After asking the question, the Empress Dowager’s face changed, as if she had only then realized something troubling.
She glanced left and right. Seeing no one else in the Great Hall, she felt a measure of relief.
"You’re saying... that in the Ancestral Worship Hall today..."
"Mother!"
The Little Emperor interrupted her, utilizing only his gaze to communicate that things were indeed as she had deduced.
The Empress Dowager’s heart began to pound.
"Who else knows about this?"
Rubbing her chest, she then asked, "Regarding Suisui’s affairs, how much more are you hiding from me?"
The Little Emperor thought for a moment, about to say something more, when a strange screech suddenly echoed from the sky.
The mother and son looked up in confusion, just as something seemed to fly overhead.
It was brightly colored, with a long tail, and its cry was somewhat piercing.
"What on earth is flying here in the Palace?"
The Empress Dowager murmured this. She and the Little Emperor then walked out of Cining Palace, only to see many Palace Maids and Eunuchs gathered together, pointing and whispering amongst themselves excitedly.
"What kind of bird is that?"
"It’s so big!"
"And so beautiful!"
The Empress Dowager and the Little Emperor looked towards the enormous bird, their expressions changing.
"It’s a phoenix!"
A familiar voice echoed from the distance. It was the National Master.
The Empress Dowager and the Little Emperor’s faces lit up with joy upon hearing this.
"A phoenix! Could it be one that the National Master himself conjured?"
Phoenixes are legendary Divine Birds, recorded in history but never before seen in reality.
Just before this, the National Master’s disciple had performed "The Auspicious Arrival of the Phoenix" before the imperial presence.
So, upon seeing a phoenix in the sky now, the Empress Dowager and the Little Emperor naturally assumed it was one conjured by the National Master.
"This was not conjured by me," the National Master announced with a very solemn expression, having descended from the sky with fluttering robes to land directly beside them. "This should be a True Phoenix!"
"What? This is a True Phoenix?"
The Empress Dowager was overjoyed upon hearing this. Forgetting her composure, she looked with unreserved excitement in the direction the phoenix had flown.
The phoenix landed in the East Side Palace of Cining Palace. A few Maids and Eunuchs were present there, along with Xiaosuisui and Xie Pan’Er... plus a... cat...
The phoenix flew in the sky, circling ceaselessly, its gaze surveying the scene below.
"Why do I feel that this large bird looks somewhat like the phoenix the little Lucky Star conjured earlier?" Xie Pan’Er said.
Xiaosuisui focused her gaze. Her third eye naturally opened, giving her a clear view of the large bird circling above her head.
"It is a true phoenix, not an illusion. And this one looks to be a female!"
Xie Pan’Er was greatly surprised by Xiaosuisui’s words.
"You even recognize phoenixes, Princess! You truly are remarkable."
Xie Pan’Er was incredibly astonished. She quickly pulled Xiaosuisui into her embrace, as if wanting to shield her.
"I don’t know how either," Xiaosuisui said. "I just knew it with a glance. It’s as if I was always supposed to know it."
Xie Pan’Er nodded, praising Suisui generously.
"That shows you are intelligent. Truly remarkable."
After saying this, Xie Pan’Er pulled Xiaosuisui closer into her embrace again.
"Be careful! I keep feeling like this phoenix is staring at you. It looks like it’s about to dive right at you!"
Hearing Xie Pan’Er’s words, Xiaosuisui looked at the phoenix. Glancing left and then right, she realized she felt the same way!
"I feel that way too!"
Just as Xiaosuisui finished nodding in agreement, they heard Xiaobai let out a low HISS. Then, it suddenly leaped high into the air, reaching the altitude where the phoenix was circling.
It looked as though it was about to fight the phoenix circling in the sky!