He Lan Tianxia

After a month-long lockdown, Yan Garden finally saw the light of day again, its layers of guards removed. Strolling through the sunny garden, the woman leaped with joy like a bird released from its cage. Murong Junlan stood in a corner of the pavilion, his clear eyes fixed on the woman, momentarily lost in thought. During the time she had cared for him, Murong Junlan had felt a strange, inexplicable emotion, clear and subtle, lingering in his heart, impossible to ignore.

"Your Highness, do you really have to go to the palace today?" The woman ran over and woke up the mesmerized Murong Junlan.

"Yes, you will come with me later."

"Oh." The woman thought for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "Your Highness, I would like to learn a skill from you."

"What skills?" Murong Junlan asked with interest.

"Brush the turtle." The woman stared at Murong Junlan, then pursed her lips, afraid that Murong Junlan would not agree.

"Alright, I'll teach you when we return to the palace."

"You agreed?" The woman happily threw herself into Murong Junlan's arms and gave him a big hug, which Murong Junlan did not push away.

"Consider this your reward for taking care of me these past few days." Murong Junlan stood up and strode out. "Hurry up, Jiang He has been waiting outside for a long time." The woman shuffled after him.

Outside the palace, the Emperor and Empress Dowager had been waiting for a long time. As soon as Murong Junlan's carriage arrived, the Empress Dowager disregarded etiquette and went straight over.

"Quickly, let Grandmother see him. Oh dear, he's lost so much weight. Hurry to the palace and drink the pheasant and ginseng soup I made first." The Empress Dowager patted Murong Junlan's face with heartache.

"Grandmother, I am an unfilial son, and I have caused you worry." Murong Junlan hugged his grandmother. He then turned to the Emperor and bowed, saying, "Your subject greets Father."

"A gathering upon entering the palace, a gathering upon entering the palace!" The Emperor and his entourage joyfully welcomed Murong Junlan into the palace. After drinking the pheasant soup prepared by the Empress Dowager, Murong Junlan discussed matters with the Emperor in the Imperial Study, while the woman and Jiang He waited in the outer room.

"Report! Prime Minister Jin requests an audience." The Emperor had just started talking to Murong Junlan about Prime Minister Jin when a guard outside the door reported this.

"The news came quite quickly." Murong Junlan glanced at the Emperor.

"It was I who summoned him," the Emperor explained. "Your son misunderstood Prime Minister Jin before. During the time you were unconscious, if it weren't for Prime Minister Jin mobilizing troops to fight the enemy, we would still be besieged by enemy soldiers outside."

"Father, how can a prime minister like him hoard troops? Don't you think that's inappropriate?" Murong Junlan guessed that Prime Minister Jin had used some trick to deceive the emperor.

"Last time he fell into the enemy's trap. My son, everyone makes mistakes. As long as you know how to correct them, that's fine."

"Father..." Murong Junlan wanted to say something, but Prime Minister Jin had already entered.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects." Prime Minister Jin stepped forward and bowed.

"My dear minister, there's no need for such formalities. Please sit down." Murong Junlan and Prime Minister Jin sat down on opposite sides.

"Your Highness, how is your recovery?" Prime Minister Jin asked Murong Junlan cautiously. "Has Chu Chu taken good care of Your Highness?"

"You've gone to so much trouble, Prime Minister Jin, but I'm perfectly fine." Murong Junlan didn't even glance at him.

"That's good. If Chuchu does anything wrong, Your Highness is free to discipline her."

"Hmph, how dare I discipline the daughter of Prime Minister Jin?" Murong Junlan said mercilessly, "If she stays with me, I'm afraid she'll be wronged."

"I'm not wronged, I'm not wronged. It's Chu Chu's blessing to be able to serve the Prince."

"Alright, we can talk about minor matters later. I called you here today to discuss how to deal with the Wubei Kingdom." The Emperor was afraid that their continued bickering would damage their relationship. So the three of them went to the Imperial Study to discuss serious matters.

The woman and Jiang He were quite bored in the outer room. Jiang He was fine, but the woman couldn't sit still. So she thought of going to the pond in front of the palace to enjoy the scenery. Jiang He said no, you can't leave my side for even a moment. The woman said, I'll just stay within your sight, I won't go far. Unable to argue with the woman, Jiang He had no choice but to stand at the gate, so he could keep an eye on both sides.

At this moment, a group of palace maids escorted the Empress Dowager as she walked in from behind. One of the maids in front was carrying a bowl of chicken soup. Jiang He was so focused on the woman that he didn't notice her. Suddenly, the Empress Dowager called out to Jiang He from behind. Jiang He turned around and accidentally spilled the chicken soup on the ground.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't mean it." Jiang He apologized to the Empress Dowager repeatedly.

