Qingqing crumpled the paper money in her hand into a ball. With a complex expression, she whispered,
"Han Fen told me that the Crown Prince has passed away, the Emperor is ill, and the Empress, unable to bear the pain of losing her son, has suddenly taken a turn for the worse. All state affairs have fallen on the Prince. He has been in the palace and simply can't come back."
The Crown Prince was dead, but she wasn't as happy as she had imagined.
Clearly, Lü Baiwei was free, and so should she have been.
But yesterday, Lü Baiwei secretly contacted her and let her know a shocking piece of news...
Looking at Caiyu's somewhat anxious face, she recalled what Lü Baiwei had said yesterday:
"My father once had old subordinates in Hainan. He recently sent back news that the entire Lan clan was killed by mysterious assassins. This is the clue left by the assassins that they found at the scene..."
Lü Baiwei motioned for Maid Mei to hand a waist token to Qingqing.
Qingqing's face changed. She blurted out, "The waist token of the Dark Guards of His Highness the Prince of Yan?! How could the assassins be His Highness the Prince of Yan?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
His Highness the Prince of Yan was now eager to please Caiyu. How could he do something to make her hate him?
Lü Baiwei knew that Qingqing was smart and wouldn't be so easy to believe. Nor did she need her to fully believe.
Lazily, as if agreeing with Qingqing's words, she said, "It was the Emperor who ordered Xuan Yao to do it, but I also don't believe that Xuan Yao would really do it. So I have something for you to do."
She paused and then said, "I've already coaxed the hiding place of Lan Guifan out of the Crown Prince. He's now Caiyu's only relative. I want you to sneak into western Guangdong and bring him back to me safely."
A sly light flashed in her eyes. "By the way, western Guangdong isn't far from Hainan. You can go to Hainan and find out if the matter of the Lan family is true, can't you?"
Qingqing was tempted.
Last time, because she followed Lü Baiwei's instructions and sent the witness to Caiyu to expose the Crown Prince, although the Crown Prince left a worse impression on the Emperor because of this, it also led to the estrangement between the Prince and Caiyu.
Seeing Caiyu's dejected look, she felt bad too.
Even Sheng Jiangli had driven her out of Luoyan Residence because of this and never allowed her to get close to him again.
Especially now that she had heard the news about the Lan family, she had to verify it no matter what.
And Lan Guifan, the only male of the Lan family, she had to protect him for Caiyu no matter what.
There couldn't be any more accidents.
Qingqing squinted slightly and sized up Lü Baiwei imperceptibly. "Does Your Ladyship want to find Lan Guifan to threaten Caiyu and Big Brother Sheng?"
Just like the Crown Prince had threatened them before.
Lü Baiwei smiled faintly. Her face was relaxed and indifferent. "I'm not that stupid Song Chengyuan. He can't think of any other tricks except threatening others by holding their family members' lives... It's because of Xuan Yao."
She patiently explained, "I once promised Xuan Yao that I would find Lan Guifan for him... The Crown Prince is already dead. It's time for me to fulfill my promise. Only when Xuan Yao sees Lan Guifan will he continue to support me and Zhu'er to inherit the throne. Don't worry. I won't joke about Zhu'er's future."
Qingqing looked at her face and seemed to find no flaws in her lies.
Finally, she still nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go."
Qingqing came back to her senses from the memory. She said, "Sister Caiyu, as long as the Prince finishes his business in these few days and the Emperor recovers, he'll come back. Don't miss him. In this world now, who else can hurt him?"
Caiyu sighed.
How could this girl Qingqing know that what she was anxious about wasn't Song Yinghuai but her younger brother who had been missing for a long time?
Qingqing added, "I received a letter from Pengcheng a few days ago. Father and younger brother miss me. I want to ask for a leave and go back to Pengcheng to see them."
Pengcheng wasn't far from the capital. Caiyu was now in a mess and had no energy to care about these things.
She nodded. "Go ahead. There are so many people in the mansion. Don't worry that I'll be bored."
She was actually quite envious of Qingqing, who still had her father and younger brother to miss.
Qingqing glanced at her and left reluctantly.
She would definitely bring Lan Guifan back.
