C109

Thirty miles down the river, the grass on both sides of the river was long and chirpy, the pink and white wild roses could be seen everywhere on the mountains and on the dams; thousands of nameless shrubs were lush and spirited; willow branches were covered with small green firecrackers, which swayed gently with the river wind; the occasional gentle bird cry could be heard from the bushes in the forest; the swallows were flying about in pairs on the river surface in search of food; a pair of wild ducks clumsily flew out of the water, and occasionally dived into the water to harass the tiny fish that thought of breaking their breath.

It seemed that there would still be a storm. It had been raining nonstop for a long time and the rain had obstructed many people's footsteps, but the fishermen on the river were taking advantage of the low pressure before the rain. The fish could not help but float to the surface to catch their last fish.

The small black tented boats could be seen everywhere on both banks of the West River. Murong Yu and Yun Shengyue were currently lying on one of the most ordinary fishing boats.

The old man had no expression on his face, and could even be said to be a little dark and heavy. The old lady on the other hand, had a face full of smiles, the wrinkles at the corner of her eyes were like a flower, the two old men's clothes were very clean, their skin color was dark as usual, and their calmness seemed to be different from that of ordinary fishermen.

"Old man, should we send these two children back?" The old lady was always full of smiles. Her smiles seemed to have a certain depth to them. Usually, there was a smile on her face when she spoke, making her smile even more cheerful.

The old man was a bit colder, but his expression was still stern from beginning to end. However, the reason why he kept a straight face was not because he was happy or unhappy, but because he had gotten used to it.

"It's inappropriate to send it back now!" His words were concise, and there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about his tone. However, with such an expression, outsiders would think that this person was extremely strict.

The old lady nodded, "These two children have not died, it can be considered fate for them to meet us. Anyway, we owe the royal family a favor back then, we should save them to the end, but we don't know why they came to this state. We might as well wait for them to wake up and let them decide for themselves."

"Yes." The old man was truly fond of words.

The old lady laughed again, "I really like these two children, or else I wouldn't want to get involved in this mess. Look at them, they've had such a big thing happen, and they're even holding hands tightly, and they're still not willing to part even after fainting. I used a lot of ingenuity to get rid of them."

Look at the sky, it's going to rain again. Let's hurry up and go find Crazy Old Man, arrow wounds are easy to treat, but I don't know what's happening to the one in my stomach. I see that there's nothing wrong with her body, but she hasn't woken up for so long. The old man spoke a rare string of words.

When the old lady heard this, her smile became a bit strange, as if she was hesitating, "This time you said you were going to look for that madman. Don't fight again after meeting him. Save the children is more important."

"You don't need to say that. I know what's important!" The old man sounded displeased, and the frequency of the oars in his hands increased.

The old lady pursed her lips and smiled, her expression relaxed, "I'll go in and see them. It looks like it's going to rain soon, the boat can get closer to the shore. What's there to worry about on the West River? Who would dare to question us!"

It was just an ordinary boat with Wu Hui at its feet. It was no different from an ordinary fishing boat, but the red flag of a carp was fluttering in the wind, very bright and dazzling. The other fishing boats would slowly move out of the way when they saw it, and the owners of the boats would stand their oars at the bow with their heads lowered, waiting for the old man's boat to pass by before continuing their activities.

It was obvious that the old lady loved to be clean. Murong Yu and Yun Shengyue had already changed their clothes and put on ordinary blue cotton clothes. The two of them were lying side by side on a bed that was not very spacious.

These few days, the old granny would feed them two bowls of fish soup every day. To be honest, Murong Yu had suffered an arrow wound and lost a lot of blood, as well as his internal organs when he fell into the water. As a result, he was in a coma for a few days.

This old couple seemed to only be slightly skilled in medicine, treating ordinary internal and external injuries, and the more complicated ones were not very well understood. That was why they wanted to find someone else, and the lunatic that they were referring to was the one who had left the sect twenty years ago, the one who had become famous in the martial arts world, the 'Miracle Return of Spring'. After that, he didn't know what had stimulated him to retreat, but after twenty years, there weren't many people who had mentioned him.

As usual, the old granny gave them a slight pulse before covering them with the blanket again. She placed both of their hands together and looked out of the cabin, only to see that raindrops the size of beans had already started to drip onto the river, creating ripples again and again. The old granny leaned on a bunk on the other side of the river with a smile, looking at Murong Yu and Xiao Budian with a very peaceful expression.

Ah!" Scram! "All of you, scram!" In the Phoenix Perch Palace, the empress's bedroom was a mess. Vases and teacups were shattered on the ground, tea leaves and tea were lying innocently on the ground along with flowers still dripping with water. The palace servants didn't dare come in to clean up, while the empress was still in a rage.

Not long after the crown prince had died, another accident had happened to the Duke of Qin. How could the empress not go crazy? Out of the three princes, only one remained, so no matter how much they fought, it was useless. Duke Ming was the only heir.

