The imperial court was clearly well prepared for the rebellion caused by King Wenxuan. Within just two days, all the people involved were arrested and brought to justice, and even the verdict was handed down.
The emperor personally brought a bowl of longevity noodles to visit the empress dowager in the Tianlao. Today was her birthday, or perhaps also her death anniversary.
The empress dowager, who was only breathing her last, calmly finished the bowl of longevity noodles served by eunuch Defu. She did not say a word to the emperor during the meal. She picked up the poisoned wine beside her and drank it all in one gulp, feeling hopeless.
At this point, the emperor had nothing to say to her. The reason he came to see her for the last time was just to end the mother-son relationship they had shared for so many years. After watching her close her eyes in pain, he left the prison without looking back.
The Queen Mother died and was deposed. She assisted the tyrant and conspired with Prince Wenxuan to usurp the throne, causing the people to be displaced and damaging the foundation of the country. Even though she was dead, she still could not escape the crime of being deposed and had no right to be buried in the imperial mausoleum.
Considering their past friendship, the emperor gave Concubine Jiang some respect by giving her a cup of poisoned wine, at least preserving her body intact.
As for Yonglin, even though he was his closest blood relative, the emperor had no choice but to abandon him in order to silence the gossips of the world.
Although the mother and daughter could not be buried in the imperial mausoleum, a beautiful place with mountains and rivers was found near the mausoleum for their burial.
As for the others, they did not receive the same treatment, including Princess Wenxuan and her son and the Jiang family. Those who deserved to be beheaded were beheaded, those who deserved to have their property confiscated had their property confiscated, and those who deserved to be exiled were exiled. No mercy was shown to them.
However, Xiao Qingheng was able to see his mother and brothers and sisters before he died, so he had company on his road to the underworld.
But in just over a month, everything was settled.
There was another major purge in the officialdom, and the positions of many officials changed. Zhao Yiming is now a fourth-rank official.
The Jinshi scholars who took the imperial examinations during the same period who were pragmatic basically received corresponding rewards. Although their promotion speed was not as fast as Zhao Yiming's, they were also among the fastest promoted group in history.
However, when people are happy, there are also people who are worried. Tian An’s confinement period was ruined because of King Wenxuan’s troubles.
She was pregnant with twins and had gone through so many things during the confinement period, so the elders strongly urged her to do a double confinement period.
She had seldom gone out since the late stage of her pregnancy. She had finally made it to the birthing and the confinement period, but she had not expected that because of King Wenxuan, she would have to stay in her room for another month. She was so angry that she cursed King Wenxuan in her heart.
Afraid that she would get bored staying at home all the time, Zhao Yiming specially invited An Wan and the women of the An family, or her old friends to take turns visiting her. With someone to talk to and keep her company, time passed much faster.
Seeing that Tian An was about to leave the confinement room, everyone started planning the belated full moon banquet for Xiao Nanchen and Xiao Xiyue.
But plans can't keep up with changes. Tian An had just excitedly discussed with several elders to finalize the invitations for the full moon banquet during the day, but when Zhao Yiming came back that night, he told her guiltily, "I'm afraid we can't have a big full moon banquet for our child."
Tian An paused for a moment while holding the big red invitation, then gently put it down. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Zhao Yiming took her hand and held her in his arms, resting his chin on her shoulder. His voice was filled with fatigue. "There's been some unrest at the border. I'm afraid there will be chaos."
"Today, the court received urgent news from the Northern Territory border. Our scouts discovered signs of a large-scale military presence across the border from Beiming. General Wu, fearing unforeseen circumstances, sent this urgent letter to the court, urging them to make early preparations."
Although women are not allowed to interfere in politics, Tian An is different, so Zhao Yiming did not hide anything from her.
Sure enough, after Tian An heard this, the two of them discussed the matter until midnight, during which they put forward many useful strategic suggestions.
The next day, he even put away all the invitations and only invited a few families he was on good terms with. They all had a meal together to celebrate for the two siblings, thinking that he could make it up to them with a big birthday party later.
When the elders heard that Tian An had canceled the full-moon banquet that had been prepared long ago, although they felt it was a pity, they knew that she must have had reasons, so they did not try to persuade her. While they felt sorry for the two children, they prepared more full-moon gifts.
Since there was no need to hold a grand full-moon banquet, Tian An freed up a lot of energy and simply started preparing for the court early.
Instant noodles and instant rice were all made, and the family's grain store was closed. The housekeeper was asked to stockpile various medicinal materials, and he personally led people to make various pills and medicines.
He also asked several farms to purchase a lot of livestock and poultry, and ordered a lot of winter clothes, sweaters and trousers from Peng Zhang. In short, everything that could be thought of and done was prepared in advance.
In the days that followed, the atmosphere in the court became increasingly tense. Zhao Yiming came home later and later. Tian An was afraid that his irregular diet would harm his health, so he had his servants deliver dinner to the Ministry of War.
Finally, Tian An was out of confinement after the double period, and on the day of holding the full moon banquet for Xiao Nanchen and Xiao Xiyue, several familiar families arrived early.
Song Zhiyun and Wu Yufei, who were newly married to Wu Hongkun in June, as well as Mrs. Wu and Qin Yalan came with their one-year-old child Wu Sizhe.
The chubby baby was held by Qin Yalan and brought close to the cradle to look at little Nanchen and little Xiyue.
It was the first time he saw a baby smaller than him. He was so excited that he struggled to get out of Qin Ya's arms.
Qin Yalan had no choice but to let him go.
The baby, who could hardly walk steadily, rushed to the cradle as soon as he landed on the ground. With the help of his mother, he finally climbed to the edge of the cradle and looked curiously at little Xiyue who was staring at him with a pair of big eyes inside.
Regardless of whether he could understand or not, Qin Yalan introduced him softly, "This is Sister Xiyue from Aunt An's family. Sizhe is her brother, so you must take good care of your sister in the future. You are not allowed to bully her, and you must not let others bully her!"
"Xi-yue" The little boy Wu Sizhe, who couldn't speak yet, suddenly called out Xiyue's name in a clear voice, which surprised Qin Yalan and Mrs. Wu.
"This kid, no matter how I teach him to call dad, mom, and aunt, he just won't open his mouth. I thought the time hadn't come yet, but I didn't expect it was the person who was wrong!" Wu Yufei said in disbelief as she looked at the scene in front of her.
This made everyone laugh. Little Wu Sizhe seemed to be encouraged and shouted "Xiyue" several times in a row, and the word became more and more fluent.
Although he didn't call her mother the first time he spoke, Qin Yalan was not angry at all. She glanced at little Nanchen beside her and took advantage of the opportunity to introduce him to her again.
Unfortunately, this time little Wu Sizhe did not let them get their wish. He stared at little Nanchen in the cradle for a while, turned his head, and returned to little Xiyue.
"This, this guy is not attracted by beauty, is he?" The adults on the side exclaimed in amazement.
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