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

Since Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne and she became the Empress of the Ming Dynasty, she has always played the role of a virtuous and gentle mother to the nation.

She wanted to be dignified, proper, and a role model for women everywhere.

She buried all her joys and sorrows deep beneath that heavy phoenix robe.

But today, she didn't want to pretend anymore.

She just wanted to be an ordinary mother who loved her son dearly.

Although she was there, she knew everything that happened at the Meridian Gate Square through the eunuchs who kept coming to report.

When she heard that Zhu Muying's prison uniform had been torn open, revealing her body covered in scars.

Her heart was being slowly torn apart, piece by piece, by a knife.

She knew about those wounds.

She personally applied the medicine and bandaged his wounds for most of the time.

Every time she saw her son's bloodied and mangled body, she felt so heartbroken that she couldn't sleep all night.

She repeatedly cried to Zhu Yuanzhang, begging him not to send her fifth son to the front lines anymore.

But Zhu Yuanzhang always said, "A true man should make meritorious contributions and die on the battlefield."

A doting mother often spoils her son.

it is good.

Make great achievements.

Now, the achievements have been made and the business has been established.

What did we get in return?

In return, he was charged with "treason" and faced with a butcher's knife that could fall at any moment!

When she heard that Crown Prince Zhu Biao had thrown off his crown and asked to be deposed in order to save his younger brother,

She felt both relieved and heartbroken.

What's gratifying is that her son, Biao'er, has grown up, become responsible, and understood what brotherhood is.

What is heartbreaking is that her kind-hearted Biao'er was driven to such a desperate situation by his father, the emperor, that he would take such a drastic action!

When she heard that Zhu Yuanzhang, despite being deserted by his followers and having nowhere else to turn, still issued the order to "execute on the spot," she was shocked.

Empress Ma's last illusions were shattered.

She knew that the man she had loved and accompanied her throughout her life had been completely corrupted by that cold dragon throne.

He was no longer the Zhu Chongba who would clumsily cook porridge for her when she was sick.

He became a lonely figure who only cared about power and not about family ties.

A monster.

"Someone come here!"

Empress Ma roared angrily at the outside of the palace.

Granny Zhang, an old woman who had served her for decades, who had been guarding outside the hall, scrambled in and knelt down.

"Your Majesty, please calm down! You must take care of your health!"

"Calm down?"

Empress Ma sneered, "He's about to kill my own son, how can you expect me to calm down?!"

"Go! Bring me the phoenix robe and phoenix crown!"

Granny Zhang was terrified: "Your Highness! What...what are you going to do?"

"What are you doing?"

A crazed glint flashed in Empress Ma's eyes. "Didn't he want to be emperor? Didn't he want to uphold his damned imperial authority?"

"Fine! Today, I'll show him what an empress is!"

"I want to go to the Meridian Gate!"

"I'm going to ask him, I'm going to ask all the officials in the court, I'm going to ask all the people in the land!"

"By what right does Zhu Yuanzhang have to kill my son, Ma Xiuying's son!"

Granny Zhang was so frightened that she trembled all over and kowtowed desperately.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't! You are the mistress of the six palaces, the mother of the nation, how could you... how could you go to the imperial court! This is against propriety, against the ancestral laws!"

"Etiquette and rules? Family rules?"

Empress Ma kicked her away, yelling, "To hell with etiquette! To hell with family rules!"

"My family rule is this: anyone who dares to harm my son, I'll fight them to the death!"

At this moment, she was no longer the Empress of the Ming Dynasty.

She was just a lioness driven to desperation, about to lose her cubs.

She's going to fight in her own way!

Just as Kunning Palace was engulfed in raging fury, an even greater storm was about to erupt.

Outside the hall, a young eunuch scrambled in, his voice sharp and panicked.

"Your Majesty the Empress! The Crown Princess, accompanied by... Miss Xu from the Duke of Wei's mansion, requests an audience outside the palace!"

Empress Ma paused in her movements.

She slowly turned around, her eyes, burning with anger, narrowing slightly.

Crown Princess?

That girl from the Xu family?

What are they doing here at this time?

and……

Did you come together?

An ominous premonition rose in Empress Ma's heart.

"Let them in."

Her voice regained its composure, but beneath that composure lay an even colder, more piercing chill.

She wanted to see what had happened in the previous dynasty that would make these two daughters-in-law, who were always the most obedient, disregard everything and barge into her Kunning Palace!

The palace doors were slowly pushed open.

Two figures appeared one after the other at the entrance of the dimly lit Kunning Palace.

Walking in front was the Crown Princess, Lady Chang.

She maintained the dignified demeanor of a crown princess, but her pale face and slightly trembling hands betrayed her extreme unease.

The white figure following behind her made the temperature in the entire hall drop even further.

Empress Ma looked at the girl dressed in a garish mourning outfit, and her pupils suddenly contracted.

That girl from the Xu family!

How could she...

Why is she dressed like this?!

