The Great Han Dynasty Volume 1 The great wind rises and clouds fly high Volume 2 There are trees on the mountain, and there are branches on the tree Eighty-nine fragrant cheeks

  Due to the last slip, Zhang Yan's foot injury worsened and she has been resting at home since then.

  As for the miserable past that happened in Chang Le Palace that night, everyone kept silent. That night, Lu Yuan Chu was shocked when he first brought her back, and asked repeatedly, but on the second day, he just sighed and let her go.

  In the autumn of Chang'an, the maple leaves were washed by rain and turned a brilliant red.

  "Jiāo mò." Zhang Yan shouted loudly, but there was no response from the courtyard. The two personal maids were also nowhere to be found.

  She helplessly got up, hopped on one foot to the window, and pulled down the window shade. The room immediately became dim, and the rain pattered against the oiled paper covering the window, making a soft rustling sound, very quiet.

  With a "click", she turned on the light.

  The bamboo slips on the desk had been dampened by the rain that had drifted in. Bamboo slips can't get wet, if they are exposed to moisture for a long time, the leather straps that connect the bamboo pieces will gradually rot and eventually fall apart. Zhang Yan was a book lover, so she quickly took a white handkerchief from the side to wipe them clean, but suddenly froze.

  That is a famous article "Zheng Bo Ke Duan Yu Yan" in "The Commentary of Zuo on the Spring and Autumn Annals":

  (Zhuang Gong) then placed Jiang Shi in the city of Ying, and swore to her: "If not at the Yellow Springs, we will not meet again!" Later he regretted it. ...Ying Kao Shu advised: "What is your worry? If you dig a hole through the earth and springs, and tunnel to see each other, who would say no?" The Duke followed his advice. He entered (the tunnel) and composed: "In the great tunnel's midst, joy is harmonious." Jiang Shi came out (of her tunnel) and composed: "Outside the great tunnel, joy is overflowing." Thus mother and son were reunited as before.

  She lowered her eyelids, and the sunlight cast a shadow under her long eyelashes.

  Outside the courtyard, he took off his outer garment and pushed open the door to enter the room. From a distance, he saw Zhang Yan and hastily said, "The weather is cool, why has the mistress gotten out of bed?"

  She raised her head and asked, "Where did you all go just now?"

  "Empress Chang is worried about your health. She especially invited both Hua Mei and me to ask you some questions." Jie You stepped forward, putting a thick autumn coat over Zhang Yan's shoulders, smiling as she explained.

  "Uh-huh." Zhang Yan nodded...

  She knew that Lu Yuan had been suffering a lot lately. On the day when Empress Qi died suddenly in front of the Long乐 Temple, her long-time arch-nemesis died right in front of her, but instead of feeling happy, Empress Lü was furious and ordered people to trample on Empress Qi's body. It just so happened that the emperor arrived at the scene and saw it with his own eyes.

  Liu Ying couldn't accept that the person lying on the ground, covered in blood and flesh, was actually Qi Furen, who had been a thousand times more beautiful and charming in the Han palace. She stood there for half a moment, then spat out from between her teeth: "This is not something a human would do!" and turned to leave for Weiyang Palace. From then on, the relationship between mother and son fell into an even more strained state than before, it could be called icy.

  Lu Yuan rushed back and forth between the two, comforting his strong-willed empress mother and persuading his disappointed emperor brother. He also had to repeatedly treat his foot injury, which still hadn't healed until now. Zhang Yan's mood was gloomy and overcast these days, and her heart was hanging in suspense. Even if she tried to take care of herself, she was still gradually becoming haggard.

  It's been almost three months since Mrs. Qi passed away.

  "Mulberry", Zhang Yan touched her belly and said, "I want to eat Ceng Niang's made carp soup."

  "Daughter," said Mulan with a delighted smile, "you're finally thinking of eating something."

  For the past three months, Zhang Yan's appetite has been poor. Every day, she had to be coaxed and persuaded repeatedly before she would eat, and even then, she could only manage a few mouthfuls before saying she couldn't eat anymore. They invited a doctor to examine her, but he just said it was a heart problem and that she needed to nourish her heart, with no other remedy. Lu Yuan didn't believe him and had tried forcing her to eat a bowl of lotus root soup, but unexpectedly, she vomited it all up as soon as she turned around, leaving her even weaker than before. This scared Lu Yuan into not daring to say anything more.

