The news that Song Binyu was able to stand up somehow leaked out.

The Empress Dowager was always concerned about Song Binyu. Upon learning that he could walk without support, she immediately ordered someone to bring him back to the palace.

Lu Qiqi was among those who accompanied them.

When the Empress Dowager heard the palace servants report that Song Binyu had entered the palace, she couldn't sit still and went to wait outside the palace herself.

When she saw Song Binyu standing straightforwardly in front of her, a man who had been strong-willed for half his life, she couldn't help but shed tears.

The eldest prince grew up by the Empress Dowager's side and had the closest relationship with her.

Now that the eldest prince has passed away, the Empress Dowager will naturally cherish the only remaining bloodline.

"Oh my goodness, it's so good that you can stand up!"

With the help of palace servants, the Empress Dowager hurriedly invited Song Binyu into the palace.

The palace servants were not as well-informed as the nobles, and when they saw that Song Binyu could stand up and walk, they all had surprised expressions on their faces.

Despite being ignored, Lu Qiqi's smile remained unchanged as she followed the two into the palace.

When the Empress Dowager saw that Song Binyu's legs were completely healed, she burst into tears of joy, which prompted Song Binyu to offer words of comfort.

It took a long time for him to recover.

Lu Qiqi looked at them, a hint of tears glistening in her eyes.

She had heard Song Yanqing mention that she deeply regretted not being able to protect the eldest prince, causing Song Binyu to become an orphan at a young age.

Now that Song Binyu has stood up again, the person who is happiest for him is none other than the Empress Dowager.

After wiping away her tears, the Empress Dowager returned to her inner room to tidy herself up.

When the Empress Dowager came out again, she had a completely different face, as if she were not the one who had just been crying tears of joy.

The Empress Dowager was seated at the head of the table. She looked at Lu Qiqi and said, "Binyu is so lucky to have your miraculous healing skills."

Upon hearing this, Lu Qiqi immediately stood up. "Your Majesty is too kind. I was merely doing what I was supposed to do."

The Empress Dowager was very satisfied that Lu Qiqi did not try to take advantage of the situation.

She said, "I know that Yanqing values ​​you."

It hasn't been easy for you all along.

Once the affairs of the princes are settled, I will arrange a marriage between you two.

Lu Qiqi didn't value the arranged marriage very much, but she knew that the Empress Dowager's words showed that she valued her.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Qiqi didn't stay in the Empress Dowager's palace for long before returning to the Marquis of Lin'an's residence with several cartloads of gifts.

Song Binyu was unable to leave the palace with her, but was instead cherished by the Empress Dowager and kept in the palace like a treasure.

......

The Heavenly Prison.

When the emperor entered the first cell of the imperial prison, he saw the second prince sitting cross-legged on a stone bed.

"Open!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the second prince immediately raised his head.

He had been imprisoned in the imperial prison for countless days, and thought he would spend the rest of his life there. Unexpectedly, he was able to see the emperor again.

"Father!"

He pounced on the emperor like a mad dog.

Faced with the Second Prince's sudden action, the Imperial Guards immediately drew their swords and shielded the Emperor behind them, preventing the Second Prince from getting close.

Seeing this, the emperor lowered his head and looked at his good-for-nothing son. After a long while, he finally ordered, "Put it away."

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guards immediately sheathed their swords, stepped back, and stood behind the Emperor, their eyes fixed on the Second Prince.

The second prince seized the opportunity to grab the emperor's robe, "Father, Father, I know I was wrong, please forgive me!"

The emperor let him pull and beg for mercy, and after a long while he finally spoke, "Your brother did not beg for mercy even until his death. He resolutely risked his life to make you spare his wife and children."

The emperor did not say what came next.

But the second prince seemed to understand something, and slowly loosened his grip on the emperor's robe, as if his life force had been drained by a demon.

The emperor said, "Factional strife is not terrible; brothers fighting among themselves has occurred in every dynasty."

But you absolutely shouldn't have treated the people like dirt and committed treason!

Wu Guangping's treason and collusion with the enemy, while simultaneously trying to win over the second prince, had already spread throughout the Great Jin Dynasty.

Even if the emperor wanted to show some fatherly affection, it would be impossible.

The emperor closed his eyes briefly. "I will not kill you. I will imprison you in the imperial mausoleum. You will spend the rest of your life repenting in the mausoleum with your wife and children."

What will become of a prince who is abandoned by the royal family?

Even the servants in the imperial tombs would skimp on food and even speak ill of each other.

Upon hearing this decision, the second prince still wanted to fight for a sliver of hope.

Just as he was about to kowtow and beg for a pardon, he heard the emperor's voice again.

"With the empress abolished, the Jia family will cease to exist."

This news was absolutely devastating for the Second Prince.

He slumped to the ground, utterly dejected, the light in his eyes vanishing.

The emperor, no longer wanting to see him like this, shook off his hand and strode out of the prison.

None of his sons had the ambition to govern the country, and the emperor did not want to hand over the throne to someone else.

Just as he was frowning in worry, he unknowingly walked into the Empress Dowager's palace.

He looked up at the plaque and said, "Let's go and pay our respects to the Empress Dowager."

He didn't know whether he was saying this to himself or to Li Defu.

But he had already stepped through the gates of the Empress Dowager's palace.

Not long after the emperor entered the gate, he saw a child standing under the pavilion in the front yard, looking at the book he was holding with great interest.

He pointed to the people under the pavilion and asked Li Defu, "Whose child is this?"

Following the emperor's gesture, Li Defu looked at the child under the pavilion, "This..."

Seeing his evasive expression, the emperor sized up Li Defu and asked, "Do you not know? Or are you afraid to speak?"

Li Defu smiled with his head down, "The child under the pavilion is Song Binyu, the eldest son of the First Prince."

Song Binyu?

The emperor suddenly remembered that the child had almost fallen off a cliff while riding in a carriage. He had survived, but his legs would never be able to walk again.

He knew that the Empress Dowager had brought him into the palace to recuperate.

Perhaps feeling guilty towards the eldest prince, he also had many good medicinal herbs sent to the Empress Dowager's palace.

The emperor said, "I remember he stayed at the Marquis of Lin'an's residence, and now he can actually stand up and walk?"

Li Defu had already heard the news, but since the emperor's attitude towards the princes had been ambiguous these days, he dared not mention it to their faces.

Now that the emperor had asked him personally, he answered truthfully, "Your Majesty, Princess Kangle cured 'him,' and the Empress Dowager also bestowed many fine things upon her."

The emperor suddenly remembered that the late emperor had praised the eldest prince, and it seemed that the scene was similar back then.

He quietly entered the pavilion and overheard Song Binyu discussing water conservancy strategies, which seemed to offer some insightful observations.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing the sound, the emperor noticed that there was another person standing under the pavilion.

This man was once a great Confucian scholar whom he had found for the eldest prince, and also a teacher whom the eldest prince respected greatly.

Now that Song Binyu held a special status, he bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

The emperor paused for a moment when he heard Song Binyu address him, then waved his hand and said, "You may continue. Just pretend I was never here."

After saying this, the emperor led Li Defu out of the Empress Dowager's palace.