"What's this?"
These words were spoken in the vast hall.
The Empress Dowager, Eunuch Shou, and Long En were all stunned and immediately turned their gazes to a scroll painting on the wooden tray.
After a while, it was finally Eunuch Shou who broke the silence: "Your Majesty, this is a painter appointed by the Empress Dowager..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Empress Dowager hurriedly interrupted him, saying, "What? Am I not allowed to plan for my own funeral portrait as I am getting old?"
When Emperor Jing heard that the Empress Dowager was angry again, he knew that her words were clearly implying that she was blaming him.
So he quickly said, "Your Majesty, may you live as long as the heavens! You must not say such things!"
The Empress Dowager sneered and said, "Being slandered like this by my own son, I'm already lucky I haven't died of anger. How could I possibly expect to live as long as heaven?"
Watching, no matter what I do or say.
After being repeatedly met with cold words, Emperor Jing gritted his teeth and could only continue to apologize, saying, "Your subject knows he was wrong, and hopes that Your Majesty will not be angry anymore."
"snort……"
The Empress Dowager then gave her a cold snort and turned her head away, no longer looking at her.
The atmosphere was clearly a bit awkward, so Eunuch Shou spoke up again: "Your Majesty, this is indeed a portrait of a woman, but it is not the Empress Dowager's portrait, but my nephew's cousin who was recently lost."
Emperor Jing suddenly realized, but was still puzzled: "Your nephew's cousin? How could that be?"
Eunuch Shou nodded and continued, "The Empress Dowager is kind. When she learned that my nephew was anxiously searching for this cousin, she said that the painters in the palace would be able to paint my nephew's cousin just like the real person. With this portrait, it should be easier to find her in the future."
At this moment, Emperor Jing suddenly looked at Long En's face and asked him, "How did you lose your cousin?"
Upon first speaking face-to-face with Emperor Jing, Long En was startled and said, "Your Majesty, about two months ago, my cousin and I got separated on our way to the capital."
Emperor Jing thought for a moment and asked, "Would you like me to send someone to help you find it?"
Long En quickly declined, saying, "Your Majesty is busy with many affairs of state. I dare not trouble Your Majesty with such a small matter. I can handle it myself."
Emperor Jing nodded and said, "Alright, if you need my help, just say so."
Long En said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
At this point, the three hearts that had been hanging in mid-air finally settled down.
At this moment, Emperor Jing looked out the window at the night scene.
The stars twinkled, and the moonlight was as silvery as silver.
So he said, "It's late, Mother, you should rest early. Your son takes his leave!"
The Empress Dowager didn't even look at his face, only replying casually, "Hmm..."
Left with no other choice, Emperor Jing could only move away from Yong'an Palace.
They followed him outside the hall to confirm that he had completely left.
At this moment, Eunuch Shou went over and brought the scroll painting to the Empress Dowager, carefully and slowly unfurling it.
Although he already had a pretty good idea of who the Guardian was, Long En still came over.
As he worked on his painting, Eunuch Shou said, "Your Majesty, this is a portrait of the guardian's descendants, drawn by the best painter in the palace based on my description!"
The Empress Dowager then turned her gaze to the picture and looked at it carefully: "This appearance, especially those bright and piercing phoenix eyes, is indeed very beautiful."
Long En glanced at it and instantly recognized it, inwardly letting out a series of exclamations.
"It was her?!"
"It really was her!"
"Ruoxi..."
"The legitimate princess of Dongning Kingdom..."
"The Achilles' heel of Prince Nan'an and Prince Xuanyuan Han of Qin..."
"She really is the descendant of the lost guardian!"
"This matter is of great importance and must be kept secret from everyone for the time being."
As the Empress Dowager gazed at the painting, she also felt a vague sense of familiarity with the face: "The woman in this painting looks somewhat familiar. I feel like I've seen her somewhere before?"
At this moment, the late-arriving Empress stood outside the gate of Yong'an Palace.
He could no longer hear any sound from inside, and he hesitated, unsure whether he should go in or not.
So he asked the guard at the door, "Is His Majesty still inside?"
The guard reported, "His Majesty has already left."
"Left?"
For a moment, the Empress was in a state of confusion, not knowing what had just happened.
Suddenly, a voice came from inside the palace: "Is the Empress outside?"
Forced by circumstances, the Empress had no choice but to go in, so she hurriedly stepped over the threshold and entered the palace.
He approached the Empress Dowager and respectfully curtsied, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty!"
Upon seeing this, the Empress Dowager asked, "Why has the Empress come so late?"
"Your son..."
"Your son..."
Seeing the Empress hesitate, the Empress Dowager seemed to suddenly understand.
Suddenly, her face darkened, and she said, "I understand. It seems my palace is quite lively tonight. Could it be that the Empress has also come to Yong'an Palace...?"
Before he could finish speaking, the Empress panicked and hurriedly interrupted him: "No, Mother, I only heard that Eunuch Shou has returned, so I came here to visit you."
