The emperor finally returned with the eldest prince, and the prominent families in Lin'an Prefecture came to see him off. Li Ran, who had been treated coldly for many days, finally breathed a sigh of relief and thought secretly: Fortunately, the emperor did not take Queen Du back. Fortunately, the Li family cleaned up those things back then very well, otherwise we would be in trouble now.
But even so, the emperor might have already begun to doubt Concubine Min and the Li family. The future of the Ninth Prince is still unpredictable. This is what Li Ran is most worried about. As for Empress Du, who reconciled with the emperor and cleared her name, he did not take her seriously. What does it matter if a woman with a ruined appearance was once favored by the emperor? Could she ever return to the capital and climb back to the throne? The Great Zhou Kingdom had never had a queen mother deposed and then reinstated, nor had it had the practice of having a disfigured person become queen.
When the emperor came, he let Empress Du accompany him every day, only because he felt guilty. Otherwise, why would he not take her with him when he left? As the saying goes, words spoken cannot be changed. Once deposed, she is deposed. Empress Du will never be able to turn things around in her life. Thinking of this, the official who went to see them off immediately gave up the idea of making friends with the Du brothers and sisters.
The time for departure was approaching. The emperor turned around and tried to search among the crowd, but he could not find the figure he had been waiting for so long. The pain and reluctance in his heart were simply beyond words.
"Why didn't Rusong and Ruyan come?" he asked in a low voice.
The eldest prince knew who he really wanted to ask, and quickly stepped forward to reply: "Your Majesty, Madam Du is ill, and the two of them are now accompanying Madam Du in the Taoist temple, so they can't come."
"What Du?" The emperor said in a cold tone, "That's your mother! How long has she been away from the imperial city? Have you forgotten her? She raised you with her own hands. When you were a child, a cold evil entered your body and caused a high fever that could never be reduced. It was she who stayed by your bed all night and applied cold compresses to you. Don't you remember anything at all?"
"I remember everything, but she is not the queen after all. As the saying goes, there is a difference between the monarch and the ministers. How dare I address her casually?" The eldest prince bowed his head and said, "Father, the time is almost up. Let's go. The Qiwu Palace has long been owned by someone else. There is no place for Madam Du in the palace. Please leave her here and let her live the rest of her life in peace. Didn't you hear her say that the life she has now is what she wants most?"
"That was something she said against her will. It's not true!" the emperor said angrily, lowering his voice.
The father and son immediately started arguing. The ministers were too far away to hear what they were saying, but they also had many speculations about the relationship between the father and son.
Li Ran stared at the imperial carriage with gloomy eyes. Although he was the governor of Zhejiang Province and the chief official of a place, he could not even get close to the emperor. His position was arranged behind officials such as the governor of Fantai and the governor of Neitai. It can be seen that the emperor's trust in him has been greatly reduced. Before he could gain a firm foothold in Zhejiang Province, he faced the danger of being sidelined. All this was due to the remnants of the Du family and Li Jiarong.
Thinking of this, Li Ran lowered his head with a sinister look on his face.
The emperor had been poured cold water by the eldest prince several times, and his heart was already cold. Upon hearing the news that the fleet was ready to set sail, he immediately waved his hand and said, "Wait a moment, postpone the departure for half an hour." These days, Fan Ge had been staying by his side and taking good care of him. He absolutely did not believe that she had no feelings for him at all. When she heard that he was leaving, she would come to see him as long as she felt reluctant to let him go. As long as she comes, he will never let her leave!
With this thought in mind, the emperor stood at the dock for a long time, one hour, two hours, until the sun set and night fell, but Empress Du did not appear... The emperor kept looking in the direction of the Taoist temple, his wide robe rustling in the cold river breeze, making him feel unstable and shaky.
The eldest prince gritted his teeth and urged: "Father, let's go, don't wait any longer. The moment you issued the imperial decree to depose the queen, you should have known that she would never come back. You should know her character better than us."
What kind of personality does Queen Du have? Even though she was slandered to such an extent, even though she banged her head against the pillar, went on a hunger strike, and was banished to the cold palace, she gritted her teeth and never revealed the secret of her infertility. She wanted to hear him say it himself—that he still loved her and that he trusted her absolutely. Only with this promise would she overturn her own case, otherwise she would rather leave this magnificent palace with those false charges.
She doesn't care about power or status, she only cares whether the feelings between them are still as pure as before. However, he disappointed her, so she left sadly with despair. She would rather die with honor than live in disgrace.
Thinking of this, the emperor's eyes finally turned red, and he almost choked with sobs, "Let's go." He finally looked towards the mountain where the Taoist temple was located, with tears flickering in his eyes.
After spending several hours with him in the cold wind, the official, who had already been shivering with cold, finally breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't know what the emperor was waiting for. Maybe the wind and waves on the river were too strong and he was waiting for the weather to calm down? The emperor stood alone at the edge of the dock and did not allow anyone to approach. They could not find out any information and could only say in their hearts, "The emperor's mind is hard to predict."
