After the morning court, Yan Ling went to the Eastern Palace, and together with Wen Yuesheng, they headed to the Dali Temple.

After the emperor issued the imperial edict to make Wen Yue Sheng the Crown Princess, he fell into a coma.

Before he fell unconscious, two edicts were issued: one was to deal with Xiao Jin and the entire Zhen Guo Gong family, and the other was to request that Wen Yue Sheng change her surname to Xiao before her ascension.

Even though the emperor’s waking time was getting shorter, he remained fixated on this matter.

Wen Yuesheng did not comment on it. To her, a surname or a name didn’t matter.

Before coming here, she only had a number.

Seeing the emperor’s insistence, she didn’t mind.

The imperial household had already prepared for the coronation ceremony and changed her surname to Xiao.

However, she privately kept her name as Wen Yuesheng, as a tribute to the original person who had been neglected by all her family members and starved to death under the confinement of her biological father.

Today, coming to the Dali Temple was also to settle everything the original owner had suffered, using her name for closure.

At the Dali Temple, not only was Wen Xun imprisoned, but also Xiao Jin and the entire Zhen Guo Gong family.

The prison here held the most notorious criminals of the court, and the stench was unbearable.

Xiao Jin had been suffering in this place for a while now, and he could hear people talk about the Crown Princess, seeing officials who were once associated with him and Xiao Ji fall from grace.

When he saw Wen Yuesheng standing before him, the sense of unreality he had felt before finally became real.

The woman he had once looked down upon, who only knew how to flatter and admire him, had truly become the ruler of a country.

She not only reached the position he once coveted but also trampled his dignity and everything he had into pieces.

In such a sorry state, the only thing waiting for him was death.

The pain he felt was beyond anything he had experienced in years.

It was only in this situation that he realized what kind of torment Wen Yue Sheng had endured.

The more he thought about it, the heavier his heart became.

He sometimes wondered, if he had the chance to go back in time, would he treat Wen Yuesheng better, or would he kill her before she grew her wings?

…Without her, perhaps he wouldn’t have fallen into this situation.

But all of this was just wishful thinking. Not only could he not go back, but even seeing Wen Yue Sheng was impossible.

She was now the exalted Crown Princess, while Xiao Jin was just a criminal doomed to die.

For many days, he had been enduring in torment.

Until last night, when he saw the guards cleaning the entire prison, the stench that had lingered around him was finally cleared.

He had a vague sense of something but didn’t dare think too deeply.

By today, Xiao Jin had been watching the only opening in the prison all day, calculating the time by the light coming through.

When the light was brightest, the Dali Temple gate was opened.

Wen Yuesheng came to the Dali Temple without any attendants.

When she truly stood in the prison, Xiao Jin saw her dark black dress and the dragon clawing at the fabric.

The golden dragon almost blinded his eyes.

He stared for a long time before his gaze finally landed on her.

The difference between the two of them was like heaven and earth.

“Crown Princess,” an official from the Dali Temple stepped forward and greeted Wen Yuesheng, calling Xiao Jin back to reality.

Crown Princess.

How ridiculous the world was, how quickly the tides of power changed.

Now, Wen Yuesheng was the supreme ruler.

He watched as the Dali Temple officials led Wen Yuesheng toward the cells inside.

Xiao Jin knew that Wen Xun and Wen Yuru, along with the rest of the Zhen Guo family, were imprisoned inside.

As he watched her pass by, her cold and emotionless gaze reminded him of when she was still in the Princess’s residence, before anything had changed.

The day he visited Wen Yurou, when she had just been released from confinement and wanted to dismantle the flower arch, she had been the same.

Cold, indifferent, and passed him by without a word.

And now, nothing had changed.

The moment was no longer the same as it once was. He had become a prisoner, and would never allow her to look at him again.

Xiao Jin watched as she was about to pass by him. In the end, he couldn’t bear it and spoke up, “Si Ning.”

Wen Yuesheng stopped in her tracks, and her cold, emotionless eyes finally landed on Xiao Jin.

For some reason, a thousand thoughts flashed through Xiao Jin’s mind. But in that moment, when her gaze met his, he suddenly wanted to know if, after all this time, she had ever loved him.

He didn’t understand why this ignoble thought had risen in his heart, but it became the thing he most wanted to clarify.

So, when Wen Yuesheng looked at him, his voice hoarse, he said, “Everything has already been decided.”

“But if Yu Ruo is innocent…” His deep eyes, as they once were when he cherished and doted on Wen Yu Ruo, pleaded, “Can the princess show mercy and let Yuruo go?”

He fixed his gaze on her face, not daring to relax, hoping to see some crack in her expression.

But he thought too much. From beginning to end, there was no change on Wen Yue Sheng’s face.

He didn’t give up and continued, “This prison is damp, and she’s frail. You are her sister…”

He knew all too well what words Wen Yuesheng hated the most, so he deliberately brought up Wen Yuruo in front of her, not hiding his favoritism for Wen Yuruo.

Had this been before, Wen Yuesheng would have suffered, would have been angry, would have felt pain—but she would never have reacted to him in such a way.

The person in front of him, however, when hearing his last words, responded with, “Is that so?”

Her face was cold and indifferent, with no trace of emotion.

