Chapter 24024 10,000 Words Big Chapter
Chapter 24
Qi Jingyan tilted his head and glanced at the inside of his bed: "Come to the bed."
Meng Yuning was shocked and squatted up: "This, this is not good."
Qi Jingyan: "What's wrong with that?"
It is certainly not good for strangers to sleep together.
But Meng Yuning couldn't say this. After all, they were once an engaged couple. If she said that, it would seem like she despised him, especially since she had a history of abandoning him and running away.
So he thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, I'm not a good sleeper. I'm afraid I'll kick your injured leg."
Of course, this was also true. She liked to crawl around when she slept, but now the bed was small, leaving no room for her to do so. When she used to sleep in her own 1.8-meter-long bed, she would often fall asleep on one side at night and wake up on the other side in the morning.
Qi Jingyan didn't care: "It's okay."
Meng Yuning was wrapped in a quilt, squatting in a wheelchair, still a little hesitant.
Qi Jingyan waited for a while, and when she didn't move, he said, "Come here."
Although the tone was gentle, it carried a domineering aura that made people dare not refuse easily. Meng Yuning felt that if she hesitated any longer, he would probably drag his injured leg to get up and drag her over with his own hands.
So he got out of the wheelchair with a quilt wrapped around him, walked to his bed, climbed up carefully from under his feet, and then slowly lay down next to Yi'er.
The bed wasn't too big, and with the three of them lying down, there was basically no space left.
Although there was little Yi'er in between, Yi'er was sticking out his little butt and bending it into a ball, and Qi Jingyan's arm was around him, so it was equivalent to Meng Yuning being directly against Qi Jingyan's arm.
She never takes off her outer clothes when she goes to bed, but Qi Jingyan sleeps in his pajamas every night.
At this moment, the arm he was hugging Yi'er with had somehow pulled up the sleeve of his black pajamas, revealing a strong and powerful arm that was particularly eye-catching in the dark night.
Meng Yuning secretly glanced at her own thin arms and thought to herself that no wonder she couldn't break free when he pinched her wrist just now. Their arms didn't seem to be on the same level.
Inexplicably, she felt that arm was a bit dangerous. He turned back to sleep, and he wouldn't forget that she was in bed. If he raised his hand carelessly, he would smack her to death.
Thinking of this, she quickly wrapped the quilt tighter around her, arched her back, pressed her back against the wall, and kept as far away from his arm as possible.
Qi Jingyan saw that she was not quiet even after lying down, wrapped in the quilt, and lying like a cricket, so he asked, "Are you squeezed?"
Meng Yuning waved her hands quickly: "No, no, it's fine."
Knowing that she was not telling the truth, Qi Jingyan did not pursue the matter: "It's getting late, go to bed."
Meng Yuning stopped moving: "Okay."
She agreed like this, but she was actually very alert at the moment. She closed her eyes and thought for a long time, but still couldn't fall asleep.
He couldn't help but open his eyes again and looked at Qi Jingyan quietly, and saw that Qi Jingyan was also looking up at the sky with his eyes open.
Then he whispered, "Your Highness, can't you sleep either?"
Qi Jingyan: “Yeah.”
Meng Yuning saw him holding Yi'er and felt a little moved: "Your Highness, you must be tired holding Yi'er, how about I hold him for a while?"
The little boy is small, soft and easy to hold.
Qi Jingyan was just about to say that she was not tired when he saw her hands stretched out from under the quilt. Thinking that Yier had taken the initiative to let her hug him these past two days, he did not stop her and took his arm away from Yier.
Meng Yuning reached out and carefully brought Yi'er to her side, holding him and the quilt in her arms.
Holding a bubbling baby in her arms, Meng Yuning felt much more at ease. She patted Yi'er gently, and before she knew it, she felt sleepy. She stopped moving her hands and slowly fell asleep.
After a while, when she fell asleep, Qi Jingyan raised his hand and lifted her quilt. Seeing that Yier was indeed sweating, he gently pulled out Yier's little tiger-head quilt and covered her with the big quilt again.
He moved very gently, and Yi'er was still sleeping soundly, but Meng Yuning seemed to be startled. She muttered something and arched her back.
Qi Jingyan subconsciously reached out and patted Meng Yuning on the shoulder. After patting twice, he reacted and his hand froze there.
Seeing that she fell asleep peacefully again, he withdrew his hand and stared at the sleeping faces of the two, one big and one small, quietly until his neck felt sore. Then he turned his head back and closed his eyes.
---
The next morning.
Mu Yun walked to the window of the wooden house as usual, leaned sideways to face the window, and asked softly, "Your Highness, are you going to get up?"
Qi Jingyan glanced at Meng Yuning and Yi'er who were still sleeping soundly, and whispered, "No rush."
