Emperor Zongzheng Shen was cold-hearted and ruthless. This personality allowed him to make rational judgments that were beneficial to the country and its people. However, as a man, he was also callous and ungrateful. He had been married to the late Empress for ten years, yet he couldn't even remember her name, let alone Lu Qingyan, who had just entered the family.
The original owner was still young, and naturally she opened her heart to such a man, only to end up hurting herself. It would have been fine if Zongzheng Shen hadn't fallen in love with anyone else, but he did, and it was this love that deeply wounded the original owner.
In the past, there was a concubine in the palace of unparalleled beauty. She possessed a voice as melodious as a nightingale's. After the late emperor favored her once, he fell deeply in love with her and bestowed upon her the title of Consort Li. However, after a period of favor, the late emperor callously discarded her. Naturally, many people hated Consort Li when she was favored, and after losing favor, she was quickly relegated to a remote palace. However, Consort Li was gentle and kind by nature. Like every woman in the palace, she deeply loved the late emperor. Although she was heartbroken after being neglected by him, she did not hate him. Especially after half a month, when she discovered she was pregnant, her longing for the late emperor grew even stronger.
After ten months of pregnancy, Consort Li gave birth to a beautiful son, but unfortunately, she was unlucky and her son died before he was even three days old.
Consort Li was heartbroken after losing her son and being banished to the Cold Palace by the Emperor on charges of plotting to harm the imperial heir. Her already poor health deteriorated rapidly.
Just then, Zongzheng Shen came into her view, instantly reviving her heart. Zongzheng Shen was already a teenager at that time, and royal children are precocious and understand everything they should. Consort Li still treated Zongzheng Shen like a baby who needed to be breastfed, chasing after him every day, holding him in her arms and breastfeeding him, shouting that Zongzheng Shen was her own son.
Outsiders are saying that Consort Li has gone mad, and some kind-hearted people are advising Zongzheng Shen to stay away from her.
At first, Zongzheng Shen inexplicably agreed to accompany Consort Li in her frivolous pursuits. As time passed, he developed feelings for her. The late emperor grew increasingly ill, and the affairs of state were gradually handed over to Zongzheng Shen. With his ascension to the throne imminent, the late emperor issued an edict ordering Consort Li to be buried alive with him. Consort Li was merely a woman; how could she be compared to the throne? Zongzheng Shen naturally chose what was most advantageous to him, and thus, there was no future between him and Consort Li.
Giving up back then was one thing, but missing her later was another. If he had simply grown tired of her, that would have been one thing; perhaps he would have forgotten her soon enough. But in his eyes, he was forced to make a choice; he had no choice in the matter. The image of Li Fei gradually solidified in his heart, becoming an unattainable cinnabar mark on his soul.
Later, when the newly appointed Prime Minister Jun Jiuxian's wife came to attend the state banquet, Zongzheng Shen bumped into her. He was immediately stunned. Look at her appearance and voice, she was clearly the reincarnation of Li Fei! It must be that Li Fei couldn't bear to leave him and came back to find him.
But why is she someone else's wife? She was once the emperor's concubine, and they could only be together secretly. Now she's a minister's wife, and he shouldn't have any connection with her. Why?! How can someone else take away the fate they've worked so hard for? Thus, Zongzheng Shen embarked on an irreversible path of becoming a tyrannical ruler. Framed ministers, seized ministers' wives, murdered his own children… his crimes were countless. The empress, whom he saw as "forced" into marriage, was the biggest obstacle on his path to true love.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
