His beating done, Feng Gaojie dropped to his knees with a thud and cried out, "Your subject has forgotten himself before the throne. Your subject asks Your Majesty to punish him."

The An Emperor had no mind for such a small matter right now!

She told Pan Yucheng, "Open the coffin lid."

"Your subject obeys!"

Pan Yucheng took the order, rose and came over. With a little effort, he pushed the lid aside.

The An Emperor was trembling all over with nerves. She gathered her courage and looked into the coffin.

And at the sight, she froze.

Ning Chen had been dead a month and a half. Even in the dead of winter, that was too long. He should have rotted.

Yet strangely, he looked as if he were only asleep, as if he were still alive.

It made her wonder whether Ning Chen was playing a trick on her.

Seeing the An Emperor frozen in place, the officials grew tense... They guessed the body must have rotted horribly, too ghastly to look at, and frightened her.

They feared the shock would be too much for her and harm her health.

Li Hanru hesitated, then traded a look with Ji Mingchen and the others. He hurried forward and knelt.

"Please contain your grief, Your Majesty. Your health comes first!"

"Your Majesty, please accept this loss and contain your grief. Do not harm your health. Surely the prince's spirit in heaven would not want to see Your Majesty grieving."

"Your Majesty, the departed are gone. Let the prince go in peace."

The three of them pleaded hard.

Every move a sovereign made bore on the fate of the realm, and the sovereign's health mattered most of all.

The An Emperor waved at them to be quiet.

Her gaze settled on Xiao Yanxi. "What is this?"

Xiao Yanxi bowed. "To answer Your Majesty, when the prince collapsed, his whole body gave off light. Since his death, his body has neither decayed nor stiffened, and up close there's a faint fragrance... As for the cause, this commoner woman doesn't know either."

The An…