Chapter 257 Seven Days

The Queen Mother, who received the news, hurried to Kunning Palace at this time. Her face was full of solemnity and her heart was extremely complicated.

When the emperor ascended the throne, he vowed that after the empress gave birth to a son, he would hold a grand ceremony to crown her as queen. However, who could have expected that the empress would die on the day of giving birth.

When the empress dowager walked into the delivery room, she saw chaos everywhere. Not only were the imperial physicians and many palace maids kneeling on the ground, but several concubines were also kneeling with their heads bowed. Even the two pregnant concubines were kneeling on the ground trembling.

The emperor held the empress in his arms, his expression blank, as if he had lost his soul.

The Queen Mother would not be sad because of the Queen's death, but she had never seen such a hopeless expression on her son's face, and at this moment her heart could not help but ache.

She walked up to Jun Zechen, her voice filled with pity and helplessness: "Emperor, the dead cannot be resurrected, you must mourn."

"The most important thing now is to find the murderer who poisoned the queen!"

The Queen Mother raised her voice a little and swept her sharp eyes over everyone present.

The eldest daughter of the Su family was originally the candidate favored by the empress dowager as the empress. In terms of family background, beauty, offspring, and even the emperor's love for her, she had all the advantages. Only such an empress was able to suppress the harem.

But now it has come to this end...

Hearing the Queen Mother say that she wanted to find the murderer, Jun Zechen finally came back to his senses a little. But at this moment, no matter who the murderer was, he wanted to kill all the women in the harem. The cruel emotions in his heart were stronger than ever.

His eyes were burning with rage, and his urge to kill was hard to suppress.

"Mother, please interrogate me first. I will not let anyone who harms the Queen go!"

Jun Zechen's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, and his eyes flashed with a sinister, fierce and captivating light.

Afterwards, he picked up Su Jingyao, took heavy steps, and personally took her back to the bedroom.

Nanny Lin, Miaoyun and others followed His Majesty with dull expressions, as if they had lost the ability to think.

After arriving at the bedroom, Nanny Lin still suppressed the grief in her heart and spoke.

"Your Majesty, the master has loved beauty since childhood. Let me give the master a bath."

Nanny Lin's voice was filled with deep sorrow, and she was almost choking with sobs.

She felt sorry for Madam Su. It was her fault that she did not take good care of the eldest daughter. She had watched her grow up!

After Jun Zechen gently put the person on the bed, Nanny Lin took the grief-stricken Miaoyun and others to take care of Su Jingyao's body carefully, carefully cleaning off the sweat stains caused by childbirth.

Finally, she was dressed in a gorgeous phoenix robe.

Jun Zechen's eyes never left her from beginning to end. She was clearly lying there quietly, still so beautiful and charming.

He told himself in his heart that she was just asleep, just asleep...

After Nanny Lin dressed Su Jingyao carefully, Jun Zechen sat on the bed and hugged her tightly in his arms again.

His arms were so strong that he seemed to want to embed her into his body, and he even wanted to use his body temperature to warm her already ice-cold body.

Although Nanny Lin and the others wanted to accompany their master very much, when they saw how sad his majesty was, they knew it was inconvenient to disturb him at this moment. They could only slowly retreat with full of sorrow, leaving this space to the emperor and empress.

"Jiaojiao, I will give you whatever you want, why do you want to leave me?"

Jun Zechen's voice was filled with sorrow and was hoarse as if it had been rubbed repeatedly with sandpaper.

The only sound in the bedroom was Jun Zechen's pain. They had only known each other for a little over a year, so why did he feel so heartbroken?

Jun Zechen had been a cold-blooded emperor all his life. During all those long years, he never thought that he would truly fall in love with a woman.

Even after being reborn and meeting her, he initially thought that he was just attracted to her.

He never imagined that there would be a day when he would lose her.

"How can you be so cruel? Xingxing has just been born and you are leaving him. Do you really believe that I will protect him?"

Jun Zechen's eyes were red, as if only in a deserted place could he not wear the cold mask of an emperor.

Now he was talking incoherently, mumbling to himself in the bedroom, saying whatever he thought of, even if no one responded to him.

As he spoke, he hugged her tightly, his mind was in a mess, as if he had lost the ability to think.

Just like this, he stayed in the bedroom for two hours, as if time had stopped, and he just wanted to accompany his queen for the last moments.

Finally, he gently put the person down.

"I will make those who hurt you pay a hundredfold."

Jun Zechen's voice was deep, like a vow squeezed out from between his teeth, with a chilling ruthlessness.

After saying this, Jun Zechen walked out of the bedroom with a gloomy face, as if wrapped in the cold winter wind.

The chill emanating from him made people around him shiver.

At this time, the Queen Mother had already brought all the palace maids and concubines from Kunning Palace to the main hall and was interrogating them one by one with a serious expression.

As soon as Jun Zechen stepped into the hall, everyone saluted him timidly, but he acted as if he didn't hear them. He pursed his lips tightly, said nothing, and walked straight to the first seat and sat down.

"Mother, what did you find out?"

His voice was as cold as the water in a cold pond, without a trace of warmth.

The empress dowager glanced at the concubines who were still paying their respects. Although the emperor did not let anyone stand up, there were still two pregnant concubines among them.

"Everyone, get up." The Queen Mother said helplessly.

