"I want to see which vixen it is that actually managed to seduce His Majesty into skipping morning court."
"What? His Majesty hasn't gone to morning court yet?"
Su Qiao covered her mouth in surprise, her face full of disbelief.
"How is that possible? It's almost the hour of Chen already."
The hour of Chen was from seven to nine in the morning.
"Since ascending the throne, His Majesty has been diligent and hardworking, rising early and working late, worrying day and night. He has never once slacked off. Even when he caught a chill and fell ill, he would still drag his sick body to morning court.
"My grandfather once said that having such an emperor was the great fortune of the Black Obsidian Nation and the great fortune of its common people. How could he possibly not attend morning court?"
As she spoke, Su Qiao looked worriedly at the Empress Dowager. "Empress Dowager, I'm very concerned. Could His Majesty be suffering from some ailment and truly be unable to attend court, causing the delay? Please send more people to find His Majesty as soon as possible."
The Empress Dowager had the same suspicion.
Thinking of the consequences this matter could have, she hurriedly said, "Consort Ying is right. His Majesty must be suffering from some ailment."
Then she quickly instructed the chief eunuch beside her, "Liu Fu, hurry and take people to search the entire Imperial Palace. Be sure to..."
Before she could finish, a eunuch rushed in. "Your Highness, Chief Steward Qi is here."
The Empress Dowager shot to her feet and hurriedly ordered them to summon Chief Steward Qi.
"Qi Kun, where is His Majesty?"
Chief Steward Qi calmly bowed. "Reporting to Empress Dowager, His Majesty is fine now and has returned to Qian Yuan Hall."