Reluctantly, the emperor stood up to fulfill her first wish but she stopped him with her finger pressed tightly on his mouth, hoping to add few more conditions before finalizing the deal.
" Your Majesty, you sure are eager to kiss this lips that you so arrogantly rejected on my first night as your wife", she said .
The emperor"..."
She continued, " I have a few conditions, I want the Prince and his mother to be sent out of the palace"
The emperor refused but she already expected the answer.
"Your Majesty, if you had agreed easily l would have been disappointed at the depth of your so-called love for your concubine but I'm impressed nevertheless, right now I am making my real proposal"
The emperor urged her to continue.
"My son shall be made the crown prince"
The emperor agreed but he added something that surprised the empress.
" I want you to elevate her position as a royal consort, l will send the prince away from the palace after he is weaned and shall be allowed inside the palace only on few occasions", he paused as his face showed a sign of struggle.
" l will visit your bedchamber tomorrow so make the necessary preparations".
Satisfied with himself, he didn't wait for his empress to refute his proposal as he stormed out of her palace.
The empress with relief in her heart called her attendants and gave them the instruction of preparing for the D-day, but not without giving one final command to the shadow lurking in the background.
"You heard everything he said l presume?", the shadow came out and nodded.
"Call off the operation", it nodded again and disappeared.
She sat down on her seat and laughed maniacally. One glance, you would see her sadness.
She murmured softly to herself,
"Your Majesty, don't blame me, you were my first and last love but I can finally see there is no place for me in your heart", she paused as she fell in a daze.
"If only you had loved me, just for a little bit, l would have been good, but since this is the only way for me to get what I want from you l will keep making deals with you." She whispered in self-reproach and melancholy.
The next day at night after all the rituals had been completed, she received her emperor's favour and after two weeks she was confirmed pregnant.
Nine months later, a chubby and healthy son was delivered to her arms, with the last strength left from her birth ordeal she knelt down before her son.
"Welcome my crown prince, future ruler of this empire"
Her attendants shocked but happy to oblige, followed suit.
"Long live our crown prince and future ruler of our empire".
For the following months, celebration became the order of the day as the empress's family released lots of gold and goodies to the common people in celebration of the legitimate son arrival.
As for the nobles and especially the West faction, parties and banquets became everyday affair.
For them, their future has been secured since the next emperor is coming from their side.
"We've gotten a strong ally", they screamed as they drank to stupor.