"Qian Yulian, you are ruthless!" You're too cruel! Your son is even more ruthless than you are, and is unwilling to even let go of the unborn royal grandson. If you all end my path of retreat, then I will not let you live in peace, and even if no one is willing to inherit this throne, I will not give it up to you! " The empress threw herself onto something to vent her anger, sat down on a chair and glared fiercely at the ground while growling.

In the past few days, the empress's mood had not been the same as it had been when the crown prince died, but it was instead the trend towards her becoming more and more furious. She looked as if she wanted to return together with Qian Yulian at all times, and her fury flared up almost once a day, so no one could dissuade her. Whenever this happened, Su mama would send all her servants away. After all, what the empress was cursing was not good news, and if word spread, it would be disadvantageous for the empress.

Su mama stood quietly off to the side. After a while, she saw that the empress's temper had mostly been vented out, so she stepped forward to comfort her.

"Empress, there is still no news from the Duke of Qin right now. It might not be … It may not be gone, and if it is, you can't be so decadent. You want revenge, don't you? You need to take a deep breath and think of a way. "

"Think of a way?" What else can you think of? " The blow to the empress's body was too much. She was an extremely intelligent and calm woman, otherwise she wouldn't have such a day. It had taken her so much effort to endure this grievous news, and no one could take it.

"Esteemed Empress, there are rumours in the palace that it was Duke Ming who murdered the Duke of Qin, but the guards who returned confirmed that the princess was kidnapped by an outsider, and that it was a bunch of people who murdered the crown prince. Imperial Concubine Lian is now ill, so Imperial Concubine Lian doesn't have the mood to be arrogant. By the time she's recovered from her shock, you've missed a great opportunity …"

"What great opportunity?"

Su mama clenched her fists, but it was only now that she thought of this. "The emperor has suffered a blow, and his health is getting worse by the day. Esteemed Empress should take advantage of this opportunity to properly protect the emperor, even if Duke Fu wasn't harmed by Duke Ming, you still have to make the emperor suspect Duke Ming and Imperial Concubine Lian so that you can have a backup plan for yourself in the future."

"Even if Duke Qin was harmed by Duke Ming, he is now the only prince left. His majesty the Emperor will not punish him, so there's no use in suspecting him!"

"Empress Dowager, have you forgotten the story of Empress Li Xian?" Su mama reminded him in a low voice.

The empress dowager, Empress Dowager Xian, was the empress of the founding emperor of Beheng, a legendary figure of the empire. She had never had a son, but she received the favor of the emperor, so much so that before the emperor passed away, he left a decree for her to be succeeded by the crown prince. However, the crown prince's own mother could only be promoted to be an imperial concubine, and she could not interfere in politics at all. Empress Dowager Li not only had the authority to manage the harem, but also the government. Of course, her intellect and brilliance were enough to subdue the court officials, and the later two generations of emperors had all passed away in their prime. She had great power and was admired by all the women of the later generations.

"Empress Dowager Li, how could I possibly mention this to you …" The empress was aware of her situation, so she replied in embarrassment.

Su mama said, "The Empress doesn't need to manage the government, but she can take over the harem. As long as the emperor is suspicious and wary of Imperial Concubine Lian, even if Duke Ming ascends the throne, the emperor needs someone to restrain them. The Empress is the best choice."

Su mama was indeed worthy of being called the old mama who had followed the empress for dozens of years. Being able to think about this so quickly was already quite impressive. The empress's expression had indeed calmed down a bit. She thought for a moment before asking, "How is the emperor doing now?"

"This old servant has already asked the imperial doctor, the emperor is fine for now, but the poison has already injured his body, and he's been angered and hurt. His body is much weaker than before, so he needs to calm down and recuperate, but …" "This old servant heard from the little Yuanzi beside the emperor that the emperor was always depressed and worried all day long. He didn't sleep well at night, and if this goes on, it'll be difficult for him to recover his vitality …" Su mama's voice became lower and lower.

"Mm. Give me some makeup and change into some plain clothes. I'll take care of the emperor myself." Now that the empress's rationality had returned, she could only gamble everything she had. She had to achieve something. If she couldn't get what she wanted from the emperor, then she would rather die together with Qian Yulian!

The only atmosphere was still extremely gloomy. The normally benevolent and virtuous Emperor had personally ordered his two palace maids to be killed two days ago. Because of the discussion about the assassination of the crown prince and the fall of the diligent king, Qian Yulian had dealt with many of her servants in the Jade Palace. The palace's servants had become much more talkative now.

Although Duke Ming had been killed and there were no more competitors for King Ming's position, Qian Yulian was not in a good mood recently. Murong Mingxiang had been in a daze all day and was blabbering nonsense, but he had not fully woken up yet. His face was pale and bruised, and he looked like a dying man on the verge of death.

