A gust of wind swept through, brushing against the vermillion palace walls, the majestic palace gates, and the young man clad in white holding a treasure sword, while on the ground lay a hedonistic young lord who appeared to be bullying others.
Gu Lan’s black hair and the red embroidered headband fluttered gently in the breeze, reminiscent of a scene depicted in a storybook, filling Rong Miaoyan with admiration and emotion.
Empress Dowager Su watched the scene in astonishnt, but there was not much worry for the Crown Prince in her eyes. She gazed at Gu Lan, dressed in white and standing with a sword, seemingly recalling past years.
The Crown Prince fell to the ground in terror, his eyelids twitching and pupils shrinking and moving, feeling that the cool blade was close to his skin, plunging him into an ice cavern.
"Gu, Gu Lan, what exactly do you intend to do? This is the Imperial Palace, and I am the Crown Prince—" The Crown Prince dared not move, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.
"Pingnan General!"
"Protect the Crown Prince!"
The imperial guards hurriedly called out, but did not take any action.
The guards by the Empress Dowager’s side unsheathed their swords and stepped forward but none dared to lay a hand on Gu Lan.
Right now, the entire Capital City knew the Crown Prince had lost his power, while Young Master Gu was rising high; who would dare risk their life provoking the frenzied Gu Lan? In the past, when she was just a student of Maoqin Hall without a title, she dared to beat the Second Prince!
Gu Lan’s sword tip lightly moved from the Crown Prince’s neck to his shoulder.
The Crown Prince followed her movents, trembling from his eyelids to his shoulders.
She turned her wrist, her expression indifferent, and said lightly:
"Crown Prince, your clothes are dirty, allow to wipe them for you."
The Crown Prince was sweating profusely, his hands clenched tightly into fists.
Wiping clothes with a sword tip?
Seeing the sword tip moving away, the Crown Prince finally mustered the courage to stand up, shook his sleeves, and roared:
"How dare you plot against ! Soone, seize Gu Lan for !"
The nearby guards instinctively surrounded Gu Lan, and the imperial guards were in a dilemma.
Gu Lan lazily sheathed her sword and looked at everyone: "The Crown Prince insults a Princess, and this is the deanor of a country’s Crown Prince? Oh, wait, maybe in a few days, you won’t even be a Crown Prince."
Rong Miaoyan urged her horse forward, her voice cold and imposing: "Let’s see who dares to touch Gu Lan, for you will be my enemy!"
At this ti, Zhang Fengcai hurried from the palace with a horsetail whisk, witnessing the scene from afar.
His eyelids twitched uncontrollably, and he rushed over like smoke: "An edict from His Majesty! The ti has co, do not delay Empress Dowager and her escorts, set off imdiately."
The Empress Dowager heard Zhang Fengcai’s words and couldn’t help but turn her head, looking deeply at the towering palace walls that had accompanied her from a naive girl to an aging woman.
Leaving the palace today, she didn’t know when she would return, or perhaps she would never return.
"Shu, you have a cruel heart."
The Empress Dowager’s voice was weak, almost a murmur, making Zhang Fengcai, the only one who heard, shudder.
Zhongxu was the Emperor’s style na.
He had served the Emperor his whole life, and the Empress Dowager only called him Shu when he was a young boy.
The Empress Dowager blad the Emperor for being cruel, but when had she fulfilled her responsibilities as a mother and Empress Mother... Zhang Fengcai sighed, not daring to think deeply inside, and silently lowered his head.
The Crown Prince pointed at Gu Lan, angrily saying: "Eunuch Zhang, Gu Lan dares to show disrespect to !"
Miaoyan’s face turned cold: "So what? You were disrespectful to first, Gu Lan was just wiping your clothes... Or are you planning to use private punishnt?"
"You—"
Zhang Fengcai quickly interjected, whispering to the Crown Prince: "Calm down, Your Highness, that isn’t what Pingnan General ans, she’s been boorish and unruly since childhood, heavy-handed too, and... I heard it too, she was just wiping your clothes, Your Highness is unhurt, no need to get so worked up."
Zhang Fengcai was no ordinary eunuch, lowering himself like this already gave the Crown Prince a way out.
A hint of gloom flashed in the Crown Prince’s eyes, and he turned around, calming his anger, then, with a flick of his robe, once again "thud" fell to his knees under the Empress Dowager’s Phoenix Carriage, continuing to wail:
"Grandmother, grandson cannot bear to part with you, unlike so who are ungrateful and disloyal, grandson’s heart truly aches. The journey to Lu State is so long, you must take good care of yourself."
Gu Lan raised her eyebrows, suddenly feeling the Crown Prince’s endurance was not bad.
"Your Highness, it is indeed ti for the Empress Dowager to leave, please don’t be too saddened. Pingnan General is highly skilled in martial arts; with her escort, the Empress Dowager will surely be safe." Zhang Fengcai cautiously said.
Seeing the Crown Prince crying hoarsely, Empress Dowager Su felt deeply bitter inside.
She ended up in this situation, her son and daughter-in-law, and other grandchildren didn’t co to see her off, only the Crown Prince ca and cried so sadly.
She reached out from the Phoenix Carriage and hugged the Crown Prince to her chest: "Qichun, don’t be afraid, Grandmother will be fine."
The Crown Prince concealed the unwillingness in his eyes, speaking lowly: "Grandmother, Chun’er... Chun’er will pray day and night at the Eastern Palace for Grandmother’s smooth journey and safe arrival at Qingliang Temple."
"I understand your intentions," the Empress Dowager said, "Sai Guang, and my old subordinates left in the Capital City, I now place them in your hands. I’m waiting, waiting for my good grandson..."
Empress Dowager Su comforted the Crown Prince for a long ti before he stood up, still crying, his face full of grief, as if swearing by the Empress Dowager’s ear:
"Rest assured, Grandmother, on the day I ascend the throne, I will personally go to Lu State and escort you back to the palace as Grand Empress Dowager with dragon and phoenix carriages!"
"Good, good, I will certainly wait for that day." Empress Dowager Su said with relief.
Empress Dowager Su was unwilling; she was just over fifty, with many years to endure. As long as she could live until Qingliang Temple, even if it ant waiting another ten or twenty years... the lives of emperors were short, she believed that by the ti the Crown Prince ascended to the throne, she could return to the palace! This was the only thought that comforted Su Xinyu.
Recalling the Crown Prince’s words to her at Yongshou Palace yesterday, Rong Qichun was the only one she could trust now.
After a long ti, the Phoenix Carriage moved again, and Gu Lan finally broke away from the Crown Prince’s persistent cries, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Gu Lan, you seed quite troubled just now," Miaoyan asked.
Gu Lan was digging at her ear, her brows knotted like the character for "well," her handso face filled with annoyance: "I really can’t stand it, a grown man like Rong Qichun repeatedly calling himself ’Chun’er’, ugh."
Miaoyan smiled gracefully: "What about Miaoyan?"
Gu Lan said, "It’s different; you’re a girl."
Miaoyan blushed, trying to calm herself, and said thoughtfully: "Actually, the Crown Prince crying like that was just to show filial piety, to obtain the remaining power from the Empress Dowager’s hands. Look at his satisfied expression now; he probably got what he wanted, but those powers... I don’t think much of them."
Gu Lan felt a stir inside: "The Empress Dowager still has power?"
"A centipede dies but never falls down. No matter what, the Su Family has been around for a hundred years, and the Empress Dowager has ruled the harem for decades. So officials still hold mories in their hearts, even secretly nurturing so people is possible."
Gu Lan pulled out a folding fan to fan herself, the fan tip touched her nose, lost in thought.
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