An Lingrong's Rebirth: The Lock of Qingqiu

There is a very famous place in the south of the Yangtze River. It is said that wishes made there are extremely effective. The place is called Lingtai Mountain. On Lingtai Mountain there is a "spiritual tree" that has lived for a thousand years and is said to have turned into a tree demon.

Lingtai Mountain is a place that the emperor must visit, and it is also his first stop on his journey south to the south of the Yangtze River.

Climbing up to see the distant view, the emperor took An Lingrong up 9981 artificial wooden steps and finally reached the top of Lingtai Mountain. The huge spiritual tree was lush with branches and leaves, and was hung with red ropes used by people to make wishes.

An Lingrong, who was accompanying the emperor, suddenly heard the emperor whispering, "Rong'er, I am making a wish under this spiritual tree. I want to spend my life with you, walk through every day and night hand in hand. I will take you with me wherever I go, and you must take my elixir of immortality and those cakes that I will never get tired of eating. Oh, you must also take my jade seal and steel seal. It is enough for me to take you with me. The rest of my life is handed over to you. Please cherish it!"

The emperor's voice was extremely soft, but every word was so clear that An Lingrong couldn't help but smile and said softly, "Rong'er is willing to stay by your side forever, to go through the ups and downs with you, and to share your joys and sorrows."

The emperor poked An Lingrong's shoulder with his arm and said, "Don't call me Your Majesty. Be careful if others hear me, or my privacy will be exposed. Call me Si Lang!"

An Lingrong blushed and mumbled, "Silang, that's Sister Wan's special name. It's not good. I can't say it."

The emperor laughed softly and said, "Who said that Silang is a special name for your sister Wan? That's not right. I have never said such a thing. You misunderstood. Don't call me Silang. Use a name instead of the emperor. Anyway, you can't call him the emperor in front of everyone. Be careful not to show your true colors!"

An Lingrong blinked her eyes and asked cautiously and shyly, "How about calling Zhou Liufu daddy?!"

The emperor was speechless: "...Then you can call me Lord Zhou Si!"

An Lingrong smiled and said, "Okay, as you command, Master Zhou Si!"

An Lingrong teased, "Your Majesty... no, Lord Zhou, I see how Lord Si has become so affectionate now. Lord Si is surrounded by countless women, but if you say that Lord Si is only affectionate to one woman, I really can't believe it!"

An Lingrong's half-joking, half-playful tone made the emperor's face change, and he said solemnly: "Rong'er, now this Fourth Master's heart can only accommodate one person, and that person is Rong'er. There are too many women around me, maybe not. You see, Su Peisheng is a man, Xia Qian is also a man, and there are some palace maids who serve me in my daily life. If Rong'er doesn't like them, then I, the Fourth Master, will replace them all with eunuchs, so that you will feel comfortable. The Fourth Master just wants you to feel my sincerity. My sincerity is witnessed by the sun and the moon!"

The emperor kept mumbling, "But I want to remind you that you can't get jealous of me or get angry with me. I hold you in my heart and protect you. If anything happens to you, it will shake my mind and emotions. Especially your every look, every subtle expression, it is very likely to shake my mind, so please make sure you keep your expression and calm your emotions, and don't let me get involved!"

An Lingrong pretended to be surprised and said, "This is a difficult thing to do. Mr. Zhou wants me to smile all the time. How tiring that must be!"

The emperor continued, "Qin Xiaofeng, whom you recommended, is really good. He is smart and quick-witted. He performs very well in handling government affairs and dealing with emergencies. He is also diligent and can always complete tasks quickly and accurately. He is very flexible and seems to have endless energy. With such a person and a loyal minister like Zhen Yuandao to assist him, I can relieve a lot of worries. Rong'er's vision in selecting people is really unique."

An Lingrong said, "The Fourth Master has praised me too highly. The higher he praises me, the more painful it will be when I fall. I heard that the Queen Mother has begun to issue decrees in the court again, ordering the preparation of the triennial beauty pageant. This is a royal tradition, aimed at enriching the harem and continuing the lineage. However, the Fourth Master has been making excuses for his old age and frailty, and is unwilling to do this again. The Fourth Master is a scoundrel all day long, only willing to stay in Rong'er's palace and spend time with Rong'er, and ignores all summons from other concubines. If the Fourth Master hadn't angered the Queen Mother again, why would he have secretly taken Rong'er to the south for a tour to relax this time?!"

An Lingrong's words hit the emperor's heart, and the emperor sighed softly.

The Emperor said, "The Queen Mother is still the Queen Mother. She is old and experienced. She knows that I dote on Rong'er and cannot tolerate my being so unbridled and neglecting state affairs. In fact, with Zhen Yuandao, Qin Xiaofeng and others supervising me, nothing would happen if I left for ten days or half a month. But the Queen Mother said that I was talking nonsense and gave me a severe lesson, saying that as the Son of Heaven, how could you indulge in women all day long without taking state affairs seriously? Since you have killed your mother's lover, do you still want to live such a comfortable life? You really like to dream, and your dream is still a daydream, dreaming that your dream will come true every day!"

"The Queen Mother has ideas and actions. She has selected several beautiful women who are truly gentle, beautiful and have outstanding temperaments. She has sent them to me one after another, saying that these people were carefully selected by me. Don't forget that in addition to certain concubines and imperial concubines, there are many outstanding beauties waiting for you in this harem!"

An Lingrong added, "However, the Fourth Master turned a deaf ear to the arrival of these beauties. He was not even willing to look at them, and continued to immerse himself in his beautiful dreams. When the Queen Mother found out, she became even more angry. She knew that the Fourth Master had made up his mind and could not extricate himself, and nothing could change his mind."

The emperor took a step forward, hugged An Lingrong and said softly: "The one who understands me is Rong'er!"

"My mother had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being. She was still hoping that I would change my mind, saying that as long as I spent more time and patience, the Fourth Master would surely come to his senses and get back on track. Haha, pitiful parents in the world, but I didn't expect that my mother had her own purpose."

"This is not the first time that I have come to Jiangnan. This is my third time touring Jiangnan incognito. The affairs of the court are complicated and it is bound to be boring to stay in the palace all day. So, I secretly brought Rong'er out to experience the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan together. You have to find fun on your own!"

The emperor reminded her again, "An Lingrong, please check again to see if I have brought all my elixirs of immortality. During this trip, we should not only appreciate the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan, but also enjoy this rare leisure time. I will take Rong'er on a flower boat to travel around the mountains and rivers. We will not accept being disturbed by others and will fully appreciate the style of Jiangnan." The emperor put away the folding fan in his hand and said with a smile.