Pan Jifeng jerked his head up, staring straight at the tiny figure in the Five-Tier Seats. The movement was so violent that a clearly audible crack came from his neck.
The shocked murmurs of his fellow officials seemed amplified countless times in his ears, only to recede like the tide an instant later.
It was as though he had fallen into an empty void. Everything around him, sights and sounds alike, disappeared into darkness, leaving only those few figures in the Five-Tier Seats sharply real.
Pan Jifeng looked bewildered, with a trace of anger mixed into his confusion.
What had that little brat called his Jingwan?!
And what in the world was Consort Shu?!!
He was just about to ask when another low voice suddenly rang out-
"Mm." Jiang Yanchuan's voice betrayed no emotion. "Consort Shu is currently in Huayin Hall. If you are anxious, Minister Pan, you may go and reunite with her now."
The last shred of hope in Pan Jifeng's heart vanished as those words fell. White flashes flickered before his eyes, and after a dizzying spell in which heaven and earth spun around him, there came a thud-
He toppled stiffly to the floor.
"Ah!" Startled by this sudden turn, Jiang Yingcheng instinctively raised both little chubby hands to cover her eyes.
Then she secretly parted her fingers to make two narrow gaps, peering slyly through them with her big, watery eyes.
[He fainted?]
[He really fainted?!]
Incredible!
The old fellow who had been dreaming of happy family gatherings had faaain-ted!
The glee in the little girl's thoughts was so obvious that the solemn expressions the Upright Officials had just mustered instantly cracked. They nearly burst out laughing right in front of the Pan Party.
Gao Siyuan, the Loyal and Martial General, turned away and clenched