Thinking of the news she had just received, the Empress Dowager's complexion improved. She asked again, "This man had clearly plotted for a long time and will not be easy to deal with. But the urgent matter is still to quell the chaos across the realm and disperse the blood-red hue in the sky. How long will that take?"
"The source of the blood-red hue has already been removed, but since it has spread throughout the realm, completely dispelling it will still take considerable effort. After all, the Imperial City is not the only place affected." As Qiu Yan spoke, the Empress Dowager and Empress both found his words reasonable and nodded repeatedly. The blood-red light had spread everywhere; they did not believe it could be swept away in a single stroke.
But then Qiu Yan changed his tone. "Still, it is not as though there is no way to remove it swiftly. It simply involves a certain degree of risk and may provoke a counterattack from the Noble Clans!" As he spoke, Qiu Yan raised his head and studied the expressions of the two women before him.
Sure enough, upon hearing that it might provoke retaliation from the Noble Clans, the Empress Dowager and Empress's expressions changed slightly, revealing a trace of worry.
Things were no longer as they had been before. Back then, because the Emperor had passed away and everything had fallen into disorder, the two women had been pushed forward by several high-ranking ministers and had invisibly grasped power.
In their original understanding, the Emperor ruled the dynasty, the Emperor held the greatest authority, and that authority could pacify every faction. Thus, when Qiu Yan agreed to the Crown Prince's ten-year pact, he had mentioned that it would displease the Noble Clans. Yet the Empress Dowager