After saying that, she turned around and replied to Jun Zechen: "After the maid from Kunning Palace who poisoned the empress brought the tea to the empress, she took advantage of the gap when no one was paying attention and went straight back to her room."

"She cleaned up the contaminated water and then committed suicide."

The Queen Mother had never expected that a palace maid would dare to do such a rebellious thing, and her face looked extremely ugly.

The corner of Jun Zechen's mouth curled up into an extremely cold smile.

"It's really done flawlessly."

Jun Zechen turned the teacup on the table, and his sinister eyes slowly swept over the concubines who all lowered their heads.

"If the truth cannot be revealed, all the concubines in the harem will be buried with the queen."

Jun Zechen's words were like a heavy hammer, hitting the concubines' hearts hard. They all looked panicked and hurriedly stood up and knelt on the ground again.

He said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, please calm down."

The Queen Mother frowned, her face full of dissatisfaction, and shouted in a stern voice: "Emperor!"

How can such cruel words be said so easily?

But Jun Zechen was not moved at all and turned a deaf ear to the Queen Mother's angry shouts.

"An Shun, I give you seven days to find out the cause of the Queen's poisoning. If An Shun cannot find the cause within seven days, you will all be buried with the Queen. If the real culprit is found after seven days, the whole family will be executed!"

Jun Zechen's eyes were like knives, sharp and ruthless.

"During these seven days, if any of you have any clues or evidence, please submit them as soon as possible. If you have anyone you want to accuse, you can tell An Shun. When the time comes, I will show no mercy!"

His voice echoed in the hall.

The seven concubines were trembling all over at this moment. Their life and death depended on just a word from His Majesty.

Lin Miaoyin's face was filled with surprise and disbelief. Is His Majesty so cruel to them?

She's pregnant with his child!

"Your Majesty, I am still pregnant with the royal heir."

Lin Miaoyin's voice was filled with tears, and her frail body was about to fall.

Jun Zechen's fierce eyes instantly fell on Lin Miaoyin like a sharp sword.

"So you were jealous of the Queen giving birth to a legitimate son, so you poisoned her?"

"No, Your Majesty, I dare not. It was not my fault."

Lin Miaoyin was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face.

Tang Suxi originally thought that she could escape the disaster because of the royal heir, but seeing His Majesty's ruthless and cold-blooded look, she felt her heart run cold.

Ye Yaqin never thought that His Majesty would be so inconsiderate.

Many of these concubines are from famous families. Does Your Majesty really not care about your own reputation?

No, perhaps it was just that the Queen passed away suddenly today, and Your Majesty found it difficult to accept it for a while, and was so heartbroken that he lost his mind and said such decisive words.

Once this news gets out, the powerful ministers in the court will definitely not let Your Majesty act so recklessly.

In a few days, when His Majesty calms down, he will surely revoke his order.

Ye Yaqin kept comforting herself in her heart. She must not panic now. She must be careful and must not let His Majesty find out about her.

Jun Zechen looked coldly at the concubines who were kneeling on the ground with panic-stricken faces, and felt extremely annoyed.

His eyes were full of disgust, as if he was looking at a group of worthless ants.

"During these seven days, everyone must stay in their own palaces and not communicate or have any contact with the outside world."

His voice sounded like a verdict from hell, without a trace of emotion.

"Everyone retreat!"

The Queen Mother looked at the Emperor's cold and ruthless expression, her lips moved but she didn't know how to speak.

Only after all the concubines had left did the Queen Mother slowly speak, with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Emperor, if you don't find the real murderer in seven days, are you really going to kill them? Defei (Lin Miaoyin) and Tang Ronghua (Tang Suxi) are both pregnant with the royal heir. If you say this, won't you be branded as a cruel and merciless person right after ascending the throne?"

The Queen Mother advised earnestly that she knew the Emperor was extremely sad at the moment, but the Queen had already passed away, and the real murderer must be found out, as he could not kill such an innocent person so recklessly.

"This is my palace. If someone dares to kill the empress, there will be someone bold enough to kill me one day."

His voice was suppressed and angry. If his mother had not been beside him, Jun Zechen would have been unable to control his violent emotions.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to say more. I have made up my mind."

His attitude was firm and there was no room for maneuver.

"Mother, please go back."

The empress dowager knew that no matter how she tried to persuade the emperor, he would not listen, so she changed the subject.

"The Queen's death was so sudden, but according to the rules, the coffin should be kept. Today, I will announce the Queen's death to the court and the outside world. What arrangements will the Emperor make?"

When Jun Zechen heard the words "suspended funeral" and "announcement of death", the emotions that he had been suppressing erupted like a volcano again.

"The Queen is not dead!"

His eyes were red and his hands were clenched into fists.

"Emperor! If you don't stop the funeral, the Empress' body will rot after a while. Do you want her to have no peace even after death?"

The Queen Mother also raised her voice.

Jun Zechen tightly closed his eyes, his brows furrowed, as if he was in great pain.

"She loves beauty so much, how could she be willing to let her body rot? I will build her an ice coffin and put her in an underground ice chamber so that her body will remain forever."

His voice was trembling slightly, very soft and low, carrying with it a deep attachment and reluctance.

This winter, an underground ice palace will be built for her again. She likes luxury and power, and she would be scared to go alone to a place as gloomy and terrifying as a mausoleum.

The Queen Mother looked at the Emperor in shock, not knowing what to say for a moment.

I could only sigh deeply, shake my head, and leave Kunning Palace.