When the food box was opened, there was only a small plate of golden cake inside.

Nothing else.

"Master, what does this mean?" Madam Xiao, who was sitting on the Luohan bed, was over fifty years old, with strands of silver hair interspersed in her hair combed into a bun.

She looked at the plate of unfamiliar snacks, gently stroked the agarwood beads with one hand, and frowned slightly.

Prime Minister Xiao, who had changed into the imperial blue uniform, was sitting nearby. He pretended not to have heard anything, and stared at the plate of snacks for a long time with his eyes lowered, a thoughtful look on his face.

Long before coming to the imperial mausoleum, he had agreed with Prince Kang that today, Princess Kang would go to test Fengyang to see what Fengyang's condition was like.

If Fengyang was in good health, Princess Kang would send her a dish of yam and date paste cake.

If Fengyang was not okay, Princess Kang would send over a plate of other snacks.

Chief Minister Xiao clenched his right fist and tapped it lightly on the coffee table beside him unconsciously.

The plate of snacks in front of him meant that Fengyang was seriously ill and would not have much time left.

The sky outside had become completely dark. As night fell, the night in the mountains and forests was especially quiet.

At this moment, there was no one else in the room except the couple, and the servants had already been sent away.

"Master, is there anything wrong?" Mrs. Xiao asked again in a cautious tone.

She is not young anymore and she was tired after working all day, so her expression inevitably revealed a bit of fatigue.

Prime Minister Xiao shook his head slowly, stroked his beard and continued to look at the plate of cake in the food box. It was unknown what he was thinking about, and he was in a daze for a long time.

The kettle in the corner made a slow dripping sound, gently falling into the bronze Qilin-patterned water jar, making the room particularly quiet.

After a while, Xiao Shoufu sighed deeply, his cloudy eyes were full of bloodshot due to fatigue, and he said, "Madam, I just feel that things are going too smoothly."

Everything went as they expected, without any deviation. It was so smooth.

Ever since the eldest prince came back from the Kingdom of Yue, they have never had such a smooth journey. Prime Minister Xiao couldn't help but feel a little uneasy and wanted to think over the details again.

"Isn't it good if everything goes smoothly?" Madam Xiao stared straight at Prime Minister Xiao and raised her hand to rub her sore brows.

Although Prime Minister Xiao's tone was calm, as they had been married for decades, she could naturally hear the hint of uneasiness hidden in her husband's tone.

This matter is of great importance and absolutely no mistakes can be made.

Mrs. Xiao's eyes twitched suddenly. She took two deep breaths and quickly calmed herself down.

The couple only exchanged a few words, and the atmosphere in the room became solemn, and even their breathing seemed a little suppressed.

Xiao Shoufu's eyebrows were knitted together. He nodded at first, then shook his head again after a moment and said in a low voice: "To say it's smooth, it's not really smooth..."

As he spoke, Xiao Shoufu suddenly stood up from the bed, put his hands behind his back, and slowly walked back and forth in the room several times, thinking carefully about what had happened in the past month in his mind.

As he walked, he muttered to himself: "First, the emperor repeatedly blocked us from entering the palace to visit Princess Fengyang. Then, Fengyang, who had been away from state affairs for a long time, suddenly came to the court to ask for the title of crown prince for the eldest prince..."

"Even when Dou Zixiang proposed a marriage between the two countries, Fengyang never showed up."

Apart from the last time he requested for the title of Crown Prince for Chu Yi and this time's sacrifice at the imperial mausoleum, Fengyang had not appeared in public for some time. He did not even raise any objection to the marriage between the two countries, and even allowed the emperor to let the eldest prince go to the Kingdom of Yue in person. This was really not like Fengyang's usual style.

Unless Fengyang is powerless.

Madam Xiao took a sip of tea gracefully, her eyes twinkling.

Only after she put down the teacup did she say, "The temper of the Grand Princess Fengyang is just like that of the Grand Ancestor. She has always been self-centered. It seems that her life is really coming to an end. Master, what do you think?"

Prime Minister Xiao stopped and nodded in agreement, the candlelight reflected in his eyes.

The evening breeze blew in from the window, and the candlelight flickered, making his eyes look sinister and strange.

He suddenly turned around, facing the evening breeze, and looked up at the full moon in the night sky outside the window. As if he remembered something, his eyes became deeper.

He snorted coldly: "The late emperor took great pains to suppress Fengyang, although he was still one step behind...but this birthday should not be wrong."

"Before his death, the late emperor specifically instructed King Kang..."

