Ye Jinghong already felt guilty towards her daughter, so she couldn't care less about anything else. At worst, she would just quit being a Dayuan person.
The laws of the Great Abyss cannot shackle her.
But then a deep, disappointed voice said, "From the moment you poisoned me, you were no longer the Empress."
The emperor slowly sat up from the bed and said in a deep voice, "Guards, draft an edict. I want to depose the empress."
"you……"
The empress looked at the emperor in shock.
He actually woke up?
But the drug she gave him had no antidote, so he couldn't possibly wake up.
The emperor, aware of her confusion, said with a self-deprecating laugh, "In your heart, am I really that stupid and easily fooled?"
After realizing that the Empress was faking her illness, he did not punish her immediately, wanting to see just how far she could go.
But he never expected that she would want to kill him. After so many years of marriage, she didn't hesitate to take his life.
The emperor realized he had been blinded by greed, having indulged such a wicked woman in his heart for decades.
Outside, Chen Banjun brought in writing brush, ink, and a bright yellow scroll.
When the Empress saw him, she was shocked again. She had clearly ordered someone to drug Chen Banjun and then have him strangled to create the illusion that he had hanged himself.
At that time, it could be said that Chen Banjun felt he had failed in serving his master and died for him.
But now the person who should have been asleep has woken up, and the person who should have been dead is standing alive in front of him.
The Empress realized that the Emperor had seen through her entire plan. He didn't expose her, but instead watched her as a clown.
"How could Your Majesty be stupid? It is I who am stupid, and I have been completely fooled by Your Majesty."
The Empress spat out blood, then looked at the Emperor and laughed maniacally, "Your Majesty, do you find it amusing to see me make a fool of myself?"
Ye Jinghong and Ye Zhen couldn't stand her act of turning the tables on them, and the two mothers spoke up at the same time, "Have you no shame?"
Ye Jinghong threw down the shoe in her hand and said with disgust, "I never knew you were this kind of person. Are you just too good at disguising yourself, or was I blind?"
The Empress dared not lay a hand on Ye Jinghong. She looked at the Emperor and said, "You cannot depose me, much less kill me."
Otherwise, with a rebellious empress dowager, how could the crown prince ascend the throne? If I die, he will have to observe three years of mourning and will not be allowed to get married.
I had no choice but to poison you; I had no other option. You should be able to understand me.
Look, your interests have been harmed, yet you don't care whether I live or die, letting them beat and scold me. People are selfish, and you are no exception.
"I did nothing wrong. I was merely trying to survive, Your Majesty. Survival is a human instinct. If you were in my shoes, you would have made the same choice."
“I don’t have to be your son.”
Xie Tingzhou couldn't stand her brainwashing the emperor and said coldly, "If I had a choice, I would rather not have come into this world than have been born from your womb."
"Oh!"
The Empress laughed mockingly, "You're getting a good deal and still acting innocent. If you really don't want to stay in this world, then give me back my flesh and blood! Then go and die! Why did you beg to live back then? You simply couldn't bear to die..."
"shut up!"
The emperor was so angry at her unreasonable behavior that his chest heaved violently. He stepped forward and kicked her twice.
Suddenly, he asked, "I ask you, when you married the late emperor, was it because the late emperor and the Zheng family forced you, or did you secretly win the late emperor's attention?"
He had never doubted this question until today, when he saw the Empress's power-hungry and lustful face. He suddenly remembered that the late Emperor originally favored other women, but suddenly took a liking to the Empress.
If the Empress was originally like this, then back then, between an unfavored prince and the crown prince, she would definitely have chosen the latter.
He then remembered that he had heard that the late emperor treated the empress fairly well during their marriage, but the empress had secretly sent someone to tell him that she was suffering greatly and that the late emperor had humiliated her in various ways.
When his beloved was bullied, he naturally tried to protect her. As a result, he was targeted by the late emperor, eventually leading to the point where he murdered his brother to seize the throne and his own son could not be recognized by outsiders.
The Empress was taken aback by the Emperor's sudden question, and her eyes flickered instinctively.
The emperor knew her well; her evasive gaze had already given him the answer.
He sighed deeply and asked again, "General Ye just said that you sent her to war when she was about to give birth."
But you clearly told me that General Ye volunteered for the mission, which is why I issued that decree ordering her to set out immediately.
This led to Ye Zhen's tragic life for the first ten years or so, something the emperor always felt guilty about regarding Ye Jinghong.
Only now did he realize that it was actually the person he trusted most who had been behind it all.
Ye Jinghong also looked at the emperor, "Wasn't it Your Majesty who was worried about the country's collapse and said that Dayuan had no capable generals, which is why you had the Empress secretly find me?"
Actually, she already understood when she heard the emperor say that.
The empress deceived both sides.
The emperor shook his head. "I am indeed worried about the war, but I personally took care of the empress during childbirth and know how difficult it is for women to give birth."
She told me that you begged her, not wanting your child to be looked down upon for being fatherless, and that you wanted to gain fame and fortune in the war so you could give your child a better life in the future.
He smiled and said, "I am indeed confused. I will trouble General Ye to break her limbs and lock her in the cold palace for me. I will then give her poisoned wine when the Crown Prince gets married and ascends the throne."
"No, Your Majesty, you cannot do this to me. If it weren't for my painstaking planning, how could you have come to rule the country..."
"But I have never coveted this empire. I only want all of this to protect you."
He was already fed up with the endless government affairs that kept him busy day and night.
The emperor closed his eyes briefly. "Because of this, I cannot acknowledge my eldest son, and I have no fatherly bond with my youngest son. Empress, I truly hate you."
"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have saved you in the first place; I should have let you die beneath the beasts."
He had been manipulated by his spouse his whole life, and his heart was truly broken.
At that moment, he suddenly realized that the empress may never have truly loved him; she forced him to ascend the throne simply because he was easy to control.
The truth is, he has always been obedient to her over the years, and when the late emperor was still the crown prince, he already had a large number of wives and concubines in his harem. If she were to marry him, she would not receive much honor.
From beginning to end, I was just a pawn in her game.
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