The Crown Prince was once again locked inside the Eastern Palace, leaving the entire imperial court in a state of panic and unease.
Every day, the Empress knelt in Chuigong Hall, having stripped away her gilded phoenix crown and all her pearl and jade hairpins, wearing only a plain, unadorned white mourning gown.
Imperial Noble Consort De was not faring any better. That day, she had been subjected to a fierce, merciless scolding by the Emperor, who cursed her for being an unfit mother, utterly incapable of disciplining her own son.
Chapter 71