A family of four living without worries

  "Your Majesty, I—” The concubine almost spat out the words, “I am fine, just need some rest."

  "Are you saying that Yan Shangshu's words are not believable?"

  Her seven souls and six spirits' memories all returned, with a modern reincarnation, but after returning to her memories, the pulse in her body was no longer like before, it could be detected by his touch. Thinking back to when she hadn't returned, even her brother had suspicions, she must have been stupid to let him take her pulse.

  It's annoying to be oneself, what's the point of being entangled. Just lift up the quilt and tell him who I am. Anyway, since my memory came back, she can control the transformation pill in her body by herself, whatever she wants to become is what she becomes.

  The hand that lifted the quilt, however, directly lifted the quilt head and covered its own head: "Your Majesty, I, I haven't had enough sleep."

  After a moment of silence, he heard his faint voice say: "Since Yan Shangshu insists on his own opinion, I have government affairs and am busy. Yan Shangshu will come to see me again when he is in better spirits."

  As soon as she heard his words, she immediately sat up and looked around. The mosquito net opposite her was empty, the bed was vacant, and there was only an empty chair left beside it.

  He's gone...

  Liu Auntie followed closely behind the master as they walked out of the door, and suddenly discovered that Long Yan had inquired about Hua Xiuyan's well-being after which his mood seemed to have improved significantly. This made her even more perplexed, asking: "Your Majesty, do you want to invite a royal physician to take Miss Hua's pulse?"

  "Haven't you heard? I wanted to take her pulse, but she wouldn't even let me." Someone said this with a tone that was somewhat languid and careless, like blowing a gentle breeze.

  "This..." Liu Gugu was confused. Refusing Flower Evening Color shouldn't make the dragon's face unhappy, but why did the dragon's face seem even more delighted?

  After all, he cared about her, stopped in his tracks and pondered: "If the maid in her house mentions that she needs to invite a doctor, come and tell me immediately."

  Liu's aunt replied: "Your humble servant obeys your orders."

  In Yongning Hall, Gong Xiangyu and several other officials, all university students in the Imperial Cabinet, gathered here after receiving an urgent summons. The sudden death of Empress Hu was a major event for the imperial court.

  Zhang Ming had heard some rumors and quietly asked Gong Xiangru: "Lord Gong, I've heard that the Empress Dowager's final illness was diagnosed by you. Is it true that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager died from a heavenly curse?"

  "It's hard to say whether it's a heavenly curse or not." Gong Xiangyu replied cautiously, "There are records of the heavenly curse in historical books, but no one has seen it for many years. I haven't seen it with my own eyes either, so I shouldn't jump to conclusions."

  He glanced at Gong Xiangyu's pale face and thought to himself, "I remember someone saying that the Empress Dowager was also killed by a curse. Yet, Gong Xiangyu doesn't seem to be affected at all. Is it because of their family's integrity or is it because they're heartless?" He turned back to respond to the other person, "What you said, Lord Gong, is correct. To truly confirm whether it was a curse, we need to find evidence of the spell and apprehend the culprit to confess to the crime. However, the Empress Dowager is a noble figure, who would dare to curse her?"

  Gong Xiangru cleared his throat and said, "Lord Zhang, don't blame me for reminding you. The royal physician Wang, who said the Empress Dowager was possessed by an evil spirit, is still kneeling at the gate of the Yongshou Palace. With the precedent set by Royal Physician Wang, I absolutely do not have the guts to say in front of Your Majesty that the Empress Dowager is possessed. As for saying that the Empress Dowager has contracted a heavenly curse, Your Majesty has never acknowledged it yourself."

  Zhang Ming first heard the words, his eyes widened and he suddenly stopped speaking. As for what Tianxue is, whether it counts as a kind of Zhongxie or not, it's hard to say. However, the Emperor's move has made it clear that family scandals cannot be spread outside. Even if Li Zimo himself thought that the possibility of Tianxue was the greatest.

  "Thanks for the reminder, Gong!" Zhang Ming said with a bow, almost making a big mistake after the emperor arrived.

  Marquis Gong bowed back carefully: "General Zhang is being polite."

  After a while, Li Zimo walked in, and several ministers bowed their heads.

  He lightly swept his dragon robe, turned around and sat down on the dragon chair, sighed: "All of you know about the Empress Dowager's passing. I summoned all of you here to discuss with you how to hold a funeral for the Empress Dowager."

