Chapter 79
"Having said that, I would like to say one more thing!"
The old emperor no longer cared about the royal family's reputation. The pain in his back was as heavy as if he was carrying a dozen souls, pressing him so hard that he couldn't straighten his back.
He sat on the steps, looked at Que Ming and smiled sarcastically.
"Why did I let you go so easily back then? I've done it, and I should have done it to the end. If I had killed you then, you wouldn't be here to publicly humiliate me!"
He paused after saying this and pointed at the top scholar's bride who was supporting the eldest princess not far away, "You!"
"You've been fanning the flames behind the scenes, haven't you? I knew you were a disaster the first time I saw you!"
Everyone broke out in cold sweats at the emperor's questioning, but Yue Qingning stepped out from the crowd and smiled faintly at the elderly emperor.
"I'm certainly not someone you can easily get along with! Since Your Majesty has seen this, I might as well tell you that Yue Lingshuang has been taken in by my family since she was a child, and raised with the goal of becoming a scholar and an official. My father hasn't forgotten Lord Ling, and the world won't forget Lord Ling either! The Ling family has returned."
After so many years of hard work, the day finally came when the Ling family's injustice was finally redressed.
The old emperor couldn't help but laugh out loud after hearing her words. He sneered, "Do you think forcing me to admit it will work? How could Gong and Yuan let any of you off?"
He knew clearly that although he was stirring up trouble, the two factions had already reached a stage where they could not tolerate each other. Now, it was impossible for them to join Gong Heyuan, and these foreigners were narrow-minded and would not be able to tolerate others.
In the end, you can only stand on your own side.
At this moment, a roar of killing was heard at the door. Gong Heyuan thought that his people had finally arrived, and he could not wait to rush out of the palace to meet the army.
However, what was waiting for him was the Tiger and Leopard Battalion led by Cui Jing to come to the rescue.
He looked behind him in a daze, and saw Cui Bo, who was kneeling on the ground, patted his sleeves and stood up, staring at him with very cold eyes. The light flashing in his eyes was like that of a hawk, and in his clear-headedness, he was determined to take the other person's life.
It turned out that it was all just a fantasy in which he was trapped in a fabricated lie.
Gong Heyuan was holding the long sword, and his hands were shaking so much that he couldn't even hold the hilt.
He sighed deeply and waved to the queen who had been following him. The queen had not yet recovered from her shock and was about to lean over to lean on him when she saw that Brother Yuan, who had always treated her gently, pierced her stomach with a sword.
Before she could react, she heard the prince crying out "Mother" in sorrow from behind.
My hands began to feel cold, and I gradually lost the ability to hold his sleeves tightly.
Gong Heyuan looked indifferently at the delicate face before him, which had lost its color, and said to her in a deep voice, "Wait for me, little sister. I will kill the dog emperor and go down with you."
After saying that, he left the prince and the others and rushed straight towards the emperor. As the swords flashed, everyone covered their mouths in fear.
The old emperor was so frightened that he hurriedly hid behind himself. There was a dull thud, and someone intercepted the sword in front of the emperor that was determined to kill him at all costs.
Gong Heyuan felt a warm sensation in his abdomen and he quickly looked down.
Xiao Heng threw himself forward and blocked the crucial attack on the emperor with his sword. The coldness in his stomach came from Ling, whom he had always disliked. He held the knife in his hand and cut open his stomach fiercely.
With a flick of the dagger, he sheathed the blade neatly and put it back into his sleeve.
Only then did Gong Heyuan see the anger and coldness in his eyes. That was the true side of the top scholar that he had never shown to anyone.
He had planned for this moment for so many years, and he was determined to kill with one strike.
At the same time as Qingyuan Hou fell, the remaining remnants outside the door were also cleaned up, and those who were still alive were tied up and awaited their fate.
Seeing that the threat was finally gone, the old emperor stood up tremblingly and continued to give instructions to the group of people in front of him.
He yelled, "Execute these rebels immediately! Cut off their heads!"
But no one listened to him. Everyone's eyes were on His Royal Highness Prince Shou who was just a few feet in front of him.
