Film and Television: The Villain's Life Begins with Joy of Life

The light gauze swayed, and the light and shadows fell with a rustling sound.

Li Yunrui remained silent, only a faint, almost imperceptible sneer playing on his lips, like a thorn, sharp and menacing.

Emperor Qing remained silent, allowing the gauze curtain behind him to defy the dignity of the emperor.

He remained motionless.

For some reason, the moment he saw that protruding belly, he felt a strange sense of fear.

If you look closely, you'll notice that the fingertips of this emperor who rules the world are trembling.

That's right, even he himself wasn't aware that he was trembling.

It's something that's hard to explain.

It's like standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down into an abyss, your body reacts even before your brain.

Li Yunrui is pregnant!

Emperor Qing originally thought that after Ye Qingmei's death, there would be no one in the world who could make him fear her, especially women.

But now he realizes he was wrong.

He regretted it!

I regret coming to Guangxin Palace!

He wished he could turn around and leave immediately, wished he could strangle the contemptuous curiosity he had just had a quarter of an hour ago!

It was just a royal physician who died!

In this vast Qing Kingdom palace, how many people die every single moment?

He knew perfectly well that Li Yunrui was a madman!

But he still underestimated her.

He is Emperor Qing, the supreme ruler of the Qing Kingdom. His status and his pride do not allow him to back down.

After a long silence, Emperor Qing finally spoke, his tone icy, carrying a fierce yet weak and resigned demeanor: "Whose?"

The princess smoothed her lips, blinked, and her clear, bright eyes flickered with innocent confusion and naivety.

Just like seventeen years ago.

She tilted her head slightly, as if she were thinking, wondering, or not knowing what was going on.

Suddenly, she slowly lowered her head, gently stroking her lower abdomen with one hand, as if in a daze.

Then, she raised her head, lifted her face, and her eyes and expression completely lost their past traces; a mocking and crazed look returned to the corners of her mouth.

"You wouldn't want to know."

The wind and light seemed to freeze in a strange way at that moment.

That wasn't a halt in time; it was that Emperor Qing's incredibly strong and unyielding heart slowed down a beat at that moment.

He heard the answer he least wanted to hear.

Li Yunrui said nothing, yet he said everything.

She could have used countless excuses to cover it up.

She could say she kept a male concubine, that she was confused for a moment, or that she could shift the blame to a non-existent man.

But she didn't.

Li Yunrui was unaware of the shock in Emperor Qing's heart. From her perspective, Emperor Qing was as usual, not only did he not lose his composure, but his expression did not even darken.

That face remained calm, like a stagnant pool, showing no ripples.

She was disappointed, and her expression darkened.

In the past, she had loved this man so much.

She was willing to give everything for this man's ideals.

But he always disappointed her.

Now, she longed to see His Majesty the Emperor suffer because of her honesty.

But it still didn't work out.

Emperor Qing remained silent, but deep within his calm eyes, endless turbulent waves were suppressed into a single point.

That point surged violently deep within his pupils, as if it were about to explode at any moment.

He had an answer in his heart, but he dared not confirm it, and did not want to confirm it.

After a long pause, he asked, word by word, "Why?"

"Why? Why?" Li Yunrui's lips parted slightly, a nonchalant smile on her face.

"Does Your Majesty wish to ask why Yunrui shamelessly seduced a man, or why she so rebelliously kept this child?"

Emperor Qing remained silent, simply gazing at Li Yunrui.

The two stared at each other for a long time.

Li Yunrui seemed to find it boring; she avoided eye contact and chuckled.

"It seems His Majesty wants to know. In that case, let's ask together, since the answer is the same anyway."

She paused, then replied, word by word, "Because he wanted it, that's all."

After saying that, she laughed hysterically, the laughter echoing through the empty bedchamber with the gauze curtains, carrying a hint of madness and a hint of triumph.

"To be honest, I didn't think highly of him at first, and I never intended to seduce him. I was planning to seduce someone else. But he really surprised me; he was more domineering and more forceful than anyone else!"

Emperor Qing's hand trembled, and the veins on the back of his hand throbbed uncontrollably.

He suppressed the urge to strangle the crazy woman and coldly uttered two words: "Disgusting!"

