Turning to look at Prince Qin and Prince Jin, she opened and closed her mouth but could make no sound.
Seeing that Li Yueyao had rendered Zhao Qing mute with a single move, Prince Qin and Prince Jin were instantly stunned.
Prince Qin and Prince Jin: [Aunt’s power hasn’t diminished over the years.]
The princes: [Is our grand-aunt really this fierce?]
The Empress sighed inwardly: [Only Aunt Jinyang can handle this.]
The imperial consorts: [This one truly is an ancestor, not to be provoked…]
Li Yueyao turned her head, her gaze sharp as she looked at Prince Qin and said, “Go and give the order to lift the palace lockdown.
His Majesty was merely knocked unconscious and will awaken soon. Do not stir up panic.”
Prince Qin nodded blankly, then turned to Feng Qing, and the two of them left together.
After finishing the acupuncture on the Emperor, Li Yueyao turned to the crowd, her gaze calm yet authoritative:
“What exactly happened today at the Tai Temple?”
Hearing Li Yueyao’s question, no one dared to speak for a moment.
How should they explain this?
Say that His Majesty’s lack of virtue angered the ancestors, causing the ancestral plaques to fall and knock him unconscious?
Li Yueyao shifted her gaze to the Empress and said, “Empress?”
Seeing this, the Empress had no choice but to brace herself and speak: “Aunt, today’s sacrificial ceremony was proceeding smoothly at first.
But as the ceremony neared its end, during the kneeling in the main hall, the ancestral plaques suddenly fell…”
Li Yueyao nodded upon hearing this and said, “I thought only the Fengxian Hall at the palace had anomalies, but it turns out the Tai Temple also had them.”
She couldn’t help but believe the words spoken by her father and the others in her dream a little more.
Hearing this, the Empress frowned and quickly asked, “Aunt, what happened at the palace?”
“Our imperial ancestors have entered my dreams for two consecutive days. Yesterday, feeling uneasy, I went to the Fengxian Hall at the palace to offer incense. Midway through, the eternal lamps in the hall suddenly extinguished all at once.
Last night, my father entered my dream again, urging me to return to the palace quickly to save His Majesty. That’s why I rushed back.”
Upon hearing this, everyone felt both shocked and doubtful.
To believe it felt far-fetched—ancestors entering dreams to give warnings.
But not to believe it—the Emperor had just been knocked unconscious by the ancestral plaques.
For a moment, the hall fell silent, and no one dared to speak.
A quarter of an hour later, the Emperor slowly opened his eyes.
Seeing this, Li Yueyao began to remove the acupuncture needles, then took out a pill from a small porcelain vial in her sleeve and had the Emperor take it.
The Emperor opened his eyes and took a moment to recognize the person before him, murmuring, “Aunt?”
Hearing the Emperor call her, Li Yueyao smiled and said, “Yes, it’s me. Your Majesty is awake.”
When Emperor Li Chenghong was young, he had only one friend—his aunt, Li Yueyao.
Everyone else treated him with utmost respect, yielding to him in everything. Only Li Yueyao dared to ride on him and beat him up.
Every time he was beaten, Li Chenghong would go to complain. The late Emperor would say: [Isn’t it normal for your aunt to beat you?]
The Empress Dowager would say: [Your aunt is a woman. How much strength could she possibly use? And you’re complaining?]
Once, Li Chenghong got angry and beat Li Yueyao. Her cries echoed through the Eastern Palace, and Li Chenghong was then subjected to a combined beating by the late Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
From then on, Li Chenghong understood that his aunt was the one at the top of the food chain in the palace.
After Li Chenghong ascended the throne, Li Yueyao hid away at the Chun Shan Palace. Every year, Li Chenghong would send someone to invite her back.
Each time Li Yueyao returned, as soon as Li Chenghong mentioned her marriage, she would excuse herself, saying she was in poor health, had an unlucky fate, and didn’t want to burden others—and then slip away.
She possessed waist tokens bestowed by the previous emperor and Emperor Taizong, allowing her to enter and leave the palace unimpeded, and even Li Chenghong could not restrain her.
Moreover, having been bullied by Li Yueyao since childhood, he had no temper toward this little aunt and sometimes even feared her.
Now, as the Emperor opened his eyes and saw his little aunt, he grinned and asked, "Why have you returned?"
Seeing this, Li Yueyao glared at him and said, "Still laughing? First think about what you've done and how you will apologize to the ancestors afterward."
