In the past, when the ministers came to pay their respects, they entered one at a time, or chose a leader to go inside while the others waited outside.
This was because Emperor Wen had once decreed that the inner palace was not to interfere in affairs of state.
Publicly, the ministers still had to observe these rules, so they dared not come to see her as a group.
To outsiders, they said the ministers were asking the Empress Dowager to review matters, rather than having her participate in government.
This was also why the ministers were willing to support the Empress Dowager. Her edicts carried weight now because the emperor was young, but the ministers could quite legitimately render them powerless, because Emperor Wen had issued his own decree.
Now, however, they could no longer spare any thought for Emperor Wen's decree.
The ministers knelt before the Empress Dowager, all looking terrified. Some were even weeping, while others wore cold expressions.
The sight immediately frightened the Empress Dowager.
Never mind the Empress Dowager-even Cao Mao was startled.
What had happened? Weren't these all the bigwigs from the Imperial Secretariat??
Xun Yi was the first to raise his head. In a hoarse voice, he said, "Empress Dowager! Rebellions have broken out across the realm!!"
Xun Yi slowly recounted what had happened that day. Although he did not explicitly state the cause, he gave a detailed account of everything Deng Ai had reported in his letter.
Empress Dowager Guo went pale and slumped in her seat above them, trembling.
Cao Mao, too, looked somewhat dazed.
The moment Xun Yi spoke, Cao Mao concluded that this was Sima Shi's doing.
He was different from the ministers. Although Sima Shi had been gravely ill ever since the court assembly, lying in his residence