Yang Fan said, "If that's the case, this plan is very feasible. If Your Highness wants to pretend to be sick, we have to let them see that Your Highness is sick to dispel their suspicions. Then … at the earliest, we can only take action the day after tomorrow, right?"
Madam Wei said, "Correct! If everything goes well, it will be the day after tomorrow. If things don't go well, it may have to be delayed. It is too dangerous for you to sneak in here. Once they find out, it will be hard to avoid falling short of success. Therefore, from now on, before we take His Highness away, don't take the risk to come here again. If everything goes well here, I will hang a red bedsheet in front of the building. You will be able to see it clearly from the bamboo forest in the distance. If you see this red bedsheet, you must make preparations to take His Highness away tonight! "
Hearing this, Yang Fan was filled with deep veneration. This Empress Wei, who had been trapped in Huang Zhuling and lived the life of a village woman for more than ten years, was still able to maintain such a mind and imposing manner. It was truly rare. Uneasily, Li Xian asked, "Wife, aren't you and the children coming with me?"
Perhaps in front of the most powerful and callous mother in the world, this former member of the royal family had lost his pride, his courage, and his self-confidence. But because of this, he cherished his family even more.
It was often said that there was no family love in the imperial family. However, this son of the Son of Heaven, after losing everything, had only family love, the family love that came from his wife and children. How could he not cherish it?
With a hint of joy in her eyes, Madam Wei held his hand tightly and said softly, "Langjun, follow the two angels back to the capital first. The most important thing is your safety. As long as you can safely reach the capital, we can leave easily. At that time, no one will make things difficult for us."
Li Xian opened his mouth, speechless, and nodded. Seeing this, Yang Fan stood up and said, "In that case, this subject will take his leave. After returning, this subject still needs to make some careful arrangements so that we can immediately return to the capital after taking His Highness away!"
Hearing this, Madam Wei hurriedly stood up and bowed to him, saying, "Everything, I will leave it to the two angels!"
Li Xian and his wife escorted Yang Fan and his wife to the door. The rain was still falling, but the husband and wife didn't open an umbrella. They stood under the curtain of rain, foolishly watching the two's figures quietly disappear into the night, their eyes filled with hope. Li Xian and his wife only returned to their room when they could no longer be seen.
As soon as he returned to his room, Li Xian excitedly hugged Madam Wei, crying in joy, "Imperial Mother has forgiven me. Imperial Mother has allowed me to return to the capital! My wife, the bitterness is over and the sweetness is here. We finally have a way to live! "
Madam Wei was also very excited. She hugged her husband tightly. Husband and wife hugged for a long time before Madam Wei calmed down. She pulled Li Xian to sit beside the stove. As she added firewood to the dying stove, she warned: "Langjun, when you return to the capital, you must be very careful. You must not show any sign of resentment."
"En!"
"Whatever Imperial Mother asks, you must answer. You must not carelessly express your opinions. You must pay your respects to Imperial Mother every day. Your attitude must be respectful, and your words and actions must not show the slightest disrespect. You must not even slack off in your heart. Imperial Mother is not so easily deceived."
"En!"
"No matter what you think in your heart, you must always remember to tell yourself that Imperial Mother is someone who can let you live and also let you die. In the future, whether you will ascend to the throne of supremacy and become an emperor or once more become a prisoner, it all depends on a single thought of Imperial Mother!"
"En!"
"Also, Langjun can only get close to the people of the Wu clan, not alienate them. Moreover, you must not show the slightest hatred or dissatisfaction. We have missed each other before, so we absolutely cannot make the same mistake again. Whether we are close to or distant from the Wu clan will determine whether our path is right or wrong! If I am not wrong, it is precisely because the Prince of Xiang and the Wu clan have reached an irreconcilable point that you have the opportunity to return to the capital.
If this was not the case, Imperial Mother would not have gone to such great lengths to transfer you back. Because in Imperial Mother's heart, you are actually no different from the Prince of Xiang. You are not a son, nor are you a son who is closer to her. You are merely a necessary successor, so that she can live in the Imperial Court and die as a sacrifice in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, so that she can continue to feed on blood and pass on her legacy! "
"En!"
Li Xian nodded his head repeatedly, firmly engraving Madam Wei's words in his heart.
Madam Wei glanced at him and couldn't help but feel a sense of disgust because of his incompetence. But in the next moment, this feeling was replaced by a helpless sadness. She lightly held Li Xian's hand and faintly said, "It is also my fault. I should not have forced you to appoint my father as Prime Minister, causing our family to fall into such a state."
Li Xian held her hand and softly said, "This is not your fault. I was too impatient. Imperial Mother held great power, and even if I became Emperor, I would only be a puppet. If I wanted to seize back the imperial power, I could only place father-in-law in important positions and use the power of the Wei clan to reorganize my faction. Alas … in the end, Imperial Mother was still a level more skilled. "
Madam Wei couldn't help but feel moved by these words.
Li Xian was quiet for a few moments, then gave a self-deprecating laugh and comforted himself, "Let's not talk about this. Haha, even if I had been as careful as the Prince of Xiang and never made a mistake, so what? If that was the case, the one imprisoned in the Eastern Palace today would not be the Prince of Xiang, but me. What difference would there be between the two? "
Madam Wei's eyes became moist. She lightly hugged Li Xian and whispered, "Mm! Let's not talk about this anymore. No matter what, our bitterness has finally come to an end. We should be happy! "
Li Xian cheerfully said, "That's right! The bitter days have finally come to an end. "
He lightly caressed his wife's soft shoulder and emotionally said, "Wife, it's all thanks to you these past few years. If not for you, I might have been unable to hold on and killed myself long ago. You are the daughter of a noble family. If you had not married me, you would have lived a carefree life of riches and honor. But because of me, you have suffered so much. Today, I, Li Xian, swear to the heavens and the gods that if there comes a day when I, Li Xian, ascend to the throne once more, there will be no restraints between me and my wife. Everything will be yours! "
"Husband!"
