Transmigrating into a book, seducing him to rise to power

Upon receiving the news, the Empress Dowager rushed to Kunning Palace, her face filled with solemnity and her heart filled with complex emotions.

When the emperor ascended the throne, he vowed that he would hold a grand ceremony to confer the title of empress on her after she gave birth to a son. But who could have imagined that the empress would die on the day of childbirth?

When the Empress Dowager entered the delivery room, chaos reigned everywhere. Not only were the imperial physicians and numerous palace servants kneeling on the ground, but several concubines were also kneeling with their heads bowed. Even two pregnant concubines were kneeling tremblingly on the ground.

The emperor held the empress in his arms, his expression blank, as if he had lost his soul.

The Empress Dowager would not grieve for the Empress's death, but she had never seen such a lifeless expression on her son's face before, and her heart ached with pain.

She walked up to Jun Zechen, her voice tinged with pity and helplessness: "Your Majesty, the dead cannot be brought back to life. Please accept my condolences."

"The most important thing now is to find the murderer who poisoned the Queen!"

The Empress Dowager's voice rose a few decibels, and her sharp gaze swept over everyone present.

The eldest daughter of the Su family was originally the Empress Dowager's preferred candidate for Empress. In terms of family background, beauty, offspring, and even the Emperor's favor, she had all the advantages. Only such an Empress could suppress the harem.

But now it has come to this...

Hearing the Empress Dowager say that she wanted to find the murderer, Jun Zechen came to his senses a little. But at this moment, no matter who the murderer was, he wanted to kill all the women in the harem. His violent emotions were stronger than ever before.

His eyes burned with rage, and he couldn't suppress the urge to kill.

"Mother, interrogate them first. I will not let any of those who harmed the Empress go unpunished!"

Jun Zechen's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, and his eyes flashed with a sinister, fierce, and intimidating light.

Then, he picked up Su Jingyao, his steps heavy, and personally led her back to her bedchamber.

Lin Mama, Miaoyun, and the others followed His Majesty with blank expressions, as if they had lost the ability to think.

Upon arriving at the bedchamber, it was Lin Mama who, suppressing her grief, managed to speak.

"Your Majesty, the mistress has always loved beauty since she was a child. Let me give her a makeover."

Granny Lin's voice was filled with deep sorrow, almost choked with sobs.

She felt sorry for Madam Su; she hadn't taken good care of the eldest daughter, whom she had watched grow up!

After Jun Zechen gently placed her on the bed, Lin Mama, along with the heartbroken Miaoyun and the others, carefully tended to Su Jingyao's body, meticulously cleaning away the sweat stains caused by childbirth.

Finally, they dressed her in a magnificent phoenix robe.

Jun Zechen's gaze never left her; she was lying there quietly, yet she was still so beautiful and captivating.

He told himself that she was just asleep, just asleep...

After Lin Mama finished dressing Su Jingyao up, Jun Zechen sat on the bed and hugged her tightly in his arms again.

He gripped her arms so tightly it was as if he wanted to embed her into his body, even trying to warm her already icy body with his own body heat.

Although Lin Mama and the others wanted to stay with their master, seeing His Majesty's grief-stricken appearance, they knew it was inappropriate to disturb him at this moment. They could only retreat slowly with heavy hearts, leaving the space to the Emperor and Empress.

"Jiaojiao, whatever you want, I will give you. Why do you want to leave me?"

Jun Zechen's voice was filled with grief, hoarse as if it had been repeatedly rubbed with sandpaper.

The only sound in the bedchamber was Jun Zechen's painful voice. They had only known each other for a little over a year, so why did it cause him such heart-wrenching pain?

In his previous life, Jun Zechen was a cold and ruthless emperor. Throughout the long years, he never thought he would truly fall in love with a woman.

Even after being reborn and meeting her again, he initially felt that he only had feelings for her.

He never imagined that he would lose her one day.

"How can you be so heartless? Xingxing has just been born, and you want to leave him? Do you really believe that I will protect him?"

Jun Zechen's eyes reddened, as if only in a secluded place could he shed his cold, aloof imperial mask.

He was now incoherent, muttering to himself in his bedchamber, saying whatever came to mind, even though no one responded to him.

As he spoke, he held her tightly, his mind a complete blank, as if he had lost the ability to think.

And so he stayed in the bedchamber for two whole hours, as if time had frozen, wanting only to spend his last moments with his empress.

Finally, he gently put the person down.

"I will make those who hurt you pay a hundredfold price."

Jun Zechen's voice was deep and cold, as if it were a vow squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a chilling ruthlessness.

After saying that, Jun Zechen walked out of the palace with a gloomy expression, as if he were being swept away by a winter wind.

The chill emanating from him sent shivers down the spines of those around him.

At this moment, the Empress Dowager had brought all the palace servants and concubines of Kunning Palace to the main hall and was questioning them one by one with a serious expression.

As soon as Jun Zechen stepped into the main hall, everyone bowed to him with trepidation, but he seemed not to hear them. He kept his lips tightly pressed together, said nothing, and went straight to the head seat to sit down.

"Mother, what have you found out?"

His voice was as cold as the water in a frozen pool, devoid of any warmth.

The Empress Dowager glanced at the concubines who were still bowing. Although the Emperor did not allow them to stand up, there were still two pregnant concubines among them.

"Get up, all of you," the Empress Dowager said helplessly.

