"Father said in his letter that someone had bribed an expert to bewitch the late emperor, telling him that the Purple Star would soon descend into the world through the child in the Empress's womb. She was nearing her due date, and they said she needed to go to the temple before giving birth to chant sutras and pray for the Purple Star for nine days.
"But those people's plot was to find a way to frighten the Empress into going into labor early at the temple, then take her child away."
Wasn't the late emperor's empress none other than Old Fairy?
Jiang Yourning immediately perked up. She sat a little straighter and even stopped drinking her tea.
She had only known that Old Fairy had lost a child. She had never imagined there was a story like this behind it.
"Father stumbled upon such a terrible secret. When Mother realized he was unlikely to survive, she gathered all the silver in the house and hid it beneath a large pagoda tree, then bought a set of clothes from a beggar.
"She made me filthy, hid me among the beggars, and told me to slip out of the city first.
"I didn't think much of it then. Mother said she was going to the palace gates to meet Father, and afterward, the three of us could be together again.
"But... I waited outside the city for three whole days, until I saw someone drag Mother's body out of the city with my own eyes and finally dump her at the Mass Grave."
At this point, A-Qi wiped his tears with his sleeve, a hatred that would not dissolve lingering in his eyes.
"Later, the Empress really did lose her child. I thought that was the end of it... until last