Seeing that he still seemed unrepentant, she suppressed her anger and said, "Oh? If that's the case, then where is the noble person that Grand Historian keeps talking about?"

The Grand Historian hesitated for a moment before replying, "This... Your humble servant has not yet divined it..."

"Hmph..." The Empress Dowager sneered coldly at him, her eyes filled with contempt.

Then, raising his head with smug pride, he said, "My Dongning Kingdom is currently at its zenith. The nation is prosperous, the government is enlightened, there is an abundance of talent, the territory is vast, the defense is strong, and the people live in peace and contentment. It is the wealthiest and most prosperous country on the Lingkong Continent. With such peace and prosperity, and favorable weather, what need is there for any benefactor to help us?!"

After a moment's thought, she suddenly glared angrily at the Grand Historian who was still kneeling, and her attitude became extremely serious as she sternly reprimanded him: "In my opinion, it is clearly you, Grand Historian, who are afraid that the world is not chaotic enough, who are fabricating stories out of thin air, inciting people's hearts, and intentionally disrupting the order of our dynasty. I wonder what your intentions are?"

However, the imperial astronomer, upon hearing this, did not seem particularly frightened. He simply bowed and continued to advise her: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Although I have not yet determined the exact location of the noblewoman who brought this auspicious aura, I do know that she is currently within the palace grounds. Moreover, as the saying goes, 'Be mindful of danger even in times of peace.' Furthermore, Your Majesty may not know this, but we have observed the celestial phenomena day and night and discovered that several days ago, the previously dimming Purple Star has now become intermittently bright. I believe that this will be the time when the noblewoman enters the palace. I fear... I fear..."

Upon hearing this, he was immediately taken aback, a very bad premonition welling up in his heart. He then raised his voice and shouted, "I'm afraid it's something... Speak up now!"

Taishi hesitated, but his words were already out, like an arrow on a bowstring, ready to be released. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and timidly say, "I'm afraid, I'm afraid that Dongning will not be able to escape this national calamity!"

Upon hearing this, the Empress was so startled that she stood up abruptly. She even lost her balance due to the force of her movement, and her body swayed slightly. The maid beside her rushed forward to support her and said with concern, "Your Majesty the Empress!"

However, she reached out to stop them. Before she could pay attention to them, she pointed at the man and quickly came to her senses. She was furious and said excitedly, "How dare you! What did you say about the fall of a country? How could you, a mere prefect, utter such words so casually?"

Unable to wait any longer, she hurriedly summoned the guards: "Guards, guards, seize this arrogant scoundrel and drag him away to the imperial prison. I will report to the Emperor and punish him accordingly."

Upon hearing the voice, two guards immediately entered from outside the door, forcibly lifted him from the ground, and dragged him out.

As the Grand Astrologer was dragged out of the palace, he continued to hysterically shout, "The true dragon emerges from the sea, the spirit realm is unified, the phoenix rises from the ashes, reborn from the flames, life is death, and death is life. My Dongning is about to perish, about to perish! Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Hearing the heart-wrenching, utterly miserable cries emanating from that person, the Empress stood stunned in the main hall, completely dumbfounded.

Because of anger, fear, or disbelief, I felt my teeth chattering up and down incessantly.

After a moment of contemplation, he slowly sat down again, muttering incoherently to himself, "Impossible, absolutely impossible, this Grand Historian must be insane, yes, he must be insane..."

After saying that, he suddenly remembered what the prefect had just said and silently repeated to himself, "A woman who entered the palace a few days ago, a woman..."

Suddenly, she spoke again, ordering everyone in the hall, "Guards, search this palace thoroughly! Find out what kind of strange people have infiltrated this palace recently. Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find that vile woman for me. I will personally skin her alive!"

Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's resolute and fierce order, everyone obeyed, saying, "Yes!"

After the morning court session, in the study of the King of Dongning.

With a creak.

A young guard pushed open the door and entered, carrying a red wooden tea tray with dragon carvings. Inside were several plates of delicate pastries and a pot of steaming black tea. He warmly carried it to the heated couch in the study of the King of Dongning, saying with a delighted expression, "Your Majesty, the weather is exceptionally cold today. Please have some hot black tea to soothe your throat and warm yourself up!"

King Qi Liao of Dongning didn't even glance at him, still sitting solemnly at his desk, lost in his own heavy thoughts, and only replied softly without thinking, "Leave it there, I have no appetite right now."

The young guard glanced at the unfinished chess game on the table by the heated couch, a faint smile playing on his lips, and exclaimed, "Oh, it seems His Majesty is about to win this game with the Grand Historian after the morning court session!"

