In my previous life, I killed my whole family. In my next life, I killed the royal family.

The air in the valley was fresh and pleasant, and the sun shone through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows. Wang Qin and Qi Wan strolled in the valley, feeling the tranquility and beauty of nature. They admired the beautiful scenery in the mountains and listened to the singing of birds, feeling particularly happy.

In a quiet place, Wang Qin took out the guqin and played it softly. The melodious sound of the guqin echoed in the valley, as if it was integrated with nature. Qi Wan sat quietly by the side, listening to the sound of the guqin attentively, with a happy smile on her face. She used her paintbrush to record everything in front of her, freezing the beautiful moments on the canvas.

In addition to playing the piano and painting, Wang Qin also likes to play chess with Qi Wan. They play fierce games on the chessboard, and every move is full of wisdom and strategy. Qi Wan is not to be outdone, and with his own intelligence, he is on par with Wang Qin.

Such a life makes them feel extremely happy and satisfied.

They enjoyed each other's company and this rare time to the fullest. They decided to stay here for a few more days to enjoy the tranquility and beauty before setting off for Nan'an.

There, they will face more challenges and difficulties, but they believe that as long as they love each other, they can overcome everything.

Dozens of miles away in the capital, Empress Dowager Lu heard the report from the spies she sent out, "The King and Queen of Nan'an are camping in the valley of Xishan." She became even more furious, "We must find a way to get rid of them."

At the morning court session, Empress Dowager Lu told all the officials what she had found out.

"What do they want to do?" Empress Dowager Lu was irritated. "Why haven't they left our Pu Dynasty yet?"

All the civil and military officials standing in the front hall remained silent.

Empress Dowager Lu stared at Qi Lu and asked, "Duke Dingguo, what is going on?"

Qi Lu stood up, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, there is a separate courtyard of our Qi Mansion in the West Hill. The King and Queen of Nan'an will only stay there for a short while."

Empress Dowager Lu was very upset, but she didn't know what to say. That was a branch of the Qi Mansion, and they wanted to stay there. What else could she do?

Because she was trying to suppress her anger, she couldn't help coughing. Even when her father-in-law brought her some hot tea, she couldn't stop herself from coughing.

A palace maid went to invite Imperial Physician Yuan to examine Empress Dowager Lu in the court.

After feeling the Queen Mother's pulse, Imperial Doctor Yuan said, "Your Majesty has lung heat and will be fine after taking some Chinese medicine."

"Go and boil medicine for me." Empress Dowager Lu coughed a few times and waved her hand.

Imperial Physician Yuan bowed and withdrew, going to prepare medicine for Empress Dowager Lu.

Duke Huiguo kept winking at Empress Dowager Lu.

The relationship between the two is now unusual, and they will be intimate in the harem every now and then. Empress Dowager Lu naturally knows what Duke Huiguo means.

He was worried that Imperial Physician Yuan would poison Empress Dowager Lu's medicine after finding out about his second daughter's situation.

Empress Dowager Lu shook her head and signaled to Duke Huiguo that it was impossible.

Everything she ate was tested for poison.

Besides, she heard that Doctor Yuan’s second daughter fell ill and died. It was just a daughter, and Doctor Yuan was not so stupid as to put himself in danger.

Duke Huiguo concealed a secret from Empress Dowager Lu: Imperial Physician Yuan's second daughter, Yuan Zhaodi, escaped and ran to Duke Huiguo's mansion.

Now she is a concubine of Duke Huiguo.

Because Imperial Physician Yuan announced to the public that his second daughter had died of illness.

Therefore, Yuan Zhaodi changed her name and now was called Ren Xiang. She also said thankfully: "This is good, I will never be the daughter of the imperial physician. I will only be the concubine of the Duke."

Duke Huiguo had many concubines, but he only loved Xian'er.

He kept many concubines, not only to serve himself, but also to entertain guests when they came.

For example, when people from the Lu family came, Duke Huiguo would ask Ren Xiang to come out and drink and sleep with them.

Empress Dowager Lu continued to preside over the affairs of the court while coughing.

She first proposed: "The army that Lü Xiang led to Duke Dingguo was a third-rank deputy general."

Before that, Lu Xiang was a fifth-rank general defending the city.

