The next morning when G.Li woke up, the emperor was long gone. The space beside her was cold indicating he left before the sunrise. Something in G.Li's heart broke, the hope that rose last night vanishing into thin air.

"My lady." Xiao Hua appeared before with her robe like everymorning.

"Xiao Hua, I don't feel like waking up anymore." she whispered in a shaky voice, her eyes becoming wet with tears.

"My lady." Xiao Hua cried, "Nubi feels sad for my lady. What can nubi do? Nubi would sacrifice nubi's life if it could make my lady smile."

"Silly girl" G.Li rebuked her with a light smile. "The matter of heart is not so easy to solve. Only one person has the power to make this sadness go away."

Xiao Hua gasped at G.Li's words and kneeled before her. Her face lighting up with a huge grin,

"Does that mean my lady has fallen in love with Huangshang?!"

"Pale and haggard grows the yearner for her lover." G.Li quoted one line of famous poem of ancient era. Facing Xiao Hua, she explained,

"Distance makes oneself realize the value of love." She smiled sadly "But it seems to me that I am too late to get that love back."

"No, my lady." Xiao Hua placed her hands on G.Libs knees, "Huangshang would never visit you last night if it was true. My lady still has place in huangshang's heart."

Gongsun Li wanted to believe her maid's words but she knew it could not be true. According to the novel, princess Qiao Tan was destined to be his only love and now that he started spending nights with her, G.Li stood no chance.

G.Li never knew but the thought of him loving someone else made her realize how a broken heart hurts thousand times worse than anything else.

"My lady, the breakfast have been served." Maid Yu informed G.Li as she came out of bath.

"Send them back to the imperial kitchen, only a bowl of birds nest soup is enough for me." G.Li ordered, the last thing she wanted was a meal right now.

"Pardon nubi for her daring words but my lady's health is deteriorating day by day. Please have some-

"I am not hungry, Xiao Hua. I won't have breakfast-

"Huangshang, the emperor!" the palace guard announced the emperor's arrival cutting of G.Li's words.

"Who is not having breakfast?" Zhu Zhen asked as soon as he entered G.Li's chamber. All the maids and eunuchs kneeled down to pay him respect.

"Greetings, Huangshang."

"Why is there no one in the breakfast table?" Zhu Zhen asked G.Li who stood frozen on her spot like she was struck by lightening. Xiao Hua nudged her hard making her head return to earth. G.Li hurriedly kneeled down to greet the emperor only to be stopped by him.

Grabbing her hands, Zhu Zhen made her stand up. He pulled her closer and tilted his head to smell her scent which was really fresh as G.Li just bathed.

"Pardon jianqie for her negligence, huangshang. Please have a seat." She whispered not daring to look at his eyes. The way her heart was beating so fast, she did not want to give her feelings away.

Zhu Zhen pushed her close to his body, her soft chest touching his hard one. With two fingers on her chin, he lifted her face to look at her eyes.

"Concubine Li seems to have learnt proper etiquettes, huh?" He said, his expression as cold as south wind.

Gongsun Li felt like someone ripped her heart apart. Concubine Li, he called her concubine Li, the form address so distant and cold to her.

"Xiaonu(this little servant) does not deserve your kind words, huangshang." she whispered casting her eyes downwards.

"Right," the emperor muttered letting her go. "Serve breakfast for us in here. Zhen is hungry."

After the food was served, G.Li got up and started serving lamb meats and soup on her husband's plate.

"Xiaonu wishes huangshang a great appetite." she said again returning t her seat opposite him.

"Serve her plate." Zhu Zhen ordered a maid.

"Xianu seeks forgiveness but xiaonu doesnot have so much appetite to eat all these dishes. Xiaonu will only have the soup. Huangshang, please procee-

Gongsun Li was cut off as the emperor slammed his fist hard on the table.

"Come here!" he ordered, his eyes dark intimidating her to a shaky mess. The last thing G.Li was to get anywhere close to him.

"Huangshang-

"Come.here.Gongsun Li."

Okay, that was a dead warning.

Gongsun Li was tackled on his lap as soon as she walked to him.Grabbing her legs, Zhu Zhen made her sit sideways on his lap. His arm were wrapped around her waist to pin her close.

"Hua-huangshang, what are you doing?"

"Feeding you. You have lost pretty much of your weight." The emperor's brows frowned with displeasure as he brought the chopsticks with meat to her lips.

G.Li's eyes overflowed with tears and her lips shook in attempt of suppressing her cry.

What games he was playing? Why did he come to her now?

"Gongsun Li." Zhu Zhen warned her softly. "Be good." He pressed the meat to her mouth. G Li sniffed and nibbled the meat.

For the next few minutes, Zhu Zhen fed her and himself to his heart's content.

"This is the last time I tolerated your negligence to your health, Gongsun Li. If it happens again, none of your maids will live to see the next sunrise."

All the maids gasped including G.Li and they hurriedly kneelesd before the emperor.

"Huangshang, have mercy."

"Only if you take care of your lady well." Zhu Zhen warned with a cold glare. G.Li was too shocked to say anything in that moment.

When the emperor turned to leave, she whispered,

"Why are you doing all this?"

Why all this care now?

"For my child, of course. Who knows, maybe you are already with my child."

Like that he broke all the budding hopes in G.Li's heart with a simple sentence.