The emperor recovered from his illness quickly. At the same time, he once again brought up the case of Empress Du's murder of the royal heir and sent his trusted ministers to investigate it thoroughly. It has been more than three years and almost four years since the incident, and much of the evidence has been erased, but the officials in charge of the investigation still found some clues and traced them back to the Fifth Prince and his mother.
When the news reached Lin'an Prefecture, the Emperor fell ill again. He forced Empress Du to stay in the palace and would not let her leave. He made her apologize and plead guilty every day, threatening to die, using all sorts of tactics to torture her.
Empress Du was unable to return to the Taoist temple for half a month, and all the things she had left in the temple were packed up and taken away by the emperor's trusted eunuchs. If nothing unexpected happens, when the emperor returns to the palace, she should go back with him.
The Du Mansion was still deserted, and the wealthy families in Lin'an Prefecture were all watching the emperor's attitude. If he really reconciles with Queen Du, it won't be too late for them to make friends with the Du brothers and sisters. But even so, compared with Concubine Min who gave birth to a prince, Empress Du was still not important enough. Her position as queen had been abolished, and even if the emperor took her back, it would be impossible for her to regain her former glory. Who could stand looking at her scarred, hideous face all day long?
All the undercurrents are buried beneath the surface of peace and prosperity. Everyone was watching or spying, except Lin Dan and Du Ruyan who were doing business heartlessly.
"Dandan, our brocade is ready. When are we going to take it to the store to sell? I don't care, you have to make me a dress like Xu Qian's! I heard that my aunt might be able to follow the emperor back to the palace, so those cloth merchants came to me with smug faces, wanting to sell me the best cloth in their stores. Bah! When our brocade can be mass-produced, I will kick them away, just like they kicked us away!" Du Ruyan made a kicking gesture while arranging the embroidery frame, with an indignant expression.
"Okay, I'll make you a new dress when I'm free. Is Aunt Du really going to follow the emperor back to the palace?" Lin Dan was rarely curious about a person's fate.
"I don't know what she's thinking either." Du Ruyan sighed, "She has changed a lot. I can't figure out her thoughts any more."
"Forget it if you don't know. Go get the account book and see how much money we've earned recently." Lin Dan couldn't help rubbing his hands.
"Okay, okay, I'll take it out and settle the bill right away." When talking about money, Du Ruyan's gloomy expression was immediately replaced by excitement. In this world, there is no pain that cannot be healed by money, especially when this money is earned by them with every penny of hard work.
The two of them held an account book in their hands, counting slowly with their heads touching each other. Their expressions were very serious, but their eyes were sparkling. Du Rushong stood at the door for a long time. Seeing that they hadn't noticed him yet, he chuckled helplessly, "You two are really obsessed with money."
"Oh, brother, you're here!" Du Ruyan waved his hand without even raising his head.
"Du Rushong, is there something wrong?" Lin Dan stood up and greeted him, but his eyes were fixed on the account book reluctantly.
"I'd like to order a set of clothes." Du Rushong walked up to her with a smile as warm as the spring breeze.
"Okay, I'll write two orders for you. What style, color, and pattern do you like?" Lin Dan took out a small notebook and carefully wrote down Du Rushong's requirements. Then he wrote his size in the lower left corner.
"Make a deep-collared gown, black in color, with auspicious cloud patterns," Du Rushong coughed and whispered, "I've gotten stronger recently, so my size may have changed. Can you measure it for me again, Dan'er?"
Lin Dan did not doubt him, took Du Rushong to the inner room, took out a tape measure and measured carefully, then nodded and said: "He has really grown stronger, and his chest circumference has increased by half an inch."
Du Rushong lowered his eyes and looked at her serious face, then said slowly: "Dan'er, you once said that you wanted to open an embroidery shop in the capital. If I ask you, are you willing to go with me? You don't have to worry about anything, I will help you find a shop and staff."
Lin Dan was stunned for a while before hesitating and said, "Du Rushong, I'm living well in Lin'an Prefecture, why should I leave with you?"
Du Rushong took a deep breath and said carefully: "Dan'er, what I mean is, are you willing to marry me?"
Lin Dan raised his head with his eyes wide open, obviously not expecting him to make such a request. After a long while, she shook her head and said, "I don't want to. My mother wants me to find a live-in husband. If I get married, who will inherit the family business I worked so hard to earn?"
Du Rushong looked at her face, which was surprised but not delighted. In his heart, he felt regret and disappointment, as well as a sense of helplessness as if he had accepted his fate. If Lin Dan could fall in love with me, why would she wait until today? But it didn't matter, as long as he could be with her, as long as he could watch over her and protect her, he had no more requests.
"I understand." Du Rushong nodded slowly, then bravely hugged the petite girl in his arms.
Lin Dan bumped into his chest unexpectedly, her forehead and nose turned red, and her confused expression made Du Rushong chuckle. He tightened his arms, then quickly released them, then walked out without saying a word.
After a long while, Du Ruyan walked in quietly and asked curiously, "Dandan, are you my sister-in-law?"
