The Emperor knelt obediently on the floor.
Empress Dowager: “Your Majesty! Do you know what you did wrong?”
Dantai Ji: “No, I do not.”
Empress Dowager: “I knew you felt guilty toward Consort Cui, so I took the initiative to raise her rank and secure an official position for her father! But no matter what, you cannot be so foolish as to bring the child she had with another man into the palace! Fine! Even if you could not bear to separate mother and daughter and wanted them to reunite in the palace, you still could not make that child a princess! And yet you even lied, claiming she was your long-lost daughter!”
Dantai Ji raised his head and said, “Mother, that child is my flesh and blood!”
The surroundings fell silent for a moment. After a long pause, the Empress Dowager spoke again. “What did you say? That child… is my granddaughter?”
Dantai Ji: “That’s right. On that night seven years ago, Consort Cui became pregnant and gave birth to Yaoyao. Mother need only send someone to investigate to find out the truth.”
The Empress Dowager covered her chest in astonishment, rose, and hurried toward Dantai Ji.
“Where is the child? I want to see her!”
Dantai Ji: “She is in the Hall of Two Ceremonies.”
Empress Dowager: “Someone, prepare my palanquin! We are going to the Hall of Two Ceremonies!”
Seated in the phoenix palanquin, the Empress Dowager rolled her prayer beads restlessly between her fingers.
She had heard yesterday, just before going to bed, that the Emperor had brought a six-year-old child back from outside the palace. She had assumed that Consort Cui, spoiled by the Emperor’s favor, had insisted on seeing her daughter who was living beyond the palace walls and pressured the Emperor into breaking the rules.
She was old now. If she could manage less, she would manage less. So long as things did not go too far, she could simply turn a blind eye.
However, first thing that morning, she heard that His Majesty had issued an imperial decree, making the child he had brought back—the daughter of Consort Cui—Princess Fuxi, and that she was even to be entered into the imperial ancestral records.
It was utterly absurd!
How could someone without royal blood be entered into the ancestral records?
That was why she had flown into a rage when the Emperor came to pay his respects.
She had never imagined that the Emperor would claim the child was her own granddaughter.
If the child truly had been born as a result of that unexpected encounter seven years ago, then… she was the Emperor’s first child.
She did not have many grandchildren. One more would only be a good thing. If what the Emperor said was true, this was a joyous occasion indeed!
A quarter of an hour later, the Empress Dowager arrived at the Hall of Two Ceremonies.
Without even announcing herself, she barged in. No one dared stop her, and she made her way straight into the hall.
At a glance, she saw a mother and daughter eating at a table.
The little girl was holding a fragrant steamed pig’s trotter in her small hands and gnawing on it enthusiastically.
When the Empress Dowager approached for a closer look, the little girl noticed her too. She gazed up at her with large, limpid eyes and stopped eating.
With that single glance, the Empress Dowager was certain that this child had to be her imperial son’s offspring!
From a distance, the girl did resemble her mother more, but upon closer inspection, her eyes looked more like the Emperor’s. Her ears did too!
She was definitely her own granddaughter.
“E-Empress Dowager! This subject pays her respects to Your Majesty!”
Only then did Cui Huaiyin realize that the Empress Dowager had come to the Hall of Two Ceremonies and was staring fixedly at her daughter. She hurriedly knelt to offer her greetings.
Then she thought of something and tugged anxiously at Yaoyao, lowering her voice as she said, “Yaoyao, hurry and kneel to greet your imperial grandmother.”
Only then did Rongyao climb down from her bench and kowtow to the Empress Dowager.
“Greetings, Imperial Grandmother.”
The Empress Dowager beamed with delight as she helped Rongyao to her feet. Completely unbothered, she personally used a handkerchief to wipe the girl’s hands and mouth before asking affectionately, “Tell Imperial Grandmother, what is your name?”
Rongyao: “Rongyao.”
Empress Dowager: “What a lovely name. How old are you this year?”
Rongyao: “Six.”
The Empress Dowager smiled and patted Rongyao on the head. “Six years old. What a good girl. Come, accompany Imperial Grandmother outside for a walk.”
