At that time, the Empress Dowager insisted on beating Xiao Chun to death. It was only because the Crown Prince repeatedly pleaded with the Emperor that Xiao Chun's death sentence was evaded. However, Xiao Chun's leg was crippled from the beating. It was the Emperor who secretly sought an Imperial Physician to treat Xiao Chun, allowing him to cling to life, but he was left with a limp that made walking difficult afterward, and was sent to a remote government office like the Violence Room.
Though the Emperor has now ascended the throne, the harem remains under the Empress Dowager's control. With her powerful maternal family, she wouldn't have had the leverage to easily force the Emperor to choose her son's child as the Crown Prince otherwise.
