188: Caught in the crossfire

Tu Nan was anxious and worried.

She was thus placed under house arrest in The Emperor's small study.

Although this so-called study was equipped with a reception room, a lounge, an entertainment room, and a small garden, making it more complete than an average residence.

But to her, it was still like being in prison.

After the Children were returned to her by two maids that day, several guards stood watch at the door without saying a word.

Tu Nan stayed far away from the door of her own accord.

She prayed sincerely for The Emperor's quick recovery... The Children, on the other hand, were very happy; they hadn't spent this much time with their mother in a long while.

From the bookshelf, Tu Nan found a series of illustrated encyclopedias of local flora and fauna, using them as literacy materials to teach the Children every day.

She also came across an archaeological travelogue.

The parrot author, who traveled through interstellar space, was clearly a chatterbox; he loved recording local legends alongside archaeological discoveries.

One travelogue entry caught her eye:

It spoke of a legend on a certain planet where their ancient ancestors were actually unable to transform into their Beast Form. When they faced a cataclysmic crisis, four ancient beast gods appeared.

Among them were those that flew in the sky, those that swam in the water, and those that ran on the ground.

Working together, they enlightened the beastmen ancestors of the planet, granting them various Beast Forms.

In the end, everyone resolved the crisis and soared through the stars together... Four.

She stared at that number for a long time; it was so familiar.

One day, she would go see it. But first, Your Majesty must be safe.

Three days had passed, and the maids and guards were like mutes. Tu Nan couldn't get any news, though her basic needs were well taken care of.

She stroked her belly and looked out the window at the sky.

According to The Emperor's request that day, Kong Jiamu should have landed by now.

Kong Jiamu had indeed returned to the Capital Star, and all his requests to see The Emperor had been rejected.

This was normal... Whenever he did something wrong, The Emperor would often give him the cold shoulder like this.

Saying it was to let him reflect and temper his personality.

Kong Jiamu shrugged, rubbed his chin, and with a roll of his eyes, sent his request for an audience to the Empress Dowager.

As expected, he was very smoothly summoned by the Empress Dowager.

He tidied himself up and immediately went to the palace to play the charmer.

"You! Running wild outside all day, just like The Emperor, you don't understand the principle of starting a family first." The Empress Dowager scolded him with a smile while holding his hand.

"I've been wronged! I was sent out by Your Majesty to work my life away." Kong Jiamu had a pitiful expression, which made the old lady laugh.

He was handsome and sweet-talking, always the Empress Dowager's little joy.

"Besides, how boring would it be without the right person to spend my life with? Now that I've found someone suitable, haven't I come to beg you?"

The Empress Dowager was startled, then beamed with joy.

"Oh my! Which Young Miss has managed to make you settle down? What are you asking me for? Can't you handle it yourself? Good, you deserve to be rebuffed." The Empress Dowager teased him.

Kong Jiamu pretended to plead with a miserable face.

"Empress Dowager, stop teasing me. As for the person, you must have seen her..." He didn't beat around the bush and looked around, but he didn't see the figure he had been longing for.

"You've kept her here for so long; you must like her very much."

"How about it? Don't I have good taste?"

The Empress Dowager had only seen one outsider recently... but it was The Emperor who had publicly claimed she was keeping her for company.

"Oh? It couldn't be... the mother of those Two Children, could it?"

The Empress Dowager was shocked; this was truly... "Exactly. Isn't she interesting?" Kong Jiamu shook his head slightly with pride, thinking that Pearl would surely be liked by everyone.

"Where is she? Could I trouble you to call her out? I haven't seen her in so long." He tugged at the Empress Dowager's sleeve, acting spoiled.

The Empress Dowager fell silent for a moment.

She clearly remembered that the Female Beast was brought into the palace by Hain, and the way Hain looked at her wasn't clean either. Both close ministers were involved?

The Emperor had taken her Two Children as students; their mother being a widow actually meant her background was considered clean.

But if she were to remarry... it really required careful consideration of whether it was appropriate.

Besides... as a widow, she was actually so restless, being involved with Hain and now hooking up with Kong Jiamu.

How could she be worthy?

The Empress Dowager's face darkened, and she let out a huff.

"You rushed here to see me, but it wasn't to visit me? Hmm?"

Kong Jiamu's peach-blossom eyes blinked as he quickly coaxed the Empress Dowager, "How could that be? Of course, I'm here to see you. How were the supplements I sent last time? Were they good? I had some more made and brought them to you right on time."

