The Empress Dowager said she was the Emperor's child...
Given the Empress Dowager's personality, she must have said this to the Emperor as well!
Before she died, not only did she stir up hatred for her, but she also tried to sow discord between the Ninth Prince and the Emperor.
This Empress Dowager...
It's truly a scourge!
Yuan Yao gritted her teeth inwardly before saying to Dan Qing, "Let's go, I'll go inside and take a look first."
She's not a princess, so surely she shouldn't be expected to keep vigil for the Empress Dowager?
Yuan Yao straightened her clothes and appearance, and with her short legs, she walked through the crowd of ministers, noblewomen, princes, and concubines.
Wherever she went, people looked up at her.
Yuan Yao's expression remained unchanged as she obediently took small steps forward.
Outside the mourning hall, many young princes and princesses were kneeling. Huairou, Huaiyao, and Jiang Lanyue were all there, and even Xie Zhi was kneeling behind the line of princes...
Upon seeing Yuan Yao, Xie Zhi exclaimed, "Pfft..."
Yuan Yao: "?"
Xie Zhi looked up, revealing his bright white new teeth.
Yuan Yao asked silently: What is it?
Suddenly, a small stone flew in from nowhere.
"Thump!"
Xie Zhi got hit on the head.
Yuan Yao looked up and saw that Lin Xuan was holding a small pebble in his hand.
When he met her gaze, Lin Xuan withdrew his hand slightly.
Yuan Yao: "?"
Childish devil!
Xie Zhi wasn't angry after being hit; instead, he turned around and said, "Lin Xuan, you're finished!"
Lin Xuan said, "Laughing so happily, do you want to die?"
This is a wake!
If this gets seen, someone will impeach him, and even the Prince of Pingnan will suffer the consequences.
Xie Zhi then stopped laughing and said to Yuan Yao, "It's nothing. Kneeling is too boring. I was just teasing you to relieve your boredom."
Are you teasing her?
To relieve boredom?
You're so greedy!
Yuan Yao wanted to kick Xie Zhi.
She glared at Xie Zhi, then turned and walked away.
The mourning hall.
The monks were chanting scriptures in front of the memorial tablets, completely absorbed in their work.
Beside him, the Ninth Prince, dressed in white, sat expressionlessly in a chair, while the Emperor stood to the side with his eyelids lowered.
On the ground, the Empress, Consort Lin, the Crown Prince, and others were kneeling with their heads bowed.
As soon as Yuan Yao entered, everyone looked at her.
Yuan Yao obediently bowed: "Yao'er greets His Majesty the Emperor, Empress, Crown Prince, and Imperial Concubine..."
The emperor beckoned: "Yuan Yao, come here."
Yuan Yao went as instructed.
The emperor said, “You are different from them. You don’t need to kneel outside. Just kneel in the mourning hall and burn some paper money for the Empress Dowager.”
Don't we still have to kneel?
Yuan Yao pursed her lips.
Danqing came forward, straightened her little skirt, and helped her kneel down.
A palace maid serving nearby respectfully handed over paper money: "Princess, be careful with your hands."
Yuan Yao nodded, took the paper, and put it into the basin.
The flames licked the thin paper money, turning it to ash that scattered in the basin...
After symbolically kneeling and burning the paper money, Yuan Yao was helped up.
The Ninth Prince beckoned to her: "Little Yao'er, come here."
Yuan Yao obediently walked over: "Daddy."
The Ninth Prince picked her up, glanced at the people in the mourning hall, and asked, "That day, when the Empress Dowager summoned you to her bedchamber, did she tell you that you were the Emperor's child?"
Yuan Yao was slightly shocked.
She looked at the emperor.
The emperor was also looking at her.
After several days of exercise and massage, the emperor's condition began to show results.
He looked much more energetic, thinner, and fairer; even his eyes weren't as gloomy as before.
Yuan Yao looked at the emperor, opened her mouth, then pursed her lips and said, "Mmm..."
The Ninth Prince gave a cold, curt smile.
He glanced at the emperor and said, "That year, war broke out everywhere, and corpses littered the fields."
Little Yao'er was picked up from the arms of a corpse by me.
As long as I live, she will always be my daughter, Yuan Yuan!
I am Yuan Yao's biological father!
"Your Majesty, have you understood?"
“A-Yuan…” The emperor’s expression changed: “That’s not what I meant… I was just mentioning it casually…”
Just a casual remark?
