The Queen sealed her heart and locked up her love, and the Emperor was trapped in the crematorium

Palace of Heavenly Purity.

Since Xiao Chengxu left the court, his expression has been as gloomy as dark clouds, as if someone owed him millions of taels of silver, and this gloomy expression has persisted without dissipating even a little bit.

A palace maid was trembling as she served tea. Due to her excessive nervousness, she accidentally made some noise. However, it was this small negligence that triggered the emperor's wrath. Xiao Chengxu suddenly raised his hand and threw the teacup in his hand to the ground. The teacup instantly broke into pieces, and the fragments flew everywhere.

Upon seeing this, the maid was so frightened that she immediately knelt on the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably, and her voice became stammering: "Your Majesty... Your servant... Your servant knows that you are wrong..."

"If that's the case, then go and accept your punishment. Come, drag him out and beat him to death."

Xiao Chengxu's tone was so calm that it made people feel uneasy, as if he was just dealing with a trivial matter. However, for the palace maid, this was an irreversible death sentence.

Soon, the maid was dragged out mercilessly by the guards like a lamb to be slaughtered. Not long after, the guards entered the Palace of Heavenly Purity again and reported to Xiao Chengxu that the maid had been beaten to death. Upon hearing this news, Xiao Chengxu did not even raise his eyelids, but just responded lightly, indicating that he already knew about it.

After this bloody lesson, the palace maids and eunuchs working in the Qianqing Palace were treading on thin ice, being cautious and trembling all the time, fearing that they would make some mistakes and anger the capricious emperor.

No one dared to relax at all, because no one wanted to be the next unlucky person to be beaten to death. In such a tense and depressing atmosphere, the only hope of these servants was that their extremely noble master would recover his good mood as soon as possible, only then could they live a slightly more relaxed life.

In the evening, the sun set, and the afterglow fell on the eaves and walls of the palace, as if covering the entire palace with a layer of golden gauze. The emperor then went to Kunning Palace.

Xie Yaoqing took out the talent show list and handed it to Xiao Chengxu, asking him to take a look.

Although she personally organized the selection, she knew clearly that she was only responsible for the process, and the final decision-making power was still in the hands of the emperor. If this preliminary list was not approved by Xiao Chengxu, she would never dare to make a decision on her own, and she had to discuss it with the emperor, even if it was just a formality, at least she had to let Xiao Chengxu see her attitude.

Xiao Chengxu casually glanced at the list, and on the surface there was nothing obviously wrong. His tone was a little elusive, and he asked, "Is the Queen so eager to see the selection?"

Xie Yaoqing's heart tightened, and she couldn't help but be surprised. Then, the emperor's words made her even more angry, "With such diligence, is it me who is choosing a concubine, or is it the queen who is choosing a concubine?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Yaoqing's eyes widened instantly, and the anger in his heart was instantly ignited.

What do you mean she is choosing a concubine? She has no such power at all.

The world always treats women more harshly, while men can have three wives and four concubines, and hug women on both sides. Even if they visit brothels, spend a lot of money on courtesans, and frequently go in and out of brothels, people will just laugh it off and jokingly call them "romantic and amorous."

However, for women, such behavior is absolutely not allowed.

Once a woman has chosen a man, she must be faithful to him. Even if her sincerity is betrayed, no one will care. Others will at most sigh a few words. If she is divorced, she will be ridiculed by others. Even if they divorce, there will inevitably be many rumors.

She was just a queen, not an emperor. How could this selection of concubines be for her? Isn't this absurd and ridiculous?

"Your Majesty, be careful with your words. Everything I have done is to help you solve your problems. No matter which noble lady enters the palace in the future, I will treat her with kindness."

"Be lenient to him?"

Xiao Chengxu sneered repeatedly, and his laughter made people feel a chill going up their spine.

"The Queen is becoming more and more like a mother of a country. Should I reward her?"

Xiao Chengxu's words were full of sarcasm and ridicule, and anyone could hear the sarcasm in his tone.

Xie Yaoqing couldn't help but frown and felt very unhappy.

Xiao Chengxu personally agreed to this talent show. So why is he going crazy in front of me now?

Could it be that he has some grievance?

Xie Yaoqing really couldn't understand why Xiao Chengxu had to feel wronged.

For Xiao Chengxu, this talent show was a great way to kill two birds with one stone. On the one hand, by enriching his harem, he could achieve his goal of using the power of the harem to contain the previous dynasty; on the other hand, he could also gain several beautiful women to accompany him. If he was not satisfied with such a good thing that killed two birds with one stone, wouldn't he be too greedy?

