Opening

Shanglin Garden was luxuriously decorated and had a large venue. She rode Liu Che's Ferghana horse around the horse farm and shot three arrows at the bull's eye in the distance.

"Okay!" Liu Che was quite supportive and walked towards her from the high platform. For A Jiao, such a horse didn't need anyone to support it, but she still stepped on the horse stool and held Liu Che's hand to slowly dismount.

She seemed to raise her head inadvertently, her eyes meeting Wei Yun in the distance. She came with the Crown Prince, presumably wanting her son to be in the spotlight, but she hadn't expected Wei Yun to be here too.

Of course, Wei Yun wasn't the only one surprised. Ah Jiao hadn't expected Wei Yun to be here either. Could Liu Che be doing this to vent her anger? She gave a mocking smile as Liu Che wiped the sweat off her face and led her hand over.

Wei Yun remained calm, a proper smile on his face. However, Liu Ju frowned as he looked at the veiled woman standing next to his father. "Isn't that Cousin Huo's wife?"

"They just look a bit similar, that's all." Wei Yun had decided to endure this matter. She had known that this woman would be restless, and now she got what she wanted. Although she was angry on behalf of Chang Qing, she could only swallow her anger. At this point, they could only endure it. When Chang Qing returned, she would say the same thing.

Liu Ju knew his mother was lying. Despite the veil, he could tell it was the Huo family's cousin's wife. He wondered, "My father forced my cousin's wife into marriage. How furious will my cousin be when he returns?" And then there was this cousin's wife, dressed in a red dress, her sleeves flowing, so graceful and elegant, showing no sign of worry or resistance. He secretly felt a little contempt. When he finally married, he would marry a loyal and faithful woman.

A Jiao sat down with Liu Che in the main seat and drank a cup of tea. She raised her cup to Wei Junru and said, "I'm sorry to bother you sitting here for so long, Queen. Please come on stage."

Wei Junru maintained her queenly dignity and accepted the cup of tea from her. "I'm not good at riding or shooting, so it's not easy for me to compete with Madam Huo. Let's call the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ju took his bow and arrow and walked to the front of the shooting range. On the high platform, Liu Che's face was a little ugly, "Who is Madam Huo? This is my newly appointed Madam Wang. She is the niece of the Queen Mother, and in theory, she is my cousin."

The Queen smiled and said, "I am sorry for my words. I miss my brother and Changqing so much. They have been gone for more than half a month now. I believe they will be back soon."

She then said with a hint of sadness, "If he knew the news of his wife's death, I don't know how sad he would be."

"I heard that Madam Huo stole General Huo's personal seal and conspired with Gongsun Lin to commit treason. She's guilty. If the general returns, he'll only applaud and cheer. How could he have any sympathy for a criminal?" Ah Jiao said, glancing at the queen with a smile. "Just like Prime Minister Gongsun, who sacrificed his relatives for the sake of justice, he showed no mercy. I think a hero like the general should be like that."

The queen tightened her grip on the wine cup. She was determined to cut these two people into pieces when Juer ascended the throne.

In the distance, the palace maids cheered. It turned out that Liu Ju had shot three arrows in a row, and one of them had pierced the target. He walked back with a sense of pride, bowed to Liu Che, and received a nice compliment from him.

Wei Yun then said, "Actually, I've come back with an important matter for Your Majesty to decide. The Crown Prince will be fifteen this year, and I think it's time to choose a Crown Princess and concubines for him."

Liu Che nodded, "Do you have a candidate in mind?"

"I think this matter needs your majesty to make the decision."

"Just pick a few people and let Juer make the decision."

Wei Yun smiled and said, "I think so too. I will not bother Your Majesty any more."

Wei Yun and the prince left, leaving only Liu Che and A Jiao.

"Let Wei Yun choose. Aren't you worried that she might pick someone from her own family, and that the connection between the Eastern Palace and the Wei family will become increasingly inseparable?"

"If you can think of this, then the Crown Prince should have thought of it too. He already has an uncle who commands a large army and a cousin who is exceptionally brave. These will become obstacles for him once he ascends the throne. If he can't even think of this, then he doesn't need to be the Crown Prince."

