Emperor Deshun, wearing armor, raised his head. At that moment, the empress dowager seemed to see Emperor Deshun killing King Yuxi and going to the cold palace with Yunxi to pick her up.

Emperor Deshun stood up and held the Empress Dowager's hand, his eyes filled with heat, and he curled the corners of his lips stiffly, saying in a gentle voice: "I will not return to the court until the Xiongnu is defeated. Now that my son and Imperial Noble Consort Jinrong are gone, the harem will have to rely on your mother to take care of it."

As the voice fell, the Queen Mother's tears rolled down and fell on her clothes. Her clear eyes darkened. After a moment, she pushed away Emperor Deshun's hand, turned her back and said, "Don't worry, I will help my grandson and make Tianqi Kingdom prosperous and glorious."

Emperor Deshun smiled, took out a secret letter from his chest and handed it to Aunt Shi Mi, saying, "When the Queen Mother forgives me, I will give this to her."

He knelt down again and kowtowed three times. Then Emperor Deshun turned around and mounted his horse, saying loudly: "Today I will fight with you against the Xiongnu in the northern border. Everyone has died since ancient times. Why not leave your name in history? I am willing to use my flesh and blood to defeat the Xiongnu with you, so that the descendants of Tianqi will no longer suffer from war and enjoy a peaceful and prosperous era."

Upon hearing the news, 30,000 elite soldiers knelt down and shouted, "Long live His Majesty."

Emperor Deshun held the reins tightly and walked to the front of the 30,000 elite soldiers. He continued in a loud voice: "In the past two days, your names and residences have been carefully registered. Each person can enjoy two taels of military salary per month. The relatives of soldiers who died bravely on the battlefield can receive fifty taels of silver. If you can get military merit, you will be rewarded according to your military merit."

Lin Tingxu led Jiang Feng and his group to pull ten carriages, each of which had six large boxes.

The box was lifted down and opened, and it shone with silver light, which was very dazzling.

When the soldiers saw this, they were shocked and raised their weapons high, shouting: "Long live the king!" The sound was like beating drums, shaking the sky.

"Let's go!" Emperor Deshun waved his hand, rode first on horseback, and Yunxi followed closely behind.

Lin Luoling suddenly saw a group of female soldiers behind the soldiers, led by Master Jing'an.

She turned her eyes to look at the Crown Prince Qin Yan with her mouth wide open. Qin Yan pursed his lips, knelt down and said, "Farewell, Father. May you return triumphantly soon."

Seeing this, Lin Luoling and all the officials knelt on the ground.

Dust was flying and settling, and the figures of Emperor Deshun and his 30,000 elite soldiers were so blurred that they could not be seen clearly.

Crown Prince Qin Yan stood at the city gate for a long time before he led a group of officials back to the city. The empress dowager, sitting in the white phoenix snow screen carriage, looked very unhappy.

Lin Luoling discussed with Crown Prince Qin Yan and wanted to personally escort the Queen Mother back to the palace.

Crown Prince Qin Yan nodded, and Lin Luoling sent the Queen Mother back to the palace.

They had not walked far when they heard sobbing sounds becoming louder and louder.

Lin Luoling pushed aside the carriage curtain and asked Hualian: "Send someone to see who is crying?"

Hualian just responded when she saw Shi Mi walking over quickly and said to Lin Luoling, "My Lady Crown Princess, there is no need to send anyone to inquire about this matter in person. When we get to Jingshou Palace, I will tell you in detail. If they want to cry, let them cry."

Lin Luoling immediately realized that it must be Emperor Deshun who was leading the expedition to the northern border in person. None of the concubines in the harem, who had just entered the palace less than three months ago, were pregnant. They were afraid that something might happen to Emperor Deshun during this expedition, so they were all invited to the platform next to the Hexian Palace, given white silk and poisoned wine, and buried with Emperor Deshun.

She nodded slightly, her slender white fingers dropped, the car curtain closed, and Lin Luoling sighed secretly.

When she arrived at Jingshou Palace, the empress dowager was in a bad mood.

It happened that the chief eunuch of the Internal Affairs Bureau came to report: "Concubine Duan of the Millennium Palace said that Concubine Chi stole a guqin left by her ancestors. Concubine Chi said that she had never seen the guqin. The two of them couldn't come to an agreement, so they started fighting..."

Lin Luoling originally thought that the Queen Mother would order people to thoroughly investigate the matter and find out who stole Lady Duan's guqin.

Unexpectedly, the Queen Mother ordered Shi Mi with cold eyes, "Go and convey my imperial decree in person, banish Concubine Duan and Concubine Chi to the cold palace, and order all the concubines in the harem to see them off.

Tell all the concubines in the harem that when your majesty goes to the northern border, I will not tolerate any injustice. From now on, if any concubine, imperial concubine, or beauty in the palace dares to cry, fight, argue, or play tricks when your majesty goes to war, don't blame me for being merciless and sending them to the cold palace for reflection."

"Yes!" Shi Mi led the chief eunuch of the Internal Affairs Bureau and walked away quickly.

The Queen Mother glanced at Lin Luoling and asked, "Why? Do you think I was too cruel?"

"No!" Lin Luoling said truthfully: "I am just wondering why the Empress Dowager didn't find out who stole the guqin?"

The Queen Mother sneered, "If someone with ulterior motives stole it, how could it be easily found? Even if they were found, the harem is in chaos, and the person behind the scenes may not be found. Even if they were found and beaten to death, how could the disputes in the harem be settled?

Why is the harem so chaotic? Do you know?"

Lin Luoling lowered her eyes and replied, "Forgive me for my stupidity. I have been ill in bed and don't know what is going on in the harem. I can't figure it out for the time being."

The Queen Mother sneered: "Although Imperial Noble Consort Jinrong is the daughter of the Grand Commandant, she has no children and is not the Queen. It is not legitimate for her to be in charge of the harem.

The fathers of so many concubines in the harem were high-ranking officials of the third rank or above. How could she not take them into consideration? If she dealt with them with thunderous means, it would undoubtedly make enemies for her father in the previous dynasty.

Therefore, every time the concubines in the harem quarreled, she would either give them advice or give them a few mild reprimands. How could she clean up the atmosphere in the harem?"

The Queen Mother sighed deeply, looked into the distance, and said: "If you want to be in charge of the harem, you must not be hesitant, nor should you overdo it. It is most important to find the right balance.

Remember, you must not be soft-hearted when managing the harem, as it is very difficult for a virtuous queen to live a long life."

The Queen Mother looked at Lin Luoling meaningfully. Lin Luoling suddenly realized and bowed to the Queen Mother, saying, "Thank you, Grandmother, for your advice."

The Queen Mother waved her hand and said, "I am tired today. Please help me to the couch."

Lin Luoling held the Queen Mother's outstretched hand and immediately found that her fingers were cold. She asked with concern, but the Queen Mother only said that she was fine. After lying on the soft couch, she said to Lin Luoling:

"Yan'er will be the regent and you have nothing to do in the Crown Prince's Mansion. Tomorrow morning, come to Jingshou Palace to help me take care of the trivial matters in the harem."

Lin Luoling nodded in agreement, and the Queen Mother asked her to return to the Prince's Mansion first.

As soon as I stepped into the backyard, I saw Gu Shun pacing back and forth.

When Gu Shun saw Lin Luoling coming back, his dim eyes suddenly brightened up, and he stepped forward and said, "My Lady Crown Princess, please go and persuade His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Young Master Jiang. They are arguing over something, and they won't let anyone get close to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's study."

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like