General Ye was hit by a blow on the head and was caught off guard. He fell to the ground and spoke in fear and trepidation.

"It's the fault of this old minister and Noble Lady Ye. Please, Your Majesty, have mercy on me and kill this old minister and Noble Lady Ye."

Zhou Beichen hummed calmly, "That's right, you and Concubine Ye deserve to die for the mistakes you made, but Concubine Ye has been with me for so many years. Even if it's just a dog, I'd have feelings for her. Not to mention, she's been my queen for ten years."

When General Ye heard this, hope ignited in his heart. He kowtowed again, "Then please, Your Majesty, kill me and spare my daughter and the entire Ye family. I ask nothing else, just let her live out the rest of her life in the cold palace."

Zhou Beichen's eyes turned cold in an instant. He raised his eyes, and his gaze, as deep as a cold pond, pressed down on General Ye.

"But if I really had a dog, she wouldn't harm me. What Concubine Ye did this time was truly excessive. Deshun, issue an order. Concubine Ye has committed the crime of deceiving the emperor. Prepare a dagger, a piece of white silk, and a bottle of poisoned wine. She is to commit suicide."

General Ye suddenly froze there. If it was destined to be like this, then what was the point of talking about friendship just now?

"As for you, you have indeed made great contributions to the country, but you are indeed guilty of condoning and shielding. Today, I will spare you for your loyalty. However, Lord Ye, you also know that I like to use violence to deal with ministers like you. If that knife dares to have second thoughts, I will eliminate him immediately."

"As for Ye Bihe, since she's already been listed in the imperial genealogy, she's my daughter. Go back and tell your son that Zhou Bihe no longer has any blood relationship with the Ye family."

This is using his granddaughter as a threat, and can be considered a hostage.

General Ye looked ashen, but he would not act rashly. Apart from that threat, his loyalty to the emperor was unwavering.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Well, that's enough. Go down and adjust your mood. Return to the court in three days."

"Also, since the Queen has been deposed and has become Lady Ye, I will now depose her as a commoner. Tomorrow, you will take Ye Jiao'er's body back for burial."

General Ye: “…”

He and his daughter made such a big mistake, but the emperor actually gave him a vacation to mourn his daughter.

The emperor was indeed a good tyrant. He was sincerely grateful, and General Ye kowtowed again with all his heart.

"This old minister thanks our emperor. Long live the emperor!"

"Okay, get up, do your job well, and your Ye family will definitely benefit from it in the future."

When General Ye stood up and obeyed, he was already moved to tears.

"Then Your Majesty, I will withdraw now. I only hope that Your Majesty will not let Concubine Ye die on her own. Just find someone to strangle her, or stab her with a sword. If that doesn't work, Your Majesty, you can just strangle her to death. At my age, I really don't want to see my daughter struggling because she doesn't want to die. This old minister begs Your Majesty."

General Ye knelt again.

As he spoke, General Ye's eyes turned red. He described his daughter from birth, to her first steps, to her first babbling, to her first "Daddy", to her countless times of spoiled bragging and mischief as a child...

From now on, I can only remember my daughter's voice, appearance and smile in my heart.

His daughter's death was what he deserved. For the sake of the entire Ye family and his two sons, his daughter had to die.

Prime Minister Li rolled his eyes again and cried like an idiot. If you don't accept it, just do it. Your daughter is about to die. What's the point of pretending to be grateful to the emperor?

It would be better to join him and rebel against him someday.

As Prime Minister Li thought about it, his mind suddenly became much brighter. General Ye had been leading troops for many years, and he had won many battles in these years. No, he had to think of a way to bring him under his command.

An old cow is always more stable than a calf.

General Ye continued.

"Your Majesty, I know I've made things difficult for you. I shouldn't have said these words, but Your Majesty, if I don't say them, I'm afraid I'll harbor resentment. What if one day, I can't help myself and rebel?"

"It doesn't matter if you rebel. The most important thing is that although I have experienced many battles, I am afraid I cannot defeat you. If that happens, my ten clans will be completely destroyed. What's more, if you really kill Jiao'er with your own hands, you will think of her good and bad deeds from time to time in your dreams at night. Maybe you will miss her a little and think of my great achievements and my loyalty to you. This is my little thought. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me and let it go."

"Also, please, Your Majesty, I beg you to strangle Concubine Ye to death yourself."

After saying this, General Ye was sweating all over. He glanced at Zhou Beichen, who had an expressionless face, and kowtowed again and again until his head started bleeding.

Ministers: “…”

You are so honest! But you are also quite stupid.

Zhou Beichen: “…”

He wanted to be angry, but he couldn't get angry because of such a big truth.

"That's quite troublesome. Don't bother me again next time."

"Although I am an emperor, and what you call a tyrant, I have decided that tomorrow at noon, I will personally send Ye Jiao'er off."

The main reason was that he was afraid that the queen’s aura was too close to his. What should he do if she really came to find him in the middle of the night?

If that didn't work, he could pinch her again. However, he was afraid that General Ye would faint.

Faced with the ministers' jaws dropping in surprise and their eyes almost popping out, General Ye felt very sad, after all, his daughter was going to die; at the same time, he was also very relieved, because he only sacrificed his daughter who had committed a heinous crime to save the entire Ye family.

My dear, come back and be my daughter in the next life. I will still treat you well.

Dad will definitely not spoil you like this anymore, making fried meat on a bamboo board for you every day and letting you become a successful person.

"I thank Your Majesty for your understanding. I will take my leave now. I will go back to prepare the mourning hall. From now on, for Your Majesty, I will never give up even if it means death."

General Ye spoke with absolute certainty and conviction.

Zhou Beichen nodded, "Alright, you can go down now. Remember to burn two more incense sticks for the Queen, and also burn seven or eight smaller paper figures for her."

General Ye: “…”

He immediately understood what Zhou Beichen meant, "I understand, I obey your command."

After dealing with government affairs, when Zhou Beichen returned to the Pepper Room, only Shen Nian'an was there. Ye Bihe was lying in the side hall to recuperate because her leg was injured by the Queen.

"Where's Nuannuan and Hanhan? I don't have anything important to do today. I thought Nuannuan was clamoring to learn martial arts, so I came to pick them up and take them somewhere."

Zhou Beichen seemed to be in a good mood, and Shen Nian'an stepped forward and saluted.