  Several university scholars, including Zhang Mingshen, exchanged a look, and then Zhang Mingshen stepped forward to answer: "Your Majesty, according to the customs of our dynasty, when the Empress Dowager passes away, Your Majesty should suspend court for five days, wear plain clothes, and during this period, all state affairs with foreign countries will be suspended. If Your Majesty wants to grant a general amnesty to comfort the spirit of the Empress Dowager and express her benevolent heart to the people of the world, it is also acceptable."

  Li Zimo listened to his words, seemingly most touched by his last sentence, and said: "In the past, when the former emperor and my empress passed away, did I not grant a great amnesty to the world?"

  "Your Majesty, we recall that when the previous emperor passed away, there was a general amnesty. However, when the Empress Dowager passed away, there wasn't one."

  The reason why there was no pardon at that time is very simple. Because the war had just ended, the national situation was not stable. Amnesty must have preconditions, so releasing some prisoners who should not be released would not be a good thing for the already unstable domestic situation.

  After finishing the good words of Empress Hu, Zhang Mingxian spoke again: "Your Majesty, whether to hold a national funeral or not, and how to do it, depends on the situation. If the national situation does not permit it, Your Majesty can decide to keep it secret and not announce it."

  "I understand the severity of this matter. The previous emperor had instructed me that if the situation was unstable, he also wanted to keep his own death a secret. During the previous emperor's reign, he was deeply loved by the people, so when he passed away, the entire nation mourned deeply, and nothing happened that would have made him worry. Therefore, I granted amnesty to the whole country. When the empress died, due to the war with Da Yuan, for a period of time, I kept her death a secret. After the empress's tomb was built, I personally sent her off on her final journey, and the national mourning was hastily arranged. Today, the empress dowager has passed away, although the country is at peace, but behind all the music and celebration, I think that the empress dowager's passing is too sudden, if it were to be announced to the world, I fear that the people's hearts would become unstable."

  The many officials had long since sensed that he did not want to hold a state funeral for Empress Hu, so they were not surprised by his words and all expressed their agreement.

  As for the attitude of the various ministers, Li Zimo nodded his eyes as if he was deeply satisfied and said: "I believe that the spirit of the empress dowager will understand our sincerity. The tomb of the empress dowager has been arranged to be beside the previous emperor's. However, I visited the previous emperor's tomb last time, due to the rain, some parts need to be repaired. As for the empress dowager's tomb, let's temporarily place it at Xiaoyun Ridge."

  Zhang Ming and others were all shocked by his words in their hearts.

  Although Yongning Hall and Yongsu Palace have been rumored to be at odds since the death of Empress Hu, on the surface, Li Zimo has always shown filial piety towards her. Every year during festivals, he would pay his respects to her without fail, and his filial conduct was renowned throughout the land. It is undeniable that Empress Hu loved her son deeply after he ascended to the throne. The relationship between mother and son, as seen by outsiders, was one of perfect harmony, with Li Zimo showing utmost respect and Empress Hu showering him with love, leaving no room for criticism or fault-finding.

  However, the Xiaoyun Ridge that Lǐ Zǐmò suddenly mentioned is not the imperial mausoleum Yunling, with only one word different in name but vastly different in reality. The geographical location of Xiaoyun Ridge is nearly a hundred miles away from Yunling. None of those buried there belong to the royal family, although some princes and generals are buried there. Once Empress Hu was buried there, it would be equivalent to stripping her of her imperial household registration after death.

  When did this mother and son's hearts become so distant?

  The emperor looked at the officials and said calmly, "Since it has been decided to keep it a secret, I don't need to suspend court or wear mourning clothes. When I came from the Yongshou Palace just now, I also instructed the people of the Imperial Household Department that the funeral of the Empress Dowager would be simple, and I will let others handle it. Whoever dares to spread rumors outside the palace, speaking wildly about the Empress Dowager being possessed by evil spirits, if I find out, they will all be beheaded."

  It turned out that his last words were the key point. He summoned them just to warn some people.

  Zhang Mingxian's mustache twitched twice, relieved that he had asked Gong Xiangru first and, with Gong Xiangru's reminder, hadn't made this fatal mistake.

  "Gong Qing and Zhang Taifu stay behind, the rest of you may withdraw first." The dragon robe fluttered as he waved his hand.

  Several ministers were unsettled by his ambiguous words and retreated in great unease. Only Zhang Mingshen and Gong Xiangru remained, both feeling like they had a rabbit in their chest. They felt that the more Emperor Li Zimo sat on the throne, the more unclear things became for these courtiers.

