The cauliflower snake opened its mouth to bite her, but she pressed its mouth down and roared fiercely in a childish voice, "I am a princess, you are not allowed to bite me."
As if it understood, the cauliflower snake obediently stopped moving.
For some reason, all four children were immune to all poisons, but Xiao Lanchuan was still worried about their safety.
The snake bit Xiao Chengyan but it didn't hurt him. He has thick skin and can withstand a few more bites.
But if he bites Sui Sui, he'll feel bad.
He just tricked the rat snake out of Sui Sui.
Then a eunuch came running over in a hurry.
He had Sui Sui and Cheng Yan taken away.
The eunuch then said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is dying. Before she dies, she says she wants to see you one last time."
When Xiao Lanchuan arrived at Xianxi Palace, the once magnificent and luxurious palace was covered with moss because no one had cleaned it. Tigers had climbed all over the palace walls, and the courtyard was full of fallen leaves.
The Empress Dowager sat by the window, her face haggard, her hair white, her eyes sunken, and her body emaciated; she was a dying woman.
The room smelled damp and rotten, like a dead rat.
Xiao Lanchuan stood at a distance and did not approach.
The Empress Dowager was perhaps hard of hearing and had poor eyesight, and did not see him.
Jiang Fulai stepped forward and reminded her, "Empress Dowager, the Emperor has arrived."
The Empress Dowager then shakily raised her head: "Chuan... Chuan'er?"
When she saw that Xiao Lanchuan had really come, her eyes lit up, and she stumbled toward him, only to fall down at his feet.
Xiao Lanchuan didn't help her up; he just looked down at her coldly.
The Empress Dowager said in a sorrowful voice, "Chuan'er, your mother truly knows she was wrong. Please forgive your mother."
Xiao Lanchuan said calmly, "Xiao Jingyi is dead."
The Empress Dowager seemed to have heard some terrible news. Her mouth was wide open, her eyes were wide open, and she couldn't say a word.
Looking at her sorrowful appearance, Xiao Lanchuan asked, "Is Mother no longer going to plead for her?"
The Empress Dowager looked at him, her eyes filled with hatred: "So what if your mother is afraid of you and wants to kill you? You're lucky you didn't die, aren't you?"
"Yi'er is your brother, why did you kill him?"
Xiao Lanchuan smiled, "So the Empress Dowager didn't regret pleading for him, but rather she pleaded for Xiao Jingyi's sake."
The Empress Dowager broke down and tried to pull him away, but Xiao Lanchuan suddenly leaned down, stared at her, and said, "Mother, don't you know that I have already been killed by you once?"
His gaze was fixed on her, and the resentment in it made the Empress Dowager tremble. She stopped in her tracks and looked at him with some confusion.
"What...what do you mean?"
Xiao Lanchuan did not answer, but continued, "Mother, why do you do this? You have always been the mother I trusted and loved the most. Father is such a cold-blooded and ruthless person. So what if you betrayed him? Your son will not harm you in the slightest because of him."
His words contained so much information that the Empress Dowager couldn't process it all at once.
Do you know how the Empress and the Emperor died?
“The Empress bullied you, so I killed her. Father Emperor neglected you, so I killed him too.”
Under the Empress Dowager's trembling gaze, Xiao Lanchuan slowly said, "So, Mother, why must you put your son to death?"
Xiao Lanchuan turned and left.
The Empress Dowager sat on the ground in a daze. When she realized what was happening, tears streamed down her face.
It turns out, she didn't need to do anything at all.
"Chuan'er, I'm sorry, Mother was wrong, Mother was really wrong this time."
The Empress Dowager reached out, trying to grasp something, but this time, she couldn't hold onto anything.
She fell backward, staring at the desolate palace walls, her eyes wide open in death.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is dead."
Jiang Fulai followed behind.
Xiao Lanchuan remained silent, staring at the palace before him, everything seemingly losing its vitality in an instant.
Until he saw Nanzhi standing not far away.
She was wearing a light blue dress, her hair casually tied up with a ribbon, and for a moment, it seemed as if she had returned to the time when they first met.
At that time, he sat on the dragon throne, looking down at everyone at the banquet.
He looked at the assassins without flinching or dodging.
Everything around seemed to have faded.
Until the girl suddenly came into view, that green hue was like a ray of sunshine, unexpectedly shining on him.
From then on, his world was no longer black and white.
At that moment, he looked at the person in front of him, and the two smiled at each other, a smile that seemed to last a lifetime.
Nanzhi gave birth to four children.
When Xiao Lanchuan was forty years old, he abdicated and became the retired emperor, and Xiao Yu'an successfully ascended the throne, becoming a wise ruler and ushering in the peaceful reign of the Republic of China.
Xiao Yuhuan became a female general praised by everyone, leading a large number of female soldiers to protect the territory of Xiao Kingdom.
Xiao Chengyan inherited Chen Huaizhi's mantle and became a renowned doctor, with countless people seeking his treatment.
Xiao Suining was proficient in animal language and could talk to all the small animals. In one natural disaster after another, he helped the people of Xiao Kingdom avoid danger in advance and reduced a lot of losses.
Over the decades, Nanzhi also managed the harem in an orderly manner. She used both kindness and severity to promote many women to official positions. At her suggestion, Xiao Kingdom allowed women in unhappy marriages to divorce and to have free marriage leave.
Initially, there were more people who opposed it, but later, as more and more women's consciousness rose, the happiness index of the people of Xiao Kingdom rose sharply.
Everyone praised Nanzhi as the savior of Xiao Kingdom, and the people sang her praises.
Later, when their hair turned completely white, their relationship remained strong. At that time, Nanzhi would always nestle in his arms and watch the sunrise and sunset together.
"Your Majesty, you seem to have never said that you like me."
"I said that."
"when?"
"Think for yourself."
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