A King Eyes the Dragon Throne, but Whence Comes the Root of Calamity?

"Your Highness Prince Ding, please see clearly: it is not that this humble general means to bar your way. I merely bear orders from above and have no choice but to carry them out." The guard commander was not yet old, handsome in appearance, and carried in his words and bearing the distinctive air of an aristocratic scion, the descendant of meritorious nobility.

Yet faced with these aggressive imperial kinsmen, the commander could not help but break into a sweat, hurriedly explaining himself. His background and strength were of no use at this moment.

Prince Ding gave a cold laugh and retorted, "Orders from above? Whose orders? What is our relationship with His Majesty? Upon hearing that His Majesty is unwell, we came at once to visit him. This is the affection of blood relatives—who can stop us? The one in charge of the palace is the Empress Dowager. Don't tell me it was the Empress Dowager's order to prevent us imperial kinsmen from visiting His Majesty!"

At those words, even more sweat appeared on the guard commander's brow, but he could only brace himself and say, "It was indeed the Empress Dowager. I ask that Your Highness withdraw for now. Should the order change, this humble general will certainly send someone to summon you all at once."

"The Empress Dowager?" Prince Ding raised an eyebrow. He had long suspected this answer. After coming twice before, he had already understood most of the situation. The reason he still asked now was to leave no trace; outwardly, he still had to feign puzzlement. "It truly was the Empress Dowager? How strange. Still, since it is the Empress Dowager's decree, we cannot force our way in. But go inside and report it anyway. Tell them that I, Li Duo, am concerned for