The Grand Empress Dowager's Decline

Kong Anguo said they would set off in two days, and the timing was very punctual.

The other party was Zhang Xuezhou's colleague at Jinmamen, who was also responsible for relaying the message.

Around dawn, someone knocked on the door of Zhang Xuezhou's house.

After checking for empty seats in the carriage, Zhang Xuezhou quickly called over Rong Tianding.

"Let that little wench go and risk it herself!"

Rong Tianding happily boarded the carriage.

Although he wanted to wait for Xu Yuan and the others to return in Chang'an City, it was only a month, so going out for a while wouldn't be a problem.

Moreover, this was the imperial entourage, which traveled at a much faster speed than normal carriages and horses.

According to Zhang Xuezhou, the imperial convoy is most likely heading to Liang. If it gets there, it won't be too far from the Northern Border, and it might even be possible for Rong Tianding to make a trip back to Hibiscus City.

He carried a small bundle containing his clothes and then squeezed into the carriage.

The carriages that Zhang Xuezhou and his companions rode in were not unusual. It was only when many carriages gathered at the gates of Chang'an City and slowly emerged that Zhang Xuezhou realized how large the caravan was.

This was a group of at least one hundred carriages, lined up for hundreds of meters, escorted by an elite cavalry regiment of over a thousand men.

Compared to the small group of a few dozen people during the trip to Lingnan, the new emperor's current entourage is more than ten times larger.

"Empress Dowager, His Majesty has left Chang'an City!"

In Anle Palace, Princess Dou received the report and quickly informed the Empress Dowager.

There was a hint of heaviness on her face.

The Empress Dowager ordered her to stay at Anle Palace and chose to go out in the middle of the night, but she still encountered the Incantation Technique. Meanwhile, she continued to wander around the palace with her spirit and did not find anything unusual.

When the Empress Dowager returned to the palace, she was noticeably much older than before, with many age spots on her skin.

The Empress Dowager's decline made Princess Dou noticeably more anxious.

Outsiders thought the Great Han Dynasty palace had a deep foundation, but Princess Dou knew that the Empress Dowager was already exhausted and had no other options.

The Western Sect monks we had been hoping for a few days ago were completely unreliable. The Empress Dowager returned from Yangling, and the other side also fled in the chaos.

If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's unwavering assurance that the other party was a top-tier cultivator, Princess Dou would almost have thought she had encountered some kind of swindler.

She only hoped that the Great Han Dynasty could take over the reins smoothly, but the Empress Dowager's changeable temperament left Princess Dou confused.

Even the Empress Dowager, for the first time ever, showed some considerate care towards the new emperor.

Princess Dou was momentarily confused as to whether the Empress Dowager's actions were a prelude to a coup or a genuine expression of concern.

She personally reported the matter to the Empress Dowager, who couldn't help but fall into a slight silence.

With the main force of the Anle Palace inserted into the court, the new emperor sitting on the throne appeared to be a figurehead, his power completely usurped.

In this situation, it makes no difference whether there is a new emperor or not.

The new emperor just left too abruptly and too heartlessly.

The other party simply left Chang'an City without a second thought, showing no sign of lingering.

If it were the Empress Dowager of the past, she would at least have cursed it as absurd, even if she had given prior permission.

At this time, the New Year had just passed, and the King of Huainan was still in Chang'an City and had not yet returned when the new emperor fled.

If Chang'an City cannot be stabilized, this is almost a prelude to a change of dynasty and emperor.

"Good thing we're out of Chang'an City!"

At the moment, the Empress Dowager merely echoed her sentiments and did not pursue the matter further.

She even had to praise the new emperor for running away so decisively.

The new emperor is undoubtedly taking a gamble to see whether the Empress Dowager will favor the King of Huainan or choose her own grandson again.

The new emperor's withdrawal from Chang'an City undoubtedly avoided the vortex of conflict and completely handed over the decision-making power to the Empress Dowager.

"What is Liu An doing?" the Empress Dowager asked.

"These past few days he's been drinking and making merry with Tian Fen, Dou Ying, Zhuang Qingdi, Xu Chang, and others," Dou Taizhu replied.