"I won't marry. I only marry a man who lives with me." Lin Dan was very persistent about this. It didn't matter to her whether she got married or not, but if she wanted to fulfill the wish of Lin Dafu and Zhang Hui, she must find a son-in-law and have a child, otherwise the Lin family would have no descendants.
Du Ruyan pursed her lips in disappointment, but didn't know what to say. The two of them walked outside and absentmindedly counted the bill. They were happy to find that the sales had increased a lot.
"Let's go home!" Du Ruyan locked the account book in the cabinet with a happy expression.
"Take out some change, let's go for a walk on the street and buy some embroidery thread." Lin Dan rubbed her hands.
"How can one silver coin be enough? If you want to take something, just take a big one." Du Ruyan picked and picked in the money box, and finally picked out a ten-liang silver ingot. The two men hid the coin box in the secret compartment under the floor tiles like mice that had stolen oil, and then sneaked out through the back corner door. If someone who didn't know them saw them, they would never think that they were the owners of the store, but would think they were thieves from somewhere.
The two of them walked and played along Zhuque Street. Suddenly, Du Ruyan stopped, and quickly pulled Lin Dan into an empty alley. She lowered her voice and said, "Don't make a sound. My brother and the emperor are in the restaurant in front! I don't want to see the emperor. Let's take another route."
She still remembered vividly the emperor's ruthless behavior and didn't want to see his hypocritical face at all.
"This is a dead end. Let's go to another alley." Lin Dan pointed to the opposite side.
The two were about to sneak away when they saw Li Jiarong walking slowly towards them from the other end of the street with a haughty expression on her face. She would frown and fan her nose when passing by passers-by, as if she simply couldn't stand being too close to these untouchables. Meng Si followed her closely, like a little maid. Obviously, they did not notice that the emperor was also on this street, otherwise they would not have behaved like this.
"Let's not leave!" Du Ruyan immediately changed her mind, "Let's go play with Li Jiarong."
"How do you play?" Lin Dan was pulled out by Du Ruyan as soon as she finished speaking. The two men walked straight towards Li Jiarong with their heads down, and then bumped into her.
"Are you blind? Can't you see the road?" Li Jiarong pushed the two people away fiercely. When she saw their faces clearly, she immediately showed an expression of disgust.
"It was you who bumped into us first. You are the one who didn't have eyes, right?" Du Ruyan said in a low voice, "Li Jiarong, why are you so proud? My aunt will be returning to the capital soon. Before long, I will still be stepping on you."
Li Jiarong was instantly enraged and screamed at the top of her voice: "That bitch Du's face is ruined, and she still wants to return to the capital. She's dreaming! My aunt can bring her down once, and she can bring her down twice. You and Du Rushong can't escape either! As long as you stay in this Lin'an Prefecture, I can trample you however I want! Want to fight me? Let's see if you can survive! That bitch Du is clearly a hen that can't lay eggs, but my aunt has already given birth to the ninth prince. How can she compare with my aunt? When my aunt goes one step further in the future..."
Before she finished her words, she heard a stern rebuke from upstairs across the street: "Evil girl, shut up!"
She looked up and her face turned pale. I saw the emperor standing by the window, looking at me with a sinister look. Behind him stood Li Ran, Li Xiudian, Du Rushong, the eldest prince and others. The scolding came from Li Ran, who was looking over with a sullen face, his lips trembling slightly with anger.
"Emperor..." She had just uttered a word when Du Ruyan covered her mouth.
"Uncle, you are here too?" Du Ruyan greeted with a smile, as if she had just seen the group of people.
The gloomy emperor was pleased by the long-lost uncle. Seeing that she was so smart and knew how to cover up his identity, his expression softened. "We will eat here. Are you hungry, Yan'er? Come up and eat with your uncle."
"No, no, my sisters and I are going to the Liyuan Opera to listen to opera. We don't want to have dinner with you. It's boring." Du Ruyan pulled Lin Dan away, leaving Li Jiarong standing there with cold hands and feet. Du Ruyan grew up in the palace and has an extraordinary relationship with the emperor. She dared to joke with the emperor and leave without saying goodbye, but Li Jiarong didn't even have the courage to look her in the eye. This is the difference between a real socialite and a wild phoenix.
The emperor looked at Du Ruyan's back, shook his head and laughed, his expression extremely doting. When he looked at Li Jiarong again, his eyes instantly froze into ice: "Du bitch? Destroy her? Go one step further?" He turned to look at Li Ran, and said word by word: "It seems that there are many things I haven't figured out yet, Li Aiqing, don't you think so?"
Li Ran and Li Xiudian immediately knelt down, cold sweat pouring out of their bodies.
The emperor stared at their dark heads with deep eyes. The truth behind Fan Ge's frame-up must be more complicated than what appears on the surface. And how can Concubine Min's family go further? Do you want to be the queen or the queen mother?
As his health became increasingly weak, the emperor's attitude towards these princes and concubines gradually changed from pampering to defense. After looking around, the only person he could trust was Empress Du, who was infertile throughout her life, her mother's family had lost power, and who was devoted to him. However, he even lost such a person...
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