The Hall of Supreme Harmony, the sleeping palace of Emperor Xuanwu, is quiet at night.
Emperor Xuanwu tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. The moonlight streamed through the window and fell on his furrowed brow, filled with longing for Min Consort.
But then, in a moment, his thoughts turned to a seething hatred for the Empress, surging in his heart and long enduring.
"Fu'an, do you know, what is the greatest regret in my life?"
Emperor Xuanwu's voice was low and hoarse.
Fu'an knelt by the bed, answering carefully, "Your Majesty, the old servant is dull-witted, but I suppose it must be the unfinished love affair."
Emperor Xuanwu sighed and looked out the window with empty eyes, "Yes, Miner was the greatest regret of my life. If it was indeed a difficult birth and death, that was fate, and I would accept it. But why was it caused by human hands? That poisonous woman, how can I forgive her!"
By the end of his speech, he gritted his teeth and spoke with a heavy hatred.
Fu'an just listened, lowering his head even further, not daring to reply.
The room was silent for a moment.
"Fu'an, go to the palace of eternal solitude and secretly execute Zhao. Remember, it must be done in secret and the prince must not be aware of it."
Emperor Xuanwu spoke suddenly, his voice as cold as ice, each word carrying an invisible sense of malice.
Fu'an heard this and his heart shook, but years of palace life had taught him to quickly regain composure. He stood respectfully and promised, "Yes, the old servant will follow the orders."
He then stood up, turned around, and quietly withdrew.
The night was as dark as ink, the moon hidden, stars scarce.
After Fu'an left the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he went to the cold palace secretly, followed by a few small eunuchs. The one in charge held a tray with three items on it.
A white silk ribbon, a cup of poisoned wine, and a dagger.
Fu'an led a few small eunuchs through a series of deep, shadowy palace alleys to reach the desolate and silent cold palace.
"Fu Gong Zhu, are you really going to do this? What if..."
A small eunuch lowered his voice and was full of hesitation.
The prince is still alive, looking as if the emperor still values him very much, and it's only a matter of time before he ascends the throne. If this matter were to be exposed, they would probably all die.
Fu'an stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at the small eunuch with a cold expression, "Is the order of the emperor something we can refuse?"
The words fell, and he continued to move forward, but he couldn't help but be nervous in his heart. He could only silently pray that the prince wouldn't discover them.
The cold palace was pitch black, with only a few beams of moonlight illuminating the silhouette of a hunched figure known as "Zhao the Commoner."
It was precisely the careful arrangement of the mysterious Nie Yue, who wore a Queen-like human skin mask on her face, curled up in the corner, with hollow and desperate eyes.
Fu'an didn't notice anything unusual and approached with a complex expression, glanced at the tray in the hands of the small eunuch behind him, and coldly said: "Zhao the commoner, commit suicide. This is the order of the emperor. Don't blame your old man."
The prisoner raised her head slowly, and the hollow eyes flickered with a sense of release. She stood up, approached, picked up the cup of poisoned wine, and drank it down without hesitation.
Shortly after, black blood spurted from her mouth, and she fell to the ground, clearly dead.
Fu'an watched this scene, feeling sorry in his heart, but could only sigh quietly.
He waved his hand, indicating for the small eunuchs to dispose of Zhao the Commoner's body, and then turned around to leave the cold palace.
However, he always felt a bit uneasy in his heart. The death of "Zhao the Commoner" was too peaceful, without any emotional fluctuations.
Fu'an felt odd, but he didn't intend to turn back and check.
In the depths of the palace, being too clever is not a good thing. Sometimes, being deaf and blind can be a blessing.
The East Palace, the lights are bright.
Guan Yue had just stepped through the door when a servant hurriedly reported.
"Prince, the prisoner who was impersonating the Queen in the cold palace has died. I saw with my own eyes that Eunuch Fu led a few young eunuchs to the cold palace. The prisoner drank the poisoned wine and died. Her body is probably already taken outside the palace by now."
Guan Yue coldly laughed, "Father, you are truly merciless."
Fortunately, he had moved his mother out of the palace earlier and secretly sent her to Jiangnan. Otherwise, his mother would have really died by now.
"We'll act as if we didn't know about this. Remember to keep your mouth shut."
He coldly issued a command, and then returned to his palace.
The moment he stepped into the palace, a strong scent of cosmetics overwhelmed him.
He wrinkled his brow, the smell made him want to sneeze. The scent was too strong.
He was just about to ask what was going on.
Then, a woman in pink gauze, exuding a seductive charm, swayed her hips towards him, wrapping herself around him like a water snake. She was full of allure and coquettishness.
"Prince, why did you only just return? Mistress has almost fallen asleep waiting for you."
The voice was sweet and sticky, like silk wrapping around you. It was so tender that it seemed to be dripping water.
Guan Yue tightened his brow, showing his disdain without any attempt to hide it. The disgust was written all over his face, and his voice was cold: "Get out."
