Li Guo'er stood outside the hall, nervously tugging at her dress that she had modified from Taiping.
Even though she grew up in the mountains, she was different from the common village girls. She had often heard the terms Emperor, Empress Dowager, and Wangye. Therefore, she did not feel the panic that a common village girl would feel when she saw an important person.
However, she was in awe.
Ever since she was young, she knew that her family was supposed to be high and mighty members of the royal family. It was all thanks to her grandmother that they ended up in this state. Just like that, Wu Zetian's supreme authority entered her young heart. This time, when she entered the palace and saw the magnificent palace with her own eyes, she felt an inexplicable admiration for the mistress of this heavenly palace.
She knew that she was about to meet the most powerful woman in the world, her grandmother. However, she did not feel a sense of familiarity that a village girl would have when meeting her grandmother. She did not think that her grandmother would be a benevolent old lady. She could not imagine what this Empress would be like, so she was especially nervous.
"His Majesty has spoken. Princess Guo'er is summoned to see him!"
Eunuch Gao came to the door and announced gently.
Li Guo'er stood there in a daze. Someone beside her reminded her. She answered in a panic, "Ah! I'm here! I'm here! "
Li Guo'er lifted her dress and ran up the stairs. Eunuch Gao's eyes brightened. He looked in surprise at this beautiful young girl and smiled, "Princess, please follow me!"
Eunuch Gao saw that this young girl had a face that was pleasant to look at, and as he led her inside, he hurriedly introduced her to the etiquette required when meeting the Emperor. Li Guo'er nodded her head repeatedly, remembering it in her heart.
"Sage, Princess Guo'er is here!"
Eunuch Gao led Li Guo 'er to the main hall and reported to Wu Zetian before stepping aside. Li Guo' er did not even dare to raise her head. She quickly took a step forward and knelt down on both knees. She kowtowed and said in a crisp voice, "Granddaughter Guo 'er greets Imperial Grandmother!"
Wu Zetian was stunned. She was amused by this unique form of address. She showed a rare hint of kindness and said slowly, "Guo'er, get up!"
"Thank you, Imperial Grandmother!"
Li Guo'er kowtowed again and stood up obediently. She looked at her toes nervously. Wu Zetian saw that she was so restrained and the love in her heart increased. Her voice became even more kind, "Don't be afraid. I am your grandmother, not an outsider. Come here, let grandmother take a good look at you!"
Li Guo'er agreed and slowly walked to Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian held her hand and looked her up and down. The more she looked, the more she liked her. She said, "Raise your head!"
Li Guo 'er raised her head, her big eyes blinking as she looked at Wu Zetian timidly. Wu Zetian said to Li Xian with fondness, "This granddaughter of mine has grown up to be truly beautiful!"
Li Xian smiled obsequiously and said, "Silly girl, what is there to be beautiful about? You dote on your granddaughter. Of course, you can look at her however you like."
"Hmph! If you're beautiful, then you're beautiful. If you're not beautiful, then you're not beautiful. Although my eyes are blurry, I can still clearly see beauty and ugliness! "Wu Zetian said to her son with a smile. She felt a sense of familial joy.
She looked Li Guo'er up and down and suddenly asked, "Guo'er, your father was sent to Fangzhou by me for more than ten years. Even you were born on the way to Fangzhou. As a child of the royal family, you have suffered so much. Do you hate your grandmother?"
Li Xian was shocked. When he was with Consort Wei, he often complained about his mother. If his daughter was immature and said a few words, wouldn't it make his mother unhappy? But he could not remind her now. Not only could he not, he could not even show a hint of nervousness on his face. Li Xian forced himself to be calm but his thighs tensed up nervously under his robe.
"Of course not!"
Li Guo'er answered without hesitation, "Although Guo'er grew up in the mountains, I know that there is no lack of parents in the world. Grandmother is father's birth mother, father is Guo'er's birth father. If Guo'er does something wrong and father punishes me, should I hate father? My father treats you like my grandmother, and Guo 'er treats you the same way. Without my grandmother, how would I have a father? Without my father, how would I have Guo' er? Besides, father did do something wrong. Although Guo'er was not born then and I don't know what father did wrong, all these years, Guo'er often saw father repenting his mistakes. "
Guo'er's words were sincere and sincere. Especially when it was said by a young girl in the prime of her youth, it was especially convincing. Wu Zetian was already beaming with joy. When Guo 'er saw Wu Zetian's smiling face, the fear in his heart was greatly reduced. Now that he saw Wu Zetian's appearance, with a head full of white hair and layers of wrinkles, she had a kind face and did not look like a fiend or a fiend, Guo' er became even bolder.
Guo'er held Wu Zetian's arm affectionately and said in a sweet voice, "Sometimes when Guo'er asks, father will tell Guo'er that grandmother is not only his mother but also the ruler of the world. The ruler of the world cannot only care about the kinship between mother and son. So when he made a mistake, for the sake of the country and the country, grandmother must punish what should be punished. This is the only way to set an example for the world."
Wu Zetian was overjoyed and nodded her head repeatedly. Li Guo 'er continued, "Now that Grandmother has forgiven Father, Father can return to the capital and serve Grandmother. Grandmother, you're getting on in years, but Father isn't young either. Surely you can't spank him like when Guo' er did something wrong, right? If father does something wrong in the future, grandmother, please forgive him. "
"Good, good, good. Guo'er, you are such a filial and good child!"
Wu Zetian patted Li Guo'er's arm and praised her repeatedly. She remembered how she was when she first entered the palace and also remembered the peaceful times when she was a young girl. As people grow up, they think more and their hearts become more complicated. A young girl like her was better. Beautiful and generous, lively and adorable, innocent and childish.
