I insist

Chapter 251: Please, Father, resign from my post.

late at night.

The Empress told Granny Chu to wait outside the door. She gave the eunuch a look and said in a low voice, "It would be best if you and Granny Chu waited here together."

"But……"

Seeing that the eunuch was unwilling to obey her, the Empress narrowed her eyes and looked at him, coldly questioning, "What, now my words no longer carry any weight?"

The eunuch quickly shook his head and said, "That's not it. It's just that it's getting late, and it wouldn't be appropriate for His Majesty to disturb His Majesty's rest at this time..."

The Empress snorted coldly as she listened to the eunuch's words. She raised her chin and said sarcastically, "If you tell this to outsiders, they will surely believe it. But if you tell it to me, aren't you afraid I'll laugh at you?"

"Get out of my way!"

Now the eunuch knew he couldn't stop the empress no matter what, so he reluctantly turned his body to the side, gently pushed open the bedroom door, and let the person in.

The emperor was about to get up when he heard the door to his bedchamber open, and he immediately stopped in his tracks.

He could tell that the footsteps were definitely not those of a eunuch. The emperor kept his eyes closed, waiting for the other person to come to him.

The eunuch wanted to follow the Empress inside, but was stopped by Granny Chu. He looked at the person beside him, and Granny Chu said calmly, "The Emperor and Empress are going inside to talk. It seems a bit inappropriate for you to go in at this time, doesn't it?"

He really didn't expect that the Empress and Granny Chu were both so eloquent.

Watching the Empress's retreating figure as she entered the room, the eunuch could only stand still, guarding the room with Granny Chu. Before the Emperor revealed that he was in good health, he had to ensure that no one else knew.

Inside the dormitory.

The Empress strode up to the Emperor, looking down at him with his eyes closed, her gaze cold and indifferent. She adjusted the sleeve on her wrist, letting it rise, and said in a cold voice.

"Your Majesty, please stop pretending to be ill. There are no outsiders here, just you and me," the Empress said softly, bowing her head to adjust her manners as she spoke.

"Your Majesty and I have been husband and wife for many years. I used to think that we were a perfect couple that others envied. I thought that it would continue to be so. However, judging from the current situation, I suddenly began to doubt whether the perfect couple that others envied was just an act by Your Majesty."

The Empress explained her thoughts over the years, word by word. She suddenly remembered how delighted the Emperor was when she sent him a beautiful woman. She smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "Looking back now, it seems that the Emperor was just intrigued by me."

"Your Majesty may not understand my thoughts, but I certainly do. Is it not a bit too much for Your Majesty to continue feigning illness with me?"

Hearing what the Empress said, the Emperor knew he could no longer hide it. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the Empress.

The emperor, still recovering from his illness, leaned on the dragon bed and struggled to get up.

However, Song Miqiu had told the emperor that if he continued to drink the medicinal soup for a few more days, he would be completely cured.

The Emperor now trusts Song Miqiu completely. If Song Miqiu hadn't had no intention of betraying him, he would have died from the medicinal soup long ago.

The Empress did not offer to help the Emperor as he struggled to his feet, perhaps because the events of the past few months had eroded any remaining affection she had for him.

"Do you know why I'm putting on an act? Do you know the Crown Prince is trying to harm me?" The Emperor did not respond to the Empress's earlier remarks, but instead solemnly explained the Crown Prince's behavior during this period to her.

"He threatened the life of a royal physician! He ordered the physician to put poison in my bowl. Isn't that tantamount to harming me?" the Emperor said in a deep voice. "If I don't cooperate with the physician's act, the Crown Prince will kill this loyal physician!"

"What am I supposed to do! If I don't pretend to be poisoned and not wake up, how will I know what the Crown Prince will say?" During the day, the Emperor had eunuchs accompany and assist the Crown Prince in overseeing the country, and at night he would have the eunuchs tell him everything that had happened during the day.

If he doesn't do this, who can tear off the mask from the Crown Prince's face for him?

The Emperor's words left the Empress speechless. She stood straight and remained silent before the Emperor.

Just as the Emperor's patience was about to reach its limit, the Empress suddenly spoke up, saying, "Your Majesty, for the sake of our many years of marriage, would you spare the Crown Prince's life?"

"Is this acceptable?" The Emperor grew angrier as he listened. He gritted his teeth and reprimanded, "If I let him go, does that mean I'm allowing the Crown Prince to continue to do whatever he wants to me?!"

The Empress shook her head violently, tears welling in her eyes, and quickly explained, "No, Your Majesty, you can depose the Crown Prince, but could you at least grant him a fiefdom and send him there?"

"Your Majesty knows you do not wish to see me in this palace. I am willing to accompany the Crown Prince to his fiefdom, if only Your Majesty would grant him a way out!"

As she spoke, fearing that the Emperor would still insist on his idea, the Empress took a step back, bent her body, slowly knelt on the ground, placed her hands on her knees, and kowtowed heavily to the Emperor.

This greatly surprised the Emperor; he never expected the Empress to go to such lengths for the Crown Prince.

"I admire you. You've gone to such lengths for the Crown Prince, willingly giving up your Empress position and going to your fiefdom with him." The Emperor thought the Empress would cherish her position, but he hadn't expected this…

"Your Majesty, you don't understand." Tears streamed down the Empress's face as she sniffed. "In this harem, my child is everything! Especially since he has already become the Crown Prince!"

"Just like the Empress Dowager's support, the Crown Prince is also my support, and at the same time, someone I need to protect! He is also everything to me."

The emperor was at a loss for words. He fell silent, unsure of what to say to the empress.

The Empress was also unwilling to continue staying in the Emperor's bedchamber.

She immediately stood up, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, staggered, raised her chin, and maintained her empressly demeanor as she left the bedchamber and headed for the East Palace.

The next day.

The Crown Prince arrived at the Emperor's bedchamber early. When he entered, he saw that the Emperor had just finished tidying himself up. He pursed his lips, and although there was resentment in his eyes, he thought of what his mother had said to him.

Thinking of this, the Crown Prince kowtowed to the Emperor and said in a low voice, "I was wrong in this matter, and I apologize to you. I also know that I am not worthy to continue as the Crown Prince. Please, Father, dismiss me."