Upon hearing this, Consort Liu knew that the Emperor Emeritus was genuinely looking out for her.

Thinking about the age gap between herself and the retired emperor, she suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

Although she initially entered the palace with a purpose, with Jiang Jiuniang's help, the Emperor Emeritus saw the current situation clearly, and his entire being began to undergo a dramatic change.

He treated her even better, not like a monarch treating a concubine, but like an ordinary couple in the common world, respecting and loving each other, taking the initiative to care for her, genuinely thinking about her, and even taking the initiative to accompany her out of the palace to visit her parents' home.

She remembered all of this.

Her love for him began when he voluntarily abdicated and withdrew from the court, and the two spent their days together.

She is very content now and cannot imagine that anyone in the world could treat her better than him.

Seeing his beloved concubine in tears, the Emperor Emeritus lovingly embraced her.

He used to pursue immortality and made many mistakes, but now he has come to terms with it and is indifferent to life and death.

Although I want to spend a few more years with her, I won't be as extreme as before.

Let things take their course.

On the other hand, after learning of the retired emperor's attitude, the emperor began to make arrangements to ensure that the Duan family could be wiped out in one fell swoop.

That very night, Consort Hui's palace was surrounded by heavy troops. No one in the palace was able to escape to the Duan family to deliver the message. Consort Hui was placed under house arrest. The emperor met with her in person but couldn't get anything out of her. The emperor wasn't angry. After leaving, he began to place her under house arrest and instead arrested and interrogated the people around her.

Consort Hui never expected the Emperor to act so suddenly, leaving her no chance at all. She tried everything but couldn't send a message to the Duan family outside. In the end, she had no choice but to cry and beg to see the Emperor Emeritus.

The emperor, of course, would not agree, and even had his men whisper to Consort Hui that not telling the truth would mean certain death.

"He dares!"

Consort Hui forcefully overturned the teacup on the table, sneered, and said, "The Emperor Emeritus is still alive and well, how dare he dispose of me? What a joke! I was personally appointed Consort by the Emperor Emeritus!"

When the palace gates were opened, Consort Hui thought it was the Emperor Emeritus and happily ran out to greet him, ready to file a complaint. But it turned out to be Eunuch Zhao, who had served the Emperor Emeritus for many years.

"Where is His Majesty? I want to see His Majesty! Summon His Majesty to see me!"

Normally, Eunuch Zhao would have paid his respects and offered his greetings, but today he was on a mission. Seeing Consort Hui's crazed state, he immediately stepped forward and slapped her, leaving her stunned.

"You...you eunuch, how dare you hit me!"

Consort Hui's eyes were bloodshot with rage. She hadn't fallen from power yet, and her family was still around. How dare this eunuch treat her like this!

After finishing his slap, Eunuch Zhao was not angry because Consort Hui had just called him a eunuch. Instead, he smiled and said very respectfully, "Consort Hui, please calm down. This servant is here on the orders of the Emperor Emeritus to teach you a lesson. The Emperor Emeritus said that Your Highness should not have set your sights on the young master of the Lu family. This slap is too lenient. If Your Highness wants to live, you should have someone remove the curse from the young master of the Lu family as soon as possible. Otherwise, the great Yong'an Marquis's Mansion will have no reason to exist. Your Highness, please take care of yourself."

After saying this, Eunuch Zhao turned and left, leaving Consort Hui alone in the same spot.

The fact that the emperor even knew about that little beast being poisoned means that he has almost all the evidence against the Duan family.

In that case, even if she managed to send a message to the Duan family, no one would help her; the Duan family is probably in dire straits themselves right now.

I never imagined that the little beast would be so important to the Emperor Emeritus.

She thought viciously, why didn't those people just kill that little beast? At least now there would be someone to take him down with them!

The emperor took coercive measures, cutting off food and water, and even interrogating people in Consort Hui's palace every day, putting immense pressure on Consort Hui. She couldn't hold on for more than a few days and not only revealed the Duan family's plan but also confessed who had poisoned Gou'er.

Upon receiving information from Consort Hui, the Emperor, using the pretext of Consort Hui's act of putting righteousness before family, dispatched men to surround the Yong'an Marquis's residence, imprisoning everyone present. The speed was so fast that no one could react.

This move of sacrificing family ties for the greater good perfectly preserved the dignity of the royal family and also crushed the Duan family so they could never recover.

The retired emperor was very satisfied with the emperor's actions.

Duan Shijie was still in a daze in the prison. Wasn't everything arranged so that Duan Feng would take the blame if something went wrong? How did things develop to this point?

Also, why did my sister betray her own family and sell them all out of the blue?

Lu Baichuan's journey back to the capital with his parents and Madam Yu was fraught with danger, something he had anticipated. Despite bringing a large group of people, they escaped unscathed each time, but the journey still frightened the three of them. Several times, Madam Yu clung to Madam Sun's arm, saying that they should try to stay home as much as possible in the future, as it was too terrifying.

At first, Sun would shed tears for Lu Baichuan's family of four in danger, but later she became numb to it. When she saw an assassin, she would calmly take a sip of tea first, and then tell Yu to hide well so as not to become a target.

It was during this period that Mrs. Sun gained a deep understanding of Lu Baichuan's abilities and felt more at ease about their travels.

With his superb martial arts skills and the strange and wonderful things his wife gave him, he could definitely sweep through an entire area without any safety concerns.

Sun knew that her previous worries were unnecessary. From now on, she would no longer care where they went, as long as they were careful not to get too much blood on their hands.

I didn't inform my family before returning home, so no one greeted me at the city gate. The carriage entered the city and went straight to the general's mansion.

People on the street could be heard talking about the Duan family. Consort Hui praised her to the skies, saying that Consort Hui had great love and that she cared about the people. In order to prevent her family from harming the people, she reported her family.

The common people raved about Consort Hui to the skies.

Sun listened with great interest, but the more she listened, the more uneasy she felt, because someone had already mentioned that the reason the Duan family was executed was related to the Lu family.

The old lady looked at Lu Baichuan and said solemnly, "Were the people from the Yong'an Marquis's mansion the ones who chased us all the way here?"

Lu Baichuan wouldn't talk too much about matters of the court in front of them, especially about this assassination attempt. Lu Baichuan only said that he was coming back to seek justice, but he never said who did it. Unexpectedly, they were curious all the way, but they heard about it when they entered the city.

Lu Baichuan was also listening to the news outside, and after learning about the Duan family's fate, he felt empty inside.

He had originally intended to handle the matter himself, but unexpectedly, the emperor resolved the issue ahead of time, leaving him empty-handed.

Hearing Sun's urging voice, Lu Baichuan nodded and said, "Yes, I came back this time to deal with the Duan family's affairs."