"Why is the emperor back again?"
"Seven days, you've already gone halfway, but you're turning back. How anxious is the emperor?"
"Does the Emperor want to take the deposed Empress back with him?"
"Impossible? The face of the deposed queen is unbearable to look at!"
"If not, why did the emperor rush to the Taoist temple?"
"His Highness is over there, why don't we go ask him?"
The officials discussed the matter one after another and pushed and shoved for a while, but no one dared to ask the eldest prince. They were isolated by a group of royal guards ten meters away from the quiet room, while the emperor stood at the door of the quiet room, his back was a little hunched and his expression could not be seen clearly. After about a quarter of an hour, he finally mustered up the courage to shout, "Fange, I'm back. I'm here to take you away!"
There was silence inside the door.
The officials kept their mouths shut, looking incredulous. The emperor actually came to take away the deposed queen. She was already disfigured. What virtue did she have to do this?
Li Ran took a deep breath and tried to put on a calm expression.
"Fan Ge, can you please open the door?" the emperor asked in a pleading tone.
There was still no response from inside the door.
"Fan Ge, I beg you, please come back with me. I couldn't eat or sleep for the past seven days, and I was thinking about you all the time. Seeing Lin'an Prefecture gradually disappearing in the thick fog, and this is probably the last time we will see each other in this life, I am heartbroken! Please open the door, how can you forgive me, tell me!"
The emperor's slightly choked voice and extremely sad words left all the officials dumbfounded. They would never have imagined that the ruler of the world would be so humble and powerless in front of the deposed queen.
The door remained closed, and the commander of the Royal Guards suggested quietly: "Your Majesty, how about we break the door open?"
"How dare you offend my queen?" The emperor turned his head to look at him, his sad expression replaced by cruelty. He would never let anyone hurt Fan Ge again, including himself.
This scene, seen by others, caused a storm of shock in their hearts. From the looks of it, the Emperor doesn't seem to be disgusted with the deposed Queen at all; it's obvious that he loves her very much! The emperor personally admitted that she was still the queen, but what should she do with her face? You can't let a disfigured woman be the queen mother of the Great Zhou Kingdom, right?
Just when everyone was confused about the situation, Du Rushong and Du Ruyan rushed over after hearing the news and walked up to the eldest prince to say hello.
Hearing the voices of the brother and sister, the emperor immediately turned around and called out, "Rusong, Yan'er, come quickly and help me persuade your aunt to come back with me."
Du Rushong and Du Ruyan bowed deeply without saying a word.
The emperor added: "I have watched you all grow up under my own eyes. Will you come back with me this time?" There was even some flattery in his tone.
"Your Majesty, we are no longer surnamed Guan, and we can never go back to that home." Du Rushong slowly knelt down and said word by word: "Your Majesty, my aunt can't go back either, please let her go."
"How can she not go back? As long as I say a word, she can go back!" The emperor was stunned for a moment, then quickly changed his words: "No, no, no, as long as Fan Ge nods, she can go back! As long as she nods, we can all go back."
"Your Majesty, my aunt doesn't want to nod her head and doesn't want to go back. Please let her go! Yan'er begs you, Yan'er kowtows to you!" Du Ruyan kowtowed so much that her skin was broken. She really didn't want her aunt to return to the capital. There was no warmth there, only calculations, and everyone's hearts were soaked in dirty water. If my aunt goes back, who knows if she can get out of this alive?
Seeing Du Ruyan's blood-stained forehead and blurred face, the emperor couldn't help but think of the scene where Queen Du committed suicide by hitting her head against the pillar. He froze for a moment, then revealed a look of regret, and the surging fear finally overwhelmed him. He had already lost Queen Du once, and he couldn't lose her a second time!
Thinking of this, instead of being persuaded, he became crazy.
"Fan Ge, are you coming out or not? If you don't, I will burn down this Taoist temple and let's see where you can hide. Someone, capture all the nuns in the temple and throw them into the fire!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Soon, guards captured the nuns who were watching the fun and tied them up with ropes, but did not block their mouths. They cried and begged for mercy from the emperor, but seeing the murderous look on his face, they begged for mercy from Empress Du inside the room. The desperate cries echoed in the mountains and forests, making the officials feel cold in their hearts.
The emperor has always been kind and gentle. It is unprecedented that he is so tyrannical as he is now. In order to bring Queen Du back, he could beg humbly and resort to such extremely cruel means. He was completely unlike himself! What kind of charm does Queen Du have that could make the ruler of a country so obsessed with her that he would stay with her even after her face was disfigured? Could it be that she is a witch who secretly gave the emperor a love potion?
The officials were puzzled, but they had to kneel down and beg the emperor not to kill innocent people.
Du Ruyan cried even louder, but never mentioned letting her aunt go back with the emperor.
One of the youngest Taoist nuns was pulled out by the leader of the guards and pushed into the firewood room that was already on fire. He had already found out that the Taoist nun was responsible for taking care of Queen Du and was one of her favorite people. The little nun was crying so hard that she was gasping for breath, and kept shouting, "Aunt Jueming, help me."
