“Bring me the most beautiful girls. Otherwise, I will kill you!” He stressed each syllable, and his voice was cold and serious. Though Ms. Hua was experienced, she was frightened. She stepped back and shouted with a fierce look, “Bring Qiangwei here!”

Those girls became unhappy immediately. One of them walked over and said, “Boss, Qiangwei doesn’t serve guests, does she?”

“Cut the crap! Bring her here! If she doesn’t agree, drag her here by force!” Ms. Hua struggled to free herself, but Shen Zhongbai was grasping her collar. Her face became blue because she was short of breath as if she would be smothered soon.

All girls around were scared at this moment. If Shen Qiangwei, the most beautiful prostitute, came out, everything would be doomed. She was so beautiful that Shen Zhongbai would be enchanted by her, and other girls would have no chances.

The daydream of ascension to a high rank overnight would be shattered finally.

In the fanciest private room upstairs, Shen Zhongbai lied on the bed. The fragrance in the air could arouse desire. He picked up a wine pot and drank up the alcohol in a daze, but it didn’t work. He looked carefully at the pot and found it was empty.

His mind became clear for no reason. Between the woman he loved and the one that loved him, he chose the latter. He helped Gu Zhihua realize her dream and didn’t take Gu Qiang away from Shen Qianshan. The wind began to blow suddenly. He thought himself ridiculous and pitiful. It seemed that everyone else lived a perfect life with his help, but he ended up all alone.

The door was pushed open lightly, and a woman in white entered slowly. Her face was covered with gauze. Slim and tall, she looked composed and casual and didn’t behave in an affected way.

Shen Zhongbai stopped drinking. Her appearance seemed to overlap that of the woman on his mind. That was his beloved Gu Qiang.

He got up unstably, rushed to the woman, took her into his arms, and buried his head to her neck, which was as fair and erect as a swan and made her exceedingly attractive.

“Qiang… Qiang, I’m not happy today. I don’t love Gu Zhihua…” What he said next was blown away by the wind through the window and disappeared in the empty room.

The woman stood straight and listened to Shen Zhongbai quietly. Then she fell into a long silence.

As a prostitute, she had seen all kinds of men, sentimental, unfaithful, promiscuous, and loyal. Each one wanted to benumb himself with alcohol and then sought comfort from a woman. It was not rare for her.

However, when she heard him calling that woman’s name quietly, her body became tight, and her heart seemed to be pierced by something.

Frankly speaking, she didn’t hope that such an all-around excellent man would be hurt by another woman.

There were so many women in the world, but there were few men like Shen Zhongbai who was good-looking, capable, and wealthy, weren’t there?

What did the woman named Qiang look like?

“Sir.” Shen Qiangwei lifted Shen Zhongbai away from her neck, touched his face with her hands, and said in a cold voice, “I’m not Qiang. My name is Shen Qiangwei.”

“Shen Qiangwei?” Shen Zhongbai looked at her. After observing her for a while, he turned over and lied prone on her. At that moment, she heard her neck collide with the ground. The loud sound startled her.

Then she felt the pain, which made her sweat. She gasped but gritted her teeth to keep silent. His hands moved around on her body. She was greeted with his warm breath. The smell of alcohol surrounded them. She became slightly drunk and closed her eyes slowly.

The next morning, the sunlight shone into the room through the small window. When Shen Zhongbai woke up, he found himself lying on a bed. Its curtain was pink and embroidered with the pattern of butterflies. Apparently, it was a woman’s bedroom.

Food was placed on the table, but it was already cold. A girl in pink was sitting in front of the dresser. She was priming herself and trying a lotus-shaped hairpin carefully.

Shen Zhongbai got up, walked behind her, took her hairpin, and tried it on her head. Then he looked at the beauty in the mirror and pinned it at a proper place.

Shen Qiangwei was surprised. She turned around and Shen Zhongbai was greeted with her smiling face as beautiful as a flower. She smiled shyly and said, “Good morning.”

Her voice was sweet as if it was mixed with honey.

Shen Zhongbai sat on a chair behind her. He didn’t dare to drink the tea on the table until he smelt it. Then he asked coldly, “What’s your name?”

“Shen Qiangwei…” Shen Qiangwei answered with dim eyes. Last night, she tried to help him remember her name, but he didn’t.