"It seems that you have high hopes for him. There is no hope for other princes."

"Not entirely." Liu Che looked at her, "If we have children in the future, I will definitely do my best to cultivate them."

Gillian smiled faintly, "If I have a child, the first person I will kill will be Liu Ju."

"Once you say this, you won't be able to kill him." Liu Che smiled dotingly and took her hand. "Ah Jiao, a smart person won't talk about what he's going to do."

"What about you? You can't trust what you say."

She was referring to his promise to replace the empress with another after Wei Qing's death. Liu Che said, "Every word I said to you is true."

She sneered, then suddenly became a little angry. She shook off his hand and climbed onto the horse. "Liu Che, let's have a competition. Within one incense stick, let's see who can catch the most prey."

Liu Che looked at the figure galloping away, and without time to reply, he had no choice but to pull a horse and chase after it.

"Slow down, this isn't like riding a horse. Can't you see the prey more clearly if you run that fast?"

"I'm not you, my eyes are blurry, what can't I see clearly?"

Liu Che choked. Was he old? How was he old? Compared to other emperors, he was in the prime of his life. He didn't even have a few white hairs!

As if to prove it, he sat on his horse, drew his bow and aimed at the same rabbit as Gillian. However, with a whoosh, Gillian's arrow landed at the rabbit's feet first.

His face darkened as he watched her dismount and wave the rabbit at him, "Liu Che, how come you were not as good as me when you were young, and you are still not as good as me when you are old."

In fact, when he was young, he was forced by the Queen Mother to study hard in the palace. Although he had an archery teacher, the arrows were inanimate objects after all, and he was not proficient in the art. On the other hand, whenever Gillian came to visit, his mother would allow him to play with her. After a few visits, it turned out that she was the one who taught him archery in the forest.

At first, he really couldn't shoot as well as her, but as they grew older, he pretended to lose to her. When she talked about hunting, her fox-like eyes would gleam with pride and radiance. The most gorgeous gems in the world could not compare to the smile in her eyes when she won.

At this moment, he seemed to be back in his youth. Looking at her face that was still as beautiful as before, he felt a little dazed.

"Liu Che, get out of the way!"

The man across from him suddenly looked horrified, his pupils reflecting a sharp arrow piercing the forest and piercing his chest. All the color drained from her face, and she rushed towards him like a snow-white butterfly.

He held the arrow on his chest with his hand and quickly fell on the horse's back, turning the horse's head to look towards the place where the sharp arrow was shot. Another arrow came and a shadow quickly disappeared.

Ah Jiao got on Liu Che's horse and protected him behind her, "Catch him quickly! Someone is trying to assassinate Your Majesty!"

"This is deep in the Imperial Forest, and the defense is loose. We ran too fast just now, and they couldn't catch up. Let's get out first."

Gillian walked a few more steps before she found the guards and ordered them to seal off Shanglin Garden and impose martial law and search.

"Go get the imperial physician."

"Send all the reports from the past few days here. His Majesty is recuperating here and will not attend court for the time being."

"Who is the commander of the Imperial Guards? Have him lead the pursuit of the fugitive and interrogate him to find out who orchestrated the murder of Your Majesty. That person is so familiar with Shanglin Garden, he must be a guard there."

"Hasn't the imperial physician arrived yet? Send a few men to find a fast horse. Since you're out hunting, why didn't you bring a medical officer with you?"

…

Liu Che was extremely happy during his stay at Shanglin Garden. He felt that this was a blessing in disguise. The poison arrow hadn't hurt him, and he recovered after a night of lying down. But during these days, he was treated like an emperor. Although he was the emperor, Ah Jiao never treated him as one in front of her.

She took care of his daily life, changed his dressings and wiped his sweat, read his memorials, and revised his imperial edicts...

He wrapped his hands around her red belt and began to twist it around, tentatively, the belt loosening a little, and she slapped the back of his hand.

He hissed.

"Don't try that."