  It is said that the heart of a sage is hard to fathom. But as for Li Zimo's heart, it may be even more difficult to fathom than that of the previous emperor. This was what Zhang Mingshen, a veteran official who had served three dynasties, thought.

  "Zhang Taifu." He took over the tea water handed by Li Shunde and slightly raised his eyebrows.

  "I am here." Zhang Ming replied first.

  "How's the young master doing in his studies under Zhang Taifu's tutelage?"

  Zhang Ming did not expect that he would not ask the prince, but instead asked about Xiaochi's situation. He was surprised and cautiously replied: "Your Majesty, Hua Gongzi has made significant progress and has improved in his studies."

  "I recall your words, saying you would cultivate him into someone as outstanding as the Crown Prince."

  That was what he said impulsively as a teacher after seeing Xiao Mu's talent that day. How could it be possible? If cultivated to be as outstanding as the Crown Prince, wouldn't it steal the Crown Prince's thunder? Zhang Ming was perplexed at first, but when he looked up and met Lei Zimo's serious gaze, he had no choice but to steel himself and say: "I have sworn an oath to Your Majesty, I will definitely succeed and not fail."

  "Hmm, with Zhang Taifu's words, I can rest assured now." He waved his hand and let Zhang Ming withdraw first.

  "I have received your orders." Zhang Ming stepped down first.

  On the right side, Gong Xiang is as silent as gold as usual.

  "It was like a gentle sigh escaping his lips: 'Gong Qing, I just went to see Yan Shangshu.'"

  "I know," replied Gong Xiangyu.

  They say she has caught a chill and won't let me take her pulse. I thought, in the past, when Palace Attendant was here, she also didn't allow Palace Attendant to take her pulse.

  He finished speaking and swept a glance at Gong Xiangru. Gong Xiangru, who had been standing like a wooden stake, trembled slightly. For an instant, Li Shunde, who was nearby, feared that Gong Xiangru would faint and cautioned, "Lord Gong, are you all right?"

  Gong Xiangru took a deep breath, steadied his feet and cupped his hands: "Everything is arranged by the Holy One."

  Looking at these two members of the imperial family, each with their own stubborn temper, he couldn't help but feel both hatred and love for them. Just now in her room, through the gauze curtains, he saw her wearing a eunuch's uniform sleeve, and in that instant his gritted teeth were filled with a desire to reach out and strangle her neck with all his might.

  He was afraid of himself doing something to her, so he had no choice but to withdraw his hand and leave.

  After all, what should he do with her?

  Yan Shangshu, or is it his imperial concubine?

  It wasn't until he knew that her coffin had been disturbed and saw the heavenly curse take effect on Empress Hu that he finally understood, she really was back.

  After the emperor left, Liu stepped out with the holy one. Green hurriedly closed the door, walked around the screen and looked at Hua Xiyue sitting on the bed motionless. She whispered: "Young lady, do you want me to help you change clothes?"

  Huā Yù Yán suddenly realized that she hadn't had time to change out of her eunuch attire. Just as she jumped in through the back window, it was already too late; unlike Lǜ Cuì who heard the sound and immediately took off the outer layer of clothes under the quilt. Her eyelids twitched, unsure if he had discovered anything, and if he did, wouldn't that be another piece of evidence against her?

  Rolled out of bed and quickly changed clothes before speaking.

  "Big sister." Green Jade said softly while helping her change clothes.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Can I not help the young lady with this kind of thing from now on?" Although Qing Cui had been calm just now, in fact, she was sweating and her clothes were soaked several layers. "If His Majesty comes, I won't be able to make it, my life won't be enough."

  "As for this point, Huā Yèyán took out the move she had promised to Yuè Róng earlier: 'Don't be afraid, if he dares to chop off your head, he must first chop off mine.'"

  Lu Cui raised her head and looked at her for a moment, feeling that something about her had changed. And the change was quite obvious, in her attitude towards the emperor.

  Hua Yuexuan changed her clothes and lay down on the bed, she really didn't sleep well last night and had gone through so much this morning, she needed to make up for lost sleep. So she instructed her: "Don't wake me up unless it's absolutely necessary."

  She slept until the afternoon, thinking that with the empress dowager's funeral to be held, he would have so many things to deal with and probably wouldn't have time to bother her for the next two days. She hugged her pillow and fell into a sweet sleep. Madame Liu came in several times to check on her and was also surprised: "I didn't know Miss Yan could sleep so well before, is she really ill?"