Mu Yun thought that it rained last night and that His Highness didn't sleep well and wanted to lie down for a while longer, so he replied, "Okay, I'll come back later."
Qi Jingyan: "Go ahead."
Mu Yun walked away with light steps.
Qi Jingyan had been lying flat on his back all night, his back and waist were sore. He propped himself up on the bed with his elbows and slowly sat up. Then, with his hands on the bed, he inched back little by little until he leaned against the headboard.
He slowly moved his neck and arms, and gently pinched his thighs. As soon as he finished doing this, he saw Yier stretch a little and then open his eyes.
The first thing the little boy did when he opened his eyes was to crawl onto Qi Jingyan, "Brother, hold me."
Qi Jingyan reached out and picked up Yier and held her in his arms. Yier hugged his neck and lay on his shoulder.
Qi Jingyan gently patted the little boy's butt, and suddenly remembered that Yi'er didn't cry last night.
He couldn't help but be stunned. Ever since Yi'er was sent to him, he would wake up from nightmares every night without fail. This was the first time that Yi'er didn't have a nightmare.
He subconsciously looked at Meng Yuning who was still sleeping soundly, feeling confused.
Is it because Yier slept with her last night?
Or, is it just a coincidence?
Yi'er lay on Qi Jingyan's shoulder, tilting his little head to look at the small bed by the window, thinking that he would see Aning still sleeping like every day, but he found that the bed was empty, without even the quilt.
The little boy raised his head and pointed with his little finger, his tone full of anxiety: "Brother, An Ning is missing."
Qi Jingyan turned him around so that he faced inwards: "Here."
Seeing An Ning was still there, the little boy smiled. Not wanting to wake An Ning, he lowered his voice: "An Ning is here."
Qi Jingyan nodded and patiently explained, "It rained last night, and An Ning's bed got wet, so she couldn't sleep."
Yier pointed at himself and said, "Is Yier sleeping in the middle?"
Qi Jingyan: "Yes."
Yi'er asked again: "Brother, will Aning sleep with us from now on?"
Qi Jingyan: "...No. It rained last night."
The little boy was a little disappointed, but then he thought about how they all slept in the same room, and he became happy again. He clapped his hands and said, "Brother, let's go feed the rabbits."
Qi Jingyan agreed, reached out to take Yier's clothes from the bedside and put them on him, then put him on the ground. Yier put on his little shoes by himself and ran out quietly.
Mu Yun was waiting not far away. When he saw the young prince come out, he walked over quickly and squatted down to greet him: "Young prince."
Yi'er pointed into the room and said, "Mu Yun, brother is getting up."
Mu Yun smiled and said yes, then stood up and greeted Mu Shan, and the two went into the house.
As soon as they entered the room, they saw two people lying on Qi Jingyan's bed. They were both stunned, silently praying not to look at what is inappropriate, and subconsciously turned away.
After turning around, the two looked at each other and reacted.
That's not right. His Highness has both legs broken, what can he do? Besides, the little prince is still here.
So the two of them turned around again, and made a circle in front of Qi Jingyan.
Qi Jingyan: “…”
The two men did not dare to look into their own prince's eyes. They stepped forward silently, picked up Qi Jingyan's clothes, put them on him, and put on his shoes. Then they put him on the wheelchair and carried him out.
---
Meng Yuning woke up after a good sleep and found herself alone again. She scratched her hair, which was already a mess from sleep, feeling a little annoyed.
Before going to bed last night, she was thinking that she must wake up early today, otherwise when Mu Yun and the others came in to carry Qi Jingyan, they would find her sleeping in his bed, which would be very embarrassing and cause some misunderstanding.
But who knew that she was sleeping so soundly that she couldn't hear any movement.
She got up and combed her hair. Seeing that her own bed was completely dry, she took her bedding back and put it away. Then she tidied Qi Jingyan's bed before going out.
Yi'er had just finished feeding the rabbits when he saw Meng Yuning get up. He ran towards her and said happily, "A Ning, you're awake."
Meng Yuning bent down to catch the little boy, holding him and walking towards the spring: "Yier, have you had breakfast?"
Yier nodded: "Yier has eaten. I had mushroom porridge and left a big bowl for An Ning."
Meng Yuning smiled and agreed, then put him on the ground, took some spring water to wash her face, and then broke off a willow branch from the side to brush her teeth.
Then she went to eat the bowl of porridge that everyone had left for her.
These days, the guards have learned a lot of edible wild vegetables and mushrooms from her. Seeing that she got up late today, they guessed that she must be tired from going up the mountain yesterday, so they didn't wait for her. After breakfast, they took out the mountain products they had collected last night, dried them, and went up the mountain. Doctor Tang also followed them up the mountain to collect herbs.
After Meng Yuning finished her breakfast, she took out the wild flowers in the bamboo tube from yesterday, changed the water, and placed them under the window of the wooden house.