Prime Minister Xiao stopped talking abruptly and pursed his lips tightly.

That's right, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this.

Prime Minister Xiao retracted his gaze and met Madam Xiao's eyes instead. A determined smile appeared on the corner of his lips, and he continued, "Fengyang doesn't have much time left, so she has to appoint a crown prince before her death."

"Fengyang is anxious, and so is the emperor. They are more anxious than us, so we can push things along step by step... and it will come naturally."

His tone became more and more certain, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light and ambition.

Madam Xiao smiled with relief and leaned back on the large pillow at the back.

The expression on Xiao Shoufu's face gradually became relaxed. He walked back to the Arhat bed and sat down. He patted his palms on the coffee table twice and sighed with emotion: "I am old after all, so I worry about gains and losses."

When he was young and strong, he was daring and decisive, which enabled the Xiao family to return to its current prominent position and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Yuan family.

Last night he tossed and turned, thinking over and over again, and hardly slept the whole night.

As her husband's bedmate, Madam Xiao knew how difficult it was for her master.

She personally added tea to Xiao Shoufu and handed the teacup to him, saying softly, "Master, you should make decisions after careful consideration. This is the right thing to do for the future of the family."

"It's always better to be cautious."

To be disrespectful, the late emperor was too impulsive back then. In order to take Fengyang first, he planned the whole thing on his own without consulting the aristocratic families. In the end, he ended up being restrained by Fengyang.

If the late emperor had accomplished the task twenty-one years ago, why would they need to take the risk again!

Prime Minister Xiao took two sips of tea, calmed himself down, and then closed the red lacquered wooden food box again.

He had already made up his mind: the arrow was on the string, and it was time to release it.

“Pah!”

Prime Minister Xiao clapped his hands twice, neither too lightly nor too heavily, and Madam Xiao temporarily retreated behind the screen.

Soon, the door curtain leading to the outer room was lifted from the outside, and a middle-aged man in a plain blue robe walked in quickly.

He has a lean build, an ordinary appearance, and walks with a strength that makes him look as if he is lifting heavy objects with ease.

"Master." The middle-aged man saluted respectfully towards Prime Minister Xiao.

There were faint sounds of insects chirping outside the window.

Prime Minister Xiao lightly waved his sleeves, secretly gritted his teeth, his heart tightened, but he pretended to be calm and indifferent on the surface, and said lightly: "Afu, you return to Beijing immediately."

As he spoke, he pulled out a Qilin-shaped bronze token from his sleeve and handed it to the middle-aged man named Ah Fu with a meaningful look in his eyes.

Ah Fu raised his hands high and took the bronze token very carefully. He looked up and exchanged glances with Prime Minister Xiao in front of him. His eyes were as sharp as swords, and he replied concisely, "Yes, sir."

Ah Fu put away the token, bowed again, then turned around and left resolutely.

The door curtain was lifted and then fell, and Mrs. Xiao walked out from behind the screen, leaving only the couple in the room again.

Looking at the swaying door curtain, a hint of coldness flashed in Xiao Shoufu's eyes, but more of it was determination.

Mrs. Xiao slowly picked up the string of beads in her hand, looking at the bright moon in the night sky outside the window, which seemed to be shrouded in a glimmer of haze, and felt a faint fishy smell lingering in her nose.

"Master, it seems like it's going to rain tonight?" Mrs. Xiao frowned, looking extremely tired, and held back the sigh that was about to escape from her mouth.

Everything depends on tomorrow!

"Don't worry." Xiao Shoufu stroked his beard gracefully, and the tense lines on his body visibly relaxed a little. A smile slowly appeared on his lips. "The Imperial Observatory has already calculated that the weather will be good for the next three days!"

There was a hint of eagerness and impatience in his tone.

Outside the window, a bird flapped its wings and flew by. Its wings accidentally brushed the treetops, and the branches swayed gently in the night breeze.

The night gradually deepened. That night, the huge palace was very peaceful, but also very restless. The mountain wind was strong and blew continuously all night long, and many people stayed awake all night.

The entire palace was brightly lit, and the lights remained on until dawn. The sun rose slowly among the mountain mists, and a new day began.

Just as the Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated, today is a sunny and nice day!

As soon as the sky turned pale, all the ministers came to the imperial mausoleum again in the gentle morning breeze. Under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple, they stood inside and outside the Longen Gate according to their rank.

When the auspicious time arrived, solemn ceremonial music sounded and a bright yellow canopy swayed in the distance.

A group of royal family and ministers surrounded the emperor and walked slowly on the red carpet. Everyone held their breath.

