At the palace, a eunuch entered the emperor's room carrying his meal when he saw the emperor lying on the ground. Throwing the tray out of shock, the eunuch shouted falling to his knees and bowing down.

Few minutes later, the head physician examined the Emperor while the Empress and the other concubines stood waiting. The Empress was very anxious as she didn't yet know what the Emperor had told Zhou Dong. Without a formal decree from the emperor, Xing Ming couldn't ascend the throne even if he was crown prince. The only way would be to offer a sacrifice to heaven hoping they would reply. Then, Xing Ming would become the official son of heaven.

This method was quite stressful as she would have to make a plan B should heaven fail to reply. Being anxious, the Empress stood posed but rubbed ger hands together. No matter what she had to either get a formal decree from the emperor or find out what exactly the Emperor told Zhou Dong.

“Your Highness, you look deep in thought. Don't tell me