“Imperial grandson? Who?” Zu An was confused.
“It’s Concubine Bai’s son,” Sang Qien explained. “That’s the crown prince’s only child, so he commands legitimacy. On top of that, the crown prince became the emperor later, giving his child more rallying power within the Zhao clan.”
Zu An frowned. Concubine Bai, huh...
During their trip to Violet Mountain, Zhao Han had sensed his impending death and chosen to prematurely sentence Concubine Bai, a spy of the demonic cult, to death. He'd even instructed Zu An to make the move. It had taken a lot of effort for Zu An to save Concubine Bai by swapping her for someone else.
Later, Concubine Bai had been worried about her son, so she'd snuck back into the capital before going missing.
Zu An's first thought was that Concubine Bai wouldn’t be the ungrateful type, but on second thought, she cherished her son so much that it wouldn’t be surprising for her to do anything to pave the path for him.
“Those Zhao clan kings dare to rebel! I must have been too kind back then.” Zu An’s expression turned cold. He had purged Bi Qi and a few other kings from the capital, but he'd chosen to placate the others. From the looks of it, his soft approach had left behind an underlying threat.
Sang Qien let her daughter enjoy her candied hawthorn while discussing with Zu An, “You’d have incited chaos in advance if you killed those Zhao clan kings back then. We wouldn’t have been able to unite against the monsters. But after we curbed the monsters, the Zhao clan’s kings began to covet power. Furthermore, you've been gone for years, and there were rumors that you'd died in the other world. The ambitious ones couldn’t stay still anymore.”
Zu An was apologetic. “It must have been tough. I’m sorry for worrying you.”
Sang Qien smiled sweetly. “We didn't fall for those rumors. We trust that you can overcome any challenge and return safely.”
Zu An’s heart warmed up. He embraced her and relished in the family warmth. No matter the dangers he faced outside, there was someone here waiting for him.
“Why did Dandan join the battlefield too?” he asked out of curiosity.
“It’s all because you went against conventions and placed an empress in place.” Sang Qien rolled her eyes. “Your presence back then was too strong, to the point that no one dared say anything, but the moment you were gone, the frustrations immediately came bubbling up.
“Linglong is indeed highly competent, but even she can’t do anything about her sex. Unlike the Fiend races, we don’t have a history of empresses. There was great discontentment among the powers, so much so that they rebelled as soon as the chance arose.
“Even within the imperial court, many officials have been secretly defying her. We couldn't turn a blind eye to her predicament, so we went to help her. Thanks to our connection to you, she didn’t doubt us. Dandan led the sect she created in her earlier years to ensure the smooth flow of supplies to the frontlines. I stayed in the capital to deal with the backend logistics because I was worried about Sisi.”
Zu An fell silent after hearing her story. He could imagine how tough it had been for Bi Linglong. He was too irresponsible, to have dumped everything on her.
“What about the empress dowager?” he continued probing about the situation.
“The empress dowager and Linglong are tackling the inside and the outside, respectively. Linglong marched onto the battlefield, while the empress dowager stands guard in the capital. If not for the empress dowager, chaos would have broken out in the capital as soon as Linglong left.” Judging by how she addressed the latter by name, Sang Qien had to be on decent terms with Linglong.
Zu An nodded. Other than the stricter inspections at the city gates, there was nothing different about the capital and the populace. Liu Ning is indeed adept at governance.
“I need to make a trip to the palace,” he said. Only the empress has a bird’s eye view of the situation.
Sang Qien’s expression sank. We’re already parting ways when we've only just reunited. However, she knew that this matter took precedence, so she said, “All right. I’ll wait for you to return.”
Zu An smiled. He grabbed her hand and asked, “Why don’t you come with me?”
His warm hands and gentle eyes dispelled Sang Qien's gloomy mood, and she replied, “Sure!”
But she thought of a dilemma right away. “But there’s no one to take care of Sisi here...”
Zu An lifted Sisi up and said, “She can come with us.”
“But...” Sang Qien wanted to say that this was inappropriate, but on second thought, there should be no place in this world that his daughter couldn’t go. In the end, she only said, “All right.”
So, Zu An carried his daughter with his right hand while holding Sang Qien with his left hand as they made their way to the imperial palace’s main entrance. He didn’t bypass the guards to fly in, but instead strutted in so that more people could see that he had returned.
Sang Qien felt uncomfortable having her hand held in public, especially in a place like the imperial palace, as their relationship had been secret thus far. She tried to withdraw her hand, but Zu An held her tightly and refused to let go. With her wits, it wasn't too difficult to figure that Zu An was bringing her and their daughter to light through this.
She lowered her head and bit her lips, trying not to let her tears fall. She had already resigned herself to be Zu An’s underground lover for the rest of her life, but which woman wouldn’t want to openly appear before others with her lover?
A commotion broke out from the palace doors. “It’s the regent! The regent is back!”
Zu An responded with a smile. He was soon escorted into the palace.
The news spread like wildfire, swiftly reaching the capital’s every nook and cranny.
Liu Ning, who had been busy discussing state matters with the officials, put down her work and rushed out to welcome him.
Someone secretly reminded her, “Your Majesty, this isn’t appropriate...”
The regent was still a subject. Even the emperor had to pay respects to the empress dowager; it was beneath the empress dowager to head out and greet a subject.
Liu Ning smiled. “The regent isn’t just any subject. He’s worthy of it.”
The crowd in the Imperial Library was taken aback. The empress dowager had had a permanent frown on her face for a while now; this was their first time seeing her smiling so happily.
She looked ravishing. The sight reminded the crowd that the empress dowager wasn’t old; she was still in her prime and was exuding feminine charms.
Could the empress dowager and the regent...
The officials stifled that thought as soon as it arose, knowing it was taboo. It should be fine as long as the regent doesn’t openly marry the empress dowager. It’s not uncommon for empress dowagers in history to rear lovers anyway.
Liu Ning lifted her skirt and rushed out of the Imperial Library. There was only a single thought left in her mind, and that was to leap into Zu An’s embrace. Years of separation had simmered her yearning to a boiling point. The rebellion of the feudal kings had also repressed her emotions to an extreme degree. Now, she just wanted to let everything loose. To hell with that empress dowager title, the imperial court, and rumors. I wouldn’t want this damned position at all if not for him...
But when she saw Zu An holding Sang Qien’s hand and carrying a girl, her raging emotions finally calmed down a little. As she regained her rationality, she understood that it wasn't the right time for her to let her emotions run wild.
Even so, a thought did surface in her mind: I’m going to have his baby too!