  The new carp soup is just right in flavor. When I was eating the second bowl, there were suddenly rapid footsteps outside the yard, and when I looked up, Lu Yuan pushed open the door and came in.

  At night, Lu Yuan had Zhang Ao go rest at Shen Ji's place and took Zhang Yan to sleep in the main room.

  "If I had known this earlier, I should have accompanied Yan that day. And you wouldn't have seen those things."

  "What Mother said is reasonable." Zhang Yan said lightly, in fact, she was relieved that she was the one present at the time, even if it were Lu Yuan's words, they might not be better than her own.

  "Actually," Lu Yuan sighed, "it was Madame Qi herself who didn't want to live."

  Yong Gao Cong received the imperial edict from Empress Dowager, preparing to escort Madame Qi to Changling. Everything was ready and they were about to depart when Madame Qi suddenly requested an audience with the Empress Dowager. At that time, the Empress Dowager had just celebrated her birthday and was in high spirits, eager to show off her glory before her rival. The result...

  "What's the result?"

  Lu Yuan's voice tightened, "Madam Qi didn't know when she hid a dagger in her sleeve, and suddenly pulled it out to stab Empress Dowager from behind. It was also because they were somewhat far apart at the time, and Empress Dowager dodged in time, so she wasn't injured, but she did cut off a piece of Empress Dowager's ceremonial robe."

  "The queen mother was born with a strong temperament, how could she tolerate this, coupled with the old grievances and new hatred towards Qi Yi, all burst out at once, resulting in the tragic event of that day. Although, although it was really excessive, however..."

  She is always my mother.

  Blood relatives end up like this, it's really not what Lu Yuan wanted.

  "Hmm." Lu Yuandao said, "The Empress Dowager has heard that you've been ill for a long time and instructed that if you're feeling better, you should come to the palace to see her."

  She gazed intently at her daughter's subtle expression, afraid that a hint of reluctance would appear on her face. Thus, Zhang Yan smiled slightly and replied, "Good."

  The sunlight shines in the middle of the palace alley, the carriage slowly drives over and stops in front of Changxin Hall. A person waiting under the carriage says, "Zhang Niangzi is doing well." It's Su Mogu.

  After Empress Lü was promoted to Empress Dowager, Su Mu's aunt no longer personally came out to greet people.

  The palace maid opened the curtain, and a noblewoman in a deep black dress inside the inner hall raised her head. Zhang Yan called out, "Auntie."

  The corners of her mouth curved slightly upwards.

  I knew you were this kind of person. Some things, even if you've done them, are still like that... and even if you haven't done them, they're still like that.... Then Lü Hou asked meaningfully, "Alright?"

  "Alright."

  "Good." Lü Yu nodded her head, her voice slightly approving, "This is a good daughter, with the spirit of a son." Then she turned to resentful sighs, "Unlike my own son, who acts like a daughter instead."

  "What's wrong with Uncle?" She raised her eyes and asked anxiously.

  "She——" Lü hesitated and coughed, clearly not wanting to bring it up.

  At this time, the palace official reported to Prime Minister Xiao He that the Grand Marshal Zhou Bo was outside the palace seeking an audience.

  Zhang Yan hid behind the screen. He heard Xiao He's hoarse voice report, "We have come to see Your Majesty, and we would like to ask Your Majesty to go out and discuss with His Majesty the grand ceremony of the New Year's Day twenty days later, as well as the subsequent matters of the imperial court."

  The old lady paused for a moment and said, "Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief are loyal to the country, I know. It's just that Your Majesty is seriously ill. In fact, it's not suitable to disturb your mind, all matters should follow the usual practice of previous years."

  "Is there a medical record of diagnosis and daily life?"

  "What?" Lu Hou's voice rose, "Does the Prime Minister not trust the Ai family?" He walked around the screen and saw his granddaughter kneeling on the couch, her eyes slightly lowered, as if thinking about something, and she was unusually quiet.

  "What's on your mind? Ah Yan." she called out.

  "Hmm... The Emperor's uncle is ill. What's going on?"

  Lü Hou snorted, her face twisted in anger. "His illness has long since healed. But he's become like a spineless man, abandoning the affairs of state. Every day, he indulges in the inner palace, drowning himself in wine and lust. If this continues, his body will be exhausted, what then?"