Yi'er came over curiously and asked, "An Ning, why is it placed here?"
Meng Yuning smiled and said, "Flowers are for viewing. We are all outside now, so if we put the flowers here, we can all see them."
Yier clapped her hands and said yes.
Seeing that the two had almost finished their conversation, Qi Jingyan said, "A Ning, come here."
This sound reminded Meng Yuning that he had said the same thing when he asked her to get on his bed last night, and her cheeks couldn't help but get hot.
They slept in the same bed last night, and although they were just sleeping, she still felt a little embarrassed. Since she left home in the morning, she hadn't dared to look at him.
But this man just called her the same words as yesterday. Isn't he embarrassed at all?
She looked up and saw that his eyes were open and calm as usual, as if nothing had happened last night.
Meng Yuning straightened her back immediately. As the saying goes, no matter what happens, as long as you're not embarrassed, then it's others who are embarrassed. Especially when others aren't embarrassed, she couldn't show any embarrassment.
So, she walked over, holding Yi'er's hand, and asked with a smile, "Your Highness, are you looking for me?"
Qi Jingyan witnessed the girl's colorful expressions and was silent for a moment.
Meng Yuning waved her hand in front of him: "Your Highness?"
Qi Jingyan handed the bow in his hand to her: "Here."
Meng Yuning looked at the small and exquisite bow and instantly forgot about the embarrassment. She said with surprise, "It's done so quickly."
Qi Jingyan: "Try it and see if it works for you?"
Meng Yuning raised her arm, drew the bow towards the target, and then released it, causing the bowstring to vibrate.
She was very excited: "This looks like a good bow, Your Highness, I want to shoot an arrow."
Qi Jingyan pointed to the quiver on the ground and said, "The arrows are here."
Meng Yuning agreed happily, picked up a feather arrow, put it on the bow, thought about how Qi Jingyan usually shot arrows, pulled the bowstring, then narrowed one eye, pulled back hard, and when he felt it was about time, he let go and the arrow shot out.
Then, it fell to the ground.
Yi'er had already raised his little palm and was about to hit it, but when he saw the arrow fall to the ground, he chuckled: "A Ning, stupid."
Then he went to get his own small bow, ran back holding his small quiver, and demonstrated it to Meng Yuning in a serious manner: "A Ning, you do it like Yi'er."
"Okay, Aning, follow Yier and learn." Meng Yuning had heard Qi Jingyan praise Yier's standard posture with her own ears, so she picked up the bow without hesitation and followed suit.
But she had never learned to dance or practiced martial arts, so her limbs didn't seem to obey her control. She could watch and learn, but when she performed the movements, they were crooked and not standard.
Yi'er was so anxious that he jumped up and down. Sometimes he stood on tiptoe to pry her arms apart, and sometimes he hugged her legs to tell her how to stand. Finally, the two of them hugged each other, rolled into a ball, and laughed so hard that they couldn't get up for a long time.
Qi Jingyan sat quietly in the wheelchair, listening to the cheerful laughter and watching the funny scene. He didn't say a word, but his brows were relaxed and the corners of his mouth were raised.
After Meng Yuning got up from the ground, she pulled Yi'er to continue practicing standing posture, but no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't get it right.
Yi'er can stand by himself, but he is too young, so he can't express himself clearly when guiding Meng Yuning.
Seeing that An Ning hadn't made any progress, he ran to Qi Jingyan's hand anxiously and said, "Brother, can you teach An Ning a lesson?"
Meng Yuning also ran over and clasped her hands together: "Your Highness, please teach me."
Two pairs of clear eyes, one big and one small, stared at him eagerly, making it hard for people to refuse. Of course, Qi Jingyan had already agreed, so how could he refuse?
So he agreed, but he couldn't stand up and couldn't get close to correct her posture, so he looked at Meng Yuning and said, "Find me a bamboo stick."
Meng Yuning didn't know what he was going to do, so she nodded and said okay. She ran to the scraps left over from the guards' house construction, found a bamboo stick as thick as her little finger, and handed it to Qi Jingyan: "Your Highness, this is it."
Qi Jingyan took it and pointed to the side: "Stand still."
"Oh, okay." Meng Yuning pulled Yi'er to the place he designated and drew the bow.
Yier's movements are standard and no correction is needed.
Qi Jingyan looked at Meng Yuning and saw that she was leaning back with her belly sticking out. He said, "Pull your belly in and straighten your back."
"Okay." Meng Yuning was very obedient. "Pull in your stomach and straighten your back."
As she muttered this, her stomach retracted, but she arched her waist and hunched her back as if she was going to steal.
Qi Jingyan told her to straighten her back several times, but Meng Yuning still didn't do it properly. In a moment of desperation, he gently poked her lower back with a bamboo stick and said, "Straighten here."
