Familiar with the routine, Xiaosuisui bent down at the Empress Dowager’s gesture. Just as she was about to kowtow, she heard the terrified shout of her honorary father, the Emperor.
"No! Don’t kneel..."
BOOM!
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning struck down. Xiaosuisui’s eyes flew wide open, and her head buzzed. Before she could react, the altar table displaying the ancestral tablets of the Great Han’s imperial ancestors in front of her was struck.
Terrified, the Empress Dowager lost all color. Her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground.
A flash of imperial yellow blurred before the Empress Dowager’s eyes. She saw her son, the Emperor, dart past her. He then swiftly and anxiously rushed to the prayer cushion, snatched up the little dumpling, and stared in terror at the ancestral tablets before them, each one struck by lightning!
"Who... who told you to kneel?"
The young Emperor was furious, his face livid.
Feeling her honorary father the Emperor’s anger, Xiaosuisui felt somewhat wronged. Confused, she pointed at the Empress Dowager, who was still limp on the ground.
"It was Grandma!"
The young Emperor slapped his forehead and closed his eyes for a moment. Only then did he notice the Empress Dowager, who was frightened out of her wits.
"Stay still and don’t move!"
Putting Xiaosuisui down, the young Emperor then went to help the Empress Dowager from the ground.
"Mother! Are you alright?"
The Empress Dowager looked at the young Emperor, her mouth twisting in anger. "You truly have a daughter and forgot your mother!"
The world’s most unsolvable dilemma: if your wife and your mother fall into the water at the same time, whom do you save first?
At this moment, the Empress Dowager couldn’t help but suspect that if she and her future daughter-in-law were to fall into the water simultaneously, her precious son would undoubtedly save his daughter-in-law first!
"Mother, please calm your anger," the young Emperor said. "There is something I haven’t yet informed you about. Please don’t be upset. Once I’ve dealt with Fengxian Palace being struck by lightning, I will come to you to ask for forgiveness!"
Hearing the young Emperor’s words, the Empress Dowager finally realized—Fengxian Palace had been blasted!
"How... how could this happen?"
"The weather has been fine all day. And I haven’t heard the Imperial Astronomical Observatory report any recent weather anomalies, have they?"
The Empress Dowager composed herself for a few breaths, her thoughts finally clearing. She looked up at the rows of ancestral tablets before her, all blackened and charred from the strike, still unable to comprehend it!
The young Emperor silently glanced at his little adopted daughter, who stood to one side looking exceptionally well-behaved. The anomaly isn’t the Celestial Phenomenon, he thought, it’s this precious treasure right in front of you, Mother!
"You’ve just had a fright, Mother. Don’t dwell on it. I will escort you back to Cining Palace to rest."
Saying this, he supported the Empress Dowager and started to walk.
"Wait!" The Empress Dowager had only taken a few steps before she halted, then she turned to look at Xiaosuisui.
Seeing the Empress Dowager’s gaze, the young Emperor’s heart skipped a beat. Could Mother have discovered something unusual about my precious daughter?
"Mother! Never mind Suisui for now. You’ve been frightened; returning to Cining Palace to recuperate is what’s important."
As soon as the young Emperor said this, the Empress Dowager shot him a glare.
"What are you saying?" she rebuked.
"Suisui is just a child. If you don’t take her back with you, are you planning to leave her here all alone? You are the Emperor; you should love your people as your own children, and what’s more, she’s your adopted daughter! The Celestial Phenomenon is abnormal, and one cannot stay in this Fengxian Palace. If you leave her here alone, and something untoward happens to her, won’t your conscience ache?"
The young Emperor’s lips twitched involuntarily at her words.
Feeling helpless, he beckoned to Xiaosuisui.
"Suisui, come here. Come with your honorary father to escort your Grandma back to Cining Palace!"
Xiaosuisui very obediently stepped forward and proactively offered her hand to the Empress Dowager.
When the three of them exited Fengxian Palace, they were met by the anxious inquiries of the civil and military officials.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, Your Majesty the Emperor," the officials began, "we presume to ask, what has transpired in Fengxian Palace? Why has there been divine punishment? Why did Celestial Thunder descend as a warning?"