After hearing this, the Queen Mother sighed even more angrily, "You said I can protect him temporarily, but I can't protect him forever. In the end, he still has to walk these roads on his own."
Every year on the anniversary of the late emperor's death, Yuwen Ran would take the concubines and royal family members to the Galan Temple outside the capital to worship the late emperor.
The Galan Temple is located on the hillside forty miles outside the capital. If the carriage travels at a constant speed, it will take about two to three hours to get there.
Yuwen Ran planned to keep things simple this year. Apart from Prince Xiang who was still in Qianzhou, he only brought Queen Gu Yanyue with him from the harem.
The Queen Mother had everything loaded into the carriage early in the morning.
Yuwen Ran also received the news brought back by his secret guard from Qianzhou last night, and everything Yao Jinle reported was true.
Now nearly a thousand people have died in Qianzhou. The secret guards asked Yuwen Ran whether he wanted to issue an imperial decree to escort Prince Xiang and the governor He Shuhuan from Qianzhou back to the capital to let Yuwen Ran decide their fate.
Yuwen Ran did not say anything, but asked Yao Jinle to set out from the capital to other states to prepare food first, and then wait for him to arrive in Qianzhou before entering the city together to kill King Xiang and the Qianzhou government by surprise.
Now that we have both the witnesses and the evidence, we don't have to spend more time collecting evidence to prove whether King Xiang neglected his duties and treated the lives of the people as a joke.
Yuwen Ran and Yao Jinle discussed things in the imperial study all night, and soon after getting on the carriage, they both fell asleep.
Seeing Yuwen Ran's dark circles under his eyes, and the pitiful look of wanting to sleep but not daring to, Gu Yanyue advised: "Ah Ran, take a nap first. I'll wake you up when we get to the Galan Temple."
Yuwen Ran lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside, then shook his head, "I'm worried about you."
Gu Yanyue laughed dumbly, "Why should I worry? I'm just sitting here and I won't run around, so you can sleep peacefully. We still have to go to pay homage to Father later. If you don't have the energy, Mother will find fault with you."
Yuwen Ran shook his head and said firmly, "You encountered assassins the last few times you went out. What if I fall asleep and encounter an assassin again?"
"The previous times, it was Qin Ranran who sent people to assassinate me. Now you have ordered Qin Ranran to be beheaded, and even Duke Qin has been sent to the border. Tell me, who else in this huge capital city would want to kill me?"
Gu Yanyue pulled back Yu Wenran's hand that was about to lift the curtain. "Just sleep peacefully. You brought so many imperial guards with you. Are you still worried that they can't protect me?"
Yuwen Ran leaned on Gu Yanyue's shoulder, still muttering to himself, "Those Imperial Guards are all good-for-nothings, none of them can be relied upon, Ah Yue...if you encounter danger later, you must wake me up. I will protect you, not the Imperial Guards..."
Yuwen Ran gradually died down to his last breath. Gu Yanyue took the blanket and covered him with it, then combed his hair. Yuwen Ran had been worried about the people of Qianzhou these days, and last night he had stayed in the imperial study without closing a wink. If he continued like this, even a strong man would collapse.
When they finally arrived at the Galan Temple, Yuwen Ran was almost asleep. When he woke up, the carriage had just stopped.
He had just woken up and hadn't fully reacted yet, "Ayue, are we here yet?"
Gu Yanyue nodded, "Yes, we're here."
The Galan Temple is a royal temple, located halfway up the Galan Mountain, thirty miles away from the capital. There is also a nunnery called Galan on the top of the mountain, which is equally popular.
Yuwen Ran brought the empress and eunuchs to the Galan Temple to worship the late emperor, pray for him and burn incense. The temple attached great importance to it and sent a lot of people to arrange food and accommodation.
After settling in, Yuwen Ran and Gu Yanyue went to the outer hall to eat vegetarian food. When Yuwen Ran brought Gu Yanyue there, he saw the Queen Mother there as well. He was a little surprised and went up to her to ask, "Why are you eating in the outer hall too, mother? Are you not satisfied with the living quarters?"
The Queen Mother pointed to the seat next to her and told Gu Yanyue and Yu Wenran to sit down together. "It's not that I'm not satisfied, but it's just that I rarely leave the palace, and I don't want to waste time staying in the side rooms. I want to go outside and take a look."
"If you want, you can always come out of the palace and come to the Galan Temple to pray for my father and burn incense. I think my father would be very happy if he saw how worried he is about him."
Yuwen Ran directly misinterpreted the Queen Mother's words: "If you want, you don't even have to return to the palace. It would be a good idea to stay here in the Jialan Temple and practice vegetarianism and chant Buddhist scriptures for your father and the court."
The Queen Mother didn't want this at all, but facing Yuwen Ran's words, she could only smile awkwardly and said, "Wait a few more years. I haven't seen the Queen give birth to the Emperor's legitimate son, nor have I seen the Emperor appoint a crown prince. I still feel a little reluctant to let go."
Yuwen Ran looked at the Queen Mother and said with a smile, "I think your mother may have misunderstood my meaning. I only gave you the opportunity to choose, not to force you to pray every day in the Temple of the Gods. If this gets out, who knows how people will curse me."
"We've been traveling so long today. The temple abbot has arranged for us to burn incense tomorrow and light a long-burning lamp to ensure safety. We'll discuss the rest after tomorrow."
As she spoke about the arrangements for this trip, she glanced at Yuwen Ran and Gu Yanyue, feeling somewhat unhappy. She said in a deep voice, "As the Emperor and Empress of our dynasty, you must set an example. You must pray for the nation's fortune tomorrow."
Yuwen Ran also added: "Of course, I will certainly pray for the country. Mother, don't forget to pray for Prince Xiang who is far away in Qianzhou. You must pray for his safe and speedy return from Qianzhou."
The Queen Mother lowered her eyes and looked at Yuwen Ran, "What does the Emperor mean? Is he threatening me?"
Yuwen Ran looked at the Queen Mother's nervous expression towards Prince Xiang and couldn't help but sneer, "What are you talking about, Mother? No matter what, I will never harm my own brothers. But Prince Xiang may not be so sure."
Because of Yu Wenran's words, the atmosphere for the rest of the meal was depressing. Even when Gu Yanyue wanted to speak to ease the atmosphere, she didn't know where to start.
Finally, everyone had eaten their fill and put down their bowls and chopsticks. Gu Yanyue breathed a sigh of relief, as if she was liberated.
After dinner, everyone dispersed. Yuwen Ran pulled Gu Yanyue along and walked slower. "Ah Ran, why did you say that to the Queen Mother just now?"
Yuwen Ran replied: "I just want to scare her. If she and Prince Xiang haven't done anything wrong, why would she be afraid?"
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