I was to be executed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Empress Ma smashed Zhu Yuanzhang's jade seal.

Memories, like the sharpest knife, cut Xu Miaoyun's heart, leaving it bleeding profusely.

She snapped out of her reverie of that tragic and heartbreaking event, her face already streaked with tears.

Seeing her distraught state, Madam Chang couldn't bear it and pulled her back into her arms, gently patting her back.

"It's all in the past, it's all in the past..."

She could only offer such pale words of comfort.

Because she knows that some wounds can never be healed.

They will only, with the passage of time, form hideous scars in the depths of one's heart.

Xu Miaoyun leaned on Chang's shoulder, her body still trembling slightly.

"Sister-in-law,"

She murmured, "Do you think he... did he know all along that this day would come?"

Madam Chang was taken aback and asked, puzzled, "Sister, what do you mean by that?"

"He knew all along that those who achieve great merit and threaten their master will be discarded like dogs after the rabbit is killed."

Xu Miaoyun's eyes were empty and sad. "That's why he worked so hard and was in such a hurry."

"He wanted to do more for the Ming Dynasty, for His Majesty, and for the people before he himself was swallowed up by this imperial power."

"He wanted to use his own blood, his own life, to exchange for eternal peace."

"He wanted to do everything he could. That way, even if he died, he would have no regrets."

"He's an idiot."

"He's the biggest idiot in the world!"

As Xu Miaoyun spoke, she laughed again, a laugh that was more heartbreaking than crying.

Chang's heart felt like it was being pierced by countless needles, the pain almost suffocating her.

She finally understood why Zhu Muying was always so selfless.

It turns out, he wasn't unafraid of death.

He was simply racing against time.

It's a race against that high and mighty, ruthless imperial power.

He wanted to prove his loyalty through his achievements.

But he forgot that sometimes, merit itself is the greatest sin.

"No, he's not stupid."

Chang took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

She held Xu Miaoyun's shoulders, making her look into her eyes, and said, word by word, "He was a hero of our Great Ming Dynasty. A hero shouldn't end like this!"

Her voice, though not loud, was full of power.

In those usually gentle and tender eyes, a flame of unyielding spirit now ignited.

She is Chang Yuchun's daughter!

In her bones, there also flows the blood of someone who refuses to give up and refuses to accept fate!

"Miaoyun, listen to me."

At this moment, Chang's thoughts became exceptionally clear: "Now is not the time to cry, much less to contemplate suicide!"

"My fifth brother is still waiting for us to rescue him!"

Xu Miaoyun looked at her, her eyes flickering with emotion.

"Save us? Sister-in-law, what...how can we save us?"

"able!"

Chang's tone was resolute: "The Crown Prince is still at the Meridian Gate; he won't give up. My father, Uncle Xu, and all the old generals who fought alongside His Majesty will never stand idly by and watch my fifth brother die unjustly!"

"But they..."

Xu Miaoyun wanted to say that they had all knelt down and staged a coup, but the emperor remained unmoved.

"I know what you want to say."

Chang saw through her thoughts. "I know, relying on them alone is not enough."

"Because they are subjects. If the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. No matter how much they pressure him, he cannot overcome that obstacle."

"But there is one person who can."

A glint of wisdom shone in Chang's eyes.

"There is a person who is neither a ruler nor a subject. Before His Majesty, she is even greater than the ruler."

Xu Miaoyun's heart skipped a beat.

She instantly understood what Chang meant.

"You mean... Her Majesty the Empress?"

"right!"

Madam Chang nodded emphatically, "It is the Empress Dowager!"

"If there is anyone in this world who can persuade His Majesty to retract his decree, it is none other than his wife, Empress Ma, who has accompanied him from humble beginnings, through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, all the way to his current position!"

Chang's words were like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the deathly darkness in Xu Miaoyun's heart.

Yes!

Your Majesty the Empress!

How could she forget about her!

Who was Empress Ma?

That was the Ming Dynasty, and she was the "virtuous empress" in everyone's hearts.

She was the woman who, when Zhu Yuanzhang was at his lowest point, hid freshly baked hot pancakes in her bosom, burning herself to the bone, just to bring them to him.

