The Queen Mother is old now, and she might forget about it when spring comes...

Emperor Jingming was thinking.

The Queen Mother looked at Emperor Jingming deeply and broke his beautiful fantasy: "There have been many things going on recently. I want to go to Dafu Temple to pray for peace and harmony in the coming year. Isn't it too late to go in the spring?"

"But it's freezing outside, and I'm worried about my son if you leave the palace..." Emperor Jingming struggled.

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Dafu Temple is right in the city, and it is also a royal temple. Why should we be worried? I know that the Emperor has been in a lot of trouble recently, and this time I am going to ask for help for him."

Emperor Jingming was touched and said, "Mother, I cannot bear to see you travel so far."

The Empress Dowager's face turned serious. "How can going to Dafu Temple to burn incense be called a hassle? Your Majesty, please stop trying to persuade me. I will feel uneasy if I don't go once."

Emperor Jingming seldom said no to the Empress Dowager, so seeing that she insisted, he had no choice but to agree.

"Then I order Han Ran to accompany you."

"Why mobilize so many troops? I plan to go quietly and take fewer people with me."

"Then it's up to you." Emperor Jingming said this, but he had made up his mind to ask someone to escort him secretly.

The Empress Dowager then smiled and said, "It's the end of the year, and all government offices are about to be closed. Your Majesty should stop staying in the study all day to read memorials. There is no time to read all the endless memorials. Put these aside for now and relax for a few days."

Pan Hai, who was standing behind Emperor Jingming, lowered his head silently.

He stayed in Yu's study all day long, reading memorials...

Emperor Jingming glanced at Pan Hai, coughed and said, "My son knows, and he won't tire himself out."

"I feel relieved now that Your Majesty knows that Lao and Yi have joined forces." The Queen Mother turned the Buddhist beads in her hand, remembering Princess Rongyang's words about the disrespect of Princess Yan, but still did not mention a word to Emperor Jingming.

The fact that the Empress Dowager was able to gain Emperor Jingming's heartfelt respect and filial piety was of course related to her sense of propriety.

Over the years, the Empress Dowager seldom mentioned matters of the court in front of Emperor Jingming. For example, now that the Crown Prince had been deposed and the throne was vacant, the Empress Dowager had not said a single word.

Therefore, if the empress dowager really mentioned something bad about a person, it would carry a lot of weight in the eyes of Emperor Jingming.

Stopping the spinning of the beads, the Queen Mother said with a smile, "Your Majesty, please go and do your work. I am a little tired."

After Emperor Jingming left, the empress dowager leaned against the incense burner and closed her eyes.

An old maid brought a soft pillow and placed it behind the Queen Mother.

Soon a maid came in and reported: "Queen Mother, Princess Rongyang is here."

The Queen Mother opened her eyes and said, "Let her in."

A moment later, the embroidered cotton curtain was lifted by a palace maid, and Princess Rongyang, dressed in red, walked in gracefully.

Her gaze fell on Princess Rongyang's slightly red eyes, and the Queen Mother asked, "What's wrong?"

Princess Rongyang came over and fell on the Queen Mother's knees: "Mother, I dreamed of the bright moon..."

"Did you dream about the bright moon?" The Queen Mother's first reaction was to frown.

Even though she had loved her granddaughter who killed her newlywed husband and then fled, that feeling is gone now.

Princess Rongyang's eyes were filled with tears: "I dreamed that Mingyue's seven orifices were bleeding, and her death was extremely tragic... Mother, Mingyue must have been in trouble!"

The Queen Mother felt her scalp tingling after hearing this, and said, "Don't let your imagination run wild."

"Mother, mother and daughter are connected by heart. My feelings will not lie. Mingyue did not escape at all, but was harmed by someone..."

The Queen Mother still felt sorry for her only adopted daughter. Seeing her sigh, she said, "Well, I plan to go to Dafu Temple to burn incense tomorrow. If you feel uneasy, go with me."

A flash of joy flashed across Princess Rongyang's eyes, and she quickly responded.

The next day was a fine day.

The winter sun was rarely bright, melting the snow that had accumulated in the corners of the walls, and the icy branches were dripping with water.

Princess Rongyang had been waiting outside early, and together with the empress dowager, she left the palace and headed for Dafu Temple.

The Queen Mother did not plan to make a grand ceremony, so she rode in a carriage with Princess Rongyang. She did not bring many palace maids with her, and there was no royal emblem on the carriage.

On the way to Daifukuji Temple, the carriage was blocked by people watching the excitement ahead.

"What's going on?" the Queen Mother asked with a frown.

Princess Rongyang lifted the curtain and said a few words to the palace maid standing beside the car.

The palace maid nodded, ran into the crowd to inquire, and came back soon, reporting: "A young man is holding a young wife and insisting that she go with him..."

"Is there no one in charge?" asked Princess Rongyang.

The palace maid hesitated for a moment.

The Queen Mother had a calm expression and closed her eyes, not showing much interest in listening.

It's inevitable that playboys would tease decent girls. If she was curious about everything and worried about it, it would be too tiring.

The empress dowager, who has been in the palace for many years, has already developed a body of iron and steel.

Princess Rongyang was a little more curious than the Queen Mother: "Is there something you can't say?"

The palace servant said, "That person said he was a relative of Princess Yan. If anyone dares to meddle in other people's business, that person will be punished."

The Queen Mother opened her eyes and asked, "Relatives of the Princess of Yan?"

On the one hand, she had a preconceived bad impression of Jiang Si, and on the other hand, Princess Rongyang occasionally suggested otherwise. Naturally, the Queen Mother had no good feelings towards Jiang Si and even disliked him.

But she was patient and was not prepared to say anything in front of Emperor Jingming for a small matter. But if there was a chance to criticize Princess Yan, she would still be happy to do so.

Suddenly there was a commotion and someone shouted, "Someone's dead—"

Many people rushed forward, and many people ran backwards, and the scene was a bit chaotic for a while.

The guards immediately pulled the carriage back.

The Queen Mother's face darkened completely: "Go and check the situation. If someone is killed, do the people from the Five Cities Military Department just sit there and do nothing?"

Just as he was speaking, he saw a group of officers rushing over, and the lead officer shouted from a distance: "Get out of the way! Where is the villain who molested the decent girl now?"

As soon as the police arrived, the people who were watching the excitement immediately moved to the sides, revealing what was happening inside.

The situation is somewhat dire.

A young man in his early twenties was staring at a certain place in a daze. Following his line of sight, I saw a slender woman lying at the base of the wall.

The woman's face was tilted to one side, her forehead was slumped, and the gushing blood had already blurred her appearance.

The onlookers were shocked, angry, and talking a lot. Their instinct to watch the excitement seemed to have taken root under their feet, and they stood still.

The leading officer was stunned for a moment, then became furious: "Come here, arrest this murderer!"

He was just flirting with a decent girl, how come someone got killed? Can't we celebrate the New Year properly?

Seeing two officers approaching and holding his shoulders, the young man immediately struggled, "Let me go. I didn't kill the man. Why are you arresting me?"

"You didn't kill the person, but you forced him to death!" Someone in the crowd finally shouted.

The onlookers immediately agreed.

The young man wiped his face and said, "I just asked her for directions, but I didn't force her. Sir, you may not know that I am the cousin of Princess Yan."