Chapter 137 - 117 Are you cold?
The Tushan Clan returned to the seal, and its underground palace had collapsed the southwestern corner of the Capital City. Fortunately, there weren’t many civilian residences in that area, so the casualties were minimal.
During the time when the Empress Dowager was trapped in the Tushan Underground Palace, the Capital City did not crumble, nor did Great Yu fall into chaos across the four seas. One reason was that it lasted only four or five days, and another was because the nameless old matron presided over the imperial palace, allowing the Chief of Staff’s inner chamber to function as usual.
The inner chamber of the Chief of Staff consisted entirely of palace women, all of whom were female officials responsible for managing official documents and reviewing proposals from the Cabinet. Dubbed the inner Cabinet of the palace, its operations had become more significant under the current Empress Dowager’s regency. To consolidate her power and eliminate the influence left by the previous emperor within the palace, she had reduced the authority of the Directorate of Ceremonies to what it should have been during the era of the first emperor—simply overseeing ceremonial affairs within the Capital City.
The only lurking threat was the Prince of Annan stationed not far from the Capital City.
"The Prince of Annan has arrived?"
"He’s camped sixty miles away, claiming to protect the Capital and has sent a messenger to represent him in an audience with the emperor."
Zeng Yichang hesitated for a moment before saying,
"Everyone knows he’s here to probe for weaknesses."
Chen Yi remained silent.
Having just returned three days ago, he was still unfamiliar with the situation in the Capital and leaning on Zeng Yichang’s knowledge.
"Supervisor Wu has assigned people to monitor the movements within the Capital these past few days, and even the Taoists from the Astronomical Bureau have lent their assistance."