Emperor Jingming locked himself in the Yangxin Palace, did not attend court, did not see the empress, and did not see the crown prince, but only summoned the crown princess.

Standing in the dimly lit hall, Jiang Si knelt down and saluted Emperor Jingming: "Your daughter-in-law has seen you, father."

Emperor Jingming glanced at Jiang Si and said to Pan Hai, "All of you go down."

Pan Hai hesitated for a moment.

This is a bit inappropriate.

"Um?"

Emperor Jingming raised his eyebrows, and Pan Hai quickly retreated with a group of palace maids.

Your Majesty can do whatever he wants, there is nothing inappropriate about it!

Only Jiang Si and Emperor Jingming were left in the palace.

Emperor Jingming looked at Jiang Si deeply.

Jiang Si took the initiative to speak: "Father, do you have any instructions for your daughter-in-law?"

Emperor Jingming was silent for a moment, and his voice sounded older than usual in the empty hall: "Seventh Wife, I have a question for you."

"Father, please speak."

Emperor Jingming asked slowly, "Are you the Crown Princess of the Great Zhou, or the Saint of the Wu Miao?"

Jiang Si was shocked, but replied without hesitation: "The daughter-in-law is of course the Crown Princess of the Great Zhou, A-Jian's wife."

Emperor Jingming stared at her and saw the calm and forthright look this woman had always shown.

He smiled and said in a gentle tone: "I understand, you can leave now."

"Daughter-in-law, take your leave." Jiang Si bent his knees and walked out.

After returning to the East Palace, Yu Jin asked, "Why did you come back so soon? What did the emperor want to see you about?"

Jiang Si dismissed the waiting palace maids and said softly, "My father asked me if I am the Crown Princess of the Great Zhou or the Holy Maiden of the Wu Miao tribe."

Yu Jin was startled, his expression gradually becoming serious: "Father is suspicious?"

Jiang Si sighed, "Father is just rarely confused."

How could an emperor who has been on the throne for more than ten years and is not foolish be really confused?

"And how did you answer?"

Jiang Si smiled and said, "Do I need to answer this? Of course I am your Crown Princess."

Yu Jin's eyes were bright as he embraced his Crown Princess in his arms.

Emperor Jingming summoned Jiang Si and also summoned Han Ran, the commander of the Jinlin Guard.

Among the foreign officials, no one knew better than Han Ran the reasons for the emperor's dethronement in recent days. When he was summoned at this time, he was undoubtedly in a panic.

He couldn't help but panic, he knew too much!

"I have seen the emperor."

Emperor Jingming looked down at his close ministers who were kneeling on one knee, and his mood was very complicated.

I thought about silencing this gang countless times, but in the end I never took action.

He is the Son of Heaven, the person standing at the highest position in the Great Zhou. It would be embarrassing for him to have his scandal known to others, but how lonely would it be to have no one to share his secret with?

Emperor Jingming admired Han Ran's nervousness for a while before speaking: "Han Ran, I have an errand for you to do."

"Your Majesty, please give your orders."

"The Wu Miao and Xue Miao have the same origin and have been fighting for a long time. Now the Xue Miao are completely at a disadvantage. You should arrange for some people to take root in southern Xinjiang and secretly help the Xue Miao."

Han Ran was surprised: "Give Xue Miao a helping hand?"

He thought the emperor would severely punish the Xue Miao clan, but he didn't expect it to be such an order.

Emperor Jingming smiled calmly: "To watch a play, both sides must be evenly matched to be exciting. Go ahead."

He didn't believe what Elder Hua said.

It is certain that the Queen Mother is a pawn of an alien race, but it is hard to say whether she was sent by Wu Miao or Xue Miao.

Since he couldn't be sure, he certainly wouldn't simply condemn the Snow Miao tribe.

It is in the best interests of the Great Zhou to sit back and watch the two races of the same origin fight each other.

Afterwards, Emperor Jingming summoned several important ministers, and the door of Yu's study was closed for a long time before it was opened.

Two days later, Emperor Jingming finally went to court.

The civil and military officials were so moved that their eyes filled with tears. Looking at Emperor Jingming sitting on the dragon throne, they actually had the illusion that they were reunited after a short separation.

Countless ministers thought to themselves: They were too ungrateful in the past. It is really good to have an emperor like you. They will never quarrel with the emperor again... Well, this is not realistic. They will just have to obey the emperor for the next six months, so that he won't resign for unknown reasons again.

"Proclaim the decree."

Pan Hai unfolded the jade scroll and said loudly: "Emperors who have ruled the world have always regarded respecting the heaven and following the ancestors as their top priority... Order the crown prince to ascend the throne and become the emperor..."

The whole morning was filled with laughter.

This turned out to be a Zen edict!

"emperor--"

Facing the emotional ministers, Emperor Jingming said calmly: "I have been feeling unwell recently and would like to rest for the rest of my life. You do not need to persuade me any more."

All the ministers looked at Minister Gu and others.

Minister Gu and the others all looked calm, obviously they were aware of the situation.

The ministers were stunned.

Emperor Jingming cast his eyes towards the Minister of Rites and said, "Prepare for the Zen-renunciation ceremony."

