Among the nations, no matter how those in power treated the people, Biyuan Kingdom was at least a country free of foreign threats. The common folk's lives were not unbearably hard. The reason, naturally, was that Old Ancestor Wen Lanfeng stood guard behind it, and for the time being, no petty scoundrels dared set their sights on Biyuan Kingdom. Of course, to ordinary citizens, no one knew who a figure like Wen Lanfeng was. Only a small number of Biyuan Kingdom's upper echelons knew.
Yet because the Emperor of Biyuan Kingdom had passed away, the entire nation appeared to be plunged into mourning, white funeral banners blanketing everything. Though the Emperor had died, the throne still needed an heir. Thus, Crown Prince Wen Hao naturally inherited the throne and became Biyuan Kingdom's new Emperor.
In Xiaoqin Palace, white mourning cloth stretched as far as the eye could see. Miserable wails rose everywhere. Inside the hall, the late Emperor's coffin rested squarely in the center. On the three cushions below knelt the new Emperor Wen Hao and his mother,
while one cushion remained empty. No one knew for whom it had been left. Behind them stood a group of the late Emperor's concubines, each wearing hemp mourning clothes with her children, weeping and sobbing. Whether they truly missed the late Emperor or not, their grief was real.
The late Emperor was gone. These women had once constantly fought the Empress for his favor. Their days ahead might not be pleasant. The day when the new Emperor settled accounts with them was likely not far off.
The former Empress, now the Empress Dowager, had red and swollen eyes. Her gaze repeatedly swept over the empty cushion to the Emperor's left, and the anger in her expression was difficult to conceal. Having knelt