Xu Tianran's eyes nearly spewed fire. He wanted to rise, but the prosthetic limbs on his hands and feet had long since been removed by Ju Zi. He wanted to use Soul Power, but Ye Xishui had poisoned him with the Holy Spirit Cult's unique Soul Extinguishing Powder. By now, he was nothing but a cripple.
"Good. Very good, Ju Zi. You're really something!"
Xu Tianran practically ground out those words through clenched teeth, his eyes bloodshot as he spoke.
He had been emperor for several years and Crown Prince for over a decade. How could he fail to understand that this Self-Criticism Edict Ju Zi had written was, in truth, an Abdication Edict?
This Self-Criticism Edict had almost completely destroyed the legitimacy of his rule. Worse still, he was to wear mourning clothes for the fallen soldiers and fast for three years within the Imperial Palace!
Ju Zi was casting him into the Cold Palace.
Promoting Kong Deming to State Preceptor and Pillar of State, granting him status above all other officials—this was a gesture of goodwill toward the Soul Engineer families within the empire.
By ruling behind the curtain for three years, Ju Zi would have more than enough means to forge the entire imperial court into a solid block of iron.
Once those three years had passed, who would still care about a cripple like him trapped within the Imperial Palace?
No, she would not even need three years. Ju Zi would not let him off. Before long, he would likely die within the Imperial Palace without a sound.
"How had I never realized that my Empress was such a beautiful viper?"
Xu Tianran's eyes brimmed with venomous resentment. He flopped weakly on the bed, and the sensation of being no different from a cripple filled him