  Green jade dare not say that her master's feelings have changed like a different person, and they all regard this imperial palace as their home.

  Later, Liu Auntie was uneasy and reported the matter to Li Zimo. At that time, it was almost evening, and Li Zimo looked at the folded paper on his side and said to Li Shunde: "Tonight, tell the prince to have dinner with me, and also bring Hua Gongzi."

  "I'll go and inform the imperial kitchen to add more dishes," said Li Shunde.

  As he turned to leave, Li Zimo suddenly remembered something and called out to him: "Have the imperial kitchen prepare a dish of steamed fish head with chili peppers. No, this weather is too hot for that, eating it will cause internal heat. Add some sweet dishes instead, I know she loves sweets, no wonder her son also loves sweets..."

  The emperor seemed to be muttering to himself, causing Li Shunde to narrow his eyes and flatteringly say: "Your Majesty, the empress loves to eat braised pork balls, shall we have the imperial kitchen prepare some?"

  "Right!" The dragon's face lit up, "Lion's head!"

  Li Shunde's smile at the corner of his mouth immediately disappeared as he stepped out of the door, and from behind him came someone's complaint: "You knew it all along! Li Shunde, your skin is itching. Wait until you come back and see how I'll deal with you!"

  In the Huayeyan House, Lü Cui pushed her shoulder: "Young lady, the emperor has asked you to have dinner at Yongning Hall tonight."

  "Want to eat?" Having slept for a whole day, Huā Xīyán's stomach was growling with hunger. She sat up and shook her head.

  "Yes, Her Majesty allowed the young lady to have dinner in the past."

  Good heavens, it's already evening, has she been thinking of collecting her yet? Hua Xiyan couldn't help but touch the hem of her clothes.

  "Miss, your aunt has already brought the clothes you're going to wear."

  Huā Yèyán got up and changed her clothes, letting Lǜ Cuì style her hair in a simple bun, and pinning on the hairpin he had sent over. The pendant on the pin was a golden phoenix, which made it particularly eye-catching. Huā Yèyán couldn't help but think of past events when she saw the pendant, remembering how he used to love seeing her wear this kind of pendant, saying it suited his empress best.

  This man is so overbearing, it can't be seen from the surface. She and he grew up together until she became his queen, only then did she know what kind of person he really was.

  Li Shunde personally came to fetch her, dressed neatly. On the way, he told her: "The Emperor had someone bring the Crown Prince and Hua Gongzi from Guangyang Hall."

  So when she stepped into the house, two children were sitting at the table waiting for her.

  The little servant saw her and shouted "mother", wanting to jump off the stool.

  A cold voice came from behind the screen: "Can't you eat without your mother?"

  Li Dongyun heard the sound, walked down from the stool and bowed: "Your Majesty."

  Huā Mù Róng stood up straight and wrinkled his small nose: Why did he and his mother have to accompany them, father and son, to eat here?

  No matter three seven twenty one, Xiaochi first grabs her mother's hand: I hate all the men who fight with her for her mother.

  Unexpectedly, the father of the child who walked out from behind the screen saw Xiaochi holding his daughter's hand with a pair of small eyes staring at him fiercely. His eyebrows were extremely dissatisfied and he raised an eyebrow: It's time to take this child back.

  Huā Yùyán saw this and quickly pressed down her son's head: "Mù Mù, your mother has never taught you to be so rude."

  "Why should I learn from him?" Xiao Mu had long been strongly dissatisfied, "He has cheated me before. He doesn't even follow the rules of honesty."

  Someone learned from the previous emperor that it's a heavenly principle for an old man to cheat his son. When Xiao Chi heard this, he only slightly raised an eyebrow and said, "If you got cheated, you can only say that your skills are not good enough, and you deserved to be cheated."

  Huā Mù Róng's little face was about to explode with anger, and she grasped her mother's hand even tighter: "Don't think I don't know what you're up to, you're trying to steal my mom from me! I won't let you have my mom!"

  Li Dongyun and Li Shunde saw that Xiao Chi was facing off against Long Yan with their needles, and they were both starting to sweat.

  Someone was sizing up the snack vendor, thinking to himself: Is this his kind? His kind actually dares to compete with him?

  When it comes to his son, the old man has a set of tricks. He sat down and said leisurely: "Why should I snatch your mother? Is your mother a national beauty? Is your mother a member of the royal family? What's good about snatching her?"

