Princess Ata wants to see the person who removed the Gu Insect from her body?
Ji Youzhi asked, "Eunuch Ling, did you ask Princess Ata why she made this request?"
Eunuch Ling nodded. "I asked, but she wouldn’t say!"
Ji Youzhi nodded and, carrying Xiaosuisui, went to the Side Palace.
A little Palace Maid peeked out from behind a gallery pillar. Seeing the Lord God Hunter carrying the adopted Princess to the Imperial Study’s Side Palace, she quickly ran towards Cining Palace.
Ji Youzhi frowned. Someone was actually monitoring the Imperial Study’s Side Palace? Was there someone around His Majesty with malicious intentions?
"Lord God Hunter, do not worry. That person is loyal to the Empress Dowager!" Eunuch Ling explained. "Her Ladyship worries that His Majesty is delaying appointing an Empress and selecting consorts. She has tried all sorts of methods, but to no avail. Our Emperor is simply impervious to persuasion, and that’s why things have dragged on until now. And now, isn’t there a foreign princess living in the Side Palace? The Empress Dowager’s mind has started scheming again. Prince Yi also entered the Palace early this morning."
Ji Youzhi said nothing more. Since it was a battle between the Empress Dowager and the young Emperor, he decided not to get involved. Carrying Xiaosuisui, he continued toward the Side Palace where Princess Ata resided.
「Inside Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager was speaking with Prince Yi.」
"This Prince has also heard recent rumors," Prince Yi said. "It’s said that this commoner-born princess, personally ennobled by His Majesty, might be married to a scion of our Royal Family to select the future heir to the throne!"
Such words from Prince Yi were practically treasonous, yet when they reached the Empress Dowager’s ears, all she felt was sorrow.
"Wouldn’t I wish for him to marry and have children, appoint an Empress, and choose consorts? But, dearest brother, you should know about the incident a few days ago when Fengxian Hall was struck by lightning, shouldn’t you?"
Prince Yi sighed. "After I returned to my Mansion, I heard about it. It’s said that because the Courtiers were pressuring His Majesty to appoint an Empress and select consorts, almost to the point of trying to coerce him, that’s why dry thunder sounded over Fengxian Hall, and the spirit tablets of the late Emperor and the Great Ancestor were struck."
The Empress Dowager nodded. "Fortunately, that very night, I had heard from my son, the Emperor, about Xiaosuisui’s special nature. So, mother and son deliberately spread some rumors, framing it as a warning from the Imperial Ancestors to the Courtiers."
However, other rumors also circulated among the common people. These claimed it was because the young Emperor kept delaying the appointment of an Empress, and with him appearing to be on the verge of squandering the Ancestors’ legacy, that the Celestial Dao had sent a warning in the form of Celestial Thunder.
"Indeed," the Empress Dowager continued, "that day, when I was offering incense to the late Emperors and our Ancestors, I had just mentioned the names of a few maidens from the houses of Dukes and Ministers when suddenly, Celestial Thunder struck from the heavens!"
Upon hearing this, Prince Yi, who had initially harbored some doubts, immediately cast them aside.
"If that’s the case, then we can only leave it to fate. However, that adopted Princess is, after all, from the Ji Family. Has the Empress Dowager investigated her father’s family? Could she cause disturbances in the court in the future?"
Hearing Prince Yi’s words, the Empress Dowager’s eyes widened as she stared at him. She couldn’t help muttering, "Your Highness... you also think she will influence the selection of the Crown Prince in the future?"
Empress Dowager Xiao’s vision dimmed. When the Duchess of the Country-Protecting Duke had boldly proposed this conjecture initially, she had merely listened at the time and then forcefully suppressed it. But now, hearing Prince Yi say so, her heart began to pound violently.
"Empress Dowager," Prince Yi said, "if His Majesty is truly unwilling to marry, and he has the ability to keep the court officials in check, then this method isn’t entirely out of the question!"
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager’s body went limp, and she slumped directly onto her Phoenix Throne.
"Empress Dowager, this Prince happens to have an idea. Why don’t you hear it out before deciding what to do?"