The meaning had always been clear.
When that time came, Jin Ye would outlive her usefulness.
Her role as Crown Prince had an expiration date.
When the moment arrived, she was expected to step down, relinquish the throne to the Emperor and Empress’s beloved second child, and then... die.
But she was their child too.
She wasn’t some orphan plucked off the streets—she was their daughter, a child who carried both the Emperor and Empress’s blood.
Yet, they had rejected her and cast her aside.
This talisman was the cruel, tangible manifestation of that rejection.
And it was Prince Hwa, the first to beg for his life on the day Jin Ye launched her coup, who had revealed the existence of these talismans.
「Sister, are you aware of the curse talismans the Emperor buried throughout the palace?」
「They deny your rightful claim. If you want to assert your authority, you must destroy them.」
