124 Farewell
◎After more than a year, I came to see you◎
An Moru was taken away and locked up. She had no way to defend herself. As a concubine, she was only on good terms with Cui Rumei. When An'er was born, she came to congratulate sincerely, but she didn't know that she was being used in this way.
Although she knew she had become a victim of palace intrigue, she still couldn't understand why. She and Cui Rumei had no grudges against each other, so why...
Not long after, news came that she had hanged herself. Rong Qianyu and Fu Hua were paying their respects in Baiyi Palace when the young eunuch hurried in.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, An Ronghua committed suicide."
Bai Yi held the tea in his hand without even looking up. "Just commit suicide, then. What's there to report?"
Rong Qianyu felt really bad, "Mother, why don't you leave An's funeral affairs to me?"
She watched an innocent person die tragically because of her, and she had to do something for her. All these people's accounts would be blamed on Cui Rumei.
Bai Yi asked, "She hurt you so much, and you still want to help her?"
"A son's trustworthiness will reveal a person's true character over time."
Bai Yi knew her personality and that she was always kind to others, so he agreed without thinking too much about the reason.
After returning to the palace, Rong Qianyu was still worried. Cui Rumei had been in and out of favor repeatedly, and had another child. Did she really do something wrong this time?
But her biggest weakness was still in the other party's hands, which could only restrain her for a short while. If it wasn't eradicated, the disaster would be endless. Fu Hua turned a blind eye to her and didn't pay much attention to her, but she would eventually come to her senses, and then the disaster would be endless.
She must not let anything happen to Xue Ji.
She asked Rong Panyuanqing, "Do you think I'm too anxious?"
Rong Pan replied, "Your Majesty did the right thing. Under the circumstances at that time, I would have refused to let her stand up."
But the current situation...
I can't wait to make a long-term plan.
Yuanqing also comforted her: "Don't worry, my lady, there will be a way out when you reach the mountain."
Rong Qianyu had little confidence. "I'm just afraid that the boat will sink when the time comes."
Rong Pan: "No, don't worry."
The scourge lasts for thousands of years. This happened to Xue Ji, and it won’t be the same for Cui Rumei either.
Rong Pan: "My Lady, there's a saying that goes, 'God is watching what you do, and you will suffer the consequences of your own actions.'"
"Your Majesty is kind-hearted. Mrs. An's death was totally unworthy." Everyone was not very happy about Mrs. An's death. If they put themselves in her shoes, they were afraid that she would suffer the same fate in the future.
Survival in the palace cannot rely solely on the favor of His Majesty; intelligence and the ability to judge the situation are all involved.
Rong Qianyu patted her cheeks and sat down, "Bring me Xue Ji's letter."
Rong Pan handed her a thick stack of letters. No one knew what they said. It was so mysterious with three layers inside and three layers outside. "Don't worry too much, Your Majesty. There's still about half a year left."
"If we can't hit the target in one strike, we'll just alert the enemy." Rong Qianyu opened the letter, "You guys should go out first."
Rong Pan was always worried when he saw her like this. When she was little, she always got into trouble when she acted like this. His Majesty said she was moody, but in reality, ever since losing her mother, she had always been cautious and tried to do everything to perfection. But when things didn't go as planned, she would often hide in her room and throw things.
After falling, she cleaned up the room herself, not letting anyone see her emotional fluctuations, but Rong Pan knew it. Sometimes she would even lock herself in the room and cry, and then clean up the room when she was tired of crying.
She closed the door and went out, leaning against the pillar of the corridor and sighing, "Is the Queen afraid this time?"
Yuan Qing was also dejected. He threw her a grape and the two chatted, "How could I not be afraid? The original plan was flawless, but I didn't expect this."
Rong Pan grew up with Rong Qianyu and understood her best. "The Queen wants a legitimate opportunity to get rid of Cui, but it always goes wrong. How come she always escapes danger?"
Rong Panyuanqing and the others were puzzled, and how could Rong Qianyu figure it out? She was the only one left in the room. She opened the letter and saw another layer of it, three layers inside and three layers outside. She had no idea what was inside.
Rong Qianyu opened the last layer of paper. Inside, the content was neatly written in small regular script, totaling more than thirty pages.
Rong Qianyu took a quick look and it seemed to be related to Prince Jin.
Princess Liu of Jin...
It was a letter written by Cui Rumei to Princess Jin. The words were full of resentment. How did Princess Jin get in touch with Cui Rumei while she was imprisoned in the mansion?
The princess, ill-treated by the Empress, is bedridden. Every time I visit her, I find my heart aching for her, seeing she has nowhere to turn to. My youngest son is deeply favored by His Majesty, and the Empress's misconduct fills us with deep resentment. It would be better for us to work together and find a wise leader.
Rong Qianyu felt a chill down her spine. She couldn't believe Cui Rumei had such ambitions, but did she really have such a big plan? Rong Qianyu still didn't believe it.
I don't know whether she instigated Princess Jin or Princess Jin used her, but no matter what, this is indeed strong evidence to bring her down.
Rong Qianyu was filled with joy as she held the letters. Xue Ji was truly her lucky star, always lending a helping hand when she needed it most. This one move was enough to restore order.
It turns out that Cui Zhicong's collusion with scholars and selling official positions and titles wasn't just driven by greed, but also by a hidden motive. Being the favorite concubine's brother wasn't enough; he wanted to be a relative by marriage, the emperor's uncle. After all, his ability to cheat in the imperial examinations wasn't entirely due to Rong Qianyu's schemes.