"Guard Jiang, this chicken soup was personally prepared by me for His Majesty and the Prince. Do you think you can just dismiss me with a simple 'sorry'?" The Empress Dowager said, her face full of displeasure. "If I weren't here today, wouldn't my maids have been easily appeased by Guard Jiang with a few words?"

"This humble servant dares not, this humble servant is willing to compensate the Empress Dowager." Jiang He took out some silver from his pocket and handed it over.

"I don't need the money, I don't need it. It's just that I've wasted my whole morning. Since Guard Jiang is willing to compensate me, I'll give you a chance to atone for your sins."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for not punishing me." Jiang He was about to reply when the Empress Dowager spoke again.

"Considering you didn't do it on purpose, you will go to the kitchen with the maid now and stew a new pot according to my original recipe and send it over."

"Your Majesty, I have important matters to attend to and it may be inconvenient for me to leave." Jiang He was in a dilemma upon hearing this.

"What matter is more important than my affairs?" the Empress Dowager said angrily. "You'd better send the chicken soup over before I change my mind."

"Empress Dowager..." Jiang He wanted to explain, but the Empress Dowager turned her face away and ignored him. So Jiang He could only say, "Empress Dowager, I will inform the Prince and then go with the palace maid."

"Alright, you still have the nerve to report your mistakes? It seems the Prince is being too lenient with you servants."

"Your Majesty has misunderstood. It was just that I was afraid the Prince wouldn't be able to find me when he came out."

"Alright, I'll go in now. I'll tell the Prince that you have to return to your residence first."

"Then I'll trouble Your Majesty." After saying that, Jiang He wanted to go to the woman to tell her, but he heard the Empress Dowager say fiercely from behind.

"Where does Guard Jiang intend to escape to?"

"This humble servant would like to go and tell the... the Princess Consort." Jiang He stood there, wanting to go but not daring to.

"Princess? There is no princess here. There is only one of the prince's maids. Does Guard Jiang have to report to a maid when he does something?" The Empress Dowager's arrogance left Jiang He powerless to fight back.

"Then this humble servant will go to the kitchen to stew chicken soup." Jiang He secretly groaned. He had a premonition that the Empress Dowager was going to cause trouble again. What should he do? In a moment of panic, he quickly took off his waist token and threw it at the woman.

The woman was admiring a lotus flower in the pond when suddenly something hit her on the head. Turning her head, she heard Jiang He shout, "I'm going to the kitchen to make chicken soup. You tell the Prince."

"Okay," the woman replied, but continued standing there. Seeing this, Jiang He stomped his foot in anger, "How can you be so stupid?" Helpless, Jiang He could only turn and leave.

"Guard Jiang, wait." The woman caught up and handed him the item in her hand. "Don't throw your waist token away." Actually, it was only then that the woman belatedly realized that Jiang He had ulterior motives.

"I'm going to the kitchen to make chicken soup. You tell the Prince." Jiang He winked at the woman while his back was to the Empress Dowager.

"I'll go with you to make chicken soup too," the woman thought. The Empress Dowager was keeping a close eye on things, so there was no chance to see the prince. She might as well go to the kitchen with Jiang He.

"You don't need to go to the kitchen, I need to talk to you," the Empress Dowager said, stopping her. "Come with me."

Jiang He was at his wit's end. All he could do was hurry to the kitchen to finish making the chicken soup and then go find the prince.

The woman was led to a side room by the Empress Dowager, who did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Now I'm giving you two choices: either drink the poisoned wine on the table or marry into the Wubei Kingdom."

The woman thought for a moment. There weren't two paths, there was only one. So she said, "What if I don't choose either?"

"Then I will decide for you." The Empress Dowager ordered briskly, "Guards, change her clothes and do her makeup. She will be married off to the Wubei Kingdom in a little while."

"If I don't want to marry you, why should you marry me?" the woman retorted defiantly.

"Because you are a spy from the Wubei Kingdom."

"I'm not! You're slandering me! Help! Your Highness, save me! Your Highness, save me!" The woman struggled desperately.

"It's too noisy, tell her to shut up." The Empress Dowager, annoyed, summoned a guard who knocked the woman unconscious.

Meanwhile, the three men in the imperial study were drinking tea and discussing important matters. As they talked, Murong Junlan became sleepy. He suspected it was because he hadn't fully recovered, so he didn't pay much attention and gradually fell asleep. The Emperor ordered the guards to settle Murong Junlan in his bedroom, and then he and the Prime Minister went to see the Empress Dowager.

"Is everything ready?" the Empress Dowager asked.

“Everything is ready,” the Emperor replied.

"Then let's set off." Then, a carriage escorted by eight imperial guards secretly drove out of the back gate of the palace towards the Wubei Kingdom.