Consort Mo approached the Phoenix Roost Palace. Compared to Consort Liu who had been slapped, Consort Mo’s treatment was exceptionally good, a stark contrast.
"Your Ladyship the Consort, my mistress has not eaten a grain of rice for a day and a night. I implore you to persuade her," Aunt Liu said with a heavy sigh.
"I will persuade her, but Aunt Liu must hold the fort outside," Consort Mo replied.
"Your Ladyship need not worry, I can hold on for a few more hours," Aunt Liu assured her.
Consort Mo entered and saw the Empress, her face weary and pale.
She sighed, walked forward, and said, "Xin'an, I've come."
The Empress looked up and, upon seeing her, asked, "Mo'er, why are you here?"
"Why wouldn't I come, seeing Consort Liu's arrogant and presumptuous behavior?"
"Mo'er, I regret it. I should have stopped him when he wanted to go to the Barren Marsh. Now look, he is in the Barren Marsh, and they won't even return his body. In his heart, there has never been anyone but the Hua family."
As the Empress spoke, her withered eyes could no longer shed tears.
Since hearing the devastating news, she had no idea how many times she had cried.
She hated his heartlessness, and she hated herself. She shouldn't have trusted others back then, leading her to raise a son for someone else, while her other son grew distant from her.
"Sister Xin'an, what has happened has happened. Don't dwell on the past; you must look forward."
"Look forward? Mo'er, my path is gone," the Empress shook her head.
Consort Mo shook her head, "No, it is not. The peace that His Highness the Crown Prince protected still needs you, Sister Xin'an, to safeguard it."
The Empress was stunned and looked at Consort Mo. Consort Mo said softly, "This peace, this prosperity, was all brought about by His Highness the Crown Prince's efforts. Can you bear to see the place he poured his heart and soul into trampled upon?"
"But he is no longer here," the Empress raised her head, her eyes filled with immense sorrow.
"He is still here, in the hearts of the people of Snow Country, in the hearts of the courtiers. Sister Xin'an, things are far from over."
The Empress was taken aback. Consort Mo rose and said, "Sister Xin'an, my elder brother, who is stationed at Snow Spirit Pass, sent an urgent dispatch yesterday. I have it here. Please take a look."
Consort Mo took out a letter from her sleeve and handed it to the Empress.
The Empress took it. It was indeed an urgent military message. Upon opening it, she found that the small border country of Han had launched a large-scale attack on Snow Spirit Pass.
It was an urgent dispatch from General Mo Qingxuan, Consort Mo's elder brother, who was stationed there.
"This..."
"Sister Xin'an, the court is unstable, and border countries are attacking. Snow Country is in peril. His Majesty is gravely ill. All of this requires you to make a decision. Do you want the pure land His Highness the Crown Prince protected to be taken away by others? Do you not remember the years of suffering and the hardship of the people of Snow Country?"
The Empress trembled. She would not forget. She would not forget those painful years; otherwise, His Majesty would not be confined to his sickbed.
She should pull herself together.
Outside the palace, under the influence of the Prince of Snow Mountain, a minister suddenly said, "I believe all ministers have heard the news of His Highness the Crown Prince's death in the Barren Marsh. This news is absolutely true. Now, the Empress remains secluded and does not provide any accurate information. This Snow Country is likely in grave danger. I now have a proposal: the Prince of Snow Mountain..."
"What about the Prince of Snow Mountain? You want him to occupy the Eastern Palace? What do you take me for? A decoration?"
The Empress, clad in her phoenix robes, stood outside the palace gates, looking at the assembled ministers with a cold smile. "His Highness the Crown Prince is currently missing, presumed dead. Are you already rushing to establish a new Crown Prince?"
"Your Ladyship the Empress, all this minister wants is accurate news. Has His Highness the Crown Prince truly died in the Barren Marsh?"
The Empress saw all the ministers raising their heads to look at her, as if they would not rest until she gave an answer.
She lowered her gaze and softly uttered, "Yes."
The ministers began to murmur amongst themselves.
The Crown Prince had died in a foreign land, the Emperor was gravely ill, and the Emperor now only had Prince Xue Fu of Fenzhou, Prince Xue Shan of Liuzhou, and Prince Xue Jing of Wuzhou.
However, Prince Xue Fu of Fenzhou was under house arrest and could not enter the capital without an imperial decree, so he likely could not return. Prince Xue Jing's mother, Consort Mo, and the Empress had grown up together and shared an extraordinary bond. Furthermore, Prince Xue Jing had already left the capital.
Only Prince Xue Shan was here.
"Your Ladyship the Empress, at this critical juncture, it is imperative to have His Majesty appoint a Crown Prince to stabilize the nation, otherwise the court will be in disarray and the people will be in a panic."
A minister proposed this, and the other ministers seconded him.
"Then who is the candidate you propose? Let me hear it," the Empress walked out of the palace gates and stood before the ministers, asking coldly.
Fang Jian, the Minister of Justice, stepped forward and said, "Since only the Prince of Snow Mountain is present, the position of Crown Prince must rightfully belong to him."
"So, whoever is present can become Crown Prince?" the Empress asked coldly.
The Minister of Justice calmly replied, "Your Ladyship the Empress, this minister is also deeply grieved by the death of His Highness the Crown Prince in a foreign land. However, grief cannot solve anything. We must appoint a Crown Prince as soon as possible to give the people of Snow Country an explanation."
"Yes, what Minister Fang of Justice says is correct," the ministers nodded in agreement.
The Empress sighed deeply. Before the former Crown Prince, she rarely interacted with these ministers. Now, it seemed they were all cunning foxes.
A new Crown Prince? Had they forgotten who brought them peace and prosperity to Snow Country? His son's body was not yet cold, his remains had not yet returned, and they were already eager to appoint a Crown Prince?
Where was his son placed in all of this? The Snow Country that his son had protected and worked to build, was it to be handed over to others?
"Your Ladyship the Empress, His Highness the Crown Prince is dead. You cannot let a dead person continue to occupy the position of Crown Prince," Consort Liu said smugly.
"Audacious! How dare you speak of His Highness the Crown Prince in such a manner?" Aunt Liu, by the Empress's side, her eyes chilling, reprimanded coldly.
"Who do you think you are?" Prince Xue Shan had long been displeased with Aunt Liu, the Empress's attendant.
He had been disciplined by Aunt Liu many times when he was young.
"She is my person," the Empress stepped forward, looking coldly at Prince Xue Shan.
Prince Xue Shan smiled, "Mother, please do not be angry. It is simply that this servant beside you is a wicked servant."
"The people by my side are not for you to question."
Prince Xue Shan's gaze turned cold. How dare this Empress, without any backing, dare to yell at him?
"Mother, there is a saying that understanding the times makes a wise person," Prince Xue Shan said with a slow smile.
The Empress raised an eyebrow, looking at him with a cold smile, "I only know that I am still the Empress, and you are still a Prince."
"Soon, you will not be," Prince Xue Shan chuckled softly, his expression filled with mockery.
The Empress's eyes turned cold. Suddenly, many Imperial Guards poured in from outside.
They surrounded everyone present.
The ministers were all stunned. Prince Xue Shan slowly stepped forward and said coldly, "Those who support this Prince to be Crown Prince, step forward."