Empress Xu recalled the only time she conceived, the good news had just reached the palace, and that evening she saw red. An Imperial Physician from the Imperial Hospital visited and prescribed numerous medicines, yet she didn't improve, and by nightfall, the pain in her abdomen worsened.
According to the Imperial Physician, she was still young and would have more opportunities in the future.
If she had known then that she would never conceive again for the rest of her days, she might not have cried, her heart would have been ashen, devoid of any hope.
"It's been three months," Empress Xu said, "and only now has news started to spread. This shows that the North is firmly under Song Xian's control. It's not just us; even with numerous informants left by the Emperor over there, they still couldn't uncover the truth quickly."
The officials sent to the eight states had been handpicked by the Emperor. What use were they now?
