Daming: After self-explosive time travel, Lao Zhu's mentality collapsed

"Your Majesty..." Concubine Li called softly.

Chu Ze looked at Concubine Li, and suddenly a bad feeling came over him...

Concubine Li spoke softly, but her voice was as cold as ice: "Your Majesty, do you still remember how you banished me to the cold palace three years ago?"

Chu Ze was shocked. Three years ago, Concubine Li was in great favor, but she angered the Queen Mother because of a trivial matter. The Queen Mother accused her of "seducing the king and causing chaos in the palace" and sent her to the cold palace. And he, in order to appease the Queen Mother and for the so-called "country and people", actually acquiesced to all this!
Now that I think about it, that incident was clearly a conspiracy planned by the Queen Mother!

"Concubine Li, I..." Chu Ze wanted to explain, but was interrupted by Concubine Li.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to say more," Concubine Li smiled sadly, "I have been in the cold palace for three years, and I have already seen through the intrigues in this palace. I also understand that Your Majesty is just a puppet in the hands of the Queen Mother!"

These words, like a sharp knife, pierced Chu Ze's heart. He had always thought that he was in control of everything, but he never expected that in the eyes of the Queen Mother, he was just a chess piece at the mercy of others!

"You are talking nonsense!" the queen shouted angrily, "The emperor is the true dragon emperor, how can you slander him like this!"

Concubine Li was not afraid at all. She looked straight at the Queen and sneered, "Queen, why do you have to pretend? You and the Queen Mother colluded with each other and framed the loyal and good people. Do you think that the Emperor doesn't know all this?"

The Queen's face changed. She didn't expect that Concubine Li would be so bold as to expose their conspiracy in front of the Emperor!

Chu Ze's face became increasingly gloomy. He looked at the queen, his eyes filled with disappointment and anger.

"Queen, is what Concubine Li said true?" Chu Ze asked in a deep voice.

The queen's face turned pale, and she stammered, "Your Majesty, your concubine...your concubine..."

"That's enough!" Chu Ze shouted angrily, "I don't want to hear your excuses anymore!"

He suddenly turned his head to look at Concubine Li, with a complicated light flashing in his eyes.

"Concubine Li, what do you want?" Chu Ze asked.

Concubine Li smiled slightly and said, "I don't want anything. I just hope that the emperor can give me justice!"

Chu Ze was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "Okay, I promise you!"

He turned around and looked at the queen, his eyes filled with cold murderous intent.

"Queen, you colluded with the Queen Mother and attempted rebellion. Your crime is unforgivable!" Chu Ze said coldly, "Come here, take the Queen down!"

The imperial guards immediately stepped forward and surrounded the queen.

The queen's face was pale. She looked at Chu Ze with eyes full of despair and fear.

"Your Majesty, spare my life!" the queen cried, "I know I was wrong, and I will never do it again!"

Chu Ze was not moved at all. He said coldly: "Take him away!"

The imperial guards dragged the queen away.

In the cold palace, only Chu Ze and Concubine Li were left.

"Concubine Li," Chu Ze looked at Concubine Li, his eyes full of apology, "I'm sorry for you."

Concubine Li smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. Now, I only hope that Your Majesty can govern the country well and benefit the people."

Chu Ze nodded and said, "I will."

He looked at Concubine Li deeply, then turned and left the cold palace.

Concubine Li looked at Chu Ze's back, with a complicated light flashing in her eyes. She knew that all this had just begun...

After returning to the imperial study, Chu Ze immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the crimes of the Queen Mother and the Queen.

Soon, the Queen Mother's crime was discovered. It turned out that the Queen Mother had always held a grudge against Chu Ze. She believed that Chu Ze had taken away her son's throne, so she had always wanted to get rid of Chu Ze and support her nephew, the Queen's brother, to ascend the throne.

In order to help her brother, the Queen has been colluding with the Queen Mother to frame loyal and honest people.

Chu Ze was furious when he learned about all this. He ordered that the Queen Mother, the Empress, and their followers be executed!

A court scene came to an end.

And Chu Ze finally broke free from the control of the Queen Mother and became the true Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!

He worked hard to govern the country and rectified the government, which brought new vitality to the Ming Dynasty!
However, just when Chu Ze thought everything was settled, he found that things were not that simple...

Concubine Li mysteriously disappeared!

Chu Ze sent people to search everywhere, but could not find any trace of Concubine Li.

A bad premonition suddenly surged in his heart...

At the same time, in a deep mountain forest thousands of miles away from the capital, Concubine Li was sitting cross-legged under an ancient tree, practicing with her eyes closed.

She exudes a powerful aura...

Suddenly, she opened her eyes sharply, and a gleam of light flashed in them.

"Finally, a breakthrough!" Concubine Li showed a hint of sneer at the corner of her mouth, "Chu Ze, just wait, I will definitely come back!"

She stood up, and in a flash, she disappeared into the night...

After Chu Ze left the cold palace, he did not go back to the imperial study. He walked aimlessly on the palace road. The night wind blew past, but it could not blow away the lingering doubts in his heart. Concubine Li's words and her eyes made him feel a little strange. Did she really just want him to govern the country well and benefit the people?
He stopped and looked up at the dark night sky. The stars were dotted, but it seemed to be covered by a veil and could not be seen clearly. Just like Concubine Li, she seemed gentle and submissive, but in fact she was unpredictable.

"Your Majesty," a voice called from behind. Chu Ze turned around and saw that it was his personal eunuch Xiao Anzi. "It's late at night and the dew is heavy. Your Majesty should return to the palace."

Chu Ze rubbed his brows and said, "Let's go to Fengming Palace."

Fengming Palace was the former residence of Concubine Li. Now, it was empty, adding to the loneliness. Chu Ze walked into Concubine Li's bedroom. The furnishings inside were still the same. On the dressing table, there were rouge and powder that Concubine Li often used.

He picked up a box of rouge and gently opened it. A faint fragrance came to his nose. This was Concubine Li's favorite fragrance. Chu Ze closed his eyes and seemed to still see Concubine Li carefully drawing her eyebrows in front of the mirror.

"Your Majesty..." Xiao Anzi spoke cautiously, "This rouge..."

Chu Ze suddenly opened his eyes and threw the rouge box on the table with a crisp sound. He walked quickly to the bookshelf and reached out to grope on the bookshelf, as if looking for something.

"Your Majesty, what are you looking for?" Xiao Anzi asked.

"I remember that Concubine Li hid a book here," Chu Ze said without turning his head, "a book about Qimen Dunjia."

Xiao Anzi was stunned for a moment, then stepped forward to help look for it. The two of them looked through all the books on the bookshelf, but still couldn't find the book that Chu Ze mentioned.

"Strange," Chu Ze frowned, "I clearly remember it was right here..."

He walked to the desk and reached into the drawer to search. Suddenly, his fingers touched a hard object. He took it out and found it was a jade pendant. (End of this chapter)