Chapter 517 Little Qing'er is Here
The emperor began to feel uneasy. Consort Wu attempted to assassinate the empress, but the empress escaped. Does that mean she knew many things in the palace?
She was not a fugitive hiding somewhere deserted.
She stood not far away watching him.
Watching him regret, watching him get angry, watching him fall seriously ill.
The emperor panicked. As the supreme ruler, he could not afford to lose face in front of the empress.
Gradually, the emperor stopped indulging in the harem as before. As if he had turned over a new leaf, he began to focus on treating his illness and handling state affairs properly.
He rarely visited even Consort Li anymore.
Consort Li never came to see him again, as if their connection had ended there.
After the emperor calmed down, the seventh prince was no longer suspected and lived a quiet life as a prince in the palace.
Zhou Ruiyuan also dutifully performed his duties as Minister of Justice.
Being an official in the capital is not as good as being in Cheng'an County.
Affairs in Cheng'an County are much easier.
Zhou Ruiyuan hasn't had a proper rest since he came to the capital.
Fortunately, Du Wanchun comforted and helped him, and his career in the Ministry of Justice became increasingly successful. In addition, with the introduction of Lord Zheng, he gradually gained connections in the court.
The emperor's despondency kept them calm for several months.
That day, Du Wanchun had just put Xiao Feifei to sleep when she received a letter from Cheng'an County.
The letter said that Aunt Zhou had given birth to a baby girl. Although she was a little premature, she was in good health.
Du Wanchun was overjoyed and immediately took the letter to Zhou Feng's residence.
Just as Han Yan'er was about to go out, she saw Du Wanchun smiling as she came to the door, and quickly went up to her and asked, "Sister-in-law, what brings you here?"
Du Wanchun told Han Yan'er about what was in the letter.
Han Yan'er was overjoyed and quickly led Du Wanchun into the house, saying, "It just so happens that I bought some children's clothes with A-Feng a few days ago. I'll send someone to deliver them to Mother together."
Du Wanchun smiled and replied, "Yes, it just so happens that I also made a few pairs of shoes for the child."
Now that Aunt Zhou has the Third Prince with her in Cheng'an County, she naturally has no shortage of clothes and shoes; it's just a token of their affection.
After the two entered the house, they looked at the letter again.
After reading it, Du Wanchun burned the letter.
Looking at the letter that had been burned to ashes, Han Yan'er couldn't help but sigh, "It's good that Father and Mother can be together like this for the rest of their lives."
Du Wanchun nodded slightly, "Yes..."
Han Yan'er closed the doors and windows and asked Du Wanchun, "Sister-in-law, is there something you know?"
Du Wanchun asked in confusion, "What is it?"
Han Yan'er slowly said, "I heard from my father that the Dongling Kingdom wants to form a marriage alliance with us and plans to marry their eldest princess to our Xuanyue Kingdom."
The Eastern Ling Kingdom is located in the north and is not adjacent to the Xuan Yue Kingdom. Although there is no war between them, they are not exactly on good terms.
Their proposal for a marriage alliance is likely an attempt to strengthen ties with the Xuan Yue Kingdom.
After hearing this, Du Wanchun asked thoughtfully, "So His Majesty wants to take this princess as a concubine?"
Han Yan'er shook her head. "I heard from my father that the Emperor did not intend to do so. He guessed that the Emperor might let the Third Prince marry this Princess."
"You mean Father?" Du Wanchun asked in surprise.
Han Yan'er replied softly, "That's right. My father said that the Emperor has the same idea and will probably write to the Third Prince in a few days, asking him to return to the capital."
Du Wanchun fell silent, then slowly said, "It seems the Emperor has some doubts about him."
Han Yan'er agreed, "It's hard not to suspect that the Third Prince hasn't been in the capital for a long time. Although he's supposedly traveling, with so many spies under the Emperor's nose, he's bound to find something."
Du Wanchun smiled and said, "No rush, things will work themselves out. There will be a way."
Han Yan'er breathed a slight sigh of relief and smiled, "That's true."
Upon learning this news, Du Wanchun did not linger at Zhou Feng's residence and returned home.
As soon as she entered the house, she saw Xiao Mianmian walking towards her with a smile and saying, "Mommy~ Mommy~ Do you know who's here?"
Du Wanchun, holding Xiao Mianmian's hand, asked, "Who's here?"
Little Mianmian pointed behind her and saw a little boy dressed in tattered clothes wolfing down a steamed bun.
Upon closer inspection, she exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't this Xiao Qing'er? What brings him here?"
Upon hearing Du Wanchun's voice, Xiao Qing'er quickly put down the steamed bun in her hand, looked up at Du Wanchun, and then hurriedly bowed to her.
"Aunt Wanchun."
Du Wanchun strode up to him and asked, "Xiao Qing'er, why did you come back to the capital? And how did you end up like this?"
She had learned from Wu Niangzi's letter earlier that Xiao Qing'er had gone missing.
His sudden appearance at her residence was quite a surprise to her.
Xiao Qing'er wiped her mouth and said, "I accidentally ran into bandits on my way from Beidi, but I escaped. Later, I was rescued by a farmer. Then I continued on my way to Cheng'an County and encountered bandits several more times. In order to avoid being noticed, I pretended to be a beggar."
"On my begging journey, I heard about Magistrate Zhou's appointment in the capital, and then I continued begging all the way to the capital."
He traveled back and forth for several months, and he must have suffered a lot.
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