  The little foodie was about to explode with anger again because of this remark, and he actually dared to despise his mother. However, the little brain turned around and thought, "Just right, if the other party thinks that his mother is useless, they won't snatch her away." So, the little voice hummed like a piglet and said, "You know what's good for you, consider yourself clever."

  Hua Yu Yan heard her son's words and wanted to slap her forehead: Son, you've been fooled by your old man again with just a few sentences.

  "Everyone sit down." Long Yan said.

  The family of four sat down.

  His Majesty has ordered no one to attend him, so Li Shun-de took the others out.

  The little foodie sat next to his mother and saw something delicious. He picked up the chopsticks and gave them to his mother: "Mom, eat this, I know you like eating this."

  Now that he knew what was going on from Qilin, Li Dongyu looked at the little foodie sticking to his mother, his eyes were already very calm, as an elder, he must let the younger ones go.

  Huā Yùyán looked at her eldest son, who was less than a year old and had been separated from her for a long time, and said to the younger son: "Mother can't eat that much. The young master has always taken care of you, why don't you pick some of the young master's favorite dishes for him?"

  The little foodie blinked his eyes, thinking that what his mother said wasn't wrong either. This kid has been pretty good to him lately, always giving him delicious food. Alright, let's thank him today. So, knowing that the kid liked vegetarian food, he picked up a piece of tofu and put it in Li Dongyu's small bowl: "Here, so you won't keep saying I'm bullying you."

  Li Dongyun looked at the tofu in the bowl, feeling a little surprised and delighted, holding it but not wanting to eat it, wanting to look at it for a while.

  The certain father who was intentionally ignored by the snack vendor had a darker face.

  Huā Yùyán spoke softly to her son: "You've given your mother some food, and you've also given the prince some food. Is there still someone else?"

  "Sister, why should I give him food, he'll just take advantage of me, and unlike the young master who brings me food." The little glutton said with a straight face.

  His father immediately wrapped a crab roe dumpling and put it in the small food container: "Eat. Don't forget, everything you eat here is given by me."

  The little foodie rolled her eyes at his words, but her mouth couldn't help but bite into the crab roe dumplings he had brought, another dish she had recently become obsessed with.

  Huā Yùyán only hoped that the father and son would finish this meal peacefully. Of course, she seemed to have forgotten that he had invited her to dinner in order to clean up after her.

  Everyone had eaten halfway when the emperor suddenly stopped his chopsticks. Li Dongyuan was the first to react: "Your Majesty?"

  "Li Shunde, is your piano stand good?"

  Li Shunde heard the shout from inside the house and immediately pushed open the door, responding: "Your Majesty, the empress's zither has been properly arranged."

  On the other side of the screen, an ancient zither was revealed.

  This qin has a story behind it, called Mingyan, one of the famous qins passed down through generations. Back then, after he heard her play zhusa, he sent people to search for a famous qin from all over and gave it to her as a token of his affection. Later on, she often played zhusa with this Mingyan for him to listen.

  However, last time he also used this zither in the small pavilion to test her, but she played a little star.

  This is absolutely something that can make him furious, he remembered it.

  Hua Yu Yan's mouth twitched slightly.

  "The Crown Prince." The Emperor's expression was calm and collected as he said to the young prince, who was completely unaware of what was going on, "Yan Shangshu's qin skills are profound and moving. Last time I had the good fortune to hear him play once. Let Yan Shangshu also play a piece for the Crown Prince, how about it?"

  It's been said that the Empress Dowager was a famous zither player, and it was because of her playing that the Emperor fell in love with her at first sight. The young prince nodded eagerly: "If Consort Yang is willing, I would like to hear it."

  As for her son's demands, Huajiu Yan had no choice but to comply. She could only step onto the blade he had set up for her.

  He got up and walked to the piano, sat down. Then, he said leisurely: "Please, Mr. Yan, play a small tune 'Little Star' for the prince."

  "Little Star?" The young prince was taken aback. Wasn't it Vermilion? They said Little Star was the name of a tune, but he had never heard of it before.

  For this, the little food vendor who had been with Niang for a long time looked down on the prince: "You actually don't even know about Little Star?"

  The young master who has read extensively was embarrassed: Could it be that he is really ignorant? Is "Little Star" a world-renowned song? Otherwise, how would even the little foodie and his father know about it.

  Huā Yù Yán closed her eyes tightly, calming the turbulent waves in her chest, thinking that her son was indeed his father's kind, unknowingly able to work together to infuriate her. Her fingers pressed on the strings of the guqin, this time compared to last time, definitely more skilled. Suddenly, a small star flew out from the legendary guqin "Ming Yan".

