Ye Yi walked to Luo Xuan's side and helped him change into clean clothes for the Sword Immortal. Then, he took out some medicine and carefully applied it to the Sword Immortal's injured feet.
The Sword Immortal's feet were bound with Xuantie all year round, and his ankles were already blurred with blood stains.
After everything was taken care of, Ye Yi bent down and placed the Sword Immortal on the stone bed in the corner.
They had tried using a wooden bed for the Sword Immortal before. However, once the poison in his body flared up, he would uncontrollably destroy everything around him and even harm himself with the wooden splinters.
Over time, Luo Xuan could only provide a stone bed for the Sword Immortal. However, he added a thick layer of bedding on the stone to keep him warm.
After everything was settled, Ye Yi finally took Luo Xuan's hand and led him towards the main hall.
When Luo Xuan passed by Ye Xi's coffin, his footsteps involuntarily paused for a moment.
Inside lay his daughter!
"Father, let's go back!" Ye Yi whispered softly.
"Alright, let's go back."
Luo Xuan placed his hand on Ye Xi's coffin, gently caressed it, then clenched his teeth and walked towards the main hall.
In the empty main hall, Ye Yi helped Luo Xuan sit down. He then took out four small pills made of white jade ginseng, given to him by the National Master, and fed them to four hidden guards.
After feeding the pills, Ye Yi placed his hand on the chests of the guards. With a touch of his hand, the pills slid down their throats and into their stomachs.
After a moment, the four guards, who were previously weak as threads of air, simultaneously opened their eyes. They hesitated for a moment before quickly sitting up from the bed.
Seeing Ye Yi standing in front of them, the four guards got off the bed and half-knelt on the ground, respectfully speaking to Ye Yi.
"Third Prince, thank you for saving our lives!"
"You don't need to thank me. If it weren't for me, my empress mother wouldn't have laid hands on you."
The four guards kneeling on the ground exchanged glances and decided to reveal the information they obtained before being poisoned.
"Before we were poisoned, we received news that the Sixth Princess, Ye Zhao, was imprisoned in the dungeon by the Empress."
However, when Princess Ye Zhao was locked up in the dungeon, her clan members risked their lives to rescue her and sent her to Canglan.
Now, all the clan members of Princess Ye Zhao have been imprisoned by Empress Canglan, awaiting execution after autumn."
Upon hearing the guards' words, Ye Yi took a sharp breath.
A while ago, Ye Zhao and Ye Mu were appointed envoys by their empress mother to deliver an early coronation gift to the Han Country.
Because they presented the poisoned Ruo Qiu as a gift to Zaozao, Zaozao, in anger, had already killed Ye Mu.
Now, among the surviving princes and princesses, only he and the Sixth Princess, Ye Zhao, remained.
He had been abandoned by his empress mother and confined to this courtyard. As for his younger sister, Ye Yu, she had long been driven to madness by their empress mother's torment.
Now, the only person who can inherit the Canglan throne is Ye Zhao alone.
He had thought that the empress mother would leave her throne to Ye Zhao. But from the information received from the secret guards, was the empress mother planning to kill all the children she had given birth to?
If they were all dead, then who would inherit the throne of Canglan? Or was she planning to hand over her throne to someone else?
But this didn't seem like the empress mother's way of doing things.
His empress mother, the empress of Canglan, she had truly gone mad.
Luo Xuan looked at the shocked expression on Ye Yi's face and couldn't help but sigh. His wife, the empress of Canglan.
In her entire life, she didn't love even a single child she had given birth to. The only thing she loved was the throne beneath her.
Power and wealth had driven her into madness.
"Father, it seems that the empress mother has truly gone mad!"
Ye Yi turned to look at Luo Xuan and whispered.
"Ye Yi, the situation is unclear right now. We should stay quietly in Feixu Palace and not go anywhere."
Luo Xuan turned his head and looked at the tall walls outside the gate, regret filling his eyes.
"Father, I just saw the National Master. He told me to endure a few more days. Once we arrive in Canglan early, he will save me, save our people, save my sister and master.
The National Master said he and the Grand Priest Han Ye cannot intervene in the matter between the empress mother and the fertile empress, but they can once we arrive in Canglan early. We will all be saved."
"Ye Yi, are you telling the truth?"
Hearing Ye Yi's words, Luo Xuan asked incredulously.
"It's true, Father. When the empress mother sent us to Luoshui Village, if it weren't for Canglan, the five of us would have died from an incurable poison. There wouldn't have been a chance for us to return to Lan City from Luoshui Village."
"As long as there's hope for salvation, that's all that matters. Could it be true what the empress of Han Country said, that she is a sign of good fortune?
If it's true, then my people, my daughter, and the senior sword immortal will finally be saved.
Once they're saved, my daughter and our people won't have to lie in those cold coffins anymore.
Inside, it's truly too dark, too cold."
Luo Xuan stood up, his eyes filled with confusion as he murmured to himself.
"Father, during this time, we must live well. The National Master said that Canglan will definitely save us." Ye Yi said firmly.
"We will, we definitely will. As long as it's what the National Master said, I believe it. After all, he has no reason to deceive us."
In Han Country, Zaozao looked at Princess Ye Zhao kneeling on the ground. After stealing a glance, she continued to bury her head in the memorials in her hands.
