"You... what did you say?"
Emperor Chengyuan stared straight at the Eldest Princess, struggling to pull himself up from his chair. His face was a mask of disbelief and shock, yet beneath it lay a glimmer of resignation—as if he had known this day would come. He had always known how highly the Late Emperor regarded the Eldest Princess, but he had never felt threatened, simply because she was a woman.
When had the fear truly taken root? It had begun after he ascended the throne, when he realized his own inadequacy. He feared her. Though he loathed to admit it, he understood clearly that her capabilities far surpassed his own. Had she not been a woman, the throne would never have been his.
Chapter 213