"Is it really just drinking and merrymaking?"

"Perhaps they are also trying to gauge the opinions of these important court officials, or even to determine your intentions!"

When the Empress Dowager asked, Princess Dou had no choice but to reveal some of the rumors.

"He was just a little bit off," the Empress Dowager whispered. "If he had been just a little bit better, he wouldn't need this old woman's opinion!"

What was the King of Huainan lacking?

Princess Dou asked curiously, but the Empress Dowager did not respond.

She recalled the two tomb-robbing passages in Yangling that led to the imperial tomb, and her brows furrowed with extreme solemnity.

The King of Huainan seemed to know something that she was unaware of.

Otherwise, the King of Huainan would not have needed to dig a passage for tomb raiding.

However, the King of Huainan encountered a leak of Sha Qi within the imperial tomb, making it difficult for him to enter its depths.

It is highly likely that Emperor Jing's tomb contains the item that the Prince of King of Huainan sought. This item may be related to the King of Huainan's cultivation or his rise to King of Huainan in the Great Han. There are no other answers.

"Let him go back to Huainan!"

After a silence of more than ten seconds, the Empress Dowager finally gave her instructions.

"Will he go back so easily?" Princess Dou asked hesitantly.

"He doesn't know the extent of my injuries, and he still needs me, so he wouldn't dare risk testing me," the Empress Dowager nodded. "He will naturally go back!"

"But he'll probably figure it out later," said Dou Taizhu.

"Once he leaves Chang'an City, he can only come here by leading troops in rebellion if I do not allow it," the Empress Dowager replied.

If the King of Huainan can honestly integrate with the court officials and the people, there is a 60% chance that he will persuade the Empress Dowager to make a decision.

This was perhaps the closest the King of King of Huainan had ever come to the throne, but the other side shouldn't have dug those two tomb-robbing passages.

The fact that the other party dared to dig up the late emperor's grave before he was even an emperor displeased the Empress Dowager with this clandestine transgression of the rules. She was also worried that beneath the King of Huainan's humble and polite exterior lay situations she was unaware of.

She was wary of the new emperor, but she was also wary of the King of Huainan.

In this situation, her investigation time would undoubtedly need to be extended.

Perhaps giving the new emperor some time to grow, or perhaps gaining a better understanding of the King of Huainan.

Everything depends on what these two do next.

"Knew!"

Princess Dou bowed and agreed.

"Is His Majesty really unable to afford to raise them?"

Before leaving Anle Palace to make arrangements, Princess Dou couldn't help but ask a question.

"Liu Qi lost ten years of his life!"

The Empress Dowager murmured.

If Emperor Jing had lived another ten years, the new emperor would have been nearly thirty, which would have been his prime, a time of youth, strength, and power, whereas figures like the Prince of Liang and the King of Huainan would have been quite old.

In this situation, there is no need for comparison, nor is it necessary for the Empress Dowager to stabilize the court.

The new emperor was missing those ten years.

Without strong enough support, no one would give the new emperor ten years to grow.

The new emperor has been nurtured by Emperor Jing for many years, and his temperament and cognition are somewhat similar to Emperor Jing's. The Empress Dowager does not know how to cultivate the new emperor, and the new emperor may not necessarily listen to her, and may even misjudge her, and there are many who think that she may cause harm.

"Like a potent elixir of immortality..."

The Empress Dowager reflected on how her past attempts to curry favor with the new emperor had been met with hostility, and how she had no choice but to accept the pills. The Empress and the Empress indulged in nightly revelry, even lingering in the Weiyang Palace for extended periods without returning to their own chambers.

The other party never considered that the boundless energy from the object that allows men to indulge in nightly revelry could truly only be used for procreation.

"The yin-yang balance of top-tier Daoist elixirs will give you inexhaustible energy, allowing you to cultivate day and night without any adverse effects. It can effectively shorten the period of stagnation in your growth. I've given you a chance; whether you seize it is up to you!"

She murmured softly.

She, who used to be full of energy, was now somewhat dizzy and fell asleep during the day for the first time.