You Ran was deeply moved; thankfully, it was him.
She then remembered something else, "I heard from my older sister a few days ago that Zhou Qingqian died a terrible death in the mines where she was exiled two years ago... Is this related to you?"
Yun Manwan came to chat with her that day, and the topic came up.
It is said that Zhou Qingqian, who was exiled thousands of miles away, was serving his sentence in a mine when a huge rock suddenly rolled down and broke his leg. He died from the pain after all medical treatment failed.
After he died, he was thrown into a mass grave and eaten by wild dogs.
By the time the Zhou family received the news, there was no trace of their bodies.
If you calculate the time, isn't it just shortly after Chu Heng regained his memories?
Chu Heng didn't hide it from her, "The day I woke up, the first thing I did was send someone to the Jingzhao Prefecture to check her files. I learned that she was serving her sentence in Liuzhou, and with the Zhou family's help along the way, she didn't suffer much. This woman was so vicious in her previous life, how could I let her get away with it?"
You Ran hugged him tightly. "I've heard that Yun Tianbai... has been quite unsuccessful in the army these past two years..."
Chu Heng readily admitted, "Yes, but he is, after all, your father's child. Although he was cold and ungrateful to you in your previous life, he never harmed you. So I just had someone keep him in check and prevent him from standing up for himself."
A hint of probing flashed in his eyes, "Could it be that You Ran is feeling sorry for him?"
You Ran quickly shook her head, "How could that be? It was all my doing that he was able to have a concubine enter the household and compete for the title of Lady of the Heir Apparent!"
Then there was a series of events that followed, including how she used Shi Wenxia to make it difficult for Wu Xinxin to have children, and how she guided Zhou Qingqian to imprison Shi Wenxia in that cellar by mistake, which eventually led to a lawsuit...
Isn't that enough to show her desire for revenge and her complete lack of attachment to Yun Tianbai?
Chu Heng finally calmed down, "Yes, in this life, let's live our lives well..."
She murmured, and her lips pressed against his again...
...
The two returned to the palace with the child, only to find Aunt Ruyi, who served Empress Dowager Zhou in Ning'an Palace, waiting anxiously not far away.
Upon seeing this, You Ran knew that Ning'an Palace was in turmoil again. Helplessly, she said to Chu Heng, "Your Majesty, you have important matters to attend to, so I will go to Ning'an Palace."
Chu Heng was also helpless, and squeezed her palm, "No need to force yourself. Father and Mother are used to arguing. They'll calm down in a couple of days."
After saying this, he led her down from the carriage and then walked towards the Hall of Diligent Governance.
You Ran helped Qianqian and Wanwan out of the carriage behind her before leading them toward Aunt Ruyi.
Aunt Ruyi was overjoyed at the sight and stepped forward to curtsy to everyone before whispering, "Your Majesty, please don't be offended. It's just that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has been angered again... This servant has no choice but to wait here."
You Ran asked, "What are Father and Mother arguing about this time?"
Aunt Ruyi glanced at her expression before whispering, "It's just... the Emperor Emeritus wanted to saw some wood, saying he wanted to make a cabinet for the Empress Dowager... but the Empress Dowager couldn't sleep well for two days because of the noise, and when she got up this morning and saw it, she said... this isn't a cabinet, it's practically a coffin... and the two of them had another fight..."
Leisurely rubbed his forehead.
Wanwan couldn't help but burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.
Qianqian's lips twitched violently, clearly trying to restrain herself. After a long while, she finally spoke the truth, "Grandfather and Grandmother were just bored out of their minds."
Isn't it just extreme boredom?
I heard that a few days before her wedding, the two of them had a huge argument over something trivial. If it weren't for the upcoming wedding, the retired emperor would have left the palace.
Aunt Ruyi wholeheartedly agreed, "The eldest prince is absolutely right."
But... the retired emperor was always busy, and after finally abdicating, he was busy traveling and looking for a daughter-in-law. Now that he's back in the palace, he has nothing to do and is naturally very bored!
What could they possibly do?!
The other day, the two elders had two grandchildren to play with, so they didn't have much to argue about.
The two children only spent half a day accompanying their mother on her homecoming visit, and the two elders have already started again.
But the children can't stay with them all the time. Next month, they will officially begin their early education!
You Ran quickly went through all the various toys she had seen to amuse herself when she was a ghost, and immediately had an idea.
She said to Aunt Ruyi, "Take the children to visit Mother first, comfort her, and don't let her get upset. I'll go back to Feng'an Palace to change my clothes and bring the things I prepared for Father and Mother."
Aunt Ruyi must have said so; she took the two children and left.
You Ran quickly returned to Feng'an Palace, changed her clothes, and exchanged a set of jade mahjong tiles from her bracelet before heading to Ning'an Palace.
Fortunately, mahjong, as a form of entertainment, is not an essential resource in the apocalypse and has long been phased out, so the point requirement is not high.
Upon arriving at Ning'an Palace, they indeed saw the Empress Dowager embracing Wanwan with comfort, while the Emperor Emeritus pulled Qianqian to sit at opposite ends of the Go table, teaching him how to play Go.
With a gentle smile, she stepped forward to greet him, and then asked Aunt Ruyi to bring up a square table with four chairs.
"Father, Mother, today I returned to the Yun residence. My fourth uncle brought me back a novel and interesting item. Please take a look."
Empress Dowager Zhou rolled her eyes at Emperor Shunqing, snorted, and said nothing.
Emperor Shunqing snorted and said in a gruff voice, "What is this? Don't make me see things that women like to admire."
He chuckled leisurely, "This requires four people to play. It's suitable for men, women, young and old, and everyone can enjoy it. Father and Mother, why don't you give it a try!"
At this moment, Aunt Ruyi brought in a table and four chairs with her people.
With a "clatter," You Ran dumped the jade mahjong set onto the table and gestured for Ruyi to sit down.
Ruyi was so frightened that she immediately knelt down and repeatedly said that she dared not.
You Ran pulled her up. "These are the rules of playing cards. If you don't sit down, do you expect Father and Mother to look up at you?"
Ruyi was so frightened that she almost knelt down.
Emperor Shunqing had already come over and said impatiently, "Sit down when I tell you to. Since it's a group of four, there's no need to distinguish between superiors and inferiors."
"Yes." Ruyi bowed and waited for Emperor Shunqing to sit down. She then helped Empress Dowager Zhou to sit down and called the chief eunuch beside Emperor Shunqing to sit down. Only then did Ruyi sit down tremblingly on a small part of the chair.
You Ran began explaining the rules and algorithms to the group, and then guided them through a round of practice. Seeing that they had all gotten the hang of it, she no longer cared about herself as the Empress or Qianqian and Wanwan beside her, and finally left satisfied.
Sure enough, Ning'an Palace truly became peaceful.
However, after only a couple of weeks of peace, things suddenly became lively again.
It turned out that the former concubines of Emperor Shunqing, upon hearing that there were new and interesting things in Ning'an Palace, and that even Emperor Shunqing and Empress Dowager Zhou were so engrossed in them that they completely forgot about their quarrels, mustered up their courage and came to Ning'an Palace to pay their respects.
Some imperial concubines even dared to go to the Empress's palace to pay their respects, subtly inquiring about her intentions.
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