Holding the script, I want to give up.

"At the Crown Prince's residence."

"Your Highness, do you really want to do this?"

What if the Crown Princess gets angry?

"What if he gets so angry that he doesn't wake up?"

Hongjin emerged from the shadows and spoke.

"Hongjin, when did you become so fussy?"

"Whether you get angry or not, the result is the same."

“Go to the Crown Prince’s residence and find this item for me.”

Huangfu Hongxi looked at Shangguan Zitong's furrowed brows and sat down next to her, gently stroking her hair as he quietly watched her.

"It's so dirty."

"Someone, find a suitable outfit for the Crown Princess so she can bathe and change."

Huangfu was furious when he saw that her skirt was stained with Yibai's blood, and there was so much of it.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will go and find it right away."

The palace maids who were waiting outside the hall entered the hall and bowed to Huangfu Hongxi.

"Take good care of the Crown Princess. If she runs away, you will be held responsible."

Huangfu Hongxi got up and left to change into suitable clothes, preparing to close the net. As he reached the outside of the hall, he gave instructions to the guards at the gate.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The guards at the gate bowed.

Inside the Hall of Joyful Longevity, Huangfu Hongxi looked down at the Northern Emperor and Empress.

"Father, you are getting old and it's time for you to abdicate."

"Mother, you are more suited to be the Empress Dowager."

"You may enjoy your remaining years in this Hall of Joyful Longevity."

Huangfu Hongxi changed into a black robe, and a gold chain was clutched in his hand hidden in his sleeve.

"Hong'er, I love you so much, yet you think this way. It truly breaks my heart."

The Northern Emperor was weak in his limbs; he had been given a muscle-relaxing drug.

"Your Highness, the throne will be yours sooner or later, why are you in such a hurry?"

"Could it be that he's been bewitched by some vixen and wants her to become the empress?"

The Empress Dowager and the Emperor were not much better off, except that the drug they were given was a sleeping potion.

"Ha! Father, if you truly loved your son, why would you send him to Nanning as a hostage?"

"How could you just stand by and watch us brothers fight amongst ourselves without ever stopping us?"

"From beginning to end, all you loved was yourself and that supreme power."

"Mother, I respect you, but please refrain from making unfounded assumptions about me."

Huangfu Hongxi looked at them coldly and said.

"That's fine then. Your son will provide you with the best food and drink."

"If you perform well, you might even be able to leave this Hall of Joyful Longevity."

"Father, you should write the edict of succession as soon as possible, otherwise I cannot guarantee anything."

Huangfu Hongxi's tone was unfriendly.

"The traitor."

The Northern Emperor's hands trembled with anger, and the Northern Empress gently patted his back to help him catch his breath.

"Enough with the nonsense, get to writing."

Huangfu Hongxi impatiently held the sword to the Northern Emperor's neck, threatening him.

"Eunuch Wang, why aren't you helping me up?"

Where is Eunuch Wang?

The Northern Emperor slowly rose to his feet, but no one offered him any assistance.

"I sent him out of the palace and gave him enough money to support you in your old age."

Huangfu Hongxi stepped forward to help him.

"Humph!"

The Northern Emperor was so angry that he flung his sleeves and turned his nose up at the sky.

After writing the edict of succession, the Northern Emperor sat on a stool, staring blankly at the edict.

"Thank you, Father, for your help."

Huangfu Hongxi happily accepted the tiger tally, the jade seal, and the imperial edict.

"Managing this country well will also be a kind of training for you. Go, my child."

The Empress covered the Emperor's eyes with one hand and gently patted his shoulder with the other, speaking to Huangfu Hongxi.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will certainly not fail in my mission."

Huangfu Hongxi took the things and handed them to Hongjin, letting this hardworking man do his job. He then headed towards Cining Palace.

Inside Cining Palace.

"Has the Crown Princess not woken up yet?"

Huangfu Hongxi spoke rudely to the maid beside him.

"In reply to...Your Highness...I have never...won't woken up."

The maid trembled with fear, her voice quivering. She sighed, lamenting that the crown prince was nothing like the virtuous and refined figure of the rumors; he was now like a living devil.

"Go and bring Leqi here so she can take care of the Crown Princess."

Huangfu Hongxi said coldly.

"Yes, I will go right away."

After bowing, the maid rushed off to find Leqi. She wanted to live a little longer.

After the maid left, Huangfu Hongxi approached Shangguan Zitong's bedside and stroked her chin.

"Being this quiet is so unlike you."

"Would you enjoy life in the palace?"

"It's okay, you'll get used to it gradually."

"These chains suit you well. Wake up soon."

His eyes were filled with a madness called paranoia. He locked one end of the chain to the headboard and the other end, wrapped with soft cotton strips, to her right wrist.

......