Suddenly, she felt an itch on her waist. Meng Yuning screamed and jumped far away. Then, she covered her waist and looked at Qi Jingyan: "Your Highness, please don't touch me. I'm ticklish."
Mu Yun and a few others stayed behind in the camp, guarding the safety while working with Mu Jiu to make various things. They had not looked over here before.
But when they heard Miss Meng shouting this, several of them tilted their heads, their eyes blazing with gossip, wanting to see why their own prince was trying to touch Miss Meng.
Qi Jingyan: “…”
He had no way of defending himself.
Seeing everyone looking over here, Meng Yuning felt a little embarrassed, thinking she was making a big deal out of nothing. After thinking for a moment, she bowed to Qi Jingyan and said, "Your Highness, I will hold back. Let's continue."
Qi Jingyan agreed, and they continued.
Meng Yuning was alert, but the bamboo stick in Qi Jingyan's hand did not touch her again, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
---
After a day of rest, General Zhang and his entourage finally recovered their strength. They immediately divided their troops into several groups and chased Qi Jingyan without stopping.
But after chasing for two days, I didn't even catch a shadow of it.
After several people came back, he frowned, whipped his horsewhip, and cursed, "What a bunch of rubbish!"
No one dared to speak, but lowered their heads, waiting for his temper to pass.
After a while, Zhang Hujun pointed at someone casually and said, "You, return to the capital and report to the Third Prince's residence that Prince Shen has escaped."
When the soldier heard they were going to the Third Prince's residence, his face turned pale. He fell to his knees and pleaded, "Sir, why don't you send someone else? I'm slow and I'm afraid I might delay your important task."
Zhang Hujun was already in a bad mood, and seeing that he dared to shirk his responsibility, he kicked him and knocked him over: "I told you to go, so you go. Why are you talking so much nonsense? If you don't go, I will chop you to pieces right now." As he said this, he really drew his sword.
The tall soldier got up, holding his chest, and nodded without saying a word. He jumped on his horse and galloped towards the capital.
When the man was far away and could no longer be seen, Zhang Hujun ordered: "Chase him again."
After saying this, he flicked the whip and whipped the horse hard. The horse neighed and galloped away.
---
In the capital city, the night is deep.
The Third Prince’s Mansion, Study.
The tall soldier knelt on the ground and tremblingly told the story of King Shen's escape.
The third prince listened without saying a word.
After a long time, just when the tall soldier thought he had escaped, he saw the person who had been sitting quietly on the chair stand up, and then the pair of black boots walked towards him step by step.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of a knife being unsheathed was heard.
He looked up in horror, but before he could say anything, he saw a flash of cold light in front of his eyes, then his neck felt cold and he lost consciousness.
The head fell to the ground, rolled around a few times, and then stopped. The eyes were still open and not closed.
The Third Prince took out a handkerchief and slowly wiped the blood off the knife. He threw the handkerchief away, sheathed the knife, and said calmly, "Drag him to feed the dogs."
-
Imperial Palace, Cining Palace.
The Queen Mother leaned back on the pillow, turning the Buddhist beads in her hand and closing her eyes to rest.
Nanny Tao walked in quickly, moved closer to the Empress Dowager, covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered quietly, "Empress Dowager, there's news from the Yikun Palace."
The Queen Mother opened her eyes, waved her hand, and sent away the palace servants. "Speak."
Nanny Tao's expression was solemn. "It was said that early this morning, as soon as the palace gates opened, the Third Prince arrived at the Yikun Palace to pay his respects to Concubine Zhang. He even sent everyone away. The mother and son began to talk privately. We were too far away, so we could only tell from their lip movements that the Third Prince said..."
When Aunt Tao said this, she looked embarrassed.
The Queen Mother: "If you have anything to say, feel free to say it."
"Then I have overstepped my bounds." Nanny Tao apologized, then her expression grew agitated. "Our people said the Third Prince said, 'The cripple has escaped.'"
The Queen Mother sat up straight immediately: "Yan'er ran away?"
Aunt Tao nodded: "It should be correct."
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Well done, you ran well! Being able to run shows that you still have spirit. I was really worried that this child would become depressed after this experience."
The master and servant were happy for a while, and then the Queen Mother asked again, "Did they mention Yi'er?"
Nanny Tao shook her head: "That wasn't mentioned, but with His Highness here, he will definitely protect the little prince well."
The Queen Mother nodded: "I am not worried about this. This is why I want to send Yi'er to Yan'er."
Nanny Tao echoed, "Fortunately, the Empress Dowager had the foresight to send the little prince to His Highness early on. Otherwise, the one from Yikun Palace would never give up and would keep pestering him."
Thinking of how the man from Yikun Palace had come to her after the Queen's death, crying and saying he felt sorry for Yi'er losing his mother at such a young age and wanted to take him to Yikun Palace to be raised, the Queen Mother's face turned cold. "You are such a dishonest person, putting on a show in front of me."
