Her complexion was pale, and she wept silently, like a young woman who had lost her soul after a heartbreak, devoid of any trace of the Empress Dowager's dignity.
Fang Fucai was startled and began to kowtow loudly on the ground.
"Your Highness must not do this."
Li Sangruo turned abruptly, fixing her gaze on him.
"How can I not, I am the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager who presides over court. Is it beneath him, a mere General, to come and receive me?"
Fang Fucai knelt and looked up, saying, "Peace talks are of utmost importance, Your Highness. After all, the General acts ultimately for the sake of Your Majesty's realm. Feng Jingteng is but an old brute who, for the sake of his daughter, deliberately makes things difficult. The General cannot afford to offend him too much. If the Empress Dowager creates a rift with the General because of this, wouldn't it be playing right into the Feng Family's hands, letting Feng Shi Er Niang triumph?"
Li Sangruo was slightly taken aback.
