Chapter 483 The Empress's Past

When she told her husband about her decision, Yuan Hongqu fell silent.

The candlelight flickered on her thin face, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"That road is too dangerous, and the palace is the cruelest place in the world. I don't want your life to be ruined by hatred."

The man's voice was low and hoarse.

Zhao Huajing knelt before her husband, tears streaming down her face, yet her gaze remained resolute:

"The hatred for my mother is irreconcilable. If Hua Jing were to live in peace here, she would never find peace in this life! I beg you, sir, to help me!"

After several days of stalemate between master and disciple, Yuan Hongqu finally gave in.

It wasn't that I was persuaded, but rather because I felt sorry for her.

She knew this disciple, whom she had raised herself, all too well. She knew that if she didn't help, her disciple would only resort to more drastic measures and suffer even more severe consequences.

She sighed softly and helped her disciple up, her eyes filled with a resigned helplessness.

"Fine, since you've made up your mind... I'll do everything in my power to help you on your way."

From then on, Yuan Hongqu was no longer the teacher who only focused on teaching.

She used all her connections to re-establish her disciples' identities, teach them court etiquette, and analyze the political situation at court.

More importantly, she called upon her most important confidant—Lin Yuanhang.

This extraordinary man, living in seclusion in the city, was well-versed in law and mathematics and had a vast network of information spanning the north and south.

He admired Yuan Hongqu's talent and integrity. Although they never said it aloud, they were true soulmates.

Out of respect for Yuan Hongqu, Lin Yuanhang readily agreed to help.

Under his operation, evidence of the Zhao family's private crimes and those of their political enemies in the capital was collected one by one; when Zhao Huajing first arrived in the capital and was isolated and helpless, key information was always delivered in time; and even in order to obtain key evidence to bring down the other party, Lin Yuanhang did not hesitate to risk his life.

Just as Zhao Huajing was about to stand out in the talent show and be chosen by the late emperor as his successor, disaster struck.

The Zhao family and their cronies sensed the crisis and launched a frantic counterattack.

They discovered Lin Yuanhang's existence and fabricated charges against him for "colluding with gangsters and spying on court secrets."

A meticulously planned frame-up was set up, and countless pieces of "ironclad evidence" were presented.

Even if the current emperor, who was still a prince at the time, wanted to protect him, he could not reverse the situation in the face of overwhelming public opinion.

In order not to implicate Zhao Huajing and Yuan Hongqu, Lin Yuanhang chose the most decisive way—when surrounded and captured, he did not resist, but left behind a letter written in blood to plead his innocence, and then his head was separated from his body.

His head was displayed on the city tower for three days.

Upon hearing the news, Yuan Hongqu vomited blood and fainted on the spot.

But this is just the beginning.

The Zhao family's henchmen quickly traced the matter back to Yuan Hongqu, falsely accusing her of being a "female strategist."

With a single imperial edict, Yuan Hongqu was imprisoned in Yangzhou.

Despite being far away in Beijing and struggling to protect herself, Zhao Huajing still did her utmost to rescue him.

It was half a year later when she finally managed to bring down the Zhao family and clear her name with the help of the emperor.

At this very moment, Lin Ruhai was promoted to Salt Commissioner.

He was grateful for Yuan Hongqu's uprightness and, having received the emperor's entrustment, he rescued Yuan Hongqu.

The best excuse was to find a governess for his daughter, Lin Daiyu.

Yuan Hongqu and Daiyu surprisingly hit it off. She poured all her knowledge and tenderness into this little girl in the Yangzhou Salt Administration Office, thus beginning a new chapter in her life that had nothing to do with her past.

Zhao Huajing finally got what she wanted.

Through the imperial selection process, she became the empress dowager, and with the emperor's ascension to the throne, she became the mother of the nation.

She defeated her enemies, restored her family's fortunes, and gained unparalleled honor.

But whenever she was alone late at night, stroking her magnificent phoenix robe, she would always think of the warm light in the courtyard in Yangzhou, the earnest look in her teacher's eyes when he taught her, the resolute figure of Lin Yuanhang going to his death, and the empty look in his eyes when he came out of prison.

She got everything she had ever dreamed of, but she forever lost the warmth that illuminated her youth.

She personally pushed her most respected teacher into a predicament, indirectly causing the tragic death of her husband's best friend and leaving him with an unhealable trauma.

The Emperor knew the Empress's thoughts well and never mentioned Yuan Hongqu in front of her easily.

They all tacitly protected Yuan Hongqu's peaceful life after she lost her memory, watching her teach Daiyu to be outstanding.

It wasn't until Yuan Hongqu brought Daiyu into the capital that she regained her memories.

When Zhao Huajing met Yuan Hongqu again, she suddenly realized that she didn't understand Mr. Yuan at all.

Her husband truly deserves to be called the most extraordinary woman in the world!

Under Mr. Yuan's guidance, Daiyu implemented the plan step by step, and the status of women in the world improved day by day. Many of the visions that Mr. Yuan had envisioned when he was in Yangzhou were being realized one by one.

Sometimes, the Empress would visit the Women's Academy incognito, watching Yuan Hongqu calmly lecturing in class from afar. Sunlight would fall on her silvery-white hair, and the students gathered below the stage would look at her with deep respect.

At that moment, the Empress finally felt a sense of relief.

The person she owed so much to ultimately left the most beautiful mark on this world.

Even if she doesn't remember where she came from, all the splendor along the way was because of her.

This, perhaps, is fate's most merciful consolation for that cruel past.

Time flies, seasons change.

In the blink of an eye, Jia Baoyu, the "mischievous devil" of yesteryear, has reached the age of seventy, his temples now streaked with gray.

Today, Jia Baoyu, though not achieving the high rank and titles some had hoped for in his youth, has become a respected literary figure and the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, with students all over the world.

His marriage did not follow the old custom, but rather stemmed from his meeting with the niece of Mi Ling, the then-director of the Jin Guo Academy, during his many lectures there. She was a refined and learned woman who also worked at the academy and shared his interests.

The couple has been married for decades and are very compatible. They have a son named Ruoying, who is now a successful man working in the Ministry of Works and has made significant achievements.

With his support and the secret care of the Tenth Prince and Daiyu, the Jia family had long since emerged from its former decline. Although it was no longer as prosperous as it once was, it had become a distinguished family with a solid foundation and a long tradition of scholarship.

In late spring, the crabapple blossoms still bloom.

Baoyu sat in the pavilion in the old garden of Rongguo Mansion, watching his grandchildren play on the grass. He held a book of poems in his hands. The warm breeze made him feel sleepy, and he leaned against the railing and fell into a deep sleep.

This sleep led me into a bizarre, chilling dream.

In his dream, he was still the same young master of the Yihong Palace, surrounded by his familiar sisters, yet everything felt strange and oppressive.

In the dream, there was no sign of the steadfast and resilient Granny Yuan Hongqu, nor of the later Dean Dingsheng and Dean Miling of the Women's Academy, nor of his virtuous wife.

When Daiyu first entered the Jia family, although she was loved by her maternal grandmother, she felt even more lonely and helpless, sensitive and melancholic. Although she considered him a confidant and often read "The Story of the Western Wing" and appreciated poetry together, there was always an unresolved sorrow and a fear of being "severely attacked by wind and frost." Her body was also far weaker than it appeared in reality, and she never stopped taking medicine.

In the dream, it seemed that... he eventually married Xue Baochai under a state of chaos and family pressure?

The dignified yet unfamiliar face in his memory, along with the sense of distance and unease that lingered even amidst a seemingly harmonious marriage, made him feel suffocated in his dream.