An Lingrong's Rebirth: The Lock of Qingqiu

When the emperor felt tired and worried, An Lingrong would always whisper or hum softly, using her unique way to wipe away the emperor's fatigue and comfort him. More and more time, she got used to talking less and doing more, always maintaining a cautious attitude and not easily expressing her opinions, which instead won the emperor's favor more and more.

The emperor thought deeply and said slowly, "Li Ronghua, if I want to take down Longkodo, the Queen Mother is a hurdle that I must overcome. So after thinking it over, I think there is only one way, that is to put the Queen Mother under house arrest, so that we can take action against Longkodo. However, if the Queen Mother is under house arrest, if the civil and military officials know about it, it will cause an uproar, and they will be shocked and uneasy."

An Lingrong also thought of this relationship. She frowned slightly and said, "Queen, please think twice before you act. This is no small matter. Putting the Queen Mother under house arrest will definitely cause a strong reaction."

The emperor said decisively: "I can also foresee the consequences, but my mind is made up. I want to use this opportunity of placing the empress dowager under house arrest to thoroughly investigate Longkodo's assets, connections, corruption and other crimes."

The emperor was filled with a murderous aura: "Longkodo has been forming a clique in the court for many years and has long been extremely powerful. He is corrupt and has seriously damaged the reputation of the court and the interests of the people. I am determined to investigate this matter thoroughly and expose Longkodo's crimes one by one to serve as a warning to others."

When the Empress Dowager in Shoukang Palace woke up, the world had changed.

The entrance of Shoukang Palace was guarded tightly by several layers of guards. Meals were delivered to the Palace on time, but the people inside were not allowed to step out of the palace. Anyone with a brain could guess that the emperor had sealed off Shoukang Palace.

In the entire harem, not only the Empress Dowager's Shoukang Palace was sealed off, but even Concubine Jing's remote suburban palace and the Queen's Jingren Palace were sealed off overnight.

At the same time, the emperor ordered someone to investigate Longkodo and caught him off guard. Longkodo was still asleep in the morning when a large group of plainclothes officers came to the mansion. A guard in the lead kicked open the door of Longkodo's bedroom, lifted the warm quilt on him, and pulled him out of the bed. What was waiting for him was an inventory of his assets.

At this time, a group of capable officials were sent to Longkodo's mansion to register and check the property in the mansion one by one. At the same time, the emperor also ordered the confiscation of Longkodo's properties and shops to prevent him from transferring his property.

While checking the assets, the emperor did not forget to investigate Longkodo's connections. He sent spies to the court and the public to collect a list of officials who had contact with Longkodo. The officials on these lists, whether they colluded with Longkodo or were protected by him, would be strictly investigated by the emperor.

The banknotes, gold bars and silver hidden in Longkodo's mansion were an indication of his corruption. The emperor did not go to his mansion in person, but he assembled the elites from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to form a special task force, which conducted an in-depth investigation into Longkodo's corruption case.

The investigation lasted for more than half a month, and everyone in the court was in a panic. The empress dowager was also locked up in the deep palace for more than half a month.

Seeing that the situation with Longkodo could not be reversed, the Queen was on guard against the Queen Mother and Concubine Jing, but she never expected that the Queen would use her trump card at this time.

In broad daylight, the Queen sent Jiang Fuhai to kidnap An Lingrong and placed her under house arrest in a secret palace. In the Queen's words, An Lingrong is now one of the Emperor's most beloved concubines, and her disappearance must have been the biggest blow to the Emperor.

Then again, An Lingrong is extremely smart, and Qin Sanyue is always by her side to protect her. How could a mere Jiang Fuhai kidnap An Lingrong?

That's right! An Lingrong was kidnapped voluntarily. The Queen said that she would not harm her life, and Qin Sanyue stayed with An Lingrong. An Lingrong just wanted to see how the Emperor would deal with the Queen behind the intensified conflict.

Sure enough, when the emperor learned of An Lingrong's disappearance, he was shocked and immediately ordered a city-wide search. The empress took the opportunity to send a secret letter to the emperor, claiming that An Lingrong had been taken hostage by her and threatening the emperor to give up the hostile actions against Longkodo, otherwise An Lingrong's life would be in danger.

The emperor felt heavy-hearted after receiving the secret letter. He knew that the Empress's methods were always cruel, and if he did not do as she asked, An Lingrong's life would indeed be in danger. However, how could he easily give up the fight with Longkodo? This fight was related to the stability of his throne and the safety of the country, and he could not easily compromise.

However, under the coercion of the Queen, the Emperor was caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, he was worried about An Lingrong's safety, and on the other hand, he was unwilling to give up the fight with Longkodo. After careful consideration, the Emperor finally decided to temporarily compromise and reach a reconciliation with Longkodo in exchange for An Lingrong's safe return.

When the Empress learned of the Emperor's decision, she was secretly pleased. She had successfully used An Lingrong as a hostage to force the Emperor to abandon his hostilities with Longkodo. However, she also knew that the fight was not really over, but only temporarily calmed down.

On the day when the emperor rescued An Lingrong, the atmosphere in the entire palace seemed unusually solemn and tense. After the successful operation to rescue An Lingrong, the emperor immediately summoned the court officials and announced a surprising decision - to abolish the queen.

This decision was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, and it immediately caused an uproar in the court. The dethronement of the empress has always been a major event in the court, not to mention that this dethronement of the empress was obviously the result of the emperor's careful consideration. Although the empress is of noble status, her actions in recent years have caused the emperor's dissatisfaction and anger. Now, the emperor has finally made up his mind to pull her down from the position of empress.

While announcing the abolition of the queen, the emperor also made another important decision. He adopted the queen's son Honghui to Concubine Kang. Concubine Kang was virtuous and kind in the palace, and she had always disliked participating in palace fights. Adopting Honghui to her was undoubtedly the best arrangement.

As for the Third Prince, he returned to Concubine Qi's hands, and Princess Wen Yi was also taken back by Concubine Xiang to be raised.

At the same time as the emperor announced these decisions, another shocking incident occurred in the palace - Prince Honghui disappeared. His disappearance threw the entire palace into panic and chaos. The emperor immediately ordered the palace gates to be blocked, patrols in the palace to be strengthened, and all efforts were made to find Honghui's whereabouts.

The entire palace was shrouded in a tense and anxious atmosphere. Everyone hoped to find Honghui as soon as possible and hope that he was safe and sound.

In the following days, the whole palace was involved in the search for Honghui. Whether it was the palace maids and eunuchs or the officials of the court, they all went out to look for Honghui.

The emperor personally took charge of the search and asked about the progress of the search from time to time. He was filled with worry and anxiety, fearing that his son would encounter something unexpected. An Lingrong also accompanied the emperor silently, giving him support and comfort in her own way.

Finally, after several days of hard searching, good news came - Prince Honghui was found! It turned out that he was asked by the Queen to hide Honghui in a remote corner of the palace by a group of palace maids in Jingren Palace. Fortunately, he was not hurt.