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

However, Qi Chaowei did not know that his biological sister, who was the current empress dowager, had already been imprisoned in the palace by Xiao Chengxu. At this moment, the Cining Palace was heavily guarded, as if it was an impenetrable wall of iron and steel, and any disturbance could hardly be transmitted. Not to mention the transmission of information, even a flying bird could not freely enter and exit the Cining Palace.

If the Queen Mother was able to move freely, how could she have no reaction? She would have been unable to suppress her inner impulse and would have tried every means to go out and cause trouble.

At the head of the table, Xiao Chengxu's tone was as calm as water, "So, you all think that the Queen is not virtuous enough to take on the important task of being the head of the palace?"

There was a dead silence in the court, and all the ministers were silent.

If you look closely, the Queen actually did not do anything wrong. After all, she and the Emperor were married, so even if they had no children for the time being, it was not unforgivable. Not all the Queens of the past could give birth to dragon descendants. Moreover, the Queen was still young, and even though she had not given birth to a child yet, it did not necessarily mean that she would not have any children in the future.

However, the empress, in order to satisfy her own selfish desires, monopolized the emperor, was jealous, and did not allow the emperor to get close to other concubines. As the mother of a country, she should have been virtuous, kind, and generous. Such behavior was really inappropriate.

To be disrespectful, if something unexpected happened to the current emperor, the consequences would be disastrous.

Either there is no successor, which leads to unrest in the country; or a young ruler comes to the throne, and the country falls into the dilemma of a young ruler and a state of uncertainty. Either situation is harmful rather than beneficial.

Although most of the ministers had opinions and dissatisfaction with the queen, no one dared to speak out easily. After all, they all saw the emperor's attitude towards the queen.

However, today, hearing the emperor's tone, could it be that he has also begun to feel dissatisfied with the queen and is even considering deposing her?

Perhaps the so-called disbanding of the harem was just an excuse, and the real purpose was to depose the queen?

Thinking of this, everyone's heart tightened, and they began to speculate secretly...

At this time, a minister who thought he knew the emperor's mind stood up triumphantly and said passionately: "Your Majesty is wise and intelligent, but the queen has not given birth to an heir for many years and is jealous. This has violated two of the 'Seven Reasons for Divorce'..."

However, before he could finish his words, he was suddenly interrupted by Xiao Chengxu's angry shout.

Xiao Chengxu's face suddenly became extremely gloomy, his eyes were cold and fierce, which made people shudder.

"Master Qiu, you are so bold. I think you not only want to depose the queen, but you also want to depose me, the emperor, without paying any attention to me. Do you want me to abdicate and let you sit on the throne?"

Xiao Chengxu's eyes were wide open and his voice was icy cold.

Lord Qiu secretly thought that something was wrong, and cold sweat dripped down his forehead. He kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please calm down. The heaven and earth can bear witness to my loyalty, and the sun and the moon can bear witness to my loyalty. I would never dare to have the heart of treason."

Facing Lord Qiu's terrified look, Xiao Chengxu just smiled coldly.

"Today, I will make it clear that the lack of an heir is not due to the Queen's incompetence, but to my own fault."

This light sentence was like a thunderclap exploding in the air, making the ministers dizzy and standing there as if struck by lightning, each of them dumbfounded, stunned and dazed.

They couldn't believe what they heard.

Did the Emperor just say that the reason for not having an heir was not the Empress's, but himself?

Doesn't this mean that the emperor suffers from an unspeakable hidden illness and is impotent? So even though he and the queen have always had a deep love and harmony, there has been no good news from them, and they have been unable to have children. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with the emperor, because such a seed itself has problems, it is fundamentally problematic, so how can it take root and sprout?

For a moment, the ministers had mixed feelings and were in an extremely complicated mood.

As a man, it is really sad that he encountered such an embarrassing thing. Although he is the emperor, it is inevitable to feel regretful and helpless when facing such a privacy defect.

But this topic is too obscure and sensitive, and the stakes are huge. If you are not careful, it may cause an uproar.

Is this something that can be said openly? Shouldn't it be kept secret and treated in every possible way?

If people knew that the emperor had no descendants because he suffered from an unspeakable hidden illness, who knows what kind of rumors would spread.

Isn't the emperor worried that he will become a laughing stock? The biggest laughing stock in the world, even bigger than being henpecked.

Moreover, they actually knew such a crucial secret of the current emperor. Could they leave the palace unscathed today?

The emperor might get so angry that he might kill them all in order to keep the secret and prevent it from being leaked.

Some ministers could not help but worry about their own lives, and they felt very nervous and uneasy.

Of course, most people were shocked.

Who could have thought that the emperor, who seemed to be in good health and in his prime, would be powerless regarding the issue of the royal successor.

I'm afraid it's not that the emperor doesn't want to favor his concubines, but that he is willing but unable.

Imagine if the emperor had many concubines and summoned them frequently, and after receiving all the favors, none of the concubines were pregnant, wouldn't that be blatantly telling the world that the one with the problem is the emperor?

If the emperor only favors the queen and the queen cannot give birth to a child, then the queen is the one with a disease, and no one will doubt the emperor.

This shows that the Emperor did not really love the Empress, otherwise why would he let the Empress take the blame for him? For the sake of his own reputation, he ruined the Empress's reputation, causing people to accuse the Empress of being jealous.

The queen is really miserable.

Many ministers had the same thought in their minds, and their dissatisfaction with Xie Yaoqing turned into sympathy at this moment.

Even though she was the queen, she still had to endure a lot of criticism for being childless. The spit was enough to drown her. If the same thing happened to other women...

Some ministers could not help but shake their heads and sigh, saying that this world was, after all, too harsh on women.

Xiao Chengxu took in the unpredictable looks of the ministers below, his eyes fixed, and he said calmly: "My dear ministers, don't worry. The imperial physician said that my illness is not incurable, but it will take some time. Marriage between men and women is the natural union of yin and yang. Young girls should not waste their time in the palace."

Having said that, after going around in circles, we are back to the original starting point. The concubines still have to be dismissed from the palace, and the reason the emperor gives is quite plausible. He does not want the concubines to be widows.

I don't know which minister said sarcastically: "Since the emperor is so considerate, why doesn't he treat everyone equally and only keep the queen?"

Xiao Chengxu curled his lips, "The Queen and I are married, there is no reason for us to separate."