"Xiao Liuli, you've already helped me for the whole morning. Take a rest now and continue later. We'll never finish reading these damn memorials.
I don't know what Han Ye brother is thinking. Can't he help me? Oh heavens! I get a headache just looking at these memorials.
And what's all this nonsense! How can these trivial matters be presented to me? I'm really fed up with those officials."
Xiao Liuli, sitting at the desk, looked at Zaozao rubbing her head and roaring helplessly. His eyes were filled with amusement.
He was accustomed to seeing the memorials addressed to his mother, the Empress, while she only glanced at the important ones. She never bothered with trivial matters concerning the people's livelihood.
Because of her indulgence, corrupt officials grew increasingly rampant in Canglan Country, and the lives of its people became increasingly difficult.
However, Zaozao paid meticulous attention to every detail in the memorials. If there was something she didn't understand, she would consult with the civil and military officials the next day.
During this period, when Zaozao discussed matters with the civil and military officials, she didn't carry herself with the airs of an empress.
Now, during the daily court sessions, the atmosphere between the officials and Zaozao was becoming more and more harmonious.
(Just like the aunties bargaining at the market, the scene was full of spitting, shouting, and a fierce momentum...
When opinions clashed, everyone stamped their feet and pounded their chests. If it weren't for Han Ye, who stood by the side, the civil and military officials would have almost come to blows with Zaozao.
Zaozao's sharp tongue was truly unmatched. The fact that the officials weren't driven to death by her was a blessing.)
In a short period of time, Han Country became more stable under Zaozao's governance.
Combined with the National Master's auspicious comments on Zaozao, the people of Han Country regarded her as a symbol of good luck.
Whenever the people of Han Country encountered difficulties, their first request was not to the gods in their hearts, but to Zaozao, the living deity.
To the extent that the people of Han Country even wanted to build a temple for Zaozao, but she promptly put a stop to it.
Her reason for declining the temple was that she was still young and didn't want to be bothered yet.
So even if the people burned incense for her, she couldn't feel it. It would be a waste of money.
If they truly loved and respected her, then the people of Han Country should unite and do more good deeds.
Most importantly, when Zaozao secretly slipped out of the palace and saw the little clay figure the people had made for her, it looked exactly like a caricature of General Tianpeng.
That appearance was simply hideous.
It was because of that grotesque statue that Zaozao adamantly refused the people's request to build a temple for her.
But later on, due to the sincere and earnest pleas of the people, Zaozao eventually relented. Of course, it would be even better if the people of Han Country didn't call her "Zhu Zhu" (Piggy).
Zaozao couldn't help but think of the name "Piggy Knight" when the people and Han Ye called her Zhu Zhu. The difference was so vast!
When Zaozao recounted her reasons for rejecting the temple to them, Han Ye and Ruo Qiu couldn't help but laugh.
What amused them the most was Zaozao imitating the appearance of Piggy Knight, hopping and jumping around.
"Xiao Liuli, you daydreamer, what are you thinking about!"
"Sister, would you like to have something to eat?" Xiao Liuli softly asked, concealing the smile in her eyes.
"Mmm! I'm craving something sweet, the sweeter, the better. I've been arguing with the civil and military officials all day long, and it has been exhausting."
"If I don't have something sweet soon, I feel like I won't be able to bear this bitterness anymore."
Zaozao scratched her messy hair in frustration and looked at Xiao Liuli with confusion.
"Xiao Liuli, during the morning court session today, you said that Lord Li from the Ministry of Revenue and I had an argument. Who was at fault? Who was being unreasonable?"
Upon hearing Zaozao's words, Xiao Liuli, who was organizing the memorial documents, hesitated for a moment, her hands unintentionally paused.
Um...
How should she answer that?
Thinking back to the morning court session, when Lord Li, who appeared honest and sincere, almost rolled up his sleeves to fight with Zaozao because their opinions didn't align.
As for the reason...
"Xiao Liuli, you said that Lord Li is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, and I just asked him to allocate some money for road construction for the people.
Moreover, as the Empress of Han Country, didn't I lead by example and contribute my own silver? I only asked Lord Li to cover the rest. How can he accuse me of being stingy?"
"But, Elder Sister, it takes 23,000 taels of silver to build the roads, and you only provided 300 taels of silver. You expect Lord Li to come up with 22,700 taels of silver for road construction.
Elder Sister, Lord Li has to fill in a significant amount of silver, it's not surprising that he would get angry."
"Xiao Liuli, are you implying that the 300 taels of silver I provided is insufficient?"
"No, absolutely not."
Xiao Liuli quickly denied.
"How can it be insufficient? Xiao Liuli, do you know? When I first arrived in Han Country, I was at least a well-off woman who didn't have to worry about food and clothing.
But now that I've become the Empress of Han Country, I've turned into a complete pauper.
Everywhere requires money, and that Lord Li from the Ministry of Revenue keeps insisting there's no money. He does nothing all day but complain about being broke.
How long has it been? He's deceived all of my private savings. How can I not seek revenge for such a profound hatred of robbing my private funds?
Besides, those 300 taels of silver were even requested by me and Ruo Qiu. As the wife, I'm shamelessly asking my own husband for money. I've practically lost face for women everywhere."