Although Madam Wei sometimes hated her husband for implicating her, sometimes loathed her husband's weakness and incompetence, they were still husband and wife who depended on each other for survival. When she heard Li Xian reveal his true feelings, Madam Wei couldn't help but feel agitated. She tightly hugged Li Xian and choked with sobs.
The husband and wife embraced each other for a long time. Only then did Li Xian lightly pat her shoulder and warmly smile, saying, "Go to sleep. Tomorrow morning, we still have to deal with the soldiers. Let's recover our energy first!"
Madam Wei lightly nodded and released his embrace. Wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes, she quietly walked to the bedroom on the other side.
In these past few years, Li Xian had lived in fear, day and night suffering from mental torment. He was both mentally and physically exhausted, and before he was even fifty, he had become impotent. The two had been sleeping in separate rooms for four or five years now.
… …
Yang Fan and Gu Zhuting returned to Huang Zhu Town in the middle of the night. This time, he didn't wake up early in the morning before everyone else in town. Instead, he slept for a long time to replenish his energy.
When the cavalrymen and internal guards, who would come to the town in batches every day, saw the irregular symbol he had drawn on the wall of the inn, they knew that the matter had taken shape. They immediately returned to inform their companions who hadn't come to town today and began to adapt.
In advance, Yang Fan had devised a few plans, each one corresponding to a symbol.
One plan was to follow the method he had used to leave Luoyang. After fetching the Queen of Luling, they would meet up with the circus in Fangling and use them as a cover to quietly return to the capital.
However, this plan had already been abandoned because the garrison of Huang Zhu Ling was too strict with the Prince of Luling. Consort Wei said that she could hide the news of the Prince of Luling's departure for five to six days at most. Considering that some unexpected events might shorten this time, it was impossible to secretly return to the capital in disguise.
Of the remaining plans, Yang Fan chose the most direct one. Once he fetched the Prince of Luling, he would immediately escort him to Luoyang at full speed.
In this way, they would travel day and night, and in five to six days, they would be able to cover at least half of the distance. Even if the garrison of Huang Zhu Ling discovered that the Prince of Luling had disappeared and sent a messenger pigeon or some other means of communication to the capital to send people to intercept him, the other party wouldn't be able to make any more arrangements. If they were lucky, he might already appear in the palace with the Prince of Luling before the two sides even met.
Only when it was close to noon did Yang Fan stealthily make his way to Huang Zhu Ling. Today, he had only gone up the mountain to see if the Princess of Luling had sent a signal. He only needed one person to go. It would have been the same if he had sent Gu Zhuting, but Yang Fan used the important matter and had to see it with his own eyes as an excuse and snatched this task.
There was still a young girl with a pitiful background waiting for him on the mountain. Yang Fan had already promised to take her out of the fiery pit, so he had to go see her today and make some arrangements for her.
Yang Fan easily snuck into Huang Zhu Ling and first circled around to a place where he could observe the residence of the Prince of Luling. At first glance, he saw a red bedsheet in the courtyard.
Perhaps fearing that he wouldn't see it, Madam Wei had specially tied a rope between the two bamboo buildings. The red bedsheet was draped over the rope, making it look like a bright flag.
"It's done!"
Yang Fan clasped his fist and took another careful look. After confirming that there was no mistake, he excitedly rushed to the spring. That was the place he had agreed to meet Jiu Cai 'er.
Today, Jiu Cai 'er was wearing a multicolored dress. The dress was as shabby as ever, and it even seemed a little loose. Perhaps it was someone else's dress, but from the quality, the embroidery, and the style, one could still see how expensive and gorgeous this dress had once been.
Jiu Cai 'er walked back and forth by the spring, occasionally startling the fluttering butterflies in the grass and flowers.
"Why isn't he here yet?"
Jiu Cai 'er looked at the sky and vexedly threw a stone into the calm lake, stirring up ripples.
"It's already so late, and he still hasn't come. It looks like he won't come again!"
Jiu Cai 'er sat down dejectedly by the lake, regret and disappointment gnawing at her heart like a poisonous snake.
"I'm so stupid! I'm so stupid! I've seen so many people on this mountain, and none of them would give you any benefits for no reason, not to mention that he's a cultivator who doesn't care about worldly affairs. I should've … I should've given up everything and firmly bound his heart so that he wouldn't abandon me! "
Jiu Cai 'er looked at the beautiful face in the lake, which didn't seem to belong to a mortal woman, and in her self-reproach, tears of pain unknowingly crept up her cheeks. They gently slid down her cheeks, down her sharp chin, and fell into the clear lake water.
She had originally thought that her rough life was the greatest pain in the world, but now she realized that the greatest pain was when someone gave you hope, only to cruelly take it away.
"Jiu Cai 'er, Jiu Cai' er?"
In her daze, she seemed to hear Yang Fan's call again, and this call was like a needle stabbing into her heart.
"No! It seems to be real! "
Hearing the call getting clearer and clearer, Jiu Cai 'er suddenly quivered and turned around in surprise!
…
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