As soon as Wang Yanzhou and his companions returned to the palace, the entire Qingliang Valley suddenly felt revitalized. The news that the Qingliang Valley Master had returned safely spread to every corner of the valley. Seeing the two return safely, Zhong Qin and the others finally felt relieved.
While arranging for people to move the things in the car into the palace, Zhong Qin said, "You're finally back. Did the South Vietnamese sentries find you?"
Tang Chen said with a smile: "It's only a matter of time before they find out, so we came in the car in a swaggering manner. Otherwise, how could so many people know we are back?"
Zhong Qin smiled and shook her head, then grabbed Wang Yanzhou from Tang Chen and said, "Brother Li, I'll leave the madam to you. Madam, let us borrow your husband for a while."
Hearing this, Tang Chen cooperated and said, "I understand. You can use it as you wish. As for what else, everyone is waiting for you in the study. Leave this to me."
The first thing Wang Yanzhou did after returning to the palace was to gather the secret guards guarding Qingliang Valley with his men; Wang Ruo and the others settled down peacefully on Shouyang Mountain, listening to the news from the palace from time to time, and just talking about it after dinner.
Whether it was Wang Ruo's deliberate arrangement or sheer coincidence, Yao Chen gradually realized that he had truly neglected Xihe. Besides her medical skills, there was much about her that captivated him, making him want to explore more. Perhaps this was Wang Ruo's original intention in having Xihe accompany him.
As for the palace, because of the previous chaos, the entire capital was plunged into unprecedented panic. Various versions of rumors continued to circulate in the market, which posed a threat to Emperor Gan Zhao's position on some levels.
After Emperor Gan Zhao fell seriously ill, all matters in the palace naturally fell on Shu Yang and his favorite concubine, Lin Zirong. However, Emperor Gan Zhao's attitude towards Shu Yang became very cold after that day.
As usual, after Shu Yang finished arranging the affairs in the palace, she personally supervised the preparation and decoction of the medicine, and then personally brought it to Emperor Gan Zhao's bedside. As usual, Emperor Gan Zhao didn't even bother to look at her, and even when she had something to complain about, he didn't say a word.
Shu Yang, looking a little haggard, looked at the gradually warming medicine in his hand. After hesitating for a moment, he stepped forward and gently called out, "Father..."
Emperor Gan Zhao treated her as if she were invisible, saying nothing. Seeing this, Lin Zirong, who was tending to the sick, sighed softly, pulled Shu Yang aside, and comforted her, "Alas, Shu Yang, you're tired too. Go down and rest for a while. Don't worry, I'm here for you."
Shu Yang glanced at his father lying on the bed, handed the medicine to Lin Zirong, and slowly left the palace. Lin Zirong signaled the maids to help Emperor Gan Zhao to his feet, then picked up the spoon and prepared to feed the medicine, saying, "Your Majesty, the princess has no intention of being used. You are her father, so she will naturally side with Your Majesty in everything."
Emperor Gan Zhao asked the eunuch to take the bowl from Lin Zirong and asked without saying anything else, "Ahem, is Xia Houqing here?"
Lin Zirong replied, "I'm already waiting outside the hall."
Emperor Gan Zhao covered his chest and coughed a few times, then waved his hand and said, "Let him in, you go down first."
"yes."
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
After Xiahou Qing entered the palace, Emperor Gan Zhao dismissed everyone in the palace. He then handed over the medicine placed beside him.
"Come and see if there is anything wrong with this medicine."
After carefully examining it, Xiahou Qing lowered his head and handed the medicine bowl back. "...Your Majesty, this medicine is fine. All the items Your Majesty had previously come into contact with are currently being investigated. However, due to the large number of items, the method used by the thief to poison the medicine has not yet been discovered."
After Emperor Gan Zhao finished drinking the medicine, he asked, "What's the situation in Qingliang Valley?"
Xiahou Qinghui said, "The prince has returned safely to the valley and is currently gathering his troops to prepare for battle. A large Nanyue force is also gathering nearby, apparently intending to capture Qingliang Valley first. This suggests that the rumors of Qingliang Valley colluding with Nanyue were likely spread by someone with ulterior motives."
Despite Xiahou Qing's words, Emperor Gan Zhao still felt uneasy about Wang Yanzhou. The only people he could trust right now were Tianshu Tower. As for those who had forced him to hand over Wang Yanzhou and allow him to return to Qingliang Valley, he naturally couldn't let them go. "The Lin family are complete losers. They led an army of 50,000 and were beaten like that, yet now they have the nerve to lie to me and abandon the army and flee. There's no need to keep such people. Let them serve as an explanation for the soldiers who died on the battlefield."
Emperor Gan Zhao hadn't considered Lin Zirong's feelings when he said this. The Lin Guogong Mansion was no longer of any use to him.
Xiahou Qing had been with Emperor Gan Zhao for quite some time, so he naturally understood the underlying meaning of his words. "I understand. There's one more thing: there's very little information available about the woman claiming to be the late Empress's sister. All I can be sure of is that she's probably not just wearing a mask and pretending to be Empress Wang Zhen."
This sudden appearance of Wang Ruo was a major nuisance in Emperor Gan Zhao's heart. If Wang Zhen was the nightmare that occasionally plagued him, then this Wang Ruo was the embodiment of the nightmare: "...Wang Zhen never mentioned this person. It seems that she has many secrets, and even in death, she cannot rest in peace."
Xiahou Qing had his own plans for Wang Ruo's affairs. Right now, he had one last question for Emperor Gan Zhao: "Your Majesty, what about Qingliang Valley?"
Emperor Gan Zhao thought for a moment and said, "...I'll have Yao Ji come over later. I have my own instructions. If you have nothing else to report, you can leave first."
"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. I will take my leave."
Yao Ji, who had volunteered to go to the southern border, no longer needed to hide his acquired skills. From this moment on, Emperor Gan Zhao would personally train him to ensure he would become a qualified emperor in the future.
...Wang Yanzhou and the others were busy running around outside, but Tang Chen could only stay in the palace obediently under the surveillance of everyone.
This time, Tang Chen was obviously more obedient than before. However, Li Xinzhai noticed that she had been unable to eat or sleep since the day she came back. Not only did she look unhappy, but there was also something wrong that he couldn't explain.
"Are you okay? I think you haven't been feeling well since you came back. Do you want to see a doctor?"
Tang Chen lay on the table with his eyes closed, his face pale as he said, "It's okay, I just haven't recovered from the motion sickness yet. Well, don't worry about me, Lian Qiao is with me."
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