Wei Ying's POV

We were walking like in trance and thankfully didn't meet anyone on our way back to my palace. The moment we stepped into my bed-chamber Wen Ning fell on his knees before me and bowed as deep as he could.

"Punish me, your highness!" He shouted and got up, only to bow to me again. His head hit the ground which looked like it was very painful.

"Punish me, your highness!" Once again he hit his head on the ground.

I wanted to say something but wasn't able to. I felt way too tormented.

"Please punish me, your highness!" Wen Ning repeated his actions.

"For what?" I asked him emotionless. "What sin did you do for me to punish you?"

He didn't answer. He couldn't because the truth was, he didn't do anything. His sister did. But ... it always took two people for something like this. That means that Lan Huan is not innocent.

He knew what he was doing. He knew he was cheating on me. That was the reason he changed in the last couple of months. He felt guilty about something and now I figured out the reason for that.

His feeling guilty told me a lot. First, he still loved me. His confessions weren't just empty words. He meant it when he said he loved me.

Secondly, it told me that he knew what he was doing was wrong. He knew it but still did it. That means either he is cold-hearted which is what I can't agree with because he felt guilty after all. Moreover, I knew him too well. I was with him since I was 16. He wasn't a cold person!

But why was he doing it then? Why was he cheating on me when he still loved me!?

I guessed the reason was simple, wasn't it? An heir. I couldn't give him one but he needed an heir and I knew that he was getting pressured by many sides to finally have one. So I guessed he was getting forced to do what he was doing. But that didn't make him innocent.

Was it the emperor? Was that the reason Lan Huan fought with him so often? Probably.

But why? Why now!? Couldn't he wait for a few more years? What was the time for an immortal? Nothing! I was the mortal! I hadn't much time left in this life, I would die in a few years! So why couldn't he wait until then!?

"I... my sister.... I am sorry...." Wen Ning hit his head on the ground again.

"Stop doing that!" I screamed. For the first since I knew him, I raised my voice at him. I felt bad but ... screaming made me feel better.

"Your highness...."

"Lan Huan is the cheater! Your sister is the sinner, not you! Stop apologizing for her sins! You are innocent! So stop punishing yourself! Stop asking for punishment!" I held my chest because I had trouble breathing.

"...." Wen Ning didn't say anything anymore but he looked at me in pain. His aura was still black. I have never seen such a color before. He felt helpless, lost, sad, powerless, hurt, and broken.

Wen Ning respected me a lot. I was his master but we were friends too. Close friends. He loved me just as much as his sister. Seeing Wen Qing hurting and betraying me was the worst for him. He didn't know how to comprehend the situation. Nor did I.

I went down on my knees. "I don't hate you, Wen Ning. I don't give you any fault. We both are innocent while your sister and Lan Huan are the sinners. So please stop apologizing. Stop hitting yourself. I need a friend right now! So please....." My voice broke and I felt tears running down my cheeks.

"Your highness!" Wen Ning looked at me in shock.

I only cried like this once before. When my third daughter died. But it wasn't even as bad as this time. Because I knew from the doctors that my daughter hadn't much time left. I knew that and slowly, very slowly accepted the fact. Of course, I was never able to fully accept it. No parents could but at least her death didn't hit me unexpectedly.

Lan Huan cheating on me was unexpected. It was shocking and it broke something in me.

Wen Ning closed his lips and nodded. He never went against me. He always did what I told him to, even if it was just a plea and not an order.

"Wen Ning..." I called him. "Will you betray me in the future too?" I asked him and his answer came immediately.

"NO! You are my life saver, my master, my friend, and my family. I won't ever betray you!"

"Then..." I closed my eyes because what I was about to ask him was unfair and cruel. "If I ask you to choose between me and your sister. If you can only be loyal to one of us... whom will you choose?"

He closed his eyes and a tear fell down his cheeks.

