Princess NanAn and the others all wore grave expressions.

No reports came forth of the Empress Dowager being gravely ill, how did She suddenly pass away?

Prince Qi fled, hiding in shadows and stirring up quite a few petty actions. Because the late Emperor’s "edict" existed, the Empress Dowager’s orders kept him in check, preventing him from openly rebelling.

Now that the Empress Dowager has passed, no one can suppress Prince Qi, he is bound to rebel.

Though there is still a Commandery Princess in the Capital City, a mere daughter cannot withstand Prince Qi’s ambition.

Inside the Imperial Study.

The Emperor is reviewing memorials.

An eunuch ran in to report the news of the Empress Dowager’s passing to the Emperor.

The Emperor’s body froze, yet to recover from the shock, the mourning bell had already rung.

The Emperor’s face turned ashen.

He stood up from the Dragon Chair, erupting in furious anger, "Who authorized you to ring the mourning bell?!"

The message-delivering eunuch was startled by the Emperor’s wrath.

The Empress Dowager is gone, ringing the mourning bell twenty-seven times is the custom.

Seeing the Emperor’s furious expression, Eunuch Fu also realized that the mourning bell shouldn’t have been rung, it mustn’t be rung.

In this world, only the Empress Dowager could suppress Prince Qi’s rebellious heart. Uncaring for the birth mother’s death, even if Prince Qi succeeded in rebellion, he’d be cursed and infamous for ages.

Currently, the border situation is tense; though the battles with Nanliang are deadlocked, if Prince Qi raises an army now, it would be an additional disaster for the court.

Prince Qi is far outside the Capital City; if the Empress Dowager were to die and no funeral announcement made, she’d still be seen as alive to the world.

Prince Qi would be unable to disregard the Empress Dowager’s death.

Yet now, with the Empress Dowager’s last breath, the mourning bell was immediately rung.

Was there such urgency in this matter?!

Couldn’t they wait for the Emperor to nod before ringing it?!

The Emperor was so angry that his head throbbed; he truly hadn’t expected the Empress Dowager to die at this moment. He had already ordered the Imperial Physician to take good care of the Empress Dowager, ensuring she stayed alive.

Now that the mourning bell has rung, it’s too late to say any more.

The Emperor left the Imperial Study to hurriedly head towards Yongning Palace, to see how the Empress Dowager could suddenly pass away.

The eunuch who rang the mourning bell was seized and immediately beaten to death.

Outside Yongning Palace, the guards keeping watch hadn’t withdrawn; having watched over the Empress Dowager for so long, they were somewhat fatigued but no one dared to relax.

Seeing the angry Emperor walking toward them, each guard stood straight.

The palace maids and eunuchs of Yongning Palace knelt all over the ground, wails ceaseless.

When the Emperor ordered the grounding of Yongning Palace, he stated that if anything grave happened to the Empress Dowager, everyone in Yongning Palace would perish alongside her.

For these months, they hadn’t stepped foot out of Yongning Palace, everything they ate and drank was delivered by designated people; despite feeling aggrieved, while serving the Empress Dowager, no one dared to slack off.

The Emperor lifted his feet to walk inside, the palace maids and eunuchs knelt aside to clear a path.

The Emperor reached the bed, the Empress Dowager lay on a large rosewood elaborately carved bed, her face purple, her death not peaceful.

Eunuch Fu asked the palace maid, "I repeatedly instructed you all to carefully attend to the Empress Dowager, how did this sudden death come about?!"

The palace maids’ faces were pale as they replied, "We don’t know why the Empress Dowager suddenly passed. Half an hour ago, she ordered us to fetch the phoenix robe she wore when she conferred the title of Empress, asking us to help her put it on..."

Not only did she don her favorite phoenix robe, but she also put on makeup, appearing full of vitality.

Who would have thought the Empress Dowager would seek death unable to reconcile herself to living?

Looking at the Empress Dowager’s phoenix robe, the Emperor’s expression grew darker. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

She was indeed clever.

Living brought only pain, but death for her would mean a grand funeral as the Empress Dowager, and provide Prince Qi with the excuse to raise an army in rebellion.

"Investigate thoroughly how the Empress Dowager really died!" the Emperor’s voice was cold as frost.

The Imperial Physician rushed in.

When Yongning Palace was grounded, it was thoroughly searched, all poisons were removed.

The Empress Dowager’s appearance didn’t resemble that of a poison-induced suicide.

After examining her, the Imperial Physician reported to the Emperor, "The Empress Dowager committed suicide by swallowing gold."

The once high and mighty Empress Dowager met such a fate of swallowing gold to commit suicide, truly a lamentable end.