It is like this, why bother to calculate.
This damn eunuch, worthy of being the seal of the Imperial Household Department, still has some tricks up his sleeve. With this information, he only needs to wait for the strike, and Cui Rumei will no longer be an obstacle.
As he read on, he discovered that the letter actually mentioned Rong Ruoyu. His happy expression suddenly turned into one filled with sorrow.
Her mind was buzzing and blank. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she hadn't seen it wrong. Her hand holding the letter trembled unconsciously. "This is..."
Looks like I have to go see an old friend tomorrow.
The Prince of Jin's Mansion is no longer what it used to be. In the past, it was the residence of the emperor's eldest son, so magnificent and splendid. But now, there are only two people left here, waiting to die of old age.
Rong Qianyu and Princess Liu of Jin weren't exactly acquainted, having only met her a few times at palace banquets before, and had always had a good impression of her. Then, when Prince Jin rebelled, her opinion of this usually gentle princess completely changed. With all the events that had happened, her current situation wasn't entirely unjust.
Walking through the weed-covered corridors, it had rained a few days before, and the garden was filled with the scent of earth. Pushing open the door, which was only opened in the morning and afternoon, a beam of light streamed into the dim room. In the bright light, I could still vaguely see ashes swirling in the air.
Liu Yuan curled up in the curtains at the end of the room. The glaring light made her turn her head away, and it took her a long time to slowly turn back.
She was not surprised to see Rong Qianyu, "Hey, why is the Queen here?"
Rong Qianyu closed the door, dusted off the round stool, and sat down. "It's been over a year since we last met. I came to see you."
Liu Yuan fixed her hair, sat up straight, and asked, "Where's Yan'er?"
"Yan'er is fine. She doesn't want to see a mother like you who would ruin her future."
Speaking of children, Liu Yuan's pretended disdain vanished completely. She ran to Rong Qianyu and slammed the table, "You speak so innocently. Why doesn't my daughter want to see me? It must be you who instigated it!"
Rong Qianyu looked up at her. After not seeing her for a year, her face had many more wrinkles, her hair was disheveled, her eyes were bloodshot, and tears were welling up in her eyes.
"Yan'er is now living a more comfortable life than the princess, but you are the one who insists on demoting her to the imperial palace!"
"You're talking nonsense! If it weren't for you, my husband would be the emperor and Yan'er would be the legitimate princess. You bitch, you'll destroy yourself sooner or later!"
The calmer Rong Qianyu was, the more hysterical Liu Yuan became, trying to overwhelm her with her voice so that her unrealistic dream could come true one day.
There were only two people in the room, and Rong Qianyu didn't bother to beat around the bush with her. She grabbed Liu Yuan's face and pulled her in front of her. "You're still dreaming after all this? I spared your life and promised to take care of Yan'er, but you believed Cui Rumei's words and asked for death!"
After saying that, he slapped her face away again and fell to the ground because of his unstable center of balance.
Liu Yuan was panicked and confused, "You knew? Who told you, that bitch Cui Rumei?"
She had never seen Rong Qianyu like this before. She looked down at her, as if she was holding her hostage invisibly, leaving her no chance to breathe.
Rong Qianyu continued, "You want to use her and Rong Ruoyu to unite with my motherland to help you succeed? Then why did you agree to let Cui Rumei's son be the emperor? Why didn't you let your own son be the emperor?"
She asked about the crux of the matter. Liu Yuan had her legs open and didn't look like a princess at all.
Her face twisted, and her smile became more and more crazy. It was convenient to talk to smart people. "You are much smarter than her."
Rong Qianyu looked at her from bottom to top and saw that her lips were trembling and tears were flowing. The arrogant look in her eyes just now disappeared in an instant, turning into an endless void.
"I advise you to stop thinking of evil things. If you want Yan'er to live safely, then behave yourself and don't do anything tricky!"
Liu Yuan was still unwilling to give in and struggled, "You used Yan'er to threaten me. Yan'er has my blood in her body. She must have the same idea as me!"
"Take a look at this." Rong Qianyu took out the daily record and threw it to her.
"What's this?"
"Yuan'er is a very good student. She can recite many poems now. Her food, clothing, daily expenses and daily life are all recorded. You can see it for yourself!"
This was something Rong Qianyu had specifically recorded at the historian's request. Since the two children were studying together, they were both recorded together. Liu Yuan reluctantly took the record and began to read it.
"On April 30th, from 3:30 AM onwards, study at 7 PM. The Empress will personally supervise the students' studies, and so will the Princess..."
"May 8th, get up at 3:15 AM and study at 7 PM..."
"On the ninth day of the fifth month, the princess had a fever and asked for leave. The queen is taking care of her personally..."
"May 10th, a day of rest, the princess and the princess played in the imperial garden..."
Get up, read, sleep, eat whatever you want, play whatever you want, everything is available. Yan'er is indeed living a good life, so good that perhaps she doesn't even need her shameful biological mother.
Liu Yuan glanced at Rong Qianyu, said nothing, and continued to flip through a few pages. She smiled bitterly and tears of regret finally burst out of her eyes.
The reason she was persuaded by Cui Rumei's few words was simply because she was worried about Yan'er. She loved her son dearly, but now that they were separated by life and death, imprisoned in this small place day and night, she had long lost her former sharp judgment.
"What are you...what are you doing here this time?" she asked.
Rong Qianyu replied: "I am here to take your life."
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