"You, your highness!" He looked at me with all his honesty and his Aura brightened up a little bit. He then bowed to me. "I will stay loyal to your highness! My sister already betrayed me when she- I love my sister, she is my family too but she is in the wrong! She shouldn't have done that no matter what! I will choose you, your highness! I will never betray you!"

I got up real quick and walked into the bathroom. "I want to be alone. Don't let anyone in!"

"Yes, your highness....."

The moment the door closed I broke down and cried in silence. I held my chest and tried to breathe normally which was impossible. I didn't want anyone to hear me, not even Wen Ning.

'It hurts!' I shut my eyes close. 'It hurts so much!'

Why couldn't they wait? Why did they have to hurry things!? Couldn't they wait until I was gone!? Did no one care for my feelings!?

'Lan Huan! How could you do this? You said you loved me! Why!? Why did you lie to me!? Why did you cheat on me!? You said you would never!!'

I tried to calm down but it wouldn't work. Everything hurts

'What should I do now? What am I supposed to do?' I asked myself.

Should I confront Lan Huan? But I was scared! I didn't want him to know I knew. I didn't want others to know that I knew Lan Huan was cheating on-

'They knew!' I realized. 'They must have known!' Everyone, or at least most of them knew that Lan Huan was with Wen Qing. They knew the whole time and I- I was clueless. I bet they were laughing at my blindness, my cluelessness, and my stupidity.

I wanted to run away but I couldn't. I had nowhere to go. I gave up the mortal ream when I decided to marry Lan Huan. I thought that was the right choice back then. I loved him so much and yet he-

I couldn't go back there....I had nothing left. I couldn't stay with my oldest daughter either because she was about to marry. And I couldn't leave my other daughters alone in the immortal realm. If Lan Huan had an heir... he would forget about them, wouldn't he? For the sake of an heir, he even betrayed me. He wanted a son so bad....

I couldn't stop myself anymore and screamed. I let out all the pain I felt. The scream shocked me because it sounded even worse than I imagined it. But I couldn't stop because it felt good. Letting everything out felt so good.

Someone would hear it and check on me. They will find out I knew everything and would probably laugh at me but I didn't care. All I cared about was that the pain would go away so I closed my eyes and screamed. I screamed until I felt a different kind of pain. Not a mental one, not the pain in my heart but another one. A pain that hurt so much and scared me.

I stopped screaming and tore my eyes open. Then I saw it. I was shocked. I didn't dare to let out another sound, I didn't dare to move. I just sat there staring at the floor in fear.

"Wen Ning!!" I shouted his name before losing consciousness.

Wang Ji's POV

I saw him leaving with hurried steps, Wen Ning following close behind. I couldn't take my eyes off him until he was gone. Even the bunnies would hop away after both were gone.

What did just happen? Why did he leave so suddenly? Did he have a nightmare or... did he...?

I shook my head. 'No, it couldn't.'

I looked back to the spot he was laying not long ago and walked towards it. I smiled and laid down, sniffing the air. I could still smell the soft scent of vanilla. He always smelled like that when we met.

I closed my eyes and immediately saw his smiling face. When he smiled, his eyes would close and would look like two half-moons. His little dimples would appear and make him look like a teenage boy. He was 32 years old but still looked like he was in his early 20th.

Whenever he smiled my heart skipped a beat. I knew it shouldn't but it did. I didn't feel guilty about it. I knew he was my brother's consort but that didn't forbid me to have feelings for him.

I had them since the first time I met him. I saw him from afar and my heart immediately started beating fast. I didn't know him, I couldn't even see him properly back then but my heart still behaved so unusually. Before I knew it, I fell in love with him, and the more often we met, the deeper my feeling for him became. I bet he didn't realize himself what kind of impact he had on me.

I knew I had no chance. I could only love him in silence but I was fine with that. Seeing him so happy with my brother made me happy as well. But of course, I was even happier that he came to me every day. He spent most of the time at my palace than at his own.