After the joy, Aunt Tao became worried: "Empress Dowager, do you think His Highness will be okay?"
Nanny Tao stopped at that point and didn't say the rest of the sentence.
The Queen Mother understood what she meant and shook her head, saying firmly, "No. Even if Yan'er wants revenge, she will return to the capital openly one day and will definitely not rebel outside."
Nanny Tao asked again, "Then why did His Highness do this?"
Thinking of the cunning tricks of those sinister people, the Queen Mother snorted coldly: "Those dogs must have gone too far. Yan'er didn't want to sit and wait for death, so he changed his way."
Aunt Tao: "I see."
As he was speaking, he heard a palace servant outside report: "Empress Dowager, Concubine Zhang requests an audience."
The Queen Mother and Nanny Tao exchanged a glance, and the Queen Mother snorted coldly, "Go, let her in. I want to see what tricks she's up to today."
Nanny Tao agreed, went out, and bowed to Concubine Zhang: "Your Highness, the Empress Dowager invites you in alone."
Imperial Concubine Zhang left her maid outside the palace and followed Nanny Tao into the hall. She stepped forward and saluted, "Your Highness greets the Empress Dowager. May the Empress Dowager be blessed with good health."
The Queen Mother turned her Buddhist beads twice before speaking: "Get up and sit down."
Concubine Zhang thanked the emperor and stood up, sitting down on a chair below. She then said with a worried look on her face, "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, I heard something. I don't know if it's true or not, and I don't know whether I should tell you about it."
The Queen Mother: "Then there is no need to say."
Concubine Zhang obviously didn't expect the Empress Dowager to be so disrespectful. Her face froze for a moment, but she quickly adjusted her expression: "But this matter involves Prince Shen. I feel it's best to inform the Empress Dowager to prevent her from worrying."
The Queen Mother twirled the Buddhist beads in her hand, her expression unmoved: "Then tell me."
Concubine Zhang sighed, "I heard that Prince Shen has left the officers and soldiers who were escorting him and has disappeared."
The Queen Mother said calmly, "Perhaps the scenery along the way was too dull, so Prince Shen decided to take a different route to relax."
This was pure lies. Concubine Zhang choked, "But, Your Majesty, you also know that Prince Shen is different from other princes. He secretly changed his route on his way to the vassal state... If this matter were to reach Your Majesty's ears, I'm afraid His Majesty would be furious."
The Empress Dowager: "Oh? So, Concubine Zhang, are you going to report this hearsay to His Majesty?"
Concubine Zhang waved her hands hurriedly: "How could this happen?"
The Queen Mother: "The Third Brother wants to tell His Majesty?"
Concubine Zhang: "The third one doesn't know either."
The Queen Mother raised an eyebrow. "That's strange. Prince Shen committed such a serious crime, and you didn't even report it to His Majesty, but took the opportunity to kill him?"
Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager was so blunt today. Concubine Zhang smiled awkwardly: "Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. The Third Prince and Prince Shen are brothers. How could they dare to add insult to injury?"
The Queen Mother suddenly understood. "Oh, I know. You just wanted to hide this from Your Majesty and use this opportunity to hunt down Prince Shen. Once he's dead, you'll blame him, saying that Prince Shen escaped without permission and that's why he ran into bandits. You'll get away with it clean."
Concubine Zhang didn't expect the Empress Dowager to guess so accurately. Her expression changed slightly, and her smile became even more stiff: "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, you are joking."
The Empress Dowager looked at Concubine Zhang and said, "So you came here today just to tell me all this, to make me angry, preferably to the point of dying of anger."
Concubine Zhang noticed the Empress Dowager's anger and wondered why this old witch was so abnormal today, not even caring about her appearance of decency. Thinking that she might have come to the wrong place today, she prepared to get up and leave.
Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager suddenly turned cold and shouted, "Come here, Concubine Zhang is disobedient and will be slapped twenty times."
Two tall and strong maids immediately appeared from behind the screen and walked towards this side.
Imperial Concubine Zhang's expression suddenly changed as she stood up: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother! I was personally appointed Imperial Concubine by His Majesty. My family..."
The Queen Mother had a blank expression on her face as she twirled her Buddhist beads.
The two maids came forward, one held Concubine Zhang from behind, and the other raised her hand to slap her.
Snap! Snap! Snap! …
The slap came unexpectedly, and Concubine Zhang's face immediately swelled up and she cried out in pain.
After the twenty slaps, the two maids let go of Concubine Zhang. Concubine Zhang fell to the ground, covering her face and crying bitterly, but she didn't dare to cry too loudly because if she opened her mouth too wide, it would hurt her face.
The Queen Mother said with disgust: "Send him back to Yikun Palace and confine him to house arrest for six months."