"That's more like it!" Only then did the Empress Dowager show a smile, but she completely ignored Kong Jiamu's previous words.

No matter how anxious Kong Jiamu was, he had no choice. After coaxing the Empress Dowager, he thought about looking for Hain, but found that Hain wasn't at his home in the Capital City, and his communicator wouldn't go through... He must have been grabbed by The Emperor to work in the palace. Sigh.

It seems I'll have to trouble Xiao Nan again.

The Peacock looked miserable. I'm going to get scolded by Xiao Nan again, he thought.

***

As soon as Kong Jiamu left, the Empress Dowager stood up, intending to go to The Emperor to sound out his thoughts on Kong Jiamu's request for marriage and, while she was at it, speak about that restless Third-Class Female Official.

To her surprise, she was stopped outside The Emperor's palace chambers.

"You won't let me in?" The Empress Dowager's face looked grim.

"Since when was I not allowed to see my own son?" With a dark expression, she ordered the guards to step aside.

"Apologies, those are the orders."

The captain of the red-clad Imperial Guard simply straightened his back and wouldn't budge an inch.

"Whose orders? Your Majesty's?" the Empress Dowager asked calmly, but the emotions in her eyes were becoming increasingly suppressed.

The captain gritted his teeth. He couldn't explicitly say that The Emperor had long ago ordered that no one could enter without an announcement, nor could he do anything to the Empress Dowager. He could only say nothing and hold his ground.

The Empress Dowager suddenly gave a motherly smile.

"Good! Loyal to your post, very well." Before the captain could release his bated breath, the Empress Dowager shouted, "Force your way in! I want to see who dares stop me."

The guards and maids behind her had long known this wouldn't end well. As soon as she finished speaking, they rushed toward the guards regardless of whether they would be injured, grabbing them tightly and forcing themselves onto the Imperial Guard's blades.

Blood dripped down the sword blades onto the white stone floor, spreading into a shocking patch of red.

"Back down!"

The Imperial Guard captain's forehead bulged, and the sword in his hand trembled, but he didn't dare to actually push forward.

This standoff, where one side disregarded their lives and the other was afraid to act for fear of causing harm, successfully cleared a path for the Empress Dowager.

Leaning on a maid's hand, she ignored the fighting around her and headed straight for the inner courtyard.

Tu Nan was startled by the commotion outside and stood by the window to peer out.

This brought her face-to-face with the Empress Dowager, who had just stepped into the courtyard.

"You?"

The Empress Dowager stopped in her tracks, her sharp gaze sweeping over.

The young widow was standing prettily by the study window; though her clothes were neat, her lips were a vivid red. At the door of the room, two more fully armed guards stood watch.

The Empress Dowager's heart sank suddenly, as if she had connected some dots, and her face darkened.

"What, hooking up with Kong Jiamu wasn't enough? You're quite capable, aren't you? Where is The Emperor! Tell him to come out and see me!"

...Tu Nan was truly caught in the crossfire.

She wanted to know where The Emperor was, too.

But in the next instant, a cold and sharp aura pressed down like a tide.

The guards' movements froze in that moment, and the Empress Dowager's spine stiffened.

A silver figure walked slowly from the end of the corridor.

"Mother, you are quite majestic. Only, since when could you give orders in my place? Hmm?" Yuan Zhe still followed respectfully behind him.

"When did my words start being treated as wind passing by the ear?"

With a faint smile, he looked around at the chaotic scene.

The red-clad Imperial Guards immediately took on solemn expressions; regardless of what was skewered on their swords, they quickly withdrew them and pinned everyone who had intruded into their guard perimeter to the ground.

Everyone except the Empress Dowager.

She stared at the approaching Emperor, her pupils shrinking. "You... how did you..."

She suddenly stopped, as if realizing she had let something slip.

Her body only trembled slightly.

Tu Nan was equally confused.

Because when The Emperor finally entered her line of sight, the green scroll above his head unfurled once more.

It supplemented The Emperor's personal information, which read:

[The Emperor, Jiaolong (Divine-Grade)]

[Successful breeding can complete the host's gene chain: 10%]

Tu Nan blinked, suspecting her eyes were playing tricks on her from lack of rest.

Looking closer, the number on the scroll jumped from [10%] to [20%] as if to mock her.

She held her breath, not daring to blink... and then the number slowly retreated to [15%], as if nothing had happened.