A smug look appeared on the empress's deranged face.
"I wasn't wrong. You seem to have become smarter immediately after your mother died. You and Gu Jiangru fought so well, which makes me very happy."
As soon as she finished speaking, the smugness on her face vanished, replaced by hatred.
"But I didn't expect His Majesty's heart to fall for you so quickly."
"And you even got pregnant so quickly!"
"The Emperor dotes on you to the bone, and I suffer to the very marrow of my bones!"
"Because he treats you differently, completely different from Gu Jiangru!"
"He looks at you the way the lieutenant looks at me."
"How could the emperor have found his lifelong love in the harem?!"
"I only regret that the Gu worm can only kill one person. Otherwise, I would have made both of you die together!"
The emperor stood up, his whole being radiating cold indifference.
Despite the empress's many treasonous words, he showed no sign of anger.
He simply said, "Poisoning the emperor and falsely conveying imperial edicts are punishable by the execution of nine generations of one's family."
The Empress gave a mocking smile, seemingly talking to herself, "To exterminate nine generations of one's family..."
"My father and brother are a General of Zhenyuan and a Colonel of the Flying Cavalry, respectively. Is His Majesty willing to kill them?"
The emperor followed up with, "Back then, it was actually your father and brothers who petitioned the late emperor to allow me to make you the crown princess."
"The reason is to show the late emperor that although the two of them hold military power, they have no evil intentions."
"Only by sending you to the Crown Prince's residence and making you the Crown Prince's principal wife, and using you as a bargaining chip for harmonious relations between them and the royal family, can the royal family believe that they have no ulterior motives, and only then can they secure their positions as generals and captains without any worries."
"But it would be easy for me to kill them."
The queen's hateful eyes gradually became dull, and a few silent tears rolled down her cheeks.
The emperor then said:
"Your Majesty, you are not foolish. You should have understood the reason long ago."
"From the moment you were born into the Song family as a girl, your fate was already set."
"No matter who is the crown prince or the emperor, you are destined to be trapped in the palace for the rest of your life."
"The royal family would not allow the daughter of a general with significant military power to marry another prince;"
"As a general, only by sending his own daughter into the palace can he demonstrate his loyalty to the royal family and reduce their suspicion of him."
The Empress smiled bitterly, tears streaming down her face. "You mean... from birth, I was just a pawn that my father and brothers raised to help them live out their old age in peace...?"
The emperor did not directly answer her question, but instead said:
"You were born into a family of generals who wielded swords and spears, yet you were confined to your inner chambers from a young age, learning music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. They taught you the etiquette of the inner palace, how to treat people and recognize things, all in order to send you into the inner palace."
The empress was pale and looked extremely haggard.
Her hands slipped off the iron bars of the cell and she slowly backed away until she was completely hidden in the darkness.
The emperor and Gu Jiangli could no longer see her tear-streaked, desperate face, but they could still hear the self-mocking, bitter laugh she was suppressing in her throat.
"Your Majesty, are you trying to say that I hated the wrong person, that I shouldn't have hated you, but instead hated my father and brothers, the late emperor, and this pathetic world?"
“I don’t care who you hate. For so many years, you have lived a life of comfort and luxury in the harem. As long as you do no evil, you can live a peaceful life as the empress. It is your own unwillingness that is the problem.”
"Hahaha...hahaha...what use is wealth and glory to someone who is destined to lose her freedom from birth, imprisoned for life, and unable to love?"
The Empress laughed wildly, and when she got tired of laughing, she sat down on the ground. "Your Majesty, you really love Gu Jiangli."
The emperor's expression changed slightly, and he suddenly tightened his grip on Gu Jiangli's hand.
The Empress suddenly said to Gu Jiangli, "Gu Jiangli, I really admire you. How do you manage to pretend to be deeply in love with someone you don't love?"
Gu Jiangli's expression changed; she could clearly feel the Emperor's grip on her hand tighten a little.
She angrily said to the Queen in the darkness, "Queen, don't think that just because you love a man, you understand everything."
"Ha, I understand better than His Majesty. His Majesty loves you, you know that perfectly well; but you don't love His Majesty, I wonder how much His Majesty knows in his heart?"
Gu Jiangli looked at the emperor beside her, whose lips were pursed into a straight line.
After a long pause, the emperor said to Gu Jiangli:
"Let's go. The Empress has confessed everything she needs to. This dungeon is cold and damp; it's not good for your health. Don't stay here."
He said nothing, asked nothing, and took her hand as they walked towards the light outside the dungeon.
Even in prison, the Empress kept talking, "I am not loved by Your Majesty. Do you think you are any better than me?"
“Gu Jiangli is just as cunning and scheming as I am. Since you like her, you will surely be plotted against and harmed by her in the future, and your end will be extremely tragic.”
These words, which sounded like a curse, were completely ignored by the emperor.
He held Gu Jiangli's hand, his steps steady and powerful.
Gu Jiangli followed halfway to his side, only seeing his cold and handsome profile.
"Your Majesty...won't you ask me?"
She knew that the Empress's words had undoubtedly struck a nerve with the Emperor.
The scene of the emperor asking her with reddened eyes and expectant look on the day he lost his child is still vivid in my mind.
The emperor clearly cared about her feelings.
Shouldn't we ask her again?
The emperor's resolute gaze turned towards the dungeon exit, and he said:
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