The cold palace at night.

Li Qiji sat down on the chair next to him, listening to Guan Zhiyue's rambling account of how she had convicted the man.

"Hey, Your Majesty, are you even listening to me?" Guan Zhiyue waved her hand in front of Li Qiji.

Li Qiji snapped out of his daze, looked at Guan Zhiyue, and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, please continue. And then?"

"Then, of course, we need to restrain these men, and the women too!"

Li Qiji nodded and said, "Is it that simple?"

Guan Zhiyue raised an eyebrow. "What else did you think? Did you expect us to kill them both and then send them down to become a pair of doomed lovers?"

Li Qiji smiled and said, "Actually, it's not impossible, but this concerns the dignity of the royal family. It would be inappropriate to handle it so easily."

"So what do you mean?"

Li Qiji thought for a moment and said, "Make an example of them! We need to bring out all the Imperial Guards and all the concubines in the harem as a warning to others!"

"Pah, wouldn't that damage your royal dignity?" Guan Zhiyue retorted.

Li Qiji smiled but did not reply.

However, he had already made up his mind that the woman had to die. He was afraid that he had never touched her. Once she was labeled as his, she was his. Now, she had been taken advantage of by a servant.

Where is his imperial dignity now? Will the women in the harem follow suit in the future?

How many green hats does he have to wear on his head?

"Your Majesty, why did you release Fu Xiuyi?" Li Qiji asked calmly.

Guan Zhiyue thought for a moment and said, "Actually, it's not that we absolutely have to let her go, it's just that I feel sorry for her."

Li Qiji's tone suddenly turned slightly melancholic as he softly said, "Who isn't pitiful?"

"She's pitiful, but am I not?"

"Everyone thinks the emperor is supreme, the ruler of the world, but who can understand that he is just a puppet?"

"A puppet of the country, a puppet of the court and the people, he has no right to love, he has no right to freedom, everything he owns belongs to the world, he has no right to autonomy."

"Even marriage and having children had to go through the approval of the ministers."

"Among the women in this harem, which one do I truly want to marry? They are all just arenas for the struggle of interests."

Li Qiji looked at Guan Zhiyue and said, "I don't understand the feelings you're talking about, nor do I know what kind of feeling it is. All I know is that ever since I met you, I haven't been able to forget you."

"I want to give you the best, but I don't know how to give it to you, and I don't know how to do it."

"If you are willing to teach me, I will definitely follow you closely and learn how to love you."

Guan Zhiyue was completely bewildered by Li Qiji's sudden and unconventional confession. What was going on?

Weren't they talking about how to deal with Fu Xiuyi and her lover? How did it get dragged into this?

And please don't look at me so affectionately, okay? I'm so easily smitten!

"Your Majesty, you've gone off-topic!" Guan Zhiyue quickly interrupted Li Qiji, unable to bear that ardent gaze, which was almost melting her.

"Ahem~ Well, Your Majesty, everything I just said is true. You may consider it."

Guan Zhiyue scratched her nose, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Um, I understand. So, Your Majesty, what do you want to do with those two?"

"Are you really not going to let the deputy secretary off the hook?"

Li Qiji shook his head and said, "No, if a woman in the harem commits adultery, it's a crime punishable by the extermination of her entire family. Her family members will also suffer as a result."

"However, for the sake of the Empress, let her family go and let her end it herself. As for that man, you also said that he should be punished properly."

Guan Zhiyue overheard what Li Qiji said: "He only punished her because of me." She wanted to say, "Why don't you punish her because of me?"

However, Guan Zhiyue did not say anything, but simply nodded slightly to indicate that she understood and would do it in accordance with the rules of the harem.

"Then, I'll take my leave now, Empress. Please think carefully about what I just told you. I look forward to your careful instruction."

Before leaving, Li Qiji gave Guan Zhiyue a long, affectionate look. Since the Cold Palace was sealed off this time, he had never been able to stay overnight there again.

Perhaps he really hurt her, which is why he can no longer get close to her.

Guan Zhiyue didn't say anything, but silently watched Li Qiji leave, and the matter was settled.

Fu Lingqiao ultimately gave her life for a man who didn't truly love her, losing her own life and almost implicating her family.

Fu Xiuyi's father was a seventh-rank official in the Court of Imperial Stud. Without his daughter's support, his small family would likely have little chance of advancement in the officialdom. That was the reality.

The status of women in the imperial harem was not so much determined by their families, but rather by the women themselves, or perhaps both!

Who can truly explain it clearly? We ourselves are like canaries in a gilded cage; how can a caged bird gossip about others?

Guan Zhiyue looked up at the moon in the sky, shook her head with a cold laugh, and headed towards the bedroom in the backyard.

As soon as she left, three dark figures descended from the sky and stood in the courtyard, looking around. This cold palace looked quite nice.

"Master, should we split up to search this time?" Su Ming asked.

That's right, he's still the Crown Prince of Ningjian Kingdom!

"Yes, you must find the seeds today. If you can't, don't come back to see me," Yuan Ningsu said in a low voice.

Su Xuan and Su Ming quickly clasped their hands in a fist and said, "We guarantee to complete the mission!"

Then they left in a flash. Yuan Ningsu thought about it and decided he should go check on Guan Zhiyue, especially since they had overheard something earlier.

What kind of teachings and doctrines are these? Is it really all thanks to this empress?

The fact that the emperor of Nanding Kingdom actually lowered himself to ask the empress for guidance is simply unbelievable!

It seems this empress is truly a formidable figure!

No, I must go see her! I want to see this formidable woman for myself!

Yuan Ningsu headed towards the backyard. Guan Zhiyue had just finished washing up and was lying on the bed when she heard a very obvious rustling sound coming from the roof!

This made Guan Zhiyue, who was hiding under the covers, tremble uncontrollably. What was going on? Could it be that she had encountered something unclean?

"Little Tuantuan, what is this thing?!"

"Is there something bad going on?"

Guan Zhiyue whispered to Xiao Tuantuan in her spatial dimension, chatting quietly.