CHAPTER 404: CHAPTER 372: FANGHUA ENTERS THE CAPITAL (SECOND UPDATE)

Two quarters of an hour later, Dean Wang followed Jiang Quan to Shou’an Palace and first paid respects to Emperor Guangxi.

Emperor Guangxi, looking anxious, told him not to be overly formal and quickly tend to the Empress Dowager’s pulse.

The curtain had already been drawn down by a palace maid, revealing only a withered wrist. Dean Wang placed a thin cloth over the Empress Dowager’s pulse before extending his hand to diagnose.

Not long after, he withdrew his hand, taking the cloth back with him.

Afraid to disturb the Empress Dowager’s rest, Dean Wang bowed and said to Emperor Guangxi, "May I have a word with Your Majesty privately."

Emperor Guangxi, hands behind his back, walked to the outer hall.

Dean Wang spoke truthfully, "In response to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager’s heart pulse is weak and depleted, a sign that her time is near; no medicine can cure this."

Even though he had suspected as much, hearing Dean Wang say it aloud, Emperor Guangxi’s brow furrowed, "The Empress Dowager was fine a few days ago, how did it suddenly become like this?"

Simply feeling the pulse, Dean Wang couldn’t discern the reason, "Perhaps Your Majesty could summon the servants of Shou’an Palace to inquire if the Empress Dowager has been agitated or encountered something recently."

After Dean Wang left, Emperor Guangxi assigned Mr. Cui to arrest and interrogate all the servants of Shou’an Palace.

Mr. Cui questioned them for over half an hour and then returned to report, "Your Majesty, the accounts of the servants of Shou’an Palace are mostly consistent. A few days ago, Old Marquis Lu came alone to meet the Empress Dowager. During that time, for over half an hour, all the servants were dismissed, and no one knows what the Empress Dowager and Old Marquis Lu discussed."

"Lu Feng!"

Emperor Guangxi, furious, gritted his teeth and shouted the name of Old Marquis Lu, his expression ugly, "Summon him to see me!"

Mr. Cui, seeing the master’s displeasure, dared not say much and quickly left the palace to personally visit the Lu Family.

Having acquired four paintings, Old Marquis Lu locked himself in the study, engrossed in researching the hidden Weapon Diagram within the paintings when he suddenly heard a servant outside saying Mr. Cui had come with an imperial edict.

Old Marquis Lu was momentarily stunned, carefully hiding the four paintings, and then pushed the door open to go out.

Mr. Cui stood outside the front hall, anxious to no end, "Old Marquis, you must come with this servant!"

Old Marquis Lu was puzzled, "Why has His Majesty suddenly summoned me?"

Mr. Cui dared not mention the Emperor’s current rage, "This servant is merely a messenger and dares not speculate on the sovereign’s mind."

Old Marquis Lu didn’t trouble him further, quickly left through the main gate, boarded the palace carriage, and headed straight to the Imperial City.

In Qianqing Palace, Emperor Guangxi sat with a face as dark as thunderclouds.

Old Marquis Lu entered and noticed the Emperor’s mood wasn’t right, so he first knelt to pay respects.

Emperor Guangxi didn’t let him get up, "I’ve heard Old Marquis Lu went to see the Empress Dowager a few days ago?"

Old Marquis Lu knew at once that the Empress Dowager hadn’t told Emperor Guangxi about the alchemist’s prophecy from the late Emperor’s era. He nodded, "Indeed, this old minister sought an audience with the Empress Dowager for a painting."

"What painting?"

"The Mo Bao by Mr. Liu."

The last time Song Wei requested it, Emperor Guangxi considered the painting a treasure. Now that even Old Marquis Lu coveted it, Emperor Guangxi felt it was a curse, hating it enough to want to personally destroy it by fire.

"So, you took the painting?"

"Indeed."

Emperor Guangxi thought of his ailing mother, whose life seemed to be waning like the setting sun, and his temples throbbed incessantly, "What exactly did you say to my mother?"

Hearing this, Old Marquis Lu had a bad feeling, "Why does Your Majesty ask this?"

Emperor Guangxi spoke through gritted teeth, "Because after you took the painting, my mother has been unwell for the past few days. The Imperial Physician said her time is almost up."

Before he finished speaking, a storm surged in Old Marquis Lu’s eyes.

He only knew she had hated him intensely over the years, but he hadn’t expected that hatred to be her sole support. Now that the truth was out, her hatred collapsed, and she seemed drained of all life, suddenly facing decline.

The news was a shocking blow, catching him completely off guard.

Old Marquis Lu closed his eyes and sighed lightly, "This old minister is guilty."

"You are indeed guilty." Emperor Guangxi’s eyes seemed they could bore holes into him, "If anything happens to the Empress Dowager, I will not spare your Lu Family!"

At this point, Old Marquis Lu could not argue, he let his hands fall to the ground, and his forehead lowered, "This old minister awaits Your Majesty’s judgment."

