Lu Heng looked at Qin Yining’s clear, bright eyes, no longer showing the bewildered helplessness and vulnerable dependency from when nothing was happening. The stronger she appeared, the more he came to admire her.
What virtue or ability did Pang Xiao possess to deserve such a woman as his wife?
If Pang Xiao could provide Qin Yining with a peaceful, stable life, that would be one thing—he wouldn’t feel so heartbroken for her. But what kind of life had Pang Xiao brought to Qin Yining? Whether before or after marriage, following Pang Xiao’s side meant constantly weathering storms, each time a narrow escape from death. Her survival wasn’t due to Pang Xiao’s protection and care, but because of her own intelligence.
Such a wonderful woman—why should she be so poorly treated by that brute Pang Xiao?
Lu Heng’s thoughts raced like lightning, while seeds of resentment sprouted in his heart.
At this moment, Qin Yining was watching the soldiers escort the surviving officials down the mountain or directing others to carry the corpses, not noticing the strange expression that flickered across Lu Heng’s face.
Meanwhile, in the palace, it was as if dark clouds pressed down on the city. Palace servants walked on tiptoe, afraid that even the slightest sound might disturb their ill-tempered masters and bring disaster upon themselves.
—Hadn’t everyone seen that since the incident at Chong Mountain Imperial Mausoleum, two young palace maids in the Empress Dowager’s palace had already been dragged out and beaten to death?
At this moment in Ci’an Palace, the Empress Dowager sat in the place of honor with a face full of gloom.
The Empress, pale as death, wept helplessly.
The imperial relatives, along with their womenfolk, accompanied the Empress Dowager like Princess Imperial An’yang, quietly waiting for news together.
The Empress Dowager was so worried and anxious about Li Qitian’s situation that she couldn’t even eat.
Seeing the Empress still crying, the Empress Dowager said irritably, “Enough, stop crying. You’re with child—you should pay more attention to the imperial heir in your womb.”
Without the Empress Dowager spelling it out, everyone understood. If His Majesty truly met with misfortune, and the Empress gave birth to a prince, that child would be the only candidate for Crown Prince.
The imperial relatives harbored different thoughts but all maintained their silence.
The Empress’s heart stirred. She wiped her tears and nodded, saying, “Mother is right. This subject-consort will certainly take good care of herself.”
“Mm, that’s better. This time His Majesty encountered danger at Chong Mountain because of that note sent by the monk called Tianji Zi. During the great banquet for His Majesty’s birthday, this dowager felt there was something unusual about the note’s contents. But His Majesty was devoted to the people, worried about the Tatars mobilizing troops, and with the national treasury strained, he could only find a way to obtain that treasure.”
“His Majesty toils for the nation while we subjects feel ashamed,” the imperial relatives all replied. Though they held noble titles and some held sinecures in the court, none wielded real power. All they could do now was echo these words.
The Empress Dowager sighed, “We’re all family, so this dowager won’t speak in formalities. Now that His Majesty has gone missing and the Tatars are stirring restlessly, who knows what storms our Great Zhou dynasty will face next. Many ministers in the court have died or been injured in this incident. This is precisely when our Great Zhou faces great turmoil and extreme tension. During this period, we must rely on all the imperial relatives—we family members must help our own family.”
Though the Empress Dowager hadn’t read many books, her words were quite direct. But everyone understood her meaning clearly.
The reason the imperial relatives could live lives of silk and luxury, with beautiful servants and carefree days, was all because Li Qitian served as Emperor.
If Li Qitian truly met with disaster, and he had no male heir who could immediately shoulder the burden of Crown Prince, then forget about the Tatars—even if a treacherous minister appeared in court plotting rebellion, it would be more than enough trouble for these imperial relatives.
If they wanted to preserve their wealth and honor, they had to stabilize the Great Zhou’s realm. Only if the Great Zhou’s realm remained under the Li surname would they have inexhaustible mountains of gold and silver for life.
Therefore, everyone now stood up and bowed to the Empress Dowager in unison: “Long live the wise Empress Dowager!”
The Empress Dowager nodded and said, “Tomorrow morning at dawn court, all officials of fourth rank and above remaining healthy in the capital, whether civil or military, must come to Fengtian Hall for deliberation. Though this dowager is merely a woman, I cannot ignore the realm and state. I will hold court from behind a screen to discuss countermeasures with the ministers.”
Upon hearing this, the Empress was greatly shocked.
With the Emperor absent, the Empress Dowager wanted to seize complete power!
The Empress Dowager, who usually seemed so agreeable, was so formidable at the crucial moment—to think of such a method and have the courage to implement it was truly astonishing.
The Empress Dowager sat in the place of honor, calmly picking up her tea bowl and playing with the lid.
Li Helan, seeing the Empress’s surprised expression, asked provocatively, “Does sister-in-law have some thoughts? We’re family speaking behind closed doors here. If you have ideas, just speak them—Mother won’t forbid it.”
The Empress’s maternal clan had little influence, and her nature was honest and gentle. She was skilled at managing a household frugally, but as a nation’s mother, her character was too soft to truly take charge. With her husband missing and herself pregnant, now that the Empress Dowager had clearly revealed her intentions, if she showed any opposition, even the child in her womb might not be safely delivered.
Thinking of this, the Empress quickly shook her head: “Princess Imperial jests. What thoughts could I have? Now that I’ve lost my anchor, I’ll simply follow Mother’s arrangements in everything.”
Li Helan lifted the corners of her mouth smugly, thinking: As if you’d dare do otherwise!
Everyone present saw everything clearly, had already calculated their own positions, and had an idea of what to do next.