But for some time now, his smile faded a little. He probably didn't realize it but I did. He was still smiling a lot, his dimples would still appear and his eyes would still change into half-moons. But deep down I knew something wasn't right.

I couldn't describe this feeling but ... somehow I liked to think I was somehow emotionally connected with him. If he was happy, I was too. When he was sad, I was too. If he was in pain, I was too, if he was excited or scared, I was too.

It was strange but I didn't hate it at all. If I could share his burden, I would gladly do so. If he was happy spending time with me, I would let him come here whenever he wanted. I was even waiting for him.

I only left my palace when I went out for a walk in the evening, at night, or in the early morning when no one was around. I liked to be alone. I wanted to spend time by myself or with my bunnies. And of course with Wei Ying.

I didn't like to meet other people. I never did and so I made sure to avoid everyone. Unfortunately, my father knew of my habits, and sometimes he would send some princesses my way, hoping for a change of feelings. But that was impossible.

Not now, that my heart was stolen by Wei Ying. I couldn't change the fact that he was my brother's consort nor did I want to. All I wanted was for him to be happy. That was enough for me.

But as Wei Ying was feeling a little down for some time, I thought about talking to my brother. I wanted to know what was happening and what I could do to make Wei Ying purely happy again.

But I knew that this was overstepping the boundaries. If I did that, rumors might go around and that was the least I wanted. I didn't care what others said about me. I was used to it since I was little after all. But not Wei Ying.

Wei Ying was a pure and innocent soul. I didn't want others to think he was doing something forbidden.

"Wei Ying...." I called him silently and smiled. I loved saying his name. It felt so calming. His presence was calming me and so I was awaiting every day for him to enter my place.

I knew he loved listening to me playing the zither. He loved hearing me sing. That was the reason I always tried to write new songs to make him happy. He loved my pastries and so I made them for him every day. I was scared of what he would think if he ever found out that I was the one who did them but... there was no reason. He loved them nevertheless and I liked to imagine he loved my pastries the most.

He was a good eater. Especially when he was pregnant. He preferred sweets over spicy food. When I would look at him in amusement seeing him eating so much he would always blame the baby. I would nod and let it slide with a smile.

I opened my eyes and took out my list of possible names for his fifth daughter. I had many names but I was not satisfied with any of them. I wanted it to be something special. She would be my fifth goddaughter and giving her a name is a huge honor for me.

Wei Ying tried to take look at it before but I tried to hide it from him because I wasn't done yet. But he still wanted to snatch the papers until he lost his balance. When I saw him falling I acted without giving it much thought. I didn't mind getting a little hurt but Wei Ying should never be hurt nor should his unborn child. So I made him land soft.

Was it naughty of me to think that I enjoyed that position? I smiled and remembered the feeling. He was a little heavy but I didn't mind it. It felt good. We looked at each other for so long...

'His eyes are so beautiful... and his little beauty mark right under his under lip looked gorgeous.' I thought and smiled as I closed my eyes and thought about that incident.

I didn't know how long I was sleeping but suddenly I woke up feeling immense pain. I held my chest and let out a groan. I tried to catch my breath and waited for a little but the pain didn't vanish at all.

"What is happening...?" I asked myself and tried to get up and I barely succeeded.

When the pain got worse I panicked a little. I shouldn't feel this pain as I was as healthy as an immortal could be. I was frequently having check-ups like everyone else too. I wasn't sick, at least the doctors never said so.

I let out another groan and closed my eyes. The moment I did I saw Wei Ying. His image popped up behind my eyes only for a second but it was enough to make me worried. I knew that I could feel what he felt but it was never as strong as this.

Was I imagining things or did something happen to him?

I didn't know but I didn't want to take any risks so I made my way to his palace. The pain became greater making me more than just a little worried. I decided to take the fastest way to his palace by using my spiritual powers which I used rarely.

I landed in Wei Ying's backyard and immediately felt that something wasn't right. The air felt way too heavy. With hurried steps, I approached the door and knocked on it. When no one answered after I knocked again, a little more impatient this time until Wen Ning opened the door.

