After the mind-reading and gossip-eating incident, officials in the imperial city were demoted one a

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The Crown Princess... the Crown Princess has passed away."

A young eunuch hurried into the hall, knelt down with a thud, and reported in a trembling voice.

"what?"

"Your Highness, the Crown Princess has passed away."

The eunuch knelt on the ground, his head touching the ground, and repeated the sentence in a tearful voice.

"Nonsense, Gillian was perfectly fine this morning..."

The prince seemed to have his soul ripped out; he swayed unsteadily and muttered to himself incessantly.

When I parted ways with Chen Jiaojiao this morning, she said she would wait for me to go back. How could that be? We haven't seen each other for just a few hours, how could she...?

After a long while, he seemed to wake from a dream and staggered toward his bedchamber.

When I saw Chen Jiaojiao lying quietly on the bed, her face as pale as paper, lifeless, she looked like a withered flower.

The prince felt as if an invisible hand had instantly drained all his strength, and his legs went weak, causing him to collapse by the bedside.

"Ah Jiao, wake up, don't scare me..."

A tear slid down the prince's face. He reached out and gently touched Chen Jiaojiao's face. The touch was icy cold, as if it would freeze his heart as well.

His blazing sun has vanished.

After a long while, the Crown Prince slowly raised his head. His once gentle eyes were now filled with a burning rage, as if they could devour everything.

He whirled around and roared at the servants behind him:

"Tell me, what exactly happened? Who killed the Crown Princess?"

The sound, like thunder, resounded throughout the palace, frightening everyone into kneeling and trembling.

"Your Highness, it is...it is Her Majesty the Empress."

That's right, the Empress never intended to hide this from the Crown Prince.

"Your Majesty, everything is fine."

The crown prince's eyes were bloodshot. He smirked a few times, gritted his teeth, and squeezed out these words from between his teeth. His voice was low and full of hatred.

He then strode away, heading towards the Empress's palace.

The Empress was already seated in the main seat of her bedchamber, looking relaxed, waiting for the Crown Prince to arrive.

As soon as the Crown Prince entered the palace, he went straight to the Empress and glared at her angrily.

"Mother, Ajiao's illness doesn't last long. She's still your niece. Can't you even wait a little while?"

"Your mother did all this for you, and Ajiao has had such a profound influence on you."

The Empress spoke calmly, as if discussing something perfectly ordinary. Seeing the Crown Prince's reaction, she sighed.

This was the first time she had ever seen her son so out of control. The usually gentle and obedient prince was like a completely different person.

It seems like he would do anything for Gillian Chung.

"Enough. Stop using your old arguments. I've listened to everything you say since I was a child. I've never had any freedom."

The crown prince was agitated, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

Over the years, under the Empress's control, the Crown Prince had accumulated too much repression in his heart, which now erupted like a volcano.

"The only good thing you did for me was to bring Gillian to my side. Gillian is the only warmth in my heart."

Now you've taken Gillian away from me again.

At this moment, the Crown Prince's heart was filled with pain and despair, and he looked at the Empress with hatred.

The Empress's heart skipped a beat. She stood up and walked towards him, forcing a reassuring expression on her face, and said soothingly:

"My son, your mother has no choice. You spend all day with Ajiao, and your father is very dissatisfied with you."

Ah Jiao is a member of the Chen family. My mother is also reluctant to let her go, but you are the crown prince. How can you be swayed by your personal feelings?

The Empress Dowager had no choice but to do this; Ajiao was a sensible girl, and the Empress Dowager was also very saddened.

The crown prince sneered, his eyes full of mockery, and said:

"Crown Prince? The throne? You keep saying it's for me, but everything you've done is just to satisfy your own ambition!"

Gillian is understanding; she believed I could be a good heir and never intended to hinder me. It's you, on the contrary, who are so ambitious and have now destroyed my last hope.

As the crown prince spoke, he stepped back, dodging the empress's outstretched hand, which he found utterly repulsive.

The Empress was anxious, never expecting that Chen Jiaojiao's death would worsen the relationship between her and her son.

Tears welled up in the Empress's eyes, and she looked heartbroken.

"Jinhuai, how could you think of your mother like that? Your mother is devoted to you. If it weren't for the circumstances, why would she do this?"

Gillian Chung won't live much longer either. Your mother has become an executioner and gained infamy, making you hate her. Do you think your mother feels good about that?

The crown prince remained unmoved. He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, mercilessly exposing her thoughts.

"Forced by circumstances? What circumstances could make you so heartless as to not let Gillian Chung go even in the last moments of her life?"

Your so-called "for me" is nothing more than consolidating your position in the palace and making the Chen family's power more secure!

You've never truly cared about my feelings, or about Gillian's life or death!

"Jinhuai, your longing for your mother is heartbreaking."

The Empress wore a pained expression, secretly worried that the Crown Prince would no longer listen to her.

The Crown Prince chuckled, “Mother, rest assured, my only weakness is gone now. I will do as you wish, be a good heir apparent, and ascend to that position.”

Suddenly, Qin Jinhuai's tone became so calm that it was as if he wasn't the one who had just gone mad.

"Jin Huai, you..."

The prince's lips curled into a cold smile, then he turned and left without looking back.

The empress did not see the fleeting madness in his eyes, a madness born of hatred and a relentless pursuit of revenge.

I will give you everything, and then destroy it all with my own hands, so you can taste the bitterness of despair.

After Chen Jiaojiao was buried, the Crown Prince became unusually diligent in his duties, which reassured the Empress after a period of observation.

In fact, the Crown Prince transformed his longing and hatred for A Jiao into a pursuit of power.

"Miss, ma'am."

Hearing Qin's anxious voice woke Ye Yaoyao.

"what happened?"

Ye Yaoyao dreamed about the Crown Prince all night, and felt as if her head was blocked by a wad of cotton, heavy and cumbersome.

She rubbed her head, her eyes still heavy with sleep, a lingering drowsiness in them.

"Miss, it's getting late, you've overslept."

Ever since Ye Yaoyao fell into a coma several times, Liu Yunshu specifically instructed that if she overslept, Tingqin and Fuling must wake her up.

"Alas! Beauty is often short-lived." Thinking of everything she saw in her dream, Ye Yaoyao felt a pang of sadness and sighed inwardly.

"Miss, what do you mean by 'beautiful women have tragic fates'?"

Tingqin handed her a towel and asked curiously.

"It's nothing, just a dream."

Ye Yaoyao took the towel and gently wiped her face, trying to wake herself from her dream.

Since Chen Jiaojiao's death, the Crown Prince has been driven mad.

On the surface, he maintained a gentle demeanor in front of others, but in secret, his behavior was extremely crazy.

He secretly replaced Chen Jiaojiao's remains and sent them to Taigu Temple for worship, believing that the imperial mausoleum was not worthy of his beloved Ajiao's eternal rest.

Taigu Temple became a sacred place in the Crown Prince's heart. Every year on the anniversary of the death of Chen Jiaojiao, he would go to Taigu Temple and stay in front of Chen Jiaojiao's memorial tablet for an entire day.

His heart was already filled with darkness, which is why he was attracted to the turbid air.