"Rebellion! You guys are rebelling!"
He was furious and wanted to grab the sword from behind to kill the soldiers who disobeyed him, but the loyal Yulin Guards behind him also took a step back at this time.
He got nothing, rushed forward, stood in front of Prince Shou with a hunched figure, and slapped him hard.
"You want to rebel against your father too, right?"
Unexpectedly, Prince Shou was not angry at the humiliation he suffered, but grinned instead.
He lowered his head, accommodating this fifty-year-old man, whose neck was buried in yellow earth, and said in a deep voice, "It was you who despised my mother's humble status and abandoned me to the Zen temple. Now, what good ending do you expect from you?"
The old emperor froze for a moment. When he had the ability and means, he toyed with these ministers and royal heirs at will, and never thought that one day he would fall into the hands of others.
How he treated them was how they would repay him.
"It's a rebellion!" he shouted in horror.
They started shouting "help me!" again, but others thought that the old emperor had been frightened to madness by the rebels, and they would not even listen to his orders, and knelt down to wait for Prince Shou's orders.
"Everyone listen!"
When Prince Shou shouted, all the ministers and soldiers responded with thunderous shouts, which shocked the old emperor so much that his ears became swollen and buzzed.
"Now that the rebel leader Gong Heyuan is dead, the rest of the rebels are imprisoned and awaiting their fate!"
He turned around, looked at the emperor who was still trembling on the ground, and said, "Father has been injured by the rebels and has become mentally unstable. From now on, he will be moved to Chengxin Palace to recuperate. No one is allowed to visit without imperial decree."
When the emperor heard this, he opened his eyes wide and was about to curse back, but Su Fu, who had simply bandaged the wound, quickly stepped forward and covered his mouth, so that he could not even shout "rebellious son".
He could only watch as everyone kowtowed to the new emperor, and was so angry that he finally fainted.
——
Soon after, news came from the palace that the emperor had written a letter of abdication.
But it was definitely not written by the emperor. Everyone knew this and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in their hearts.
After this, the eldest princess also woke up slowly. She looked at the younger generations waiting for her beside her, and breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the news. But then she fell ill and could never get out of bed again.
She knew that her time was up, and she also knew that Brother Xi couldn't bear it any longer and was coming to find her and leave together.
So before leaving, she left Qingning alone and told her story of how she and Brother Xi met and fell in love.
Qingning burst into tears when she heard this. She knew that her grandmother really couldn't hold on this time. She felt very reluctant, and many past experiences fell on her shoulders like snowflakes, weighing her down and making her cry so hard that she couldn't get up.
"Silly child, why are you crying? My body is too heavy. I can't walk anymore."
As the eldest princess spoke, she pulled her to her side and touched her still dark hair.
"You've grown up, it's time to live your own life. Stop busying yourself for others. Think more about yourself when you have time!"
Yue Qingning raised her head as if sensing something, and heard the eldest princess whisper a question in her ear. After she answered, the eldest princess said, "Go and call Ah Heng in."
Outside the courtyard, all the Yue family members came to the Princess's residence, as well as the Duke of Protector's residence, which was later visited by Cui Hu and the Princess because of their close admiration. The imperial physician Teng Yan and his daughter, as well as Que Ming, were also here.
He stood in the yard and saw his wife with swollen eyes from crying. He walked forward and supported her with concern.
"Grief is detrimental to your health. Seeing you like this, the princess will be even more reluctant to see the person she wants to see."
Yue Qingning raised her head, her eyes were red and swollen. She looked at his face and couldn't help but throw herself into his arms and cry for a long time.
Until the new emperor walked out of the house, looked at her with a complicated expression, and said.
"My aunt... passed away!"
Yue Qingning's eyes suddenly went dark, and it was Que Ming who held her tightly in front of him, preventing her from falling to the ground.
She clutched Que Ming's blue shirt tightly, tears pouring out like a torrent, these tears were for both her grandmother and herself.
From now on she has to walk her own path.
After the eldest princess's funeral, Que Ming suddenly resigned from his post in the court to the new emperor. At the same time, Yue Qingning also bid farewell to his parents and relatives at home and made his final plans.