Qin Yining remained on the mountain for three full days without returning home, eating and sleeping only roughly.
The Capital Guards worked in shifts day and night without rest, finally breaking through the second tomb chamber. However, inside they found only the corpses of several imperial guards—there was no sign of Li Qitian, Pang Xiao, or Li Guanwen. Going further in, an even harder massive boulder had fallen, separating the second tomb chamber from the interior of the underground palace.
“What should we do? Three days have passed already. The geological surveyors found that inside are all hard rocks, not easy to excavate, and with these large stones blocking the way…”
Qin Yining closed her eyes. She could now confirm that Pang Xiao definitely hadn’t perished when the explosives ignited and the tomb collapsed—he must have gone into the underground palace. But after three days with no food or drink, and not knowing if air was circulating, the situation was even more worrying than initially.
In three days, Ji Zeyu hadn’t slept a single full night. His eyes were bloodshot, his chin covered with stubble, his hair disheveled, and his face dirty, yet he still steadily commanded the workers: “Continue digging.”
A personal attendant advised Ji Zeyu: “Prince Consort, you should go rest, get a good sleep, and wash up. How can your body endure this!”
Ji Zeyu stared expressionlessly in the direction of the underground palace, his hoarse voice still ice-cold: “Don’t worry about me. As long as His Majesty remains in the underground palace for even one day, I absolutely will not leave Chong Mountain.”
Having received much care from Ji Zeyu these past few days, Qin Yining’s impression of him had long since changed. As they say, adversity reveals true character. Whether Ji Zeyu acted out of loyalty to His Majesty, friendship toward Pang Xiao, or dedication to rescue work, Qin Yining was very grateful to him.
Seeing Ji Zeyu’s truly haggard appearance, Qin Yining also advised: “Prince Consort Ji should still rest. Even a body of iron cannot withstand continuous labor without sleep. If you collapse, who will oversee matters here? I’m merely a woman and absolutely cannot control the overall situation.”
Ji Zeyu rubbed his brow, knowing Qin Yining spoke reasonably. He said reluctantly, “Very well. Then I’ll rest briefly.”
Qin Yining said, “Prince Consort Ji could return to the city to wash up and sleep properly before coming back. Your horse travels quickly coming and going.”
“No need for that.” He bowed his hands to Qin Yining. “Thank you for your kind intention.”
With that, he turned and found a spot on the ground, lay straight down, folded his arms across his chest, and despite the surrounding noise, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Qin Yining shook her head. Knowing Ji Zeyu was extremely exhausted, she didn’t disturb him further and turned to focus on watching the excavation direction.
Just then, one of Ji Zeyu’s trusted men suddenly brought Jingzhe up the mountain from below.
Qin Yining looked at Jingzhe’s approach with surprise and worry, asking, “Has something happened at home?”
“Nothing has happened at home. Master instructed me to come up the mountain to deliver a message to the Princess Consort.”
Qin Yining immediately understood there must be some major development, otherwise Qin Huaiyuan wouldn’t have urgently sent someone up the mountain right after descending.
Qin Yining then stood up, supported by Bingtang and Ji Yun, and went with Jingzhe to a place away from the crowd where they could speak privately.
After taking their positions, she didn’t immediately ask questions. Only after Jingzhe had checked the surroundings and confirmed no one else was present did she speak: “This morning the Empress Dowager presided over dawn court. The ministers petitioned for Prince Li to serve as regent, changing His Majesty’s vermillion endorsements to blue ones, with the Empress Dowager ruling from behind a screen. The Empress Dowager agreed, and the loyal ministers all supported it.”
Qin Yining’s brow twitched: “Which Prince Li is this? I don’t recall His Majesty having blood brothers, nor does he have any sons.”
“The Princess Consort wouldn’t know—Prince Li just returned to the capital. He’s the Prince Consort’s cousin, twenty-seven years old, with only one daughter. Master said Prince Li has a gentle nature, so if he serves as regent, there might be fewer legal punishments.”
Qin Yining immediately understood Qin Huaiyuan’s meaning.
A prince with a gentle character would be easy for both ministers and the Empress Dowager to manipulate. Moreover, having only a daughter, if Li Qitian met with misfortune and Prince Li became Emperor as Imperial Uncle, the throne would still pass to Li Qitian’s son if the Empress gave birth to a boy.
The Empress Dowager appeared to be just an ordinary village woman, but at the crucial moment she could bare her claws—truly proving that people cannot be judged by appearances, keeping her depths well hidden.
But did the current Great Zhou dynasty really need a puppet regent as pliable as cotton?
These past days, Qin Yining had been worried about Pang Xiao and hadn’t had time to consider the court situation.
However, since Tianji Zi had set up such an elaborate scheme, he couldn’t possibly not seize the time to implement his plans. At this moment, the Tatars might already be preparing to mobilize their armies.
Could a weak, indecisive regent have any deterrent effect on national warfare?
Thinking of this, Qin Yining even felt that Li Qitian was better as Emperor than any of them.
Though Qin Yining’s thoughts raced in all directions, it was only a moment. Jingzhe’s next words left Qin Yining so shocked she was speechless with her mouth agape.
“At dawn court, several ministers impeached Prince Consort Ji for failing to protect His Majesty properly. The Empress Dowager also publicly rebuked Prince Consort Ji on the spot. Other ministers recommended Marquis Qingyang Zhou Dayong, saying Zhou Dayong was steady and experienced, with military tactics that appeared and disappeared like ghosts—he should be capable of shouldering this important responsibility. The Empress Dowager then appointed Marquis Qingyang as Commander of the Huben Army. The palace eunuch bearing the imperial decree should arrive shortly.”