Chapter 679: The Deposed Princess Strikes Back at the Female General 126
The celebration ended in chaos and the emperor couldn't wait to return to the palace.
He had been frightened too much today. Even his most trusted son wanted to assassinate him. The emperor felt that there was no safe place in the entire capital. Only in his own bedroom, with the imperial guards protecting him, could he feel a little at ease.
The queen changed into a casual dress, a light green color, without any extra patterns, only embroidered with a few green bamboos. The queen walked slowly over, her figure swaying under the dim candlelight, just as she always did.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Xiao has been crying and begging at the door. She is the apple of your majesty's eye. I dare not make decisions on my own, so I come to ask for your instructions."
The emperor sat behind the dragon desk with many memorials piled in front of him. In fact, he didn't read any of them. He was very anxious, but he couldn't show it and had no one to complain to.
He angrily threw the memorial in his hand and said angrily, "I doted on them and their son, but they are plotting my life like this! I won't see her! Get her out! Send her to the cold palace directly. I don't want to hear any news about her anymore!"
The Queen nodded her head and quickly ordered people to drag Concubine Xiao away.
When she entered the hall again, the empress saw the emperor slumped on the dragon throne, looking up at the high dome, turbid tears falling from his eyes.
The emperor cried.
He was really sad. He thought he was very sincere to Concubine Xiao. He could tolerate even if Concubine Xiao killed people and set fires in the harem. He gave Concubine Xiao all the best things, but in the end he got such a result.
There were no palace servants serving in the hall; the emperor had driven everyone away.
The Queen picked up the memorial on the ground and placed it on the dragon table. She took out a handkerchief, wiped the Emperor's tears, and said calmly, "Your Majesty's eyes were irritated by the candlelight. Tomorrow I will order the Ministry of Internal Affairs to replace them with better ones."
The emperor grabbed the queen's hand and murmured, "Yaoguang, do you think this throne is so important? It can completely change a person's appearance and drive Rui'er, who has been well-behaved since childhood, out of the plot of killing his father. Isn't it good enough for me to treat him well? Why does he want to kill me?"
Song Yaoguang sighed softly.
When Yuwen Hong was young, he was considered a good man, a modest gentleman, and was well educated by the empress dowager. He was gentle and affectionate, which really made her heart beat fast.
If Yuwen Hong was just a rich and idle man, then maybe they could really support each other and spend their lives together.
Unfortunately, no matter how good the upbringing was, it could not change Yuwen Hong's mediocre qualifications. He was unable to shoulder the responsibilities of an emperor and gradually became suspicious, sensitive, and self-willed. On the one hand, he was wary of the empress dowager, and therefore also of the queen who was favored by the empress dowager. On the other hand, he relied on the empress dowager and had to seek her help when he encountered difficulties.
The empress dowager could not let go, nor could she let go of the people of the world, so she could only give careful reminders and also had to take into account the emperor's majesty and did not dare to give too many suggestions.
There had once been days of love and happiness between the emperor and the empress, but now there was only suspicion and calculation left.
Song Yaoguang knelt in front of the emperor and leaned her head on him, in a very submissive posture.
"I dare not deceive your majesty. If Xun'er were still alive, I would definitely make plans for him. Xun'er is the legitimate son of the Empress, so the position of Crown Prince should naturally belong to him. As a mother, she wants to give the best to her children. Concubine Xiao naturally supports her son."
"But my child died young, and Your Majesty is the closest person to me in this life. Honglang, we are husband and wife, and we will accompany each other for life. There are so many women in the harem, but only I am your wife. We are husband and wife. I only hope that you live a long life and stay with me for a long time."
The emperor stroked the queen's soft hair and sighed, "Yes, you are the only one who will never betray me."
Everyone in the harem could have children, as they all had their own selfish desires, but the queen was injured and it was impossible for her to have her own children.
The emperor stroked the queen's cheek and said, "Yaoguang, I ignored you in the past, but I won't do that again in the future. I will treat you well in the future."
Song Yaoguang pretended to be touched, but in fact she was calm inside.
The belated affection is more despicable than a dog. If she doesn't bring down Concubine Xiao, she will just wash her neck and wait for death when Prince Rui ascends the throne.
Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, she quickly talked about business, "Your Majesty, it's getting late. Wangyue Tower has been prepared for a long time, and many people have gathered. If we cancel it, it will be inappropriate to break our promise to the people."
"Your Majesty, are you going to leave the palace? Or are you going to find a respected relative to replace you?"
It is absolutely impossible for the emperor to leave the palace again. Instead of letting an unrelated relative go, it would be better to let his son go, because at least he is his own bloodline.
"Let the Eighth Prince go. He is strong and healthy, and he is not afraid of danger."
Song Yaoguang smiled and said softly, "Your Majesty is right."
That night, the empress stayed in the emperor's palace. The emperor was weak and exhausted, and had no interest in that kind of thing. The emperor and the empress fell asleep in each other's arms, and the emperor slept soundly.
In the center of Hongfu Street, above Wangyue Tower.
Yuwen Yi, wearing a prince's dress with a golden dragon embroidered on his chest, rose into the clouds. He stood at the highest point, overlooking the world below.
People were bustling about, the sounds of hawking were endless, colorful lanterns lit up the long street, and stars were scattered around, like the Milky Way falling on the earth.
The melodious bells rang and echoed in the night sky.
The people's attention was drawn to the emperor. They looked at the figure on the high platform. He was tall and strong, and their faces could not be seen clearly, but he looked very majestic, which completely matched the image of the emperor in their minds.
"Look! The Emperor is here!"
"Please move forward. I have never seen what the emperor looks like."
"I heard that the emperor encountered an assassination attempt today. I thought the emperor didn't dare to come."
The Northern Frontier Army was responsible for maintaining order at the scene. Ji Yunhuan had already made arrangements. Although there were many people, there were Northern Frontier Army guarding everywhere. Everything was in order and the people were not allowed to run around randomly.
Ji Yunhuan was holding the dragon candle that was used to light the sky lantern, which was actually a fire starter with an exquisite appearance and dragon patterns carved on it.
She stepped onto the top floor of the Moon Watching Tower and handed the dragon candle to Yuwen Yi.
"Your Highness, the auspicious time has arrived. Please, Your Highness, light the sky lantern and pray for the people."
Yuwen Yi grabbed Ji Yunhuan's hand. The night wind was cool, making his fingers a little cold. He absorbed the warmth from Ji Yunhuan's hand and whispered, "Don't go. There are too many people here. I'm a little panicked and afraid that I'll make a mistake."
Ji Yun laughed, "Are you afraid of forgetting the words? I prepared a cheat sheet for you. You were not panicked when the army was approaching the city, so why would you be afraid of lighting a sky lantern?"
Yuwen Yi pulled Ji Yunhuan to stand side by side with him and whispered, "That's different. The battlefield is the place I'm most familiar with. You know, I seldom go back to Beijing."
Ji Yunhuan thought that it was Yuwen Yi's first time to experience such an occasion, so it was normal for him to be a little nervous, so he stayed.
The eunuch next to him was hesitant to speak, and wanted to say that this was against etiquette. If it was just the emperor and the empress, it would be fine, but why was General Ji standing on top?
Moreover, the emperor's decree was to let His Royal Highness Prince Yi take over the responsibility of lighting the sky lanterns, but he did not say that General Ji should join in.
Yuwen Yi glanced at him and said coldly, "Why don't you retreat!"
The eunuch dared not say a word. He bowed and retreated quickly.
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