"Honestly speaking," Empress Ci'an said, "whether it's the early or late stages of a dynasty, the situation of an orphan with a widow and no military power is always difficult. If the imperial clan were strong enough, or the maternal relatives held significant influence, perhaps it could barely hold on.
But based on the description of that young empress.
She had no maternal relatives with power, no imperial clan support, and no military command.
Even if I were to go there myself.
It might not be enough to help her turn the tide.
"If there were a regent in her court," replied Bewitching Consort, "perhaps she could have used the Bewitching Heart skill I gave her to control the regent and help her stabilize the court situation. What a pity, what a pity."
"Forget it..." said the Cold Palace Empress.
"Our royal family is much safer," commented Moon Fairy Chang'e. "As long as the sect behind us stands, let alone ascending the throne at three, even at a month old, it's fine."
"In the end, it's still because her strength is too weak," mused Nine-Tailed Demon Empress. "If she were like me, capable of annihilating a million human troops with a wave of her hand.
Who would dare have ulterior motives?
"Heh heh," Empress Ci'an chuckled, "Someone's might has always only appeared in their own descriptions, never witnessed by anyone. I could also claim to be an Empress of the Heavenly Realm, suppressing gods and buddhas, turning immortals and demons to dust with a flick of my wrist."
"I have quite a few martial arts manuals here," said Nine-Year-Old Empress Dowager Xiao. "I just don't know if the young empress can use them. However, I only have the manuals, no shortcuts to mastering them. I estimate that even if she could receive them, it would be too late to do anything."
"Um, Empress Ci'an, were you subtly dissing Nine-Tailed Demon Empress just now? That's bold!" said Human World Songstress.
"Alas, being too powerful just makes one out of place," sighed Nine-Tailed Demon Empress. "It's not that I didn't consider showing my strength back then. Not long after joining the group, I even sent a red packet to the second person who appeared in the group. I didn't even send a skill.
I only sent a trace of internal demonic energy.
Then, not long after, that person died. According to the feedback from the red packet group, after absorbing my demonic power, they became neither human nor demon, their body grew fur, and their face began to resemble a fox.
They were tied up and burned to death by their husband.
Since Empress Ci'an doesn't believe me, how about I send you a red packet? Please don't refuse it."
After saying this, Nine-Tailed Demon Empress sent a designated red packet to Empress Ci'an. At the same time, the entire group fell silent. They all wanted to know if Empress Ci'an would accept this red packet, and what changes and effects would occur after she did.
Empress Ci'an was now in a rather awkward position.
Because she didn't know if the other party was telling the truth or not. If it was false, it would be nothing. But if it was true, even as an empress, she would be in trouble. After all, her throne was not very stable. If she suddenly became neither human nor demon, it would likely cause a major upheaval.
It might even threaten her life.
After a long while, feeling unwilling to back down at this moment, she gritted her teeth.
She mocked a couple more times before accepting the red packet.
As she clicked confirm, a surge of green demonic energy immediately gushed out from the red packet, attempting to seep into Empress Ci'an. Only then did she begin to regret it.
She even wanted to quickly beg for mercy in the group.
However, in the next second, a golden light flashed on her body, accompanied by a faint dragon's roar. The green demonic energy then seemed to encounter its natural enemy and instantly vanished into thin air. At this point, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, she became incredibly excited and burst into laughter:
"Hahahaha! I am the true Son of Heaven, descended from the dragon! How can a mere demonic aura harm me? Hahaha!"
The reason Empress Ci'an was so happy was not only that she had not been harmed, but more importantly, she felt protected by dragon energy. This undoubtedly meant that she had gained the recognition of the heavens.
This realization immediately put Empress Ci'an, who had been somewhat uneasy about being an emperor, completely at ease. It seemed she was indeed destined to rule!
"I didn't expect you to be a real demon," Empress Ci'an declared. "Unfortunately, I am destined by heaven, the true Son of Heaven, inviolable by all evil, all spells retreat. What can you do to me?"
Seeing that she could still speak, most of the others in the group breathed a sigh of relief. Only Nine-Tailed Demon Empress was quite shocked.
Because she had never left the demon realm, most of her knowledge of the human world came from storybooks. The saying that human emperors had dragon energy protection and were inviolable by evil was something she had only heard of.
She didn't know if it was true or not.
It was only at this moment that she realized it was indeed the case.
"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten you were an emperor," Nine-Tailed Demon Empress scoffed. "And don't flatter yourself by saying you're destined.
Anyone who becomes an emperor.
Has the protection of the dynasty's fortune.
Emperors of ordinary human imperial courts can only be killed by mortals. This is a universal law across all realms.
If you truly wish to die.
I also have some things here that can bypass the protection of the dynasty's fortune and send you to early bliss. Do you want them?"
After speaking, she sent another designated red packet.
This time, Empress Ci'an dared not accept. Previously, she didn't know if the other party was a demon or not. Now that she knew, why risk acting tough?
Besides, having accepted it once, having shown her fearlessness was enough. If she kept accepting, and the other party persisted, there might be something that could truly threaten her life. How could her precious body risk that?
Therefore, she completely ignored the offer.
She simply lay down and went to sleep.
At this point, no one in the group mocked her. After all, demons were indeed quite terrifying. She had been protected by dragon energy when she encountered one, but they didn't have that. The group fell silent, and no one spoke for a long time.
Ding Yun also had nothing to say at this moment.
So, she soon closed the group and went to sleep.
...
The next morning, Ding Yun still woke up early to wash and groom herself, and then took the still groggy, not yet fully awake emperor to the imperial court.
Perhaps because, apart from the matter concerning Duke An Guo,
There were no major affairs in the court for the time being.
So this morning, the ministers were noticeably quieter. After briefly discussing a few matters that the lower-ranking officials could decide themselves, no one spoke further.
Ding Yun didn't want to stare blankly at them, so she quickly announced the end of the court and returned with her son.
What followed was a period of waiting.
The officials were waiting for Duke An Guo's reaction, and Ding Yun was also waiting. Meanwhile, many military officials had already begun to whisper privately about whether they would support or resist if Duke An Guo truly rebelled.
Among all the military officials and nobles.
Duke Ding Guo was the most conflicted and troubled.
Because for him, whether he supported Duke An Guo or resisted him, there were no benefits. If he resisted Duke An Guo, even if they succeeded.
They would undoubtedly be mutually destructive.
Their family's power would inevitably suffer heavy losses.
Even if they received rewards, or were promoted in rank afterward, a title without sufficient power was merely an empty title. What use would it be?
If he supported Duke An Guo, as soon as Duke An Guo successfully ascended the throne, he would be the first person Duke An Guo would want to eliminate. Even if he was willing to relinquish his military command, he might not meet a good end.
After all, if a duke rebelled and succeeded, how could Duke An Guo not be wary of a military official who was once a fellow duke?
Therefore, it was difficult. It felt like every choice was wrong.