  As soon as the sound was released, Longyan and Li Shunde were both stunned. Immediately after, Li Shunde wanted to give a big thumbs up: The princess is indeed the princess, any song that passes through her hands can become an extraordinary masterpiece.

  A lone little star, because of too many jumping notes, it would not be good to play the guqin alone. Huā Xīyàn's inspiration struck, and she added a secondary melody. With the accompaniment of the secondary melody, this beautiful children's song instantly became the most dazzling star on a summer night.

  The little foodie listened with rapt attention, and as usual, picked up the small bowl and chopsticks to beat out the rhythm and sing along: "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are."

  Huā Yùyán's fingers, which were stroking the zither, almost trembled due to her son's sudden loud singing. The dragon-like face, which had somewhat relaxed its guard, gazed at her with a meaningful glance: "Look at your son singing, this tune can't escape suspicion."

  Unlike his father, the young prince was delighted to listen, as his mother played the piano and his brother sang loudly, all for him. As a son and an older brother, he felt a sense of satisfaction he had never experienced before. The noble corner of his mouth curved into a gentle smile as he gazed at his little brother, who was singing with abandon.

  The curtain of dinner for a family of four fell in the little star. Time to go, the little foodie held onto his mother: "Mom, are you sleeping with Mu Mu tonight?"

  His patience had reached its limit, and he coughed: "Take the flower gentleman back to Guangyang Hall, tonight sleep with the prince."

  The young prince patted his own father's back and put his arm around Xiao Chi's shoulder, saying: "Let's go, I'll sleep with you tonight."

  The little girl started singing a folk song: "My mother is a big pillow, can you be like my mother, a big pillow?"

  "I'll give you a hug." Little Prince said lovingly to Little Foodie, willing to be her big pillow.

  The little foodie gave him a sideways glance, pouted and said: "Forget it, I'll hold NiNi. You snore, don't even think about sleeping all night."

  Little Piggy NiNi and Little White Egret, tonight they received holy favor together, enjoying the best pet food in the next room. After eating, the two spiritual pets came over to find their little masters. At this time, everyone discovered that behind the two little spiritual pets, a lion dog followed. This majestic lion dog with beautiful fur kept circling around Xiao Chi's body, occasionally casting a wise and provocative gaze at Li Zi Mo.

  Li Zimo's whole body suddenly stood on end, he was struck by lightning: Qilin?!

  Qilin is the most precious pet of their Dongling royal family, and is revered as a divine existence. The arrogance of Qilin has been suffered by generations of Dongling emperors. When have you ever seen Qilin willing to become a dog and be taken out for a walk by a child?

  "Come on, puppy, tonight mom won't sleep with me, I'll hold you to sleep. Don't snore like Ni Ni." Little foodie said to his lion dog Kirin who was leaning against him.

  The lion dog Kylin wags its tail and shows obedience to Xiaochi.

  Little pig NiNi's eyes were brimming with tears: Young master, don't you want me anymore? Where will I sleep tonight then?

  "You sleep with him." The little snack was very friendly and gave his little pig to the young prince, thanking him for his kindness in wanting to sleep with him tonight.

  Li Dongyun took over his little brother's piglet with a bitter face. The piglet originally liked the young prince, and rubbed against him. This made the white heron unhappy, and it squeezed into the young master's arms. Li Dongyun was already at a loss, seeing that his younger brother was doing well, walking ahead with the dog.

  Li Shunde's expression was somewhat displeased by Longyan's words, and he quickly took the child and pets away.

  Li Zimo gazed at the Shih Tzu following Xiao Chi Huo and suddenly felt a phrase called "evil will be repaid with evil". He had wronged his son, and now the evil deed was coming back to haunt him.

  Hua Yu Yan sat back on the stool, sipping her tea with a self-satisfied expression: "Ah, that son of hers, speaking of which, has never been at a disadvantage. I don't know if it's because he's too lucky or what."

  Turning back, he saw her leisurely back, and his ink pupils suddenly sank.

  Huā Yùyán had only drunk half a cup of tea when she suddenly felt two hands grasping her waist and lifting her up. Frightened, she hastily put the teacup on the table.

  In an instant, he had pressed her upper body down onto the desktop.

  Two slender hands could only push against his shoulders, gently patting the collar of his dragon robe, and softly asked: "What's wrong with Your Majesty?"

  She knew he was angry.

