I think it's the latter because if she loved his mother, killing her would make no sense. I think she just wants his actual face for whatever reason (maybe for her sick son but not sure, just guessing)
I think rather than love it's more of an obsession born out of resentment and jealousy. Rooted in just plain evil thoughts. She prolly wants everything queen had, like only thing she doesn't have rn that previous queen had is her face... She has power, king, a son... Just not her face... It's real creepy n scary more you think about it. I mean That's what I think, it could be something else too
It could also be that she really wanted to have the mother's face, and maybe, (since she's into witchcraft or something,) the ritual failed. Instead, she killed her, and now she's after the prince's face because they share a resemblance(?)
Yahh makes sense since she doesn't want to kill him. She needs him alive for her plan to work ig
I was thinking along the lines of she was trying to use a love spell but the thing she's in league with tricked her and she used the wrong spell, killing the mother. I mean, she obviously wanted to be in power, but being the next empress was not a given. Most emperors take many concubines so the scheme for power doesn't make complete sense when she could be just as well off as a concubine. Killing the prince to ingratitude her son as crown prince is obvious, but wanting his face? I wondered if she was going to try and transfer her son's soul into the prince's body. Soul swap them and then kill her son's body. But then she went and said that she didn't care about prestige and rank, so now I'm wondering what obsession she has with the prince. It seems more like love at first sight in a dark way. I mean, all his wives end up dead within the year of marriage so the empress must be obsessed with him in that manner. She also keeps visiting him and isn't outright hostile with him in a manner that suggests hate or even jealousy. Everything she's doing seems as though she wants him and is isolating him to get just that. Killed his mother out of jealousy, married his father to get closer, killed his wives out of jealousy, forces him to fail so his father ignores him....but I dunno. This one has me stumped, which is rare. I'm excited to see what happens next. She certainly isn't happy about him leaving the palace, thats for sure. I also have wondered if his green eyes have something to do with it. He's the only one who has eyes that aren't brown thats human.
Was she in love with the mother and is now in love with the prince because they look similar? Or is it something more insidious. Like she actually wants his face....like to possess his body or visage or something? So strange. I honestly don't know her motives now.