"The 'fake' I'm referring to is being your wife, your lawfully wedded wife, your queen, your legal wife."
"But I never intended for someone like that to become my wife. I despise you, didn't you already know that?"
Ye Zhao sheathed his sword and coldly said to the person beside him, "Kill them."
After taking another sip of tea, he stood up and finally said to Consort Yi, "Don't worry, the Grand Tutor has long harbored rebellious intentions, and your entire family will soon be joining you in this."
Consort Yi collapsed to the ground as if all her strength had been drained. Finally, she asked, "I love you so much. If I weren't the daughter of the Grand Tutor, would you like me even a little bit?"
"No, because what you have isn't love at all."
Consort Yi spoke again: "So you want to tell me that true love is about letting go? It's about letting go? Can you do that? Ye Zhao, can you do that?"
Ye Zhao didn't reply and left Consort Yi's palace. As she stepped into the courtyard, she heard screams behind her.
…
On his way back to the Empress's palace, Ye Zhao suddenly remembered what Consort Yi had said: "Ye Zhao, can you do it?"
He probably couldn't, could he? He believed he loved the Empress so much, offering her the best of everything, yet he was constantly controlling her, forcibly keeping her by his side.
So he was no different from Consort Yi; they both wanted to possess each other and forcibly keep the person by their side.
…
The fact that Consort Yi plotted to murder the Empress became common knowledge that very afternoon.
The Grand Tutor originally wanted to seek an explanation from the Emperor, but instead, he and his entire family were imprisoned on charges of treason.
Looking at the evidence Ye Zhao had found, the Grand Tutor simply laughed. The fledgling eagle had finally grown up... He had always thought Ye Zhao was incompetent, cruel, and bloodthirsty. No matter how powerful he appeared on the outside, he was nothing but a rotten shell inside.
But he suddenly realized he was wrong. Ye Zhao was far more terrifying than he had imagined, and his cruelty and inhumanity might be his greatest disguise.
Unfortunately, he discovered it too late; Ye Zhao had already escaped his control.
…
The inner palace was filled with fear and unease because of Consort Yi's affair, and those who had even the slightest idea immediately gave up.
In their eyes, Ye Zhao was a terrifying man who could kill even his childhood sweetheart of many years at will.
Moreover, in order to avoid other troubles, they even imprisoned Qingmei's entire family on charges of treason.
The concubines, who had initially been smitten by Ye Zhao's kindness towards the Empress, were terrified and dared not do anything more. They even realized that as long as the Empress remained favored, they had better not do anything, or they would be the ones to die at any moment.
…
Looking at Ye Zhao in front of her, Wan Ge was actually half-believing and half-doubting what they had said.
It appears that Ye Zhao killed Consort Yi, and it is also true that he imprisoned the Grand Tutor's family on charges of treason.
But whether Consort Yi truly intended to harm her, and whether the Grand Tutor's charge of treason was unjust, Wan Ge remained skeptical.
Wan Ge actually knew something about the Grand Tutor's wolfish ambitions. Although he was not a man and had always stayed away from the court, he had heard his father and brother say that the Marquis of Jing'an knew about the relationship between Ace and the Emperor.
At that time, the Grand Tutor's power was too great, and even if someone knew, they dared not say anything.
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