His mother, Mrs. Zhong, was very reluctant to let him go and asked, "Why do you have to leave the capital?"
But his father had already seen through it and told his wife frankly, "Qingning is afraid of the new emperor. Not to mention how they've brought shame upon the royal family in court, the fact that the emperor values Qingning is a huge hidden danger. The eldest princess told me long ago that if things have been resolved peacefully to this point, we must not let the new emperor become the guilty party due to a single change of mind!"
Yue Qingning also nodded. She only began to understand a little about her love for Xiao Heng before the eldest princess died.
She never expected that Xiao Heng, who had always sacrificed her for his own benefit, would really care about her.
Now Que Ming is no longer suitable to be in the court. The two of them are always under the emperor's nose in the capital. Who knows one day they might anger the emperor, and it will be too late to say anything then. It is better to take advantage of the right time and go away so that he can turn a blind eye to them.
That evening, she packed her bags and, after Qingzhu's repeated requests, she took Qingzhu with her and waited at the gate.
The carriage was ready at the door. She was actually a little unsure whether Xiao Heng would really let him come back, but since Que Ming said he was okay, she believed that he must be okay.
In the distance, a simple horse-drawn carriage drove over. She thought it was Que Ming and walked forward anxiously.
However, she did not expect that when she lifted the curtain of the carriage, she would see the emperor who should be in the deep palace at that moment.
She paused for a moment, hesitantly stepped forward and bowed gently. The emperor immediately got out of the car and helped her up.
"Your Majesty..." She wanted to ask where Que Ming was, but she knew very well that she shouldn't mention him at this moment.
The emperor seemed to know her purpose, but he did not respond. He just looked her up and down carefully, then reached out and held her hand in his palm. The two of them walked away hand in hand as if they were taking a walk.
She pulled her hand away, unable to resist his strength.
But he still seemed unaware and led her for a quiet stroll along the willow bank on the river bank.
"His Majesty!"
After she called him again, he finally came back to his senses. Seeing her red eyes, he knew that he had embarrassed her again.
But this time, he did it for his own sake.
He glanced at his cold fingers clenched in his palm and chuckled softly, "I've never been alone with you for a moment, quietly, without thinking about anything. It seems I'm greedy."
Having said that, he let go of her hand. Yue Qingning rubbed her fingertips and felt the pain from being pinched by him. He seemed to understand that this was the last time they would see each other, and he tried his best to hold her tightly.
Yue Qingning was speechless. He was the emperor now, and he was afraid that saying anything more would be wrong, for fear of implicating Que Ming.
But the emperor seemed to have come to terms with it. He looked out at the river and said to her, "My aunt made me swear not to break up your marriage and not to take you into the harem. Otherwise, my descendants will suffer misfortune and two generations will perish!"
"She is so cruel!"
The truth that seemed to be revealed unintentionally shocked Qingning even more. She didn't expect that her grandmother was still thinking about her before she passed away!
Hot tears immediately rolled down her cheeks, and she couldn't help but feel sad. But the cold-faced man in front of her was looking at her expression. He wanted to see even a trace of truth in her eyes, which would make him break his oath and commit a sin.
So Yue Qingning could no longer show her vulnerability. She glared at him angrily with a cruel heart, her eyes seemed to be spewing fire from the bottom of her heart. She listed all the things he had done to plot against her in the past and explained them clearly to him.
There was no way she could stay by his side.
After the emperor saw this clearly, he sighed sadly, grinned bitterly, and left.
Not long after the emperor left, Que Ming was released.
He looked at her and smiled sweetly, then hugged her fiercely when he came closer.
Yue Qingning saw a lot of dust on him, she patted him with tears in her eyes and said.
"let's go!"
Que Ming nodded solemnly, took her hand and helped her into the carriage.
After that, the two of them traveled around the country, investigating the deeds of the deceased loyal ministers and generals such as Lord Ling, General Ling, his son-in-law, Cui Hu, etc., and made detailed notes. Later, they compiled them and presented them to the emperor, which praised them as Mingdelu, and they were widely circulated throughout the country.
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