Because of the death of the queen, there was no one to take care of the harem. She had begged and pleaded for a long time and finally got the right to manage the harem from Emperor Kangwen. If she was confined to her house for half a year, it would mean that the power would fall into the hands of others, which was what she could not tolerate the most.
She regretted it deeply and thought that she had been careless today.
The queen is dead, the prince is deposed, and now she is in charge of the harem. The third prince is highly valued by His Majesty, so she has been a little carried away recently.
Today, she learned from the third brother that Qi Jingyan had actually gone against the emperor's will and ran away secretly. She lost her patience and came to the Cining Palace.
This old witch secretly sent the little boy left behind by the queen out of the palace, so that the third brother would have less leverage to control Qi Jingyan.
She acted too late and failed to accomplish the task, and the third brother even blamed her.
I came here today with the intention of angering the Queen Mother and venting my anger.
Unexpectedly, the empress dowager, who had always been indifferent to worldly affairs and the struggles in the harem, suddenly changed her behavior today. Not only did she speak directly to her, she even disciplined her.
Although the relationship between the Queen Mother and His Majesty is not very close, His Majesty has always respected the Queen Mother as his biological mother. Even if the Queen Mother went too far today, even if it is brought to His Majesty, His Majesty will not disobey the Queen Mother for her. He may even punish her again for the sake of his reputation of filial piety, and it may also implicate the third brother.
Moreover, she suddenly remembered that the reason why the empress dowager was the empress dowager was because she defeated all the concubines in the previous emperor's reign and supported her son to ascend to the throne, which is why she became the empress dowager.
Thinking of this, Concubine Zhang broke out in a cold sweat, filled with remorse. She knelt down and kowtowed, "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, I know I was wrong. Please have mercy on me and forgive me this time."
The empress dowager was too lazy to look at her anymore. She waved her hand and two maids carried her out the door and back to Yiku Palace.
The hall became quiet. The empress dowager sat up again and waved to Nanny Tao. Nanny Tao leaned over and whispered something in her ear. The empress dowager gave her some instructions.
Nanny Tao nodded repeatedly, turned around and went out, saying loudly: "The Queen Mother has a heart attack, quickly go to the Imperial Hospital to call the imperial physician."
The quick-footed eunuch responded and ran to the Imperial Hospital. Soon he invited the imperial physician who usually treated the empress dowager. The imperial physician took the empress dowager's pulse, prescribed medicine, and then went back to the Imperial Hospital to get the medicine before leaving.
Emperor Kangwen received the news after leaving court and rushed to the Cining Palace immediately.
As soon as I entered the room, I smelled a strong smell of medicine, and the empress dowager was lying on the bed with a pale face and looking sick.
Emperor Kangwen walked over to the bedside and said with concern, "Mother, what happened to you?"
The Queen Mother opened her eyes, took Emperor Kangwen's hand, and gave a forced smile: "Your Majesty, you are here. I am fine."
But Aunt Tao whispered, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is very angry today."
The Queen Mother scolded coldly, "Madam Tao."
Aunt Tao was so frightened that she dared not say anything.
Emperor Kangwen looked at Aunt Tao and said, "It's okay, just speak up."
Nanny Tao then looked at the Empress Dowager in embarrassment. After a moment's silence, she spoke with a firm resolve, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has not been feeling well lately. And today, Imperial Concubine Zhang said something in front of the Empress Dowager. Although the Empress Dowager punished Imperial Concubine Zhang, she was still very angry after she left, and her heart disease suddenly flared up."
Emperor Kangwen frowned: "What did Concubine Zhang say?"
Aunt Tao knelt down quickly: "Noble Concubine Zhang, speak, speak, speak"
"Alright, I'll tell you something." The Queen Mother took over the conversation impatiently, "Noble Consort Zhang said that Yan'er ran away with Yi'er and they're nowhere to be found."
Emperor Kangwen's face darkened. "He ran away? Why did he run? Where did he go?"
The Empress Dowager shook her head. "Empress Zhang didn't say it, but I think Yan'er must have encountered something unavoidable, so she took a detour and headed for Lingnan."
"Back then, he was tortured to such an extent in the Heavenly Prison, right under Your Majesty's nose. One can only imagine how those bullying dogs will treat him once he leaves the capital."
Thinking of Qi Jingyan's injuries and broken legs, Emperor Kangwen lowered his head guiltily and did not respond.
The Empress Dowager clutched her chest, frowning. "Noble Concubine Zhang also said that our Daxing territory is unstable, saying that Yan'er and Yi'er might have died at the hands of some bandits."
At this point, the Queen Mother burst into tears: "My son, your mother was foolish. If I had known that the two children would meet with an accident, I should not have secretly sent Yi'er to Yan'er when he kept crying and calling him brother."
"I'm sorry, Queen. I'm sorry, Queen. I was totally wrong. If anything happens to them, I won't be able to live."