"The hand is connected to the arm, and the arm is connected to the chest. Your palm strike made my heart tremble."

"Then just be quiet. I'd rather poison you to death with one arrow."

Liu Che sat on the couch, looking up at her changing the dressing for him. Her snow-white, soft curves were faintly visible through her goose yellow diamond-patterned silk robe, like a round coin, emitting golden light.

A faint fragrance wafted in, and he calmly reached in, twisting her delicate lips. Her body trembled slightly, and she warned, "Liu Che..."

He tilted his head slightly, pressing it against the golden robe, his tongue teasing the fine gauze, and the dark color quickly spread. He felt the softness of her cheeks rising and falling, accompanied by her deep breathing...

"Your Majesty, good news!"

Jiang Chong suddenly walked in. There was no one in the hall. He turned his head and saw Mrs. Huo standing in front of the bed, with a big hand with distinct muscles and bones supporting her waist.

He quickly lowered his head. A Jiao pushed Liu Che away and stood up to put away the medicine box.

Liu Che followed with his gaze, quite impatient, "What are you doing?"

"Frontline battle report: General Wei has defeated the Xiongnu repeatedly, capturing 200 and killing 500. He will be returning to the capital with General Huo soon."

He stared at her intently, trying to find even a hint of panic, but there was none. She remained calm as she put away the medicine box and poured herself a cup of tea.

The moment she raised her sleeves, her smiling eyes were reflected in the cup.

"Your Majesty, I must go home."

She waited in the palace for four or five days. She heard the palace servants privately discussing General Huo's tall and heroic figure, his bravery in killing the Huns, and his handsome appearance... She waited with great interest and passion, but he still didn't come.

She became a little irritated.

Someone from the Huo Mansion should have sent a letter a month ago. Her execution was merely a show, and he wouldn't have known that. Could it be that Wei Qing had intercepted the military information? He was as cautious as Wei Yun, having risen from humble beginnings as a slave. They didn't see such a small matter as a cause for fuss.

Huo Changqing was young, unlike his father. He came from a wealthy family and was full of youthful vigor. He would definitely not let this go after learning about this. The news must have been intercepted.

She sat bored in the corridor, watching the palace maids play and frolic, too lazy to move. Liu Che knew what she was up to. He was extremely wary of her. Whenever a court official came to the palace, he would not allow her to leave. Anyone who let her go would be beaten to death. Only when no one was around could she go out to take a walk, but besides his people, they were still his people...

Boring, really boring!

"My dear, come over and play with us. Look how cute this rabbit is!"

The palace maids were tasked with entertaining her. She leaned over the railing and waved, "You guys go have fun, I'll get some fresh air."

The palace maids did not invite her again, and each of them was filled with maternal love for the prey she had hunted.

"This rabbit is so beautiful, all white, without a single gray hair."

A palace maid sweeping the courtyard passed by and was also pulled over by them, "Chun Tiao, look, this is the rabbit that the Queen hunted."

“Ugh—” “Ugh—”

Chun Tiao suddenly started to dry heave, and everyone asked worriedly, "What's wrong with you? Didn't you eat?"

Chun Tiao waved his hand, "It's because when I saw that rabbit, I thought of Suolian'er."

"Are you talking about Suolian'er in the prince's palace?"

Everyone gathered around, "Wasn't she in Jianzhang Palace before?"

"The Crown Prince transferred her to the Eastern Palace to look after some rabbits. The Queen then accused her of seducing the Crown Prince and beat her to death. And those rabbits, I saw Aunt Wang throw them to death, their brains spilling out, and there was blood all over the floor..."

"Stop talking, stop talking. It's scary."

"The Queen is very strict with the Crown Prince. Now that he's about to choose a concubine, Suo Lian'er seduces him at this time. Isn't this hitting right in the gut..."

"Yes, His Royal Highness is very sad. Xiao Fuzi said that His Royal Highness ordered all living things in the Eastern Palace to be released, even the carp in the pond were thrown into the Imperial Garden."

Gillian heard everything that everyone said. She listened incoherently and made up her mind.