Li Yunrui, however, seemed not ashamed but rather proud, nodding in full approval.

"Indeed. We're absolutely disgusting, but what can we do when we like it?"

Emperor Qing closed his eyes, as if trying to remove her from his sight.

"Shameless!" His voice was forced out through clenched teeth. "Do you know how much I've tolerated you all this time? You embezzled from the imperial treasury, instigated Chengze, formed the Junshan Society, betrayed Yan Bingyun, and attempted to assassinate Fan Xian—I've tolerated it all. I thought these things weren't a big deal; after all, you're my sister, the Empress Dowager's most beloved daughter. But you shouldn't have..."

Li Yunrui tilted her head back, revealing her slender and long neck, which gleamed white in the light.

"What? Brother Emperor isn't going to tolerate this anymore? You're thinking of killing Yun Rui? Fine, then go ahead and do it!"

The emperor opened his eyes, his gaze fierce as he stared at Li Yunrui: "Could it be... that you think I... wouldn't dare kill you?"

That look in his eyes finally resembled that of an enraged beast.

But Emperor Qing's reaction did not frighten the woman; on the contrary, it excited her even more.

"Dare! Of course I dare! His Majesty even killed that woman, what am I?"

At the mention of that woman, Emperor Qing's pupils suddenly contracted, as if he had been stabbed by something.

He instinctively grabbed the princess by the neck.

The fingers tightened, and the knuckles dug into the flesh.

Li Yunrui felt as light as a feather in his hands. He raised his arm inch by inch, lifting her toes off the ground.

Li Yunrui struggled instinctively for a moment, but quickly suppressed her survival instinct.

Her body was suspended in mid-air, her toes barely touching the ground. She was having difficulty breathing and her face was flushed, but she did not beg for mercy, nor did she try to pry open the hand that was holding her life in its grip.

She simply cradled her swollen belly with both hands, stubbornly and coldly staring at the angry man in front of her.

The pale sunlight streamed in, falling on the two of them and casting their shadows on the gauze curtains, like an old painting.

Emperor Qing loosened his grip a little, and then he released his hand with disgust.

Li Yunrui staggered a couple of steps before barely managing to stand, clutching his throat and panting heavily, looking quite disheveled.

But she wore a vicious smile, the smile of a victor.

"Lin Ruofu is dead, and Chengqian colluded with Northern Qi to assassinate the emperor. Was that also your trick?" Emperor Qing asked coldly.

After a while, Li Yunrui caught his breath and then glanced at Emperor Qing with disdain: "Even if you are His Majesty, you still need evidence."

"Evidence? Ridiculous!" Emperor Qing scoffed, his face contorted with unprecedented anger.

"You think you can ruin Chengqian this way? You think you can make me change the heir? Let me tell you, I... have never thought of changing the heir! All of this is just your wishful thinking and delusions! My empire was meant for Chengqian to inherit. Your underhanded tricks will only make me more convinced that my decision is correct!"

Li Yunrui, whose face was still flushed, was stunned for a moment. A hint of doubt and suspicion flashed in her eyes, but then she became indifferent.

She remained defiant, saying, "Then we'll destroy him even more thoroughly! We'll leave His Majesty with no choice but to change the heir, whether he wants to or not!"

Emperor Qing sneered, looking at her disdainfully: "Nonsense! You're a complete madman!"

After saying that, he turned to look at Li Yunrui's lower abdomen, which she had been carefully protecting, with a cold gaze, as if she were looking at an object that was in her way.

"I will not allow the thing in your belly to continue to exist."

Li Yunrui's breath hitched, but she held her stomach tightly and still said defiantly:

"This child is already so grown up. If you kill him, I will die too! If Your Majesty wishes to kill Yun Rui, then so be it!"

Emperor Qing remained silent for a moment.

He knew that whether a woman had an abortion or gave birth, she had essentially walked through the gates of hell.

Li Yunrui has given birth to Lin Wan'er, so the risks of a normal delivery are extremely low.

Abortion is possible, especially since the fetus is already this large. Forcing an abortion could really cost Li Yunrui her life.

Although Li Yunrui disregarded human ethics, committed heinous crimes, and defiled the imperial court, he still had no reason to kill her.

