Chapter 148 General Wang's True Identity

After dinner, Liu Ye and the others returned home in the dark. They had been walking all day, and the stoves in the house had all gone out. Bai Zilin didn't let Liu Ye help, and he and Da Hu busied themselves for a while and then lit the stoves again. Liu Ye washed her feet and went to bed, unaware that Bai Zilin had gone out again and didn't return until midnight.

The next day, before dawn, Bai Zilin took Da Hu and the others to hunt in the mountains again. This time, Liu Ye didn't come along. She dressed, waved her hand towards the kang (a heated brick bed), and took out a large pile of silver and a large pile of silver notes from the sale of bear meat the day before. Among them were two invitations, which were sent by Young Master Zhao. She had no intention of going, so she picked up the invitations and threw them on the kang, intending to burn them in the stove later.

"One hundred taels, two hundred taels, three hundred taels." The bear meat sold for more than 1,200 taels of silver, and the bear paws sold for nine hundred taels of silver, totaling more than 2,000 taels.

"That's a lot of money! Hunting and selling meat in the mountains is much more profitable than running a noodle shop."

She put the silver and silver notes into her spatial storage and went to the kitchen to cook. There were still two days until the end of the month, and she had already made her plans. Da Hu and the others had put in a lot of effort, so she should pay them more wages. She planned to give each of them 20 taels of silver. The three of them knew martial arts and were loyal to her and Bai Zilin, so she planned to use them long-term.

The best ways to win people's hearts are twofold: first, to exchange hearts for hearts; second, to use money. If you use both, even ghosts will be loyal to you. As the old saying goes, money makes the world go round, and without money, even breathing is wrong. She will give Erdan and his two brothers more, but not as much as Dahu and the others. Sun Erdan's wages are one tael, but she will raise them to three taels each. Erdan and the others are loyal to her, which is not bad.

Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story. General Wang rushed back to the capital day and night, not even bothering to go back to his residence to wash up. He entered the palace with disheveled hair and a dirty face, arriving at the Empress's palace. A group of palace maids and eunuchs knelt outside the Empress's palace, along with ministers and concubines. Inside the Empress's palace, the current Emperor sat in the main seat, with the young and beautiful Consort Su sitting beside him, dressed in elegant and noble attire. Standing to the side were the current Crown Prince, also a prince born to Consort Su, princes with titles, princes without titles, and three princesses, each with a sorrowful expression.

When General Wang saw this scene, his heart skipped a beat. He ran over and knelt down before the Emperor with a thud: "Your subject greets Your Majesty. Your Majesty, how is my mother?"

The Emperor sighed sadly, slowly stood up, walked to General Wang and helped him up: "Hao'er, you're finally back. Your mother... she's still waiting for you with her last breath. Go and see her..."

Indeed, General Wang was the fifth son of the current emperor, Prince Xuan, and also the general who commanded the three armies. Prince Xuan shook his head with a pained expression: "No, Mother is just a little weak, she won't... Mother, Mother...!"

King Xuan rushed to the back palace like a madman, only to find the empress lying on the bed, her face pale, already dressed in full regalia, wearing a phoenix crown and empress's robes, waiting to breathe her last.

King Xuan was furious at the sight. Damn it, his mother was still alive, and they were dressing her up like this...!

Enraged, he sat on the bed and frantically shook the Empress's shoulders, tears streaming down his face, his voice hoarse: "Mother, wake up! Your son is back! Your son is back and you'll be alright! Wake up, Mother! Mother!"

The imperial physician, kneeling on the ground, said softly, "Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress has lost all hope of healing. Please accept my condolences."

Reminded by the imperial physician, Prince Xuan took out the ginseng that Liu Ye had given him from his bosom. Although his mother was weak, she was not on the verge of death. It must be that these quack doctors were not giving his mother medicine. The mastermind behind it all was that vile woman! She had been eyeing his mother's position for quite some time!

He opened the bag, took out the ginseng, took a bite, and stuffed it into the Empress's mouth. The imperial physician kneeling on the ground sniffed. What a fragrant ginseng! The aroma is so strong. Could it be a hundred-year-old ginseng?

King Xuan stared intently at his mother's face: "Mother, please wake up!"

The empress on the bed suddenly regained color in her pale face. She moved her hand slightly and then slowly opened her eyes. Because she had ginseng in her mouth, her speech was a little unclear: "Hao'er~, you~ back again..."

The Prince Xuan excitedly grabbed the Empress's hand: "Mother, it's me! Your son is back! I knew you were alright! I knew you wouldn't abandon me! I knew it! Waaaaah, waaaah!"

The Empress blinked, fully waking up. Having narrowly escaped death, her mindset had changed. She wanted to make those who harmed her pay the price and those who betrayed her punished!

She pulled on Xuan Wang's hand tightly, lowered his body, reached out and held his head close to her face, whispering in his ear, "Hao'er, listen carefully, don't speak."

King Xuan immediately stopped crying, nodded gently, and listened carefully to his mother's words...

The imperial physician, who was kneeling on the ground, saw that the Empress had woken up and got up to report to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, the Empress has woken up."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor and Consort Su exclaimed, "What?! The Empress is awake? What does that mean? Does it mean she's not dead?" A fleeting look of disappointment crossed the Crown Prince's eyes, but his face wore an expression of surprise and joy. To outsiders, he appeared genuinely happy that the Empress had awakened.

The Emperor immediately showed his delight: "That's wonderful! I knew the Empress was blessed. Look, Hao'er is back and she's all better now. Consort Su, come with me to see the Empress. Everyone else, go back."

"Your subject obeys."

The Emperor led Consort Su to the Empress's bedchamber, where the Empress was sitting comfortably on the bed, with Prince Xuan kneeling before her. The Empress gracefully stood up and was about to bow to the Emperor when he quickly walked over, helped her sit down, and said with concern, "Quickly, forget about these formalities. Are you feeling better? If you're not feeling well, have the imperial physician examine you. You really scared me to death today..."

"Hao'er, you should get up too. It seems that in your mother's heart, your father is not as important as you. Your mother's illness was cured as soon as you came back. I even suspect that she was faking it, just to trick you into coming back. Oh dear, I'm jealous. Your Majesty, you must coax me properly."

The Empress, looking shy, rested her head on the Emperor's shoulder and said in a coquettish tone, "No, Your Majesty will always be the most important person in my heart, and no one can replace you..."

Prince Xuan stood up from the ground and said in a muffled voice, "Father and Mother, I rushed back and entered the palace without having time to wash up. I am disheveled and it is impolite. Fortunately, Father does not blame me. I will take my leave and go back to my residence to wash up before entering the palace to pay my respects to Father and Mother."

The Emperor nodded with a benevolent smile: "Go ahead, rest well before you go to the palace to keep your mother company."

"Thank you, Father Emperor." Prince Xuan bowed and withdrew.