Upon hearing that Zhao Wu and Li Luo had been brought into the palace, Xu Lanyin was both happy and worried. Logically, with this important event finalized, Empress Dowager Pu would acknowledge the two grandchildren. However, the thoughts and emotions of the imperial family differed from those of ordinary people. It was difficult to determine whether this was a good thing or a bad thing until the very last moment.
It was already late and He Xi could not enter the city, so he was allowed to rest in the farm.
The next day, Xu Qingyan's personal guard, Ji Zhu, reported that the Pu family had been apprehended, but Zhao Wu and Li Luo had not left the palace. For safety, Xu Lanyin and her son remained temporarily at the manor. However, Xu Lanyue was taken home.
The next day, which was the afternoon of May 2nd, Ho Tung and Ho Sai came together.
He Dong bowed and smiled, "The men of the Pu family, Madam Pu, Duke Wen, Madam Wen, and some related people have all been imprisoned. The Fourth Master and the First Master are still in the palace with the Empress Dowager. They sent a message asking us to come and take the Fourth Madam and the Young Master back to the capital."
Calling Zhao Wuwei "Fourth Master" and Wen Zhuofeng "Uncle" indicates that Zhao Wu and Li Luo have regained their status as members of the Wen family.
Xu Lan was so happy that she got on the carriage with her children and several servants.
The carriage entered the capital before dark and arrived at the Zhao family at around 11 p.m.
Zhao Wu and Li Luo had not returned yet. At the end of the hour of Hai, Zhao Wu returned alone.
Xu Lanyin was leaning against the head of the bed thinking about something. When she heard footsteps, she got up, put on her slippers and came out to greet him.
As soon as Zhao Wuyi entered the side room, he immediately embraced Xu Lanyin, who came forward to greet him. He gently rubbed his face against hers and murmured, "Yinyin, I did it. We did it. We avenged my father and mother, and we avenged ourselves. I thought it would take ten, twenty years, or even a lifetime to accomplish this, but we did it in three and a half years. Yinyin, thank you. It's all because of you..."
As he spoke, his hot lips moved around her ears and cheeks, then to her nose, eyes, mouth, and chin...
Xu Lanyin catered to him and murmured, "Great, that's great. Mother-in-law and father-in-law can finally rest in peace. They no longer have to worry about someone assassinating our Mingxi..."
Zhao Wu picked up Xu Lanyin and walked towards the bed.
The two had been apart for a long time, and hadn't felt like doing anything else when they met the other day. Now that all their problems were resolved, they let out all their excitement and longing until they were exhausted.
Someone prepared the bath water, and after the two of them took a bath, they snuggled up at the head of the bed and talked.
"Your Highness... The Empress Dowager is feeling very guilty and sad. She's been sick for the past two days and hasn't been willing to let my brother and I leave the palace to stay by her side. Tomorrow, you take Mingxi with you to stay with her again. You'll probably stay in the palace for two days, so bring some extra things with you."
Zhao Wu was still not used to calling the Queen Mother "Grandmother".
Xu Lanyin said "hmm".
"Grandfather simply kept his knowledge to himself and failed to properly manage his family. He wasn't directly involved. At most, his title was stripped. As for Old Madam Wen, my father-in-law meant that although she participated in the murder of my father and mother, she wasn't the main culprit. Since she's our grandmother, my eldest brother and I should plead for her. Sigh..."
Zhao Wuji seemed reluctant but had to do it.
Li Luo was harmed even more deeply by Old Lady Wen.
Xu Lanyin asked, "Does Big Brother agree?"
Zhao Wudao said, "What can we do if they don't agree? If we don't plead, others will say we are unfilial. Even if we plead, it's still a question of whether the Emperor and the Empress Dowager agree or not... Old Madam Pu will definitely die. And Old Uncle Pu, Pu Yuanjie and Pu Yuanqing, they are the Empress Dowager's closest relatives after all, and the Empress Dowager may not be willing to kill them."
It is said that if a prince breaks the law, he shall be punished just as severely as a commoner, but this is often not possible.
Xu Lanyin advised, "Even if someone is lucky enough to survive, they won't have a good life. Just like Chai Zhengguan."
I heard from my family back home that someone had beaten Chai Zhengguan half to death, and his two sons were crippled. It's like their family is living a life worse than death...
"Third Uncle has been released, and Big Brother has moved in with him at the Wen family..."
The third master of the Wen family, Wen He, is a bastard. He is completely unaware of the persecution of Wen Xing's family by Old Lady Wen and Wen Yan. He has also taken care of Wen Zhuofeng and Wen Zhuoan, so the third house will not be affected in any way.
"Where's Madam Yu?"
"She lives in the Wen Mansion now. In the future, we will take care of her retirement, and her nephew and his family will also come to our manor to work."
The next day, Zhao Wuyi finished breakfast and went out to work. Xu Lanyin packed a set of her own clothes, several sets of Zhao Mingxi's clothes, and a lot of diapers. At the beginning of the Si hour, Eunuch Li arrived at the Cining Palace on the orders of the Empress Dowager to take Xu Lanyin and her son into the palace.
Xu Lanyin took Zhao Mingxi, Qian Mama and Zhangqi to the palace in a carriage.
The Queen Mother hugged Zhao Mingxi and cried again, "No wonder he looks so much like Ying'er. It turns out he is Ying'er's biological grandson, my great-grandson..."
Zhao Mingxi seemed to see that the Queen Mother was sad, so she didn't smile. Instead, she pursed her lips as if she was about to cry.
Xu Lanyin advised, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. Punishing the evildoers will give your mother-in-law peace of mind."
The Queen Mother said to Xu Lanyin, "You are An'er's daughter-in-law, so from now on you should call me the Imperial Grandmother. Calling me the Queen Mother is too formal."
Xu Lanyin called out again, "Grandmother."
After lunch, the Queen Mother took a nap and asked Mother Qian and the palace maid to take Zhao Mingxi to live in her warm room, while Xu Lanyin lived in a side hall.
Empress Dowager Pu took a nap at noon, and Zhao Mingxi was still sleeping. She then turned her attention to Xu Lanyin, took Xu Lanyin's hand and asked about the situation of Zhao Wu's brother.
When the old lady heard about Zhao Wu's tragic fall, tears welled up in her eyes again. She said, "That child didn't die after falling from such a height, and he wasn't eaten by an eagle while hanging on a tree. You even saved him. And you even had the Jade Regenerating Ointment given by the old doctor. Ying'er must be in heaven, protecting him."
The ancients were superstitious.
Xu Lanyin said, "That's right. I usually don't dare go deep into the trees when I'm collecting herbs, but that day I happened to go deep. I was still a little far from where my grandfather fell, and when I heard a cry of 'Help' I thought I had misheard it. However, I saw countless birds circling in the sky in the distance, and it seemed so strange, so I ran over to see. To my surprise, there really was a person hanging from the tree... Now that I think about it, there really was a magical force guiding me to save him, and then leading us to Ningzhou Prefecture and the capital, to find out the truth bit by bit... Grandmother, my grandfather said that once this matter is resolved, we will go to the temple to perform a Taoist ceremony for my mother-in-law to put her mind at ease."
Empress Dowager Pu agreed and said, "Ying'er must have died so unjustly, and seeing her descendants in danger, the people who harmed her have even exhausted their blessings. She is too resentful and refuses to reincarnate." She then said out the window, "My dear child, I am sorry for you. I will take good care of your descendants and make those people pay for their blood debt with blood."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