She was the one who strongly dissuaded Zhu Yuanzhang from bestowing lavish rewards upon his maternal relatives after he became emperor, saying, "National official titles and ranks should be shared with the virtuous and capable throughout the land."

The woman.

She was also a loving mother who treated all the princes as her own children, showering them with affection.

Zhu Yuanzhang was afraid of her.

This fear is not dread, but rather a heartfelt respect and guilt.

Throughout his life, he was ruthless and decisive, capable of being heartless to anyone.

Only towards this woman who had been with him all along, he always retained a tenderness that he himself was unaware of.

"Yes! Your Majesty! Let's go find Your Majesty!"

A spark of hope rekindled in Xu Miaoyun's eyes.

The flame, though faint, was enough to pull her out of the abyss of despair.

"Sister-in-law, let's go quickly! We're going to Kunning Palace right now!"

She struggled to get up from the ground.

"Don't rush."

But Madam Chang held her down.

"Miaoyun, listen to me."

Chang looked at her with an extremely serious expression, "The Empress Dowager is our last hope. Once we go there, we cannot back down."

"I know you're suffering and in pain. But from now on, you must hold back all your tears."

"We cannot simply cry and beg in front of the Empress Dowager. That will not work."

"We want to show her our determination."

"We need to show her the terrible consequences His Majesty's actions will have!"

"We must make her more anxious, angrier, and more pained than we are!"

"Only in this way will she stop His Majesty at all costs!"

Xu Miaoyun looked at Chang Shi, at her eyes that were shining with excitement, and nodded heavily.

"Sister-in-law, I understand."

She took a deep breath and, with all her might, stood up from the ground.

Although her legs were numb from kneeling for so long, she could hardly feel them anymore.

Although her body was still trembling slightly from lingering fear and grief.

However, her back was ramrod straight.

Those phoenix eyes, which had just been blurred by tears, were now clear and firm.

She gave a slight curtsy to Madam Chang.

"Sister-in-law, let's go."

Looking at her, Madam Chang finally revealed a relieved smile.

She knew that the spirited and passionate eldest daughter of the Xu family had returned.

She took Xu Miaoyun's hand, and those two equally cold yet equally powerful hands clasped tightly together.

"Let's go! We're going to Kunning Palace!"

Two women, one of whom is the esteemed Crown Princess.

One of them is a princess who is not yet married into the family.

At this moment, they shed all their identities and all their manners.

They were just two ordinary wives trying to snatch their beloved men back from the clutches of death.

They lifted their skirts and walked side by side, resolutely heading towards the deep palace that would determine the fate of the entire Ming Dynasty.

Kunning Palace.

In the past, as the palace of the Ming Dynasty empress, this place was always peaceful and serene.

The palace maids and eunuchs walked on tiptoe and spoke in hushed tones, for fear of disturbing the Empress, who was known for her kindness and benevolence.

But today, the atmosphere in Kunning Palace was as oppressive as a powder keg about to explode.

All the palace maids and eunuchs huddled far away outside the hall, their faces ashen, not daring to even lift their heads.

Because they could clearly feel the chilling rage emanating from behind those tightly closed palace doors, a rage powerful enough to freeze a person.

Inside the hall, not a single candle was lit.

In the dim light, a figure, like a trapped beast, paced back and forth in the empty hall.

It was Empress Ma.

She wore the most ordinary coarse cloth dress, and had no gold or silver jewelry on her head. She was no different from the peasant woman in Haozhou City who toiled day and night for the livelihood of her family back then.

But her usually gentle and kind face was now covered with frost.

Those eyes, which had seen through the vicissitudes of life, burned with boundless rage.

"You bastard!"

"You bastard!"

She suddenly waved her hand, sweeping a set of her favorite celadon teaware, made in the imperial kiln of the previous dynasty, off the table beside her.

"Splash—"

The priceless porcelain shattered on the ground with a piercing sound.

But this still couldn't quell the anger in her heart.

"Zhu Chongba! You heartless bastard!"

"Have you lost your mind from being emperor?!"

"That's your son! Your own son!"

Empress Ma pointed in the direction of the Meridian Gate and began to curse.

Her voice was hoarse from extreme anger.

She couldn't remember the last time she had lost her composure like this.