Chapter 10: Bombshell
“Who can say? It could be about something else entirely,” another Attendant Lord replied nonchalantly. “In any case, we’ll find out when Her Highness arrives, won’t we?”
Just then, Li Xuanyue returned from a meeting in the council hall with Li Feng and the other ministers of the Phoenix Clan. She paused for a second at the entrance before striding in without hesitation.
“We servants greet Her Highness, the Princess.”
Upon seeing her enter, all the Attendant Lords and junior attendants ceased their chatter.
Li Xuanyue took her seat at the head of the hall and let her gaze sweep over them.
“You may all rise.”
This was only the third time she had summoned all her Attendant Lords and junior attendants. In the past, whenever they were summoned, they would leave her palace either covered in wounds or unconscious. The reasons for that, Li Xuanyue truly did not wish to recall.
“May I ask for what reason Your Highness has summoned us here today?” one of the Attendant Lords, unable to contain his impatience, finally stepped forward to ask after exchanging glances with the others.
Li Xuanyue sat up straight and spoke slowly. “You all must have heard that I summoned Physician Fang last night, correct?”
Puzzled looks appeared on their faces. What did this have to do with Physician Fang? Was the matter related to his visit last night? Everyone in the Phoenix Clan knew that Physician Fang was the imperial physician personally assigned to Li Xuanyue by the Phoenix Emperor. For her to bring him up now… could something have happened to him?
None of them suspected that the health issue might lie with Li Xuanyue herself. She was the Grand Princess of the Phoenix Clan, the likely future Crown Princess. Who would dare to even entertain such a thought? Unless that person had a death wish.
“Last night, Physician Fang informed me that it is… difficult for me to bear children.”
Her words exploded in their minds like a bomb.
Difficult to bear children!
The faces of every Attendant Lord and junior attendant turned pale. What did the Hundred Clans value most? Heirs, of course. And now, Li Xuanyue was telling them that she was unlikely to have any. How was this any different from being cast into an abyss?
After dropping this bombshell, Li Xuanyue fell silent, carefully observing their reactions.
She noticed that apart from the five newly arrived Attendant Lords who showed a flicker of surprise, the others reacted differently. Some frowned, some had a glint of joy in their eyes, while others simply looked indifferent. It was clear that these men held no affection for her; they had stayed only for the prospect of having children.
“I have made my decision.”
Seeing that they had all regained their composure, Li Xuanyue continued in a slow, deliberate tone. “My past actions were wrong. But from this day forward, I will no longer restrain you. If any of you wish to leave the palace, you may do so now. I will immediately have someone prepare silver for your departure.”
“However, let me be clear. If you choose to stay, and you do anything to harm me behind my back, I will immediately send someone to take your life. Consider your options carefully.”
A dead silence fell over the hall.
The Attendant Lords and junior attendants all wondered if they had misheard, or if the princess was still half-asleep and had misspoken. Hadn’t she gone to great lengths to forcibly bring them to the Phoenix Clan against their will? Wasn’t it because she coveted their beauty? And now she was saying she would let them go? Did she mean what they thought she meant?
Was she… dismissing her entire harem?
“Is Your Highness being serious?” After a long pause, an Attendant Lord with delicate features suddenly stepped forward and asked.
It wasn’t that they didn’t believe her words, but her decision was simply too incredible to accept. To dismiss her harem just because she had difficulty conceiving? It sounded completely unrealistic, more like a cruel joke to toy with them. If word of this reached the Phoenix Emperor, it would surely provoke a furious reaction.
“Absolutely.” Li Xuanyue replied without a hint of hesitation, sipping the hot tea Yin Xin had handed her.
The Attendant Lords and junior attendants all looked down, their eyes fixed on their own noses, their noses pointed at their hearts—a picture of silent contemplation.
“You don’t need to doubt me. Every word I just said was spoken in earnest.” Li Xuanyue set down her cup and looked at them all. “I was reckless before. I didn’t think things through, and I trapped all of you in this palace. Now, I have come to my senses. If you still don’t believe me, then there is nothing more I can do.”
In her past life, she had been foolish, soft-hearted, and too willing to listen to Li Qinghe’s slander, only to be schemed against and die a miserable death. Reborn, Li Xuanyue would not repeat her mistakes. In this life, she would be a diligent princess of the Phoenix Clan, and even the Crown Princess. The throne of the Phoenix Emperor was destined to be hers, and hers alone!
As for the men in her palace… in her past life, hadn’t they all cursed her behind her back, clamoring to leave her? Now, she would grant their wish. She would use this opportunity to follow the vine and find the melon—to see just how many pawns Li Qinghe had planted in her palace.
“Your Highness, we’ve caught someone.”
No sooner had Li Xuanyue revealed her intention to dismiss her Attendant Lords and junior attendants than Yin Xin’s people had apprehended a spy.
“Kill them,” Li Xuanyue ordered coldly. “Useless informants are a waste of time.”
“She really did it?”
The news that Li Xuanyue was dismissing her harem spread throughout the Phoenix Clan in less than fifteen minutes. In Chaoren Hall, Li Qinghe, still in solitary confinement, was stunned when she heard the outrageous news.
“How could Mother Emperor agree to this!”
Setting aside how absurd the idea of dismissing the harem was, she would never get past the powerful ministers of the Phoenix Clan.
“Ruyue, go and secretly summon Physician Fang for me. I need to ask him what is going on.”
Li Qinghe already knew that Li Xuanyue had summoned the physician last night. Could that old fool be hiding something from her? Otherwise, how could all of this be so coincidental? Li Qinghe’s dark eyes narrowed, and even the air in her chest felt heavy.
The Phoenix Emperor, Li Feng, was enraged when she heard the news. Before lunch was even served, she had someone summon Li Xuanyue to her presence.
“Your daughter greets the Mother Emperor.”
From the moment she had decided last night to use the dismissal of her harem as a ploy, Li Xuanyue knew it would incite Li Feng’s fury. Therefore, when she received the summons, she acted with perfect deference and respect, leaving the female official who came to fetch her with no fault to find.
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