“But that’s the Empress Dowager’s own grandson. The first assassination attempt was discovered by Consort An’s servants, and the second one was narrowly avoided by us! Your Majesty, I am the child’s biological father. How could I just stand by and watch my child become a victim of the knife?” He Shunsu was still somewhat angry, and his whole body trembled when he mentioned Nianci.
The Emperor was somewhat helpless. The Empress Dowager and He Shunsu were both stubborn people who wouldn't turn back until they hit a wall, so there was no point in arguing with them now.
"Third Prince, I will advise the Empress Dowager to stop this, but you can no longer use your title to vent your anger! Do you hear me! This is the first and last time. I will send someone to return the items to you later! You should go back now!" After saying this, the Emperor turned and left.
He Shunsu also left the capital.
At the Third Prince's residence, Gu Aqi saw Xiao Hai return alone and asked anxiously, "Where is your master?"
Xiao Hai bit his lip and thought for a moment before saying, "Our master told me to come back first, Madam, please don't worry, our master will probably be back in a little while!"
Gu Aqi nodded and sat down anxiously in the chair again, glancing towards the door every now and then.
Before long, He Shunsu's familiar figure appeared in front of Gu Aqi.
Gu Aqi hurriedly got up and ran over.
"How is it?" Gu Aqi asked anxiously, holding He Shunsu's hand.
He Shunsu smiled faintly and flicked Gu Aqi's nose, saying, "Are you worried about me or about Nianci?"
Gu Aqi rolled her eyes upon hearing this, immediately released He Shunsu's hand, and said coquettishly, "Hmph, what do you mean by caring about you or Nianci! You're the child's father, why are you jealous of the child! Of course it's both of you!"
He Shunsu gently pulled Gu Aqi into his arms and said softly, "Aqi, let me ask you, if I were a penniless nobody right now, would you still be with me?"
Gu Aqi froze and quickly jumped out of He Shunsu's arms.
She glared at He Shunsu and asked, "What do you mean by that? What do you mean by a penniless nobody? Did you tell the Empress Dowager that you wanted to give me a title and announce it to the world? He Shunsu, how could you be so foolish?"
As she said this, tears slowly streamed down Gu Aqi's face.
Seeing Gu Aqi's current state, He Shunsu immediately knew the answer. He pulled Gu Aqi into his arms and said softly, "I'm sorry, I frightened you. Don't worry, everything is alright. His Majesty already knows about Nianci's matter. He didn't blame me. His Majesty said he will give me a satisfactory answer."
Gu Aqi noticed He Shunsu's sudden frown. She seemed to have realized something, and quickly reached for his waist. Then, trembling, she asked, her lips quivering, "Where are your hat and token? He Shunsu, you're still lying to me, aren't you! Did you anger the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and they got angry and..."
"Aqi, calm down. I did have this plan at first. At worst, I would give up being a prince and we could go to Lujia Village and be a perfect couple! But His Majesty finally agreed to help me, so it's okay. Trust me, these two things will be delivered to me in a little while!" He Shunsu quickly comforted Gu Aqi, seeing that he was so anxious that he was almost delirious.
"Really...really? Shun Su, you can't lie to me!" Gu Aqi asked He Shun Su with a skeptical look.
He Shunsu gently pinched Gu Aqi's cheek and comforted him for a while.
The atmosphere at the Third Prince's residence was harmonious, but the atmosphere inside the Imperial City was unusually terrifying. Ever since He Shunsu left, it seemed to have raised this atmosphere to a new level!
"Your Majesty! Are you going to indulge the Third Prince like this? He's becoming more and more lawless!" The Empress Dowager asked the Emperor, who was sitting to the side, with a stern face.
The Emperor did not show any expression. "Empress Mother, it is indeed taboo to disrupt the royal bloodline, but the Third Prince has always been unruly and unrestrained. If you push him too hard, aren't you worried that it will backfire?"
The Empress Dowager was so angry that her chest heaved, making the atmosphere in the bedchamber strange once again. After a long while, she slowly opened her mouth and said, "So, His Majesty thinks I did something wrong?"
His Majesty shook his head. "No, it's just that I think you've acted too hastily, Mother. The Third Prince has always been more responsive to gentle persuasion than force. Aren't you afraid that by suddenly pulling this stunt, he might become desperate and actually announce to the world that he married a woman of questionable character and had a son of questionable character? That would be a complete disgrace to our royal family!"
The Empress Dowager's expression changed slightly after being reminded of this, and even a layer of sweat began to appear on her back.
She nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty's mention of this shows I was indeed too hasty! So, in Your Majesty's opinion, how should this matter be handled?"
The Emperor seemed to have already devised a plan. He leaned close to the Empress Dowager and whispered something in her ear. Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's expression changed. She looked up at the Emperor, frowned, and asked, "This... is it really possible?"
The Emperor nodded meaningfully. "That's natural."
...
More than half a month has passed since Nianci's incident. The past two weeks have seemed calm on the surface, but undercurrents have been turbulent. Fortunately, nothing major has happened. Jiang Ling also returned to Lujia Village, which she had been away from for a long time, early this morning.
The village chief had received news that Jiang Ling was returning today and organized a large group of people to welcome her at the village entrance.
"They're here! They're here! Yaojie's mother is back!" someone shouted from the crowd, and everyone's eyes turned to the same direction.
A horse-drawn carriage slowly approached them from afar.
"Yaojie's mother! You've been gone for almost two years!"
"Yes, yes! Yaojie's mother, I heard you went to some Silk Road. What's it like there? Do the people there look different from us?"
"Yaojie's mom, I really miss you while you're not here!"
"Yaojie Niang..."
Jiang Ling felt a warm glow in her heart as she listened to the villagers of Lujia Village chatting amongst themselves. So, she got off the carriage and let Jiang Shan and Jiang Hu drive the carriage and take their children home first, while she sat by the big tree at the village entrance and chatted with the villagers for a while.
“Yaojie’s mother, you don’t know, you’ve been granted the title of Fourth-Rank Lady, our Lu Family Village has become Lu Family Town, and the Emperor has also bestowed a lot of silver upon us!” Zhao Erleng’s wife was the first to rush to Jiang Ling’s side and say to her.
Jiang Ling hadn't seen Zhao Erleng's wife for almost two years. When she came back and saw Zhao Erleng's wife this time, she could clearly feel that Zhao Erleng's wife had gained a lot of weight and her cheeks were much rosier!
"Big sister! You're finally back! Come on, son, call her godmother!" Hu Yue'er said, leading her son closer.
Jiang Ling looked down and saw that the baby who had been crying for milk before had now become chubby and able to walk independently.
"God...godmother..." The child's childish voice made everyone burst into laughter.
“I know everyone misses Yaojie’s mother, but she’s been traveling for so long, so let’s let her go home and rest first! What do you all think?” The village chief, who was standing to the side, suddenly said.
Everyone nodded in agreement and kindly escorted Jiang Ling back to her house. Looking at her familiar surroundings, Jiang Ling felt a surge of emotion. She had missed it terribly after two years apart.
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