Could it be that things have already... at the Meridian Gate?

A terrible thought flashed through Empress Ma's mind.

Her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, the pain so intense that she could barely breathe.

Do not!

impossible!

Zhu Chongba, he wouldn't dare!

If he dares...

Empress Ma's fingernails dug deeply into her palms, the intense pain bringing clarity to her chaotic mind.

"My daughter-in-law is from the Chang family."

"My name is Xu Miaoyun."

Chang and Xu Miaoyun walked to the center of the main hall and bowed gracefully to Empress Ma, whose expression was obscured.

"Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace."

Get up.

Empress Ma's voice revealed no emotion.

She did not, as usual, kindly tell them to rise, nor did she offer them seats.

She sat quietly on the phoenix chair, looking down at the two kneeling below, her future and present daughters-in-law.

The main hall was deathly silent.

The air seemed to freeze.

Chang and Xu Miaoyun knelt on the cold gold bricks, not daring to even breathe.

They could clearly feel how sharp and cold the gaze cast down from that phoenix chair was.

That gaze, like a knife, scraped away at their flesh piece by piece, piercing straight into their souls.

The Chang family is in a slightly better position.

After all, she was the Crown Princess, and Empress Ma's rightful daughter-in-law.

She knew that, in any case, Empress Ma would not really make things difficult for her.

Xu Miaoyun, however, was so nervous that her palms were sweaty.

Although she was strong-willed and capable of both love and hate.

But facing this legendary queen mother, who was both benevolent and dignified, she still felt unprecedented pressure.

In particular, she was wearing such an outrageous outfit today.

"you,"

Empress Ma finally spoke.

Her voice was soft, yet it struck Xu Miaoyun's heart like a heavy hammer.

Her gaze passed over the Chang family and landed directly on Xu Miaoyun.

"You're Xu Da's daughter?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, this is Xu Miaoyun."

Xu Miaoyun lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly.

"Raise your head and let me see you."

Empress Ma's voice remained as calm as ever.

Xu Miaoyun's heart skipped a beat.

She bit her lip and slowly raised her head.

Eyes facing each other.

Xu Miaoyun saw a pair of eyes, what kind of eyes?

There was no anger or blame in those eyes, as she had imagined.

Yes, there is only one kind of sorrow, a bottomless grief.

And a kind of sharpness that made her heart pound.

All her thoughts and all her pretenses were laid bare before those eyes.

Empress Ma was also looking at her.

She looked at the girl kneeling in front of her.

Looking at her face, which was pale with sadness but still breathtakingly beautiful.

Looking at her phoenix eyes, red and swollen from crying, yet still stubbornly refusing to shed another tear.

Looking at the glaring white mourning clothes she was wearing.

Empress Ma's heart was deeply wounded.

What a strong-willed woman.

What a kind and loyal girl!

No wonder her arrogant son was so fond of her.

"Who told you to wear this outfit?"

Empress Ma asked calmly.

Xu Miaoyun's heart was in her throat.

She knew this was the most crucial issue.

She took a deep breath, met Empress Ma's gaze, and replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Your Majesty, it was I who wanted to wear it."

"Oh?"

Empress Ma raised an eyebrow slightly. "Do you know what wearing this outfit signifies?"

"I understand."

"Do you know that what you're doing is deceiving the emperor, cursing the prince, and a crime punishable by the extermination of your entire family?"

"This humble woman knows as well."

"Then, you still dare to wear it?"

"dare."

Xu Miaoyun's answer was just one word.

It was a resounding statement.

Without any hesitation.

Empress Ma looked at her, at her clear yet stubborn eyes, and suddenly smiled.

That smile was faint and cold.

"it is good."

"What a fine daughter of the Xu family."

"You have the same style as your father back in the day."

She slowly stood up from the phoenix chair, walked down the steps one by one, and came to Xu Miaoyun.

She reached out and gently lifted Xu Miaoyun's chin.

"Tell me, what brings you here today?"

Xu Miaoyun looked at the face of the legendary woman, which was so close to her, a face she had only ever seen in portraits before.

She could feel the Empress Ma's cold fingers and the undeniable power emanating from them.

She gritted her teeth and finally spoke her truest thoughts.

"Your Majesty, I have come today asking for nothing else."

"I only ask that I die on the same day as the prince."

"In life, I cannot be his wife. In death, I wish to be his soul."

"Your Majesty, please grant my request!"

After saying that, she suddenly broke free from Empress Ma's hand and kowtowed heavily to her.

"Your Majesty, please grant my request!"

Chang Shi, watching this scene from the side, was already in tears.

She wanted to speak up and plead for Xu Miaoyun.

But she couldn't utter a single word.

Because she was completely overwhelmed by the equally fierce and resolute aura emanating from these two women, she couldn't get a word in edgewise.

In the entire Kunning Palace, only Xu Miaoyun's cries, like the mournful lament of a cuckoo weeping blood, remained.

"Your Majesty, please grant my request!"