Defei looked at the emperor's back without any reluctance, and felt a pang of sadness in her heart.
She thought she was different. Among so many women in the palace, she was the only one who could come to His Majesty's Yonghe Palace and discuss palace affairs with His Majesty.
She waited for His Majesty for three days, but His Majesty did not let her in.
The gate of Yonghe Palace slowly closed, and Concubine De's body swayed and she fell to the ground in a mess.
The head maid, Jinxiu, stepped forward to help Consort De to her feet, whispering soothingly, "Your Highness should finally be relieved now, right? I told you that His Majesty wouldn't vent his anger on you, but you insisted on kneeling for three days, and you're only hurting yourself."
"Hurry up and bring the sedan chair over. It's dark and the dew is heavy. Put two more layers of mats on it. Is the stove still hot? Bring it over to warm the queen's hands."
Jinxiu was very thoughtful, but Defei pushed her hand away, a look of sadness on her face. "Since you are here to apologize, how can you go back in a sedan chair? I'd better walk back."
The palace was cold and lonely, but His Majesty never showed him any sympathy.
She did not love the emperor, but she had to be favored by him, even if it was only for one night.
…
…
Inside the Lama Temple.
Long Lin lay on the bed, not feeling sleepy at all.
Whenever he closed his eyes, he would see Ji Yunhuan lying in a pool of blood. He could not speak or move, and could only watch Ji Yunhuan struggle, wither, and turn into a handful of earth.
Eunuch Wei tiptoed in with a tranquilizing soup and whispered, "Since Your Majesty returned to the palace, the traitor has been executed, and both the court and the harem are at peace. Yet, Your Majesty seems unhappy. I don't know what your Majesty is worried about, but I imagine it must be something outside the palace."
Long Lin drank a few sips of the calming soup and felt a severe headache, but he still didn't want to sleep.
"Your servant is not good at speaking. It is not good for Your Majesty to be so depressed all the time. Why don't you go out of the palace and take a look? Your Majesty, have a good rest. I will take my leave."
The last oil lamp went out, and Long Haochang lay in the darkness with his eyes open all night. Until dawn, he moved his stiff body and finally made up his mind to go to the Prime Minister's Mansion to take a look.
The Prime Minister's Mansion was not far from the Imperial Palace. Long Lin brought a few Royal Guards and quietly sneaked into the Prime Minister's Mansion.
White banners were hung in the mansion, and all that could be seen was a vast expanse of pale white. The servants coming and going also wore white flowers, looking neat and solemn.
Long Lin went to Linlang Garden alone. The swing in the yard was still there, the grape vines were blooming vigorously, and there was a wooden man practicing whip techniques standing under the tree.
Everything was exactly the same as when he left, as if Ji Yunhuan would rush out of the house the next moment, chase him around the yard, and kiss him hard when he caught him.
Long Lin waited for a long time, until the sun rose and hung on the lush treetops, but he still didn't see the person he wanted to see.
The entire Linlang Garden was empty, with no sounds of maids playing and no servants walking back and forth. Long Lin finally realized that Ji Yunhuan was really gone!
The tears came unexpectedly.
What else can he do for Ji Yunhuan?
Perhaps he should fulfill his promise. Even if Ji Yunhuan didn't hear it, Ji Yunhuan should still be his most honorable princess who protects the country!
"Who's there? Come on, catch the thief!"
Prime Minister Ji let out a roar, and soon the guards rushed to Linlang Garden.
Long Lin withdrew his foot as he was about to enter the house. He wiped his tears, calmed down, turned around and looked at Prime Minister Ji who was facing a great enemy, "It's me, I came... to see the Prime Minister."
Prime Minister Ji did not dare to delay and immediately took the emperor to the front yard to sit down.
He was a little puzzled. Why did the emperor come to see him in secret? He even broke into the boudoir of the woman in the backyard.
Upon hearing that the emperor was coming, Ji Yunping had no choice but to come out to accompany him. Both father and son looked sick, with Ji Yunping's condition being more serious. In addition to the whip wounds on his body, his fingers were also wrapped in gauze and were still bleeding.
Long Lin felt even more guilty. "I'll send some more herbs. Prime Minister Ji, take good care of your injuries and take good care of the funeral arrangements. Don't grieve too much, or you'll hurt your body."
Prime Minister Ji was not sad at all. The little feelings he had for Old Madam Ji had long been worn away.
On the day when the Prime Minister's Mansion was in trouble, Old Madam Ji wished that everyone in the Mansion would die. She even dragged those traitors with her, saying that she wanted to sacrifice her own relatives for the sake of justice and expose the crimes of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Later, the imperial guards arrived, and the men in the mansion broke down the door and rushed out of the house. Seeing that the situation was not good, the rebels ran away.
When Old Madam Ji died, he actually felt relieved and quickly separated from his younger brother in his hometown. Naturally, he sent someone to send Old Madam Ji's body to his hometown for burial. As for how to arrange the funeral, he didn't care.
The white banners hanging in the palace were just for show, to avoid giving others a chance to talk. After the emperor's consolation, he could only cover his face and feign grief, sighing, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration. I am deeply grateful."
The two exchanged some polite words. Long Lin took a deep breath and spoke with difficulty:
"I wonder where the young lady of the mansion is buried? I want to go and pay my respects to her."
Prime Minister Ji's expression was a little strange. "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? My daughter is alive and well. Why would Your Majesty curse her?"
Long Lin suspected that he had heard it wrong, or that Prime Minister Ji was just like him, deceiving himself and unable to accept the fact that Ji Yunhuan was dead.
He ripped off the white banners wrapped around the beams, his hands shaking so much they didn't even feel like his own. "Not dead? She's really still alive? Then what are these white banners for?"
Prime Minister Ji snorted coldly and was too angry to speak.
If the person in front of him was not the emperor, and if he dared to curse his precious daughter, he would have ordered his men to beat him out with sticks!
Ji Yunping didn't understand why the emperor was hysterical. His sister was alive and well, and the emperor came up and said he wanted to offer sacrifices to his sister. How unlucky!
"It was Madam Ji who died, so we hung the white banner. However, her remains have been sent back to her hometown, so I dare not trouble Your Majesty to offer her sacrifices."
A surge of ecstasy surged in Long Lin's heart!
He paced back and forth in the hall in excitement, the white banner in his hand was torn to pieces. He tried his best to control his expression, but the corners of his mouth couldn't stop rising.
"Okay, okay! I'm not saying it's good that the old lady died. I'm saying it's great that Miss Ji is still alive!"
"I also heard that the traitor forced Miss Ji to drink poison, and saw the white banner in the mansion, so I misunderstood. Ji Yunhuanfu has a long life, hahahaha... I knew she wouldn't die so easily. I really worried for nothing for the past three days. I should have come out earlier. I am so happy, hahaha..."
Long Lin didn't know what he was saying incoherently, as if only by talking like this could he calm the emotions surging in his chest.
Ji Yunping had no chance to get a word in. Many people saw Huan drinking the poisoned wine that day, so it was not surprising that the emperor heard about it.
But why did the emperor care so much about his sister? This ecstatic attitude made it seem as if the two of them had known each other for a long time.
The emperor took a big sip of tea and said excitedly, "Tell me quickly, how did she survive?"
Ji Yunping suppressed his doubts and replied, "Thank you for asking, Your Majesty. I happened to have the Hundred Poison Remedies from Meiling Villa, so I'm safe. My mother was frightened and fell ill."
Long Lin rushed to Ji Yunping with his eyes shining, and asked anxiously, "Where is she? I want to see her now!"
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