Hua Manman didn’t know what had happened inside the Imperial Ancestral Temple. All she could see was that the Emperor’s expression was absolutely terrible when he emerged.

Ever since ascending the throne, the Emperor had always been impassive, never letting his joy or anger show.

The court officials had never seen the Emperor so discomposed, and a sense of unease filled their hearts.

Of everyone present, only the dauntless Prince Zhao stepped forward to inquire.

"Your Majesty, shall the ancestral worship ceremony continue?"

The Emperor took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the rage churning within him, and said through gritted teeth.

"Of course, it must."

He paused, then added.

"We will conduct the ceremony at the Imperial Mausoleum."

The annual ancestral worship ceremony could not be canceled. But given the state of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, holding it there was out of the question, which made the Imperial Mausoleum the only alternative.

No one present dared to say another word, silently watching as the Emperor boarded his carriage.

The Emperor pushed open the carriage window and instructed Prince Zhao.

"Take some men and clean up the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Not a single ancestral tablet can be lost. Find every last one."

Li Ji cupped his fist. "As you command."

The Emperor then looked to General Wang.

"Take your men and escort the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince into the custody of the Ministry of Justice. After the truth of the Imperial Ancestral Temple’s collapse is ascertained, we will decide their fate."

Upon hearing this, the color drained from the faces of both Consort Liu and Xianfei.

They wanted to plead for their sons, but before the words could leave their mouths, the Emperor had already looked away, and Zuo Ji helped shut the carriage window.

The words caught in the throats of Consort Liu and Xianfei, leaving them in an agonizing state of suspense.

Consort Liu turned to her brother, her expression frantic.

With so many people watching, Liu Ze couldn’t say much. He could only shake his head, signaling her to remain silent.

The Emperor was in a rage right now. If Consort Liu were to plead for her son, it would only backfire.

It was better to let the Emperor calm down first.

Everyone else also boarded their respective carriages.

Hua Manman sat in her carriage, poking her head out the window to look for Prince Zhao.

Li Ji rode up beside the carriage and spoke to her.

"Go on ahead to the Imperial Mausoleum with the others. Once the ceremony is over, you can go straight back to the Prince Mansion."

Hua Manman asked with wide, hopeful eyes, "What about you?"

Li Ji replied, "I have to stay and manage the aftermath. I’ll probably be back late."

There was nothing she could do to help with the Imperial Ancestral Temple, so she could only say,

"I’ll wait for you to have dinner with me."

’It was the first dinner of the New Year. She wanted to eat it with the person she loved.’

Li Ji’s lips curved into a smile. "Alright."

...

Ever since the Empress had been sent to the Imperial Mausoleum, most people had all but forgotten she existed.

When the procession followed the Emperor to the Imperial Mausoleum today, they saw the Empress again and found her much thinner and more haggard than before.

Though she still wore the ceremonial robes befitting her status as Empress, her spirit was a shadow of its former self.

Ordinarily, Consort Liu would have seized the opportunity to taunt her, getting revenge for the past suppression she suffered at the Empress’s hands.

But now, Consort Liu was consumed with worry for her son’s safety and was in no mood for anything else.

The Emperor was in no better state, his mind completely consumed with how to handle the consequences of the Imperial Ancestral Temple’s collapse.

On the first day of the New Year, not only had there been an earthquake, but the Imperial Ancestral Temple, which housed the ancestral tablets, had also collapsed.

No matter how one looked at it, this was an extremely inauspicious omen.

Even the Emperor, who did not normally believe in gods and spirits, couldn’t help but feel agitated.

To say nothing of the common people, who were already superstitious.

If they found out the Imperial Ancestral Temple had collapsed, their imaginations would surely run wild.

If the situation wasn’t handled properly, it could even shake the very foundations of the Great Zhou.

The entire ancestral worship ceremony was solemn and oppressive.

Even during the brief breaks, no one dared to speak, fearing they might accidentally become the target of the Emperor’s wrath.

The Royal Family had numerous rules, and the ancestral worship ceremony was incredibly lengthy.

The ceremony lasted until the afternoon before it finally concluded.

Everyone departed from the Imperial Mausoleum, returning to Shangjing by carriage.

Eating was forbidden during the ceremony, and Hua Manman was famished. As soon as she got into her carriage, she pulled open a hidden compartment, took out some fruit pastries, and began to devour them with sips of tea.

Only when she was mostly full did she finally slow her pace.

With a pastry hanging from her mouth, she reached out and pushed open the carriage window, wanting to see where they were.

Just then, she saw the Fourth Prince, Li Ying, on horseback.

Li Ying was deliberately riding alongside the Prince Zhao Mansion’s carriage.

’He knew Hua Manman was married, and he knew this was inappropriate, but he couldn’t control his impulse to be near her.’

’Even just getting another look at her was enough.’

Their eyes met.

Li Ying saw Hua Manman with the pastry dangling from her mouth.

She looked like a startled rabbit, her eyes wide and round, as she fumbled to snatch the pastry from her mouth.

In her haste, crumbs from the pastry scattered onto her rabbit-fur scarf.

She paid them no mind, however, and hastily reached out to shut the window again.

Li Ying stared at the closed window, his mind replaying her flustered expression from a moment ago.

’It was adorable.’

Inside the carriage, Hua Manman slapped the back of her hand and cursed inwardly.

’Damn this hand! Why did I have to open the window for no reason?’

The grand procession of carriages made its way back to Shangjing.

But because of the two major incidents—the earthquake and the temple collapse—there was still much to be done. The court officials could not rest; they had to work overtime.

As a family member, Hua Manman naturally did not have to work overtime.

She returned to the Prince Mansion by carriage and began to make arrangements for dinner.

Feihua Zhenren was lurking in the kitchen, tasting a bite of any delicious-looking food he saw.

The sky gradually grew dark.

Dinner was ready, but Prince Zhao still had not returned.

Feihua Zhenren clutched his rumbling stomach and sighed dramatically.

"Why isn’t the Prince back yet?"

Hua Manman replied, "The Prince said he would be back late today. If you’re hungry, you can go ahead and eat."

No matter how gluttonous he was, Feihua Zhenren would never be so rude as to start eating before his host arrived.

He dug out some melon seeds and peanuts meant for New Year’s guests and began to snack on them with milk tea.

The two of them waited until midnight, but Prince Zhao still had not returned.

A sense of unease began to creep into Hua Manman’s heart.

Even Feihua Zhenren grew a little concerned. He frowned and asked,

"He’s still not back this late. Could something have held him up?"

Hua Manman stood up. "I’ll send someone to find out what’s going on."

Just as she reached the doorway, she saw Si Yun rush in.

"Princess Consort, the Prince is back!"

Hua Manman noticed something was wrong with Si Yun’s expression and a bad feeling welled up inside her.

Sure enough, in the next moment, she heard Si Yun say,

"The Prince is injured!"

Hua Manman lifted her skirts and ran out.

When she reached the front courtyard, she saw a travel-worn Prince Zhao.

His brows were slightly furrowed and his face was a little pale. His cloak billowed in the cold wind.

Hua Manman dashed over to him. "Where are you hurt?"

Li Ji smiled as if nothing was wrong, his tone casual.

"It’s just a little scrape on my arm."

Hua Manman didn’t believe him and insisted on seeing for herself.