274: Curtain Fall and Protection

Seeing that everything was on the right track, Tu Nan turned her concern toward the battered James.

"How are you?" she asked.

"I can hold on. My internal organs and bones are fine."

"Can you hold on for another half hour?" Tu Nan asked him. "To tell everyone standing here about what happened then, and about the determination of Your Majesty?"

"I can." James wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, grimacing as he answered decisively.

"We cannot let the hard work of Your Majesty go to waste, though you will likely need to fill in the details for this past year, Empress."

Tu Nan nodded.

The ministers finally understood what kind of pain their wise King had endured while planning sleeplessly for the future of the Empire.

"If only... if only Your Majesty had Children sooner."

One minister blurted out.

"Oh?" The Emperor lifted his chin. "What do you mean by that? Do you have some objection to the Empress chosen by Your Majesty?"

"No, no. I meant... if there were Children sooner, Your Majesty could have started training them earlier. I was just hypothesizing, just a hypothesis."

The straightforward minister stammered.

"Heh." The Emperor was extremely annoyed. "What suitable candidate is there? Should I choose someone muddle-headed with huge ambition, who knows nothing but scheming?"

His words were pointed.

The minister who had spoken dared not reply; everyone knew he was talking about the Empress Dowager.

According to James, the Empress Dowager was effectively responsible for the death of the mothers of both Your Majesties.

Even though they were Foster Mothers.

But from the recent policy changes regarding Foster Mothers, anyone could see the views of those in power toward Foster Mothers.

No one dared to suggest anymore that Foster Mothers were not considered people.

Since that was the case, someone naturally had to be held responsible for the death of the biological mother of Your Majesty.

The Empress Dowager could not escape the blame.

People kept stealing glances at the old woman.

The Empress Dowager lowered her eyes.

Even at this moment, she did not believe she had done anything wrong.

How much effort had she spent convincing herself to be with that mediocre, arrogant, disgusting, and tyrannical Emperor?

That man was nearly thirty years her senior.

Four Empresses had died before her.

If not for power, what else could she have been doing it for?

Love? The future of the Empire?

Ridiculous.

She had arranged so many young Female Beasts for that dim-witted Emperor, yet in the end, it was a Foster Mother who became pregnant.

She thought at the time that the heavens had finally opened their eyes.

She would have a "biological" prince.

But who could have expected that The Emperor, this son who had crawled out of her belly, would know everything at such a young age.

He had not shown any signs of it.

He was truly capable of enduring.

The Empress Dowager looked at Tu Nan expressionlessly.

"I was just unfortunate."

She held her head high and straightened her back, refusing to show any signs of defeat, even though there was no color left in her face.

"I did not lose to you; I only blame myself for not being ruthless enough."

"I consider that I fulfilled my responsibilities as a mother to him, or rather, I had long forgotten that he was not my true blood relative."

"I raised him well and taught him according to the standards of an Emperor," her eyes were distant, "yet he repaid me like this."

When her gaze fell on Tu Nan's protruding belly, she smiled deviously.

"For the sake of us both being Female Beasts, I will leave you with some heartfelt words: do not harbor any goodwill toward Emperors; they are all destined to be cold-blooded. But you must be sure of what you yourself want..."

The ministers were in an uproar.

Having just heard such imperial secrets, they had only been wavering and weighing the pros and cons. But such remarks from the Empress Dowager made them feel exceptionally harsh.

"Ridiculous! The duty of the Empress is, of course, to give birth to a qualified successor to the Empire! You failed in your own duties and now you want to bewitch others!"

An old minister was furious.

The Empress Dowager ignored him completely; in any case, she had already lost everything. Gu Bohan had betrayed her on the spot, and her Family would not give her any support at this time.

She now only hoped to plant a thorn in everyone's heart.

Especially Tu Nan.

She must not live better than her. Why should she, right?

The Emperor curled his lip, ready to curse, but with one look from Tu Nan, he rolled his eyes and shut his mouth.

"The duty of the Empress?"

Tu Nan smiled slightly. She did not intend to say more to these people here. What was the point of talking about this with these politicians?

Unlike Your Majesty who stood at the peak, unlike the public at the bottom, and unlike the soldiers fighting on the front lines.

They were just a group of ancient zombies lying in the inertia of power.

The same core, just wearing different shells.

"You need to ask Your Majesty about such questions." Tu Nan gently threw the question back to Your Majesty, who could not speak right now, her attitude humble.

"Your Majesty chose me, naturally having his own considerations."

"And I think... I just need to keep my current thoughts, give birth to the Children, raise them to grow up, and protect this Empire for Your Majesty."

Tu Nan's face was full of piety, "That is my response to Your Majesty."

"Don't you agree?"

The old minister nodded repeatedly, very satisfied with this Empress who knew how to advance or retreat and understood her position.

"Your Majesty's judgment is indeed excellent."

Tu Nan nodded at him with dignity.

The Empress Dowager was furious, sneering repeatedly.

"You bunch of idiots, idiots. Just you wait!"

"You can rest easy... there will come a day when you discover this Empress becoming an 'Empress Dowager'."

The Empress Dowager laughed out loud.

Good. The ambition of this Empress would eventually manifest, and at that time, the turmoil of the Empire would fully unfold.

She could just wait slowly to watch the show. After all, she was still the Empress Dowager, and it was absolutely impossible for an Empress to send her to her death.

At most, it would be house arrest.

"Captain Peng, please escort the Empress Dowager back to the palace, and ask the Imperial Guard to be thorough with the security of the Empress Dowager's palace."

Yes, this was all Tu Nan could do for now.

She was not in a hurry; there were long days ahead.

She had just said that she only wanted to keep her current thoughts, and her thoughts were—politics? Everything had to rely on strength and achievements to speak.

And the day she could speak loudly would surely not be too far off.

Her belly twitched slightly. This feeling?

She tugged on the sleeve of The Emperor, who was glaring at the Empress Dowager with dissatisfaction, looking as if he really wanted to take action directly.

He lowered his head unhappily.

Tu Nan said softly, "I feel... I think I'm going into labor."

The Emperor tilted his head, not understanding for a moment.

James, who was standing nearby, jumped up immediately.

"What? It's early? Oh, it's fine, it's fine," he didn't know who he was comforting, glaring at The Emperor and cursing, "Are you stupid? Carry her back! Isn't the bedchamber already prepared with all the equipment!"

The ministers also noticed the commotion above.

"The Empress is going into labor? Is she alright?"

The Emperor did not mind being cursed at and moved to pick up Tu Nan, but Tu Nan pushed him, unwilling to be carried away so easily.

She pointed at the Treatment Pod of Your Majesty, insisting, "Your Majesty, have Your Majesty return to the bedchamber as well..."

Who knew what kind of trouble would happen if they stayed here?

She saw Kong Jiamu standing there blankly, and forced herself to arrange for him, "You send Elder Gu to Ryan, the Sixth Legion still really needs an advisor."

"You can shut up," The Emperor interrupted her impatiently, picking her up directly and leaving.

"They aren't unweaned, do they need you to instruct them?"

That was true.

Tu Nan was stunned for a moment. Indeed... concern leads to chaos.