Grand Empress Dowager, Mutual Slaughter

Deep within the imperial palace.

After a brutal bloodbath, the dust had settled, and victory and defeat had been decided.

The Grand Empress Dowager, this elderly woman who had long lived in the depths of the palace and was well past eighty.

This spring, as the weather warmed, she received the joyful news that Zhou Jinyu had given birth to a prince. The old woman had become a great-grandmother.

Thinking of this!

Warmth stirred in the old woman's heart, and she conceived the thought of sewing a pair of children's shoes for her young great-grandson with her own hands.

For more than half a month, she had done it herself. As needle and thread danced back and forth, the soles became fine and sturdy.

The old woman had not hesitated to sacrifice her afternoon naps, pouring all her care into these tiny shoes.

Chen Sanzhong had tried to dissuade her several times but could not stop her. The Grand Empress Dowager was old and could not withstand such strain.

At this moment!

The Grand Empress Dowager picked up one of the tiger-head cotton boots, already finished and beginning to take shape.

Yet the old woman slowly tossed it into the charcoal brazier.

The flames roared, and in an instant, it turned to ashes.

Only then did the old woman slowly walk out of the Palace of Compassionate Tranquility.

She had not stepped beyond that secluded threshold in ten years.

The eunuchs and palace maids cried out for the procession to set forth, not daring to show the slightest negligence!

Eunuchs and palace maids followed in clouds, guards stood in ranks, yet none could conceal the faint sorrow on the Grand Empress Dowager's face.

Empress Zhou Jinyu, dressed in magnificent embroidered robes, followed closely at the Grand Empress Dowager's side. Her