Prior to this, Hongli had not revealed anything, only telling her half a month before his departure.
Since being with him, Yu Shan has only visited the Summer Palace, the Mulan Hunting Ground, and the Old Summer Palace; she has not traveled far.
This time he actually wants to go to Jiangnan. Yu Shan is not from Jiangnan, but the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan is what she longs for.
The beauty of the Summer Palace was built according to the style of Jiangnan gardens, but it is ultimately not the real Jiangnan!
This arrangement was indeed a huge surprise for Yu Shan!
On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, after the Lantern Festival, Hongli, accompanied by the Empress Dowager, the Imperial Noble Consort, and others, set off from the capital to tour the Jiangnan region.
Yu Shan originally wanted to take all the children with her, but Hongli intended to train Yonghuang, so he left Yonghuang in the capital to assist the court officials in governing the country. As for the other four children, even Rongyu, who was married, Hongli specially allowed her to go to Jiangnan with her husband.
During their trip, the observant Su Yushan noticed that her daughter's relationship with Lezhuer seemed to have improved somewhat. She even smiled in front of him, indicating that Lezhuer had won Rong Yu's heart. This made Yushan very happy.
While they could all focus on their travels, Hongli still had to pay attention to people's livelihoods and political affairs. During his southern tour, Hongli exempted Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Henan and other places from arrears and extra taxes, inspected the river works and sluice gates, provided disaster relief to the prefectures and counties in the Jiangnan region, and did not forget to deal with memorials and formulate the regulations for the post-disaster relief of Tibet.
Watching his busy figure all day long, Yu Shan knew what price he would have to pay to accompany her to Suzhou!
He had to accompany her and the children on outings while also handling state affairs, which was truly exhausting! But Hongli didn't complain at all. As long as Yushan was having fun, all the hardship and fatigue were worth it.
The birth of an Imperial Noble Consort in Suzhou was a source of great pride for the city. Upon hearing that the Imperial Noble Consort was returning to Suzhou, the people were eager to see her. Unfortunately, the emperor's travels were very particular, with many soldiers guarding the area or the area being cleared in advance, so the people never had the chance to see the Imperial Noble Consort.
Along the way, she traveled and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the country. Most importantly, her family was by her side. Su Yushan felt content with her life.
If her future path continues to be this smooth, then all the suffering she endured in the first half of her life will have been worthwhile.
Unfortunately, unforeseen events can happen at any time, and unexpected changes can always occur!
On the way back, the group rested and took a break. As Hongli and Yushan were standing by the lake admiring the lotus leaves, they were suddenly ambushed. A group of assassins sprang out of the lake and tried to kill Hongli!
This scene came too suddenly. Hongli immediately shielded Yushan in his arms. Su Yushan was terrified and subconsciously looked back to look for the children. Fortunately, the imperial guards reacted quickly and dispersed to protect the emperor and the imperial concubine!
Upon seeing this, Fu Qing immediately came to protect the emperor, and the imperial son-in-law Lezhuer also drew his sword to help!
Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager, Consort Rong, and Rong Yu were also surrounded by guards. She was worried about her mother's safety and wanted to go over, but Yongzhang held her tightly.
"Sister, Father said not to act rashly. You can't help them at all if you go there; you'll only distract them from protecting you. Stay here and don't cause any trouble!"
Yongzhang actually wanted to go and help, but his father told him to stay here and protect the Empress Dowager and his sisters, so he could only obey his father's arrangements.
There were about twenty assassins. They were highly skilled in martial arts, but they were no match for the many imperial guards. Unless they could get close to the emperor as quickly as possible, they would be surrounded and killed!
After a fierce battle, the assassins lost their best opportunity to carry out their assassination. Outnumbered, they were killed one by one. A few tried to escape but were relentlessly pursued by the guards.
The surroundings finally returned to calm. Yu Shan was pale with fright. The guards respectfully invited the Emperor and the Imperial Noble Consort to board the imperial carriage first, as they prepared to clean up the scene. Throughout, Hongli held Yu Shan's hand tightly, constantly comforting her.
"Don't be afraid, it's alright now."
Fu Qing was still worried, so he looked back at his surroundings. Just then, he noticed that the assassin's corpse lying on the ground suddenly moved!
The man, whose throat had been slit, was still alive. He pulled out a hidden weapon and shot it toward the emperor and the imperial concubine!
Fu Qing's heart was pounding. Without thinking, she instinctively shielded the two of them behind her and shouted "Be careful!"
By the time everyone reacted, the hidden weapon had already pierced Fu Qing's back!
The intense stinging pain made Fu Qing dizzy for a moment, but he gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, gritted his teeth and endured it, spreading his arms to protect the emperor and the imperial concubine.
Upon seeing this, Yu Shan cried out softly, "Lord Fu... Lord Fu!"
When a high-ranking official was injured, Emperor Hongli was furious. He immediately ordered Fu Qing to be sent for treatment and then ordered a thorough investigation and interrogation of the survivors to find out the origins of these assassins!
Such an accident suddenly occurred during the trip, and everyone became tense, losing their interest in enjoying the scenery.
The Empress Dowager was quite frightened. She suggested speeding up the journey and returning to the palace as soon as possible, as it was far too unsafe outside the palace. She only had one son, and if something happened to the Emperor, what would become of the Qing Dynasty?
Even though she had been settled in a nearby palace, Yu Shan still felt lingering fear and unease whenever she recalled the events of that time.
If Fu Qing hadn't come to her rescue in time, she didn't know whether it would be Hongli or her who was injured. She was glad that Hongli had escaped a disaster, but she was also worried that something might have happened to Fu Qing.
Yu Shan was filled with worry. The children stayed by their mother's side until the Emperor arrived, at which point they left.
Hongli rubbed his temples, looking very tired.
Yu Shan asked him if he had found anything, and Hongli angrily rebuked, "It's the Heaven and Earth Society again! These people are like persistent ghosts!"
The Heaven and Earth Society? This folk organization has always been under the banner of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming. Now that the world is peaceful and prosperous and the people are living in peace and contentment, Yu Shan really can't understand why the Heaven and Earth Society is so persistent and insists on fighting against the Qing.
In truth, she really wanted to ask about Fu Qing's injuries, but she didn't dare to speak up, fearing that Hongli would become suspicious.
Just then, Hongli suddenly spoke, sighing deeply, "Fu Qing saved the Emperor, and we owe him a great debt of gratitude this time. It's just a pity that the imperial physician said the hidden weapon was poisoned, and I'm afraid his life is in danger..."
What? The hidden weapon is poisoned?
She thought Fu Qing was just injured and would be fine after being bandaged up, but she never expected it to be so serious, so serious that it was life-threatening!
Unable to accept it, Su Yushan felt a pang of bitterness in her heart, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes!
Hearing her soft sobs, Hongli looked up and saw tears rolling down her face. In that instant, anger surged into Hongli's heart and exploded.
"You cried? You're shedding tears for him?"
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