He spoke, and he threw the woman off him, grabbing her arm and throwing her out without any mercy.
He showed no tenderness or concern for her.
A "thud" sound, the woman's body flew out like a lifeless kite, landing heavily in the courtyard outside the palace.
The sound was so intense that it seemed to hurt just to hear it.
The night guards at the palace gate were so scared that they trembled and fell to their knees in a heap.
Guan Yue raised his foot and stepped outside, his expression dark.
In his east palace, besides the concubines, eunuchs and guards, there was no concubine with a formal position.
It's not that he doesn't like women, or that there's something wrong with his body. He just hasn't found any woman he deems worthy of his attention, thinking they are all trivial and ordinary.
After regaining his memory, compared to Yao Er, he felt even more that those women were ordinary and vulgar, unappealing.
Once, many beauties were offered to him, but those who entered the east palace were sent to wash toilets and clean toilets.
Over time, no one dared to send beauties to him anymore.
Even if someone sent him top-notch beauties, as long as he didn't like them, they would still end up cleaning the toilet.
"Where did this woman come from?"
His voice was as cold as ice, making the surrounding air seem to freeze.
"Your Highness, it was the suggestion of the Marquis of Zhao. He said that your side doesn't have enough women to serve you, and since you are still young and vigorous, it wouldn't be suitable for an unmarried woman with children."
The servant who replied got quieter and quieter, his head also lowered lower, as if he wanted to hide himself from sight.
Guan Yue coldly laughed, "No wonder he's my good uncle, he really cares for him."
He knew only too well the thoughts of Zhao Guo. It must be that he was afraid Guan Yue wouldn't become the crown prince for Yao Er's sake, and fearing that the Zhao clan would have no support in the future, he eagerly sent beauties over.
"If Marquis Zhao sends any more beauties in the future, just throw them out. My bed is not something everyone is qualified to climb onto."
He walked in and smelled the thick smell of cosmetics all over the room, making his heart increasingly agitated.
"Someone, air the room and change everything on the bed."
He threw the words out coldly and went to the bathhouse in the pavilion for a wash.
His body was submerged in the pool, his muscular form, broad and snowy white chest, and beautiful fish-line abs revealed. His sexuality was captivating to the point of madness.
He closed his eyes, water droplets slowly sliding down his handsome face, but his thoughts drifted to Lianhua County.
He wondered what Yao Er was doing? She should be asleep by now.
What if he wanted to climb into bed suddenly?
The moon hung in the middle of the sky, a few simple carriages were traveling on the quiet official road, the sound of the wheels grinding against the ground was particularly clear in the empty night.
Inside the carriage, Yu Yao was holding two children, Anan and Youyou were leaning against her chest, their little faces showing the fatigue of a long journey.
But it couldn't hide the innocence and curiosity.
"Mummy, where..."
Anan rubbed his eyes and looked around, speaking vaguely.
Yu Yao gently patted his head, "It's almost there, Anan. Just hold on a bit longer and we'll be in the capital."
She could actually take the children there directly, but that might scare them.
Although they were young, they didn't mean they didn't understand anything.
Moreover, there were Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou behind them.
Not long after, the carriage slowly came to a stop at the Huaihuai Post Station, where lanterns were twinkling. In the quiet night, it seemed particularly warm.
"Madam, we have arrived at Huaihuai Post Station."
Aunt Zhou's voice rang out outside the carriage.
She lifted the car curtain and saw Aunt Zhou standing there, with Dogeggen obediently following.
"Madam, you've had a long journey. The two young masters are also tired. Let's rest here for the night."
Aunt Zhou whispered.
"Okay."
Yu Yao nodded slightly, handed Anan and Youyou to Aunt Zhou, and got off the carriage herself.
Uncle Zhou was busy unloading the things from the carriage, and several carmen were also helping.
The group entered the post station. Although it was simple, it was clean.
She instructed Uncle Zhou to arrange for rooms, and she herself led the two children into one room. Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou went into another with Dogeggen, and the three carmen shared a large dormitory.
After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.
On her way up, she couldn't help but ask Uncle Zhou behind her: "Uncle Zhou, how far is it from here to the capital?"
Uncle Zhou hesitated slightly before replying, "Madam, I just asked the people at the post station. It's not far from here to the capital. If the road is clear, we can reach the capital by tonight or early tomorrow morning."
Yu Yao heard this and felt a bit at ease. The long journey had left her physically and mentally exhausted.
"Madam, we should write a letter through the post station to inform the people in the capital. This will allow them to prepare in advance."
Uncle Zhou asked again.
"No need, Liu Yun is busy. It's not necessary to trouble her. We'll go directly there, anyway, we have the address."
She shook her head slightly and entered the room with Anan and Youyou in her arms.
Uncle Zhou saw the madam enter the room and said nothing more, returning to rest as well.
