Emperor Hui saw Xie Zhaozhao kneeling, but neither told her to get up nor mentioned the privilege of "exemption from kneeling".

Zhou Shaoyu didn't say anything, and sat down to Emperor Hui's left. A small act of impatience could ruin a great plan; the emperor's authority was not to be challenged.

Everyone in the Imperial Study was preoccupied with their own thoughts.

Emperor Hui said slowly and deliberately, "Everyone is here, please come in."

Before long, the Marquis of Dingbei and Dongqin, who were kneeling at the door, were brought in.

Xie Zhaozhao caught a glimpse of the two of them being brought in out of the corner of her eye, and knew that they must have been killed.

Since it's a secret interrogation, these two "outsiders" will definitely have to keep their mouths shut forever.

Empress Xie's crimes were too great; not a single one of Xie Anfeng, Madam Xie, Princess Changping, or Xie Zhaozhao begged for mercy.

At this point, it's too late to say anything; it all depends on whether Emperor Hui will remember their past relationship.

"Empress, I have been preparing for decades, and this year, I will finally fight the Wei family to the death. I believe that you hate the Wei family as much as I do. The war in the Northwest, the natural disaster in the South, the Eastern Li Kingdom and the Lu Zhenla Kingdom launched a surprise attack on Da Gan... At the most difficult time for Da Gan, you harbored disloyal intentions and betrayed me! I really don't understand why you did this?"

Emperor Hui spoke slowly, his face cold and stern, his tone filled with resentment.

Empress Xie tugged at her sleeve and smiled faintly: "Because this is the easiest time to kill you!"

Madam Xie swayed slightly and said sternly, "Your Majesty, watch your words!"

"What's the point of being careful with your words at this time?" Empress Xie smiled again. "Your Majesty, in the blink of an eye, I've been imprisoned in the palace for twenty-two years!"

Three thousand days away from home, twenty years in the deep palace. A single word of thanks to Chunxi, and tears fall before the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I want to kill you, I want to destroy this great empire. Not just in the last few months, but ever since I miscarried my fourth child."

Hearing Empress Xie say this, Emperor Hui was somewhat dazed, trying to slowly piece together a clue: The Empress was pregnant with her fourth child? In which year was that?

He thought for a while, but couldn't remember.

There were too many concubines in the palace; he simply couldn't remember when each of them had become pregnant.

Not only could he not remember when Empress Xie miscarried her fourth child, but he also couldn't remember the birthdays of the princes if it weren't for their mothers arranging them every year.

He had too many things to do and too many things on his mind to remember them all.

He was even somewhat surprised that the Empress had been pregnant four times!

Empress Xie saw that he was deep in thought and knew he was thinking, but couldn't remember. Indeed, how could he possibly remember?

With so many concubines in the harem, each as beautiful as a flower, vying for attention, His Majesty merely went through the motions of sleeping with them!

"When the fourth child was involved in the accident, he was already six months pregnant with me, a fully formed prince. After that incident, my body was so badly injured that I will never have the chance to be a mother again in this life."

On the surface, it was Consort Qing, your favored concubine, who offended me. But I later discovered that the mastermind behind it wasn't Lady Wei, it was you! You, the master of acting, didn't want me to give birth to a child with the Xie family bloodline!

Empress Xie laughed heartily, "You acted so well back then, sending tonics, killing Consort Qing, and even wiping out her entire family!"

If it weren't for Lan Lin taking pity on me and giving Consort Qing a cup of wine to feign death, I would have been kept in the dark my whole life!

They wanted the Xie family's power to rival the Wei family, but they were also wary of the Xie family's strength.

"Lan Lin is indeed one of your men!" Emperor Hui said coldly. "You and Imperial Physician Lan have been colluding for a long time?"

"Don't slander Imperial Physician Lan! He's a million times more upright than you!" Empress Xie roared. "You're only getting angry because I've exposed your true colors, and you're throwing mud at us!"

Although entering the palace was not Empress Xie's wish, she once thought that Emperor Hui must be a deeply affectionate person!

She still remembers that when she first entered the palace, as the only legitimate daughter of the Xie family, she was directly made a concubine upon entering the palace.

Emperor Hui even bestowed upon her the title "Xi," which was both her childhood nickname and a phrase expressing his wish that his beloved consort's life would be like sunshine—bright, warm, and joyful.

As a well-bred young lady raised by the Xie family, she genuinely wanted to carry on the Xie family's hopes, to produce offspring for the royal family, and to remain loyal to Emperor Hui throughout her life.

She was as beautiful as a peony, possessing unparalleled beauty, and enjoyed the emperor's favor for half a year, yet she could not conceive no matter what she did.

She consulted the imperial physicians, and each of them told her, "Don't be anxious; having children depends on fate."

She thought she was being too anxious, so she gradually relaxed. Later, when Consort De was accidentally poisoned and Lan Lin came to detoxify her, she wondered if she had also been poisoned by some kind of drug, which caused her infertility.

She deliberately gave Liuli a simple poison and then ordered someone to summon Lan Lin.

The Lan family is a family of poison doctors, and naturally has a relationship with the Xie family. The Lan family even looks up to the Xie family, so Lan Lin came to examine Liuli's pulse with utmost respect.

She took the opportunity to ask Lan Lin to take her pulse and help her check her daily diet.

Lan Lin immediately discovered that her cosmetics and her body contained "beauty flowers".

The Beauty Flower, which preserves the beauty of a flower forever, is a potent infertility drug. It is colorless and odorless, and can enter the human body silently through food and skin contact.

She broke out in a cold sweat and immediately went to Xie Anfeng, whispering to him, "Brother, someone doesn't want me to be pregnant."

Xie Anfeng had a deep affection for her since she was a child. When he heard that someone had secretly given her "beauty flower", the first person he thought of was Wei Yingzi.

However, at that time, neither the brother nor sister thought of Emperor Hui. After all, even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs. They also believed that Emperor Hui needed something from Lady Xie and wouldn't dare to harm Consort Xi.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!