After the Zen ceremony, the new emperor ascended the throne. From then on, the Great Zhou welcomed a new master.

After Yu Jin ascended the throne, he appointed officials to various posts according to custom and issued a general amnesty. The atmosphere in the capital was as warm as this midsummer.

It was easier for Jiang Si, who became the empress, to meet the Great Elder. After some arrangements, she met the Great Elder, who was in disguise, in the bedroom.

In the inner room, Jiang Si personally poured a cup of tea for the Great Elder: "The Great Elder is leaving?"

The elder took the teacup but didn't drink it. Instead, he stared at her deeply and said, "It's time to go."

Jiang Si raised his cup to his lips and said, "Then I wish the Great Elder a safe journey and hope he can return to Wu Miao as soon as possible to take charge of the overall situation."

"Thank you..." The Great Elder hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Thank you, Saint."

Jiang Si did not deny the title. After a moment of silence, he asked, "At this point, are you still unwilling to tell me the other two hexagrams?"

The Great Elder smiled slightly and said, "At this point, are the other two divinations still important to the Saint?"

Jiang Si blinked, her voice carrying the tenderness of a young woman: "It is important. I am very curious. If I don't know, I won't be able to sleep well. In the long run, I won't have the energy to be the Queen of the Great Zhou, let alone other things."

The smile on the Great Elder's lips froze.

How come the conversation just now was full of Zen and turned into this in the blink of an eye?

The saint actually threatened her openly. She is already old, how could this girl feel ashamed to do that?

But at this point, there is really no need to keep some secrets.

The Great Elder finally spoke: "When the previous Great Elder calculated the first hexagram, his ability was still shallow, and the meaning of the hexagram was vague. He only knew that the rise of the Wu Miao was vaguely related to the Great Zhou's lack of heir."

Jiang Si was stunned: "Just because of a vague divination, the Queen Mother was sent to Da Zhou?"

The great elder looked at Jiang Si and said, "This is about the survival of our clan, so we'd rather believe it than not. Now it seems that something is wrong..."

Jiang Si: “…”

"You already know what the second hexagram says. It is that the Seven Sons of the Dragon will bring the dawn and dispel the darkness of the Crow Seedlings."

Jiang Si lowered his eyes and thought deeply, then asked, "After A-Jin was born, she was sent out of the palace with the reputation of being a hindrance to the emperor. Is this related?"

The Great Elder nodded: "The Queen Mother received such instructions, but she is not clear about this hexagram. The third hexagram is a bit strange-"

"What is it?"

The great elder uttered two words: "Borrow seed."

Jiang Si was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "So, my grandmother was not let down by the scholars, but——"

The elder had a complicated expression. "She should be regarded as someone who planted willows by accident and got the blessing. Back then, we got the hint of borrowing seeds from the hexagram, and arranged for 2,918 young women to come to Da Zhou. They became wives and concubines of Da Zhou men. If they gave birth to boys, they would continue to live with them until they gave birth to girls, and then they would bring the girls back to Wu Miao..."

Jiang Si didn't want to listen any more: "Grand Elder, there's no need to say more. I understand."

Since it concerns the survival of the clan, she can understand Wu Miao's actions, but she cannot appreciate them.

The Great Elder obviously understood Jiang Si's thoughts, and sighed in his heart: But we did the right thing in the end, didn't we?

The Great Elder left quietly, just as she had quietly come to the Great Zhou, but she returned with a companion.

Jiang Si had been in low spirits because of the third hexagram.

Yu Jian immediately ran over to cheer her up.

"Asi, has the Great Elder left?"

"I'm leaving."

"It's better for her to leave. Don't let her come here again." He didn't welcome such an evil guest who made Asi unhappy!

Jiang Si was a little distressed: "I am also the Holy Maiden of Wu Miao. If Wu Miao has any problems in the future, I will probably have to contribute."

Yu Jin knew her dilemma and smiled indifferently, "It doesn't matter. I'll kill the Snow Seedlings after making Father happy for a few years. The Black Seedlings will be less of a threat, and you won't have so many troubles to worry about."

Speaking of the Emperor Retired, Jiang Si couldn't help but smile: "Come to think of it, since Father became the Emperor Retired, he has laughed more."

Yu Jin’s face darkened.

The old man is very smart, otherwise why would I give the stall to him so early?

"Your Majesty, something bad has happened——" Xiao Lezi rushed over.

Yu Jin raised an eyebrow: "What?"

Xiao Lezi ran out of breath: "The, the Emperor—"

Yu Jin and Jiang Si looked at each other and stood up quickly: "What happened to the emperor?"

Older people are not as good as young people after all, so don't let anything get in your health.

Xiao Lezi panted and said, "When the emperor saw General Xiaotian and Jixiang fighting again, he ran over to stop them, but was knocked down by General Xiaotian!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Jin and Jiang Si rushed to Yu Garden. From a distance, they saw Emperor Jingming swinging a golden willow branch and roaring at Erniu: "You are such a big dog, can't you give in to Jixiang a little? Huh?"

If you don't give in to Jixiang, you should at least give in to him, the emperor emeritus!

Yu Jin and Jiang Si smiled at each other and stopped disturbing the emperor who was disciplining Erniu, and walked towards the place where flowers were blooming.