The young ladies in the manor had just finished tidying up the palace, and Long'er had finished washing up and was lying down to sleep when the little girl knocked on the window.
"Long'er, wake up."
Resigned, the Prince of Zhenbei got out of bed, opened the window a crack to prevent the heat from escaping, and peeked at Hou Xiangxiang through the crack, asking:
"What's wrong, little sister?"
"My senior brother just came to deliver a message. The Empress Dowager is dying and wants you to come to the palace."
What a mess! Luckily, Cen's mother's wedding was already over, otherwise the marriage wouldn't have been possible.
"Come in first, warm up for a bit, and then we'll go together after I've gotten dressed."
"Little grass".
Today it's Xiaocao's turn to keep watch for Long'er. The girl pushed open the door and said:
"Your Highness."
"Go and wake up Second Sister Zhong and Brother Tingche, and tell them they need to go to the palace. My mother must not know about this. Today is her special day. Even if the sky falls, it cannot be worse than her day."
As Long'er dressed, she spoke to Xiao Cao with a cold face.
This temper wasn't directed at those around her, but at the Empress Dowager. Long'er felt that the Empress Dowager was a bit ungrateful, and didn't even choose the right time to die.
"yes."
Hou Xiangxiang walked in through the main entrance. Huo Xiaolong took a closer look and saw that the young lady was dressed in official robes.
The little girl was also busy. The python robe was complicated, and during the grand court assembly, the older sisters took turns dressing her, which required waiting in line.
All her sisters were asleep today, and she was busy taking care of Huo Xiaolong.
"What other strong medicines are available? Give her all of them, and live as many days as she can."
"There's no medicine left. We've given her all the ginseng pills, but she can't recover at all."
"What bad luck!" the girl said angrily.
The snow outside had lessened; instead of falling like goose feathers, it was like fine sand specks falling onto the silvery ground.
Dani followed behind Xiaocao, dressed in grassland attire, waiting for Xiangxiang to dress Huo Xiaolong. It wasn't that she didn't want to help, but that she didn't know how.
She had tried to help before, but she ruined the clothes. The clothes were made by Lan Tingche, and the man was unhappy for several days.
"If your Great Yan Empress Dowager is going to die, why did you call me here?"
Da Ni'er was finally released from confinement, and her two mothers had just given her smiles, so she slept soundly.
Xiao Cao simply dragged her out of bed; she had no choice but to come.
Huo Xiaolong has always had boundless patience for those around him throughout his life, and the girl slowly explained things to him.
"She's the leader of the Red Flower Sect, you're the king of the grasslands, what are you going to do there?"
What are you doing?
Hou Xiangxiang's features are almost all crammed together. She's really ruthless, Second Sister Zhong. No wonder she's so mean.
People risked their lives for your grasslands, and you not only don't reciprocate, but you don't even offer to spend time with them?
"...You'll see when you get there."
Long'er felt it was difficult to explain, and decided to discuss it later.
The group arrived at the palace. Long'er and Dani'er brought their weapons with them, just in case.
Inside the Empress Dowager's palace, only the head maid who usually served her remained.
The room was filled with the suffocating smell of medicine. That day, the usually stern and domineering Empress Dowager lay on the bed, her eyes sunken, looking like a skeleton.
"Prince Zhenbei, you've arrived?" These few words seemed to have taken all the strength from the old woman on the bed.
Long'er parted her lips slightly, her voice cold as she said:
"I have arrived. As the Empress Dowager is nearing the end of her life, I must bring the Princess Consort to pay my respects to you."
This is why Long'er called Lan Tingche over. He was the culprit who caused him to lose his parents, and he couldn't rest easy until he saw her breathe her last.
"Hehe." The Empress Dowager chuckled softly and had someone help her to her feet.
The elderly woman with gray hair looked at Huo Xiaolong, then shifted her gaze to Da Nier.
"If I were your age, the outcome would be uncertain."
"But I am old and don't have that much time, so I have no choice but to take a desperate gamble."
"King of the Grasslands, I ask you, why don't you stand with me? Once the King of Zhenbei dies, Beining will belong to the grasslands. Then the grasslands will have countless servants and grain. Wouldn't that be better?"
"As the king of the grasslands, don't you want more power in your hands, and don't you want the Yalan Royal Court to control more land?"
The Empress Dowager took out a porcelain bottle from behind her pillow, poured out a pill, and swallowed it.
She only had the strength to speak after she finished eating.
After processing what she said, Da Nier asked in return:
"There's so much land and so many people, I can't manage it all."
“But she’s different,” she said, pointing at Long’er.
"She can do it. Look at Beining. She's managed it so well. Ever since I became the King of the Grasslands, I haven't done anything. I just leave all the important matters to her. Look how good the grasslands are now!"
"We can eat three meals a day now, three meals a day, which is better than when the Imperial Advisor was in charge."
The Empress Dowager stared at Da Ni'er in disbelief. She raised her hand, her arm trembling, pointed at Da Ni'er, and said with a look of madness on her face:
"You really are... you're completely different from the people in Yalan's family."
“How can they be different? They’re the same,” Dani retorted.
"I was the same before I met my parents and the two of them."
The dark-skinned woman looked at Long'er and the little girl, as if that ruthless version of herself had never existed. If others hadn't brought it up, she wouldn't have known that she was so abnormal when she was a child.
To be honest, I really forgot.
Life is so good now.
"Why did you leave the grasslands and come to the Great Yan to become a courtesan?"
Da Nier didn't think the Empress Dowager could still cause trouble; she was more relaxed than Long'er and Xiaohai'er.
She wasn't afraid of the Empress Dowager killing her; if she died, the grasslands would completely belong to the Huo family.
The grassland king sat on the queen's bed and looked at her, asking her a question.
“My name is Helian Zhuhong, and I was a slave of the Helian tribe back then.”
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