"Your Majesty," Shuanzi called out again from outside.
"Come in, what's wrong?" Shuanzi just went out; he must have some errands to run.
"Your Majesty, the Empress in the palace has suddenly fallen seriously ill," Shuanzi said, only halfway through his sentence.
Yan Nan Gui frowned: "You lot, go out." She was referring to the wet nurses.
The wet nurses glanced at the seventh princess playing in front of her mother and didn't take her away.
"what else?"
"It was someone from our area who brought the news that Her Majesty the Empress has suddenly fallen seriously ill. She has had a chronic illness for many years, and for the past month, she has been feeling unwell. Now she can't get out of bed," Shuanzi said.
According to Huang Bai and the others, although the Empress had a problem after her miscarriage when she entered the palace, and her menstrual period was very long every month, this time it's not right. Perhaps she took something cold.
"So, someone did something to her?" Yan Nangui asked.
"This is what I think. I am foolish and may be wrong. But if I am right, who is it? I'm afraid Consort Xiangxian is the first one to be suspected," said Shuanzi.
Yan Nangui frowned: "That's too obvious."
"Yes, the news hasn't spread completely yet, but His Majesty must already know. What do you think?"
"There's nothing I can do. Her Majesty's purpose in coming out this time is to appease and recruit scholars from all over the country. Unless she passes away, Her Majesty will not return early."
One of the bad habits of men in ancient times was that everyone was more important than their wives.
The same applies to emperors.
"Yes, then what do you think needs to be arranged?"
"Well then, you should set off back to oversee things. The Empress is seriously ill, and Consort Xiangxian will definitely be handling all the affairs of the palace alone this time. I'm afraid the Empress Dowager has caused her a lot of trouble. You should go back and lend her a hand," Yan Nangui said.
"Yes, but I've left, so you'll have to leave here..."
"Kong Qing and San Qi are here too, and Jiang Xiang and the others are all here, nothing will happen. You can go ahead," Yan Nan Gui said.
Shuanzi had no choice but to agree and went to get ready to get up.
After thinking for a moment, Yan Nangui summoned Consort Ke and the others.
"I just received news that Her Majesty the Empress is seriously ill. I sent my eunuchs back home. I don't know the specifics yet. But the news that reached here means that Her Majesty the Empress's health is indeed not good."
"It must be serious. Her Majesty the Empress has been plagued by illness and misfortune these past few years," Consort Yi sighed.
"Yes, I wonder what His Majesty's plan is?" Consort Ke asked.
"I haven't asked yet. His Majesty is still at Qinshan Academy today. He must be busy. He's going to Bailu Prefecture in a few days. He can't just return to the palace because the Empress is ill, can he?"
"Your Highness is right," said Consort Huiling. "It's just that Her Majesty the Empress is ill, and none of us are here, so there's really nothing we can do."
“Yes, but we’re here to serve His Majesty, so we can’t be careless,” said Consort Yang.
"There's no need to be anxious or nervous right now. Let's wait for news. I'm telling you this so you're aware of the situation," Yan Nangui said.
After thanking her, everyone went their separate ways.
The next day, the entire Murong family came to see Consort Ke.
The two of them had already discussed it privately yesterday, but today they were using more polite and formal language.
Just as Consort Ke was meeting with her family, Yan Nan went to the front to see the Emperor.
The emperor didn't visit the academy today either. He's busy with other matters.
When she arrived, several local officials came. Upon seeing her, they dared not look closely and hurriedly bowed, addressing her only as "Your Majesty."
They probably didn't distinguish them carefully.
"Gentlemen, please do not stand on ceremony. Has my arrival at this time disturbed you?"
"How could I dare? We are all settled now, Your Majesty, please continue with your business," Governor Liu hurriedly replied.
"That's good." With that, she went inside.
Someone behind whispered, "That's Consort Chen."
The group had walked away. Only after leaving the palace did they dare to discuss the matter.
"General Yan's eldest daughter is indeed extraordinary."
"I've heard that this person is extremely favored, from the mansion to the palace, and now he enjoys even greater favor."
"Yes, it's a pity they have no son. I suppose that lady from the Murong family is also favored, and the Third Prince would be quite good."
After a few brief words, the group dared not say more.
It's not that I'm afraid of saying too much, it's just that if you speak, there are people listening, and if you say something wrong, what if something goes wrong?
The officialdom has never been a gentle place.
As Yan Nangui entered the main hall, Shu Chengfeng smiled and said, "I heard you've come. Sit down. I'll be done with these things."
Yan Nangui did not sit down, but went over to take a look.
All the materials were submitted by local officials.
There were also some memorials sent from the palace, which the Secretariat had reviewed, but some of them could not be decided by them alone.
Shu Chengfeng didn't care what she saw.
It was resolved quickly.
"Is something wrong? Isn't it hot coming over at this time?" This Qintang area is much hotter than the capital.
It's June already, which is the two hottest months of the year.
"I was just asking about things in the palace. I sent my chief eunuch back yesterday."
Shu Chengfeng's smile faded slightly: "The illness is quite serious; I have already sent someone back to check on him."
“The Queen is seriously ill; this is not a good thing.” She sat down.
"How so?" It's certainly not good, that much is obvious, but Yan Nangui's sudden mention of it piqued the emperor's curiosity about what else she had thought of.
"Although in my eyes His Majesty is still young, it is not too late to establish a crown prince in another twenty years. But the court does not think so. During the reign of the late emperor, the failure to establish a crown prince in time led to the death of the Prince of Qin."
If Shu Changfeng had been the Crown Prince back then, then Cao Mi would have been the Crown Princess. A Crown Princess and a Prince's wife are not even in the same league.
Even the most incompetent emperor wouldn't dare to forcibly take the crown princess's place.
"When His Majesty was made Crown Prince, what a mess it was! Because of this, His Majesty has had endless troubles for many years."
Because the emperor was enthroned out of necessity, the other princes were ambitious.
“Now, the old ministers from the time of the late emperor, and even those from the time of Emperor Jingrun, are still alive. They certainly don’t want to see such a scene. So they will only urge His Majesty to establish a crown prince more and more. If the empress were to pass away now, and His Majesty were still young, he would definitely want to establish a new empress. At that time, the competition among the various factions would only be more intense.”
“Among these high-ranking concubines, there are already princes. Who will you appoint as empress? If you appoint empress, the princes will become legitimate sons. Unless you push me to the position, but I don’t want to be appointed now.”
Shu Chengfeng smiled and said, "You've got a long way to go. And you dare to say such treasonous things?"
"Don't blame me for being blunt, but when His Highness Prince Qin passed away, the late emperor had no choice but to establish a crown prince to appease the people. Now that the empress is gone, if you refuse to establish a new empress and cannot decide on a crown prince in a short time, how can you expect to have a good life?"
Yan Nangui's words were utterly blunt. She thought, this is probably... the confidence that comes with not having a son...
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