son, don't mess around

The autumn wind was bleak, and a solemn atmosphere prevailed.

A carriage appeared silently outside the palace gates. After being checked by the imperial guards, it entered the palace and passed through the vast and empty imperial city.

Inside the carriage, the curtain was slowly lifted, revealing a pair of deep eyes that were quietly watching the scene.

Finally, the carriage stopped outside Jingning Palace.

Outside the palace, there was no one.

The world was completely silent, adding to the atmosphere of loneliness and desolation.

The curtain was lifted, and a figure stepped out of the carriage.

In their line of sight, a middle-aged man appeared to be under fifty years old, with slightly gray hair and wearing a gray robe; he was not particularly noticeable.

But there was an indescribable aura about him, as if he were one with the world around him, an aura of innate majesty.

He looked up and gazed ahead. The words "Jingning Palace" came into view.

Looking at this plaque, I seemed to be lost in some memories.

After a long while, a hint of sadness appeared in his eyes, but eventually, he calmed down.

"Your Majesty, please."

The respectful voice of the guard reached my ears.

He gradually came to his senses, glanced ahead with a complicated expression, and nodded.

He stepped into the palace.

Twenty years have passed since we parted, and everything has changed.

The palace was familiar, but the interior was vastly different from what it had been twenty years ago. Every scene before me felt both strangely familiar and strangely alien.

A sense of bewilderment inevitably arose in Old Li's heart.

He recalled that twenty years ago, he had personally supervised the construction of this palace, and there were originally two fruit trees in the courtyard that he had specially transplanted from Jiangnan.

But now, it has long since disappeared.

Apart from the original layout, there was nothing familiar in the entire courtyard.

Were they all erased?

Old Li watched all this calmly, his heart filled with many emotions.

Then, footsteps sounded behind them.

He looked back.

A familiar yet unfamiliar figure appeared in the distance.

Her familiar appearance and demeanor were as if I had returned to twenty years ago, seeing that woman whose charm remained unchanged. Twenty years had passed, yet the vicissitudes of time had not left many marks on her face.

She remains beautiful, dignified, and a model of imperial grace.

Old Li simply stared at the figure in his line of sight without saying a word.

In his line of sight, the figure slowly stopped, standing beneath the corridor, quietly gazing at him in the courtyard. His cool face showed little emotion; his eyes, though complex, held no excitement or joy.

The two stared at each other in silence for a long time.

"Empress Dowager, Your Majesty!"

After a long while, Old Li came to his senses and spoke slowly.

That cry of "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager" shattered the silence. The emotions that had been building up vanished instantly.

A strange, unreadable look flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes.

"It's been twenty years since I last saw you, you've aged."

She spoke calmly.

Old Li smiled and said, "You haven't changed at all."

"I have changed."

The Empress Dowager showed little emotion, calmly gazing at the man in her line of sight.

Old Li smiled. The Empress Dowager in his sight was no longer the young girl he had known. Yet her charm remained; the passage of time had only enhanced her elegance.

Unfortunately, it's not like it was twenty years ago.

"You shouldn't have come back!"

During the silence, the Empress Dowager's tone gradually became somber.

A self-deprecating smile appeared on Old Li's weathered face: "The Empress Dowager doesn't welcome me?"

The Empress Dowager stared at him coldly: "Do you know how special your status is? How much of a threat will your return to the capital pose to Ci Ning?"

Old Master Li said calmly, "The Empress Dowager is worried that I will seize his throne."

"you will not."

The Empress Dowager said calmly.

She gazed at the familiar yet unfamiliar face before her, and a multitude of emotions welled up within her.

She knows him too well!

That's why she knew he wouldn't seize Ci Ning's throne this time.

but……

“Those people behind you won’t let this go. Your return will only plunge the capital into greater chaos.”

The Empress Dowager stared at him coldly: "Since you chose to leave back then, why do you come back now?"

The tone was accusatory, carrying considerable emotion.

It's accusing him.

Old Li remained silent.

He gazed at the aloof and imposing Empress Dowager before him. His thoughts drifted, recalling some distant memory. After a long pause, he sighed softly, "You still hate me, don't you?"

A sharp glint flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes, and she suddenly sneered, "That's right, I do hate you."

"Back then, you chose to leave without saying goodbye, and you were gone for twenty years. Everyone said you were dead, but I didn't believe it."

