"Show the guests out," came a voice, dark and cold, accompanied by the sound of gritted teeth.
The envoys of the six nations withdrew, hurrying from the imperial palace to their respective countries, to report the sudden development to their sovereigns.
Perhaps this was a turning point. Such a woman, useful when utilized, but when not, absolutely not to be kept.
The Grand Hall of the Liuli Palace.
The Prince of Nan'an was the first to speak, his usually frigid expression showing a rare tremor. Ripples of light flickered in his dark pupils.
"Imperial Brother, what is going on? Why has the Empress left the palace?"
Next, Mu Hen also stood up, disbelief etched on his brow. "Yao'er was fine. How could she divorce the Emperor? She's not the kind of child who doesn't know her place."
He remembered she had promised to help the Emperor, and had done so well. The internal strife of Xian Yue had been resolved, and she could not be said to have had no part in it.
Other ministers dared not breathe, each observing how grim the Emperor's expression was.
His handsome face was clouded with a thunderous rage, ready to erupt. His dark eyes glinted with the ice of winter. With a wave of his hand, porcelain teacups beside him flew out, shattering with a clatter.
As he broke the pottery, he also injured his hand, blood dripping onto the floor drop by drop.
"Your Majesty, you are injured."
Ah Jiu exclaimed, concerned, and moved to help him, but the Emperor's eyes were fierce. He yanked his hand away and looked coldly at the hall below.
"I too wish to know what is going on. She was fine yesterday, how could she have thought of these things overnight?"
Murong Liu Zun finished speaking, recalling the woman from last night. She had seemed somewhat different from usual. Different in what way?
It seemed she had been stiff in his arms. He had been talking about taking Xi Men Xin Yue into the palace then. Did she disapprove of him taking Xi Men Xin Yue as a consort, or was it something else?
The Emperor then recalled another sentence she had softly spoken: "Your Majesty, last night, Yao'er had a dream. She dreamt that there were people in this world who could have only one love for their entire lives. Does she wish for only him and her in this vast harem?"
The hall fell into silence.
Another eunuch ran in from outside the palace doors. "Reporting to His Majesty, an imperial physician requests an audience."
"Summon him," the murderous aura in the hall was palpable, the Emperor was close to losing control. No one dared to say another word, merely gazing blankly at the Emperor on his high seat.
It was unclear whether it was due to anger at being divorced by the Empress or sadness at her departure.
The little eunuch withdrew, and the imperial physician soon entered. The atmosphere in the hall was heavy. The imperial physician knelt trembling, his voice laced with fear. "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Empress was feeling unwell yesterday, so she summoned me to take her pulse. The result, the result?"
The imperial physician dared not say the rest, fearing the Emperor might fly into a rage. He had heard that the Empress had disappeared.
"What is wrong with her?" The Emperor became anxious. Could Yao'er be ill?
"The Empress is pregnant," the imperial physician said with all his might. The Emperor on his high seat instantly widened his eyes, filled with surprise.
His entire face was swept clean of its former gloom, shining brilliantly like peach blossoms in March.
Below, a wave of joyous exclamations rose. "Congratulations to Your Majesty, congratulations to Your Majesty, for the imperial heir."
Murong Liu Zun had not expected his wish to truly come true. Yao'er was actually pregnant. He remembered seeing her yesterday; she had seemed particularly happy, as if she had something to say.
But after learning of his intention to take a consort, she had said no more, only that she was tired. So, she was pregnant.
At that time, she must have been very happy. Thinking of this, the Emperor was filled with remorse. How could he have done such foolish things?
One benefit of having great power was the ability to find scapegoats. The Emperor, consumed by rage, his cold gaze swept over the imperial physician kneeling below. He was so angry that the very air he exhaled was frigid.
"Imperial physician, how dare you! You diagnosed the Empress as pregnant yesterday, why did you not report it?"
In the hall, everyone’s gaze collectively fell upon the pitiful, aged imperial physician. He wiped sweat incessantly, his lips trembling, almost on the verge of collapse.
Although everyone sympathized with him, no one dared to speak. The Emperor was still in a fit of rage. The Empress had divorced him! Such a thing had never been heard of in history, and now it had happened to the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?" The imperial physician, due to fear and his advanced age, could not speak coherently. He called out twice, then began gasping, finally managing to say with all his strength, "The Empress did not allow this old subject to speak. The Empress said she wanted to personally deliver this joyous news to Your Majesty."
As soon as the imperial physician finished speaking, everyone turned their gaze back to the Emperor on his high seat. The Prince of Nan'an could no longer restrain himself and blurted out.
"What did Your Majesty say to the Empress yesterday that caused her to fly into such a rage and do something like this? And then to leave the palace?"
This was what everyone most wanted to know. What had the Emperor done to anger the Empress so much that she divorced him and left the palace at this particular time?
The thought of the Empress, pregnant, wandering lost outside the palace, made everyone feel a pang of sorrow. Moreover, the envoys from the six nations would surely not let the Empress go. Was she not in great danger at this moment? Everyone's expression was one of fluctuating emotions.
The left prime minister, Mu Hen, had worry etched in his eyes. He had left home that day; his daughter had not returned, which meant she would not go back to the Mu family. Where would she go now that she was pregnant?
"I said that Xi Men Xin Yue would be taken as a consort, and the Empress agreed."
As soon as the Emperor uttered these words, gasps arose from several people in the hall, their eyes filled with displeasure.
The Emperor was truly bringing up something he shouldn't. The Empress was pregnant, and he was rushing to take a consort at this time. Any woman would be furious, but the Empress was more extreme, directly dumping the Emperor.
"Your brother takes his leave," the Prince of Nan'an was enraged. His face darkened, his dark eyes colder than the frost and snow of winter. He stood up abruptly to take his leave and, without waiting for the Emperor to say anything, flicked the brocade of his robe and departed.
The Prince of Nan'an, Murong Liu Zhao, felt a surge of worry. The Empress had left the palace at this time; she was in danger.
The envoys of the six nations all knew she had left the palace. What was to be done? It seemed he had to find her quickly. It was safer to stay within the imperial palace.
In the hall, Murong Liu Zun stared with a grim face at the Prince of Nan'an who had stormed out. His dark eyes seemed to be burning with rage, ready to scorch everyone in the hall at any moment. He glared menacingly at his ministers below, as if daring them to say another word.
He would then erupt in thunderous anger.
He did not want this to happen either. If he had known that Yao'er disliked him taking Xi Men Xin Yue as a consort, he would have compensated the Xi Men family with something else. But who knew she would leave without a word, and divorce him?
Thinking of this, the Emperor felt a pang of pain and anger, mingled with a hint of malevolence.
He, the Emperor Xian who was known to the world, had been divorced by a woman, and in front of the envoys of the six nations! He was sure this news would soon spread throughout the six nations. It was truly infuriating.