Hearing this, the Emperor, feeling competitive, leaned in and insisted he could also shower his daughter with a pile of jewels. The family laughed and chatted, basking in a warm, harmonious atmosphere.
On the other side, the mood inside Jingren Palace was chillingly eerie. Wang Defa, who had come to deliver the message, was suffering in silence. *Why me?* he wondered. He was getting on in years, and this was sheer torture. He knew full well—as the Emperor’s confidant—just how insane the Empress was. She had even dared to try and kill the Emperor; what if she had another breakdown and finished him off?
Seeing the Empress’s face turn a ghostly, ghastly pale as she muttered, "Impossible, it's all a lie," over and over, Wang Defa felt suffocated, wishing he could tuck his head away. *Your Majesty, please, don’t be like this. I’ll kowtow to you, just wait until I’m gone before you have your breakdown, can you?*
Chapter 93