Under the law, if the Emperor died before a Crown Prince or Crown Princess had been determined, the Empress had a say in the choice.
In other words, no matter whom the Cabinet, Senate, and Military Department favored as Emperor, they had to receive the Empress's endorsement.
If the Empress disagreed, the candidate for Emperor could not be confirmed.
Empress Li Feng'en's stance was a blatant declaration that she did not recognize Tantai Yugui or the child in Ying Wuxin's womb as heirs.
Tantai Yugui, seated beside Ying Wuxin at that moment, curled his lips slightly, looking utterly unconcerned.
He and Ying Wuxin were seated in the same row as the Empress and the Grand Princess.
The Empress sat at the first seat. Beside her was Ying Wuxin, beside Ying Wuxin was Tantai Yugui, and then came Grand Princess Tantai Jinyu.
The four of them represented the four people closest to the late Emperor Tantai Hongyuan.
One was his wife, one was his son, one was the woman carrying his child, and one was his full-blooded elder sister.
Grand Princess Tantai Jinyu was surrounded by a great many security personnel, both before and behind her.
The other members of the Imperial Family were all more distant relatives. Even their seats were two rows behind those four people in front.
Those two rows were also occupied by security personnel.
Compared with the direct lineage, those distant members of the Imperial Family merely varied in how many degrees removed they were—some were more distantly related, while others were only one step removed.
If not for Tantai Yugui and the child in Ying Wuxin's womb, these more distant Imperial Family members would have been heirs very high in the line of succession to the Throne.
Their feelings toward Tantai Yugui and Ying Wuxin