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I feel like the Emporer experienced a deep trauma against grown women induced by his own mother, thus not trusting and fearing grown women and liking young girls more. After he met the now Empress dowager as a child who comforted him, he realized that young girls could not harm him and were, in his eyes, not scary. Thus his sexual tendencies were not there from the beginning but were induced by trauma. Doesn't excuse his actions, but it gives a reason and showcases how trauma can produce such people. It also explains why he didn't visit the Empress Dowager after she grew to a certain age and how he reacted by being "r**ed" later on by Jinsh's mother, namely apologizing and quivering in fear. As I mentioned not an excuse, but it could definitely give a reason for why he did what he did.