Chen Heng looked at the snow, which seemed to stop at no time, and listened to her sister-in-law and Aunt Feng sobbing outside, and sighed.

The next day, Xie Jian read out the imperial edict, and the eighth prince became emperor. He also appointed Xie Jian, Lu Ji'an, and two other ministers as regents.

On the afternoon of the emperor's funeral, the eighth prince Liu Tang ascended the throne and entered the palace two months after the coronation ceremony.

The snow stopped on the day Xie Jian returned.

When Shen Heng returned to her room, she saw Xie Jian staring at the imperial edict on the table in a daze. This should be Liu Bei's edict of self-criticism, which he ultimately chose not to make public.

"Ajian." Xia's voice sounded from outside: "Why did you let Li Hu clean up the ancestral hall?"

Shen Heng's eyes moved. After the incident, the Xie family had never worshipped their ancestors. Even when the eldest brother of the Xie family passed away, Xie Jian only sent his mother-in-law's ashes and the eldest brother back to his hometown and never held any sacrifices. She understood what Xie Jian was going to do next.

"Sister-in-law, please wait for me in the side hall." Xie Jian said.

Soon, Xie Jian and Shen Heng came to the side hall.

Seeing the heavy expression on her brother-in-law's face, Xia felt uneasy. She didn't know what had happened, but no matter what it was, all the storms would pass. As long as the family was together, there was nothing to be afraid of.

Xie Jian told him bit by bit about his father's unjust case, the Yu family, the fourth prince who had committed suicide by taking poison, as well as the art of incantation and Liu Yu.

"This is Liu Bei's edict of confession of guilt. Sister-in-law, I want to burn it in front of my father, parents and brother to comfort their souls in heaven." Xie Jian said.

Ever since her husband's mother-in-law committed suicide in front of her grave, Xia no longer dared to ask her brother-in-law and father-in-law about their injustice. She vaguely guessed that the person behind it was very powerful and not someone a commoner like them could offend. She was afraid that asking too much would make her brother-in-law feel uncomfortable again, but she never thought that it was the emperor who did it.

How could the emperor who led the army to fight and recapture the county, who issued countless decrees to benefit the people and ensured their well-being, do such a thing to his family?

Although Xia Shi couldn't understand the words, she still opened the imperial edict which was extremely noble to her. She stared at each word for a long time, and then her eyes became moist.

At this time, little Xie Min walked in from outside. He had grown up and became handsome, but his face was extremely heavy. Dawei came to pick him up in person and told him everything along the way. He knew that his uncle had had a hard time over the years, but he didn't know it was so difficult.

He was trying his best to help his uncle share the burden, but he still did too little.

Half an hour later, Xie Jian respectfully brought the tablets of his father and brother into the ancestral hall, offered wine, burned incense, and kowtowed to the ancestors. Afterwards, he burned Liu Yu's edict of repentance.

Twelve years later, the hatred within the Xie family finally came to an end.

On the third day after the new emperor ascended the throne, he issued a general amnesty and at the same time named his sister-in-law Empress Kangsheng.

On the fourth day, Shen Heng was invited into the palace by Queen Kangsheng.

When Shen Heng saw Empress Kangsheng again, she was dressed in plain clothes and had lost a lot of weight. She was staring at the wintersweet flowers in full bloom in the courtyard in a trance.

The palace maid called her several times before she came to her senses.

"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen."

Queen Kangsheng smiled bitterly and said, "I am not really a queen at the moment. In a few days, I will move to the royal villa outside the city to avoid being an eyesore to the newlyweds in the palace."

"Your Majesty, you're joking. You are Queen Kangsheng, and everyone respects you." Shen Heng comforted her.

"Respectfully? Some people are hoping that I will leave as soon as possible to make room for them. The new queen is as petty as a needle. When she married the eighth brother, the late emperor sent people to arrest her. The eighth brother slept with her after a few days, and she still holds a grudge against him now." Queen Kangsheng shook her head.

Not only does she hold a grudge, but she also dislikes anyone who is on good terms with the Emperor and Empress, including the Eighth Prince's Consort. Originally, Xinyue and the Eighth Prince were as close as brothers, but after Xinyue married the Eighth Prince's Consort, the two gradually drifted apart.

"You are Queen Kangsheng. No one can force you to leave if you don't want to."

"I am only asking for trouble here." A trace of unwillingness flashed in Queen Kangsheng's eyes. Ever since she became the Crown Princess, she had always tried her best to do everything well, but she could never please the Emperor. She thought that as long as she gave birth to a prince, it would not matter even if she was not favored. However, the Emperor never wanted her to give birth to his child.