"Senior wishes to see Empress Dowager Qi?" The Imperial Concubine frowned, looking at the young man whose status seemed even higher than that of Seventh Master Shen, and hesitated.
She wasn't stupid. It was obvious that the other party wasn't really there to do business, but rather to do something else she didn't know about. Given that the emperor had suddenly announced the submission to Jiangnan, and that the major families were inexplicably staying at home, there must be something big going on here. As a marginal imperial concubine, she really didn't want to get involved in this at all.
"Has Your Highness heard of the Jiangnan Academy?" Chen Qing suddenly asked.
When the topic was mentioned, the Empress Dowager's eyes lit up instantly.
I've not only heard about it, but I'm incredibly envious after learning that some of the younger generation can stay in Jiangnan. Which child of the Beiyu Family hasn't aspired to be a sorcerer since childhood? If they didn't truly lack the talent for sorcery, who would marry into the imperial palace?
Originally, after marrying into the royal family, she had no further thoughts about this, but Jiangnan gave her some hope.
Those younger ones weren't much younger than me; the oldest one was probably twenty-seven, right? And he stayed in Jiangnan too? I heard he even became a medical practitioner. Studying medicine can make you a practitioner!
From a young age, she studied the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams of the Central Plains, as well as other esoteric arts, hoping to overcome her inability to inherit her family's techniques. But it just didn't work. When it came to the Nine Palaces divination and the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams, no one in the entire Beiyu Family could match her. If Jiangnan Academy had appeared ten years earlier, why would she have ended up as a concubine in the imperial harem?
But after arriving in Jiangnan, she was already a concubine in the imperial harem, bound by strict rules, and could only return to her family home a few times. Going out to study was simply a pipe dream.
To be honest, when she heard two years ago that the brat from the Beiyu Family, who was even older than herself, had actually stayed in Jiangnan and become a sorcerer, she was so upset that she couldn't sleep for days and nights!
"The Dowager Consort is well-versed in the mystical arts of the Central Plains and is also skilled in mathematics, making her very suitable for the Jiangnan Academy. However, due to her status, she has been unable to fulfill her wish. But the Dowager Consort is not too old, and now that this place has been submitted to Jiangnan, if the Dowager Consort is willing, I can make an introduction."
"This..." The Empress Dowager's breath hitched. Her life was already over. Although she was young, she was almost destined to be a widow in the royal family and spend her life in the harem. But... if she could become a sorcerer, the situation would be different.
If possible, who would want their life to end here?
"But... my identity..."
"Your identity is not a concern, Your Highness. You are not the Empress Dowager, and not many people care. If you wish to live in seclusion, Jiangnan is a good place. Sorcerers can live up to three hundred years. A hundred years from now, who will remember that the harem is missing a childless Your Highness?"
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager stared intently at the other person, her fingernails digging into her flesh from inside her sleeves.
Chen Qing met the other person's gaze, her eyes clear and bright.
What does the senior want me to do?
In the end, she still refused to give up.
After all, the world has changed so much. Even if I were to stay hidden in the harem, could I really live a peaceful life forever?
Instead of doing this, why not try one more shot?
"We want to know how Empress Dowager Qi is doing." Chen Qing glanced at Shen Laoqi, Seventh Master Shen understood and said, "If Your Highness agrees, we will implant an eye in you and prepare a protective array for you. All we need you to do is pay a visit to Empress Dowager Qi once; you won't need to do anything else."
"Will that protective formation keep me safe?" the Empress Dowager asked after a moment's thought.
"I can't guarantee that," Chen Qing said honestly. "If things in the harem are as I suspect, then there shouldn't be any problems. But the situation is strange now, and no one involved can truly guarantee their own safety. I can only say that if we encounter danger, we will do everything in our power to ensure your safe return."
"I've heard," the Empress Dowager looked up at Chen Qing, "That in Jiangnan, after a person dies, their soul enters the Underworld and can be Samsara. If something happens to me, can you at least guarantee that I can enter Jiangnan?"
Faced with this question, Shen Qi was about to agree when Chen Qing shook his head, "Not necessarily."
The Empress Dowager was taken aback; she hadn't expected the other party to be so honest.
"All I can say is that I will do my best," Chen Qing said, looking at the other person.
"Very well!" The Empress Dowager rose, bowed, and smiled, "I trust your advice, senior."
