The guards welcomed Nangong Zeyue and the envoys into the main hall, while Nangong Jun and the rest of his fellow disciples were led by several guards to Zichen Palace.
The seeds brought back from Wanling and the assassins in the prison cart were all brought into Zichen Palace.
This palace was prepared by the empress for her son.
The interior is arranged according to the standards for a prince.
The entire Zichen Palace is magnificent and resplendent, with carved beams and painted rafters showcasing the grandeur of the imperial court.
The interior is meticulously laid out, with pavilions and towers arranged in a harmonious manner. The garden is adjacent to a pool of clear water, adorned with exotic flowers and rare plants.
The ground and stone steps were paved with white marble. Every detail of the decoration was personally inspected by the Empress, exuding nobility and luxury.
Inside the main hall, Nangong Zeyue felt a mix of emotions, anticipation and nervousness.
Hearing hurried footsteps approaching from afar, before he could even turn around, the envoys all knelt down.
"Greetings to Your Majesty the Emperor! Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress!"
Since her identity had not yet been confirmed, Nangong Zeyue did not know how to address her or how to greet her.
He stood there, watching the emperor and empress walk toward him.
Nangong Zeyue's gaze first fell on the Empress.
She had a kind face and her eyes were glistening with tears. She tried to control her emotions as she looked at herself. Perhaps she was too excited, because the phoenix crown on her head was trembling violently.
Nangong Zeyue had originally planned to return to Wanling if he was no longer a prince of Liang.
Upon seeing the Empress's true face, that thought vanished from his mind.
It's so similar, so incredibly similar—those smiling, unspoken eyes, those well-defined lips, and that fair complexion.
Nangong Zeyue involuntarily took two steps forward.
How amazing! My mother's eyes are so warm; I have an urge to lean closer to her.
The Empress recognized him at a glance; the handsome man staring blankly at her was none other than her Xuan'er.
Seeing her son returned to her, tears welled up in her eyes.
She was so emotional that her lips trembled uncontrollably.
"Xuan'er!"
"Xuan'er, it really is me, Xuan'er, who has returned."
The empress, her voice hoarse, could no longer care about losing her dignified and composed image in front of the ministers, and ran over with open arms.
"My son! I am your mother, your dearest mother!"
The Empress burst into tears, cupping Nangong Zeyue's face in her hands and stroking it as if she wanted to look at him as much as she could and make up for the lost twenty years.
Feeling the hands that were holding her face trembling, Nangong Zeyue gently put her arm around the Empress's shoulder to comfort her.
My emotions were complex, a mix of joy and excitement welling up inside me.
It feels so good to have a mother. He had fantasized about having a mother when he was a child.
For example, when he was sleepy, his mother would coax him to sleep, instead of being scared by his fellow disciples who would warn him that it would be dawn soon if he didn't go to sleep, because he would have to get up to practice his skills at the crack of dawn, which would frighten him into closing his eyes and going to sleep.
He lived in the mountains when he was a child and never saw what a child with a mother looked like, so he didn't even have any dreams about it.
Once, when I was going down the mountain with my master, we passed through a village and saw a mother chasing a child with a rattan cane in her hand.
He envied the child who was being beaten. If he had a mother, he would never make her angry, and he would never run away if his mother wanted to beat him.
He wanted to call out "Mother," but his lips moved and no sound came out.
When he looked up to see the emperor, his vision blurred, and he didn't even realize that tears had already blurred his eyes.
"Xuan'er!" The Empress burst into tears of joy. Overwhelmed with emotion, she embraced Nangong Zeyue and wept uncontrollably.
Nangong Zeyue held her mother's shoulder firmly with one hand and gently patted her back with the other.
He wanted to comfort his mother, but a thousand words stuck in his throat, unable to be uttered.
"Your Majesty, please don't be agitated. The child has already returned. Quickly, let him go back to Zichen Palace to rest."
The emperor walked over, put his arm around the empress's shoulder, and pulled her into his arms, who was on the verge of fainting from crying. He whispered to her, "Empress, don't worry. I can see that he is our son. We will decide everything after the family recognition ceremony is completed tomorrow."
An emperor, after all, is a ruler, and it is easy for him to control his emotions and calm himself down.
The Empress sobbed, "He is our Xuan'er, I knew it at first glance."
“I know, I can see it clearly, he looks almost exactly like you.”
The emperor paused and looked at Nangong Zeyue. "I'm sure you understand that your status is different from ordinary people. You need to go through the family recognition process under the supervision of the ministers in order to convince the public."
Nangong Zeyue naturally understood that his identity was not something that could be determined simply by the Emperor and Empress.
To inherit the throne in the future, one must have a legitimate claim.
Without the support of ministers, even if one takes that position, it is easy to be pulled down.
Seeing the emperor's dignified face showing signs of illness, he nodded. "Understood."
The Empress stopped sobbing and beckoned to the palace maids behind her, "Send His Highness back to rest."
Nangong Zeyue bowed and gave the Empress a deep look before withdrawing.
The Empress wanted to follow, but the Emperor held her hand. "Empress, don't rush. The child has had a long journey. Let him get some sleep first."
The Empress raised her other hand to wipe away her tears. "It was because I was too anxious. Your Majesty understands the feeling of losing something and then getting it back, doesn't he?"
"I sympathize with him. For the sake of his future, Empress, please bear with it and proceed according to the rules. We cannot allow those with ulterior motives to cause him a stroke."
The Empress nodded, glanced at the ministers who were still kneeling, and said, "My dear ministers, you have had a long journey. Please rise."
The ministers knelt for a while longer, understanding the emperor's feelings upon seeing his son for the first time. Anyone who suddenly saw their long-lost son return would have ignored those around them.
The ministers stood up and rubbed their knees.
The emperor and empress looked at the crowd.
"you……"
They all had dark circles under their eyes and sallow complexions. The Empress looked at the ministers and then at the Emperor.
She felt that their complexions were all about the same.
Gong Xishuo bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I have a lot of grievances to tell you. Let me explain in detail."
The empress did not participate in politics. Seeing that the ministers were discussing matters with the emperor, the empress returned to the palace with her eyes red from crying.
Inside the main hall, the emperor had just taken his seat.
The ministers then began to recount, with tears streaming down their faces, the repeated assassination attempts they had encountered on the road.
When everyone spoke, they said with absolute certainty that the assassins were sent by the Third Prince.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Liang's eyes darkened. "Do you have any evidence?"
These words were uttered through gritted teeth, revealing just how furious the emperor was.
Gong Xishuo said, "This humble subject does not have any, but His Highness does have evidence against him. Your Majesty, the Third Prince is so ruthless to his own brother, which shows that he was also instigated by someone."
“Your Majesty, please reconsider. Lord Gongxi is right. The Third Prince has been accompanied by people from Nanzhao since childhood. It’s hard to say that someone might be causing trouble.”
Everyone knows perfectly well that even tigers don't eat their cubs. Even if that incident proves to be the Third Prince's doing, he can still deny it, and the Emperor won't punish him severely. It would be better to take the opportunity to cut off his right and left arms.
Emperor Liang nodded slightly, "All of you ministers have rendered meritorious service in safely bringing back the Crown Prince, and you will all be rewarded."
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