Qin Yanning asked tremblingly, "Mother..."

Helian Jue nodded silently. Qin Yanning didn't have time to put on his outer robe and went to the inner hall barefoot.

Helian Jue grabbed Qin Yanning and whispered, "Ning'er, sit with me for a while."

In recent years, Helian Jue rarely called himself "I" in front of Qin Yanning, but he usually avoided outsiders for fear of implicating Qin Yanning and causing him to be criticized by the censors.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yanning sat next to Helian Jue and held his hand.

Helian Jue has practiced martial arts for many years, and even in the coldest days of winter, his hands are warm.

But today his hands were cold. Qin Yanning held Helian Jue's hand tightly, hoping to give him some warmth.

After a long while, Helian Jue finally said in a hoarse voice: "Ning'er, from now on I don't have a mother anymore."

Qin Yanning couldn't think of anything to say to comfort Helian Jue for a moment, so he could only sit beside him silently.

"My mother passed away peacefully. Her five children fulfilled her wishes. I shouldn't have so many regrets."

"But she didn't hear Dabao and the others calling out 'Grandmother'. I thought she would be able to wait until then."

Only then did Qin Yanning realize that Helian Jue's eyes were red.

People think that men don't shed tears easily, but they also know that it's just because they haven't reached the point of being heartbroken.

Qin Yanning hugged Helian Jue and said, "If your majesty is really upset, just cry for a while."

In fact, they all knew that the Empress Dowager would not last long, otherwise the whole family would not have stayed in the Cining Palace to celebrate the New Year.

But this incident happened too suddenly, so suddenly that they seemed to have no time to say goodbye.

It took a long time for Helian Jue to let Qin Yanning go.

There was a knock on the door from the eunuch Wang, "Your Majesty, everything has been taken care of."

Helian Jue said in a deep voice: "Ring the bell and hang the white flag."

In the imperial city, a dull bell rang, and everyone knew that the seriously ill empress dowager had passed away.

Qin Yanning woke up Jin'er and Yu'er, changed into mourning clothes, and went to see the empress dowager off for the last time.

Neither of the two children quite understood the meaning of death, but they also understood that death meant they would never see each other again.

Yu'er's eyes were as red and swollen as a pair of peaches from crying, while Jin'er already had some manly aura and tried hard to hold back his tears.

Only after the empress dowager was buried did he hide in Qin Yanning's arms and cry.

The snow fell for three whole days, as if the empress dowager was saying her final farewell to Helian Jue and Qin Yanning.

After the empress dowager passed away, it took Helian Jue more than half a year to recover.

It was winter again, and new laws were issued throughout the country.

Helian Jue, the Minister of Justice Jiang He and other officials of the Ministry of Justice worked hard for several years to correct and amend the shortcomings of the previous laws.

Since the promulgation of the new decree, the court has established a supervisory department to supervise officials of all ranks.

The path for the people to redress grievances has also become simpler, as both the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple can accept cross-level petitions.

When this order was issued, many ministers in the court felt insecure, but Qin Yanning understood that from then on, it would be difficult for corrupt officials like Wan Bao to oppress the people.

Even if someone does something evil and defies the will of the world, the path for the people to redress their grievances is smoother than before.

It was not until this time that Qin Yanning realized what Helian Jue had been busy doing with the officials from the Ministry of Justice all day long after she gave birth to Jin'er and Yu'er.

It turns out that he had been planning such a big move.

Fifteen years passed in a flash. Dagan became increasingly powerful under Helian Jue's governance, and Jin'er and Yu'er had grown up.

Even Dabao, Erbao and Sanbao became good at horse riding and archery.

Qin Yanning hasn't changed over the years. Time doesn't seem to have left many traces on her, but instead has added a lot of charm to her.

The children have grown up now, and they are all very sensible and well-behaved.

The Qin family had no interest in officialdom, so Helian Jue had been busy rewarding the Qin family with farmland over the years.

Thanks to the efforts of the eldest and second brothers Qin, the Qin family has now become the largest grain merchant in Dagan.

Her family's status has risen, Helian Jue has doted on her for decades, and her children are doing well. It is no exaggeration to say that Qin Yanning is now the most enviable woman in Dagan.

Helian Jue has been a little troubled recently.

Ever since Qin Yanning gave birth to five children for him, the ministers in the court have become much more obedient.

Now that Jin'er has grown up, and Dabao, Erbao, and Sanbao are over fifteen years old, these ministers are becoming restless again.

Either I ask for permission to appoint a crown prince today, or I write a letter to him tomorrow asking him to arrange marriages for his four sons.

The longer Helian Jue spent with Qin Yanning, the more he felt the value of mutual love.

He didn't want to hastily decide on his children's lifelong destiny, but he also wanted to pass on the throne as soon as possible so that he could have a little leisure time with Qin Yanning.

Before Jin'er and Yu'er were born, Helian Jue said in the court that only one suitable person would be chosen to inherit the throne, regardless of gender.

Therefore, Helian Jue treated all five children equally. Yu'er never learned any embroidery since she was a child, but learned riding, archery and state governance with her brothers.

But Yu'er had no interest in governing the country, but was very interested in wielding swords and guns. He often said that he wanted to become a general in the northern and southern borders.

Over the past ten years, Helian Jue has been personally teaching the five children. He actually already had an idea of ​​who should be the crown prince.

Jin'er is calm and steady, and Erbao is gentle. Both are good choices for a king in a prosperous era, but Helian Jue is at a loss as to which one to choose.

He was afraid of damaging the harmony between the brothers.

Qin Yanning laughed uncontrollably when she learned about Helian Jue's troubles. Her Majesty really underestimated the relationship between the five children.

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