Jun Zhe was taken aback and hurriedly knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, I, your son..."
Seeing this, Yue Qingyin also knelt down on the ground.
The palace maids and eunuchs in Xiankun Palace knelt down, and for a moment, only the Empress Dowager remained standing in the huge room.
The Empress Dowager stared angrily at Jun Zhe, as if she wanted to tear a piece of flesh off him, which made Jun Zhe shudder.
The emperor was terrified by the look in her eyes. He had never seen the empress dowager with such a fierce expression since he was born, and for a moment he was speechless.
Yue Qingyin frowned slightly, a surge of joy rising in her heart; this was an excellent opportunity.
She quickly composed herself and said in the gentlest and most melodious voice, "Please calm down, Your Majesty. His Majesty did not mean to offend you. He has always been filial to you. Today, it was all my fault for speaking carelessly and causing His Majesty to become angry. I had intended to have a proper meal with Your Majesty and His Majesty, but now I have made a mess of things. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."
After Yue Qingyin finished speaking, she kowtowed heavily on the ground.
However, the Empress Dowager remained silent.
Even when he was exiled, he did not utter a single word.
A mother and son gaze at each other, yet it seems as if countless chasms separate them, chasms they cannot cross.
After a while.
The Empress Dowager sat down dejectedly, her words filled with desolation.
"Your Majesty is now grown up. As the saying goes, 'A grown son is no longer under his mother's control.' Just by looking at Your Majesty's current behavior, one can see that this saying is absolutely true. I'm afraid I can no longer count on you."
These words were extremely harsh. Jun Zhe's forehead was covered in sweat, and his heart ached, causing his eyes to redden.
"Mother, you raised me with your own hands. I will never forget your kindness in raising me. Your words make me feel uneasy. My heart is breaking right now, and I wish I could cut out my heart to prove it."
As she spoke, she burst into tears.
The Empress Dowager watched coldly, her face showing not a trace of emotion.
The more Yue Qingyin listened, the more something seemed off, and a strange feeling flashed through her mind.
Jun Zhe continued, "Mother, Father often said that if the inner palace is peaceful, the world will be at peace. Your son has never forgotten Father's teachings. Your son only hopes that Mother and Empress can live in harmony. The Empress, she..."
"Enough!" The Empress Dowager slammed her hand on the table, pointing a finger at Jun Zhe's nose, her tone extremely stern. "So, according to you, I deliberately sought to find fault with the Empress? I stirred up trouble in the harem? Is that it?"
Jun Zhe was greatly frightened. He stared at the Empress Dowager with wide eyes. He did not think that way. He was only thinking about pleading for the Empress. He was so frightened that he forgot to cry.
"Mother, I... I had no such intention..."
"Shut up! I was wrong. I shouldn't have gone through so many hardships to put you on the throne, and I shouldn't have let you marry Yue Huangyin. She's only been in the palace for a few days, and she's already bewitched you. Do you even have any respect for me anymore?"
"Mother!" Jun Zhe's mind went blank, and it felt as if two people were pulling him apart, as if he were about to split apart.
The Empress Dowager gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with regret, remorse, sadness, and sorrow. A mix of emotions mingled together, and the powerful sense of resentment made Yue Qingyin, who was kneeling on the ground and dared not raise her head, break out in a cold sweat.
"Mother!" Jun Zhe called out weakly.
The Empress Dowager turned her head in disappointment and said resentfully, "I'll ask you my first question again: the Empress was wrong in this matter. Do you believe me or not?"
Jun Zhe opened his eyes wide in terror and cried out in a pitiful voice, "Mother!"
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