that tears welled up in his eyes from holding it in.

’Sterility medicine. From this day forward, he would never be able to have children.’

’But if Her Majesty couldn’t have children, what use did he have for them?’

’He was a ghost-born child, an ominous person from birth.’

’His fate was to be a bane to his loved ones, which was why he was disowned and exiled from his clan.’

’Emperor Taizhong doted on him, and so he fell ill and died young. The late Emperor also doted on him, and so he died too.’

’He had, at times, blamed himself, wondering if the baleful energy in his fate was truly so strong that everyone who loved him was destined to leave him early.’

’And now he harbored feelings for the Little Emperor, who should have been his junior. It was better this way, that there would be no children between them.’

’It was Her Majesty he wanted to have, not children.’

’Mu Yunlian was detestable, but he was right about one thing: if one didn’t have the resolve to bet their entire life, how could they be worthy of getting close to Her Majesty?’

’He couldn’t leave himself any way out.’

By the time Xiao Yang learned that Mu Yunlian had given Rong Yin the sterility medicine, Rong Yin had already drunk it.

Xiao Yang felt her vision go black again and again.

’What is with these people? Are they drinking this stuff like it’s a beverage?’

Rong Yin: "This subject drank it willingly. It was not for Your Majesty’s sake, so it cannot be considered deceiving the monarch."

Xiao Yang: ’Is this really the time to be arguing about whether it’s deceiving the monarch or not?’