The dream was beautiful, but reality was brutally stark. Prince Nolan had blocked every possible path for Lady Min. She never imagined her Grand Empress Dowager investiture would be so barebones—held directly in the temple, no palace splendor at all...
“Is this supposed to be my investiture ceremony?” Lady Min stared at the ceremonial robe on the table, finally unable to hold back her sharp question.
When did Eastlyn get so poor? Or, really, how little did the whole country care about the birth mother of Prince Nolan?
“Your Highness, the front lines are in crisis, the treasury is empty, and His Majesty advocates frugality. The palace sets the example—every official and citizen is following suit. The Regent Prince knows Your Highness always prefers simplicity, but he ordered that while the ceremony need not be extravagant, it must be solemn and never let Your Highness feel slighted.” This was the palace servant’s skill: clearly they didn’t care about Lady Min, yet their words made it sound as if everything was done for her sake.
In fact, to show respect for Lady Min, today’s ceremony was indeed grand—Empress Dowager Xie brought all the harem consorts, even the young Emperor came in person. They gave Lady Min all the face she could ask for.
But none of this was what Lady Min wanted. She wanted to return to the palace as the true Grand Empress Dowager, wielding real power—not to be locked up in a temple as an old woman chanting scriptures.
If this was all, why would she bother coming back to Eastlyn at all?
Lady Min’s whole body trembled, her face twisting with emotion. Just as the eunuch thought she would refuse to attend, Lady Min suddenly calmed down as if nothing had happened. She rose gently, asking the maids to dress her so she wouldn’t miss the auspicious hour.
To endure what no ordinary person could—what a terrifying woman.
The eunuch felt a chill in his heart. After years dealing with palace women, he feared most those who seemed harmless but had iron will; such women always reached heights ordinary people couldn’t even imagine...
William Wang Jinling learned of the situation outside and simply smiled, instructing his people to leak the news to Empress Dowager Xie.
The harem is a battlefield for women—let them fight it out themselves. He had no interest in accompanying a woman or playing such low-level tricks.
Surely Lady Min wouldn’t be naive enough to think she could turn things around at her investiture?
If she really is that naive, he’d start to doubt whether Lady Min is truly Prince Nolan’s biological mother.
It’s not that Lady Min is naive—it’s that she has no choice. To maintain her perfect image, she can’t use ruthless tactics in Eastlyn or in front of Prince Nolan; she has to pretend to be harmless and pure.
The investiture ceremony is Lady Min’s only chance—even if she’s not confident, she has to try, or else she doesn’t know how long Prince Nolan will keep her locked away in the temple.
As the maids dressed her, Lady Min was already planning how she’d persuade the ministers to welcome her back to the palace.
One plan after another formed in her mind—even facing the harem consorts and noblewomen, she’d already decided what to say and how to act. But what Lady Min didn’t expect was that there wouldn’t even be a stage for her performance.
When Lady Min emerged in her finery, when the astrologers announced the auspicious hour, when William Wang Jinling produced the imperial edict and began to read it, a sudden clatter of hoofbeats shattered the solemnity of the Buddha Hall.
“What’s happening?”