"But what happened in the end?"

"The only thing I know you left behind is an unidentified corpse. That was your way of escaping. Only in that way could the late emperor's throne be secured."

"But since you are already 'dead,' you should be completely dead. Why are you coming back now?"

"What is your purpose in coming back?"

At this point, the Empress Dowager's voice trembled slightly. Seemingly agitated, her cold eyes reddened slightly, carrying a hint of hatred.

Old Li remained silent.

At this moment, the white-haired old man had a rare look of guilt on his face.

"Back then, I was the one who wronged you."

He spoke calmly, his expression somewhat dazed.

He lost to his elder brother, the emperor, and ultimately decided to give up everything and leave the capital.

At the time, many people tried to persuade him to stay.

But he didn't listen.

He was undoubtedly emotional at the time.

He abandoned everything, including his friends, family, and... his beloved.

He abandoned everything, left the capital, and prepared to give up on himself and end the rest of his life.

But perhaps fate wouldn't let him die. He was rescued by Lin Hengzhong and eventually ended up at the Prince Lin's mansion, where he voluntarily entered Ruyi Tower to become a tower guard.

That stay lasted for twenty years!
For twenty years, he stayed in Ruyi Building, spending his leisure time reading and studying most of the books treasured there.

The passage of time has tempered his youthful spirit and made him more composed.

Now, returning here, he is no longer swayed by emotions, but when he recalls the past, he still feels a little dazed.

"I never planned to come back."

Old Li spoke calmly.

If there's one person he truly wronged in his life, it's probably the Empress Dowager standing before him.

He met her many years ago, when he was not yet the prince fighting his brother to the death for the throne. And she was not yet the Crown Princess, destined to rule the world.

In the blink of an eye, everything changed!

"But the world is in turmoil, and people are suffering. I must come back," Old Li sighed.

The Empress Dowager stared at him: "What can your return change?"

"The imperial army is no match for Prince Xu's rebel army."

Old Master Li spoke slowly: "The Xu Prince's Mansion has been preparing for decades, and now its army is strong and well-equipped. No one in the court can rival it."

"If I don't come back, this dynasty will probably change hands."

"so what?"

The Empress Dowager stared at him coldly and questioned him.

I know you hate me.

Old Li was silent for a moment, then sighed and spoke.

But she was immediately interrupted by the Empress Dowager.

"There's no such thing as hatred or resentment; it's all in the past!"

The Empress Dowager's expression turned slightly cold: "I did hate you back then, but that's no longer important."

"What will the people think of you returning at this time? What will the officials in the capital and those powerful families think?"

What they think is not important.

Looking at his old friend and beloved from years ago, Old Li felt a surge of emotions.

"I lost this dynasty to him back then, and I also lost you to him. I was simply outmatched, and I have nothing to say about it."

Old Master Li sighed: "But this empire was ultimately built by my Li family, left behind by my father. No matter what, it cannot fall into the hands of outsiders."

"So, I'm back!"

The Empress Dowager stared blankly at the man before her, and vaguely seemed to see the spirited young man from twenty years ago.

But time flies, and his hair has turned completely white.

She remained silent for a long time.

Ultimately, all emotions were concealed, and the tone became calmer than ever before.

"I hope you'll keep your word this time."

Looking at the beautiful figure standing in the corridor, an relieved smile appeared on Old Li's weathered face.

"..."

The news of Mr. Li's arrival in Beijing did not cause any stir.

Almost no one knows about this.

After all, twenty years have passed, and very few people still know that such an old prince existed.

Time changes everything.

Therefore, few people noticed that the situation in the capital was changing quietly.

The attention of the various noble families and officials in the capital was mostly focused on the fact that the heir of the Prince of Lin had appeared in the capital and flirted with the young mistress of the Lü family.

This incident caused a great uproar and escalated, causing the Lü family's image to plummet.

It is said that the former Minister of Personnel angrily went to the Jingzhao Prefecture to report to the authorities, demanding that the Prince of Lin be severely punished and that the Lü family be given an explanation.

The Prefect of Jingzhao dared not offend the former Minister of Personnel, and after appeasing him, he immediately reported the matter to the Emperor.

However, the report seemed to disappear without a trace, receiving no response whatsoever.

This made the prefect sweat profusely and extremely anxious.