Just because a dying man sowed discord, you suspect him of stealing his child?
idiot!
The Ninth Prince glanced at the Empress Dowager's coffin in the mourning hall: "Even in death, she doesn't stop!"
The emperor's face flushed red and then turned pale: "A-Yuan, don't be angry..."
He was foolish.
How could A Yuan possibly do such a thing?
He must have lost his mind to suspect A Yuan...
The emperor was visibly panicked.
When Yuan Yao saw the emperor like this, he was speechless.
This emperor is so easy to fool!
She's even easier to fool than her!
When the Empress Dowager said those words, she was surprised and suspicious, but afterwards she didn't feel anything.
Who would have thought that a monarch could be deceived by a single sentence...
Harmful!
Fortunately, the Great Qi Dynasty had a Ninth Prince.
Otherwise, a foolish ruler like the emperor would probably have led the Great Qi to its demise long ago...
As the main character in the conversation, Yuan Yao said, "I didn't take the Empress Dowager's words to heart at all."
Yao'er is the daughter of the Ninth Prince, and apart from him, she doesn't resemble anyone else!
Her sweet, childlike voice sounded unusually serious.
At this moment, the Crown Prince spoke up, "I think Yao'er doesn't resemble Father Emperor at all." After speaking, he asked the Empress, "Is that right, Mother?"
The Empress did not want to get involved in these matters.
When the Crown Prince inquired, the Empress said gently, "Yao'er is just as clever and beautiful as the Prince. Who else but the Prince could raise such a lovely child?"
emperor:"……"
The emperor could detect a strong sense of disdain in the empress's tone.
He is the emperor of the Great Qi Kingdom!
Why couldn't he have a daughter as smart, cute, and beautiful as Yuan Yao?
He has so many children!
The emperor glared angrily at the crown prince.
This won't work...
Next!
The emperor shifted his foot and looked at the princes and princesses kneeling outside the mourning hall...
Huairou is too soft-hearted and not smart enough.
Huaiyao is too sharp-tongued, disobedient, and somewhat wild.
Lan Yue is cunning, yet she cries all the time; just looking at her is annoying!
Cheng Yan was more talented than the Crown Prince, but he lacked composure.
As for the younger princes and princesses...
He's only been kneeling for a short while, and he's already crying and looking for his mother!
None of them can compare to Yuan Yao!
As for the other one...
The emperor searched through the crowd.
The young boy knelt in the crowd, still grinning even while keeping vigil; he usually enjoyed teasing cats and dogs...
well!
The emperor was utterly defeated!
From the emperor's face, Yuan Yao could see his deep disdain for his children.
Yuan Yao wanted to laugh but didn't.
No matter what, aren't those children all his genes?
The emperor looked up and met Yuan Yao's obedient smiling eyes.
The emperor glared at her.
Yuan Yao wasn't angry; instead, she winked playfully.
In the emperor's eyes, this was already a provocation.
The emperor glared at her again.
The Ninth Prince lifted his eyelids and coldly stared at the Emperor.
The emperor immediately deflated and looked away: "A-Yuan... I was wrong. Please don't be angry with me, okay?"
His tone was even somewhat pitiful.
Yuan Yao: "..."
Your Majesty, the Empress, the Imperial Concubine, and the Crown Prince are still here!
Yuan Yao figured it out.
This emperor, in front of the Ninth Prince, acted like a big child, completely disregarding the opinions of others.
He didn't care about face at all.
The Ninth Prince's expression remained unchanged as he coldly said, "Let this matter rest. Never mention Xiao Yao'er again."
The emperor nodded: "I understand!"
The Ninth Prince glanced outside the mourning hall: "The Empress Dowager is gone. Princess Lan Yue, Your Majesty must make proper arrangements."
Jiang Lanyue?
The emperor said to Li Deshan, who was kneeling by the door, "Go and summon Princess Lanyue in."
Li Deshan stood up, bowed, and went out.
A moment later, Jiang Lanyue stepped into the mourning hall with a sorrowful expression: "Father..."
The emperor asked coldly, "Now that the Empress Dowager is gone, have you decided where you're going?"
place?
In the palace, no concubine was willing to support her.
Even the Empress... disliked her.
Where else could she go?
With tears in her eyes, Jiang Lanyue looked at the Ninth Prince.
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