Daming: After self-explosive time travel, Lao Zhu's mentality collapsed

Chu Ze placed the peach blossom cake on the stone table next to the swing that Shen Xue loved to sit on when she was alive, and sat on the swing, swinging gently. He ate the peach blossom cake bite by bite, but it tasted like chewing wax. The sweet taste that once haunted him was now full of bitterness.

"Shen Xue, did you really betray me?" He murmured to himself in the empty palace, "If...if you didn't betray me, how great it would be..."

Suddenly, he remembered Shen Xue's last words in his dream: "I... I regret so much... I regret betraying you..."

Could it be... Could it be that Shen Xue was wronged?

This thought flashed through Chu Ze's mind like a bolt of lightning, shaking his whole body. He stood up suddenly, and the doubts and uneasiness in his heart surged like a tide.

He immediately summoned the officials who were responsible for investigating Shen Xue's "treason" case and sternly questioned them: "Are there any doubts about Shen Xue's case?"

The officials were so frightened that they trembled and fell to their knees, saying that they dared not hide anything.

"Your Majesty, back then...back then the evidence was conclusive..." an official said tremblingly.

"Conclusive? What evidence? Show it to me!" Chu Ze roared.

The officials quickly presented the files of that year. Chu Ze carefully flipped through the files, frowning more and more. He found that the so-called "evidence" was mostly letters between Shen Xue and envoys from the enemy country. However, the contents of these letters were mostly insignificant greetings, which could not prove that Shen Xue had the intention of collaborating with the enemy and treason.

"These are the so-called evidence?" Chu Ze threw the file to the ground fiercely. "In my opinion, these are nothing but groundless speculations!"

The officials were so frightened that they trembled all over and dared not speak.

"Also," Chu Ze continued, "after Shen Xue was executed, I ordered her body to be crushed to dust. Now that I think about it, I was too impulsive. Pass on my order to rebury Shen Xue, restore her title of Imperial Concubine, and bury her with the ceremony of a queen!"

The officials looked at each other in shock. They didn't understand why the emperor suddenly changed his mind and wanted to rebury Shen Xue.

Chu Ze ignored the officials' doubts. He had only one thought in his mind: he wanted to find out the truth and give Shen Xue justice!
He began to secretly investigate the truth of the Shen Xue case. He visited people who had contact with Shen Xue, consulted a lot of historical materials, and even went to the enemy country in person to find the envoys who had communicated with Shen Xue.

The investigation process was full of hardships and dangers. Chu Ze encountered assassinations many times, but he escaped danger every time. He was like a wounded beast, madly pursuing the truth and not letting go of any clues.

Finally, after several months of investigation, Chu Ze finally found the key clue. He discovered that Shen Xue's case was actually a huge conspiracy! And the mastermind behind this conspiracy was actually...

At this moment, a black shadow suddenly flashed from the window, and a cold light came straight towards Chu Ze!

A flash of cold light appeared, and Chu Ze instinctively dodged to the side. The hidden weapon brushed past his cheek and hit the pillar behind him. He looked closely and saw that it was a poisoned dart!
Chu Ze's heart trembled. It seemed that the mastermind behind the scenes could no longer hold back and wanted to kill people to silence them! He drew the sword from his waist and shouted, "Who is it? Get out here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a man in black jumped down from the beam, holding a sharp sword, and attacked Chu Ze. Chu Ze sneered and swung his sword to fight back.

The black-clad man was highly skilled in martial arts, and his moves were deadly. Although Chu Ze was the emperor, he was no empty talker. He had practiced martial arts since he was young, and his swordsmanship was superb. He fought the black-clad man on equal terms.

The two fought back and forth in the hall, swords flashing and murderous intent rising. Chu Ze became more and more courageous and gradually gained the upper hand. The man in black saw that the situation was not good, made a feint, and turned to escape.

"Want to leave? Not that easy!" How could Chu Ze let him escape so easily? He flashed and chased after him.

The man in black escaped from the palace, and Chu Ze chased after him. The two of them, one in front and one behind, flew over the eaves and walls in the palace, launching a thrilling chase.

Finally, Chu Ze forced the man in black to the rockery in the Imperial Garden. The man in black had no way to escape, so he turned around and fought Chu Ze to the death. "Tell me! Who sent you here!" Chu Ze pointed his sword at the man in black and shouted.

The man in black sneered and did not answer. He suddenly took out a black pill from his pocket and swallowed it in one gulp.

"Not good!" Chu Ze cried in his heart, he knew that it was a highly poisonous substance.

After the man in black swallowed the pill, his face instantly turned livid, and black blood flowed from the corners of his mouth. He used up his last bit of strength and pounced on Chu Ze.

Chu Ze pierced his chest with a sword, and the man in black fell to the ground and died.

Chu Ze looked at the body of the man in black, and his heart was full of doubts. Who was this man in black? Who sent him? Why did he commit suicide by taking poison?

All kinds of questions lingered in Chu Ze's mind, leaving him puzzled.

He returned to the imperial study and read through the files of the investigation into Shen Xue's case. He found an obvious loophole in the files: the letters between Shen Xue and the envoys of the enemy country were all delivered by the same person. And this person was a eunuch in the palace named Li Fu.

Li Fu is someone close to the Queen and is trusted by her. Could it be that... could it be that the Queen is the real mastermind behind this?

This thought shocked Chu Ze and made him feel unbelievable. The queen was his first wife, and he had always trusted her and never doubted her.

But now all the evidence points to the Queen. Could it be... could it be that he had trusted her wrongly all along?

Chu Ze's heart was filled with pain and contradiction. He didn't know how to face this cruel reality.

He decided to investigate the queen secretly. He sent people to secretly monitor the queen's every move and checked the information of all the palace maids around the queen.

After a period of investigation, Chu Ze finally got the evidence of the queen's treason. It turned out that the queen had been colluding with the enemy and selling out the confidential information of the Ming Dynasty.

Chu Ze's heart was filled with anger and disappointment. He did not expect that the person he trusted the most would betray him and the Ming Dynasty.

He ordered the queen to be banished to the cold palace and stripped her of all her titles.

The Queen's fall caused a great uproar in the court and the country. Ministers wrote to the emperor one after another, asking him to forgive the Queen.

Chu Ze ignored the ministers' requests and was determined to bring the queen to justice.

He made the queen's crimes public and ordered her execution.

The death of the queen made Chu Ze feel extremely sad and regretful. He never thought that he would kill the person he loved most with his own hands.

He began to reflect on his actions and realized that he had always been too conceited and impulsive.

He began to become taciturn and no longer as energetic as before.

He enshrined Shen Xue's spirit tablet in his own bedroom and confessed to the spirit tablet every day. (End of this chapter)