"The Emperor is coming" a maid said, Zichen did not move from his place besides the window, his nimble, jade like hands still held the cup. The miscarriage had taken a toll of his health, he could not deny that, that plus the fact that he was now in possession of a body that had not done one days worth of hard work, really put him in a vulnerable spot. He sighed, he had to get better, if he hoped to survive in this court, the harem was just as much a battle as was a war.
The Emperor entered the room, along with his guard, Zhao Xiang, he was one of the supporting characters, like Haoran, he too was an alpha, but he was far kinder, he was even nice to the foolish 3rd consort. He gave Zichen a small smile.
The Emperor had a stern look on his face, he did not offer a smile or even a greeting to Zichen, he just maintained a cold, expressionless face, his Features were sharp, long, jet black hair, and coal black eyes to match. He had an aura that would make the most fearless warrior beg for mercy. A man truly fit to be called Emperor.
As soon as he entered the room, Yanli bowed down fast, Zichen feared she might have snapped one of her bones in half, "Greetings Father" she said "forgive 3rd mother for not bowing, he has still not recovered, moving his body gives him great discomfort" she said. Zichen put his cup down finally "Greetings. Your majesty" he said bowing his head slightly.
"No need to bow, We² understand" The Emperor said finally, he had a deep velvety voice, his tone was neither affectionate nor threatening, it was just like his face, neutral. He then walked to sit down besides Zichen "Dear wife" he said, *he says dear but his eyes say he wants to get out of here as soon as possible* Zichen thought "how is your health now?" He asked, "I am doing better" Zichen replied simply. "I wasn't asking about physical health" Haoran said
Wow Zichen was really lost now, even Yanli and Xiang looked shocked, was the Emperor really asking the 3rd consort how he was emotionally?, well, some people might consider it basic human decency to ask someone if they are okay after the loss of a child, but then again the 3rd consort wasn't exactly seen as human in the royal palace.
"I..I am fine" Zichen answered after a little hesitation, he didn't know what else to say, the lost baby hadn't been his, he held no emotional connection to it. "You say you are fine, but We have heard that recently your behavior has changed, We can even feel it now" the Emperor pushed "...." Zichen was left speechless now, this wasn't the Cold Haoran from the original Novel, just what the hell was going on..?
"I suppose I'm a little sad, that's all" He says, it was more casual he intended it to be, probably because of how shocked he was. "Alright" Haoran said getting up "that is all" He walked out, Xiang followed him.
Yanli was quite for a moment, then she sat down next to Zichen "father does care for you after all!" She said "see, I told you" she exclaimed, Zichen smiled amused, Yanli was an extra in the original novel, she didn't have much improtance, she was after all an omega, she couldn't take the throne after her father, only alpha's could inherit the throne, but she was a lovely girl, it was a pity the author hadn't given her more screentime, she was one of the only characters Zichen had liked in the book.
The meeting with the Emperor still plagued his mind but, he decided to ignore it, maybe that bastard did have some humanity in him after all, maybe he had a change of heart or maybe he was just feeling kinder than usual today, who knew what that unpredictable dog thought
² emperor used "we" instead of "i" cause that's how the emperor use to refer to himself in ancient China