Imperial Palace, Fengxian Hall.

After all the officials left the court, Xia Chongwen came to Fengxian Hall again.

Sitting on the high dragon throne, he looked around.

The hall was empty.

The court, which had been noisy just now, was now silent.

Xia Chongwen suddenly felt a sense of desolation in his heart. He also knew that most of the civil and military officials did not really care who sat on the chair. As long as they did not lose their official hats, it would not make any difference if someone else sat on the chair.

After an unknown amount of time, the eunuch Wang Gonggong knocked on the door outside the palace.

"Your Majesty, the Queen is here."

Xia Chongwen seemed to be startled, and then he came to his senses, "Let her in."

The current queen is Zhang Mingbao, and her elder sister Zhang Mingyu is now Xia Linan's Crown Princess.

Originally, Empress Dowager Lu wanted Xia Chongwen to enthrone another concubine, Ma, as empress, but the only thing he did after he ascended the throne that went against Empress Dowager Lu's wishes was to enthrone Zhang Mingbao as empress.

After Prince Ning launched the "Jingnan" campaign, he finally could not withstand the advice of the officials. In order to avoid suspicion, Xia Chongwen had to follow the advice of Empress Dowager Lu and the officials and sent Zhang Mingbao to the cold palace. He just did not make up his mind to depose the queen for the time being.

At this time, Zhang Mingbao was able to come to Fengxian Hall, which must have been secretly approved by Empress Dowager Lu.

Zhang Mingbao entered the hall and bowed to Xia Chongwen, "Your Majesty."

"You're here." Xia Chongwen felt all kinds of emotions when he saw Zhang Mingbao. He glanced at Zhang Mingbao indifferently and then shifted his gaze to the outside of the empty hall.

Zhang Mingbao didn't disturb him, but just stood quietly not far from him.

Xia Chongwen watched like this for a long time, until a palace maid came in to light the lamp. Then he turned around and asked Zhang Mingbao, "Did the Queen Mother send you here?"

Zhang Mingbao nodded and said yes.

"What did she ask you to come here for?" Although Xia Chongwen guessed that Empress Dowager Lu must have asked Zhang Mingbao to come to Fengxian Hall, he really couldn't figure out why she asked Zhang Mingbao to come here at this moment.

"My Queen Mother released me from the cold palace so that I could persuade His Majesty to come."

Zhang Mingbao's face was as calm as usual. Since she married Xia Linan, she could no longer cry, laugh or make a fuss as freely as before.

"Oh? You're trying to persuade me?" Xia Chongwen asked with a hint of sarcasm. "Are you trying to persuade me not to kill your eldest sister?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me," Zhang Mingbao immediately knelt on the ground after hearing this. "My mother only has a message for Your Majesty."

"Why are you kneeling for no reason?" Xia Chongwen frowned slightly. "Why did she ask you to persuade me?"

Since ascending the throne, Xia Chongwen has gone from being obedient at first to now cleaning up the Lu family's complicated relationships in the court without leaving any trace.

Empress Dowager Lu seemed to have accepted her fate and no longer interfered in state affairs easily.

But at this time, he sent Zhang Mingbao, who had long been banished to the cold palace, to Fengxian Palace, just to bring a message?

Xia Chongwen stood up from the dragon throne and slowly walked down the steps. He walked to Zhang Mingbao and helped her up. "Now that Fourth Uncle's army is approaching the capital, I have also drafted the edict to depose the empress. Eunuch Wang will pass it to you."

Zhang Mingbao slowly stood up and looked at Xia Chongwen.

He is clearly the young emperor.

But at this time, his face was full of vicissitudes.

In Xia Chongwen's eyes, she could no longer see any of the high spirits she had when she ascended the throne.

She understood that Xia Chongwen wrote the decree to depose her because he thought that if the army in Kyoto was defeated, she would only be a deposed queen, and Prince Ning would not make things too difficult for her.

But is Zhang Mingbao the kind of person who only cares about life?

Originally, Lu wanted her to take a message to Xia Chongwen, hoping that Xia Chongwen would write a letter to Xia Yu, expressing his willingness to use the Yangtze River as the boundary and divide the country with Xia Yu.

But she really didn't want to say this.

"Your Majesty, you and I are also husband and wife."

Zhang Mingbao's calm words made Xia Chongwen's eyes red.

Yes, apart from their royal status and the constraints of the dragon throne, they were originally a loving couple.

"But......"

Zhang Mingbao reached out and gently covered Xia Chongwen's mouth to stop him from speaking.

"Your Majesty, wherever you are, I will be there." She leaned lightly on Xia Chongwen's shoulder. "I can sit on the dragon throne, or even on a wooden stool in an ordinary household."

Xia Chongwen was shocked and looked at Zhang Mingbao with gleaming eyes.

Almost.

He was almost led astray by Zhang Mingbao.

Zhang Mingbao's words were so shocking that they struck Xia Chongwen's heart.

He almost really believed that he could still live a peaceful life as an ordinary person.

How is that possible?

Even if he wanted to, the other person who sat on the throne would not agree!

Xia Chongwen narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhang Mingbao in front of him again and again, as if he wanted to see through all her thoughts at once.

Did someone instigate her to persuade herself in this way?

Mother?

impossible!

She understood better than herself what would happen if the king lost the throne.

Zhang Mingyu?

It's possible!

In the end, they still reached out to the person next to them.

Xia Chongwen suddenly pushed Zhang Mingbao from his arms and said, "Go back."

"His Majesty......"

Seeing that Zhang Mingbao wanted to say something, Xia Chongwen had to close his eyes slightly and waved his hand, "No need to say more, you can go back."

Zhang Mingbao was startled and told her to go back.

Where to go back?

Since I'm going back, I can only go back to the cold palace.

The word "go back" made Zhang Mingbao realize that Xia Chongwen still did not trust her in the end.

"I'll take my leave."

After Zhang Mingbao stood up, she shook her body gently. She just tried her best to raise her head, not wanting the tears in her eyes to fall.

Xia Chongwen heard the sound of the palace door opening and closing, and he knew that they could never go back to the past.

Ever since he could remember, he had been strictly disciplined by Mrs. Lu. On the contrary, his half-brother, who was a few hours younger than him, was spoiled by Mrs. Lu to the point of being lawless.

He even secretly suspected that the younger brother born to Crown Princess Chang was actually Lu's biological son, and that he was only named the Crown Prince because he happened to be born a few hours earlier than his younger brother.

As he grew older, his mind became more sensitive and suspicious.

After the crown prince passed away, he became even more taciturn and had almost no friends.

It was only during a spring garden visit that year that he met the sisters Zhang Mingyu and Zhang Mingbao by chance. From then on, he truly felt the feeling of being remembered and cared about by others.

Originally, he was interested in Zhang Mingyu, but Mrs. Lu asked him to marry Zhang Mingbao.

When the imperial edict came out, he truly experienced the meaning of the word "destiny".

After ascending the throne, he felt more helpless and powerless.

Although he was the emperor, he was forced to do so and was powerless.

It took him almost a year to fully realize this.

I also understand that the supreme ruler of the world is naturally "I"!