The emperor spent the night with the bottom. At dawn, the emperor got dressed and prepared to attend court.
The bottom lay in bed, drinking a bowl of freshly brewed medicine.
The emperor asked casually, "What medicine are you drinking?"
The bottom replied, "A tonic."
"A tonic for what?"
Without batting an eye, the bottom answered, "A virility tonic. A powerful one."
Seeing how delicate his figure and refined his features were, the emperor leaned over and kissed him. Then he stroked his waist and coaxed, "It's good to build up your strength, so you can handle it at night."
Even the best tonic shouldn't be taken every day.
But after every night together, the emperor would see him holding a bowl the next morning, sipping from it one little mouthful at a time.
The emperor thought, Even a powerful tonic shouldn't be taken this often. It'll ruin his health. He took the medicine residue to the imperial physician to find out what it was and whether it was harmful.
The imperial physician examined it for a long while, then coughed twice. "This is an abortion potion."
The emperor was stunned.
Why was he drinking an abortion potion?
The bottom was a man and couldn't get pregnant.
The emperor didn't know that he and the bottom had once had a child.
But the child had been stillborn.
They had been lovers since they were young. When their affair was exposed, the emperor was still the crown prince, so naturally no one dared to blame him.
The bottom bore the royal family's wrath and was sent off to a remote place to become a Taoist priest.
On the journey, he kept vomiting and couldn't eat. He grew thinner by the day.
The old nanny said, "The young master is sick."
The bottom lay in bed and drank the medicine the old nanny handed him. Before long, blood began to flow from between his legs.
Seeing the blood, he only then vaguely realized that he might have been carrying a child.
But the child was already gone.
The bottom thought he would spend his whole life as a Taoist priest. But after the emperor ascended the throne and took power, he insisted that the bottom return to the capital.
The emperor slept with him again.
The bottom was afraid. The child was gone, and he alone would grieve. The emperor would never know a thing.
They had never been equals.
Theme: Rely on yourself