The Empress Dowager took the newly conferred Princess Fuxi to the imperial gardens. Grandmother and granddaughter held hands, chatting and laughing together for quite some time. No one knew what they talked about.
In the end, the Empress Dowager personally escorted Princess Fuxi back to the Hall of Two Ceremonies. Before leaving, she even embraced the princess affectionately, looking extremely reluctant to part with her.
After returning to the Palace of Benevolent Longevity, the Empress Dowager sent over an entire set of gold bracelets, a gold neck ring, gold pendants, and other jewelry meant for children.
She also bestowed upon Consort Cui some Suzhou embroidery from her private treasury.
The Empress Dowager’s whirlwind visit made the entire imperial palace aware of Princess Fuxi’s existence.
The Emperor had gained another princess, born several days earlier than Eldest Princess Shengping. She was the true eldest princess.
All the princes and princesses born after her would have to move down one place in rank.
The eldest princess became the second princess, the second prince became the third prince, the third prince became the fourth prince, the fourth prince became the fifth prince, and the fifth princess became the sixth princess.
The Palace of Radiant Splendor, the residence of Eldest Princess Shengping.
The doors and windows were tightly shut, leaving not the slightest draft.
Inside, the only sound was that of a six- or seven-year-old child calling out repeatedly.
“System! System! How much longer are you going to sleep?”
The only response was an oppressive silence.
Dark circles shadowed her eyes, as though she had not slept all night. Sitting limply on the bed, she slammed her fist into the pillow.
“If you don’t come out soon, I’m going to die!”
After she shouted those words, a familiar electronic voice finally sounded in Eldest Princess Shengping Tantai Yu’s mind. She had called out to the system every day over the past several years, but it had never responded, as though it had never existed at all.
But if the system did not exist, where had she come from, and why had she been brought here?
Fortunately, the system had finally emerged at a critical moment.
[Host.]
Tantai Yu suppressed her anger. “Seven years! You disappeared for seven whole years!”
[Host, please remain calm. Seven years ago, the system already warned you that its energy was limited. Changing the way the Emperor perceived Chen Yunxiang and altering Chen Yunxiang’s pregnancy pulse consumed an enormous amount of energy. Since your mission progress had also come to a complete standstill, the system could only enter hibernation without a source of energy.]
Tantai Yu clenched her fists. “Now that you’re awake, you should at least have enough energy to help me, right?”
[The system has only enough energy to maintain daily communication with the host. To obtain more energy, the host must quickly support the future emperor. As the future emperor grows and develops because of the host, the system will naturally receive energy.]
Tantai Yu roared, “I’ve already worked hard to nurture several princes! Isn’t my mission to assist the future emperor of Great Zhou and help him establish an era of peace and prosperity? Doesn’t taking care of the future emperor and teaching him to read and write count as completing the mission?”
[Host, please do not be impatient. According to the system’s calculations, the host’s progress is currently only at two percent. Seven years have passed, yet the progress is only two percent. This indicates that the host’s approach is incorrect.]
Tantai Yu drew a deep breath. “Then tell me! What am I supposed to do?”
[The system believes that the host’s progress is so low because you have treated every prince equally. You have devoted yourself to nurturing each and every one of them. Once the other princes gain ability and ambition, they will weaken the future emperor, causing the mission’s progress to stagnate. The system advises the host to identify the mission’s target as soon as possible.]
Tantai Yu: “Identify the mission’s target? How am I supposed to do that? Seven years ago, you left me with only a single sentence before going into hibernation. Who was supposed to know which one was the mission target?”
【It’s actually quite simple. The future emperor has a brilliant mind and an extraordinary memory. She learns quickly, loves her people as if they were her own children, and is devoted to helping them live peaceful, prosperous lives! She is skilled in both civil and military affairs, possesses keen insight, and has remarkable administrative abilities. As long as she receives proper guidance and nurturing from a young age, she is destined to become a wise ruler! With your assistance, along with the technology, seeds, books, and other resources provided by the system’s shop, the Great Zhou of the future will be transformed into an entirely different world!】