The following day, Huangfu Hongxi ascended the throne smoothly. He distorted the truth, claiming that Shangguan Zitong had lost her mind and developed a rebellious streak, rendering her unworthy of the position. He stripped her of her title as a concubine and placed her under house arrest in Cining Palace. The coffin and memorial tablet of the former Crown Princess were removed from the imperial mausoleum and ancestral hall and sent back to Nanning. General Nie returned to his general's residence, the Eldest Princess went to her fiefdom, the Second Prince was imprisoned in his residence, and the Empress Dowager and the Grand Emperor enjoyed their retirement in the Hall of Joyful Longevity. Song Yao was crowned Empress.

After a bloody reshuffle in the palace, many people were replaced, and everyone was busy getting to know their new identities and fulfilling their duties.

In the Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, you've had a long day, it's time to rest."

Song Yao walked up to Huangfu Hongxi and, seeing him engrossed in handling state affairs, rubbed his shoulders.

"Your Majesty, you are very kind."

Huangfu Hongxi stretched his neck, then turned and hugged Song Yao's waist, burying his face in her waist and trembling slightly.

"Your Majesty, the current situation is not your fault, and you need not blame yourself."

"This is the inevitable trend. Even if you don't force the emperor to abdicate, you will eventually become the person above all others."

Song Yao gently patted Huangfu Hongxi's back and comforted him in a soft voice.

"Is the Crown Princess blaming me?"

Why won't he wake up?

Huangfu Hongxi looked up at Song Yao, his eyes filled with grievance.

"...Your Majesty, it is best if you do not think too much, lest you harm your health and make it difficult to recover."

"The child in my belly is hoping that you will live to be a hundred years old."

I'm here trying to comfort you, and you're concerned about her? Song Yao was furious, but she couldn't show it. She was so frustrated.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the weather is getting cooler, you should wear more clothes."

"Be careful not to catch a cold, or you'll pass on your illness to the child."

"You go back to the palace first, I'll deal with this a bit more and then come back."

Huangfu Hongxi got up worriedly and pushed her outside, taking a cloak with him and putting it on her before she left the palace.

"Guards, escort the Empress back to Yikun Palace."

As soon as Huangfu Hongxi finished speaking, a maid came forward to help Song Yao.

"Then Your Majesty should rest early."

After Song Yao finished speaking, she bowed to him, but was stopped by Huangfu Hongxi.

"You're heavily pregnant, so you don't need to perform the proper etiquette anymore."

He helped her up.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I'm returning to the palace."

Song Yao was helped back to the palace by her maid.

Inside the Cining Palace, Shangguan Zitong slowly awoke.

"Your Highness, you've finally woken up."

Leqi, who was watching over her, was overjoyed when she woke up, but then immediately became listless again.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I'm so sorry. But I..."

Leqi slapped herself in self-reproach, wanting to make Shangguan Zitong feel better.

"The person is already dead, what's the point of you doing this?"

Shangguan Zitong tried to grab her hand to stop her from hurting herself, but the crisp sound of the chains stung her.

"Help me unlock the chains."

She turned her head and looked at her calmly.

"I'm sorry, the key is with His Majesty, and I cannot open it even if I wanted to."

Leqi stopped slapping herself and looked at her sadly.

"Okay, you can go now. I don't blame you. Everyone has their own difficulties."

"Don't tell Huangfu Hongxi that I'm awake."

Shangguan Zitong stared blankly at the ceiling, her eyes lifeless.

"Okay, I understand."

Leqi was afraid of angering her, or that her presence would remind her of Yibo's death, so she got up, bowed, and left, quietly closing the door behind her and standing guard outside the hall.

"Ahri, just kill me. I don't want to do this mission at all."

"I can't do it, and I don't want to."

After seeing that no one was in the hall, Shangguan Zitong turned over and lay on her side, curled up, hugged her knees, closed her eyes, and cried silently.

I'm sorry, host, there's nothing I can do.

I can erase your memories of him.

The system materialized, transforming into a fox that burrowed into the bed, pulled away Shangguan Zitong's hands that were hugging her knees, and jumped into her arms, gently patting her back with its fox tail.

"Please don't erase my memories of him, okay? Ahri?"

【okay. 】

Everyone has their own destiny; this isn't your fault.

Perhaps, dying for you would be the best relief for him.

The fact that he could recall his feelings for you before he died might be a kind of destiny.

The system's fox front paws wrapped around her neck, letting her lean against it.

But I...

"I really can't hold on any longer..."

"I'm so tired..."

I want to go home...

"Ah Li, can you remove these golden chains from me? Or can you help me escape?"

"This feeling of being restrained is really unpleasant."

Shangguan Zi opened her eyes; Tong's pupils were unfocused and dilated, but she ignored them and simply stared in its direction, waiting for it to continue.

......