  Zhang Yan slightly resentful, had known so, why must be the beginning? Ah Po, if you really care about this son, how can you bear to hurt him again and again?

  "Grandma," she thought for a moment and said, "I want to go see Emperor Uncle."

  "Maybe. I have a way to cheer him up."

  She passed through Weiyang Palace unimpeded until she encountered the eunuch Zhang Rong, who was in charge of attending to the emperor.

  "Where is Your Majesty now?" she asked, her voice crisp and clear.

  "That's right." Shu Jing Cheng's usual calm and composed expression was slightly awkward today, "Your Majesty is still in the bedroom and has not gotten up yet. It's not suitable for Lady Zhang to enter."

  "What," Zhang Yan was startled and looked back at the sky, "the sun is already near noon, it's this time of day, but the Emperor's uncle has not gotten up yet?"

  "Uncle isn't supposed to rise early and ride horses every day?"

  "That's a thing of the past." Zhang Ji sighed and said helplessly, "From... that day on, Your Majesty never had that intention again."

  She hugged her elbow and waited in front of the bedroom door for a while, suddenly feeling a surge of anger in her heart. As the anger grew stronger, she jumped up, turned around, and stared at Chang Yu, "Go wake him up!"

  "Zhang's wife," Zhang said with a bitter smile, "aren't you making things difficult for me? I don't have the guts to do that."

  She stamped her foot and went into the temple herself.

  The guards at the gate crossed their spears and blocked the way, saying stiffly, "His Majesty's bedroom, no one is allowed to enter without permission."

  Zhang Yan took out the imperial edict from her sleeve and raised an eyebrow, saying, "I have come on the orders of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. Who dares to stop me?"

  "...". Under Empress Lü's intimidating gaze, both men hesitated, their expressions uncertain, and the spears in their hands relaxed slightly.

  "It's an order from Her Majesty," said Zhang Jin, waving his sleeve, "you still don't make way."

  As for guessing the young emperor's mind, in the Weiyang Palace, no one can surpass the long-lived eunuch who had followed the crown prince since his residence was moved to a secluded place. The guards stepped aside and gave way at the gate of the palace.

  "Cháng Jiǎo gōng gōng." The little eunuch beside him turned pale and whispered, "This isn't good, is it?" But under Cháng Jiǎo's glare, he lowered his head and didn't dare speak again.

  Chang Yu anxiously glanced at Cheng Ming Hall and subtly clenched his fist under the cover of his wide sleeves.

  No matter what, he didn't want Your Majesty to continue being so down and out; if someone could wake him up, no matter how small the possibility, he was willing to give it a try.

  As the emperor's bedroom in the harem, Chongming Hall was unexpectedly "simple". The dark-colored canopy slowly fell down, and on the wide imperial bed, a young man wearing a white undergarment slept soundly on his side, with faint blue marks under his eyes, but his face looked like that of a child. Meanwhile, the air was filled with a light musky fragrance that made people dizzy, while the refreshing scent of agarwood near the young man's body had faded away without a trace.

  Zhang Yan suddenly became impatient and went forward to push his shoulder, "Get up, the sun is already shining on your butt."

  After being pushed for a while, Liu Ying finally woke up. She thought the person beside her was the palace maid who had attended to her last night, so she didn't open her eyes and reached out to pull the person into an embrace, intending to kiss their forehead and eyes.

  The fragrance on the girl's cheek is smelled at the tip of her nose, sweet and lovely.

  The number of words exceeded the budget, I originally thought it could be finished writing this scene within this chapter.

  Drawing circles, actually, it was for this scene that I wrote off Madame Qi.

  The original chapter title was going to be called "Wrong Kiss", but later I felt it was too straightforward, so I changed it to the current version (seems a bit romantic?). Uh, can't help but think of that famous poem "Ten Fragrant Words": "The lotus flower loses its new beauty, the lily falls from its old makeup; both are worthy of comparison, like the fragrance of powdered cheeks." (This is inauspicious, let's skip it.)

  So, starry eyes, I'll continue to sink down and write the next scene. You guys can give me some encouragement with your pink tickets, right? Today is April 1st, a new month's pink tickets are available for use, please support me by clicking "Recommend" at the bottom of this page, it's convenient and quick.

  If you have multiple pink tickets, then consider giving them all to me, or just give a part of them, but Jiang still hopes for more is better.

  Finally, if there's still time, go ahead and cast a recommendation vote too.

  Above.