After leaving Fengyi Palace, Zhou Jin remained silent the entire way.
Seeing his gloomy face, Li Mu dared not provoke him, but he wasn't sure which direction the imperial carriage was heading, so he still braced himself and asked, "Your Majesty, are we going to—"
"Go to the Taiji Hall." Zhou Jin sat on the dragon carriage, closed his eyes to rest, but his mind kept replaying the words the Empress had said.
The sandalwood and white jade prayer beads in Zhou Jin's hand kept turning, much like his current state of mind—anxious and restless.
"The Empress Dowager was a scourge left over from the previous dynasty's southern border. She went into hiding, but unexpectedly, during the late emperor's incognito visit, she took a liking to him and placed a soul-capturing Gu on him. This Gu was extremely dangerous, and the late emperor was once controlled by it."
He still remembered those days when his father loved all the princes very much. Even though his mother was not favored, he was still taken care of by his father. No one in the palace dared to look down on them, and life was relatively easy.
But for some unknown reason, a woman was brought from outside the palace, and he became obsessed with her, murdering several concubines and princes in succession.
That woman was the current Empress Dowager. However, although the Empress Dowager was favored for a time, it did not last long. The late emperor became increasingly tyrannical and began to indulge in debauchery, favoring younger and more beautiful concubines.
"The late emperor had been poisoned by a curse for many years, and for some reason, he became increasingly out of control. The Empress Dowager was also completely baffled."
"Later, after you ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager was not content to be confined to the palace as a powerless woman. She attempted to control your harem, but she encountered a powerful family that had turned against the princes, so she dared not act, fearing that you would find out."
"Until Consort Yi takes her revenge—"
The Empress didn't elaborate, but Zhou Jin knew everything that followed.
Consort Yi obtained the Gu poison and killed several concubines and princes in succession, but she still refused to stop and became more and more insane.
"And you? Consort Yi did it for revenge, but what about you?"
Zhou Jin could never see through his exceptionally intelligent empress; he didn't know what she wanted, nor what she was dissatisfied with.
"Your Majesty, I am doing this for the sake of imperial power. The Empress Dowager promised me that if I successfully staged a palace coup, I would be second only to the emperor, above all others."
Zhou Jin had no idea that his empress was so naive.
"I was blinded by imperial power; I couldn't see the dangers ahead. I only knew that success would allow me to rule the world."
The empress smiled sadly; her eyes had seen too much filth and had been blinded by power and desire.
"But—I've discovered that the royal secret guards know everything that's happening in the world."
"I heard that's how Consort Yi died."
"I'm just glad I didn't tell my family, otherwise it would have been exposed sooner or later!"
The Empress guessed correctly. He sent many secret guards to various residences and rotated them to ensure that they would not betray him.
If the Empress were to contact her maternal family today, the entire Zhenguo General's mansion would be executed.
"Did you poison me with Gu poison?"
"It was Your Majesty the Empress Dowager who instructed me to use myself to nurture the Gu poison, which was only recently activated."
"Your Majesty, I know my sins are grave and beg for death. But I truly have not contacted my family; they are innocent."
The Empress banged her head heavily on the ground, her hairpins becoming disheveled.
"Empress, I promise you, if they have no intention of rebelling, I will spare their lives."
"You will be imprisoned in this Phoenix Palace, and you shall never step out of it for the rest of your life."
This palace, in the end, became the shackles that bound her for life.
She recalled that when she was a child, her father asked her what she wanted, and she said, "I want to see more of the world."
Unfortunately, that little girl could never leave.
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