The King of Dongning remained silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "The game is coming to an end. Although we have the upper hand at the moment, there are many examples of losing the whole game with one wrong move."

After speaking, he fell silent again.

The young guard put down what he was holding and, seeing the unprecedented melancholy and helplessness on his master's face, asked, "Is Your Majesty still troubled by the divination of the Grand Astrologer at the morning court session?"

The King of Dongning did not speak, but only let out a long sigh: "Alas..."

The young guard poured a cup of hot tea and advised, "So-called divination is, after all, just a prediction of what will happen in the future. Since it is just a prediction, it will certainly not become a reality! So why is Your Majesty so worried? Perhaps, before the disaster even arrives, Your Majesty's health will already be ruined by your worries."

Upon hearing this, the King of Dongning seemed to finally show a slight emotion. He reached out and took the tea offered by the guard, saying, "There are some things you don't know. If it had been someone else's divination at the morning court this day, I might not have taken it to heart at all. But it was Lord Zhang's divination. Do you know that Lord Zhang's divination skills are particularly accurate?"

Seeing the unusually curious look in the eyes of the young guard, the King of Dongning took a sip of the hot tea in his hand and then began to reminisce about the past.

"I remember that year, during the scorching heat of summer, the entire Dongning Kingdom, both inside and outside the palace, was swept away by an unprecedented plague. That year was also the first year that Minister Zhang had entered the court. He was young, yet full of vigor. When I, the court officials, and the imperial physicians were all helpless against the epidemic, Minister Zhang, fearless as a newborn calf, had already predicted through divination that a noble person would come from afar to help Dongning overcome this calamity. Sure enough, in the end, the Empress descended from the heavens and saved my people from their suffering. In the end, the disaster that seemed destined to destroy Dongning was quelled."

As he recounted the fragments of his past with the Empress Dowager, the old King of Dongning's eyes gradually welled up with tears.

The young guard asked with a puzzled look, "Since Lord Zhang's divination skills are so astonishing, why couldn't he foresee that the Empress would later suffer an unexpected misfortune?"

The King of Dongning let out a long sigh and recalled, "Lord Zhang, it wasn't that he didn't foresee the Empress's fate. On the contrary, from the very beginning, Lord Zhang had already foreseen that the Empress did not belong to Dongning; she was a woman with a special mission. Lord Zhang also insisted on advising me not to defy Heaven and forcibly keep her by my side. Otherwise, one day, the country would surely perish. Now it seems that all of this is gradually becoming a reality..."

Upon realizing this, the King of Dongning suddenly slammed his fist heavily on the desk in front of him and shouted, "All of this is punishment, it is Heaven's punishment for me... a prophecy of national ruin!"

The young guard frowned, tilted his head, and thought for a moment, finding it quite unbelievable. Then he suddenly asked, "Do you know if there is any way to remedy this?"

The King of Dongning rested his head on his hand, pondered for a moment, and said, "Unless..."

Before he could finish speaking, the young guard was extremely surprised and hurriedly asked, "Is there really a way to remedy this? Unless what?"

As the King of Dongning pondered, he shook his head helplessly and denied it, saying, "That's impossible, it's definitely impossible."

The young guard was extremely curious and persisted in asking, "May I ask Your Majesty, what exactly is it?"

The King of Dongning composed himself and said, "Unless I can find the bloodline of the Empress, only she can ensure the prosperity and long-term stability of my Dongning Kingdom for thousands of generations."

"The Empress's own bloodline..." The young guard, his black hair all tied up, hugged himself, one hand touching his shiny chin, silently pondering and repeating it over and over again in a low voice.

Suddenly realizing what was happening, he hurriedly said, "Then why doesn't Your Majesty quickly send more imperial guards, even if it means turning the entire Lingkong Continent upside down? A living person can't just disappear without a trace; there must be some clues!"

Finally, the King of Dongning slowly stood up, walked to the eaves by the door, and gazed at the snow falling heavily in the silent courtyard. After a moment of contemplation, he said softly, "Time flies; almost twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. If that child had truly been born and was still alive, the Third Prince, who has schemed and plotted all these years to find her in order to win my favor, gratitude, and trust, would surely have found her. I fear that she has long since turned to dust along with her stubborn mother..."

Seeing the deep melancholy and sorrow in the old king's eyes, the young guard felt extremely sad, but for a moment he seemed to have no words to comfort him.

The two stood there, stunned, as if they had been frozen in time with the vast snowscape around them, forming an eternal picture...