Chapter 188 An Lingrong 129
"What are your plans for the future?"
Seeing that Zhen Huan was about to end the topic like this, Ling Rong seemed to be just asking casually.
Zhen Huan looked at Ling Rong, not understanding what she meant. "Me? What else can I do? Just be my noble concubine."
"Or perhaps you're still worried about Hongli and Hongzhou and want to kill us all?"
Ling Rong laughed, "That's a good idea. If you don't remove the roots, they'll grow back again. For the sake of the overall plan, catching you and your son in one fell swoop is the safest option."
"Everyone in the palace knows that Imperial Concubine Rou is deeply favored by the Emperor. Now that the Emperor has passed away due to illness, it seems reasonable that you would be overly worried and die suddenly."
"And your two sons. The eldest is extremely ambitious. To preserve his reputation, he should be eliminated early. Although Hongzhou is still young, he was once considered as the heir apparent. Why not..."
The meaning of Ling Rong's words did not waver Zhen Huan at all, until she stretched out her tone, drawing Zhen Huan's thoughts to her last sentence:
"Why not let him be adopted into the lineage of Prince Guo, thus fulfilling their father-son relationship?"
Zhen Huan suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with disbelief that she could no longer control: "How...what do you mean by that?"
"Seven-Day Soul-Losing Powder. If taken by a living person, all breath will be lost, and the person will be in the same state as a dead person, and will only wake up after seven days. Unfortunately, it has a strange fragrance that is easily detected."
Ling Rong sat on the bed, leisurely admiring Zhen Huan's expression, which resembled a palette of colors. "Wen Shichu is indeed amazing, but this recipe isn't concealed enough. Luckily, I once got a special spice by chance. Adding it to this recipe actually diminishes the fragrance, leaving the color indistinguishable from the poison."
"You, you mean... he didn't, Prince Guo, promised him, didn't..."
All her schemes and scheming were forgotten by Zhen Huan. She almost threw herself at Ling Rong's feet, her bright eyes filled with anxiety, hoping to get the answer she longed for from Ling Rong.
"This is a gift, in return for giving me the secret decree without hesitation."
Lingrong seemed to have taken off her years of disguise at this moment. She showed a gentle face and gave Zhen Huan a small wooden box.
But what was inside was no longer a bloody curse soaked in desire and obsession, but a heartfelt letter to family.
"Thank you, thank you, Lingrong... Thank you..." Zhen Huan flipped through the thin letter again and again. Her tears had already wet the letter paper, but she still opened her blurry eyes and read the words over and over again.
"With this letter, knowing that he is still safe, I have no regrets in my life."
Zhen Huan held the letter against her chest, feeling that with it, she had the courage to spend the rest of her life in this tall prison cell.
"So you have no regrets? Aren't you planning to fly away with him?" Ling Rong took out a packet of medicine powder with a bit of regret, "I was actually planning to help you two."
"You, you want to let me go? But I am the emperor's concubine, Rou Guifei?"
"And I have become the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty. It shouldn't be difficult for me to transport you out."
Ling Rong handed the powder to her and said, "You had no choice before, but this time I'll give you the chance to choose."
Zhen Huan took the powder and knelt deeply before Ling Rong: "No matter what, I will never forget your kindness."
………
Another three years passed. Concubine Rou had been depressed since the death of the late emperor, and finally passed away after her three children were married.
The emperor followed the empress dowager's order and posthumously conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort on her and gave her the posthumous name of Dunmin.
At the same time, a wealthy family came to Yunnan. Although there were only three people in the family, they brought with them many slaves.
As soon as he arrived here, he bought a lot of land and built a house.
The villagers were initially a little hesitant, but later learned that this family was originally from the local area. Many years ago, the old lady of this family married and moved to the capital. Now that her husband has passed away, her son and daughter-in-law are filial, so they took her back to her hometown.
Gradually, many villagers became their servants. Coincidentally, the surname of this generation was also Ruan. As time went by, even the locals forgot that they moved here from outside.
"Huan'er, a letter from the capital."
Yun Li knew that Zhen Huan had been waiting for her all these days, so he took the letter and hurried to the inner courtyard. Zhen Huan paused while playing the harp of "Longing for You", and the strings were almost broken.
She quickly apologized to her mother who was standing beside her. Concubine Shu smiled and waved her hand to let her do as she pleased.
Zhen Huan then took the letter and hurriedly opened it. "Lingrong said Lingxi gave birth to a son, and both mother and child are safe! However, her husband was adrift at sea under imperial orders at the time, so he missed the trip."
"That's great! As long as the mother and child are safe." Yunli and Concubine Shu couldn't help but show joy on their faces when they heard it. Although they could not recognize each other in this life, they felt very content to hear the good news that their relatives were safe.
"The higher-ups also said that Hongzhou is now training the navy and has never been defeated in battles with the Western powers. His bravery is no less than yours in the past." Zhen Huan glanced at her husband teasingly. Yunli smiled lightly, but was actually very proud: "It's like a tiger father has a dog son. His achievements now are even greater than mine."
"I hope that all my children can live a healthy and simple life. The battlefield is too dangerous with swords and knives that are merciless." Although the couple now has a son, Concubine Shu is also worried about her two grandchildren who are far away in the capital.
"Let them make their own decisions as young people. Don't even mention that Hongzhou is thousands of miles away and we can't control him. Just look at this guy right here. He's got big ideas. Huan'er and I have tried to teach him a lesson countless times, but he hasn't changed."
"Hey, it's not a bad thing to be interested in farming. Agriculture is the foundation of the country. Don't be too restrictive with him."
At this moment, Concubine Shu began to plead for mercy on behalf of her grandson again.
Speak of the devil, and here he is! Ruan Shi happened to run in wearing shorts, his sleeves and trouser legs still stained with mud: "Dad, Mom, Grandma, I'm back!"
"Why are you so dirty? Did you go fighting with someone in the mud?" Even Concubine Shu couldn't stand it anymore.
Ruan Shi disagreed: "Today, a high-ranking official came. He said he was from the Ministry of Agriculture. He was just passing through here and mistook me for a farmer. Coincidentally, I called some people to help harvest rice, and when we were weighing it, one of them grabbed me and wouldn't let go. He asked a lot of questions and even tried to recommend me for a promotion."
"Ministry of Agriculture? I seem to have heard Lingrong mention it before." Zhen Huan seldom went out in recent years and didn't know much about what was going on outside. However, when Yunli heard her mention the empress dowager, he remembered that they, the wealthy families, had been reminded of this a few days ago.
but……
"Has he really made a name for himself growing crops like this?" Yun Li looked at his son with complicated eyes.
He clearly inherited the good looks and talents of both of them, and was a well-known handsome young man in the surrounding villages, but he just liked to farm. I originally thought he was fooling around, but now it seems that I was wrong about this guy.
"I just said my grandson is a good one."
Concubine Shu looked at Ruan Shi with a smile, and saw a silly smile on this romantic face, and she scratched her head with his muddy hand.
"Forget it, my children and grandchildren will have their own blessings."
The old lady asked someone to pick up the Chang Xiang Si cigarette, and she and her daughter-in-law left hand in hand, too lazy to pay any more attention to the unfortunate father and daughter-in-law.
Yunli shook his head. He was used to his mother's anger and was about to reach out to talk to his son.
"Dad, I saw they brought some new farm tools today. They're really good stuff. Let's..."
Yunli turned and left.
"Dad—Dad—" Ruan Shi was still calling him from behind: "Dad, where are you going?"
"I'm going to go see how the tea factory is doing. I'm busy today, no time at all!"
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