Chen Qing also rose to return the greeting. "I, Chen, will do my utmost to live up to the Dowager Consort's trust!"
Chen Mou?
The Empress Dowager stared wide-eyed at the other person, a young man whose status was above Shen Qi's, surnamed Chen!
He is--
Inside the palace, the emperor had not shown his face for ten days, and Empress Yun was extremely anxious. Others might not know, but she knew her young husband very well. Ever since the Murong Great Family introduced a mysterious person, the entire situation in Northern Yan had changed.
The previous chaotic sectarian conflict vanished without a trace. As a family of military generals, the Yun Family had a father who had originally been a strong supporter of the Nether Moon Sect. However, he suddenly turned against them and supported the emperor's allegiance to Jiangnan. That was bad enough, but then the mother wrote to say that the father had gone into seclusion after returning home, just like many heads of aristocratic families.
But today, my mother sent her trusted old nanny to the palace to tell me something very terrible.
That is... Father is actually gone.
In the secluded chamber, there was no sign of the father. Also missing were several family elders who had gone into seclusion with him.
That wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that the mother immediately went to her own family, the Qi Family, who had made great contributions in the Northern Yan wars and were the maternal family of the Empress Dowager, hoping to get some information from her father, who was also her maternal grandfather.
However, after discussing it with the old lady of the Qi Family, they went to look for the Old Master Qi, only to be surprised to find that Old Master Qi was also missing!
I clearly saw with my own eyes that Old Master Qi entered the secluded cultivation chamber, and that family elders came to set up a spirit array. During his seclusion, there were people guarding outside day and night, and his meals and medicines were delivered on time.
But there was no one in the secret room?
This incident led the mother to a terrifying suspicion.
The heads of the families who discussed this with His Majesty back then have probably all disappeared!
The reason for their disappearance is unknown, but it is definitely not a good thing. The sudden change in attitude, and now even the people are gone. When she thinks about the people who were summoned by the emperor, each of them was a big figure who could influence the political situation of Northern Yan, her mother feels that something big is about to happen!
Only then did he send his trusted confidante into the palace, instructing her to find the emperor and find out exactly what had happened.
But that damned eunuch in the imperial study wouldn't let him in.
For an empress to be stopped outside by a mere eunuch would be unbelievable, but this eunuch was more forceful than anyone imagined!
"Your Majesty, please return. His Majesty has said he will not see anyone!"
"His Majesty has not seen his ministers for ten days, and I have not seen His Majesty for ten days either. I am very worried about His Majesty."
"Your Majesty need not worry, His Majesty is doing well."
"Whether something is good or bad isn't determined by your empty words!" The Empress's face had turned ashen. "Get out of my way immediately!"
The thin eunuch stood motionless like a nail upon hearing this, his face stiff as he said, "His Majesty has ordered that no one be seen. If Her Majesty the Empress insists on forcing her way in, she will bear the consequences."
Was this eunuch threatening him?
The Empress was furious. She was the legitimate daughter of the Yun Family and the Empress herself. How dare a mere eunuch be so presumptuous?
Just as she was about to force her way in, the eunuch suddenly looked up, and a chilling glint flashed in his previously dull eyes, making her tremble and stop her from forcing her way in.
For some reason, she could really sense that if she forced her way in, the other party's threatening words weren't just empty threats.
How dare he?
After a standoff, she ultimately didn't dare to force her way in. She angrily led her maids to the palace to gather guards. "That damned eunuch has such audacity!"
As they were walking, they suddenly saw a familiar figure passing by in the distance, heading towards what seemed to be Empress Dowager Qi's direction.
The Empress was taken aback and asked the palace maid beside her, "That's... the Dowager Consort from the Beiyu Family, isn't it?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
What was she doing in the Empress Dowager's palace?
The Empress Moon Nether Sect, and the entire palace was Black Lantern. Now, the Moon Nether Sect is considered a heretical sect, Empress Dowager Qi, as a key figure who promoted it, is now in a rather awkward situation. These days, she has been trying to avoid seeing that pretentious woman.
But then she suddenly remembered something. Her mother-in-law, Empress Dowager Qi, who usually loved to show off, had been quiet for about ten days.
Will it?
Thinking of this, she took the initiative to walk towards the Dowager Consort Beiyu.