At the same time, Queen Du was standing on the edge of the cliff looking towards the pier. Unlike the emperor's despair and sadness, there was a comfortable smile on her lips.
Du Ruyan stared at her profile for a long time, and asked cautiously: "Aunt, when the emperor brought it up, why didn't you go back with him?"
"If he tells me to go, I will go. If he tells me to come back, I will come back?" Empress Du waved her hand and said, "Little kid, don't ask about these things. Auntie has her own considerations."
"Oh, then I won't ask." Du Ruyan covered her mouth obediently, causing Queen Du to chuckle. After laughing, she looked at her nephew and said softly, "What are your plans for the future? Are you going to leave or stay?"
Du Rushong said without thinking: "At present, Dan'er doesn't want to leave, so I will stay. When she makes the embroidery shop bigger in the future, I will accompany her to the capital."
Empress Du said jokingly: "In other words, wherever Miss Lin is, you are there?"
Du Rushong blushed and nodded, "Yes, I will be wherever she is."
Du Ruyan agreed unwillingly, "Me too. Wherever Dandan is, I'll be there. I always feel uneasy when I'm away from Dandan. Aunt, although Dandan is four or five years younger than me, she's very capable."
Queen Du chuckled and said, "I see. Miss Lin is the best woman in the world. Aren't you tired of saying this every day? Well, since you both don't want to go back, then stay here. Just be careful of the Li family." After she finished speaking, she left the cliff and walked towards the quiet room.
Du Ruyan looked at her straight back and whispered, "Brother, what does aunt think? Will she come back or not?"
"Of course we have to go back, but not now. If we want to go back, the man has to come and ask for it in person. Don't worry about these things." Du Rushong looked at the sky and spoke faster: "Let's go down the mountain quickly. Before we go out, Dan'er asked me to buy a few sea bass. It's getting dark now, and the fishermen should go home. If we don't go now, I'm afraid we won't be able to buy any."
"Hey, is Dandan cooking the sea bass herself?" Du Ruyan immediately threw her worries to the wind, quickly climbed onto the carriage, and urged: "Uncle Sun, hurry up, Dandan is cooking today!"
"Okay, miss, sit tight, I'll be leaving soon!" Sun Bo whipped and shouted in a loud voice.
After the emperor left, the Du and Lin families continued to live their lives as usual, but there was some unrest in the Li family. First, Li Jiarong was punished by Li Ran and locked up in the room and not allowed to go out. Then, Li Xiudian had a big fight with his parents over his marriage to Meng Si.
Empress Du, who was meditating in a Taoist temple, was once again forgotten. She always wore a thick veil when she went out. Some curious ladies and socialites ran to see her, but they were never able to see her real face, so they gave up. On the day when Queen Du came to Lin'an Prefecture, many people saw the scar on her forehead. They naturally did not expect that she could recover to be as beautiful as before, or even become more beautiful.
However, seven days later, on a day with rolling waves and howling winds, the imperial carriage that was supposed to leave Zhejiang Province actually returned. The emperor hurriedly got off the boat and took a carriage to the Taoist temple.
After receiving the news, officials of all ranks in Lin'an Prefecture hurried to follow. The followers they brought with them held torches, lighting up the dark forest as if it were daytime. Seven days was enough for the emperor to travel half the distance, and another seven days would allow him to reach Kyoto. But the emperor, who always pays attention to safety, turned back halfway. What does this mean?
Is there anything in Lin'an Prefecture that the emperor can't let go of? What is it that he is so concerned about and unable to give up, that at the last moment he turns around and rushes to look for it?
Queen Du - this answer appeared in everyone's mind almost at the same time, but was immediately denied by them. Queen Du was already disfigured, how could she compete with those charming concubines? Wouldn't the emperor feel sick when seeing her hideous face?
Li Ran rode a fast horse to the Taoist temple, his face as dark as ink. If you were to ask who in the world is the person who least wants Queen Du to regain her favor, apart from Concubine Min, it would probably be him. Queen Du was both beautiful and resourceful. If she had not been blinded by the so-called love, she would never have been plotted against by them.
Others might not be able to see the truth about the injustice she suffered back then, even the emperor might be deceived, but not her. She has always known who are the people who have caused her to fall into this situation.
Li Ran would never underestimate Queen Du, because the spies he sent to the Taoist temple to monitor the other party were eventually ruthlessly pulled out. The Taoist temple is now completely under the control of Queen Du, and no one else has the chance to interfere. Li Ran had no idea why she and the emperor were entangled again, to what extent their relationship had been restored, and what the emperor wanted to do by returning this time.
He could only resort to the dumbest method, which was to come and take a look in person in the name of protecting the emperor. Obviously, the officials of Lin'an Prefecture had the same idea as him and arrived at the door one after another.
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