Consort Zhuang looked at the Empress Dowager, waiting for the Empress's explanation. Zhuang Jie knew that if she didn't confirm the matter with the Empress, she would definitely be the one who got hurt this time. So she started to use her silver tongue to argue and make a fuss.

"Empress Dowager, don't listen to the Empress's lies! We should get the master to save the Emperor as soon as possible!"

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Xin thought, "Yes, saving the Emperor is the most important thing. Now is not the time to question and punish him."

Empress Dowager Xin glanced at Guan Zhiyue before saying to the crowd, "Let's go back to Chengqian Palace first."

"Master, look, we've found everything. Shouldn't the Emperor wake up?"

The so-called master didn't dare to speak after seeing Shan Liuxian watching the show behind Guan Zhiyue.

Everyone knows Shan Liuxian, the Grand Preceptor of Nan Ding Kingdom. He is a man who knows everything about heaven and earth, and is proficient in summoning wind and rain. These half-baked people would be humiliated in front of a master.

The master fell silent, and Empress Dowager Xin received no reply. Then, Granny Jin spoke up again to remind her.

"Master, the Empress Dowager is asking you a question."

The master still didn't answer, keeping his head down and not daring to raise it. Right now, all he wanted was a hole in the ground; he wanted to go inside and didn't want to die here!

"Master, the Empress Dowager is asking you a question."

Granny Jin's voice rang out again, but the master still did not speak.

Nie Baolin stepped forward and tugged at the master's sleeve, then said, "Master, the Empress Dowager is asking you a question. Shouldn't the Emperor be awake by now?"

The master then pretended to have just heard it and came to his senses, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was just reciting the Heart Sutra to pray for the Emperor's well-being!"

"Now that the vessel has been found, the Emperor should have woken up by now. Let's hurry back and take a look."

Guan Zhiyue, after hearing this utter nonsense from the master, turned her head to look at Shan Liuxian and asked, "Has the Emperor woken up?"

Shan Liuxian, holding a feather fan and looking every bit the elegant young gentleman, calmly fanned himself and said mysteriously, "Your Majesty, if you're so eager to know, why don't you hurry back and take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Zhiyue thought the man was quite handsome a second ago, but the next second she wanted to say, "Damn it, what's so handsome about him? Handsome my ass!"

"Your Majesty, it's not good to curse in your heart. I think I'm quite handsome." Guan Zhiyue had just finished thinking this when she heard Shan Liuxian suddenly say this.

Guan Zhiyue tilted her head to the side, glanced at Shan Liuxian, and said, "You can hear my thoughts?"

Shanliuxian shook his head!

"Then how do you know what I'm talking about?" Guan Zhiyue asked.

Shanliu Xian laughed and said, "This humble Taoist is skilled in divination."

Guan Zhiyue: "..." I wonder if you can predict that you'll face a major disaster this year!

Shan Liuxian smiled but didn't say anything. Consort Zhuang and Consort Nie, who had been watching Guan Zhiyue closely, both had expressions of watching a show.

This empress is truly shameless; she doesn't even spare a Taoist priest. Now that the emperor's life or death is uncertain, she's still flirting with the imperial advisor.

"Empress Dowager, look at the Empress! What time is it? She's still chatting and laughing with the Imperial Advisor. It's utterly shameless!" Nie Baolin walked up to the Empress Dowager and began to rant and rave.

The Empress Dowager stopped and looked behind her. She did see the Empress and the Imperial Advisor walking together, but she did not see the two laughing or talking.

"Alright, Consort Nie, all I want to do now is see if my son has woken up. I don't have time to deal with these things. We'll wait until His Majesty wakes up before making any plans," Empress Dowager Xin said as she walked.

****

Chengqian Palace.

The large group arrived at the entrance of the Emperor's palace. Hua Quan was still organizing the manufacturing department to repair the damaged door when this large group of people returned.

"Lord Ji, come out quickly!"

"They're back~~"

Ji Wudang felt like a hundred thousand grass mud horses were galloping through his mind. How could he possibly live like this every day? Ever since the emperor fell into a coma, it was either ministers or concubines, and now even the empress dowager was following suit.