Qian Yulian was naturally anxious even though the imperial physician promised her so. The emperor himself had been sick for days, so he couldn't come over to check on the situation. Qian Yulian was anxious and afraid because she didn't even send anyone to check on the people around her.

She was already suspected of being involved in the assassination attempt of the crown prince. When the diligent king had fallen off the cliff, Murong Ming had been present and had fallen ill the moment he had returned. Had he increased his suspicion of them? If not, why didn't he come over to take a look at Mu Rong Ming when he had been unconscious for a few days?

Qian Yulian was on the verge of tears. Although the situation was developing in her favor, it was not a good thing for everyone to be suspicious of her, after all, the emperor was still alive and well, and if someone couldn't find the culprit behind all of this, then someone would have to pay the price for it. No matter what, Murong Ming was the emperor's only bloodline, and he had never committed any evil deeds, so even if the emperor didn't like him, he wouldn't punish him.

Regardless of whether she was wronged or not, regardless of whether she was willing to or not, even if it was for her son's sake, she could only be the villain. Therefore, she was very afraid right now, she had already sent out orders for the Qian Family, the Baili Family, and all the families supporting her to spare no effort in finding out the culprit behind the assassination attempt on the crown prince and the kidnapping of Qin Wangfei.

She wasn't the one who did this, she wasn't the one who did it. However, right now, only she knew that she wasn't, and no one else believed her. Everyone was suspicious, and she didn't even have a chance to explain herself.

"Yue Er …" "Yue Er …" Murong Ming was once again mumbling nonsense, but he still couldn't forget Yun Sheng. Qian Yulian was anxious and annoyed. Sometimes, she would wonder if many things would have changed if she let Yun Shengyue be Murong Chong's concubine earlier at the Baili family. Unfortunately, it was unknown now.

Qian Yulian had no choice but to take care of him in the Jadeite Temple. Even Baili Xiu and Zhong Hanxue could only come to see him when he was asleep, and over the past few days, Qian Yulian had grown much more haggard and her eyes were black.

"Empress, you should go rest for a while. His Highness has an old servant watching over him." Qian mama said.

"No need, I'll switch with you tonight." Qian Yulian rubbed her forehead and asked, "Is there still no news from outside?"

"Not yet."

"Tell me, do you really think that the Duke and the others are doomed now?"

"According to Wei Jin, the cliff is bottomless, and the Duke of Qin suffered an arrow wound. Consort Gong is eight months pregnant, so there's no hope for her falling."

"Then why can't we find the corpse!" The uncertainty of life or death inevitably caused many people to feel apprehensive.

"The water in the valley is too fast, and after days of heavy rain, the water potential has increased by quite a bit." The water in the valley is too fast, and after days of heavy rain, the water potential has increased.

"Forget it!" "Let's not talk anymore. How's the situation with the empress?"

"The empress shouldn't be having a good time either. I heard she keeps throwing things around, but most servants can't get close. I wonder what the hell she's doing!"

"It's good that she's gone mad. She doesn't have any chips left, even the Heavens are on my side." Qian Yulian snorted with pride.

"Esteemed Empress, don't be careless. The empress's thoughts are meticulous, and the emperor's attitude isn't clear …"

Qian Yulian slapped the bed and said, "It's not like I did this. What's there to be afraid of? Your Majesty is sad now, so you'll find out soon enough. Why are you making me take the blame for this?"

"Esteemed Empress, although that is what you say, people's words are fearsome. Outside … The rumors outside are not pleasant! "

"Humph!" Qian Yulian's face turned dark. "Go out and put more pressure on them. We can't do anything with so many people. We have to find out who the culprit is. It will be dangerous if we take the blame!"

"Yes!" "Esteemed Empress, the Emperor isn't feeling too well either. You should go over and take a look."

"Do you think I don't want to go? Last time, when we went, even those few damn servants were able to stop my carriage! "

"In this old servant's opinion, even if the emperor doesn't see the Empress for the time being, the Empress still has to go. The emperor is soft-hearted. If he goes too far, he'll still be willing to see the Empress."

"This …" Qian Yulian had always been a favorite of everyone, so she didn't want to lower her voice.

Senior Servant Qian persuaded, "Your Highness is still sick, while the rumors outside are not. The Empress has suffered a little because of Your Highness. Things have already gotten to this point and ten years have already passed. Endure this moment any longer is nothing, and the truth will be revealed."

"Alright, let me think about it again. These past few days, I've been extremely tired. My mind is about to be muddled." Qian Yulian frowned. She looked tired indeed.

"Then, esteemed wangfei, please rest for a moment on this soft chair. This old servant will help you hammer and drink an extra bowl of soup. Your highness still needs your care. You must take care of yourself."

"Yes, wake up the people outside. If there is any news come in, wake me up immediately." Qian Yulian finally left her bed and sat on the rocking chair with a soft blanket. She was worried and told him something before she slowly closed her eyes.