In the third year of the emperor's favor toward Su Yao, he finally remembered that the woman he loved was Su Yao's older sister.
That woman was aloof and proud. She would rather send her younger sister into the palace than stay beside a man who had forgotten her.
The emperor looked at Su Yao again, and every trace of affection in his eyes had vanished.
"I will send you out of the palace and give you a new identity."
Timid and meek by nature, Su Yao was still begging for some small sign that the emperor remembered their past.
The emperor sighed softly. "You only look like her."
That was why his unconscious instincts had favored her.
Su Yao could not remain in the capital and offend her sister, so the emperor bestowed her upon a young court official who had been demoted and exiled, sending them far away to the borderlands.
On the day she left the city, drums and gongs thundered as a lavish wedding procession stretched ten miles, celebrating the new empress's arrival.
Clutching a small bundle, Su Yao rode away in a swaying carriage, leaving the city quietly behind.
The emperor stood with his hands behind his back atop the city gate, gazing into the distance. He never imagined there would be a day when he saw her again.
The following spring, the emperor personally led an army to inspect the border garrison.
As crowds of local people gathered along the road to greet him, he happened to spot Su Yao in the throng, holding a child and trying to move away from the commotion.
She looked unchanged, bare-faced, her eyes still clear and bright.
The baby in her arms looked a little like him.
"Is that my child?"
When the guards brought Su Yao into the imperial tent, the emperor raised his eyes and asked casually.
Su Yao frowned and hugged the baby close. Before she could explain, a man requested an audience.
"Your Majesty, the child is mine."
The young official who had been demoted years ago had become a powerful border commissioner.
Watching the two of them look at each other, the emperor smiled faintly, as if nothing were amiss. Only he knew how much his heart ached.
He had wavered. He had been wavering for a long time; otherwise, he would never have come in person to see how she was doing.
*The second male lead wins her over
Theme: Face your true feelings