Empress Dowager Xin looked at Hua Quan and asked, "Hua Quan, has the Emperor woken up?"

Hua Quan respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has not yet woken up."

Empress Dowager Xin immediately realized something was wrong. Didn't the master say that once this thing was found, the emperor would wake up? Why hasn't the emperor woken up even though the thing has been found?

"Master, didn't you say that once the item is found, the Emperor will wake up?" Empress Dowager Xin asked.

The master was about to run away when he heard that the emperor was still asleep, but he was blocked by Eunuch Chen and several other eunuchs. Now, hearing the Empress Dowager's question, he hurriedly knelt on the ground and trembled as he said, "Your Majesty, I don't know either."

“Master, since you are so capable of finding this thing, why didn’t you know that the Emperor was still unconscious?” Guan Zhiyue stepped out from the crowd.

When Consort Zhuang and Consort Nie heard Hua Quan say that the Emperor had not yet woken up, their hearts skipped a beat.

"Your Majesty, isn't your question a bit ridiculous? Isn't this the very thing you created? And now you actually have the nerve to ask the master?" Consort Zhuang said arrogantly to Guan Zhiyue.

Before Guan Zhiyue could speak, he said to the Empress Dowager, "Your Majesty, you see, even now the Empress is still trying to argue and shift the blame onto the Master."

Empress Dowager Xin remained silent, only looking calmly at Guan Zhiyue, wanting a reasonable explanation from her.

"Yue'er, this~~"

"Mother, this matter was not done by your son, and your son does not know anything about it. Why don't you ask the Imperial Preceptor Shan to see what the reason is?" Guan Zhiyue said calmly and without arrogance or impatience.

Fearing that the matter would be exposed, Nie Baolin quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has treated you well. Why would you hurt him like this?"

"Do you know that this thing is forbidden in the palace? Such a harmful thing has never appeared in the palace for so many years. Why is it that as soon as you are involved, all sorts of things appear?"

"Are you a human or a ghost? You're here to harm the Emperor, aren't you?"

"If it weren't for you, why would this thing exist now, along with waterwheels, hot pots with two broths, and glassware? How did you come up with all these things?"

Everyone present turned to look at Guan Zhiyue upon hearing this, but Guan Zhiyue looked at Nie Baolin with a blank expression and asked, "Miss, who are you? And where did you come from?"

Upon hearing this, Nie Baolin was furious. Consort Zhuang, who was standing nearby, realized what was happening and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this is Nie Baolin from the Emperor's harem."

"Oh, so you're Baolin, the sixth-rank concubine of the Eighty-One Imperial Wives. How dare you, a mere Baolin, be so insolent before me? Who gave you the audacity?"

"I am standing right in front of you. Tell me, am I a human or a ghost?"

"I am compassionate towards our people who have worked hard. I racked my brains to come up with the waterwheel to help them irrigate their fields. How come it is considered a ghost's idea in your eyes?"

"I am worried that our national treasury is empty. The country needs to develop, so it must constantly improve and create our own products. The carefree prince worked hard, experimenting day and night, and finally came up with glass. How come it is considered a ghost's doing when it comes to you?"

"Nie Baolin, you'd better explain to me properly what's going on with this wretched doll, and what's this whole charade about today?"

Guan Zhiyue launched a series of counterattacks, forcing Nie Baolin to retreat repeatedly until he finally collapsed to the ground, tears welling up in his eyes. He bit his red lips, looking utterly aggrieved, a far cry from his earlier domineering demeanor.

Nie Ying, eighteen years old, has been in the palace for two years and has only seen the Emperor once, secretly across a pond in the Imperial Garden. Since then, she has been melancholic and somewhat erratic. Now, bombarded by Guan Zhiyue's words, she is completely bewildered.

Seeing that everyone present was silent, Guan Zhiyue slowly spoke up: "There is only one truth! No matter what your intentions are, you should not joke with other people's lives, especially since the Emperor is lying in the room right now!"