Upon hearing this, Li Chenghong struggled to rise, and Li Yueyao helped him up.
After leaning against Li Yueyao to sit up, the Emperor seemed somewhat bewildered. After a while, his consciousness gradually cleared, and he murmured:
"I was worshiping at the Tai Temple and was struck by a falling ancestral plaque…"
After uttering this sentence, he suddenly shuddered:
"Aunt, could it be that I have committed some disrespectful act and angered the ancestors?"
Seeing the Emperor's fear, Li Yueyao comforted him, "Your Majesty, this matter requires careful consideration. Let's first focus on recuperating."
As she spoke, she gently pinched the Emperor's arm.
The Emperor turned to look at Li Yueyao and suddenly recalled that when she had inconvenient matters to discuss in childhood, she would employ delaying tactics in front of others and then whisper to him when they were alone.
It seemed this matter was not so simple; his little aunt likely knew some inside information but could not speak openly in front of everyone now.
Thus, he nodded and was about to speak when the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau entered from outside the hall, approached to apologize for his tardiness, and said he would now examine the Emperor's pulse.
To silence everyone, Li Yueyao invited him in to diagnose the Emperor.
The head of the Imperial Medical Bureau was an elderly man over sixty with white hair and beard. After carefully examining the Emperor's pulse for a long time, he said:
"Your Majesty's old illness has not yet healed, and today you were struck by an external object, leading to unconsciousness. It is harmless; just take two doses of medicine."
Li Yueyao frowned deeply as she listened beside him.
This old man used to be quite adept when treating her; now, whether due to age or something else, he could not even discern poisoning from illness?
She pressed further, "Is Your Majesty truly unharmed?"
"Grand Princess, rest assured, it is harmless," Imperial Physician Zhao replied succinctly.
Li Yueyao remained silent upon hearing this.
After the Imperial Medical Bureau personnel departed, Li Yueyao tugged the Emperor's sleeve.
The Emperor then spoke, "Aunt Jinyang shall stay; all others may withdraw first."
The various consorts and princes had no objections, rising to bid farewell.
Only the Empress, Crown Prince, Prince Qin, Prince Jin, and Princess Zhaoqing remained unmoving in place.
Li Yueyao turned to look at Prince Qin, Prince Jin, and Zhaoqing and said, "You three should return to rest first."
The Emperor also waved his hand toward the three.
Prince Qin and Prince Jin immediately bowed and withdrew upon seeing this.
Only Zhaoqing remained standing still, covering her throat. Li Yueyao displeasedly asked, "Why are you still not leaving? What are you staying for?"
"Aunt, I wanted to ask about my…"
Li Yueyao glared at her and disdainfully said, "Speak less; rest for two days and you'll be fine."
Zhaoqing hastily bowed and retreated.
Li Yueyao turned to look at the Empress and Crown Prince and said:
"I have a few words to speak with Your Majesty. If the Empress does not wish to leave, please go sit in the side hall first and return after a cup of tea."
Upon hearing this, the Empress led the Crown Prince to turn and go to the side hall.
Li Yueyao's brows were now furrowed so tightly they seemed knotted.
Then, Li Yueyao waved her hand at the eunuchs and said coldly, "All of you, leave. Go far away."
Only when the empty hall was left with just Li Yueyao and the Emperor did she speak:
"These past few days, my imperial grandfather and grandmother, my imperial father and mother, my imperial brother and sister-in-law have frequently appeared in my dreams."
The Emperor was rubbing his forehead, half-leaning on a soft pillow. Upon hearing this, he immediately turned to look at her: "Oh? What did they say?"
"They said you were poisoned and told me to come save you. They also said the court is unsettled, the inner palace is uneasy, and there are rebels causing trouble. The fate of the nation hangs by a thread."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor was startled, instantly sitting upright, but he felt a wave of dizziness and quickly reached out to support his forehead, slowly lying back down.
"Just now, when I took your pulse and examined you, I found you were indeed poisoned. It seems what my imperial grandfather said in the dream was true," Li Yueyao added.
The Emperor's head throbbed with pain, and he had yet to recover from Li Yueyao's earlier words.
Li Yueyao continued to ask, "As soon as I heard this morning that something had happened to you at the Tai Temple, I rushed back. So, what exactly has happened in the court?"
…
To the lovely elementary school students on summer break: If you don't like it, you can just scroll past. Spare my humble life.
Please let me off. Ahhh…