I was stunned to see him in such a bad shape. He looked like he just cried and assumed something bad must have happened making him look so broken. I frowned at him.

I heard something coming from the inside of the room, something like a scream but I wasn't sure as it sounded muffled so I concentrated back on Wen Ning.

"Yo-your highness...." He bowed but it was different than usual. It was like he didn't really know what he was doing. "His highness, Wei Ying is currently- he can't take any guests today. He is... doesn't want to see anyone."

"What happened?" I asked and Wen Ning flinched. My voice was low and it must have sounded pretty dangerous. I felt sorry for Wen Ning but I was currently very worried about Wei Ying and couldn't care much about his feelings. I would apologize to him later.

"N-nothing, His highness is....-"

"Wen Ning!" I warned him. I never spoke to him like this and he must have realized that today everything was different. "Something doesn't feel right. Where is Wei Ying? Did something happen?"

Wen Ning teared up and one could think I was bullying him. "He... he..."

"Wen Ning, I asked you something!" I growled, now pretty sure something must have happened.

"His highness is in the bath-"

"Wen Ning!!" I heard Wei Ying's voice coming from the bathroom where the weird muffled noises were coming from earlier. But Wei Ying didn't sound good. Even Wen Ning was alarmed at the panicked sound of Wei Ying's voice.

Without caring much for etiquette I entered the building and walked straight toward the bathroom. I knocked on the door and called for him.

"Wei Ying, here is Wang Ji. Is everything okay?" I asked him but didn't receive any answer. I called for him a second time and when I still heard nothing I opened the door and entered the bathroom.

"WEI YING!" I shouted and run up to him. He was unconscious but that wasn't even the worst part. There was blood. A lot of blood and I knew right away that Wei Ying was in danger.

"YOUR HIGHNESS!" Wen Ying screamed in shock and lost all the color on his face. He didn't waste any time and turned around. "I call for a doctor!"

I was scared to move Wei Ying but I didn't want to let him lay on the floor so I took him into my arms and very carefully carried him to his bed. I made sure to treat him very gently.

"Wei Ying..." I called him several times but he didn't wake up. Even while sleeping I knew he was in pain. I didn't know what happened but I would find out even if I have to force the truth out of Wen Ning who surely knew what had happened.

It didn't take long for the doctor to come. Wen Ning and I stepped aside to let him do his job. I observed the doctor's face with worry and impatience. The doctor examined him and shook his head several times before using his spiritual power to call someone.

"What is wrong!?" I asked him and the doctor looked at me in sorrow.

"The child is gone. We have to take her out or his highness will die." He told me and I widened my eyes in shock.

"What!?"

"His highness had a miscarriage...." He repeated. "There is nothing I can do for the child but if we don't take her out now, his highness will not survive. I called the midwives already. They will be here shortly." The doctor looked at Wei Ying sadly and got up to get some medicine out of his bag.

Wen Ning walked up to Wei Ying and held his hand.

"We need to inform the crown prince and the emperor of this...." The doctor sighed.

"Wen Ning... Wen Ning..." I heard Wei Ying's soft voice. He was so silent that the doctor who stood a few meters away from me didn't hear him.

"I am here, your highness." Wen Ning answered.

"Don't tell .... Lan Huan.... Don't tell ... that I know....." He mumbled in pain and I frowned.

'Don't tell him you know what, Wei Ying!? What happened? What are you hiding?'

"I won't tell him... I won't. Please, don't say anything. The doctor is here, your highness. Everything is going to be okay." Wen Ning promised and looked toward the doctor.

"She is gone.... my princess... she is gone..." Wei Ying mumbled knowingly and it broke my heart. He already lost one of his daughters. Now he lost another.

'Wei Ying....' I bit my lips and was about to walk up to him but before I could do so, the midwives came and told Wen Ning and me to move away. I didn't want to leave the room but for Wei Ying, I did so together with Wen Ning.

