#and nian gengyao was toppled very shortly after consort nian had died

[mydaylight]

I'd forgotten about this little moment where the Empress Dowager seemingly is giving the Emperor an out with regards to Shilan's situation, i.e. he might have taken her hint and stopped sending her the incense. Though I think this was more the Dowager testing the Emperor's intentions than really expecting he would change his mind. (maybe even wanting to conjecture the Emperor's feelings towards Nian Gengyao to speculate on how might view Longkodo in the future)