After saying that, she turned to reply to Jun Zechen: "The palace maid who poisoned the Empress in Kunning Palace served the Empress tea and then went straight back to her room while no one was paying attention."

"She cleaned up all the contaminated water before committing suicide."

The Empress Dowager was shocked that a palace maid would dare to do such a treasonous thing, and her face turned extremely ugly.

Jun Zechen's lips curled into an extremely cold smile.

"It was done flawlessly."

Jun Zechen spun the teacup on the table, his sinister eyes slowly sweeping over the concubines who all had their heads bowed.

"If the truth cannot be found, all the concubines in the harem will be buried with the Empress."

Jun Zechen's words struck the hearts of the concubines like a heavy hammer, causing them to panic and hastily rise to their knees once more.

His voice trembled as he said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

The Empress Dowager frowned, her face full of displeasure, and said sternly, "Emperor!"

How could such heartless words be uttered so easily?

But Jun Zechen remained unmoved and ignored the Empress Dowager's angry shouts.

"Anshun, I am giving you seven days to find out the cause of the Empress's poisoning. If you fail to find a result within seven days, you will all be buried with the Empress. If the true culprit is found after seven days, the entire family of the culprit will be executed!"

Jun Zechen's eyes were like knives, sharp and ruthless.

"In these seven days, any of you who have any leads or evidence should submit them as soon as possible, or you can speak to Anshun about anyone you wish to implicate. When the time comes, I will show no mercy!"

His voice echoed in the hall.

The seven concubines were trembling uncontrollably; their lives were at the mercy of His Majesty's every word.

Lin Miaoyin was filled with surprise and disbelief. Was His Majesty really so heartless towards them?

She was pregnant with his child!

"Your Majesty, I am pregnant with the imperial heir."

Lin Miaoyin's voice was choked with sobs, and her frail body swayed precariously.

Jun Zechen's fierce gaze instantly fell on Lin Miaoyin like a sharp sword.

"So you poisoned the Empress because you were jealous that she gave birth to the eldest son of the legitimate wife?"

"No, Your Majesty, I dare not, it was not me who did it."

Lin Miaoyin was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face.

Tang Suxi originally thought she could escape this calamity because of the imperial heir, but seeing His Majesty's ruthless and cold-blooded appearance, she felt her heart turn cold.

Ye Yaqin never expected that His Majesty would be so reckless.

Many of these concubines come from prestigious families. Does His Majesty really not care about his reputation?

No, perhaps it's just that His Majesty is overwhelmed with grief and despair over the sudden passing of the Empress, and has lost his composure to utter such resolute words.

Once this news gets out, the high-ranking officials in the court will certainly not allow His Majesty to act so recklessly.

In a few days, once His Majesty has calmed down, he will surely rescind his order.

Ye Yaqin kept reassuring herself that she absolutely could not panic now, and had to be extremely careful so that His Majesty would not find out about her.

Jun Zechen looked coldly at the concubines kneeling on the ground, their faces filled with panic, and felt utterly disgusted.

His eyes were filled with disgust, as if he were looking at a group of worthless ants.

"For these seven days, everyone must stay obediently in their own palace and must not have any communication or contact with the outside world."

His voice sounded like a pronouncement from hell, devoid of any emotion.

"Everyone, step back!"

Seeing the emperor's cold and ruthless demeanor, the Empress Dowager's lips moved, but she didn't know how to speak.

Only after all the concubines had left did the Empress Dowager speak slowly, her voice tinged with worry.

"Your Majesty, if you haven't found the real culprit in seven days, are you really going to kill them? Consort De (Lin Miaoyin) and Tang Ronghua (Tang Suxi) are both pregnant with the Emperor's children. If you say such a thing, won't you be branded as cruel and heartless right after ascending the throne?"

The Empress Dowager earnestly advised the Emperor, knowing he was deeply grieving, but since the Empress had already passed away, they should find out the real culprit instead of indiscriminately killing innocent people.

"This is my palace. Even the Empress has been murdered. Who can guarantee that one day someone will be so audacious as to kill me?"

His voice was suppressed yet filled with anger. If his mother hadn't been there, Jun Zechen would have almost lost control of his violent emotions.

"Mother, there is no need for further words. My mind is made up."

His attitude was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Mother, please go back."

The Empress Dowager knew that no matter how she tried to persuade the Emperor, he wouldn't listen, so she changed the subject.

"The Empress's death was so sudden, but according to custom, her body should be laid to rest. Today, I will announce the Empress's death to the palace and the public. What are the Emperor's plans for this?"

Upon hearing the words "the body has been laid to rest" and "the news of death has been announced," Jun Zechen's emotions, which he had been holding back, erupted like a volcano once more.

"The Empress is not dead!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and his hands were clenched into fists.

"Your Majesty! If the coffin isn't kept still, the Empress's body will decompose. Do you want her to be unable to rest in peace even in death?"

The Empress Dowager also raised her voice.

Jun Zechen closed his eyes tightly, his brows furrowed, as if he were enduring immense pain.

"She loved beauty so much, how could she want her body to rot? I will make an ice coffin for her and put her in an underground ice chamber so that her remains can be preserved forever."

His voice trembled slightly, very softly, filled with deep longing and reluctance.

This winter, we'll rebuild an underground ice palace for her. She loves luxury and power, and she'd be afraid to go to a dark and terrifying place like a tomb alone.

The Empress Dowager stared at the Emperor in shock, completely at a loss for words.

He could only sigh deeply, shake his head, and leave Kunning Palace.