The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

When Tangxi arrived at Qianqiu Palace at night, this was the scene she saw.

He stood in the corridor outside the palace gate.

The black robe with its gold patterns fluttered slightly in the winter wind, like flowing night mist.

He didn't go in immediately, but just quietly watched the two figures embracing inside the hall.

The Empress Dowager was always extremely stern and almost inhuman.

Holding Tang Xixue in her arms, she secretly wiped away her tears, her eyes red.

His little bird nestled in its mother's arms, as obedient as a fledgling bird that had finally found its way home.

Tiny and soft, it was buried in that warm, crimson-purple brocade, never to raise its head again.

The emperor stood there.

Suddenly, I felt a stinging sensation in my eyes.

Those inexplicable emotions surged into my heart like a tide.

His weaving.

His weaving.

They're really back.

These days, he often wakes up in the middle of the night.

A man sat on the dragon throne in the Chengtian Hall, gazing at the dim candlelight filling the hall and the lonely moon outside the window.

You might suddenly wonder—could all of this just be a dream?

What if one day I wake up and she's gone again?

What if when he sees her again, she'll be that unfamiliar, repulsive, heart-wrenching figure that he has to endure?

He is afraid.

But he dared not say it.

He was the emperor, the ruler of the world, and the one whom all the officials knelt and looked up to.

Emperors cannot be afraid.

An emperor cannot be weak.

He could only sit alone on that cold dragon throne, silently enduring every night without her.

But at this moment.

Looking at the red figure in his mother's arms, he suddenly felt that the unease and fear that had accumulated day and night were gradually dissolving.

Like spring snow meeting the warm sun.

Like solid ice being kissed by the first spring breeze.

Tang Xiye lowered her eyes, concealing the moisture in them, and when she looked up again, she had regained her usual calm.

But no one knew how tightly he clenched his fists inside his sleeves.

Tang Xiye had always known that among all the people in the palace, Empress Bai Yining's favorite was Zhizhi.

Even if there is no blood relation.

But so what?

The Empress Dowager raised Zhizhi herself, holding her in her arms from when she was an infant.

From holding her little hand when she was learning to walk, to teaching her to call her "Mother" word by word when she was learning to speak.

Those nights of crying were comforted by the Empress Dowager herself.

On those nights when she had a high fever, her mother stayed by her bedside all night without sleep.

This maternal love is deeper and more profound than any blood tie.

Zhizhi is growing up.

She grew increasingly graceful and elegant, like the first crabapple blossom in spring, glistening with morning dew, yet breathtakingly beautiful.

She stood there, and every smile and frown of hers was captivating.

All the spiritual energy in the world seemed to be concentrated in her alone.

Her eyebrows and eyes were like a painting, and her body and bones were naturally perfect.

All the beautiful words in the world used to describe a woman seem pale and inadequate when applied to her.

She possesses a beauty that could topple kingdoms.

Tangxi Ye has always known.

But what he didn't know was—

The way that muddle-headed emperor looked at Zhizhi held something that shouldn't have been there.

That day in the Imperial Garden, the Emperor happened to pass by the pavilion where Zhizhi was admiring the plum blossoms. He lingered there for a long time, his gaze fixed on Zhizhi, so cloying that it was nauseating.

That greed, that covetousness, that suppressed, dark desire deep in his eyes, was just like how his father used to look at the Princess Consort of Beichen.

Tang Xiye stood in the shadows of the corridor and witnessed that scene firsthand.

A surge of murderous intent suddenly welled up in his heart.

The murderous intent surged like magma, burning his internal organs, yet his face remained expressionless.

He simply stood there silently, watching Zhizhi bow to her father in a daze, watching her innocent and carefree smile, watching her completely unaware of her filthy thoughts.

He didn't say anything.

But his gaze grew colder and colder.

It was as cold as if it had been tempered by ice, tempered by the most biting cold wind of the dead of winter.

The Empress Dowager also noticed something amiss.

At that time, the Empress Dowager didn't say anything.

She simply combed Zhizhi's hair as usual.

The nanmu comb glides gently through the ink-black hair, combing once and again, the movements as gentle as if handling the most precious treasure in the world.

She helped Zhizhi choose clothes, carefully comparing the fabrics and asking her what patterns and colors she liked.

Her fingers traced Zhizhi's collar, her sideburns, and her eyebrows and eyes.

Her hands were very steady.

Her smile was very warm.

But her eyes held a deep abyss.

Something was churning, condensing, and turning into ice blades in that abyss.

Therefore, when the man wanted to summon Zhizhi alone, the Empress Dowager refused.

She didn't get angry, didn't question him, and didn't even glance at the man.

She simply said calmly that Zhizhi was unwell and should not meet the emperor.

Then, as quickly as possible, she secretly sent Zhizhi out of the palace and to a safe place.

Tangxi often recalled that scene later.

Never underestimate the ruthlessness and determination of a mother who wants to protect her daughter.

That decisiveness is reckless, ruthless, and willing to sacrifice everything.

Not long after, the emperor suddenly fell and died in the frozen lake.

At that time, Crown Prince Tang Xiye was having a private conversation with his confidant Yan Ci.

He has been in the position of crown prince for long enough.

Some incompetent and tyrannical rulers who are unworthy of their positions should also be put to death.

From the moment his father, the emperor, slaughtered the loyal Beichen clan in order to seize the Beichen Princess, he was completely disappointed in his father.

The Beichen clan endured countless open and covert attacks for the sake of the Tangxi royal family.

The ruler of this land is already the Tangxi clan, and it is already quite remarkable that the Beichen clan is willing to bear the burden in the darkness.

In the end, the Beichen clan was not wiped out by those enemies, but instead became the most loyal royal family of Tangxi.

The once-great family of founding heroes is now reduced to a single orphan who survived only by the narrow escape of death.

When his father took action against the Beichen clan, he was still young and could do nothing. He could only ask Yuanqi, the spy in the Beichen mansion, to look after Beichen Ji.

But now, his father, the emperor, actually wants to harm Zhizhi, the most important person to him.

This time, he has no choice.

did not expect.

The Empress Dowager acted faster and more ruthlessly than he did.

It is said that the lake into which the Emperor's father accidentally fell was the same lake where Consort Rou drowned years ago.

At that time, the young Prince Beichen stood in a pavilion not far away, quietly watching that filthy soul sink into the cold darkness.

The boy's face was hidden in the shadows, his expression unreadable, but the aura surrounding him was colder than the ice on the lake.

The sword of the Northern Star King is useful no matter who wields it.

That time, it was Empress Bai Yining who borrowed that knife.

She simply told Bei Chenji that the man had once coveted his mother, Hua Qingwan, and now, the man coveted Zhizhi.

The young Prince Beichen remained silent.

He simply stood there with his eyes downcast, a chilling killing intent surging within them.

Whether it was his mother or his daughter Xue'er, they were both his Achilles' heel.

Those who touch it will die.

The boy remained silent; he knew that Bai Yining wanted to use someone else to do her dirty work.

But after personally verifying the facts, he acted with extreme decisiveness and ruthlessness.

With the Empress, who held power in the harem, personally handing him the knife, Prince Beichen swiftly wielded it to kill the Emperor.

He had nothing to lose, he feared nothing, he was a vengeful demon.

The act of regicide, which would be condemned by everyone, should not be done by the righteous and upright crown prince.

For Xiaoxue'er's safety.

It was also to commemorate their Beichen clan.

Even knowing that what lay ahead was a one-way street, a bottomless abyss, he still did not stop.

He bore all the darkness and sin.

She only cares about shining brightly.