He failed his mother after all, because he was not willing to let his father, mother, concubine, and his young brother be killed by the Queen Mother because of her inflated desire for power. He wanted her to taste the bitter consequences, since his father had passed down the throne.
He, now, what's the point of him getting his things back?
The soldier commander came to report that everything in the palace had been cleaned up. Yuchi Yue arranged for the guards to guard the palace and returned to his palace. The blood feud of dozens of members of his family was finally avenged. He did not object to Luo Qi's handling of the matter.
If the Queen Mother dies, everything will be over and she will be free. Only by letting her live well in the palace can she taste the pain of losing everything. That kind of suffering is the most painful.
Now, he has nothing to worry about. Perhaps, after Luo Qi ascends the throne, he will resign, put down his military power, become an idle prince, take An Zhisu away, and they will travel to the end of the world together.
Ningxiang Garden.
Luo Qi stood alone outside the door, looking at the big rusty iron lock. He finally had the chance to come back here, but he suddenly didn't dare to go in. It contained every bit of his laughter from childhood to adulthood.
, and those past events of blood and tears that left him entangled outside the door.
He wanted to take another look at everything about his mother and concubine. He wondered whether her weird paintings still existed, whether the flowers and plants in the garden were still alive, and whether the bloodstains in the garden had been washed away by time.
Finally, Luo Qi pulled out his sword and cut off the iron lock on the door.
When I opened the door, there was no dust as expected. Instead, a fresh fragrance came from the garden, as clean and pure as after the rain, like a dream. This fragrance is very familiar. It is the unique smell of Ningxiang Garden and the mother-of-pearl.
Luo Qi walked slowly towards the garden. The flowers in the garden were in full bloom, as if he had never left. The queen mother always took care of the flowers and plants in this area with all her heart, not letting a single flower among them.
Weeds, there are flowers that can bloom in all seasons, so there is never a shortage of flowers in the garden.
Stroking these flowers with his right hand, he seemed to see his father holding a small hoe, carefully hoeing the garden and picking out weeds. His mother and concubine stood aside and smiled happily, wiping his father's sweat from time to time.
After handing him tea, the eunuch on the side tried to dissuade him, but his father always ignored him.
Occasionally when the weather is fine, the mother-in-law likes to sit in the garden, bask in the sun, and paint. These paintings are all kinds of strange and unconstrained. He couldn't understand them at the time, but his father built a tingrui based on the mother-in-law's paintings.
Pavilion.
Sometimes, the mother-in-law would lead them into the imperial dining room, drive away the imperial cook, and then cook a sumptuous meal for them and their father, and then proudly watch their father finish the meal she cooked little by little. At that time
, both the mother-in-law and the father-in-law had happy expressions on their faces.
Everything was so beautiful then.
Now, he is back here again, but everything has changed.
I walked to the room where my mother and concubine once lived, and opened the door gently. There was still a faint fragrance, as if my mother and concubine had never left. The light in the room was hazy, and there was a faint woman in white standing quietly in front of the bed, staring.
Looking out the window.
"Mother concubine?" Luo Qi called tentatively.
"Your Majesty, it's me, Rui'er." A hoarse voice sounded. The woman walked towards Luo Qi from the window, smiled and said, "Now I should call you the Emperor."
"Rui'er? You took care of everything here?" Luo Qi asked.
The woman nodded: "Yes, Rui'er is not familiar with the palace. The only thing she has an impression of is Ningxiang Garden. At that time, Rui'er was envious of the flowers and plants in Rui Fei's courtyard and wanted to secretly pick some and take them home to plant! But Rui'er was beaten by Rui'er.
When the concubine found out, she just laughed and said that Rui'er was a silly girl. Then she personally pulled out a few flower stems and gave them to Rui'er. Rui'er took the flower stems home and planted them, but they couldn't bloom as beautiful as Ningxiang Garden.
...At that time, Concubine Rui'er always liked to hug Rui'er and say, "Why do you have the same name as me?" Then she pinched Rui'er's face and asked Rui'er if she wanted to be her daughter. Rui'er had never seen anything like this before.
The amiable elders, the concubines in the palace, Rui'er didn't dare to look up at them. Only Concubine Rui would joke with Rui'er without any pretense. Concubine Rui took care of her like her own mother.
Rui'er, at that time, Rui'er really envied you and the Seventh Prince for having such a lovely mother! Your Majesty, Rui'er... Rui'er missed Concubine Rui'er, so she wanted to come over and have a look..."
Holding Rui'er in his arms, Luo Qi sighed softly: "I miss my mother and concubine too. There are too many memories of the past in this garden..."
Suddenly feeling the passage of time, Luo Qi gently stroked Rui'er's hair. At that time, he, Luo Xiao and Rui'er were like brothers and sisters, leaving their footprints everywhere in Ningxiang Pavilion.
After reminiscing about their memories, until now, only he and Rui'er were left dependent on each other. Yes, they had been dependent on each other for many years. Now, he could finally give Rui'er a stable life!
"Your Majesty, from now on, Rui'er no longer has to hide in Ting Rui Pavilion, and she no longer has to be a maid in the palace. Rui'er can be with you openly and openly!" Rui'er's tone was choked, and she cried with joy.
.
"Rui'er, you don't have to suffer like that anymore. Tomorrow, I will announce that you will be crowned as a noble concubine!" Luo Qi said softly. He wanted to give her the best life for this woman who depended on him, but he couldn't.
He doesn't want her to be his queen. He seems to be waiting for someone, but he doesn't want that person to be his queen. So, this queen should be free from now on!
Chu Rui's body trembled slightly. Luo Qi was about to declare her as a noble concubine, but he would not make her his queen. He must still be thinking about An Zhisu in his heart!
"Your Majesty, a country cannot live without a king for a day, and a king cannot live without a king for a day. Are you ready to make the princess your queen?" Chu Rui asked tentatively.
"I haven't thought about the queen yet!" Sensing Chu Rui's slight emotional change, Luo Qi sighed deeply. He was very conflicted in his heart. He once thought that his love for Rui'er was truly irreplaceable.
But after all the grudges were settled, he discovered that the two of them had more of a mutual sympathy and dependence on each other. He had never made a promise to Rui'er. He only wanted Rui'er to wait for him and wait for him to regain the throne one day.
He just wanted to give this woman who had grown up with him a sense of stability, but he really never thought about making her his queen.
"The queen should be cautious about matters, and the emperor should think more about it. Rui'er just asked casually!" Chu Rui leaned her head in Luo Qi's arms and said obediently, "Actually, as long as Rui'er stays by the emperor's side, she can do anything.
It doesn’t matter if you are a royal concubine, Rui’er will be satisfied even if she is just a palace maid!”