  His slender fingers grazed the scar on her left cheek: "I remember saying that Yan Shangshu only has one way to go."

  Make her return to being Gong Xi Tai's face.

  But now she looks at him with a fearful gaze.

  Seeing her evasive gaze, Yun Mei's eyebrows slightly raised: "How is it? Don't you want to? Then I can only use my own method to help Yan Shangshu solve this Easy Change Pill."

  What method does he want to use to solve it? Can't he solve it?

  I'm in doubt.

  His fingers suddenly tore open the collar of her clothes, and she was shocked to be stunned in an instant. The two delicate hands that were pressed against him were caught on his head, and the lower body was pressed by his body, feeling a fiery heat coming from the tight-fitting clothes, her face suddenly flushed with crimson.

  "Sheng, Shang?" Her apricot-like eyes stared at him roundly.

  What is he going to do? It's clear that there's no way to solve it.

  His cool fingers slowly stroked down from her white neck, from the collar, all the way to her pounding heart. Suddenly, she only felt that her heart was grasped by his hand, and she took a sudden breath of cold air, her body involuntarily trembling slightly.

  Now that the true Gong Xiuyi's seven souls and six spirits have perfectly returned to their original positions, the divine energy within her body naturally has that strand left over from when she became his empress and was favored by him. Previously, he had some perception of it but couldn't grasp it; now, however, it is clearly under his control in the palm of his hand.

  As his lips slightly curled up, the divine energy within her was controlled by him, wrapping around her seven souls and six spirits. The mysterious Easy Change Pill was hidden among them, flashing with a brilliance he had never seen before, causing his ink-like eyes to sink.

  Suddenly, her body transformed into a dragon's claw, directly grabbing the Easy Change Pill from inside. In the instant she took out the pearl, her body seemed to be drained of energy, softly leaning against him.

  Two hands rested on his shoulders, almond eyes gazing over, seeing him tuck the extremely strange disguise pill into his sleeve. Speaking of this disguise pill and that mysterious box, she couldn't be certain now if it was given by Old Lady Hua or not. At least, before her death, she had never seen these things.

  After receiving the Easy Change Pill, he lowered his head.

  She covered her face with her sleeve.

  "Gong Yan, it's been seven years since we last met, and this is how you treat me? Even when we first consummated our marriage, you weren't like this." The thick voice was filled with a mix of reproach and heartache.

  She was flustered. She didn't know what was wrong with herself, maybe it was the seven years that had passed, or maybe she had memories of other times from a past life, but whatever it was, it made her feel uneasy.

  "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

  "Deceive me, cheat you, what crime is it? You say it yourself."

  He was so idle that she got annoyed: "This is not what I meant. I really was..." Her raised face was suddenly covered by his lowered shadow, and her lips were fiercely kissed, she held her breath tight.

  "You should be beheaded for deceiving me, I should pinch you to death with my own hands. You've made a monkey out of me, and I have never been so humiliated in my life. However, now I only want to get back the seven years of loneliness from Palace Concubine Wei." Along with his words, a wave of intense heat emanated from his body onto hers.

  She let out a cry of surprise and fell onto the golden bedding.

  The golden dragon bed curtain fell down, everything is self-evident.

  Sun Mansion

  A group of people had been waiting for news about Empress Hu in the palace. However, after a long wait, even Chen Taizhen, who had previously reported back with messages, was trapped inside the palace and couldn't come out again. Sun Qinglong and others could only speculate that Empress Hu's illness might be too severe, and all the imperial physicians were required to stay in the palace on call. This explanation made it seem possible that Empress Hu truly didn't have much time left.

  This kind of waiting is absolutely not a solution, it's just sitting and waiting for death.

  Sun Qing walked back and forth for two steps with his hands behind his back, then turned around and said to Sun Xuanye: "You go to the palace, find Auntie Sun."

  "My son had planned this long ago. Father, I'll bring two people into the palace immediately." Sun Xuanye set off at once, bringing two of the Sun family's secret guards.

  Inside the Yongshou Palace, it was quiet and still, with only two white lanterns hung. The emperor had ordered everyone to withdraw from the palace, leaving only one person, Sun GuGu. The emperor said that Sun GuGu had been accompanying Empress Hu for a long time, more than her own family members, so when Empress Hu passed away, Sun GuGu should stay behind to guard her spirit.

  Sun Auntie knelt beside Empress Hu's coffin for a whole day, without drinking a drop of water, and nearly lost her life.