The Queen Mother beat her chest, tears streaming down her face, and she almost fainted from crying.
Aunt Tao rushed to the bedside, helped the empress dowager to massage her chest, and burst into tears: "Empress Dowager, please take care of yourself."
Seeing the master and servant crying their hearts out, Emperor Kangwen felt as if the two children had really died outside, and he couldn't help but feel sad too.
Then he thought of his first wife, who had left him resolutely after leaving a letter in blood, the joy they had shared as parents, Yi'er's giggling laughter as she clung to his legs, and Yan'er's childhood, when she'd ridden on his neck to pick fruit...
Scenes that could never be returned flashed through his mind one by one, and Emperor Kangwen unknowingly had tears streaming down his face.
He knelt before the Queen Mother and said, "Don't worry, Mother. I will definitely send someone to find them."
The Queen Mother nodded, her tone anxious and incoherent: "Yes, send more people. Yan'er's legs are broken, Yi'er is still so young, and they only brought 200 people. The journey to Lingnan is long and arduous, so we must send more people, and send reliable people. Otherwise, let's let Young Marquis Yu go. I am worried about others."
Emperor Kangwen agreed to all of his requests and told the empress dowager that he would take care of everything and asked her to rest and recuperate. He also instructed Nanny Tao to serve the empress dowager well, and then left in a hurry.
-
Yikun Palace.
"Your Majesty, I am wronged. Please help me."
Concubine Zhang knelt in front of Emperor Kangwen, tugged at the corner of his robe, and tried to cry like a pear blossom in the rain, which made Emperor Kangwen feel distressed.
But her swollen face did not look as charming as before. Instead, she looked very embarrassed and even a little funny.
Emperor Kangwen's eyebrows twitched as he watched, and the queen's ever-gentle smile flashed through his mind. Then he looked at the unrecognizable woman in front of him, and a strong feeling of disgust rose in his heart.
After a moment of silence, he picked up the teacup at hand and smashed it hard at her feet, cursing in a low voice: "Bitch, you are not even worth a finger of the queen."
The teacup broke and the tea splashed everywhere. Concubine Zhang was startled and even more shocked by Emperor Kangwen's words. She stood there in a daze and forgot to cry for a moment.
Emperor Kangwen: "No matter what mistakes Ayan made, he is still my son. Whether he lives or dies is up to me. It is not your turn to make the decision."
Emperor Kangwen stood up, turned around, and walked away, his voice cold and ruthless: "Noble Concubine Zhang has disobeyed the Empress Dowager. She will be confined for one year, fined for three years' salary, and will relinquish her authority over the harem."
Concubine Zhang wailed, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I was wrong!"
-
When everything that happened in the Yiku Palace, including what Emperor Kangwen said, was reported to the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager was sitting on the couch drinking chicken soup.
After listening to it, he sneered, "What's the point of having a cold stove in life and a hot incense after death?"
After saying that, she handed the half-drunk chicken soup to Aunt Tao: "It makes me sick. I don't want to drink it anymore."
Aunt Tao took the soup bowl and brought a cup of tea, "Have a sip of tea to help you feel less greasy."
The Queen Mother took it and drank slowly. After finishing her drink, she asked, "Have you prepared everything to send to Lingnan? When can we set off?"
Aunt Tao: "Everything is almost ready. We can set off the day after tomorrow at the latest."
The Queen Mother nodded and said, "Okay, then we'll go under the banner of Ai Jia and leave with great fanfare. There's no need to hide anything."
Nanny Tao: "What if His Majesty asks?"
The Queen Mother said: "Just say that I am dying soon, and I have a wish in my heart, hoping that my two children can arrive safely in Lingnan."
-
It was an hour or two later that the Third Prince learned that Concubine Zhang had lost the half-obtained Phoenix Seal by herself.
He was so angry that he swept all the pens, ink, paper and inkstone on the desk to the floor: "I told you not to act on your own, don't act on your own, why don't you listen?"
The follower who had just reported remained silent.
The Third Prince rubbed his brows and was silent for a long time before he spoke: "Send a message to the Zhang family and ask them to send more people. Be sure to deal with the person on the way. Remember, don't reveal your identity."
The follower responded and turned to leave.
-
The next day.
Two teams set out from the capital.
One of the teams was a group of 3,000 cavalrymen led by the commander of the Fifth Army Camp, the son of Marquis Cheng'an, also known as Young Marquis Yu Xiao. They left the city gate and traveled light all the way, heading south.
The other team also had hundreds of people, who were divided into small groups, disguised in various ways, and set out from several city gates at different times with different identities. After leaving the capital, they changed to fast horses and rushed to the south.
---
Meng Yuning lived in the mountains and knew nothing about what was happening outside.
These days, she practices archery with Yier every day.
Little Yi'er has a talent for archery. Although he is not very strong, he is very accurate.
