Too high to reach

Chapter 36 Game of Thrones
Seeing the emperor's anger, the princes in the room all slipped away.

After all the eunuchs, including Liu, had left, he said, "Your Majesty! Prince Qi has always been this way since he was a child. He's caused so much trouble because of it, and you've been so angry with him! But now that he's grown up, he's accomplished so much..."

The Emperor stared at the gate with a grave expression...

This is his only legitimate son from his first marriage.

He and Empress Zhao Nianci were childhood sweethearts, a perfect match in terms of social standing and a harmonious and respectful couple. Although he didn't have any deep, unrequited love for her, their relationship was no different from that of any ordinary royal couple.

She managed the household affairs, oversaw the imperial concubines, maintained the relationships among the royal women and their titles, and raised her children... She never complained or showed jealousy. Even when she suffered injustice, she always yielded for the sake of the greater good.

It can be said that she did everything within her power for him.

Therefore, she was the rightful empress.

In particular, she gave birth to twins for him, a boy and a girl.

The daughter of the twins was Princess Ming'an. Whenever the Emperor thought of her, his heart would feel both sweet and painful.

...As long as she was there, you could hear that silvery, unrestrained laughter.

Sometimes, he would wonder: How could someone be so straightforward, talking and laughing at the same time?
Hearing this makes all your troubles disappear.

He believed that Ming'an had been deprived of all virtues in the womb, which was why his younger brother Li Jing was like this...

Ming'an's beauty and Li Jing's tyranny were both etched into his memory.

He sighed... The return of this bastard reminded him of the past, of Dong Jiaolin...

Even after all these years, she still stubbornly appears in my dreams.

She was the first woman to excite him and haunt his dreams...

He was a prince, receiving a formal upbringing from a young age. When he reached a certain age, he was taught matters of etiquette, and beautiful palace maids were given opportunities for him to practice. Then came the matter of marriage and concubines. The concept of "love" was something he had only encountered in poetry. Moreover, he hadn't read many poems on the subject…

His wives and concubines were all carefully selected. They came from families of similar social standing and each fulfilled their respective duties.

Beautiful concubines and other women are used for relaxation, leisure, and socializing.

Dong Jiaolin was the first one who captured his heart.

That feeling of scratching one's head, being anxious and uncertain, laughing foolishly and even shedding tears... In his early twenties, he tasted all those feelings one by one, just like a young boy.

Countless times, I thank God for bringing her into my life.

Prince Rong's rebellion was quite powerful.

For the sake of stability in the court, it is necessary to establish a crown prince.

He and everyone else knew that Li Yuan was the eldest son of the Empress. He was the eldest son of the first wife, the legitimate heir, and had the Zhao family army behind him.

Moreover, Li Yuan was intelligent and steady from a young age, and had a solid foundation in his studies.

Even though he unconditionally favored Li Zhen, the daughter of Dong Jiaolin, he could not surpass Li Yuan.

Therefore, faced with Dong Jiaolin's obstruction and tears, he had no choice but to secretly promise: we'll talk about it after the current crisis passes.

But when he told Empress Zhao that he wanted to make Li Yuan the crown prince, she, who had always respected his opinions, surprisingly refused!
Ha! How ridiculous! Who would refuse to have their son made crown prince?

Later, he sadly realized: perhaps Zhao Nianci had seen through him long ago?

Knowing that he treated Dong Jiaolin and Li Zhen differently, he had a kind of unwavering desire to give them all the good things in the world.

Subconsciously, perhaps the throne was also a part of it?

She understood herself and Dong Jiaolin. Therefore, she didn't want her son to get involved.

He did not want to abandon Li Yuan one day.

They also didn't want Li Yuan to one day turn against his brothers. However, none of them had a good solution.

Perhaps it was opening this door that disrupted the balance and caused chaos.

Li Zhen had indeed spoiled him rotten. This extremely handsome and intelligent son had a terrible temper. He was capricious and loved to bully others. He was even capable of killing!

He would know what Li Zhen had done if he wanted to. But he would choose to ignore it, and even help clean up the mess...

After Li Yuan was established, Li Zhen was the one who couldn't stand it the most! He used various provocations and suppressions against Li Yuan to demonstrate his own status.

In truth, Li Yuan was indeed a qualified crown prince. He resembled the empress in temperament and himself in intellect. He knew what was most important, and even when Li Zhen went too far, he didn't dwell on it, burying himself in his studies all day.

With Ming'an protecting her brother, Li Zhen didn't dare go too far. Ah, Li Zhen was afraid of Ming'an…

But Li Jing is such a bastard!
One day, Li Jing, who had been staying at the Zhao family's residence, returned to the palace. When he arrived after receiving the news, Li Pu was wailing; his arm was broken. Further on, he found Li Jing straddling Li Zhen, beating him!

Her clothes were torn, her hair was disheveled, and her face was covered in blood... Her beautiful eyes were now just slits; it was hard to tell if she had gone blind!

God knows how furious he was when he saw that scene... He almost became the father who murdered his own son!
Seeing that she wouldn't give up, the Empress turned against him for the first time, bringing up all the past grievances...

I always thought she was magnanimous, but I never imagined she would hold grudges all this time!
He was even angrier!

Then, he helplessly discovered that, putting everything else aside, with the Crown Prince's stability, Li Jing's domineering nature, and Ming An's enigmatic smile, he couldn't touch the Empress...

The eerie and antagonistic atmosphere of the harem came into the open from this point on.

Life went on like that, just getting by. Until that year, he fell seriously ill, and medicine was ineffective.

Just then, the Taoist priest Tianji returned from his travels and entered the palace to cast a divination. He said that the Crown Prince should go to Qingfeng Temple on the outskirts of the capital to perform a ritual and pray for blessings for seven days. The mischievous girl Ming'an, dressed as a eunuch, secretly followed him there.

Then, the evil spirit descended, and the Crown Prince and Ming'an were assassinated and died.

The Taoist Master Tianji committed suicide.

The Empress nearly went mad. After investigating and finding no clues, all the evidence pointed to Dong Jiaolin.

But she doesn't admit it.

He tried to cover it up, but he only considered the symptoms, not the root cause.

He planned to lock her up in the cold palace before making further plans, but she died right under his nose, along with Li Zhen.

All these methods, however, pointed to the Empress.

He went mad at that time and almost strangled the Empress.

The queen committed suicide.

The Crown Princess was pregnant when someone reported that her family was embezzling. He then imprisoned the Crown Princess and took the opportunity to deal with her family.

The Crown Princess suffered a difficult childbirth, resulting in the deaths of both mother and child.

The Empress Dowager was greatly distressed by various factors and fell ill. Even now, she remains somewhat confused.

I don't even know how I got through those days!
The Emperor, his body hunched over, was in excruciating pain and did not wish to recall the past...

Dong Jiaolin and Li Zhen, the Empress and Ming An, Li Yuan—all the people who brought him the most wonderful feelings—are dead.

Only this bastard was left.

The Grand Eunuch Liu said cautiously, "Your Majesty, our Seventh Prince's demeanor is quite different from before. He has been tempered in that harsh and cold land! You can't treat him like a child anymore."

The emperor's expression was unreadable. What did he take him for?
I just hope he stops causing trouble...

(End of this chapter)