"Then wait until you give birth, and I'll have him drowned!" Emperor Qing's voice was like the lofty will of Heaven, cold and ruthless. "He was a monstrous creature that should never have existed. He is destined to bear the consequences of your mistakes! If you can't protect him, no one can!"

Li Yunrui didn't argue hysterically or curse wildly; she just stood there quietly, her hands on her stomach, a cold smile on her lips.

Having made his decision, Emperor Qing once again returned to his calm and composed self.

He glanced at Li Yunrui, feeling a mixture of disgust and relief.

Ok!

The situation has not reached the point of no return.

Fortunately, it wasn't the crown prince who was having an affair with this madwoman.

"How many people still know about your shameful deeds?"

Emperor Qing asked indifferently, but his eyes flashed with undisguised killing intent.

Li Yunrui seemed completely unafraid. She casually fidgeted with her slender white fingers and said:

"Two? Or three?"

She shrugged.

"To be honest, this child has caused me a lot of trouble. Yunrui hasn't stepped out of this door for a long time. My subordinates should be able to guess some things about me, although they don't know who the child's father is."

"But if Your Majesty wishes to kill, then so be it! Guangxin Palace, the harem, the imperial palace—it would be best to slaughter them all!"

Emperor Qing naturally knew that Li Yunrui hadn't left the palace for a long time.

Hearing her say this, I realized that Li Yunrui wasn't entirely without sense of propriety.

At least this crazy woman isn't crazy enough to make the whole world know about it.

This relieved him.

He had originally planned to kill everyone in Guangxin Palace, but now he realized it wasn't necessary.

After all, Li Yunrui still needs the care of the servants in his current condition, and he can't just replace them one batch a day and kill them one batch at a time.

Let's wait until that bastard is born before dealing with it all at once.

Having made up his mind, he really didn't want to look at Li Yunrui anymore, so he flicked his sleeves, turned around, and left the bedroom.

Li Yunrui watched his figure pass through layers of gauze curtains, the light gauze fluttering behind him, blurring her vision.

Emperor Qing left his bedchamber, glanced at the female officials standing respectfully, said nothing, and his eyes grew even colder.

He knew that this person was someone in the know.

However, he did not kill anyone immediately.

The female official kept her head bowed tightly, not daring to breathe.

After leaving Guangxin Palace, Emperor Qing gave instructions to the imperial guards outside the palace:

"From this day forward, no palace servant is permitted to leave the palace gates. Anyone who violates this rule, regardless of who they are, will be executed without mercy!"

.......

The Imperial Study.

Upon returning from Guangxin Palace, Emperor Qing reviewed all records of personnel entering and leaving the palace over the past year.

The thick booklet lay open on the emperor's desk, and he turned the pages one by one.

His fingers stopped when he saw the only name that appeared on the list of people entering and leaving early this morning.

"Truly my good son! Excellent! Excellent! You always surprise me! I truly underestimated you!"

Emperor Qing's voice was squeezed out from between his teeth.

He slammed the roster shut.

Just as Emperor Qing was enraged, Zhou Cheng already knew that Emperor Qing had met with Li Yunrui.

Even though Guangxin Palace was completely sealed off, and everyone was allowed to enter but not leave, the continuous negative emotions emanating from Emperor Qing made him realize what had happened.

Judging from the emotional value, he could only know that Emperor Qing already knew quite a lot, but he didn't know exactly how much Li Yunrui had said.

However, he didn't care.

Playing chess has its own fun. Flipping the table has its own way of playing.

Emperor Qing closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

He couldn't remember the last time he felt so mentally exhausted; he never imagined that something so absurd would happen to him.

He underestimated Li Yunrui and his good son's ability to cause trouble.

After calming himself down, he did not immediately summon Zhou Cheng, but instead had someone deliver a verbal order to Yan Xiaoyi.

Yan Xiaoyi is the commander of the Imperial Guards, responsible for protecting the palace.

Emperor Qing knew that although Yan Xiaoyi was loyal to him, he was even more loyal to Li Yunrui.

Now that Li Yunrui has made an unforgivable mistake, he must take back and eliminate all those loyal to her, whether it be the Imperial Treasury or the forces in Kyoto, to prevent that madwoman from causing even greater scandals.