  What is called "prosperity must decline", she now personally experienced it. Before, she had the support of Empress Hu, and no one in the palace dared to disobey her orders. It can be said that even Li Shunde, the eunuch general manager, had to give her some face. But this time, as soon as Empress Hu left, even the small eunuchs and palace maids began to bully her.

  Being a human slave is like being a dog. When the master falls into the water, one's own fate can be foreseen. Given another chance, she would rather leave the palace early.

  Crying is no longer possible, but instead fear. Afraid that Empress Hu will suddenly jump out of the coffin like Palace Queen and accuse her of not being loyal to the end.

  "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have never harmed you." Sun Aunt repeated this sentence non-stop.

  The door was blown by the wind and creaked slightly.

  Aunt Sun was startled, hugging her shoulders and turning around to see several figures jumping down from the eaves of the house. Her mouth opened wide as if she were about to shout. Sun Xuanye stepped forward, covering her mouth, saying, "Aunt, it's me."

  "Big Young Master?"

  "Auntie, I heard that the Empress Dowager is seriously ill—"

  A murky tear fell from Aunt Sun's eye socket, and she pointed to the coffin beside her: "The Empress Dowager is in this..."

  Sun Xuanxi saw the coffin placed in the middle, and he was so frightened that his eyes stared at the coffin without moving. Aunt Sun hugged his arm and trembled: "Quickly, quickly take me away!"

  Time waits for no one, Sun Xuanxi grabbed her and walked out the door. In the courtyard, the patrolling guards seemed to have heard a noise and shouted: "Who? Who's there?"

  Two dark guards went forward to interfere with the vision of the guards. Sun Xuexi took Sun Aunt and flew up to the roof, quickly moving towards the outside of the palace. Seeing that their master had escaped, the Sun family's dark guards retreated together.

  Seeing this, the palace guards were about to continue chasing, but Yifeng jumped down from the hidden tree crown and blocked their way: "The Holy One has ordered that there is no need to chase anymore."

  Sun Xuexi grabbed Sun Aunt and arrived at the palace gate, got on the waiting carriage and hurried back to the Sun Mansion. Soon after, Sun Aunt knelt in front of Sun Qingcang, her face pale and her soul still shaken.

  Sun Qing saw her soulless appearance and frowned, asking: "Tell me clearly, how did the Empress Dowager leave?"

  "Empress Dowager, Empress..." Aunt Sun's words were unclear and disjointed.

  Sun Jing interrupted her: "What empress? I'm talking about the Empress Dowager!"

  "His shout seemed to have brought her back to her senses a bit, and she began to speak more clearly: 'Last night, the Empress Dowager and I saw the Queen, then the Palace Queen, after that, the Empress Dowager fell seriously ill.'"

  Because he had heard that Empress Hu had gone to Yunling, Sun Qing was shocked: "Are you saying that the empress was scared to death by a nightmare?"

  "I don't know, I really don't know. Consort Gong said that the cause of death for Empress Dowager was the same as that of Imperial Noble Consort, and I heard His Majesty say something about a heavenly curse."

  Grandma Sun didn't know what was going on with Tian Zhao, but looking at the father and son of the Sun family, they all seemed to know something, their faces shocked.

  "Nonsense!" Sun Qingcang slammed his hand on the table, "How could the Empress Dowager possibly have contracted the Heavenly Curse?"

  "Your Majesty, Your Majesty also said so. Let the imperial physician who says that Empress Dowager is possessed by evil spirits kneel at the gate of Yongshou Palace."

  Perhaps they didn't believe it at first, but after hearing about how Li Zimo had dealt with a royal physician, the father and son of the Sun family both believed.

  Sun Jingcang walked back and forth in the house, walking back and forth.

  Sun Xuanye said, "Father, I see that Yongshou Palace has no one to handle the funeral. It's possible that His Majesty wants to keep the Empress Dowager's funeral a secret." He then whispered, "I think His Majesty may have discovered something."

  "What does the Emperor suspect? Does he suspect that our Sun family wants to rebel? Nonsense! If he knew we wanted to rebel, would he wait until now?"

  Sun Xuanye's eyebrows furrowed: "Dad is worried about what?"

  "What I'm worried about is how Empress Wu died."

  Sun Jing's heavy and solemn tone was like a huge stone pressing down on Sun Xuanye's heart.

  "Father, if not, go to Yunling where the Empress Dowager has been and see what's going on. The Empress Dowager's strange illness, didn't it start after she went to Yunling?"