The revitalization of the Tang Dynasty began with the Ganlu Incident.

The New Year arrived as scheduled, and the entire Daming Palace was filled with jubilation. Countless firecrackers and fireworks soared into the sky and scattered across the horizon, creating a joyous atmosphere and showcasing the majesty of the Tang Dynasty.

On New Year's Day, as is customary, a banquet is held for all officials, a rare occasion throughout the year when the emperor and his subjects gather together.

However, for Li Ang, this kind of occasion was not a good thing.

Because he had neither accumulated any knowledge of nor had any interest in the drinking games and poems of this era.

Although he has the original owner's memories, he is not completely unable to write poetry. Moreover, as the emperor, no one dares to ask him to write poetry, but it is always inevitable that he will comment on others' work.

For Li Ang, a banquet was actually more tiring than attending court.

After finally getting rid of the group, Li Ang, slightly tipsy from drinking some wine, casually found a pavilion by Taiye Pond and sat down.

Looking up at the bright moon in the sky, Li Ang's thoughts, unusually, detached themselves from the intrigues and power struggles of the court, and he began to drift aimlessly into a daze.

On New Year's Day, late at night, after the emperor had been drinking... According to the novels he had read before, at this time there should be some pretty little palace maid or a disfavored concubine secretly dancing by the Taiye Pond.

But why is he all alone?

Oh, right, Li Ang glanced at the dozens of followers not far from the pavilion and felt somewhat speechless.

The stories are all lies. With such a large group of people following them at all times, how could any palace maid possibly escape them?

Boring, so boring... The various events that had happened recently involuntarily churned in Li Ang's mind, and a sudden, inexplicable sadness welled up in his heart.

Damn God, why did he have to live in such a messed-up era?

Eunuchs cannot be trusted; family members scheme against them; even those so-called famous ministers throughout history are all scheming for their own gain.

"None of them are good people, none of them can be trusted..." With his mind in a daze, Li Ang muttered a few words to himself before falling asleep on the stone table in the pavilion.

He woke up in the Hall of Supreme Harmony the next morning.

After a hangover, his head ached. He rubbed his temples and sat up to call for help, only to find a thinly dressed beauty lying on the steps by the bed.

? ? !

In an instant, the last trace of alcohol in his body vanished completely.

"Qi Baozhen!"

Li Ang immediately shouted.

Soon, a voice came from outside, and Qi Baozhen, who was standing far away at the door, walked in quickly.

"Yes, sir!"

At the same time, the beauty who had been lying by the bed woke up. Seeing Li Ang's ugly expression, she hurriedly knelt on the ground in a panic and bowed deeply.

"What's going on?"

Li Ang glanced at the woman, frowned, and asked Qi Baozhen.

The latter was clearly aware of what Li Ang cared about most at this moment, so after a moment's hesitation, he stepped forward and said, "Reporting to everyone, this woman... is someone from the Empress Dowager's side."

"The Empress Dowager?"

Li Ang was stunned for a moment before realizing that Qi Baozhen was referring to Xiao Shi, the original owner's birth mother.

Strictly speaking, there are actually three empress dowagers in the palace today.

Aside from the most honored Empress Dowager Guo, there was also Empress Dowager Wang, the birth mother of Emperor Jingzong Li Zhan, and Empress Dowager Xiao, who can now also be considered the birth mother of Li Ang.

However, both of them were originally maids, and they were also suppressed by Empress Dowager Guo, so their presence in the palace has always been very low.

Empress Dowager Wang was somewhat better off; she was one of Emperor Muzong's four consorts and was considered favored during his reign. In contrast, Empress Dowager Xiao's rank in the palace was always very low, and even after giving birth to Prince Li Ang, she did not receive any formal title.

It wasn't until after the original owner ascended the throne that Xiao was honored as Empress Dowager, but in terms of status, she still couldn't compare to Empress Dowager Wang and Empress Dowager Guo.

For this reason, Li Ang usually only paid his respects to his "mother" every few days as a courtesy, without paying much attention to her... There was no way around it; Empress Dowager Xiao's background determined that she was basically completely ignorant of court affairs and politics.

However, Li Ang was facing wave after wave of scheming and struggle, so he naturally didn't have much energy to deal with his "birth mother".

Seeing Li Ang's brows relax slightly, Qi Baozhen continued, "Everyone has forgotten that you promised the Empress Dowager that you would go to pay your respects to her after the banquet. Last night you fell asleep by the Taiye Pond, and we called you repeatedly, but you did not wake up."

"Therefore, I could only send you back to the palace first, and then send someone to inform the Empress Dowager. Unexpectedly, after hearing the news, the Empress Dowager personally rushed to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Seeing that everyone was indeed drunk, the Empress Dowager kept this woman and let her enter to serve."

"This servant dares not disobey the Empress Dowager's order, nor dares to rashly allow this woman to serve the Emperor. Therefore, she will serve by the bedside temporarily, and we will make a decision after everyone wakes up..."

After hearing what had happened, Li Ang's brows finally relaxed, but he still felt a little displeased.

After a moment's hesitation, he turned to look at the woman kneeling on the ground beside him and said, "You, raise your head."

Then, the woman raised her head slightly, revealing a fair and beautiful face beneath her slightly disheveled hair.

Perhaps because she was to enter the palace to serve, she was only dressed in a thin palace maid's uniform. Kneeling on the ground, her snow-white chest immediately came into view.

"This servant, Wang Meier, greets Your Majesty."

It must be said that this woman was indeed a beauty. She looked to be only around twenty years old, with timid eyes and fair skin, making her quite endearing.

Li Ang had just woken up and was young and impetuous, so he was not easy to control. Therefore, he only glanced at her before looking away.

Just as he was pondering how to deal with the woman, a palace attendant suddenly came to report: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has arrived."

Okay, now I don't have to think of it myself.

Li Ang shook his head and told Qi Baozhen to take the person out first. After changing his clothes and washing up with the help of palace servants, he came to the main hall.

"The son greets his mother."

Empress Dowager Xiao is only in her forties now, and thanks to her good maintenance, she still looks very young.

Unlike Empress Guo's dignified extravagance, Empress Xiao was much simpler in her daily life, and her clothes were not luxurious.

When Li Ang came out, the palace maid named Wang Meier was standing to the side with her head down, looking dejected, while Empress Dowager Xiao looked at her with displeasure.

"No need for formalities. You've just woken up from a hangover. Come, have something to eat first..."

Upon seeing her son, Empress Dowager Xiao's expression immediately improved. She stood up and pulled Li Ang to sit down, and soon had some light breakfast served.

"This is porridge that someone cooked for an hour early this morning. It's very nourishing for the spleen and stomach. Here, have some..."

Empress Dowager Xiao personally ladled out a bowl of porridge and handed it to Li Ang, her face full of concern.

Seeing this, Li Ang took the bag, tasted it, and then put it down, saying apologetically, "I made Mother wait so long last night; it was my fault."

Empress Dowager Xiao shook her head and said, "I know you are usually busy with state affairs and banquets with ministers, so you don't have much free time. Besides, you come to pay your respects quite often, so missing one or two times won't matter. But when I came yesterday, I saw that you had no one to take care of you, so I thought of assigning you a suitable person to be by your side, but..."

As she spoke, she glanced at Wang Meier beside her, and couldn't help but shake her head, saying, "What, you think she's not good enough? If so, I'll pick a few more and send them over for you to choose from?"