"What does this mean?" Empress Dowager Zheng trembled, her shock evident. "Does affecting the royal family mean affecting His Majesty? Daoist priest, is that what it means? Is there a solution?"
Upon hearing the alchemist's words, Yue Jiang, who was sitting to the side, realized that the Phoenix Fate could be reduced to Minor Nobility, and Minor Nobility could be reduced to Mediocrity. This was because, starting with Empress Dowager Cheng, the Cheng family's daughters had only reached the rank of Imperial Concubine, which was Minor Nobility.
She just rejected Cheng Suyun yesterday, making it hopeless for her to enter the Eastern Palace. If she marries out of the palace in the future, wouldn't she become the mediocre person the sorcerer talked about?
Before the sorcerer could finish speaking, Empress Dowager Zheng's words made the atmosphere even more tense.
The Taoist priest continued to count on his fingers: "Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness, but His Majesty's offspring are few and far between."
Jing Huaixu was about to reprimand him.
Empress Dowager Zheng was on the verge of tears, and couldn't help but nod: "That's right, a dignified monarch has only five children in total, and they all came very late."
Empress Dowager Cheng then raised her hand and gently patted Empress Dowager Zheng's shoulder, scolding Fang Shi for his words: "His Majesty invited you to come and explain the reason, and you have become increasingly audacious and reckless."
"So what if His Majesty has few children? It's because he ruined his health in his early years for the sake of the court. But he still has an outstanding son like the Crown Prince. That's something that no matter how many children he has, he can't compare to."
The Taoist priest said, “Your Majesty is indeed blessed, but as the saying goes, fortune and misfortune can decrease or increase. His Highness the Crown Prince was recently married, and I heard that his wife is a princess from the Moon Kingdom, who is of noble birth and can certainly fulfill the responsibility of being His Highness’s virtuous wife.”
"But if the Cheng family, whose lineage is extremely noble, is not blessed, their offspring will likely face difficulties."
At this point, Yue Jiang had a general understanding of the key to this drama: no one could disregard her position as Crown Princess and challenge the Yue Kingdom, but she could use her offspring to intimidate others.
"Daoist Master, I don't understand what you mean. It was clearly the Empress Dowager Cheng who fell ill, so how did it become about His Highness's offspring? Is it because I am unlucky and unable to bear children for His Highness?"
Yue Jiang rose and took a small step to the center, her body swaying precariously. She lowered her head and approached Empress Ye, her words filled with sorrow.
"Mother, will my daughter-in-law implicate His Highness?"
"Don't say such discouraging things. Even the Empress Dowager had Yan'er back then. You and Yan'er are even younger, so you must be a blessed person."
Empress Ye was chosen by the late emperor to be Jing Huaixu's consort in order to balance the power struggle between Empress Dowagers Cheng and Zheng.
She was well aware of what had happened that day, and gently wiped away Yue Jiang's tears, clearly standing by her side.
Empress Dowager Zheng was Jing Huaixu's biological mother. Even if Empress Ye didn't care about the alchemist's words, she, as the imperial grandmother, had a reason to care and take advantage of the situation.
"The Empress is right. Yan'er is the Crown Prince. Why would he worry about having children? What does this have to do with Sister Cheng's illness?"
The Taoist priest said, "Everyone appreciates each other. The fact that Your Majesty was able to produce such a talented person as His Highness is because there is a person destined to bring you good fortune. And this person is the Noble Consort from the Empress's family."
"Empress Dowager Cheng's current illness is due to the lack of a blood relative to whom the blessing of the Crown Prince has been transferred, and then the blessing will return to the Cheng family..."
"Your subject Rongying has important matters to discuss with Your Majesty."
Before the sorcerer could complete the final step and take control of the situation, a loud shout suddenly rang out from outside.
Upon hearing that it was Rong Ying, Jing Huaixu immediately intended to summon her. He waved his hand and said, "Wait a moment. Rong Ying is Yan'er's confidante, so she must have something important to discuss."
"Bring Rong Ying in," he instructed his attendant.
Before long, Rong Ying entered, followed by three or four people, each carrying an old bronze cauldron.
Seeing this, Jing Huaixu feigned slight anger: "Rong Ying, this is the Empress Dowager's bedroom. Why bring over a bronze tripod for no reason?"
Rong Ying remained relaxed, showing no fear despite Jing Huaixu's minor questioning, and instead smiled and reported the good news.
"Your Majesty, great joy! This bronze cauldron was discovered in Your Highness's dream last night, in which the late Emperor appeared to you and instructed you to dig it up."
"His Highness said that the late Emperor not only appeared in his dream and asked him to dig up the cauldron, but also learned that Your Highness had destroyed the bandit Feng and humiliated Anguo, allowing the late Emperor to finally redeem himself before the ancestors. He was very grateful to His Highness as his grandson."
"Therefore, the late emperor bestowed upon Your Highness a good omen by presenting it with a tripod. Thus, Your Highness dares not enjoy such a good omen alone."
"I have specially ordered you to bring back this tripod and present it to Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will place it in the ancestral temple of the Jing clan. It will surely protect the peace of the Jing Kingdom, ensure the tranquility of the Jing Palace, and prevent evil spirits from disturbing it."
"Is this really true?" Jing Huaixu couldn't help but get up and take a few steps closer to the bronze cauldron.
In their Jing Kingdom, there is a rule that any bronze tripod that appears in a military camp must have been used by their ancestors to pray for blessings when they raised an army.
They would bury the bronze artifacts used in the victory in the mountains, and only the general who led the troops at the time would know about it.
Judging from its color and craftsmanship, the cauldron in front of Jing Huaixu clearly indicates that it was buried by the most valiant ancestors at the beginning of the Jing Kingdom.
"Good, good, good! This is a good omen for our Jing Kingdom. The future will surely be smooth sailing, free from disasters and calamities."
Upon hearing Jing Huaixu's words, Empress Dowager Cheng and Empress Zheng's expressions turned sour, and Cheng Suyun bit her lip tightly.
The Taoist priest, who had been speaking eloquently just moments before, suddenly became stiff and kept swallowing.
Yue Jiang secretly tugged at her lips. She asked Jing Yan to find a way to stop his unwanted advances, but unexpectedly, not only did he bring up the late emperor, but Jing Yan also found out the Jing family ancestors.
After Rong Ying and Jing Huaixu's smile faded, she looked around blankly.
He glanced at the sorcerer, then at Empress Zheng sitting in front of Empress Dowager Cheng, and finally at Empress Dowager Cheng, showing great concern.
"Your Majesty, before entering the palace I intended to go straight to the Imperial Study to find you, but I heard that Empress Dowager Cheng was unwell, so I brought the bronze artifacts here instead."
"In my opinion, the late emperor's timely appearance in this dream suggests that he was also thinking of Empress Dowager Cheng. With this cauldron, it is as if the late emperor is still here, and it will surely protect Empress Dowager Cheng and help her recover from her illness as soon as possible."
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