With the Lantern Festival approaching, Xie Qiyu has been dining in the main hall for the past few days, and his health has improved somewhat.

Because Jiang Gan took over Liuyun Pavilion, his men took full control of it.

Therefore, the connection between the Prince of Yan and Empress Dowager Du was immediately severed.

The heavy snow in the capital this year lasted for a long time, and several of the homing pigeons raised by Empress Dowager Du were frozen to death.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, Empress Dowager Du said she was going to Yuanhua Temple to pray for blessings, and Xie Qiyu was happy to have some peace and quiet.

Taking advantage of Empress Dowager Du's visit to Yunhua Temple, he had more opportunities to investigate who had secretly drugged him.

Xie Yizhi brought Xie Zhichen to the palace early in the morning. The Lantern Festival was the anniversary of the death of the late Empress Lu Zhiyao.

Therefore, on this day, Xie Qiyu would grant all officials a day off, and Xie Qiyu himself would not participate in any activities in the harem. Of course, there were generally no activities in the harem anyway.

It's nothing more than this concubine saying she's learned a new dance and asking Xie Qiyu to come to her bedchamber to perform it for her.

The concubine said she had learned to make a new kind of pastry and asked Xie Qiyu to come to her palace to try it.

The imperial harem had many concubines, half of whom were from the Du family of Empress Dowager Du, and the other half came from Jiaozhou.

Xie Qiyu usually works tirelessly in the inner palace, and is exhausted every day, just like an ox or a horse.

Only on the Lantern Festival could he empty his mind, think of nothing, and care about nothing.

In previous years, Xie Yizhi and Xie Zhichen were in the northern desert, while only he and Xiao Lingchuan paid homage to the late empress at the ancestral temple.

Xie Qiyu stayed in the ancestral temple for an entire day. Five years ago, Xie Qiyu announced to the public that Xiao Zhiyao had suffered a severe hemorrhage during childbirth, resulting in the deaths of both her unborn child and the empress.

However, this is not the case.

Xie Qiyu and Xiao Zhiyao were childhood sweethearts who grew up together. Xie Qiyu married Xiao Zhiyao when he was still the crown prince.

While the late emperor was alive, Empress Dowager Du was able to maintain a gentle and loving demeanor. However, after the late emperor passed away, she completely tore off her mask of hypocrisy, revealing her sharp fangs.

Her goal was never to assist her son, but to firmly grasp the imperial power in her own hands.

However, she misjudged one thing: the Xiao family would never submit to her.

Xiao Chongwen, the head of the academy and Xiao Zhiyao's father, was an upright and incorruptible scholar.

After the late emperor's death, Empress Dowager Du summoned him many times, trying to win him over with both soft and hard tactics, but Xiao Chongwen remained unmoved.

Xiao Chongwen said with righteous indignation, "This world belongs to the emperor and the people, and it does not belong to the Du family."

Throughout my life, I have only served the Emperor of Great Qi, and I have never formed factions.

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Du's smile gradually turned cold.

Well, if I can't deal with you, you old fox, then I can at least deal with your daughter.

Empress Xiao was gentle, virtuous, generous, and tolerant. When Xie Qiyu ascended the throne, she was already eight months pregnant.

Not long after Xie Qiyu ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Du, under the pretext of wanting to produce more offspring for the royal family, arranged for Xie Qiyu to take in 23 concubines in one go.

Consort Lu was one of them. Empress Dowager Du turned a blind eye to the infighting among the concubines in the harem.

She repeatedly urged Consort Lu to harm Empress Xiao, and with Empress Dowager Du's approval, Consort Lu became increasingly arrogant.

They even secretly gave Empress Xiao labor-inducing drugs, causing her to give birth prematurely when her child was only 9 months old.

After giving birth to Xie Zhichen, Xiao Zhiyao suffered severe bleeding due to the effects of labor-inducing drugs.

Knowing she didn't have long to live, she took advantage of her lucidity to summon Xiao Lingchuan to the palace and asked Xie Qiyu to hand over the newborn child to Xiao Lingchuan, so that Xiao Lingchuan could take the child to the far north to find Xie Yizhi.

The northern desert is high and the roads are long, so even if Empress Dowager Du and Consort Lu wanted to do something, they couldn't reach out so quickly.

Xiao Lingchuan, a spoiled brat, grew up on that very night. Looking at the red, wrinkled baby, he felt a pang of inexplicable pain in his heart.

He was born into a scholarly family and was pampered by his parents from a young age. He had an older sister who was well-educated and courteous, and another sister who was good at business and making money. He lived a carefree life.

But after that night, he knew he had a greater responsibility to protect his infant nephew.

Xiao Lingchuan galloped out of the palace on horseback and found his classmate and friend Jiang Gan, asking Jiang Gan's caravan to escort him.

Without saying a word, Jiang Gan immediately mobilized his men, disguised them as merchant caravans, and headed north.

Despite the many hardships and dangers along the way, they successfully escorted the infant to the northern desert and handed him over to Xie Yizhi.

After returning from the northern desert, Xiao Lingchuan went to the palace to apply for a job, carrying Xie Yizhi's instructions, because he was tactful and eloquent.

Empress Dowager Du was also very pleased. Through the secret machinations of Xie Qiyu and Xie Yizhi, Xiao Lingchuan became a chief eunuch who had not been castrated.

He held this position as chief eunuch for five years.

For five years, he navigated the power struggles within the palace, serving as both a capable eunuch under Empress Dowager Du and Xie Qiyu's most trusted mole.

Inside the secluded royal ancestral temple, incense smoke curled and rose in the air.

Inside the temple, Xie Qiyu lit incense and gave three sticks to everyone.

Xie Zhichen took it in a daze and followed Xie Yizhi's actions, kneeling down solemnly.

He knew that he was being worshipped for his mother, but why were there so many memorial tablets for her?

There's one in the Prince Yi's ancestral hall, and there's another one in the imperial palace temple. Even the emperor's uncle has to pay homage to her. Just how high a position must her mother hold?

As he bowed, he silently prayed, "My mother who gave me life, I now have a mother too, and she is very good to me."

She said, "You are the greatest mother in the world; you have become an angel."

You sent her to love me because you were worried about me, right?

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