An Lingrong's Rebirth: The Lock of Qingqiu

"Mother, do you know that I announced a truce on the surface, but in fact I was making careful arrangements in secret. I have already secretly deployed a thousand troops in Junggar. These troops are elite soldiers who have been strictly selected and trained. They are placed in key positions in Junggar and are ready to act at any time."

"Mother, war is cruel, with countless casualties, and it is also very expensive. I have long ago ordered people to bury a large amount of gold deep in the Dongjiang Mountain, build a river, and then take out the gold from under the water on the eve of the battle as a source of funds for recruiting soldiers. This batch of gold is huge, enough to recruit a large number of soldiers in a short period of time and enhance my strength."

"Mother, I have no one to rely on. I can only rely on myself. I started recruiting soldiers in the Dzungar Khanate and sent messengers to spread the word, recruiting people with lofty ideals to join the army, claiming that we will jointly protect the safety of Dzungar. I also used the huge temptation of gold to attract some young and strong men who were originally hesitant to join the camp."

"Mother, Tsering did not notice anything unusual on the first night after returning home. He led an army of 300,000 and was already exhausted after a thousand-mile march. However, just as he was about to reach his destination, he was suddenly ambushed."

"The soldiers in ambush came from all directions. They cooperated well and attacked fiercely. Ce Ling's army was caught off guard. For a moment, the battlefield was filled with flames and shouts of killing. Although Ce Ling was brave and good at fighting, he was powerless in such an ambush."

"After a fierce battle, Ce Ling's army suffered heavy losses. Many soldiers died in the battle, and most of the remaining soldiers were injured. Ce Ling himself was also seriously injured and barely managed to escape from the battlefield. This ambush dealt a heavy blow to Ce Ling's army, and their morale was extremely low. I took the opportunity to strengthen my defense and make full preparations for the next battle."

"After losing Shi San, Ce Ling must have been filled with pain and confusion. He must have reflected on his own behavior and wondered if he had ever done anything against the laws of heaven that would lead to such retribution. All of this is the result of the cycle of heaven, and he is destined to suffer such punishment. Mother, are you listening?"

"In this state of mind, Ce Ling gradually became cold and ruthless, and even began to want to vent his anger on the people around him. The first person he thought of was Su Wan'er, the woman who had been by his side. He believed that it was Su Wan'er who betrayed him, which led to his loss of Shi San, so he decided to kill Su Wan'er to vent his anger."

The emperor kept talking, and Aunt Zhuxi's eyes turned red. She couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so she gently advised, "Your Majesty, please get up quickly. The Empress Dowager might have fallen asleep a long time ago. Please don't kneel down. You've been tired from fighting, so go and have a good rest!"

Zhuxi helped the emperor up, but unexpectedly a low voice came from inside: "You beast, you forced Su Wan'er into a foreign country, do you care about her life or death?"

The emperor shook off Zhuxi's arm, his eyes suddenly cold as he said, "Why should I care about her life or death? Is it because Su Wan'er is the illegitimate daughter of mother and Longkodo? Mother, don't forget that it was mother who personally ordered the death of Su Mi'er!"

The Queen Mother appeared trembling at the gate of Jingren Palace, confronted the Emperor, and said angrily: "You know that Su Mi'er and Su Wan'er are both my daughters who have been exiled to the mortal world, why do you still favor Su Mi'er so much? Aren't you deliberately trying to hurt my heart?"

The emperor sneered and raised his eyebrows, "Oh, mother, by the way, I almost forgot, I have never touched Su Mi'er. They say that seeing is believing, but what outsiders see may not be true. I think Su Mi'er is dirty!"

The Queen Mother rolled her eyes upwards, and it seemed that she was about to choke. Aunt Zhuxi quickly steadied the Queen Mother's body and rubbed her back vigorously. After catching her breath, the Queen Mother cried out repeatedly, "You, you, you, you evil creature, I will beat you to death."

The emperor waved his sleeves in anger, stepped back a few steps and said, "Please take care of yourself, mother, and don't do anything to Rong'er. Otherwise, don't blame me for making your private affairs public. I don't want the family's shame to be exposed. If you really want me to do this, it's because you forced me to do it."

The Queen Mother took a deep breath, her face turned pale, and she shouted, "Su Wan'er, is she still alive?"

The emperor said disdainfully, "My mother can't even protect herself, and she still cares about a mere Su Wan'er! She's not dead. Ce Ling originally wanted to kill her, but he didn't expect that Su Wan'er was smarter than my mother. She knew that she was in danger and made preparations in advance. At this point, she might have already fled back to Xiru Tower and returned to the capital!"

The Queen Mother sighed deeply and said, "Starting tomorrow, ask Concubine Duan to send Princess Shisan to Jingren Palace. I will raise her myself. She is the bloodline that Longkodo left to me."

The emperor turned around, spat lightly, and went back to the Yangxin Palace with disdain.

Since Princess Shisan returned to the Qing Dynasty, Celeng put aside his prejudice and began to submit to the Qing Dynasty. The emperor was also satisfied to see that this frontier overlord who once caused the Qing Dynasty a lot of headaches was finally willing to submit to the Qing Dynasty. Celeng wrote a letter saying that for the sake of Princess Shisan, he was willing to take off his military uniform, submit to the Qing Dynasty, pay tribute to the court regularly, and hope to pay regular visits to Princess Shisan.

The emperor handed Ce Ling's letter to An Lingrong for her to read, and An Lingrong's anxious heart finally settled down.

The war outside has been settled, and the power of the two powerful ministers, Longkodo and Nian Gengyao, has been relatively eliminated. Both inside and outside are in a relatively stable state, and we can rest assured for a short period of time.

An Lingrong put all her thoughts on refining elixirs. She not only made elixirs for immortality, but also made medicines for skin beautification, physical fitness, and various difficult and complicated diseases. She made medicines with heart, studied day and night, and finally achieved considerable success in the field of medicine. She was not only proficient in the matching and efficacy of various herbs, but also had the courage to innovate and tried to cleverly combine various herbs to maximize their efficacy.

Su Peisheng couldn't find the emperor's people, so he looked for them everywhere in the palace, and finally found Yining Palace. The emperor was watching An Lingrong fiddling with the herbs. He got interested and rolled up his sleeves, tied a cloth skirt, and dipped his hands into the dark green medicine juice, nodding and praising while stirring the juice. An Lingrong smiled and pinched the herbal silk on the emperor's hair on his forehead, saying, "If the emperor often soaks his hands in the herbal juice, it won't be long before his body will have a herbal fragrance, and it might even attract butterflies!"

The emperor lowered his head, sniffed it again and again, took a deep breath, and exclaimed: "I have never felt that the fragrance of this herb is better than the fragrance of a woman's rouge. I am afraid that I love her too much! Why am I so obsessed with the smell of this herb? Rong'er, I may not mean it, but I may take it to heart. Then I will punish you by making you accompany me to the plum garden to attract butterflies tonight."

An Lingrong was both amused and confused. It was just a joke she made unintentionally, but the emperor took it seriously. How could the smell of this herb really attract butterflies at night?

Unfortunately, you are not joking!