Early next morning when the sun had barely risen, Ye An was woken up by an urgent knocking at the door.
"Your Imperial Majesty, I've brought some news from the Imperial Palace." The voice accompanying the knocks was also as urgent if not more so.
Ye An sat up and rubbed the morning drowsiness away from her eyes.
Since Xi Chen was also close to the door, he was woken up as well. "Your Imperial Majesty.."
The other occupants of the room merely tossed in their sleep.
The voice from the other side of the door sounded familiar but Ye An couldn't put a finger on who that voice belonged to under her morning haze. But she quickly smoothed the wrinkles on her clothes before walking over to the doorway to open the door.
"General Shao! What brings you here?"
"I have some grave news to deliver to you, Your Imperial Majesty. You are needed back in the Imperial Palace as soon as possible. The Empress Mother unfortunately passed away last night." General Shao announced in a solemn tone.
Ye An's gripped the door frame for support upon hearing the news. A sudden surge of dizziness hit her as she felt the color draining from her face.
Xi Chen had walked over to the door when he heard Ye An called out General Shao's name. Seeing Ye An's white knuckles on the doorframe, Xi Chen asked. "What is it?"
"The.. the Empress Mother had passed away." Ye An turned to Xi Chen helplessly.
By then, the rest of them had woken up too and all of them heard Ye An's statement.
Ah Lin immediately walked towards Ye An and bowed his condolences to her. "I'm sorry for your loss, Your Imperial Majesty."
Prince Adlai shuddered, remembering the plan that was revealed to him the night before. So this was what that man meant when he said the emperor would be called back to the palace. Sze Chang on the other hand, bowed his condolences as well.
Ye An knew that she didn't have time to mourn and the cogs in her brain started shifting at the speed of light. "Minister Sze."
Sze Chang's face was a picture of empathy and sadness when he answered. "Yes, Your Imperial Majesty."
Ye An took a deep breath. "Even though I would like to personally attend Chieftain Burat's funeral myself, I think it's better to send you as my representative at this point in time." She was torn about this decision but thought that this was the best decision she could make given the circumstances.
"Yes, of course." Sze Chang bowed reverently.
Ye An then turned to Prince Adlai. "Adlai, my apologies for not going through with what I had initially said about attending your great-grandfather's funeral."
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THE NIGHT EMPEROR: 夜安王 【The Night Emperor Book 1】| ✔️
Historical Fiction☑ COMPLETED "There are enough bad things in life, hold on to whatever it is that gives you joy." For the past 22 years, the Empress Mother has held onto the Dragon Throne that was rightfully Ye An's. Now, Ye An has finally ascended to the throne. Bu...
