At morning court the next day, the Doctor of the Observatory—an official who usually had little presence—suddenly stepped forward. He claimed that Prince Zhao had an overly potent birth chart and possessed such a heavy, malevolent aura that he could easily offend the ancestral tablets enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

If he were to preside over the renovation of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, a bloody disaster would be inevitable.

This statement greatly displeased the Emperor.

However, many other court officials then stepped forward to express that Prince Zhao was unsuitable to oversee the renovation of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Some of them had been bribed by Liu Ze, while others held old grudges against Prince Zhao. In any case, none of them wanted to see Prince Zhao have an easy time.

Under pressure from the assembled officials, the Emperor could only make a concession.

After all, it wasn’t a particularly critical matter, and the Emperor didn’t want to strain his relationship with the court officials over it.

Thus, both sides took a step back. The Emperor assigned the task of overseeing the temple renovation to the Second Prince, Li Hao, and the Fifth Prince, Li Yan, to manage jointly, with Prince Zhao, Li Ji, assisting from the side. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The court officials knew to quit while they were ahead.

And so, the matter came to a close for the time being.

Li Hao and Li Yan were, of course, overjoyed to have landed such a fine assignment for nothing.

However, Li Yan was still resentful. ’It was clearly my uncle who maneuvered to snatch this plum job from Prince Zhao, so on what grounds does Li Hao get to reap the benefits?!’

But the Holy Decree had already been issued. Li Yan dared not complain and could only hold his nose and endure it.

The Emperor, worried that Prince Zhao would be vexed by this, specially summoned him to the palace to offer some comfort.

To outsiders, it looked as if Prince Zhao had not only lost a prestigious assignment but was also forced to play second fiddle to two other princes. They assumed he must be terribly sullen and throwing a fit, which was why the Emperor had specially summoned him to the palace for a talk.

Even Prince Anshun heard about it and recounted the events to his princess consort after returning home.

After Feihua Zhenren’s help in regulating her health, the negative side effects of Princess Anshun’s pregnancy had lessened considerably, which was a great relief to her.

Back when she had been depressed due to severe morning sickness, it was Hua Manman who had comforted her and sent Feihua Zhenren to help with her health. Now that Prince Zhao was facing such a situation, although she couldn’t be of any real help, she felt she should at least offer a few words of consolation.

So, that afternoon, Princess Anshun took a carriage to the Prince Zhao Mansion.

Hua Manman invited Princess Anshun to sit and had someone serve warm milk tea.

It was Princess Anshun’s first time trying milk tea, and she found it quite novel.

Seeing that she liked it, Hua Manman told her how to make it so she could have it whenever she wanted in the future.

The milk tea was delicious, but Princess Anshun hadn’t forgotten the real reason for her visit.

She brought up the matter of Prince Zhao’s assignment being snatched away and offered comfort in a gentle voice.

"Prince Zhao must be in a bad mood lately. You should be careful around him and try not to argue. Things should get better after this blows over."

Hua Manman hadn’t heard Prince Zhao mention this at all.

If Princess Anshun hadn’t told her, she would have been completely unaware that such a thing had happened at court.

She couldn’t help but ask, "What was the assignment that was taken from Prince Zhao?"

Princess Anshun replied, "I heard it was the renovation of the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

Hua Manman froze for a moment. A scene from *Palace Intrigue* about the renovation of the Imperial Ancestral Temple suddenly flashed through her mind.

In the original story, the Crown Prince was not yet dead at this point. He had been appointed by the Emperor to oversee the renovation of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, but in the process, an earthquake—a "turning of the earth dragon"—struck, causing most of the temple to collapse.

The incident caused a huge uproar.

Many people saw it as a warning from the heavens, a sign that the Crown Prince lacked virtue and was unworthy of his position as Crown Prince.

Because the novel was written from the perspective of the female lead, Hua Qingqing, this part of the plot wasn’t described in great detail.

She only knew that because of the temple’s collapse, the Crown Prince’s reputation among the common people plummeted. Even the Emperor grew dissatisfied with him, further deepening the conflict between father and son.

And this became the spark that later ignited the Crown Prince’s rebellion.

Now, the Crown Prince was dead, and the person in charge of renovating the Imperial Ancestral Temple had become Prince Zhao.

Before the work could even officially begin, the Second Prince and Fifth Prince had already stuck their noses in and forced their way into the project.

It was truly a matter full of twists and turns.

Princess Anshun was still consoling Hua Manman, telling her to relax and look on the bright side. With the Emperor’s favor, Prince Zhao would surely get many more, and better, assignments in the future.

Hua Manman replied vaguely, "You’re right."

After seeing Princess Anshun off, Hua Manman was still mulling over the matter of the temple renovation.

To outsiders, this assignment was a plum job—easy and prestigious. But to Hua Manman, who knew the plot, it was a hot potato that had to be dropped immediately.

The system suddenly piped up at this moment.

"Warning, the host is prohibited from revealing any plot-related content to anyone."

Hua Manman narrowed her eyes. "Are you trying to force me to go to the palace and find Hua Qingqing?"

The system: "..."

’Is that a threat?’

’That is absolutely a threat!’

The system was furious, but its voice couldn’t help but trail off weakly.

"You cannot reveal the plot. This is a set rule that not even I can change."

Hua Manman asked, "If I don’t reveal it actively, but he figures it out himself, that shouldn’t count as breaking the rules, right?"

The system: "It does not."

Hua Manman was relieved.

Prince Zhao returned from the palace.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Hua Manman deep in thought, so engrossed that she didn’t even notice him come in.

It wasn’t until Li Ji reached out and pinched her cheek that she snapped back to reality.

"Y-You’re back!"

Li Ji smiled. "What were you thinking about? You were so lost in thought."

Hua Manman grabbed his sleeve and said with a serious expression.

"I have something to tell you."

Seeing her look so serious for once, Li Ji’s interest was piqued.

"What is it?"

Hua Manman said, "I just heard a very interesting story. Let me tell it to you. A long, long time ago, there was a mountain. On the mountain, there was a temple. One day, an earthquake suddenly struck the mountain, and the temple collapsed."

The system shrieked in her mind, "Your hint is too obvious!"

Hua Manman ignored it.

Li Ji waited for a moment, but when nothing followed, he couldn’t help but ask.

"That’s it?"

Hua Manman blinked, her face a picture of innocence. "That’s it."

The two stared at each other.

Hua Manman said, "How about I tell you another story? A long, long time ago, in a small mountain village, there was a temple. One day, an earthquake suddenly struck the village, and the temple collapsed."

Li Ji: ???

’Why do her stories always end with a temple collapsing?’

’Does she have some kind of grudge against temples?’

Hua Manman thought to herself, ’No way, right? I’ve hinted so obviously. Can he really not understand?’

Hearing her inner thoughts, Li Ji finally understood that she was hinting at something.

He began to ponder. Her stories all mentioned a temple and an earthquake.

’I don’t believe in gods or buddhas and almost never visit temples. The only temple I have any connection to recently is the Imperial Ancestral Temple...’

At this thought, something stirred in Li Ji’s heart.

Just as Hua Manman was hesitating, wondering if she should make up another story, she heard Li Ji ask out of the blue,

"Will something happen to the Imperial Ancestral Temple?"