After traveling through time, I was raised by a little brat

Everyone slowly stepped into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and saw a cold jade coffin emitting a hint of coldness placed in the center of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The coffin was crystal clear throughout, as if it was carved from a huge piece of beautiful jade.

"Father!" With just a quick glance, Zhao Rui concluded without hesitation that the figure lying in the coffin was none other than his father, the one he yearned for day and night. Within this vast palace, his father had always been the one who loved him most. Zhao Rui darted forward like an arrow, heading straight for the coffin. As he approached, through the translucent lid, he could clearly see that familiar, serene face—wasn't that his father, once awe-inspiring and illustrious figure? He lay there quietly, as if lost in a deep sleep, without a sound.

Zhao Rui turned around, his eyes instantly bloodshot. He pointed his sword at the empress standing beside him and shouted, "Tell me! How did my father die?" He had promised himself that he would wait for her victorious return, but why was he lying here, motionless? The thought of this tore at Zhao Rui's heart, tears welling up in her eyes, but she fought hard to hold them back. However, a single, glistening tear eventually slipped down her cheek, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, the Minister of Rites hurriedly stepped forward, his face filled with anxiety as he tried to persuade them, "Your Highness, please show some mercy. You must not treat the Empress like this! You must know that she is your biological mother! Blood is thicker than water, how can you sever this bond?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Rui simply tilted his head slightly and glanced coldly at the Queen from the corner of his eye, his eyes seeming to speak volumes. Meanwhile, Queen Chu Huanzhen slowly glanced around with an expressionless face. Everyone she saw, except the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, was a trusted confidant.

Chu Huanzhen suddenly screamed hysterically, "How ridiculous! Back then, His Majesty treated me so heartlessly. How can I not feel resentment?" Her voice trembled with extreme anger. "After you leave, all we have to do is change the guards and we can easily take his life!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Rui was instantly enraged. His eyes widened in anger as he roared at Chu Huanzhen, "Why exactly? Isn't Father good enough to you? He's bestowed upon you the supreme position of Empress and entrusted your only prince to you to raise with care. This kind of favor is unparalleled in the world. What else can you be dissatisfied with?"

Although no one else was around, the Queen and the Crown Prince seemed to have an unspoken understanding, neither revealing the Crown Prince's secret of being a woman. At this moment, the Queen emotionally poured out years of resentment: "I already have a childhood sweetheart, a person I've been with since childhood and share the same feelings with. Yet, His Majesty insisted on forcing me into the palace and making me take your mother's place. For all these long years, I've never been able to truly claim my own place! Can you truly consider this kindness to me?"

After saying this, she suddenly turned around, swept her sharp eyes over everyone, and said sternly, "Now, tell me, what is my maiden name?"

Faced with the Queen's questioning, the ministers suddenly became uneasy. They looked at each other and shook their heads, saying they didn't have the courage to address the Queen by her maiden name. Even General Zhao, who always held a high position of power, acted as if he didn't want to be involved in this storm.

Seeing this, the Empress grew increasingly furious. She raised her voice and ordered again, "I command you to answer. Don't worry about anything else!" Finally, under the Empress's pressure, the Minister of Personnel trembled and replied, "Your Majesty, your maiden name is Chu, and your given name is Yuanzhen."

Hearing this answer, the Queen couldn't help but sneer. She looked at the Crown Prince with a face filled with grief and indignation, and cried, "Just look at me! Just because he wanted to fulfill your father's will, he treated me like this! Just because of a single word, he forced me to linger on as your mother until now!"

The argument between mother and son intensified, crashing like a raging storm, impacting the hearts of everyone present. The newly appointed ministers were hushed, afraid to even breathe, fearing they might accidentally bring disaster upon themselves. They lowered their heads, curling up into a ball, as if this would diminish their presence.

However, amidst this suffocatingly tense atmosphere, a piece of earth-shattering news suddenly arrived. Like a thunderclap, it instantly exploded in everyone's ears, leaving them all stunned. Immediately afterwards, the ministers' faces paled, their legs weakened, and they involuntarily fell to their knees.

The Queen coldly questioned, "You are but my sister's child. What relationship do you have with me? Why would you sacrifice my life to fulfill your ambitions?" The young and impetuous Prince roared in rage, "Even so, you shouldn't have murdered our father! Don't you have any humanity left?"

Zhao Rui bit his lip, his eyes flashing with anger and unwillingness. He shouted, "I have always respected you and been extremely filial to you. I always regard you as my biological mother. But what about you? You are only concerned about your own desire for power and have no regard for my feelings at all!"

Facing her son's accusations, the Queen remained unmoved. She said coldly and expressionlessly, "Things have come to this point. Saying more is pointless. Tomorrow will be the day you ascend the throne. Nothing can be changed."

Zhao Rui suddenly raised her head, staring directly at the empress, whom she once considered her closest relative, and loudly retorted, "Do you want me to become a puppet emperor at the mercy of others? Look at these ministers around me who are so submissive, every one of them has their own ulterior motives and agenda!" At this point, she waved her sleeves vigorously, turned away angrily, and responded firmly, "I'm sorry, but I can't obey your order!"

At this critical moment, General Zhao rushed forward and stood firmly in front of her. He said with a serious face, "Your Highness, please calm down! Everything the Queen did was out of love and care for you!"

The queen's face was pale as paper, and her eyes revealed a deep weariness. She slowly raised her arm, which felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds, and waved it feebly, saying in a hoarse voice, "Forget it, let them be. I believe he will understand my painstaking efforts and figure it out on his own." With that, the queen leaned back in her chair, as if all her strength had been drained from her, and gently closed her eyes.