He knew that Danruo was unwilling to go back to the palace with him because she was worried that the turbulent life in the palace would hurt the child.

Gu Chengzuo thought about it all night and decided to disband the harem. He had never touched those women, so letting them leave the palace would be better for everyone.

The next morning, he told Danruo his decision and the current situation in the capital, hoping that Danruo would return to the capital with him.

Seeing that Danruo didn't agree immediately, Gu Chengzuo frowned and said, "You're not still thinking about that bastard King Jing, are you? After all, he was engaged to you before."

Dan Ruo was helpless: "Your Majesty, what you said is wrong. Although King Jing and I were engaged at that time, we were still young and did not understand love.

I was just thinking that my two children are still young and it would be hard for them to travel such a long distance, so why not let them follow my parents back to the capital slowly.

Gu Chengzuo felt better, as long as he was not thinking about King Jing.

After knowing that she was Sultan Ruo, he couldn't help but think of the engagement between her and King Jing and the subsequent grievances. She finally left the palace and plotted to harm King Jing. Was it because of love turning into hate?

But if Danruo said in person that she didn't understand love at that time, then he would believe her, but he still had to take the child with him.

He had just learned that he was having the child he had been waiting for for so many years. He was worried about the child all the time and didn't want to be separated from the child.

And only by going together can he feel assured of the child's safety.

He then sent someone to quickly convey the news to the Queen Mother, saying that there should be no problem for the Queen Mother to govern.

At the same time, in the capital.

The emperor claimed to be ill and did not attend the morning court for many days, which made the officials a little worried.

After all, except for the deaths of Concubine Rong and Empress Su, Gu Chengzuo had never missed the morning court, and he had always been in good health and did not look sick.

Concubine Jing was dressed in plain clothes. She knew that Gu Chengzuo had left the palace for some time because she could no longer smell the scent of the poisonous insect.

In this case, either Gu Chengzuo is dead, or he is out of range and cannot be sensed.

Judging from the empress dowager's condition, Gu Chengzuo is definitely not dead, so he has left the palace.

So the news was spread that the emperor was not ill, but had secretly left the capital. As to what he was going to do, there were many speculations in the capital.

Everyone thought it was related to offspring, because Gu Chengzuo had been in power for seventeen years and at the age of thirty-four, everything was perfect.

But he had no children. Two years ago, Empress Su finally became pregnant, but she died early. The court urged him to recognize an adopted son from the royal family, but the adopted son fell and became paralyzed. The legend that Gu Chengzuo was unlucky in marriage and had no children was very popular.

Maybe Gu Chengzuo couldn't stand all this and secretly found a temple to become a monk.

Therefore, the court officials felt that the country could not be without a ruler for a day, and they all asked the empress dowager to let the emperor return to the palace as soon as possible.

Three days later, the emperor still had not returned to the palace. Some officials who were looking for trouble became agitated and all knelt at the palace gate to demand the empress dowager's help.

First, appoint a crown prince. After all, the country cannot be without a ruler for a day. When the emperor is away, there must be a young ruler.

The young ruler they nominated was King Jing's son Gu Lin. On the one hand, King Jing's faction advocated this because Gu Lin and Gu Chengzuo were closely related by blood and had similar destinies.

On the other hand, the other ministers felt that Gu Lin was young enough, and that it would be easy for the court officials to control the young emperor to gain wealth and status in their fight for power, which would be a new opportunity for the aristocratic families to compete for power.

The ministers had been kneeling at the palace gate for three days, and many of them had collapsed. Seeing this scene, people in the capital were in panic.

The Queen Mother was afraid that if the matter dragged on for too long, the neighboring small countries would find out and take the opportunity to start a war. However, she knew that her son Gu Chengzuo was not a man without sense of propriety, but she just couldn't wait for Gu Chengzuo's letter.

Gu Chengzuo encountered group after group of killers along the way.

He guessed that the secret spy who was previously sent to deliver the letter to the Queen Mother might have been discovered, which was why people kept trying to kill him, making the journey extremely dangerous.

Fortunately, she had enough people with her, and had Minister Su to protect her. In addition, Dan Ruo actually knew martial arts, although her skills were just fancy moves, but she was lucky and was always able to protect the children in time.

I need to rush back to the capital as soon as possible. There must be problems in the capital. I hope the Queen Mother can stay until I return.

The Queen Mother persisted for two more days. All the ministers and students participated in it. The officials were in turmoil, and the people took to the streets in fear.

She was forced to pick up the phoenix seal and stamp the edict that the ministers had already prepared to establish Gu Lin as the crown prince.

Then the officials from the Ministry of Rites set up the altar, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated the auspicious time for the day, and some officials went to Prince Jing's mansion to welcome the little prince who was about to be enthroned, and gave him a bath and changed his clothes.

As the father of the young prince Gu Lin, Prince Jing was also respectfully invited out.

King Jing was already imagining the good days when his son would become the crown prince and he would be the regent.

The first thing he did was to demote all the palace servants who had not taken good care of him in the past two years to the Yunting Bureau.

The Queen Mother sat at the top, looking at Concubine Jing's raised mouth and King Jing's smug look, she felt extremely hateful in her heart. King Jing killed her own grandson, and now she was forced by these ministers to make King Jing's child the crown prince.

She was unwilling to accept the fact and wondered when the emperor would come back.

If you don't go back, things will be irreversible.

Seeing the Empress Dowager's expression as if she was visiting a grave, Concubine Jing felt secretly happy, but suddenly the corners of her mouth froze.

She actually sensed Gu Chengzuo's poisonous insect, which meant he was nearby.

She anxiously looked at the official from the Ministry of Rites and urged, "The Crown Prince's good fortune is determined by celestial factors. An auspicious or inauspicious time is irrelevant. We cannot let the Queen Mother wait here in the scorching sun. If the Queen Mother becomes ill later, the Crown Prince would be extremely unfilial. Let's begin the ceremony now."

An official from the Ministry of Rites was required to read the imperial edict first and then bestow the golden seal upon the crown prince.

The official from the Ministry of Rites was somewhat shaken. After all, it was the prince's grandmother who had spoken, so he looked at the empress dowager.

The Queen Mother shook her head in displeasure. "The appointment of a crown prince is a matter of national destiny. How can we not wait for an auspicious time? Today is already too hasty. Why not choose another auspicious day to enthrone it?"

King Jing was afraid that something might happen if he delayed, so he winked at his ministers.

The ministers still said that the country cannot be without a king for a day, and the emperor could not come back yet, so the crown prince must be appointed today.

Seeing that she could not delay any longer, the empress dowager could only close her eyes and pray silently to the Buddha. However, the auspicious time soon arrived. The officials from the Ministry of Rites began to recite the imperial edict. Halfway through, they heard a commotion in the distance. A large number of people and horses were coming to escort Gu Chengzuo.

The empress dowager cried with joy, because the prince had returned.