Chapter 202: Worship
When Qu Ling returned from Zhong's house, the midday sun was at its strongest.
Lunch was ready in the small kitchen, and she ordered, "Bring some wine."
As soon as the dishes were served, Chi Yuan came back.
"Mrs. Zhong has passed away," Qu Ling poured him a glass of wine and also filled his own. "Announcement of her death will arrive soon. You must submit a memorial and observe twenty-seven months of mourning."
A complex emotion flashed across Chi Yuan's eyes, but more of it was relief.
The woman who was called his biological mother finally died.
It turns out that liberation must be based on life and death.
"I will talk to my aunt and ask her to issue an edict to exempt you from the mourning period." Seeing that he was silent, Qu Ling added another sentence.
Chi Yuan shook his head and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp. "Since the day I entered the Dali Temple, the case files have piled up like a mountain. I sorted through them one by one, and to this day, many of my chronic illnesses have been healed."
"The Dali Temple has many capable people. I am willing to leave the Dali Temple and accompany you for three years."
"With you, the emperor's favorite princess, here, I can go back to the Dali Temple at any time. I may not have many days to stay by your side all the time."
"You want to study, so take advantage of these three years and I'll teach you."
Outside the corridor, the wind blew the shadows of the bamboos, casting tiny ripples on the overlapping figures of the two people.
"I saw the list Pei Jingming gave me on the day of the wedding." Chi Yuan held her in his arms.
Perhaps because of the alcohol, his breath was very warm.
"There are not only those who didn't come to greet the emperor that day, but also those who did."
The grand welcome ceremony doesn't mean anything at all.
Those who truly have ulterior motives will not care about superficial efforts.
"He wants you to eliminate dissidents for the new emperor, but this is not an easy task."
When the new emperor is the eldest princess, his methods can be cruel.
But to sit on the throne, you can't just rely on killing.
Countless pairs of eyes were staring at the emperor.
She can be wise and benevolent, talented and strategic, or even cowardly and incompetent, but she cannot be cruel and bloodthirsty.
There are some things that the emperor cannot do personally, and neither can Zhao Yuanrong, who will become the emperor in the future.
"The new emperor wants to clean up the government, and you are the most suitable sword. For the next three years, let me be your shield and the ever-burning lamp on your desk."
Qu Ling's eyes were red.
The night before she was sent to Jiangzhou, she curled up in a corner of the marquis's mansion.
The servants passing by didn't even glance at her.
And now, there is someone who is willing to spend three years just for her.
The sound of wine being poured from the cup is very light, and the wine spreads freely, making people intoxicated on a summer afternoon.
When Qu Ling raised his head, he bumped into the dark current surging in Chi Yuan's eyes. As his breaths entangled, the cicadas in the treetops continued to chirp.
I didn't eat much of this lunch.
When the time came, the two changed into plain clothes and took a carriage to the imperial mausoleum.
Xu Zhaoyue's coffin was placed in the original tomb of the eldest princess.
Now that the eldest princess has ascended the throne and built another imperial mausoleum, no one knows what to do with this mausoleum.
As soon as Qu Ling got off the carriage, he saw a familiar figure standing in front of the mausoleum.
Zhao Yuanrong stood there with a wooden box half a person's height beside him.
"A Ling," Zhao Yuanrong said, a gentle look appeared on his face when he saw her coming, "Mother asked me to offer sacrifices to my aunt on her behalf."
She patted the box beside her, "I also brought offerings."
Qu Ling's eyes fell on the box and he vaguely guessed what it was.
Chi Yuan silently stepped back a few steps to give the two sisters space.
The tomb was opened and the two sisters entered hand in hand, with Chi Yuan following behind them, responsible for carrying the box in.
Xu Zhaoyue's coffin was placed in the middle of the mausoleum.
The box fell to the ground, Zhao Yuanrong took out a key from his arms and inserted it into the lock of the box.
The lid of the box was opened, and a woman was curled up inside. Her face was covered with scars, but it was still recognizable.
Queen Song took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and when she looked up, a resentful light flashed in her eyes.
She gritted her teeth and opened her mouth to roar, but no sound came out.
"It was so annoying that I asked Mu Ke to give it some medicine and it became mute." Zhao Yuanrong said.
"She also had a hand in my aunt's death."
Queen Song could not speak, but the malice in her eyes was enough to make her want to tear people to pieces.
"What are you looking at!" Zhao Yuanrong kicked the box.
Queen Song visibly shrank back, a trace of unconcealable fear flashing across her face. It seemed that she had not had a good time recently.
"She wanted to kill me, but she killed my aunt instead."
Zhao Yuanrong drew out his dagger and said, "Using her blood to worship my aunt is the most appropriate."
Qu Ling walked forward slowly and looked at the deposed queen who had once been the mother of the country.
Queen Song struggled violently, and she saw the tablet behind Qu Ling clearly.
The three words "Xu Zhaoyue" awakened her memories that had been forgotten for many years.
In a trance, she seemed to see the woman as gentle as pear blossoms waving at her.
Queen Song still remembers.
At that time, she was Song Ying, the eldest daughter of the Song family, and she often went to the palace to accompany her aunt, Empress Dowager Song.
Zhao Ju will also bring Xu Zhaoyue into the palace.
They had met.
Song Ying didn't take Xu Zhaoyue seriously.
An orphan girl from the uncle's family, without parents, somehow caught Zhao Ju's eye.
But Song Ying was very keenly aware that Queen Dowager Song did not like her.
Later, she wanted to kill Zhao Yuanrong, but accidentally killed Xu Zhaoyue.
Zhao Ju thought that it was the Queen Mother who killed him, and the Queen Mother did not deny it.
Song Ying thought her aunt was protecting her.
Unexpectedly, my aunt said, "Given Ah Ju's temperament, if she knew it was you who wanted to kill Yuan Rong, you would be dead. You have resolved a great matter in my heart, and I have kept it a secret for you."
Song Ying didn't understand what the so-called big event was.
She also couldn't understand why Zhao Ju wanted to fight with her to the death for an outsider.
Zhao Yuanrong knelt on one knee in front of the tomb, with the tip of the knife against Queen Song's throat.
"Don't worry, Auntie. Ah Ling is my biological sister. If I become the best in the future, she will be just below me."
The knife flashed, and blood splattered on the tablet.
Queen Song stared with her eyes wide open and died.
Zhao Yuanrong wiped the blade with a handkerchief and turned to look at Qu Ling. "In a few days, my mother will have a ceremony to pay respect to her ancestors. I'll pick you up at the Marquis' Mansion then."
Qu Ling said, "Sister, thank you."
Zhao Yuanrong smiled and said, "Why are you thanking me?"
She put away the dagger and said, "You and the prince talk to your mother here. I'll wait for you outside."
Not long after Zhao Yuanrong left the mausoleum, he heard the sound of soldiers and horses' hooves outside.
"Niece, this imperial mausoleum should be the burial place of your mother. Your mother is alive and well. How come you are here?"
Zhao Yuanrong's voice followed, "I should be asking Prince Yi about this. This is the imperial mausoleum. What are you doing here?"
She also said, "Prince Yi, you can call me Crown Prince or Princess in advance. We both have the surname Zhao, so why would we call her a foreign name?"
Qu Ling and Chi Yuan looked at each other.
Prince Yi.
This is the first person on Pei Jingming's list.
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