She coldly replied, “So, when she turned to Wei Hengzhi, begging him to protect her during her exile, was that also part of your plan?”

Xiao Jin’s face instantly darkened.

In that moment, he wanted to see the emotions in Wen Yuesheng’s eyes, but all that appeared was on his own face—his veins were throbbing, and he looked at her in disbelief, shouting, “What did you say?!”

Wei Hengzhi had been by his side for many years, one of his closest people.

Wen Yuruo had shared a bed with him for days, and on the night before everything collapsed, she had said she loved him.

And now, before he was even dead, she had already eagerly jumped into Wei Hengzhi’s arms?

Learning this nearly drove Xiao Jin mad. His emotions surged, and he nearly ground his teeth to dust. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if his heart were being scraped.

He raised his eyes and could only see Wen Yue Sheng standing above him, the sunlight falling on her dress, making her golden dragon-patterned robes shine even brighter.

She spoke coldly, “What she did is no different from what you did before. You can’t stand it now?”

Xiao Jin felt dizzy and nearly couldn’t breathe.

Wen Yue Sheng had already shifted her gaze and spoke to the official beside her, “If that’s the case, move his cell next to Wei Hengzhi and Wen Yuruo.”

Xiao Jin suddenly raised his head, locking eyes with her. With each word, he asked, “Wen Yuesheng, did you ever care for me?”

She met his gaze with her cold, heartless eyes. “Care for you?”

“Do you deserve it?”

Those three words, Wen Yuesheng had spoken them before in front of the emperor, but now, it was different.

Xiao Jin felt like he had been torn apart by those three words. Watching Wen Yue Sheng leave without hesitation, he felt his heart was being ripped out.

Nearby, the official led Wen Yuesheng to the last cell.

Inside was Wen Xun.

Unlike Xiao Jin, Wen Xun still had the strength to confront Wen Yuesheng, but now…

He heard a noise and turned around, his face gaunt and skeletal.

When he saw Wen Yuesheng, his eyes nearly lit up.

He scrambled to get up, using both hands and feet, his voice hoarse, as if on fire, and cried, “Sheng’er, water… water!”

Since the day he met the Duke, he had not been given any food or water for seven whole days.

He was so hungry and dizzy, it felt like the world was spinning around him.

Now that he saw Wen Yuesheng, it was like seeing a savior.

After entering the cell, the official from the Ministry of Justice withdrew.

Only Wen Yuesheng and Wen Xun were left. Wen Yuesheng heard him and didn’t even move.

She merely watched him struggle and shout. When he was on the verge of collapse, she said coldly, “Is the death of Princess Huiyi related to you?”

Wen Xun’s eyes flickered violently.

In an instant, he frantically shook his head.

He didn’t know that Wen Yuesheng had already used this matter to accuse him, but he kept desperately saying, “No, no, your mother died of an illness, Sheng’er! Save me!”

What he said wasn’t wrong.

Princess Huiyi had indeed died of an illness.

However, the illness started a year after Wen Yuesheng was born, when she saw him spending every night in a private residence in the capital, having illicit affairs with Chen Shi, who was Wen Yuruo’s biological mother.

Even when she was seriously ill, she allowed Chen Shi to come to the palace for illicit relations, resulting in her illness.

Princess Huiyi had a difficult childbirth when Wen Yue Sheng was born, leaving her with lasting health issues.

Wen Xun knew she loved him and was sensitive, so he spent every day in front of her, doing these things.

He wasn’t unaware that a woman’s illness required careful nurturing, but by then, he no longer cared for the princess. For many years, he had harbored a hidden secret.

That secret was that, within the palace, he would endure the princess’s treatment and endure humiliation to live for many more years.

Finally, when the opportunity arose, he indulged himself, feeling a hidden sense of revenge.

And he thought no one would ever find out.

After all, the princess really had died of an illness.

He didn’t expect that after Wen Yue Sheng took power, a servant of the princess who had been in the countryside entered the capital and specifically sought out Wen Yue Sheng to reveal this truth.

After Wen Yue Sheng learned the truth, she directly issued an imperial decree.

“Sheng’er, give me water! It was all my fault in the past. From now on, if you don’t want me to disturb you, I’ll keep my distance. Is that alright?” Wen Xun swallowed, his whole body trembling with hunger. He hadn’t eaten or drunk for days, and it felt like his body was being torn apart. Swallowing felt like swallowing knives.

The sensation was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

But Wen Yuesheng simply coldly replied, “Didn’t you love locking people in confinement before?”

Wen Xun’s eyes widened in shock as he suddenly remembered. Before Wen Yuesheng underwent such a great change, he had locked her in a room, ignored her for days.

After that, she seemed like a different person, and the memory was deeply ingrained in him.

He never imagined that this one act of locking her away would lead to her starving and thirsting to death.

Her whole life, the original person had never received any love from him. Under his so-called punishment and favoritism, she had gone to her death.

In the dark, cold prison, Wen Yue Sheng coldly watched him and said, “Today, everything you’ve done will be returned to you.”

“It’s just not having water or food. It shouldn’t be too hard to endure,” Wen Yuesheng said, emotionless. “I’ll give you three days.”

“If you survive, I’ll give you a different way to die.”

“If not…” She coldly glanced at him. “Then you’re useless.”

“You agree, don’t you, Father?”