Jueming is the Taoist name of Queen Du.
This name obviously angered the emperor, and he shouted: "Shut her mouth and push her in!"
The commander of the guards immediately covered the little nun's mouth, and her desperate cries for help came to an abrupt end. Just as a life was about to be burned by the fire, the tightly closed door finally opened and Queen Du walked out from the darkness step by step.
When the officials saw her face clearly, their expressions went blank. Queen Du did not need to feed the emperor any love potion. Her face was the most powerful love potion in the world, enough to make anyone crazy for her. Those once crisscrossing, hideous scars have somehow transformed into a blood-red, blooming Lycoris radiata, blooming so passionately and unrestrainedly. However, beneath this blazing flower were Queen Du’s deep, bone-chilling eyes.
Such a contrast gave her already stunning appearance an indescribable magical charm. If she was willing to smile, or just glance at someone casually, she could make many people dedicate their hearts, or even their lives, to her.
There is a beauty in the north, peerless and independent. One glance can conquer a city, and another glance can conquer a country. I would rather not know that such a beautiful woman is so stunning that she can topple a city or a country, as such a beautiful woman is hard to find again. This ancient ballad suddenly came to everyone's mind, allowing them to understand belatedly why the emperor lingered in Lin'an Prefecture and refused to leave, why he hurried back halfway, why he begged so humbly and threatened so crazily...
If such a beautiful woman is lost, she can never be found again!
Li Ran's face turned pale and he staggered backwards as if he had seen a ghost. He realized very clearly that once the deposed queen returned to the capital, the situation in the palace would inevitably change, and everything his sister had now would be lost! Relying on those old relationships and this appearance, the deposed queen will be invincible!
We can’t let the deposed queen go back! As soon as this idea came up, he immediately suppressed it. If he had known earlier that the deposed queen's appearance had been restored, he could still have taken some action. But now, the emperor would definitely protect the deposed queen tightly. How difficult would it be for him to touch her?
Seeing the emperor holding Queen Du tightly in his arms, shaking with excitement and even crying with joy, Li Ran clenched his fists and retreated step by step into a corner where the torches could not reach.
Queen Du stood there motionless, without hugging him back, and her slightly closed eyes never looked at anyone, so no one knew what kind of icy and chilling fire was jumping in her dark pupils.
After receiving Empress Du's call, the emperor hurried down the mountain and left Lin'an Prefecture by ship overnight, fearing that something might happen. As soon as he returned to the capital, he ordered Concubine Min to move out of Qiwu Palace to make room for the empress. Although he did not formally issue an edict to restore the empress's position, he doted on her with great favor.
When the news reached Lin'an Prefecture, the Li family immediately became the laughing stock of the entire city. So what if she gave birth to a prince? As long as Empress Du is gone, Li Min will be back to her original state. Li Ran's power was gradually taken away by several subordinates. He wanted to make changes but was powerless to reverse the situation, so he could only lie dormant for the time being.
The marriage between Meng Si and Li Xiudian was put on hold. The Li family now needed more support from powerful families. At this time, Li Ran would never let his son marry an embroiderer of lowly status. Meng Zhong posted several messages but failed to get Li Xiudian out, and he became more and more anxious.
He originally thought that Lin Dan would never be able to make a comeback, but for some reason, she actually restored the "Brocade" that had been lost hundreds of years ago. That was the brocade that only the royal family could wear during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty! It is a treasure that has long been lost in the long river of history! It has a flowing luster, fine texture, bright color and exquisite composition. Almost as soon as it came out, it was crazily sought after by all the noble ladies and celebrities in Lin'an Prefecture.
The eunuch sent by the court to purchase cloth went to the Du Mansion to visit the Du brothers and sisters as soon as he got off the boat. He also brought many gifts on behalf of Queen Du and did his best to curry favor with her. When she heard that Du Ruyan had shares in Danyan Embroidery Shop, she immediately designated it as the first stop for purchases, without even looking at the visiting cards handed to her by others.
If he was strong enough, Meng Zhong wouldn't have to worry so much, but he understood too well the charm of Zhuijin, and also understood too well how difficult a situation he would face. Once the eunuch has seen the brocade, he will definitely never look down upon any other fabric. And his qualification as an imperial merchant will definitely be replaced by Lin Dan.
Sure enough, after looking at all the fabrics in Suzhou and Hangzhou, the eunuchs designated embrocade as a "first-class tribute" and included it in the list of imperial merchants. Although the new Shu brocade was also selected, its grade and price were completely incomparable to embrocade. The Danyan Embroidery Shop, which was once trampled upon by Meng Zhong, has now become the best embroidery shop in Lin'an Prefecture, without a doubt.
What Lin Dafu failed to do, Lin Dan did; what Lin Dafu failed to reach, Lin Dan achieved. Nowadays, when people mention the Lin family, they all give them a thumbs up and praise them by saying, "A family with a good daughter will have promising young people."
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