Shen Zhongbai tapped his fingers on the table slightly and nodded, “Your family name is Shen? The same as the name of the royal family. What a coincidence! Pack your stuff and go home with me.”

He arranged his clothes and dusted the rouge marks from them.

Shen Qiangwei’s eyes lit up and then tears blurred her eyes.

In mid-November of the 7th year of Jianyuan.

The Empress opened her eyes slowly and stared at the pattern on the ceiling. After rolling her eyes, she found them sore and swollen. She knew she must have cried in her dream. Her body hurt and she had no strength left. Her throat was dry. It was so quiet that even the sound of a needle could be heard when it fell to the ground. Someone was breathing quietly near her ear, and the rhythm of breath was similar to her heartbeat.

Turning around, she saw Shen Qianshan sitting on the ground. With his hands as a pillow, he leaned against the edge of the bed and was asleep.

She would have woken him up to argue with him in the past. However, now she was in no mood.

The following deep sadness smothered her like clouds so that she couldn’t breathe.

She touched her belly, which was painful and empty. It was not as full as before. It occurred to her immediately that her kid had been gone. She trembled with sadness and sobbed. Then because of the heartache, her body ached.

Shen Qianshan’s hands were put on the Empress’s body. Her movement woke Shen Qianshan up.

When he looked up, he saw the Empress huddling in pain. She stared at his eyes and couldn’t help asking in a hoarse voice, “The baby is gone? Is it gone?”

Shen Qianshan burst into tears. He had no idea why they had a baby suddenly though he had done nothing with the Empress in his memory. No matter whom the baby belonged to, he trembled with astonishment and fear when he looked at the little life flowing away in the form of blood.

He grasped the Empress’s hands and comforted her in a voice as light as a feather lest she should be disturbed.

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll have another kid.” Shen Qianshan comforted her.

The Empress felt so painful that her facial features even distorted, and she covered her head with the quilt. She didn’t want to discuss with Shen Qianshan whether they would have another kid. She was just tortured by the misfortune of losing a baby again.

That night, Gusu Liang opened the door and entered, only to find the Empress sitting on the chair as if in a trance. She hadn’t recovered, but she looked so frightening when she got angry that no one dared to enter the room, including the girl serving food.

Gusu Liang put the food on the table and sat down slowly. She had worked for the Empress for several years and was the only one that had the ear of the latter.

Knowing that Gusu Liang came, the Empress rubbed her hands and said slowly, “The baby is gone after all.”

After all? Gusu Liang looked at the Empress in surprise and didn’t follow her.

Gusu Liang found that the Empress had changed completely after she lost the baby. She became more irritable. In fact, she was helpless. It seemed that she had to give up after experiencing all devastation of the world, though she still wanted to fight against the world.

Gusu Liang had never been seized by such a sense of despair, so she didn’t understand why the Empress was so dispirited. Of course, it was understandable to feel dispirited for losing her baby, but Gu Qiang used to be able to turn the tables in the past no matter what happened.

She had been different a few days ago. Gusu Liang couldn’t explain the changes clearly.

“My Lady, I’m sorry for the baby. The Duke has already punished Sun Linhua.” Gusu Liang brought her food, hoping that she could take care of herself.

The Empress lowered her head. Seeing the dishes on the table, she couldn’t help forcing a smile. It was cold in November just like her mood.

Tears rolled down her face, but she sat still. She was afraid that if she moved, her heart would be reminded that she was still alive and then it would be more painful than she could withstand.

“How was she punished?” The Empress picked up the chopsticks, ate some food, and asked slowly. She found that as long as her mind was not occupied by it, her heart would be less painful. It seemed that she would feel better if she was distracted.

Gusu Liang looked at the Empress in surprise. Was she eating? She sounded composed when asking the question. Though it could be found that she tried to control herself from trembling, Gusu Liang was still impressed by her willpower.

“The Duke… killed Sun Linhua.” Gusu Liang gasped and suddenly recalled the moment when Sun Linhua died. A chill came over her. Though Sun Linhua deserved it, they had known each other for over ten years. As friends since childhood, they respected each other, though they were not very close. However, due to the Empress’s baby, a precious life was gone instantly. It sent a chill down the spine of Gusu Liang.