270: Wang Quan

"The fact that His Majesty is lying here explains everything."

Tu Nan told him this.

"Oh?"

The Emperor's voice trailed off, as if the previous moment had just been another scene played on a whim.

"You really are blaming me for not taking his place and charging ahead back then?" he said in a theatrical tone.

"I'm saying," Tu Nan said expressionlessly, "His Majesty has already made his choice. He believes he did the right thing, so there's no need for you to overthink things here."

The Emperor laughed until his whole body trembled.

"Can't you pity me a little? Give me some comfort or something?" he said innocently.

Tu Nan gave him an elbow jab.

"I don't have time. He and I agree on one thing—when people are too idle, they tend to overthink. Why don't you go handle the government affairs now? Once I'm free, I can naturally comfort you properly... or you can think of it as me putting you in your place."

"Look at our heartless Empress..."

The Emperor spread his hands, looking a bit nostalgic. "She really is just like him."

Tu Nan no longer felt the fear she once had when dealing with him; she categorized it as the resentment of a overworked beast of burden.

***

Regarding Li, it was an accident, but Tu Nan had originally thought Kong Jiamu would be easier to persuade than Hain.

Who would have expected that in the end, he would be the most difficult to deal with.

Because the Peacock simply didn't give her a chance to speak.

He clearly wanted to escape everything; not only did he refuse to show up, he directly rushed to the front lines.

This caused her plans to fall through completely. After all, even if she could use her authority to force a Video Call, if she caused him to get Divided Soul during battle and something happened, the loss would outweigh the gain.

Fortunately, the Children in her belly hadn't been born yet, so there was still a little time. To the Star Worms, it seemed the attraction of two unborn Children was roughly equal to one that had already been born?

It could barely be considered that the Children were already being protected by being scattered.

Tu Nan appeared frequently before the public. As the most approachable Empress of the Imperial family, she received many people from all walks of life.

Among them were nobles introduced by Hain and Gu Lvhai, as well as ministers assigned by The Emperor to report on government affairs.

Then there were the merchants who already had dealings with her company through Zhuang Qi's connections, and the list of personnel sent over by Lance—many Female Beasts, including Foster Mothers.

Her reputation and prestige, like her belly, gradually grew larger.

At least on the surface, both in the court and among the public, there was nothing but praise and expectation.

Tu Nan did not get carried away. She still remembered the Empress Dowager's gloomy gaze back then. She had been waiting for her to make a move, but abnormally, there was no sound from the Empress Dowager's side.

Even the illegal research institutes she had people constantly monitoring were unusually quiet... so quiet that Tu Nan believed she must be holding back a major move.

"I don't think something is right."

When she was only half a month away from her due date, she brought up this topic with The Emperor.

"What's the feedback from those people watching her?" she asked.

The Emperor shrugged. "They seem pretty well-behaved. I've arranged for people to keep an eye on them."

"I think she knows I'm the one in charge now and doesn't dare to act out, so she's waiting for the other one to show up..." He sneered.

"Is that so..." Tu Nan still felt something was wrong. She caught a detail and pressed: "Why is it your arrangement? What about the private individuals His Majesty arranged to investigate the Empress Dowager before?"

That's right. His Majesty had handed the task of investigating the Empress Dowager externally to Tu Nan and Hain, but Tu Nan knew he had actually arranged an additional group of people. That was another secret line—and it might have been ongoing for many years.

"He didn't hand those people over to me," The Emperor snorted. "He's guarding against me on that point, for fear that I'd find any excuse to chop that old witch down."

"..." No one could say His Majesty was wrong. Tu Nan, who knew the whole story, felt that The Emperor was indeed capable of doing such a thing.

She was curious about His Majesty's attitude.

"So, His Majesty doesn't want to do anything for his biological mother?" Tu Nan didn't think this was a choice His Majesty would make. "Does he think the Empress Dowager wasn't wrong to do what she did?"

She pondered for a moment. "I don't think he would acknowledge the Empress Dowager's debt of gratitude for raising him."

The Emperor spread his hands. "Ah, the Empress Dowager always mistakenly thinks that because that person came out of her womb, his tolerance for her would be a bit higher."

"But... I guess he just thinks the majesty of the Imperial family needs to be maintained and that it's more beneficial for the stability of the Empire."

"It's just weighing the pros and cons, you know."

He suddenly leaned close to Tu Nan, gently sniffing the fragrance of her hair, and narrowed his eyes in enjoyment.

"Actually, in my view, it wouldn't have any impact at all. What's wrong with an Empress Dowager dying suddenly?"

The Emperor smiled, his soft lips brushing against her ear as he whispered, "You don't like her either. How about this: I'll make the move, and you'll do the cleanup?"

He was inviting Tu Nan to join his game.

Tu Nan rejected him heartlessly.

"To be honest, I'm quite tempted," she told him. "But in terms of governing, you and I combined are not as good as His Majesty. So... if he refused you, then I won't agree either."

"He must have his own plans, and I want to know exactly what His Majesty is waiting for..."

The Emperor found it very boring. He stood up straight, his expression turning cold.

"Then you go ask him yourself," he complained petulantly. "I can't do this, I can't do that. Being Emperor is boring to death. You can play this game yourself."

With a disdainful snort from his nose, he left Tu Nan behind and walked away.

No one expected that the moment they would come face-to-face with the Empress Dowager, the central figure of their conversation, would come so quickly and so unexpectedly.

***

It was only three days after that conversation.

She had finally managed to persuade The Emperor to attend the Grand Court Assembly with her, to show his face and act as a well-behaved mascot.

But the time had already arrived. The ministers had been waiting for a long while, and Tu Nan had changed her sitting position several times, yet he still hadn't appeared.

Tu Nan signaled to Peng Tianyu, who was standing behind her, to send someone to check.

However, the main doors of the Ceremonial Hall were pushed open. Silhouetted against the light, the Empress Dowager, dressed in a black gown and surrounded by a crowd of people, burst inside.

Tu Nan slowly rose from her seat.

The visitor did not come with good intentions.

"Empress Dowager." She watched as the Empress Dowager brushed off the guards trying to stop her and walked up the steps.

The Empress Dowager expressionlessly sized up her belly.

"You're about to give birth, aren't you?" she asked a seemingly irrelevant question. "Then you really shouldn't be working so hard."

Peng Tianyu had already stepped forward to guard Tu Nan's side alertly. The Empress Dowager didn't care at all; she gave Tu Nan a look of pity and then turned to the high-ranking ministers standing below.

The Empress Dowager looked up coldly. Once everyone's attention was drawn to her, she dropped an earth-shattering piece of news.

"Kingship has been stolen."

She paused for a moment, waiting until the air in the room began to tremble, before continuing her accusation.

"The one who has recently appeared on the throne is not our beloved Majesty, but a clone—a despicable usurper!"

The entire hall erupted in a violent roar of commotion.

Among them, however, there were those who remained calm and composed, appearing to have everything under control.

The Empress Dowager pointed outside the hall.

"The evidence, I have brought it."