Ji Qingwu tucked the note into her sleeve and knelt along with the palace attendants in the hall.
"My decree couldn't summon you, so I had to come myself."
The Empress Dowager walked into Zhaoyang Hall expressionlessly, followed by Shixi and Fanghua.
Ji Qingwu kept her head down, not daring to speak, and knelt obediently to one side.
Li Yuzong had gone to the morning court with Emperor Wu Su, leaving only a few palace attendants behind to manage the residence.
The Empress Dowager lifted her gaze, her eyes landing on Ji Qingwu.
Seeing her slightly disheveled hair and the look of someone who had just woken, the Empress Dowager's displeasure deepened.
By this hour, the Emperor's morning court was already well underway. The Empress Dowager, having spent the previous night with the frightened Princess Qingyun, hadn't slept well either.
'And yet this troublemaker, Ji Qingwu, slept soundly!'
The Empress Dowager sat in an armchair, her face livid with anger.
