Chapter 670 He will guard the border for the rest of his life and never leave!

Fangfang suddenly burst into tears.

Li Qingluo quickly went over and picked up Fangfang, holding her in her arms.

"Don't cry, Mom is here."

Fangfang nestled in her mother's arms, feeling her mother's warm skin, and then slowly closed her eyes, sobbing again.

Fortunately, she was very young, so she didn't understand what her father and mother had just been doing.

Duan Rongshi's expression nearly cracked open.

Li Qinglu looked up and couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Duan Rongshi: ...

It seems his empress was quite pleased to see him suffer such a humiliation?

Finally, the wet nurse and Granny Zheng took the little princess away, and his expression gradually returned to normal.

When Li Qingluo returned after taking a bath, she saw that all the curtains in the room had been drawn.

Li Qingluo couldn't understand what he was trying to do, so she lifted the lid and crawled around inside: "Ashi?"

A large hand reached out from behind the tent, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into the tent.

"The spring night is too short."

"Luo'er, have you thought of me these past few days?"

A pair of silhouettes embraced tightly behind the tent.

Li Qingluo tilted her head back, cupped that stunningly beautiful face in her hands, and tiptoed to kiss it, as her answer.

Li Qingluo only learned on the second day that Pei Qinghong and the Zheng siblings were both in the army that had accompanied them.

The three of them have been working for Duan Rongshi in Daliang for the past few years.

Duan Rongshi is not in Daliang; they are Duan Rongshi's hand and his eyes.

After Duan Rongshi and General Wan secretly formed an alliance, General Wan returned to the border to await Duan Rongshi's summons.

The Zheng siblings were also sent to other military units by Duan Rongshi. Both siblings were shrewd and resourceful, so it wouldn't be difficult for them to quickly take over some important positions in the army.

As for Pei Qinghong, he took over the leadership of the shadow guards left behind by Duan Rongshi in Jinling, stirring up the waters of Jinling more and more turbulently. He also contributed to making Crown Prince Duan Rongjue and Princess Xiyue increasingly irreconcilable enemies.

After the westward expedition, the various forces came together and have all made different contributions.

However, Li Qingluo heard that the Zheng siblings and Pei Qinghong were all asking to leave.

"The Zheng siblings seem to be in the old lady's courtyard right now. Would Your Highness like to go and take a look?"

Of course Li Qingluo will go!

The grudges from back then have never been resolved, and the two of them want to leave like this?

She stood up coldly, had someone carry Fangfang away, and then hurried to her grandmother's courtyard.

"Madam, my brother and I owe you a debt of gratitude that we can never repay in this lifetime."

"If there is an afterlife, we will repay you with our life's gratitude!"

When Li Qingluo entered, the Zheng siblings were kowtowing to Old Madam Pei.

With a shout from Granny Zheng, she announced, "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"

Everyone in the courtyard immediately knelt down to greet and worship.

"Welcome, Your Majesty the Empress."

Apart from Madam Pei.

Because Li Qingluo had proclaimed to the world that his grandmother, Pei Shi, would never have to kneel before him again.

"Everyone, please get up."

"Luo'er greets her grandmother."

As always, Li Qingluo greeted Madam Pei first.

Madam Pei patted her hand: "Your status is different now, so don't greet your grandmother in front of others."

Li Qingluo: "Who dares to tell anyone? It is always perfectly legitimate and natural for Luo'er to pay respects to her grandmother."

Even after becoming a mother, Li Qingluo still greeted her grandmother as before.

Madam Pei looked at her with a face full of doting tenderness: "No one will care about you now, but if you continue to act so willfully when you return to the capital, do you want those old fogies and civil officials to impeach your grandmother?"

Li Qing felt wronged and aggrieved.

She said that the more one possesses the world, the more one loses.

Madam Pei didn't care about her grievances; she just kept giving her meaningful glances, urging her to look at the other two people standing to the side.

Li Qingluo knew they were the Zheng siblings.

So when she gave them a look, Zheng Lingzhou and Zheng Wanxiu immediately knelt down again.

"Your Majesty, my brother and I are the ones who wronged you in the past. We did many things to hurt you, and we know that no matter what we do, we can never make up for what we owe you."

"If Your Majesty wishes to punish us, we two guilty subjects will have no complaints!"

Madam Pei was unaware of the truth behind the Zheng siblings' plan to exchange Li Qingluo's life for Li Jingchuan's.

Therefore, she had no idea how much grievance Li Qingluo had endured.

However, after Li Qingluo returned to her previous life and saw that Li Jingchuan would rather kill himself than follow the wishes of her mother and uncle to harm her blood-related sister, Li Qingluo accepted Li Jingchuan in her heart.

As for the Zheng siblings, she had originally planned never to see them again in this lifetime.

But now that they've come, she feels that clarifying things and resolving some grievances can truly put an end to them.

"Zheng Lingzhou, what right do you have to resign?"

Do you think that your military achievements can atone for your crimes?

"If you hadn't suddenly barged out and blocked our way home back then, Sui'er wouldn't have been killed!"

Zheng Lingzhou, his face filled with shame, said, "This sinner is willing to pay with his life!"

As he spoke, Zheng Lingzhou drew the dagger from his body, preparing to commit suicide.

Zheng Wanxiu cried out and hugged him tightly: "Lingzhou, don't be confused!"

"If you die, our Zheng family line will be completely cut off!"

With red eyes, Zheng Wanxiu turned her head and kowtowed to Li Qingluo.

"Back then, this disgraced subject kidnapped Her Majesty the Empress on several occasions, attempting to murder her. If Your Majesty wishes to kill, then kill this disgraced subject—"

The doubts in Madam Pei's eyes grew deeper and deeper.