That boy was shivering and his eyes shifted from one side to the other. I observed him and would have liked to interrogate him but he was not in the condition for that.

"WEI YING!" I looked at my brother who came running towards us panicky. The doctor must have notified him but he sure was late. I frowned at him but he didn't see it as he stared at the door towards the bedroom.

The doctor who heard my brother's shout came out of the room and bowed to him. "Your highness."

With a few quick words, he filled my brother in. He paled, fell to the ground, and stared at the door in shock until the midwives came out. Then he entered the room together with the doctor and Wen Ning and I followed them.

"Wei Ying, my love..." Lan Huan knelt in front of the bed where a pale and sleeping Wei Ying was resting on. "What happened?"

The question was meant for Wei Ying but the doctor answered. "His highness and the baby were in good health and this shouldn't have happened. I guess that something must have happened for his highness to feel very stressed and emotional. That huge turmoil caused the miscarriage."

My Brother looked at Wen Ning. "Wen Ning! What happened!? You are with him all the time so you must know!"

Wen Ning looked at the ground which made me suspicious. Wen Ning would always look at someone who talks to him. Yes, he would be shy and blush, he would look away for a short moment but out of respect, he would never fully avoid someone else's eyes. So why was he not meeting my brother's eyes now?

"Wen Ning!?" Lan Huan called him louder and the boy fell to his knees and shook his head. He was shivering heavy and I looked at my brother.

"I ... I .... don't know. He was ... in the bathroom..." Wen Ning stuttered in fear.

"Where were you when it happened!?"

"A-at the door-"

"He was letting me in." I interrupted Wen Ning and my bother looked at me. "We were talking when we heard Wei Ying calling for Wen Ning. When we entered, he was already unconscious and blood was on the floor. Wen Ning called for the doctor and I carried Wei Ying to the bed."

"That was good. His highness wouldn't survive if he kept laying on the cold floor. You saved his highness's life, your highness." The doctor told me and I gave him a short bow with my head.

"Thank you, Wang Ji.... Thank you..." Lan Huan got up and hugged me. "Thank you for saving him. Thank you."

I didn't react to that because saving Wei Ying was a matter of course. He doesn't need to thank me for that.

"Your highnesses." The doctor called us. "It's important for his highness prince Wei Ying to have a good rest. He needs to take his medicine." He gave a little bag to Wen Ning.

"I understand."

"He shouldn't get emotional for the time being. Make sure he is comfortable and his emotions are stable. No stress is allowed."

"Yes, doctor." My brother agreed to all of his words before sending him out.

I looked at Wei Ying who frowned and grabbed my chest. He was in pain and I was too. 'What I feel.... It's him, isn't it? These feelings, this pain... it's his. I can feel him!'

He was pale and in so much pain that it was difficult to breathe. I walked up to the sleeping man and sat down in front of him before taking out my zither.

"I will play for you, Wei Ying. I know .... it won't make the pain go away... but it will help you to feel a little better. I am here for you, Wei Ying." I mumbled before starting to hit the notes without taking my eyes off him.

His pain, of course, didn't vanish but he stopped frowning and I could feel that he calmed down slightly. I was happy that I could help him just even if it was just a little bit.

I didn't know why I felt him and his emotions so clearly but I didn't care for the reason. I knew that this was unusual, weird even. But I didn't mind. I was clear of my feelings for this man and even if I couldn't be with him like I wished I could, that wouldn't hinder me to be there for him, to love him. Even if I had to do so silently.

'I am here for you, Wei Ying. I will always be here for you. '

to be continued...

I feel so bad for what happened... I know I am always saying this but that is because it's the truth. This had to happen... 

Wang Ji, you have to help our angel! He needs you now! 

I know that Wei Ying doesn't want anyone to find out, especially Lan Huan, but... Wei Ying, you have to let him know! 

If you enjoyed this update, even if it was a sad one, feel free to leave a vote. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section too :D :D