Soon, Yan Xiaoyi knelt down on one knee before Emperor Qing.

As the commander of the Imperial Guards, he was the first to learn of the sealing off of Guangxin Palace and the house arrest of the Princess.

He was unaware of the details and only thought about pleading for mercy as soon as possible.

Before he could even approach Emperor Qing, the emperor's decree arrived.

"Your Majesty! Has the Princess done something to cause a misunderstanding?" Yan Xiaoyi raised her head, her voice urgent. "The Princess is virtuous, loyal to the Emperor, and patriotic. Why is she confined to the palace?"

"Virtuous and kind, loyal to the emperor and patriotic?"

When Yan Xiaoyi used these two words to describe Li Yunrui, it almost made Emperor Qing laugh in anger.

Yan Xiaoyi's plea further strengthened Emperor Qing's resolve.

He said coldly, "As the commander of the Imperial Guards, responsible for protecting the palace, do you dare say you knew nothing about what the Princess did?"

Yan Xiaoyi broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

Of course, he knew nothing about Zhou Cheng and Li Yunrui's affair, and he didn't even dare to think about it.

He assumed that Emperor Qing had found out about Li Yunrui and the man in black.

Li Yunrui's lover has been exposed, and Emperor Qing intends to punish her for defiling the harem.

This is the most reasonable explanation Yan Xiaoyi could think of.

Then, he hated the man in black with a vengeance.

He didn't think Li Yunrui had done anything wrong; he just secretly resented that cowardly scoundrel for dragging Li Yunrui down with him.

"Your Majesty! I deserve to die!" Yan Xiaoyi's voice trembled. "But the Princess is certainly innocent. She was only seduced and bewitched by that... person, which led her to commit such a grave mistake!"

Yan Xiaoyi didn't know that the man in black was Zhou Cheng. He didn't even know the man's name and could only refer to him as "that person".

When this reached Emperor Qing's ears, it meant that even Yan Xiaoyi knew about Zhou Cheng and Li Yunrui's scandalous affair, and that he had avoided mentioning their names because he knew it was a scandalous affair.

At this moment, Emperor Qing even harbored murderous intent towards Yan Xiaoyi.

He felt that Yan Xiaoyi knew too much, and his loyalty to him was too superficial.

However, Yan Xiaoyi, as the only ninth-rank top archer in the world, is still too valuable.

He could only suppress his murderous intent.

"Yan Xiaoyi, oh Yan Xiaoyi!" he said coldly. "As the commander of the Imperial Guards, you knew but failed to report it, allowing the Princess to err. Your crimes are unforgivable! However, considering your years of merit in protecting her, I will not kill you, nor will I convict you. Go, go to the Northern Border. Hopefully, the environment there will clear your head!"

Yan Xiaoyi's body trembled.

He didn't care about Emperor Qing's punishment of him; what he cared more about was who could protect Li Yunrui after he left and took his place.

He wanted to ask another question, but as soon as he raised his head, he saw Emperor Qing's icy gaze sweep over him.

That gaze sent a chill down his spine, even though he was a top-ranking archer of the ninth grade.

He dared not utter another sound, fearing that he would anger Emperor Qing and that the emperor would take his anger out on Li Yunrui, thus intensifying Li Yunrui's punishment.

"Your subject obeys the decree!" Yan Xiaoyi kowtowed, his forehead slamming heavily against the floor tiles.

Emperor Qing still didn't even glance at him.

Yan Xiaoyi left the imperial study, his footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Emperor Qing sat behind his desk, looking at the list of records and began to ponder.

Gradually, he connected everyone and formed a perfect plan in his mind.

"You eliminated Chengze, then schemed against Chengqian, leaving me with no other choice?" he muttered to himself, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Ha, naive. You won't give me a choice, and I won't give you one!"

As the sun gradually set in the west, a layer of orange-red light and shadow spread across the bluestone floor of the Imperial Study.

Emperor Qing swept the list of names on his desk aside, and tapped on the table.

"Guards, deliver a decree to Prince Cheng's residence, summoning Prince Cheng to the palace for an audience immediately."