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Shou hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to the Empress: "This old servant greets Your Majesty the Empress!"
The Empress also looked quickly at Eunuch Shou's face and asked him with concern, "Eunuch Shou, it's been many years. How are you?"
Eunuch Shou reached out and pulled Long En to his side, saying, "Thanks to my nephew's care over the years, I am doing well."
"This humble subject greets Your Majesty the Empress!" Long En then greeted the Empress.
"Could this be the true nature of Mother..."
The Empress nodded slightly, but her gaze was noticeably evasive.
She only glanced at him briefly before smiling and saying to Eunuch Shou, "It's good that you're alright, sir, and that you're back."
Although he had some concerns, he thought that the Empress had been loyal to him all these years.
The Empress Dowager pondered for a moment, then summoned the Empress and said, "Empress, come and take a look. Does the Empress remember this woman?"
The Empress stepped forward and took a closer look. She was immediately stunned by the portrait and thought to herself, "It's her!"
Seeing a glimmer of hope, the Empress Dowager hurriedly asked, "Does the Empress recognize this woman?"
The Empress asked, puzzled, "I wonder who this woman is..."
The Empress Dowager explained, "This is the cousin of Eunuch Shou's nephew. It was her first time traveling far from home, and she was accidentally lost not long ago. She's looking for her everywhere right now!"
The Empress thought for a moment and said, "This woman is so beautiful that she is truly a rare beauty in the world. This is the first time I have ever seen such a stunning beauty!"
"The Empress has never seen her before?" Upon hearing the Empress's words, the Empress Dowager suddenly realized what was going on.
The Empress shook her head and said, "Such a beauty can only appear in paintings!"
The Empress Dowager, however, was unconvinced and pondered the woman in the painting again: "But why do I feel that this woman looks familiar, as if I've seen her somewhere before?"
The Empress said, "Perhaps some people do share some resemblance in their eyes and brows!"
"Is that so?" The Empress Dowager murmured unconsciously as she examined the portrait in her hand.
The Empress smiled and nodded, but silently asked herself a question.
"How did Princess Qin become the cousin of the nephew of Eunuch Shou, whom they're talking about?"
"What exactly is going on?"
What exactly are they doing?
"And this so-called nephew..."
For a moment, everyone in the hall was lost in their own thoughts.
One afternoon.
The old coachman walked down the street in a daze, muttering to himself.
"Shunzi."
Poor Shunzi.
"sorry."
"It's all my fault."
"I shouldn't have chased you down the street, yelling and trying to catch you like a thief."
"I never expected that I would be unable to find anyone to help you in this government office. I have been waiting here for so many days, and I still haven't found anyone who can help you."
"I was wrong."
"I was really wrong."
"If anything were to happen to you..."
"How am I supposed to explain this to your dead father, my brother Da Shun?"
He seemed completely unaware that a carriage was gradually approaching him from behind, making a series of "clattering" sounds of hooves.
Just then, the two soldiers who had arrested Shunzi that day suddenly appeared in front of him.
The old driver suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and he quickly stepped forward and hugged each of their legs tightly, then knelt down in front of them, crying and begging them.
"Please, gentlemen, have mercy."
Please.
"Please, let Shunzi go!"
"I'm not suing him anymore! I'm not suing him!"
"He has already returned the silver to me."
"It's all my fault."
"Please, please beg the magistrate to let him go home!"
The long street was bustling with people.
Hearing the noise, a crowd of onlookers quickly gathered and began to discuss it.
"Why is it him again?"
"What's wrong with him now?"
One of the two soldiers quickly recognized the old driver and said, "Oh, it's you! Weren't you the one who was crying and shouting for us to arrest him the other day? What's wrong with you now?"
The old coachman said, "I am truly sorry, gentlemen. I made a mistake that day. It was all my fault."
The officer said, "What mistake? What mistake have you made? He saw the magistrate and, upon hearing that he was to be flogged, he confessed to everything—gambling and theft. Based on his circumstances, he should be locked up for at least a year and a half before being released."
The old driver was stunned when he heard this.
"What?"
"A year and a half?"
“How can this be? Shunzi has never suffered since he was a child. How can you keep him locked up for so long?”
The patrolling soldier said helplessly, "It's no use talking to us like this. He can only blame himself. If he hadn't done those things, he would have nothing."
"Alright, alright, we still have to continue our patrol. Stop causing trouble here. If there's nothing else, go home early."
As the other soldier spoke, he broke free from his restraints.
Unexpectedly, the old driver persisted, grabbing the two tightly again, his tone becoming resolute and forceful.
"No, you must release Shunzi today!"
"Otherwise, I will go to the Prince of Qin's residence and report you."
"You old man who can't tell right from wrong..."
Just when the two patrolling soldiers seemed to have no way to deal with the old coachman, a carriage appeared behind him, startling the two of them.
The two of them suddenly knelt down on the ground without prior arrangement...
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