If His Majesty were to issue a decree, he would naturally comply. But now His Majesty has not responded at all, clearly leaving this difficult problem to him.

When gods fight, he suffers!

As the Prefect of Jingzhao, he should have wielded immense power and disregarded the powerful and wealthy. But while that's the saying, putting it into practice is far from easy.

On one side is the former Minister of Personnel. Although he is no longer the Minister, the Lü family's protégés are all over the court. How could he possibly offend them!
But the problem is... we can't afford to offend the other side either!
That's the Crown Prince of Lin!

How could a mere prefect like him possibly arrest the son of a powerful vassal king who commands his own army?

One wrong move and it could cause a conflict between the imperial court and the Prince Lin's residence. If anything unexpected happens, he could become a criminal!

Even if nothing unexpected happens, if he dares to make any rash moves, he might become the scapegoat to quell the dispute between the two sides.

Having served as the Prefect of the Capital for so long, he was undoubtedly a shrewd and calculating man. Caught in a dilemma, unsure of what to do, this Prefect slapped his thigh and immediately decided to fall ill and never recover!
The next day, when he woke up, he heard that the Prefect of the Capital had inexplicably taken a cold shower in the middle of the night and caught a chill, and was now seriously ill.

He claimed illness and stayed home, not going out.

He's feigning illness!

It has to be said that this trick is very low-level, and anyone with a discerning eye can see through it at a glance.

But ironically... it works very well.

It's almost the dead of winter, and the weather is so cold, yet this Prefect of Jingzhao can be so ruthless to himself.

He is indeed not an ordinary person.

This allowed him to escape unscathed.

The prefect's sudden resignation due to illness brought the matter back into the spotlight, sparking even more heated discussions among the public.

The matter continued to escalate for two or three days, with public discussion remaining unabated and even showing signs of intensifying.

Everyone was waiting to see how things would end when suddenly, devastating news arrived from the Lü family.

That young mistress of the Lü family, unable to bear the gossip and criticism from the public, hanged herself!
The news came from a maid in the Lü family. It was said that that morning, this maid went to help the young mistress of the Lü family get up as usual. Instead, she found the young mistress of the Lü family hanged in her room.

When they found her, Madam Lü was already dead.

The news caused an uproar in the capital.

died!

Committed suicide?
Now things are even more interesting!

The death of this young mistress of the Lü family not only failed to quell public opinion in the capital, but instead caused the situation to escalate, catching even the various aristocratic families off guard.

If the actions of the Crown Prince of Lin were merely a provocation against the Lü family, bringing shame upon them...

But now, it involves lives and deaths.

The Lü family wasn't the only one involved; the Tao family from the capital was also implicated.

Not to mention, the matter has escalated to such a large extent, with so many eyes in the capital watching. If the government cannot provide a satisfactory answer and quell the public's curiosity, the consequences could be unimaginable.

When the bedridden Prefect of Jingzhao learned of this news, he was extremely glad that he had made a wise decision.

Seeing that my cold was almost gone, I gritted my teeth and took two more cold showers.

Then, feeling dizzy from the cold, I went back to lie down, completely satisfied.

……

"died?"

Upon learning of Tao Ya's death, Lin Jiangnian's gaze sharpened, and he abruptly sat up.

"Who did it?"

"My subordinates don't know."

Jiang Mansion.

Lin Qingqing's gaze was equally solemn, and she shook her head.

After the incident, they had already sent people to monitor the Lü family.

However, no trace of the person behind Tao Ya was found.

Lin Jiangnian originally intended to use Tao Ya's case to force the person behind her to reveal themselves. However, Tao Ya's sudden death has disrupted his plans.

Lin Jiangnian had anticipated that the person behind it would silence Tao Ya, but he hadn't expected them to be able to pull off such a cover-up.

How could they kill Tao Ya so quietly right under his nose?
How did she die?

Lin Jiangnian frowned and asked for details.

"The Lü family did not make any mistakes, but the news circulating is that they committed suicide, and we don't know anything else."

At this point, Lin Qingqing looked at Lin Jiangnian with concern: "Your Highness, this is going to be troublesome."

"After Tao Ya died, rumors circulated that she hanged herself because Your Highness had tarnished her reputation."

"The current public opinion is extremely unfavorable to Your Highness, I'm afraid..."

"..." (End of this chapter)