He originally intended to keep this secret for his entire life, but he never expected that the Empress would be treated this way.
After Emperor Jin gained power, he began to discard his former allies. Empress Ye's grandfather and father had also retired to their hometowns in earlier years.
Now only her brother remains, holding insignificant official positions in the court.
On the contrary, their maternal clan rose to prominence and became a new generation of powerful and influential families.
King Xuan was disheartened by this and spent his days silently guarding this frontier, no longer concerning himself with court affairs.
A few days later, to bid farewell to the retired emperor and others, Emperor Jin invited everyone to the Lushan Hot Spring Palace.
The Empress, unusually energetic, also went along.
"Empress, are you feeling alright? You must be exhausted from the journey, can you still manage?" Emperor Jin kindly helped the Empress down from the imperial carriage.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I feel very good today and would like to personally entertain the Emperor Emeritus of Jingyuan. After Qing'er marries into the family after the New Year, I hope they will be more tolerant of her." The Empress looked at Emperor Jin with a sincere expression.
"Don't worry, our Qing'er is more outstanding than any boy. She will naturally be loved by everyone." Emperor Jin treated the Princess quite well, after all, she was his own flesh and blood.
Everyone was surprised that the Empress was able to stand up again, and they all offered their congratulations to her.
The retired emperor, the empress dowager, and Prince An were surrounded by members of the powerful clans of Xuan Yue.
The Empress Dowager smiled and said to everyone, "You are all so enthusiastic that I am a little embarrassed. In a few months, we will all be one family. Today, let's enjoy the pleasure of this hot spring."
She couldn't even have a moment of peace; several groups of people came up to talk to her one after another.
Li Xi and the others, who were hiding not far away, covered their mouths and chuckled. It seems that being too popular isn't always a good thing.
Xuanqing was seated at the same table as Prince An by Emperor Jin. She casually picked up a cup of wine and drank it all in one gulp. "Your Highness, is everything going smoothly?"
"It went smoothly, so there's no need to worry." Prince An also picked up a cup of wine and savored it.
Inside the Lushan Hot Spring Palace, mist swirls around, and the smooth hot spring water washes away the grease.
There are hundreds of pools of varying sizes here, all occupied by people. Each pool is surrounded by its own pavilion.
People soaked and played in the hot spring, laughing and chatting, as if all their worries and troubles had been washed away by the hot spring water.
The wintersweet in the palace was in full bloom, its subtle fragrance mingling with the mist from the hot springs to create a dreamlike scene.
The scenery on the back mountain is even more breathtaking, with layers of forests covered in white frost and red plum blossoms dotting the landscape, creating a picturesque scene against the backdrop of blue sky and white clouds, making one feel refreshed and relaxed.
Just as everyone was enjoying the beautiful scenery, a group of masked men rushed in.
They moved swiftly, like ghosts in the night, approaching silently. Before anyone could react, the masked men, brandishing swords, charged into the crowd.
In an instant, screams and shouts rose and fell throughout the palace, completely shattering the previously peaceful atmosphere.
Before long, everyone was tied up. Emperor Jin never expected that he would encounter such a change in this peaceful and prosperous world. He was terrified but helpless.
"Who are you? How dare you commit such atrocities here!" Emperor Jin demanded, struggling to remain calm. He hadn't expected his elite guards to be outmatched by these people, all of them drugged and rendered unconscious.
The masked leader sneered, "Robbery!"
He waved his hand behind him, instructing his men to search for gold and silver treasures.
It's truly an extraordinary story that bandits actually managed to rob the emperor.
But seeing that the other party only wanted money, he dared not resist.
These material possessions were nothing to these noble people; their lives were far more important, so everyone threw out all their money.
"Oh dear, Her Majesty the Empress is still in the back mountain," the Imperial Concubine said, feigning an accident. Deep down, she hoped the bandits would kill the Empress.
Upon hearing this, the leader indeed sent people to the back mountain to look for them.
The bandits menacingly blocked their path and forced them to the edge of a cliff.
One of the bandits, with a sly look on his face, stared at the item in the empress's hand and asked in a sarcastic tone, "Your Majesty, what exactly is that in your hand? Why don't you show it to us so we can see it too?"
Faced with the bandits' questioning, the empress appeared somewhat flustered, but she still held tightly to what she was holding, unwilling to hand it over easily.
Meanwhile, Xuanqing was secretly pondering a solution.
Just as the bandits were getting closer, Xuanqing suddenly had a brilliant idea and, taking advantage of their unpreparedness, quickly fired a dazzling signal flare into the sky.
At that moment, the other guards of Emperor Jin were waiting not far down the mountain. When they saw the signal flare blooming in the sky, they quickly ran up the mountain.
Seeing Xuanqing's actions, the bandits were enraged.
He pushed the mother and daughter off the cliff...
By the time the guards arrived at the palace, the bandits had already vanished without a trace.
"Your Majesty, the guards have all been drugged with sleeping pills." The head of the guards knelt before Emperor Jin.
Seeing that everyone was alright, he breathed a sigh of relief, then thought of something: "Quickly send someone to the back mountain to find the Empress and the Princess!"
Emperor Jin's face instantly turned ashen. He stood up and strode out, his voice as cold as ice: "I will go myself!"
The guard leader dared not delay and quickly followed.
At the edge of the cliff on the back mountain, the wind howled, and below the cliff, clouds and mist swirled, the bottom unseen.
Emperor Jin stood on the edge of the cliff, his eyes blazing as he surveyed the clouds below, a strong sense of unease rising within him.
"Did the Queen and the Princess... really fall here?" he asked in a low voice, his voice trembling slightly.
The head of the guard bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this was found on the edge of a cliff."
Emperor Jin recognized the jade pendant the Empress wore every day—it was a keepsake from the eldest prince…
Emperor Jin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm his anger and anxiety.
"Send men down to search and rescue immediately!" he commanded, his voice revealing an unwavering resolve.
The guard leader immediately took action, organizing manpower to prepare for a search and rescue operation down the cliff.
Emperor Jin stood on the edge of the cliff, his gaze fixed on the clouds below.
Below is a rushing river. Because it is near hot springs, the river is not frozen and is still steaming.
The guards searched for a day and a night but could not find any trace of the Queen and the Princess.
Everyone understood that the Queen and Princess were probably dead; falling from such a high cliff into the river, they would have drowned if not died from the fall. They just didn't know where their bodies had gone.
But no one dared to speak out. The retired emperor also sent his trusted confidants to search for it, and they only found a fox fur coat that the princess had worn.
With no other option, the group had to return to the capital.
The happiest person was undoubtedly the Imperial Concubine, who never expected that her casual remark would come true. She never imagined that her long-held wish would finally be fulfilled. But she forced back her grief and comforted the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. I'm sure your sister wouldn't want to see you like this."
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