Over a hundred charred corpses were carried out of the Weiyang Palace. The massive disturbance of yesterday had left everyone in the palace in a state of dread.
With Jun Jiuli having purged all of Zhao Jingheng's cronies, the ministers dared not cause any further trouble. It seemed this Empress was truly favored by heaven.
Before long, palace attendants reported that Princess Jing Yi had gone missing. Jun Jiuli immediately ordered a thorough investigation, and shortly after, Princess Jing Yi was found among the pile of charred corpses.
Jun Jiuli put on a show of heartfelt grief and immediately reported to the Emperor. To her surprise, the Emperor's eyes rolled back, and he kicked the bucket.
Jun Jiuli was inconsolable and arranged for both their funerals together. Everything was to be kept simple, avoiding extravagance and the waste of resources.
During the funeral ceremonies, Jun Jiuli discovered paintings in the Emperor's bedchamber depicting his illicit affairs with Princess Jing Yi.
She wept until her eyes were red with anger. Everyone present felt pity for her; the Emperor had been truly reckless.
These, like the others before them, would be meticulously recorded by the historians. With pictorial evidence, they would be condemned and ridiculed by posterity for ten thousand generations.
After the Emperor was buried, Jun Jiuli's eyes rolled back, and she fainted. The imperial physicians rushed to examine her and discovered she was pregnant. The timing perfectly matched the records from the Office of Procreation.
The court officials each harbored their own thoughts, waiting to see the outcome of her pregnancy.
Zhao Jing Yi awoke and gently pinched herself. Feeling the pain, she let out a sigh of relief.
There was no light here, and the silence made her feel somewhat fearful. She kept searching for a way out until exhaustion rendered her unable to move.
Every day, someone brought her a coarse grain bun and a small bowl of water. At first, she refused to eat anything. Later, hunger gnawed at her, and she devoured them greedily, finding them delicious.
She tried every method imaginable to escape, but to no avail. Day after day, she could only curse Jun Jiuli from within. Two months later, Jun Jiuli, with her belly visibly rounded, came to see her.
Now, she was emaciated and sallow, her body dirtied and disheveled. Her hair was as messy as a bird's nest, and her clothes were torn and stained.
Seeing the radiant Jun Jiuli and her slightly protruding belly, Zhao Jing Yi, upon realizing what had happened, lunged forward to strike her. She was immediately subdued by two men in black and forced to kneel on the ground.
"You wretched woman, may you die a terrible death."
"Curse all you want. You won't have this opportunity for much longer. The state of the little princess is no better than a beggar on the street. This environment will eventually break a person's spirit. I thought you were something special."
Looking at Jun Jiuli's belly, a thousand thoughts raced through her mind. Her heart ached, and her eyes welled up with tears.
Yet, she lacked the courage to even ask about it, only able to lower her head and torment herself.
Jun Jiuli brought with her the items Zhao Jing Yi and Zhao Jing Heng had exchanged during their love, objects that had witnessed their affection.
"You are not allowed to touch them. They are mine."
Like a cornered wolf cub, she ferociously warned Jun Jiuli, her eyes blazing as she glared at her actions.
A brazier was placed before them, and Jun Jiuli began throwing the items into it one by one to be burned. This was the epitome of a fatal blow to the heart.
Zhao Jing Yi cried out with all her might, struggling to break free. In her heart, she prayed for her brother to come and save her just once.
However, Zhao Jing Heng was actually not far behind them, his face held by puppets.
He was forced to witness all these scenes, tears falling silently, soaking the front of his robes.
When Zhao Jing Yi had finished her cries, the puppets began their work. They chopped off her limbs, gouged out her eyes, and poured molten copper into her ears to deafen her.
They forced a concoction into her throat, slit her tongue, and damaged her vocal cords to render her mute. Then, a large vat filled with salt water was brought, and she was submerged in it.
The puppets held Zhao Jing Heng's eyes open, forcing him to witness everything. At first, his heart ached with pain, but then his body reacted uncontrollably, and he vomited violently.
Of course, a similar fate awaited him. Two large vats were placed side by side. Every moment they lived was agony, and they could not even control their own deaths.
He could not fathom how he had offended Jun Jiuli, only regret filling him, and hatred for himself for allowing this madwoman, Jun Jiuli, into the palace.
They lasted five days before perishing. Originally, they should have been thrown into a privy.
Fearing she might frighten people, Jun Jiuli had prepared urns for them. Now, after a fire consumed them, their ashes were placed in the privy.
...
Jun Jiuli, despite her "pregnancy," managed state affairs exceptionally well. She reduced numerous oppressive taxes, cut the palace staff by more than half, and confiscated the assets of many corrupt officials.
She also sold off all the valuable items Zhao Jing Heng had procured for Zhao Jing Yi, using the proceeds for public welfare, directly distributing money and grain.
The common people cared little about who was emperor. As long as there was no forced conscription, no unpaid labor, and less money taken from them, all was well.
Now, the Emperor was benevolent, reducing taxes. Corrupt officials were punished, and many wrongful cases were redressed. The people were overjoyed.
The county yamen no longer dared to look down on people, act perfunctorily, or accept bribes.
They genuinely worked for the benefit of the people, as the previous group who acted that way had lost their official hats.
Weiyang Palace
Prime Minister Left: "You cannot hide this from your father. What do you intend to do about that belly?"
Jun Jiuli: "Father, do you wish for our Xiao family to have a true Emperor?"
Her words greatly startled Prime Minister Xiao, and it took him a while to recover.
"Father, please consider it carefully. Only you and I know about this. This way, the Xiao family will not be suspected in the future, nor will another girl like me, who has no control over her own fate, be born."
After a moment, the Prime Minister sighed and stood to bow. Jun Jiuli immediately stood and leaned on him lightly.
"You must have already had a plan. I will discuss it with your second brother when I return. Wen Xuan, it is my fortune to have a daughter like you."
"It is Father's good teaching. Daughter is also considering the best interests of the Xiao family."
A month later, Jun Jiuli gave birth to a son, whom she named Zhao Yisong. This child was the son of her second brother, Xiao Wenyuan, a fact known only to Prime Minister Xiao and Jun Jiuli, along with Xiao Wenyuan and his wife.
Sister-in-law Xiao was carrying twins, and the Prime Minister had obtained a stillborn infant to replace the boy. As the child grew, he bore an eight-tenths resemblance to his second uncle.
Outsiders commented that the nephew resembled his maternal uncle. Though Sister-in-law Xiao deeply loved her son, she never allowed anyone to detect any hint of the truth.
She knew that speaking carelessly could lead to disaster, and she was happy that her son could become Emperor in the future.
Jun Jiuli never prevented them from interacting, and the bond between mother and son remained deep. It was just that she could not openly hear him call her "Mother."
Zhao Yisong, meanwhile, always believed he was Jun Jiuli's child and was only close to his maternal aunt because she treated him well.
When Zhao Yisong turned eight, Jun Jiuli abdicated. He could consult Jun Jiuli if he had any questions.
Once he was capable of handling affairs independently and had truly grown into a monarch, Jun Jiuli departed from this plane.