Duke Huiguo could not wait to express his opinion, "Your Majesty is wise."

Qi Lu also stepped forward and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Queen Mother Lu smiled complacently and stopped coughing.

She once again raised an important issue: "Although the current emperor is only six years old, it is urgent to select a queen for him. In addition, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also needs to choose a Crown Princess."

Everyone present turned their eyes to Empress Dowager Lu. She didn't need to say much, as everyone knew that the candidate in her mind must be from the Lu or Li Mansion.

As expected, Empress Dowager Lu appointed her young niece, Lu, as the queen without hesitation, and appointed Duke Huiguo's youngest daughter as the crown princess.

The officials thought to themselves: Now the whole world has been turned into her own empire by Empress Dowager Lu.

Since no one objected, Empress Dowager Lu issued an imperial decree in the name of the emperor.

She couldn't wait to ask the Imperial Clan Affairs Office to send betrothal gifts to the two palaces, saying, "Legal and just, bring the future emperor and the future crown prince to the palace and let me teach them personally."

The officials of the Zongzhengsi prepared the betrothal gifts in accordance with the Empress Dowager's order.

Queen Mother Lu happily came to the storehouse of the imperial palace, preparing to select two tokens of love for her two future daughters-in-law.

When the palace servants opened the storehouse, they were suddenly shocked to find that it was empty and there was nothing inside.

"My queen, there's nothing inside!" a palace maid shouted in panic.

Empress Dowager Lu shook her head in disbelief. "How is this possible? The families who saved the wives of the Lu family sent me one million taels of silver notes, and I exchanged them for gold and silver and put them here. I also put the thousands of boxes of valuables I seized from the Zuo Mansion in here!"

She slowly walked forward to check, and the scene in front of her made her dumbfounded and stunned. "Where are my things? Where are my treasures and precious items?" She asked in shock, her heart full of doubts and confusion.

Captain Huang, who had an affair with her, stepped forward and whispered in Empress Dowager Lu's ear, "Your Majesty, this has happened twice in the palace."

"I doubt if anyone in the Guards could remove the wealth."

"Who is it?" asked Empress Dowager Lu in horror.

"I don't know, Madam." Captain Huang shook his head.

"Does Commander Cheng know about this?" Empress Dowager Lu suspected that Commander Cheng was embezzling money.

Captain Huang waved his hand, "He doesn't know about this. He didn't know before, and he doesn't know now."

Queen Mother Lu stared blankly at the empty warehouse and started coughing again in anger. She had now become the poorest queen mother.

Captain Huang's name is Huang Yi. He is very fond of Commander Cheng and would speak up for him when the Queen Mother suspected him. If Commander Cheng hadn't picked him out and sent him to Queen Mother Lu to become her male favorite, he would still be guarding the city gate.

Now, Huang Yi is the most favored male concubine by Empress Dowager Lu.

Not only was he good-looking, but his sweet words also made Empress Dowager Lu very happy.

What's even more amazing is that he specially learned the art of sex to serve Empress Dowager Lu, so as to satisfy her increasingly strong desires.

Imperial Physician Yuan brought the prepared medicine to Empress Dowager Lu.

"My lady, the medicine is here."

Huang Yi stepped forward, took the medicine personally and took a sip.

After a while, he held the medicine bowl with both hands and placed it next to Empress Dowager Lu's mouth, and said gently: "My queen, drink the medicine, and you will stop coughing after drinking it."

He also advised, "You are the queen, you can get these properties back if you lose them, the most important thing is to recover from the illness."

Queen Mother Lu obediently opened her mouth and drank the medicine in a few gulps. Another palace maid came forward and brought water for her to rinse her mouth.

She felt suffocated at the thought of losing so much wealth and not knowing how it was lost. She sighed repeatedly, "What a pity. We still don't know how it was lost."

Huang Yi supported Empress Dowager Lu and whispered, "Your Majesty, why don't you call someone to perform a ritual?"

The father-in-law next to him suggested: "It's better to call someone from the Ministry of Justice to investigate the case."

Empress Dowager Lu waved her hand and ordered, "Perform a ritual and investigate the case. Make sure to find my lost property."

"Yes, your majesty." The subordinate went to pass on the order.