"What exactly did you do to Luo'er?"

She knew that her granddaughter wasn't a petty person.

The fact that she's arguing with them like this today means that they must have wronged her deeply first; otherwise, her Luo'er would never have pressured them.

Li Qingluo didn't want her grandmother to know about those upsetting things anymore.

So, with a low growl, his eyes already filled with impatience, he said, "Enough!"

"Don't make me sound like some kind of wicked person!"

“Zheng Lingzhou, your father and your Zheng family died because of your mother. Now, the injustice done to your family has not been redressed. If I were to take your life, how could I answer to His Majesty, or to my deceased mother?”

"As for you, Zheng Wanxiu. You are my second brother's biological mother. If I were to force you to your death, wouldn't that cause resentment and estrangement between us siblings, leading to a permanent rift between us?"

The Zheng siblings, their faces pale, replied, "We two guilty ministers had no such intention. We have wronged Your Majesty, and now we submit to Your Majesty's judgment!"

Li Qingluo asked first, "Disciplinary action? If you truly intend to wait for me to deal with you, then why are you in such a hurry to leave? Do you think that by using this military achievement to completely erase the past, I will not hold it against you?"

Li Qingluo flung his hand away, and Zheng Lingzhou and Zheng Wanxiu lowered their heads even further.

"This sinful subject has no face to meet Your Majesty."

Zheng Lingzhou replied with a bitter expression, "Now that Jingchuan is still alive, and has even married and had a daughter, my brother and I have no regrets."

"I just wanted to go to Rongle one last time to see Jingchuan and my little grandniece before I completely apologize to Your Majesty."

Li Qingluo: "Enough! I don't want to listen to your nonsense anymore. Besides, do you think I would believe a single word you say now?"

“Listen, Zheng Wanxiu can leave.”

"From now on, you can go anywhere you want, and no one will stop you. You are now free."

"As for you, Zheng Lingzhou, I want you to guard the border for the rest of your life and never leave."

How could the Zheng siblings disobey the order?

After expressing their gratitude, they all withdrew together.

Once they reached a secluded spot outside, Zheng Lingzhou comforted Zheng Wanxiu, whose eyes were red with tears: "Alright, sister, this is the best outcome we can hope for."

"Back then, we plotted to kill Luo'er. If it weren't for Your Highness's consideration for my father, we would have died long ago."

"Now that things have fallen...now that Her Majesty has also let us go, you can go see Jingchuan. Our Zheng family will soon be exonerated. Lingzhou has no regrets."

Zheng Wanxiu shook her head and said, "I'm not sad, I'm ashamed."

"This child, she clearly let us go, but she deliberately spoke so fiercely. She hates us, but for Jingchuan, for her grandmother, and for His Highness..."

"Therefore, they had no choice but to let go of their hatred for us."

“Lingzhou, it’s good that you stay. This is our way of atoning for the sins we have committed against Her Majesty.”

"If Jingchuan is feeling better, we can come to Mantuo City together to meet you in the summer."

Zheng Lingzhou finally understood Li Qingluo's thoughts.

Her demand that he guard the border forever was not a real punishment.

Instead, it's best to show him mercy, the best course of action... to back down.

He turned to look in the direction of Li Qingluo, and the unspoken feelings hidden in his heart were revealed in his eyes at this moment.

He knew that he would keep this secret buried in his heart forever and would never let a third person know it.

Zheng Wanxiu pulled him along: "Let's go!"

After the siblings had gone far away, it took Li Qingluo quite a while before Duan Rongshi arrived.

"Grandmother, I've come to pick up Luo'er."

Madam Pei was very pleased that Duan Rongshi didn't put on airs in front of her.

"Go, go."

"By the way, later I'll have the wet nurse bring Fangfang to play with me. I'm happy just looking at her, and I can eat half a bowl more of my food."

Li Qingluo sighed deliberately: "Now that Fangfang is here, Grandmother doesn't even miss Luo'er anymore."

Madam Pei laughed until her stomach hurt.

"Look at you, you're a mother now, and you're still jealous of your daughter."

"Your Majesty, you really need to keep a close eye on her."

Duan Rongshi smiled and said, "Yes, grandson-in-law will listen to his grandmother."

After the two left hand in hand, Madam Pei watched their retreating figures with a smile on her face.

Suddenly she sighed again: "Let's have a couple more peaceful days. Once you two start arguing, you'll both have a lot of headaches to deal with."

Granny Zhang asked in bewilderment, "Madam, how could they have started arguing? The Empress and His Majesty have such a good relationship that they would never quarrel in their entire lives. Why do you say that?"

Madam Pei rolled her eyes at Zhang Mama.

"When did I say that the two of them quarreled? I was referring to the Great Chu and the Great Liang!"

"Now that the war is over, do you see them arguing?"

On her way back, Li Qingluo told Duan Rongshi about her arrangements for the Zheng siblings.

Duan Rongshi: "Luo'er, I know you only showed mercy because of me and your half-brother."

"It is true that my mother and I owe the Zheng family something."

"So, thank you, Luo'er."

"After the Zheng family is exonerated, I will reward Zheng Lingzhou with the rank of general and official position because of his military achievements and the Zheng family's protection of my mother back then."

"But as you said, he will never leave Manto City again in his life."

Li Qingluo: "I also owe my mother a debt of gratitude, so I will not concern myself with this matter any further."

"You don't need to talk to me about him anymore."

"By the way, Shi, what exactly did you decide?"

"After this matter, should we return to Nan'an... or Jinling?"