"Guo'er... You are my granddaughter but you still don't have a title." Wu Zetian caressed Li Guo'er's little hand. She pondered for a moment and said joyfully, "I've got it! I shall bestow you the title of... Anle, Princess Anle. I wish my precious granddaughter a lifetime of peace and happiness! "
Li Xian was overjoyed. Since he had returned to the capital, his daughter would have a title sooner or later. However, his daughter had received a title under such circumstances. This meant that his daughter had won his mother's favor. This was greatly beneficial to him. Li Xian hastily said, "Silly girl, kneel down and thank grandmother for her kindness!"
Li Guo'er had just met her grandmother for the first time so she naturally paid her respects. However, Wu Zetian did not like it when the family was always so restrained. She preferred children like Taiping who were natural and unrestrained when they saw her. The most annoying ones were her sons, when they saw her, it was as if they had seen a man-eating tiger.
Wu Zetian was about to stop her when Li Guo'er did not kneel down and kowtow as her father had requested. Instead, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed Wu Zetian on the cheek.
Li Xian turned pale with fright. He was about to scold her for her rudeness when unexpectedly, Wu Zetian held her cheek and was stunned. Then, she laughed heartily, "Hahaha! Xian'er, you must let her enter the palace often to keep mother company! This granddaughter of mine, mother likes her very much! "
… …
Outside the palace gates, Huang Xuchang grinned as he moved in front of Yang Fan.
Yang Fan looked at his puffed out chest and belly and couldn't help smiling, "You got promoted?"
Huang Xuchang couldn't help but roar with laughter. His eyebrows danced as he said, "Thanks to you, I am now a colonel, heh heh heh! Old Huang's luck is good. We also went through fire and water, but I was the one who escorted Wangye into the palace in the end. I was also the one who personally saw the Emperor. When the Emperor was happy, he immediately promoted me. "
Xu Liang snorted with a dark expression.
Huang Xuchang and he had been partners for many years and were like brothers. He didn't care about his expression and purposely patted his shoulder. He said proudly, "Little Xu, don't worry. We have been brothers for many years. This colonel will take care of you in the future. However, you should also be more respectful to this colonel. This is not right. However, this colonel is a magnanimous person and won't argue with you … "
"A villain intoxicated by success!"
Xu Liang was so angry that he couldn't do anything. He flicked his sleeve and moved to the side.
Yang Fan said with a smile, "Don't make him angry. Be careful that he doesn't get angry and fall out with you."
Huang Xuchang lowered his voice and said in a small voice, "No, how could I forget my old friend? Of course I haven't forgotten his contributions. I mentioned him several times in front of the Emperor. I will definitely reward him when he returns. "
At this point, Huang Xuchang suddenly said excitedly, "Right, Colonel Yang, did I act well on the hilltop in Ye County?"
Huang Xuchang slapped his thigh and said, "You don't know how proud I was when I closed my eyes and pretended to be dead and rolled down the hill. That kind of despair, anger, and grief was too real. Why didn't I think I could act so well before? "
Xu Liang had come over again at some point and heard everything. Hearing that he mentioned his contributions in front of the Emperor, he was very happy. But seeing him show off, he couldn't help but attack him, "Like my ass! It's just that you have a sincere and honest appearance and can easily deceive others. In the future, I won't believe you anymore. "
While the two were bickering, Fu Qingqing accompanied Gu Zhuting out of the palace. Standing in front of the palace gate, she said in a clear voice, "Everyone has done a meritorious service in escorting the Prince of Luling back to the capital. The Saint will definitely reward you. But today the Saint and his mother have met and the family is in the midst of a family reunion. You can all go your separate ways. "
After Fu Qingqing finished speaking, she looked at Yang Fan and smiled. Yang Fan also smiled and returned her greeting. He then smiled and watched Gu Zhuting walk toward him. Yang Fan took the reins of the horse and said to Gu Zhuting with a smile, "My great hero, please get on the horse!"
Gu Zhuting was at a loss for what to do. She blushed and said, "How can I deserve such a courteous reception from Ah Lang? It's too much for this servant."
Yang Fan said, "Why not? If you don't get on the horse, I will always hold the horse and stand here! "
"Fine, fine, fine, I'll go, I'll go!"
Gu Zhuting could not bear it; she hastily stepped forward to hold the saddle. In her panic, her foot stepped on the stirrups, but she did not jump up. Seeing this, Yang Fan propped her waist from the back. This push was not serious, but Gu Zhuting felt as if the back of her waist was burned by a hot iron. She mounted the horse and almost slipped down again. Hastily she grabbed the saddle, her face and ears were already red with embarrassment.
Yang Fan smiled and turned around to mount his own horse. After bidding farewell to Huang Xuchang, Xu Liang and the others, he walked side by side with Gu Zhuting. Gu Zhuting deliberately concealed her embarrassment. The warmth on her face faded a little. She smiled and said, "Commander Huang has been promoted. This time Ah Lang has achieved great merit. The Emperor will certainly give you a big promotion, right?"
Yang Fan smiled and shook his head. "We will see tomorrow," he said, "I am too lazy to guess. But you, your merit is not small. Too bad you are not a member of the imperial court and cannot be rewarded. If the Emperor does not reward me, I must not disappoint the meritorious subject. "
Gu Zhuting cast a sidelong glance at him and asked in surprise, "What does Ah Lang want to reward me with?"
Yang Fan winked at her and said, "Guess!"
…
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