But thinking of the Empress Dowager’s deception and replacement, killing the Empress’s unborn child, using Prince Qi’s son to impersonate a Prince, and causing Consort Yun’s death...

Were it not for Princess Jin Ning’s fortuitous escape with Dongxiang Marquis’s wife’s help, these sordid matters would have never surfaced.

The Empress Dowager’s death isn’t worth mourning.

Moreover, her death will bring greater calamity to Daqi.

Alive, she harmed others.

Dead, she still harmed others.

The Emperor’s gaze swept across the palace maids and eunuchs kneeling throughout the ground, asking, "Did the Empress Dowager leave any instructions for a simple funeral before her death?"

The palace maids and eunuchs were collectively stunned.

The more astute among them nodded swiftly, "The Empress Dowager said, the funeral to be simple."

The National Treasury is empty, with insufficient funds for the border’s battles, the Emperor was disinclined to squander vast amounts of money on an abhorrent Empress Dowager’s funeral.

The Emperor’s expression was cold, "Then follow the Empress Dowager’s instructions, keep the funeral simple."

Leaving this order, the Emperor strode away.

Though the Empress Dowager’s funeral would be simple, she was still the Empress Dowager; during the mourning period, any celebration is forbidden in and outside the palace, families in the Capital preparing weddings must postpone due to the Empress Dowager’s passing.

The noblewomen entered the palace to mourn the Empress Dowager, largely the same as in previous times.

However, usually when an Empress Dowager is buried, a multitude of gold, silver, and ceramics are included as burial gifts, especially those items favored by the Empress Dowager in life, all these would follow the Empress Dowager in burial.

But now, none of those items accompanied the Empress Dowager into the earth for her eternal rest.

Only those confidantes from Yongning Palace the Emperor permitted to perish alongside the Empress Dowager did so.

With the Empress Dowager’s death, the mourning bell proclaimed it to the world.

Upon receiving the news, Prince Qi was overcome with grief.

The Empress Dowager used her life to fulfill his son’s ambition.

In profound sorrow for merely half an hour, Prince Qi raised an army, denouncing the Emperor as unfilial, poisoning the Empress Dowager. He wished to march into the Capital and demand accountability!

Prince Qi fully prepared for the rebellion, Marquis Dongxiang’s most anxious fear came true.

Prince Qi and Duke Chong were too familiar with Daqi’s politics. When Prince Qi raised the army, he went directly toward Daqi’s granaries.

He immediately seized control of the border soldiers’ supplies.

On one side is Nanliang repeatedly besieging cities, and on the other, Prince Qi grasped the court’s granaries.

Marquis Dongxiang, guessing Prince Qi’s intentions, as Prince NanAn and Heir of Marquis Beining brought back twenty carts of grain and grass for emergency preparedness, immediately dispatched the Flying Tiger Army to aid in maintaining the grain and grass, also sending word to Old Duke Chong, barely securing one of Daqi’s major granaries.

But these are far from sufficient to handle the war situation.

Within the tent, Marquis Dongxiang alongside Old Prince, Prince, and Marquis Jibei discussed military affairs.

The places Prince Qi’s men conquered, at once reported back via urgent messages or carrier pigeons.

It must be said, Duke Chong—a son of Old Duke Chong, younger brother to the late Heir of Duke Chong, his strategic methods are peerless.

Regretfully, he steered in the wrong direction, walking down a misguided path.

Originally destined for the court’s trusted ministers, he became a grave threat to the court’s core.

Prince Qi didn’t directly assault the Capital but instead took over granaries one after another, directly choking the lifeline of the border soldiers.

Without grain and grass, while Nanliang sieges cities and consumes Daqi’s military strength, once the time is ripe, Prince Qi can initiate a sweeping momentum.

The princes all had solemn expressions, Old Prince gazed at Marquis Dongxiang saying, "Currently, army provisions suffice for just over a month. Considering what Old Duke Chong saved and what the Wei Family’s intending to send, it can barely sustain for three months."

Whether those provisions not yet in the army can be delivered safely remains uncertain.

"Old Duke Chong can’t be driven to desperation either; if Prince Qi sets the provisions ablaze, everyone ends up empty-handed."

While it wouldn’t matter if Prince Qi falls short, they can’t be without provisions.

Marquis Dongxiang was eager enough to strip Duke Chong of his skin, saying, "Nanliang again mobilized troops toward the border; they must’ve learned of Prince Qi controlling provisions’ situation, we cannot spread too thinly to quash Prince Qi."

"Given the current circumstances, first burn Nanliang’s granaries!"