"Your Highness, you suddenly fell unconscious, and I've found a physician," Xue Zining said.
"Did they find anyone else?" Prince Jing asked.
Xue Zining shook his head, "There was no one else."
Prince Jing breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed it was just a dream. As he thought of this, he looked up at Xue Zining and found something vaguely familiar about his face, yet it gave him an indescribable feeling.
"Don't you hate me?" he suddenly asked.
"Why would I hate you?"
Prince Jing chuckled softly, "I used you, and in the end, I intended to kill you."
"Your Highness, when one holds power and stands at a lonely height, perhaps everyone would think as you do."
Prince Jing trembled, "You..."
"Your Highness, I request to leave this place. I ask for your consent."
"Xue Zining, you..."
"Your Highness, I cannot endure the lonely height. I fear that one day I might develop different intentions. It is better never to have possessed it. Your Highness, I implore you to let me leave."
Prince Jing lowered his gaze slightly, "Xue Zining, after this, I will no longer harbor any doubts about you."
"Your Highness, it is not whether you have doubts about me, but that I do not want this kind of life anymore. Someone has promised me that they will travel the rivers and mountains with me."
"Ning An, won't you reconsider?"
"Your Highness, I no longer need to reconsider."
"Very well! Since Ning An, you insist on leaving, I cannot force you. But if one day you wish to return, you are welcome."
"Your Highness, I bid farewell!" He bowed to Prince Jing, then stood up and walked towards the door.
At the doorway, he suddenly stopped, "Your Highness, from today onwards, no one will affect you anymore. You can now unleash your full potential. You do not need to pursue the imperial seal; you can create your own kingdom, one that truly belongs to you."
Prince Jing trembled. He quickly got out of bed, not bothering to put on his shoes, and ran towards the door. "Ning An, who exactly are you?"
The figure that had already gone far did not stop.
He slumped to the ground, "Who are you?"
In a civilian residence outside the capital, Xue Changjun sat on a stone chair in the courtyard. He gazed into the distance until he heard footsteps behind him. He turned back, "Li Chao, is everything ready?"
"Your Highness, everything is ready. When will the Empress be coming?"
Xue Changjun looked at Li Chao before him and said, "Li Chao, from now on, I am no longer a prince. I am an ordinary person, so you don't need to..."
Li Chao clearly trembled and knelt on one knee, "Your Highness, please do not send Li Chao away. Li Chao has been by your side since childhood. Without you, Li Chao doesn't know where to go. If Your Highness no longer wants me, Li Chao..."
"Li Chao, it's not that I'm driving you away, but that following me offers no good future."
"No, Li Chao only wants to follow Your Highness and protect you and the Empress," Li Chao said word by word.
Xue Changjun sighed, "Alright, but if one day you wish to leave, tell me."
"Your Highness, Li Chao will never leave you."
"Your Highness, the Empress has arrived," Ming Yang's voice called from outside the door.
Xue Changjun looked towards the door and saw a woman looking cautiously at the place. She looked around, her gaze filled with timidity, but when she saw him, her expression softened considerably. "Changjun, is that you?"
"Mother, it's me, Changjun." He walked forward, knelt on the ground with a thud, and rushed into the woman's embrace.
The woman extended her trembling hand and gently stroked his head. At that moment, he felt as if he had returned to his childhood.
"Changjun, Changjun, get up quickly. You are a prince, the supremely noble prince of Huangze Country, and you will be the overlord of this world."
The woman pulled him up. He didn't stand, but looked at her and asked, "Mother, I don't want to be the overlord of this world anymore. Can we leave here together? I'll accompany you, okay?"
The woman was stunned and trembled, "You... you know something? Is your Imperial Father going to kill you? Don't be afraid, this consort will protect you."
"Mother, no one is going to kill me. I'm just tired of it. Can we leave together?"
After a long silence, the woman's brow softened, "Yes, wherever Changjun wants to go, Mother will accompany you."
"Good. Li Chao, Ming Yang, help my mother back to rest. Once everything is packed, we will leave here," Xue Changjun said.
Li Chao and Ming Yang helped the woman back to her room. He walked forward and out the door, where he indeed saw someone dressed in a black cloak.
He stepped forward and bowed, "Thank you, elder sister."
"You don't need to thank me. This is also His Highness's wish."
Xue Changjun smiled upon hearing this, "He has finally gotten his wish."
"Do you regret it?"
"I feel a bit unwilling, but seeing Mother, all the unwillingness has vanished. Thank you."
"No need. Have a good journey!"
"Alright," Xue Changjun nodded. He watched the figure that was about to depart and suddenly said, "Elder sister, serving a ruler is like accompanying a tiger. This is my reminder to you."
"The heavens are wide, the earth is broad, letting birds fly freely."
Xue Changjun smiled, "It seems elder sister is much more enlightened than I thought."
Inside the Imperial Palace
Prince Jing looked at the memorials in the imperial study, somewhat lost in thought. "Your Highness."
He looked up and asked, "Is something the matter?"
"Your Highness, Consort Yan has been sent away according to Your Highness's wishes."
He nodded, "Good, I understand."
"Your subordinate takes his leave!"
"Wait. Go and release everyone from the dungeons."
"Your Highness, you..."
"From now on, no one will threaten my position, so I no longer need those people."
Three years after the new emperor's departure, Prince Jing suddenly announced his ascension to the throne, which caused a great stir.
When some of the court officials questioned him, Consort Dowager Ming, a concubine of the late emperor, stepped forward holding the late emperor's imperial edict. It turned out that the late emperor had indeed intended to pass the throne to Prince Jing.
With the imperial edict issued, no one dared to object. The new emperor changed the dynasty's name to Changning, historically known as Emperor Changning.
After the morning court, Emperor Changning went straight to the Empress Dowager Ming's chambers in the hậu cung.
Empress Dowager Ming seemed to have anticipated his arrival and stood there looking at him.
He stepped forward and bowed, "Thank you, Empress Dowager Ming, for your strong support today."
If not for Empress Dowager Ming's imperial edict today, the entire empire would have likely mocked him for his illegitimately obtained throne.
"Your Majesty, you do not need to thank this dowager. This dowager was merely entrusted by someone."
Emperor Changning trembled, "Entrusted by whom?"
Empress Dowager Ming smiled faintly, "Your Majesty knows the answer already."
"Was it... her?"