On the Day He Seized the Throne, the Mad New Emperor Locked the Empress Dowager in His Bedchamber

【Unhinged Devoted Hound of a Discarded Prince × Cool, Stunning Empress | Two Powerful Strategists | Unhinged Devoted Hound | Mutual Redemption | No Harem, One-on-One Romance | Growing Up Together | Intense Push and Pull | Alternate History | Palace Intrigue and Political Schemes】 Everyone in Chang’an thinks that the twenty-third prince, Li Che, is worthless, fit only to rot in a ditch. Only Empress Cui Lingyi knows that this seemingly harmless youth is a vicious wolf capable of tearing the Tang Dynasty apart. Seven years ago, on a snowy night, she casually took pity on the discarded prince, who was nearly frozen to death, and gave him a fox-fur cloak and a hand warmer out of boredom. Little did she know that this one act of kindness would cost her her whole life. By day, he is the most filial of princes, respectfully feeding the old emperor “immortality pills” laced with poison. By night, he washes the blood from his body and slips into the heavily guarded Penglai Palace, pinning the most exalted woman in the Tang Dynasty against the phoenix bed. “Your Majesty, I killed Li Linfu for you. What reward shall I ask for tonight?” On the day the old emperor dies, snow and wind engulf the city. Stepping over the corpses of his father and brothers, he carries a bloodstained saber and presents her with the Imperial Seal, kneeling on one knee. “Lingyi, the old relic is dead. The Tang empire is yours, and so am I.” The ministers plead with their lives: “Your Majesty! The Empress Dowager is the mother of the nation. Taking no consorts for life violates our ancestral laws!” The new emperor gives a cold laugh and draws his blade, cleaving a stone pillar before the hall. “Anyone who dares mention the selection of consorts again can go guard the late emperor’s tomb! The only woman in my harem is the Empress Dowager!”