Under the guidance of the ceremonial officer, the emperor quickly arrived outside the Longen Hall. The eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department helped him wash his hands, and then he entered the main hall and walked straight to the incense table.

The incense table in the Long'en Hall enshrines not only the tablets of Emperor Taizu, the previous emperor and several empresses, but also the tablets of the Chu family's four generations of ancestors - after Taizu ascended the throne, he posthumously conferred the title of emperor on the advice of his civil officials.

The incense official knelt down to burn incense. After the emperor took the incense, he knelt down on the cushion and respectfully performed the ceremony of three kneelings and nine bows towards the ancestral tablets on the incense table.

If an ordinary person's sacrifice reaches this stage, the only thing left is burning paper money, but the royal ceremony is much more complicated and grand.

Next, there are three offerings, and the prayer reader kneels down to read the prayer.

Every time he presented a gift, the emperor would kneel three times and kowtow nine times in front of the ancestral tablet.

The emperor had to kneel and kowtow, so the nobles, civil and military officials outside naturally could not just stand there. They also knelt and kowtowed again and again under the instructions of the officials from the Ministry of Rites. Everyone's movements were meticulous and they did not dare to be lazy at all.

The people outside the Longen Hall had no cushions to kneel on, so they could only kneel directly on the cold, hard and rough ground.

After kowtowing again, Li Yun'er felt the pain from her knees hitting the ground, and the seven-翟 crown on her head was so heavy that her neck could hardly be straightened.

Li Yun'er quickly straightened his upper body and looked again at Fengyang who was kneeling behind the emperor in the Long'en Hall.

Fengyang has an extraordinary status, and even her princess makeup is different from that of ordinary princesses. She is the only one who can wear the pattern of a five-clawed golden dragon on her body like the prince.

The five-clawed golden dragon embroidered with gold thread sparkled in the sunlight and candlelight.

This is a supreme honor.

Among all the female relatives present, she was the only one who could follow the emperor and the princes into the main hall; the other princesses, princess consorts, and princesses could only kneel outside.

But……

An old saying came to Li Yun'er's mind: A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.

People like Fengyang shouldn't belong to this era.

A strong shadow flashed across Li Yun'er's eyes. His eyes were deep. He lowered his head to watch the changes in the shadow below, and used it to calculate the time.

It will be soon. It will be soon.

She was mumbling to herself in her mind, her heart beating faster and faster like a drum.

The resonant voice of the ceremonial officer came from the front: "Send Liao."

As these two words fell, the solemn ceremonial music sounded again, echoing throughout the entire imperial mausoleum.

Then, the official who read the blessing carried the blessing board, and the official in charge of silk carried the silk, and they walked out of the middle door of the main hall of Long'en Hall one after another and sent them to the incense burner for burning.

"The ceremony is over!"

When these two words were heard, everyone kneeling outside the hall breathed a sigh of relief.

The grand ceremony was halfway completed at this point. Next, they had to pass through the mausoleum gate to the Ming Tower to mourn and continue kneeling, but at least their knees could rest for a while.

Many officials couldn't help wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads with their sleeves as they stood up.

At this moment, a ceremonial officer in the Longen Palace in front exclaimed: "Your Highness!"

All the officials outside the hall, whether they were kneeling or standing, looked over when they heard the sound.

In the main hall, Feng Yang fell forward with a muffled sound...

It all happened so quickly that the ceremonial officer nearby could only shout out but had no time to support Feng Yang. She had already fallen to the ground, tilted, and motionless.

The luxurious nine-divasailed crown on her head also fell to the ground as she fell.

Li Yun'er watched this scene with his eyes wide open, without blinking, his pupils shrunk into icy points, and his hands were clenched into fists in his sleeves.

The royal relatives around Fengyang were all in a mess. They all went to check on the fallen Fengyang. Voices came one after another: "The royal sister fainted!"

"Royal aunt, Royal aunt..."

"Is my great-aunt exhausted? Call the imperial physician!"

“…”

The emperor stood up with the help of the eunuch, looked at the unconscious Fengyang in shock, and shouted with a pale face: "Hurry... hurry up and help the imperial aunt up! Where is the imperial physician?"

The hall was in chaos, and the originally solemn and dignified atmosphere was gone.

Li Yunyan stood up slowly outside the hall, brushed off her dress, and smiled.

The morning light cast a faint halo on her face, making her smile particularly bright and her eyes as bright as the sun.

She strode towards the Longen Palace.

(End of this chapter)