Chapter 657: Chapter 657. Want to Rise

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Qing’ er?”

Su Hanxuan saw his daughter walking over in giant strides. He had not seen her for almost two months and greatly missed her. Other than missing her, he was also worried. His daughter was always risking her life. As a parent, his heart was in his throat.

“Father.”

“Uncle.”

Su Qing greeted her father and foster father, Luan Qingshan, with a smile when he saw them. Luan Qingshan was now a first-grade official, and his temperament differed from when he was in the Jingshi Dao. He was very dignified.

“Qing’ er has returned.”

Luan Qingshan said to Su Qing with a smile. People were in high spirits when it came to happy events. There was an unconcealable smile on his face.

“Congratulations, this is a boy.”

Zhou Bo, who had been silent all this while, suddenly congratulated Luan Qingshan. The smile on Luan Qingshan’s face became even wider when he heard that. He bowed to Zhou Bo and said,

“Thank you, Taoist priest. Thank you for your words.”

“My aunt is pregnant?”

Su Qing didn’t expect her aunt to be pregnant. She seemed to be in her forties. She was already considered an old clam that had given birth to a pearl!

Uncle and aunt only had one daughter, Luan Hong. After that, she never got pregnant again. How could they not be happy when she got pregnant?

” Su Qing, it’s all thanks to the medicine you prescribed for your aunt. She has been cured of her cold abdomen and unbearable abdominal pain for many years, and now she’s pregnant.”

Luan Qingshan smiled proudly. Although he used to say having a daughter was enough, who wouldn’t be happy to have a son?

After all, the son was the one who carried on the family line, while the daughter’s child had the son-in-law’s surname!

“Aunt’s palace is icy. I just gave her a prescription.”

Su Qing didn’t want to take the credit. She didn’t expect that her aunt’s illness had been cured and she had a piece of fertile land. How long had it been? Was she already pregnant?

Thinking about Yun’er and Ziqi, they were about to have an uncle who was younger than them.

Luan Hong had just given birth to her second child, and her mother had already surprised her. She wondered how Luan Hong would feel after hearing this news.

“Su Qing, let’s go. Father will accompany you back.”

Su Hanxuan wanted to talk to his daughter more. Besides, now that his daughter was back, he finally didn’t have to live separately from Ruxue.

These two months had not been easy for him. He had to go to the palace to visit his wife when he missed her. An external official was not allowed to enter the palace often. Su Hanxuan had to endure it until he entered the palace once every ten days. When he left, he saw Yang Ruxue’s tearful and reluctant look. He would feel bad for two days after he returned, and then he would miss her for eight days.

Su Qing was in a good mood when she got home. She teased her father,

“Father, you want to take my mother back, right?”

“… Haha, where?”

Su Hanxuan laughed awkwardly at his daughter’s words, and his face turned red.

“Qing’ er, after you rest for two days, I will let your aunt come to the palace to see you.”

Before Luan Qingshan left, he told Su Qing that Yang Rubing had been discussing how she wanted to thank her niece for curing her illness. She was so excited that she couldn’t sleep well for three days.

“Alright, you’re welcome anytime.”

Su Qing nodded and ordered the guards to send her uncle home. She was polite and thorough, without any airs of a queen.

Zhou Bo smiled with his hands behind his back and followed Su Qing without saying anything. Su Qing turned around and looked at him a few times. What was wrong with the old man? Why did he look like he was watching a good show?

Who did Su Qing miss the most? It was not Xiao Zeyu but a pair of children.

She thought of Ziqi’s simple and honest nature and Yun’er’s mischievous nature. She also dreamed of the two children last night!

When the chief eunuch in the palace saw Su Qing walking back to the palace by herself in the Forbidden City, he was so frightened that he hurriedly ordered people to carry the Empress’s phoenix carriage over.

“Go and report to the Emperor that the Empress has returned.”

The chief eunuch quietly told the young eunuch beside him that the Emperor was deeply in love with the Empress. The Empress had not been in the capital for a long time, and he had not doted on any woman.

Of course, no minister would dare to send his daughter to the palace.

In the past, if the Emperor and ministers sent their daughters to the palace, they would have a chance to be favored. The family would then rise to the heavens and soar from then on.

But this Emperor couldn’t do it. If you dared to give him a woman, he would immediately strip you of your official position and exile you. Who dared to take a chance?

However, some were not afraid of death. They wanted to take advantage of the time when Su Qing was not in the Forbidden City. If the Emperor happens to be stifled, he would want a woman. They would find an opportunity to send their daughter into the palace.

Salt Official Li Wei was the one who was not afraid of death. The main thing was that the Emperor intended to change the salt’s official position. One should know that the salt official position was worth ten thousand taels of silver a year, which was the most lucrative position.

Of course, Li Wei didn’t want to lose this lucrative position, so he set his sights on his daughter, Li Xiangxiang, whom he had spent a lot of money to raise since she was young.

He spent a lot of money to send Li Xiangxiang into the palace to be a palace maid. Li Xiangxiang also had her methods. After entering the palace, she spent money to bribe everyone. She turned into a big palace maid from an ordinary palace maid and was sent to the Emperor’s side.

Today was Li Xiangxiang’s first day on duty. She had long been secretly in love with this most powerful man in the world. He was magnificent and handsome. Only such a man was worthy of her service.

She thought that she was beautiful and charming. He would dote on her as long as she could get close to the Emperor.

She was confident she could control the harem alone if she could get the Emperor’s favor. One must know that to serve the Emperor well and make him infatuated with her, she had specially gone to the brothel to observe and learn for several days. She had thoroughly learned the moves of a woman serving a man. The result was that that scene would appear every night when she closed her eyes. She had long been eager to taste the forbidden fruit.

Xiao Zeyu was reading the memorials without any distractions. Had the palace maids been changed? Who was it? It didn’t make any difference to him as long as she was good.

Xiao Zeyu was in the middle of reviewing the memorial when he suddenly heard a sweet and soft voice beside him,

“Emperor, can this servant grind ink for you?”

Xiao Zeyu’s face turned stern when he heard this voice. He ordered coldly,

“Drag her out.”

“Emperor?”

Li Xiangxiang did not expect Xiao Zeyu to order her to be dragged out without even glancing at her. She was initially full of confidence, thinking that as long as the Emperor saw her beautiful face, he would be intoxicated by her. She did not expect it to end up like this.

“Kill with a cane.”

It would have been better if Li Xiangxiang did not call out the Emperor. Hearing her voice of disbelief, Xiao Zeyu immediately gave the order to be beaten to death.

Li Xiangxiang’s legs went soft. She no longer bothered to seduce Xiao Zeyu. She knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.

“Your Majesty, this servant only wants to share your worries. Please spare my life!”

Xiao Zeyu looked coldly at the guard. The guard was so frightened that he quickly dragged Li Xiangxiang out. The palace maids looked down and mourned for Li Xiangxiang.

Who didn’t know that the Emperor only had the Empress in his heart? This new palace maid was ambitious and wanted to use her beauty to climb up the tree. She was asking for it.

When the young eunuch came to report, he saw that Li Xiangxiang was pressed on a stool and being beaten. He did not stop and hurriedly walked into Yangxin Palace Hall. Once he entered, he knelt on the ground and reported,

“Reporting to the Emperor, the Empress has returned to the palace..”