"Her surname is 'Zhao'! Her surname is 'Zhao'! She is the eldest princess of the Great Xuan!"
In the Imperial Study of the Great Xuan Dynasty, Li An trembled and lay prostrate on the cold floor in terror, not daring to lift his head even once.
The scalding tea slid down his forehead, dripping onto the floor and forming small splashes. However, he dared not utter a sound, for fear of angering the enraged emperor above.
"If anyone is to be an empress, it should be the empress of my Great Xuan!" Zhao Yi was so angry that his face turned red, veins bulged on his forehead, and his eyes revealed an uncontrollable rage.
He slammed the pine-flower inkstone in his hand to the ground, shattering the precious inkstone into pieces. Then, in a fit of rage, he overturned the teacup on the table, splashing tea everywhere and soaking the tablecloth and the memorials.
Then, as if possessed, he drew his sword from the side and slashed wildly at another table placed next to it.
"Your Majesty, no! Your Majesty!" Seeing the situation was dire, Li An was startled and quickly got up from the ground, rushing forward to try to snatch the long sword from Zhao Yi's hand.
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Your health is of utmost importance!" Li An cried out anxiously, gripping the sword hilt tightly and desperately trying to wrest the sword from Zhao Yi's hand.
"Get out—" Zhao Yi kicked Li An without hesitation and roared, "All of you, get out of here!"
Ang Lee was kicked and staggered back a few steps, but he still refused to give up and continued to step forward to try to persuade her.
"I told you all to get out, didn't you hear me, Li An!" Zhao Yi glared at Li An, his eyes burning with fury. His chest heaved violently, as if it were about to explode at any moment.
After a long while, Li An cleaned up the messy imperial study, and Zhao Yi regained his composure and sat back on the dragon throne to review memorials.
"Your Majesty—" Li An began cautiously, "This old servant has heard that Zhao Yun, the eldest daughter of Duke Zhao, will soon give birth. Your Highness values your sisterly bond with this commoner's eldest daughter and may return for a short stay. This old servant proposes, proposes—"
"Go ahead and say it, there's no need to worry," Zhao Yi said coldly.
"This old servant suggests that Prince Rui take this opportunity to work on Her Highness's position," Li An said hesitantly, but he also knew that since the Princess was already the Empress of Yun Dynasty, it was impossible for her to return to be the Princess of Da Xuan.
“Currently, when Your Highness is required to appear in person, it is still Lanru who is impersonating you,” Li An reported in a low voice. Seeing that Zhao Yi did not speak, he tentatively said, “This old servant has also heard that Yun Li is suffering from a strange poison. Although he is barely keeping his life, he lies in bed all day long, unconscious and without feeling, no different from a dead man.”
Zhao Yi's eyes suddenly lit up, and a plan came to mind.
In the imperial study during the reign of Emperor Yunchao, the flickering candlelight illuminated the entire room, making it bright and warm.
Zhao Zhi sat upright behind the desk, intently reviewing the memorials, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she were pondering something important.
Meanwhile, Prince Yunzhang sat lazily in a chair to the side, his gaze occasionally falling on the beautiful Empress, a faint smile on his lips.
"Your Majesty, did you take my suggestion to heart?" Yun Zhang suddenly broke the silence, his voice carrying a hint of teasing and anticipation.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhi didn't even raise her head, merely letting out a snort, clearly not taking Yun Zhang's words to heart. Just then, she seemed to remember something, and the vermilion brush in her hand suddenly paused, the red ink immediately spreading across the memorial, forming a mottled red mark.
Zhao Zhi felt a slight panic in her heart, but calmly picked up the vermilion brush and placed it on the brush mountain beside her.
Then, she slowly raised her head and looked at Yun Zhang through the five-finger-high memorial, her eyes filled with an ambiguous emotion.
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