TPITWOHEF

Chapter 105

To Transform an Assassin?

Xiao Yunzhou was stunned.

The Immortal Realm indeed lived up to its name, presenting him, the Emperor, with such a challenging test!

Could the resentments and grudges between the previous and current dynasties truly be resolved?

Xiao Yunzhou took a deep breath and looked down at the cherished daughter Chu Chu cradled in his arms. Seeing the worried look on her tiny face, he couldn't help but smile.

This matter was urgent, yet it was for the adults to worry.

No need for his precious daughter to fret.

"Someone, tell Consort Liu to... send someone to fetch the little Princess back."

Xiao Yunzhou dared not let his beloved daughter face even the slightest risk.

Although he did not trust leaving her entirely to others, for now, he, the Emperor, was the one being targeted by the assassin!

Unless there were peculiar circumstances, the assassin would not pay heed to a child not yet a year old.

"Tell Consort Liu that she need not attend court for the time being, and the little Princess should not come to the Imperial Study either."

With over twenty days until the Lantern Festival, Xiao Yunzhou planned to keep them away from the assassin's sight until this matter was resolved.

Xiao Yunzhou had the little Princess taken away and strictly forbade Consort Liu, the little Princess, and the Fifth Prince from appearing before him.

There were no secrets in the harem, and within an hour, this news had spread throughout.

"Consort Liu fell from favor after conferring titles on her ladies-in-waiting? How amusing!"

"I've always said that harem women should not meddle in politics. What our ancestors left behind cannot be wrong. The Emperor found her a novelty at first, but soon realized Consort Liu's impropriety!"

"One rises, all rise; one falls, all fall. Now the Emperor no longer sees Consort Liu or the little Princess, and even the Fifth Prince will lose favor."

The palace ladies gossiped endlessly behind closed doors, with many secretly rejoicing.

The Consort Li, who had been so enraged by Consort Liu's actions that she could not eat, and the Empress Tong, who had been burning with the desire to remonstrate, now rejoiced in having restrained themselves.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager was right. These harem women rise and fall in an instant, but none can surpass you."

The Empress's attendants could not help but smile all day.

"You need only sit and watch, doing nothing, and you will never lose."

The Empress Tong nodded and smiled, "Tell the Crown Prince to be more diligent in his studies."

Seizing the opportunity, she would outshine the Fifth Prince!

A prince or consort who had lost the Emperor's favor had no future in the palace.

*

In the Donghua Palace.

Consort Min was making a new batch of down coats.

She selected dried duck down, stuffing it into the fabric as she sewed the edges.

To prevent the down from shifting inside the garment, they would sew 'grid-like compartments' onto the coats - a technique devised by Consort Liu.