The farce of the Empress's rebellion ended quietly before it even truly began.

She was unwilling to accept it, and she was also afraid.

The emperor's order for Ye Jinghong to send her to the Cold Palace meant that he was handing her over to Ye Jinghong for disposal.

Ye Jinghong is a ruthless killer who hates evil; she will not let her get away with this.

"Your Majesty, I have been with you for decades and borne you three children. You cannot treat me like this."

Seeing that the emperor didn't even look at her, she knew he was determined. As a last resort, she pointed at Xie Qian and said, "Have him send me to the Cold Palace."

Of all the people in the room, only Xie Qian didn't hate her that much, and the emperor also felt guilty towards Xie Qian.

If she could persuade Xie Qian to plead for her, perhaps things would take a turn for the better.

Xie Qian refused without hesitation, “Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was suddenly forcibly brought into the palace. My mother is timid and I am afraid she is frightened. Please grant me permission to leave the palace immediately.”

He had no desire to be involved in this matter.

The Empress felt he was heartless, saying, "I am your mother, how can you watch me be bullied?"

Xie Qian hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I am a child of the Helian family, raised by the Prince of Yan and his wife. Please do not speak nonsense."

My mother said that there is no mother in the world who does not love her child. Now it seems that my mother was too kind, which is why she thought that other mothers loved their children as much as she did, even adopted children.

"His Highness the Crown Prince is right here. Your Majesty doesn't love your own child, yet you rush to acknowledge other people's. Forgive me, but I cannot comply. I already have the best mother in the world; Your Majesty is not even one ten-thousandth as good as her."

While criticizing the Empress, he also condemned her for not being a good mother, and subtly implied that her kindness towards Prince Ning was not genuine.

If you don't even care about your own biological children, how can you be truly sincere towards your adopted son?

This further increased the emperor's disappointment in the empress, while the empress was so angry that she wanted to strangle him.

"You and the Crown Prince are both heartless, deserving to be reborn as animals. I wasted my life giving birth to you..."

Xie Qian said calmly, "Every cause has its effect."

Outside, Shi Wuxia whispered to Shi Yan, "Is this person alright?"

Shi Yan asked her, "You really like her?"

Shi Wuxia said, "His simple-mindedness is somewhat amusing. He is quite pragmatic and filial to the Princess Consort of Yan. The Princess Consort of Yan seems to be a good person as well."

Anyway, Dad said that no matter who his daughter marries in the future, she will always be the eldest in the family, and she can sit or lie down as she pleases.

My daughter can't be a submissive wife, nor can she pretend to be virtuous. Ordinary powerful people probably wouldn't dare to want me, but he said he wanted to marry me.

Of course, my status plays a part, but it's also part of my charm. If he treats me badly in the future, I'll just find someone else. Anyway, I have a father who loves me, so I can stand up for myself.

Although she was an adopted daughter, her father was the best father in the world. Before she even reached marriageable age, someone took a liking to her and tried to seduce her.

Her father worried that she was too young and naive to understand things, and that she would be bewitched by men. So he took her to see all sorts of handsome men and showed her many tricks men use to deceive women. He even took her to brothels and saw all the love and hate between men and women.

She was luckier than Ye Zhen, so she wanted to treat Ye Zhen as well as possible.

Xie Qian's identity has always been a hidden danger. He has no desires at the moment, but what about the future? Will his mindset change?

No one can guarantee that.

But if she marries Xie Qian, it would be better for her to keep an eye on things.

Shi Yan thought for a moment, "Let's see how it goes."

He could roughly guess what Wuxia was thinking. If it was just for surveillance, the marriage was unnecessary. If Wuxia truly liked him, he wouldn't interfere.

Unaware of the thoughts of the two people outside, Xie Qian bowed to the emperor again and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to leave the palace."

The emperor gave him a deep look. "Go, and take good care of your mother."

He then instructed Chen Banjun, "Have someone send over more nourishing medicines."

The Prince of Yan and his wife raised their child very well, and the emperor was grateful.

Xie Qian thanked him and left.

Ye Jinghong also bowed to the emperor, then carried the empress away, with Ye Zhen following behind.

The emperor stopped Xie Tingzhou, saying, "I had the Imperial Observatory check, and the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is an auspicious day. Your marriage to Ye Zhen should be held soon."

Although it's only a month, we've already made pretty much the preparations, so there's still time.

Xie Tingzhou also wanted to marry his sweetheart as soon as possible, so he nodded and said, "Okay."

The emperor then said, "Once you are married, I will abdicate in your favor, and the throne will be handed over to you."

"Father is still young..."

"Others may not know, but you know how I came to be the emperor."

The emperor interrupted Xie Tingzhou, "I originally planned to abdicate after you got married, and then travel the world with her."

This is something I've always wanted to do, and I thought she truly hoped for it too, but now I realize it was all just wishful thinking on my part.

My position is truly laughable, a constant reminder of my foolishness over the years.

He patted his son on the shoulder and said, "When the emperor sits in the Mingtang, he is most easily deceived. Therefore, he needs many eyes to know what the world he governs is really like."

"I have been an unsuccessful emperor, with few trusted confidants, and I myself have been trapped for over twenty years. From now on, I will act as your eyes, and while I'm at it, I will personally survey the land I have ruled for over twenty years and create new maps."

The father and son were having a heart-to-heart talk, while Ye Jinghong and her daughter took the Empress to the Cold Palace where Ye Wantang had been imprisoned.

As soon as she was thrown to the ground, Ye Zhen pulled out her tongue.

The Empress's words were too venomous, and Ye Zhen didn't want to hear another word from her. So Ye Jinghong swung his knife and cut off her limbs.

The emperor said to break it, but that's not enough.

Her daughter suffered so much.

"Letting you die is too cheap, and keeping you alive is truly disgusting, but I'll show you that my daughter is getting married in style, and show you that you can be upright and proper. Even without your scheming, my daughter can still be the empress."

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