"I am just doing my duty and I dare not take credit for it." Xie Yaoqing replied calmly.

There is no need for a reward. Who knows what the reward Xiao Chengxu will give is. It can’t be something good.

Xiao Chengxu stared at Xie Yaoqing, as if he wanted to see traces of her past jealousy for him on that all-too-familiar face.

However, he did not see these as he wished. Instead, he saw only a calm, like a pool of stagnant water. If we must find some emotions to describe Xie Yaoqing at this moment, then perhaps we can only say that he was confused, puzzled and bewildered. It seemed that his anger and questioning were nonsense, even a little unreasonable.

His queen, on the other hand, was like a bystander, unaware of his emotions.

She doesn't care about herself, so she can be so calm and composed, and ignore his joys and sorrows.

When Xiao Chengxu realized this, his eyes instantly turned scarlet, as if burning with anger. He stood up suddenly, with uncontrollable anger in his voice, and said sternly: "Queen, do you still have me in your heart?"

Faced with the sudden questioning, Xie Yaoqing was completely confused.

Weren't we talking about the talent show? How come the topic changed so drastically in the blink of an eye?

She couldn't help feeling confused and bewildered, and for a moment she didn't know how to answer.

Although she was a little confused, Xie Yaoqing still quickly came back to her senses. Her expression was very calm, and she said calmly: "Of course, I have the emperor in my heart."

Xiao Chengxu sneered, his tone full of disbelief, "No, Queen, you are lying to me."

Hearing this, Xie Yaoqing's heart sank suddenly and he was secretly shocked.

"After meeting Gu Qingjian, Queen, I'm afraid he is the only one in your heart."

Xiao Chengxu's voice was chilling, which made people shudder.

"Gu Qingjian has no respect for his superiors and is a traitor to his superiors. He even dared to refuse my marriage proposal, claiming that he already has someone in his heart and doesn't want to disappoint them. But as far as I know, Gu Qingjian only had an engagement with the Yongchang Marquisate when he was young, and he is nearly thirty years old and still unmarried."

Xiao Chengxu clenched his fists tightly, trying hard to control his emotions.

However, he still couldn't completely hide the jealousy and sourness that overflowed from the bottom of his heart. He looked at Xie Yaoqing in front of him, with a complicated light in his eyes.

Fifteen years ago, the Gu family had not yet been involved in the brutal party struggle, nor had they been implicated and convicted. At that time, the Gu family had a close relationship with the Yongchang Marquisate, and the two families had long been in contact and were interested in becoming in-laws. With the matchmaking of the elders of both sides, Gu Qingjian and Xie Yaoqing made a marriage contract.

However, things are unpredictable. Ten years ago, the Gu family was struck by a disaster and the entire family was thrown into prison.

Yongchang Hou traveled around and tried his best to write a petition to the court, hoping to reduce the guilt of Gu's family. Although Gu's family finally avoided a more severe punishment, they still had to be exiled 3,000 miles away and were never allowed to return to the capital.

The Gu family knew that they could no longer afford her, so they took the initiative to cancel the engagement. The Yongchang Marquis felt sorry for his young daughter and did not want her to marry far away in a desolate place and suffer hardships, so the two families reached a consensus and canceled the engagement. From then on, the man and woman married separately and had no more contact.

The Gu family was innocent and wronged. Two years later, the injustice they had endured was finally redressed. The emperor issued an imperial decree, exempting the Gu family from exile, and the Gu family returned to the capital. At the same time, the officials in the family were reinstated, and everything returned to the way it was before.

Gu Qingjian studied hard for many years and worked hard on the imperial examination. Before the incident of Gu's family, he had successfully passed the two important examinations, the provincial examination and the metropolitan examination, and became a juren, and he was the first among many juren. If everything goes well, then he will take part in the palace examination. With his outstanding talent, he has great hope to stand out in the palace examination and become a jinshi.

However, fate is always full of variables. Two years of exile made him miss the opportunity to take the imperial examination that year, and he could only wait for the next imperial examination.

The Gu family originally planned to wait for Gu Qingjian to achieve fame and get a position before going to the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion to propose marriage. Otherwise, they really had no face to propose marriage. After all, the Gu family was exiled for 3,000 miles, and they suffered a lot along the way. The Lingnan region was filled with miasma and a harsh environment, and the Gu family lost many people. In the capital city full of dignitaries, the Gu family has gradually declined and lost its former glory.