Meng Yuning was very envious and felt that if she didn't practice harder, she wouldn't even be able to beat Yi'er, so she changed her ways and became more diligent.
Half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon, practice for a full hour every day.
Seeing how hardworking she was, Qi Jingyan changed his previous attitude of letting her play and started to be strict with her.
One day, after Meng Yu was tired from training, he sat under the pavilion built with bamboo by the guards in the courtyard, fanning himself with his hands.
Yier is doing horse stance under the guidance of Qi Jingyan.
The little boy's face was flushed, but he looked very energetic, much better than when I first met him.
Meng Yuning couldn't help but sigh that it was the right decision for the Queen Mother to send Yi'er to Qi Jingyan.
In the original book, after the Queen left, the Queen Mother took Yi'er to the Cining Palace to raise him. She originally planned to raise Yi'er herself, but Concubine Zhang actually proposed to take Yi'er to the Yiku Palace to raise him, and the Queen Mother immediately refused.
But Yi'er cried all day long, either calling for his mother or calling for his brother.
Unable to coax her that day, the empress dowager took Yi'er for a walk in the imperial garden. While they were watching the fish by the pond, a wild cat suddenly jumped out from somewhere and pounced straight towards Yi'er.
Fortunately, there were many people at the time and they held down the mad wild cat, so Yi'er was not injured.
The cat pounced on Yier, which was too strange.
After the Queen Mother brought Yi'er back to the Cining Palace, she called the imperial physician over and asked him to examine Yi'er from head to toe. Finally, he discovered that the clothes Yi'er was wearing had been soaked in a certain medicinal herb.
Not sure if it was because of the herb, the Queen Mother changed all of Yier's clothes and asked people to find a few cats. As a result, all the cats, without exception, pounced on and bit the clothes.
The Queen Mother knew that there was a traitor.
He ordered a thorough investigation of the Cining Palace and later discovered that it was a palace maid in charge of laundry who was responsible for the tampering. The maid was tortured severely, but she refused to confess anything. Finally, when the guards were not paying attention, she hit her head against the wall and died.
After this incident, the Queen Mother knew that if she left Yi'er in this palace that was like a den of wolves and tigers, she would most likely not be able to protect him.
Besides, she is old and in poor health. She doesn't know how many years she can live. She is really afraid that she will pass away before Yi'er grows up, and then there will be no one to protect Yi'er.
After thinking about it all night, she made a difficult decision.
Send Yi'er away to Qi Jingyan.
Although the decision had been made, the Queen Mother still asked Yier if he wanted to go find his brother. Yier nodded and said he would.
The Queen Mother hugged Yi'er and cried for a while, then fed him a bowl of porridge and told him that he would see his brother after a good sleep. Then she hid Yi'er in a large basket with a lid. In the name of worrying that Qi Jingyan was suffering outside, she mobilized a large number of people to send him several carts of supplies and sent Yi'er out together.
Not trusting others, the empress dowager went to Emperor Kangwen in person and specifically asked for Yu Xiao, the son of Marquis Cheng'an, to escort her.
Yu Xiao made a big fuss again using the name of the empress dowager. No one dared to stop him or investigate along the way, so he successfully delivered the person to Qi Jingyan.
By the time Emperor Kangwen found out, it was already too late. The Empress Dowager explained that Yier was crying non-stop. Although Emperor Kangwen was angry, he could do nothing.
However, according to the plot, it was thanks to the Queen Mother that Yi'er was sent to Qi Jingyan, and later he was trained by Qi Jingyan to become a wise ruler.
But then again, if Qi Jingyan's legs hadn't healed, he would have been more suitable to be the emperor with his decisiveness and ruthlessness.
In the original plot, Qi Jingyan never stood up until his death. No matter how Doctor Tang treated him, he couldn't stand up.
Doctor Tang was puzzled and repeatedly said that it was not right to touch Qi Jingyan's leg.
Later, Qi Jingyan gave up on the treatment and asked Doctor Tang to leave. Doctor Tang was so angry that he scolded him and ran away.
This time, they hid in the mountains to recuperate. Will his leg get better?
If his leg is healed, between him and Yi'er, who will be the emperor?
Qi Jingyan smiled with satisfaction when he saw Yi'er doing the horse stance correctly. When he looked up, he saw Meng Yuning looking at him with her hands on her chin under the pavilion.
She said she was looking at him, but she seemed to be in a daze, with her eyes not moving for a long time.
He pushed the wheelchair over and even when he was right in front of her, her eyes still didn't move. She thought to herself, as expected, this girl is daydreaming again.
Qi Jingyan found it funny and couldn't help but ask, "A Ning, what are you thinking about?"
Meng Yuning was thinking about something, and when she heard his question, she blurted out without thinking: "I'm thinking about you."
Qi Jingyan: “…”
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