Old Marquis Lu did not go to Shou’an Palace to see the Empress Dowager.

Firstly, to avoid suspicion.

Secondly, he understood the Empress Dowager; the knot in their hearts had been untied, and even if the Empress Dowager was nearing her end, she would harbor no resentment or hatred. His appearance would not change anything.

Moreover, the other party would not want to see him.

Standing at the Imperial City Gate, Old Marquis Lu turned his head, staring at the towering vermillion palace walls for a long time before turning around, his departing figure incomparably desolate and lonely.

——

Ningzhou.

Fanghua was feeding her son rice porridge. When she saw the letter, her hand trembled, and the small bowl filled with porridge fell directly to the ground.

The two-year-old Lu Yanli was startled, retracting his neck, his dark eyes fearfully looking at his mother.

Fanghua came back to her senses, called a maid to clean the floor, and then reached out to touch Lu Yanli’s little head, "It’s okay, mother will serve you another bowl in a moment, alright?"

The little guy sat in an armchair with armrests, his short legs dangling. Upon hearing Fanghua’s words, he obediently nodded.

His son’s reaction soothed the complicated thoughts in Fanghua’s heart. She pinched Lu Yanli’s small hand, then put the letter back into the envelope, stood up, and went to the kitchen to refill a small half-bowl of porridge to continue feeding him.

Lu Yanli was gentle by nature; from the time he could sit, crawl, to when he could walk and even speak, as long as his parents hadn’t permitted something, he would never actively touch it, completely opposite to his nephew Jinbao, who had caused trouble for his mother as soon as he learned to crawl.

Lu Xingzhou had gone to the mountains to gather herbs.

With nothing better to do, he had followed Ye Zong to study medicine, intending to formally learn and eventually offer free consultations to the neighbors.

Today, he had quite a harvest, collecting several uncommon herbs.

Returning home with a bamboo basket at dusk, he saw Fanghua looking troubled. After washing his hands, he sat next to her and asked in a gentle tone, "Ah Yin, what’s the matter?"

Fanghua looked up at the man, "A letter from the Capital says the Empress Dowager is not well, my brother wants me to return."

While saying this, she held her son a bit tighter, and a trace of helpless panic appeared in her moist eyes.

"Throughout the years, my impression of my birth mother is of an unstoppable force. It seemed that nothing was impossible if she set her mind to it." Fanghua continued in a low voice, "She could forcibly tear us apart over past grievances, and easily bind me to your wedding sedan for power. I know better than anyone how much she did behind the scenes to secure my brother’s throne.

To speak blasphemously, if it weren’t for the ancestral rules barring it, she could have proclaimed herself Emperor.

But, how could such a shrewd and strong woman simply fall like this?"

Seeing Fanghua’s poor mental state, Lu Xingzhou took Yanli from her arms, instructed the maid to pack for the journey to Beijing, and then turned his attention back to his wife, "Every person under the heavens has their own way of living, whether diligent or mundane, powerful or ordinary, but in the end, they all inevitably and unavoidably walk towards death.

Setting aside the noble identity of Mother of the Country, Ah Yin’s birth mother is but one among millions. She will fall ill, grow old, and die. All you can do is endure it."

Hearing these words, Fanghua was at a loss for what she felt inside.

...

No matter how efficient the maid was, by the time everything was packed, it was already evening.

Their son was still young, and Lu Xingzhou disapproved of traveling at night. The couple agreed to depart at first light the next day.

The little one had eaten half a bowl of porridge, and while dozing off in his father’s arms, when he woke up, he found himself already in the carriage heading to Beijing.

He stretched out his chubby hand to rub his eyes, saw that his parents were present, and sat obediently. Not long after, the sound of birds chirping outside caught his attention, prompting him to climb over to open the carriage curtain to see outside.

Fearing he might accidentally fall out of the carriage, Lu Xingzhou reached out to block him.

After taking in the scenery for a cup of tea’s time, the little one shrank back in, looked at Fanghua, and asked in a soft voice, "Mother, where are we going~"

Lost in thought, Fanghua heard the sound and turned her gentle gaze to smile at her son, "To see your grandmother."

Grandmother?

The title was unfamiliar, and the little one pondered over its meaning for a long time without understanding, eventually giving up and accepting the paper windmill handed over by his father. Once again, he stretched his little arm out the window, smiling brightly as he watched the windmill spin rapidly.

...

Fearing her mother wouldn’t last until she returned to the Capital, the determined Fanghua put her two-year-old son through some hardship, instructing the driver to travel day and night, halving the journey time.

On the day they entered the Capital, Emperor Guangxi especially arranged for Mr. Cui to greet them.

Fanghua had no mood to carefully observe the Capital’s changes over the past two years. She lifted the curtain to look outside, and seeing that no white silk was draped everywhere, she knew her mother was still hanging on. She instructed Mr. Cui, "Hasten the pace, enter the Imperial City."