Zhao Yunqi fell ill and suddenly fainted during a small court assembly in the Shengde Hall.

The ministers were so frightened they nearly lost their minds.

Even when he woke up and said he was fine, the senior officials did not believe him.

As fate would have it, the emperor fell ill, and the concubines naturally came to attend to him and show their loyalty. As a result, two of the pregnant concubines bumped into each other.

Wow, unsurprisingly, they all started having miscarriages.

After wailing in bed for two days, the two women both miscarried.

These events cast a shadow over the entire court.

At this critical juncture, Zhao Yunqi issued an order to recall everyone from the Gentleman's Academy.

Everyone fell silent.

My first thought is that the emperor mainly wants to summon Xiao Zhixing back, right?

Could it be that he intends to pass the throne to her?

But according to etiquette, she was a subject. Wouldn't passing the throne in this way sow the seeds of future trouble?

When the throne is no longer determined by bloodline succession, can any ambitious person in the world covet a piece of it?

The Zhao clan reacted strongly to this incident.

Zhao Zhong led a large group of people to kneel outside the Shengde Hall. They remained silent, but their message was clear: please think twice before you act.

"Even adopting the young master of the Prince Ze's family would be good."

At least they are still members of the Zhao family, and the world still belongs to the Zhao family.

Other ministers remained silent for the time being, or stood by and watched coldly.

The emperor ignored them, only meeting with ministers to discuss state affairs, as if he were unaware of their intentions.

That day, Zhao Bupi went to the palace to report something, but was stopped by Zhao Zhong, who said, "Bupi, tell His Majesty to ask him to see me."

Zhao Bupi's expression was indifferent. "Uncle Zhong, His Majesty has his reasons for not seeing you. I'm afraid I can't help you."

Zhao Zhong sighed, "This matter, sigh—"

Zhao Bupi turned and left, his back cold and hard.

The Zhao family both loved and hated him. Although he carried the Zhao family's reputation, he was too upright and never showed favoritism.

At this moment, Li Xiao came out from inside, intending to pass by.

Zhao Zhong reached out to stop them again, "Grand Tutor, could you please pass on a message for us? This humble official must request an audience with His Majesty."

Li Xiao stroked his beard and shook his head. "His Majesty simply won't see me. I won't provoke him. You should all go back. What kind of behavior is this, kneeling here? Are you trying to coerce the monarch?"

After saying that, he walked away leisurely. Zhao Zhong looked helplessly at the gate of Shengde Hall and said, "Gentlemen, let's all go back. If His Majesty insists on going his own way, what can we do?"

The others left with dark expressions, unwilling to go.

This farce sparked much private discussion in Shengjing about the lack of a successor to the emperor.

Many people believe that the emperor intended to pass the throne to Xiao Zhixing.

Some believe the emperor intended to summon the man back to carry out a covert operation.

Because of her power, the emperor dared not adopt a son. Perhaps once he controlled her, he would know who the crown prince would be.

Foreign spies were also stirring up trouble, making the atmosphere in the capital mysterious.

In the Shengde Hall, Zhao Yunqi closed his eyes to rest and communicated with the Emperor System. "Look, even Xiao Zhixing faces such great resistance. If I were to appoint someone else as the Crown Prince, they would tear me apart."

The first person to disagree would definitely be Xiao Zhixing.

Then came the former officials of the Yin Dynasty, and then the members of the Zhao clan.

In the end, even those who admire Xiao Zhixing will oppose him.

The Emperor System had been much quieter lately, rarely speaking anymore. Hearing him say this, it replied:

"I understand. Since you want me to be bound to her so badly, fine, I'll grant your wish. But if Xiao Zhixing harbors resentment in the future and breaks off relations with me like Xiao Yan did, affecting the world, don't come crawling out of the ground and blaming me."

Zhao Yunqi nodded, "I don't care about what happens after I die. I trust you can handle your relationship with her well."

"Actually, compared to the emotional Xiao Yan, the rational Xiao Zhixing is more suitable to cooperate with you, isn't he?"

After a moment of silence, the Emperor System sighed deeply, "I admit that."

It simply couldn't control its aversion to being female. Back when it was bound to Xiao Yan, it endured it to the extreme.

Who wouldn't feel uncomfortable living with a mouthful of poop in their mouth every day?

It was helpless itself.

The thought of being potentially tied to Xiao Zhixing made it feel extremely uncomfortable.

Zhao Yunqi was genuinely curious, "Why would the person who created you engage in this kind of discrimination?"

Emperor System: "I don't know, perhaps... could it be that he was hurt by a woman?"

It wondered vaguely why those memories were becoming increasingly blurry.

Xiao Zhixing sneered. Sooner or later, he would find out who was behind this and beat them until they knelt down and begged for mercy. What a disrespectful act against women! Ha.

The group from Junziyuan were all on their way back from Beizhou. They weren't fools; upon receiving the message from the capital, they began to ponder their next move.

Is Xiao Zhixing likely to ascend to the throne?

Besides her, who else in this world had the prestige to ascend the throne?

Who would dare to climb over her head and claim to be king?

Or the emperor could appoint her as regent and then adopt a young son to succeed her.

This is the approach they believe is the most suitable.

Everyone knows that Prince Yuansheng is probably the daughter of the late Empress, and in accordance with the last Emperor Yin's will, he will not take the initiative to provoke a civil war.

Given this premise, it is the best choice for His Majesty to adopt his son to ascend the throne and have Xiao Zhixing assist him in stabilizing the realm.

But would Xiao Zhixing be willing to accept this? Would he grant the emperor's wish?

People had different thoughts; some were worried, while others began to make plans.

Xiao Zhixing noticed their expressions and nodded.

They subconsciously placed her on a higher level, never imagining that they could replace her, and that alone satisfied her.

It wasn't some kind of champion's mentality of having to be number one, but rather their composure satisfied her.

This also means that she has finally subdued them, making them dare not have the slightest intention to compete.

Many people in Shengjing City share this idea.

Especially the Zhao clan members who were enlightened stopped going after the emperor and began to secretly hope that their children might have a chance.

Some were so eager to rush to the Empress Dowager's villa where the children were being held to see their own kids.

He secretly instructed them to behave well.

This immense wealth may be on its way.

There were also those who watched coldly as various forces played their tricks; they were either neutral, loyal to the emperor, or had not yet received orders from Xiao Zhixing.

Feng Liyan became anxious and paced back and forth in the mansion.

"What should we do?" If Xiao Zhixing becomes the regent, second only to the emperor, will the Feng family still have a way to survive?

"My lord, someone wants to see you. This is his identification token." Suddenly, the steward quietly came to report, handing him a token.

Feng Liyan glanced at him, a dark glint in his eyes, and said, "Let him in."

The discussions about establishing an heir in Shengjing City grew increasingly heated, and even during the grand court assembly, officials couldn't help but jump out and urge the emperor to adopt a son.

Amidst the commotion, Xiao Zhixing and his entourage returned to Shengjing, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

How will this turmoil end?

Xiao Zhixing returned to the Prince's Mansion and had just finished washing up when Bai Fengmei came to pay her respects and told him about some things that happened in the capital.

“Your Highness, I have a feeling that tomorrow’s grand court ceremony is unusual,” Bai Fengmei said.

It's at this crucial juncture again, and everyone feels that the emperor is about to make a move.

Xiao Zhixing smiled mysteriously, "No need to rush, we'll know the outcome tomorrow. Just observe and wait, there's no need to do anything special."