After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

"...The emperor mentioned the princess during the banquet with Ogiwara Ao, implying that he wanted to send her to marry a foreign ruler, but Ogiwara Ao was unwilling."

"The emperor took General Fu away alone, firstly to agree to his marriage to the princess, and secondly to strip him of his title of First-Rank General, reclaim all his rewards, and take back his military power. After returning to the mansion, Lady Fu whipped him thirty times and punished him by making him kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and three nights without eating or drinking."

"After General Fu left, the emperor summoned Consort Yi and the dancers to dance and drink until midnight. At 1-3 AM, a eunuch brought a tiger from the animal park, and the emperor ordered all the women to play with the tiger. Half an hour later, Consort Yi died, 22 dancers died, and 54 were injured, including five musicians."

“The banquet last night is over,” Yan Qing said, putting the booklet filled with writing back into his pocket and taking out a few more sheets of paper. “This is a map showing the layout of the palace guards’ patrols, the location of each palace, the items inside, and the names of the people living in the palaces. The palace is too big, and we didn’t finish the search last night. We didn’t find anything in the national treasury.”

Yan Qing finished speaking expressionlessly and deliberately, then lowered his head and stared at the ground, "This subordinate is guilty; I failed to discover that the princess had fallen into the water in time last night."

"My orders to you last night were to investigate the situation in the palace." Xiang An endured the pain in his hip, propped his elbows on the edge of the bed, placed the imperial decree of marriage that Chang Fu had sent this morning on the table, and turned the pages of the papers that Yan Qing had presented. Suddenly, his fingers stopped turning the pages. "Is the deceased Empress Liu in Chang Le Palace?"

"When I entered the palace, Empress Liu's memorial tablet was placed in the center of Chang Le Palace."

Xiang An was filled with doubt, his fingertips tapping lightly on the paper. Ancient books recorded that Chang Le Palace was once the residence of the late emperor, but one day he suddenly moved away from it. Three days after the late emperor moved away, a bolt of lightning struck the eaves of Chang Le Palace, followed by a heavy rain that night, which washed away most of the palace.

Later, it was said that the late emperor's sudden change of palace was not a whim, but a decree from Heaven, informing him in advance that Chang Le Palace was unclean and that heavenly lightning would soon strike down the evil spirits to ensure the late emperor's health.

The late emperor, respecting the will of Heaven, hurriedly moved away from Chang Le Palace, successfully avoiding the lightning.

After the incident, some people believed that Chang Le Palace was the residence of the heavens. So, during the renovation and reconstruction of Chang Le Palace, a Taoist priest in the palace even vied to build Chang Le Palace into an observatory so that he could listen to the will of the heavens at any time.

However, for some reason, the late emperor did not agree, but instead cleared another plot of land in the palace and built the current highest building in the palace, the Observatory.

Meanwhile, in the same year, the elderly and ailing late emperor suddenly recovered considerably, and his temperament changed drastically. The previously wavering position of crown prince was decided overnight, and in the autumn of the same year, he ordered the crown prince to move into the Eastern Palace immediately. This crown prince is now the emperor, and the speed of the change caught the entire court off guard. At that time, the emperor, as a prince, was not outstanding among his brothers, and none of the court officials had high hopes for him.

What surprised the court officials even more

Unexpectedly, less than a month after the Crown Prince moved into the Eastern Palace, the late emperor, who had always held onto power, immediately relinquished it to the Crown Prince and summoned him to his side every day, personally teaching him how to manage state affairs.

The late emperor's blatant attitude immediately put the court officials at ease, making it clear that the crown prince would be the next emperor. As a result, all the conspiracies and schemes in the court vanished, and one by one they turned to the crown prince. Those officials who refused to turn to the crown prince were either killed or transferred from the court by the emperor through various means.

In just one year, the late emperor had completely transformed the court into the Crown Prince's court. A year later, the late emperor's health deteriorated further. In the last few days of his illness, he refused to see anyone except for the Crown Prince's newborn daughter, whom he insisted on seeing despite his illness. He personally named the daughter Xiang An, bestowed upon her a princess's residence, the title Mian Kang, and the fief of Luoyang, demonstrating the importance he placed on the Crown Prince as the next heir apparent.

If one were to describe the last year and a half of the late emperor's life in a dramatic way, it would be like a burning candle. He burned with all his remaining energy, single-mindedly paving the way for the crown prince.

The late emperor's sudden and unexpected madness led many to secretly speculate that Heaven had foretold his death, instructing him to properly handle his affairs, sever ties with the mortal world, and peacefully return to heaven to become a deity.

Under the influence of such terrifying speculation, when the late emperor passed away and the new emperor smoothly took over the government, the entire country experienced a once-in-a-century change of emperor without any turmoil, which directly pushed this speculation to its peak.

Once this story spread, it was naturally seen as a miraculous event by the people. Even though the late emperor has been dead for more than ten years, the story still circulates today. Many people even believe that the late emperor was the true Son of Heaven, and that his death was not a death, but rather that he returned to heaven to be the Son of Heaven.

In fact, not only ordinary people believed in it, but also many court officials, eunuchs and palace maids, because they had personally witnessed the miracles.

After the collapse of Changle Palace, the Imperial Observatory was the first to arrive in the rain upon hearing the sound, followed by the Imperial Guards from the palace. The two forces surrounded Changle Palace.

The following day, after the heavy rain stopped, the Imperial Observatory found a piece of black iron with dragon patterns under the beam that had been struck by lightning. However, according to the eunuchs and maids in charge of the late emperor's personal ornaments, the iron did not belong to him. The Imperial Household Department also found the same conclusion after thoroughly reviewing the purchase orders.

In conclusion, the appearance of the black iron was suspicious, and it did not belong to the palace.

Under this veil of mystery, the late emperor designated Chang Le Palace as a forbidden area, surrounding it with heavy guards of the Imperial Guard. Aside from the late emperor himself, who would occasionally enter, no one was permitted to approach. As a result, to this day, Chang Le Palace remains a forbidden area within the palace.

So why was Empress Liu's memorial tablet placed in such a special place? Since she bears the title of Empress, it is morally, logically, and legally appropriate for her to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Where did Empress Liu live during her lifetime?

"The Eastern Palace," Yan Qing explained, "Empress Liu passed away at His Majesty's palace."

Before ascending the throne.

Generally speaking, to give the empress face, the emperor would hold a grand ceremony to officially recognize her as empress a year after the emperor's ascension to the throne. This was done for two reasons: first, to avoid holding too many major festivals to prevent the national treasury from being overburdened; and second, because the ceremonial regulations for the emperor and empress were different.

If you count the days, it's only been a short year from the crown prince to the emperor, and also a year from pregnancy to childbirth.

"Empress Liu never left the Eastern Palace until her death." Xiang An couldn't help but sigh, a feeling of indescribable sorrow welling up in her heart. As a woman herself, she felt very sorry for Empress Liu.

"Princess, should we investigate?" Yan Qing asked tentatively.

"No need to worry about it. There are too many secrets in the palace. How can I manage every single one? Besides, Xiang Xin is her son. Empress Liu's memorial tablet is placed in Chang Le Palace. Even her own son doesn't care about it. How can I, an outsider, interfere in other people's affairs?"

"Outsider?" Yan Qing looked bewildered. "How could a princess be an outsider?"