At the emperor's command, Fang Xun was immediately taken down. His legs thrashed about in the air, trying to break free but to no avail. Several guards dragged him away.

Despite his shouts of injustice, it was all in vain; no one would speak up for him at this moment.

Except for the Empress Dowager.

"Your Majesty, are you deliberately trying to challenge me? He is your own nephew. Even if he has made a mistake, shouldn't there be room for forgiveness?"

The emperor said frankly, "I have already forgiven them, whether it was Fang Xun, Chu Tan'er, or you."

"For this woman, are you really going to be my enemy?" The Empress Dowager's expression turned fierce as she pointed in Gu Jiangli's direction.

The emperor stepped forward and pressed down the empress dowager's raised hand, saying, "Mother, it is you who are opposing me."

The Empress Dowager gritted her teeth, trying hard to suppress the growing fear in her heart.

Fang Xun's cries for help kept ringing in her ears, making her heart clench.

Fang Xun was about to be dragged out of sight.

If Fang Xun really goes to prison, he's such a young child, he'll never have a good life.

The emperor clearly intends to kill Fang Xun!

Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager gritted her teeth and roared:

"Your Majesty! I, in my capacity as Empress Dowager Yun Sheng and as your birth mother, command you! Order the guards to release Xun'er!"

The emperor's gaze grew increasingly deep, and veins bulged on his forehead: "Is this what the Empress Dowager intends to do?"

The Empress Dowager raised her head, refusing to back down in the slightest.

"Good! Guards! The priest is attempting to use supernatural claims to slander the Imperial Concubine and frame the imperial heir. Arrest him immediately, and I will personally interrogate him!"

At that moment, several more guards rushed in.

The priest was so frightened that his eyes rolled back and he almost fainted.

The Empress Dowager stumbled and almost fell over.

"Your Majesty..."

"Mother, if you think Fang Xun is innocent, then someone else must be innocent. I will thoroughly interrogate the priest, and I will believe whatever he says."

The Empress Dowager's lips trembled, and for a moment she was speechless.

She watched helplessly as several guards dragged the crying priest away.

The emperor did this so that the priest would reveal the truth behind it and then pin it on her.

She looked at the emperor, her own son, the child she had watched grow up, the child who had never disobeyed her even once, but now his eyes were filled with hostility, and the fierce killing intent surrounding him seemed to want to send everyone present to meet the King of Hell.

He was able to show absolutely no mercy when facing himself or Xun'er.

But he was clearly the one who cared most about his family, and he was clearly the one who listened to her the most.

"How...did you become like this?" The Empress Dowager's voice trembled, and she even forgot to plead for the priest.

The emperor took a deep breath and only spoke after seeing that the priest and Fang Xun had been taken away:

"Mother, it was you who wanted me to become like this. As an emperor, one should be ruthless. You said these words to me yourself."

The Empress Dowager was startled, and in a daze, her memory seemed to return to more than ten years ago.

Crimson flames filled the air, the crackling of fire filled the ears, and the air was filled with the smell of roasting meat.

She once gripped a child's shoulder tightly and shouted in his ear, "Watch! Your mother wants you to watch them die!"

"Those are all people who stand in your way! You don't need those relatives! The path to becoming king is a lonely one!"

"As an emperor, one should be ruthless!"

The Empress Dowager's face turned pale, and she choked up.

The child whose shoulders she used to massage is now taller than her.

When he looked at me, his eyes were cold and filled with hatred, devoid of any familial affection.

I always thought he was aloof, but he's a different person when it comes to Gu Jiangli.

Why exactly?

She is his mother, how could she be inferior to one of his concubines?

The Empress Dowager trembled and took several steps back, her gaze shifting back and forth between Gu Jiangli and the Emperor.

"Is Mother leaving? Aren't you going to wait until I find out something from the priest before you go?"

The Empress Dowager remained silent, retreating further and further away from the Emperor.

Only when he retreated into the group of concubines and his figure became blurred did he turn and leave.

She left without saying a word.

The group of concubines were completely bewildered.

"What's wrong with the Empress Dowager? I've never seen her so distraught."

"Were you provoked by His Majesty? His Majesty never used to talk back to the Empress Dowager."

"But His Majesty wasn't wrong in what happened today, was he? The priest and the young prince were clearly trying to harm people, so what's so strange about arresting them and interrogating them?"

"The Empress Dowager looks guilty; could this matter be related to her?"

As soon as the Empress Dowager left, these people started gossiping again.

Gu Jiangli listened silently to these words, then slowly walked to the emperor's side and took his hand.

Perhaps because he had taken off his outer robe, his hands were very cold.

After arguing with the Empress Dowager, his complexion was not good, and his lips turned pale.

Given the current situation, the prayers cannot proceed.

She spoke on behalf of the emperor: "The blessing ceremony is over, everyone may go home."

The emperor did not speak to stop them, and the concubines bowed and left.

"Your Majesty, let's go back too."

Jinghe Palace was not far behind them. The emperor turned around and pulled her outer robe tighter to prevent the cold wind from blowing on her.

"Okay, let's go back."

His tone was weary, and Gu Jiangli felt a pang of sadness.

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