As for Lü Baiwei... She would never hand over Caiyu's most beloved younger brother!
—
In the imperial city.
Nanny Li rushed to find Song Yinghuai, who was in the imperial study, reviewing memorials on behalf of the Emperor.
"Your Highness, Her Ladyship the Empress is probably dying!" Nanny Li knelt on the ground with a thud. Tears rolled down and splashed on the ground. She wailed, "Your Highness, Her Ladyship wants to see you."
The writing brush in Song Yinghuai's hand dropped onto the memorial. His vision went dark.
Mother... couldn't hold on anymore.
He closed his eyes heavily and propped himself up. "I'll go see her now."
Nanny Li wiped the tears off her face and followed the striding man. Crying, she said, "Your Highness has been busy these days. Her Ladyship originally wanted to hold on a little longer and didn't want to bother you. But this old servant saw that she was breathing in less and breathing out more. I was really afraid that there would be no chance for you mother and son to say another word, so I dared to come and invite you."
Song Yinghuai's striding body swayed. Grief welled up in his heart.
Although he had been busy day and night these days, he also had the thought of avoiding Empress Ma.
Because he had schemed to kill Empress Ma's most beloved son!
Back then, he had knelt in front of Empress Ma's bed and sworn to protect the Crown Prince's safety for a lifetime.
But who would have thought that the very person who was supposed to protect the Crown Prince's safety for a lifetime was the one who had taken the Crown Prince's life?
He had always been true to his word, but he never thought that the first time he would break his oath in his life would be regarding the Empress he respected the most.
This made his conscience feel like it was being fried and cooked in a frying pan over and over again.
The Changchun Palace was filled with the strong smell of herbs. Song Yinghuai keenly smelled the faint smell of blood mixed in it.
Nanny Li cried, "Her Ladyship has been spitting blood continuously these days, but she refused to let the servants tell Your Highness."
Song Yinghuai strode into the bedroom.
On the broad and magnificent bed, the once majestic and dignified woman was dying. Her face was pale golden.
Only her eyelids were still trembling slightly.
Song Yinghuai's heart felt like it had been stabbed hard by a sharp knife. The scene in front of him made him unable to stand. He knelt down straight away. "... Mother."
His eye sockets were red, stinging like they had been burned.
It was his fault.
Empress Ma, who should have been able to survive this winter, had suddenly taken a turn for the worse because of the Crown Prince's death and the Emperor's coma.
Fate was really playing tricks on them. She still couldn't make it through this year.
Nanny Li knelt beside the bed and gently shook Empress Ma. "Your Ladyship, His Highness the Prince is here to see you... Your Ladyship..."
Song Yinghuai also choked with sobs. "Mother, your son is here to see you."
The seriously ill woman seemed to have heard clearly. The originally drowsy person's eyeballs suddenly moved rapidly. She slowly opened her eyes and weakly uttered a voice from her throat:
"... Is Xuan Yao here?"
Song Yinghuai crawled on his knees to the head of the bed and tightly held her weakly raised hands. His eye sockets were moist. "It's me, Mother. You'll be well."
Empress Ma's lips curled slightly, signaling everyone else in the palace to leave.
Song Yinghuai's heart tightened even more.
This was probably going to be her last words.
When everyone had left, Empress Ma propped herself up and tried to sit up.
Song Yinghuai quickly helped her sit up properly, placed a cushion behind her, and then knelt down again.
Seeing him keep kneeling, Empress Ma finally couldn't help but curl her lips. "You keep kneeling. Is it because you feel guilty?"
Song Yinghuai suddenly looked up and met her all - seeing eyes. He hesitated to speak.
Empress Ma gasped lightly. "The Crown Prince's death... was it related to you?"
Song Yinghuai's breath caught in his throat. Finally, he still nodded. "Yes. The rumor of the rebellion of the Princes of Qin and Jin was planned by your son. The Crown Prince's going to suppress the rebellion was also within your son's plan."
"Good... good... The Xuan Yao I raised is truly the most powerful man in this world."
Hearing this, Song Yinghuai's eye sockets became even redder. "Mother, your son is sorry for you. If Mother wants to blame, after the great Ye kingdom's territory is stable, your son will offer his life to Big Brother the Crown Prince!"