When Wang Zhijiao thought of the Empress Dowager in the palace, her heart grew heavy. After the tragedy that struck her family, those who were once royal relatives and nobles had instantly distanced themselves from them completely. In the past, when her mother was the Eldest Princess and a woman of immense power in the imperial court, countless people had followed in her wake. But the moment trouble arrived, they all vanished in a heartbeat. Not a single person showed them even a shred of pity; many, in fact, actively betrayed her family just to curry favor with the new Emperor.
Looking back, only the Empress Dowager had maintained a heart of kindness toward their family. It was only because the Empress Dowager had been away from the capital at the time and was unaware of the events unfolding there that their entire house had been wiped out. By the time the Empress Dowager returned, the family had already been purged, leaving only Wang Zhijiao behind. Consequently, the Empress Dowager could only manage to protect her. The Empress Dowager felt a deep resentment toward the new Emperor’s actions; she believed that such behavior was tantamount to slaughtering one's own kin. Even amidst the power struggles between princes, there should be a moral bottom line; one could not be so cold-blooded. After all, they were all her children.
But what could be done? The new Emperor had already seized control of the entire court. Even if the Empress Dowager wished to clear their names, it wa…
Chapter 204