The Prodigal Son

In the dead of night at Cixi Palace, the Empress Dowager had already gone to sleep.

Seeing Zhao Luan arrive with men, exuding murderous intent, the palace maids and eunuchs of Cixi Palace turned pale with fright.

Accompanying Zhao Luan was the Imperial Physician.

But knowing that the Empress Dowager had already gone to sleep, the head eunuch mustered his courage and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has already gone to sleep. If Your Majesty needs anything, please..."

"Get out of here!"

Enraged, Zhao Luan instinctively raised her foot, but halfway up, she forcibly restrained herself and coldly said, "Immediately summon the Empress Dowager and tell her I have important matters to discuss with her!"

Sensing the murderous aura emanating from Zhao Luan, the head eunuch dared not be negligent and hurriedly scrambled to his feet.

Before long, the Empress Dowager, looking displeased, arrived before Zhao Luan.

"Your humble servant Pei Du greets the Empress Dowager!"

Pei Du quickly bowed to the Empress Dowager.

"Alright, alright!"

The Empress Dowager waved her hand, her gaze falling on Zhao Luan again, and asked with some displeasure, "What is it that you have to say in the middle of the night?"

She's sleeping soundly!

Being forcibly woken up like that inevitably makes one a little grumpy.

"Your daughter has important matters to discuss with Your Majesty, but it is beyond my control. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness!"

Zhao Luan forced a bow to the Empress Dowager, then sternly ordered, "Pei Du, stay! Everyone else, withdraw! Yun Ying, take men and guard outside. Anyone who dares to approach, kill them without mercy!"

"yes!"

Yun Ying quickly accepted the order and withdrew.

Hearing Zhao Luan's words, the Empress Dowager's heart skipped a beat, and her drowsiness vanished by half. She asked in a low voice, "Luan'er, what happened?"

"Mother, please sit down!"

Zhao Luan stepped forward to help the Empress Dowager sit down, and said in a trembling voice, "Please, Your Majesty, control your emotions and do not harm your health."

"What...what on earth happened?"

The Empress Dowager looked puzzled, then her expression suddenly changed drastically as she pondered, "Could it be... that something happened to Lü Si?"

The thought of this possibility filled the Empress Dowager with grief.

Although Lü Si wasn't very capable, he was still a child I watched grow up!

She doesn't care how her child treats others, but her child is very filial to her!

How could it just disappear like that?

Moreover, it was he who persuaded Luan'er to let him go with Qin Yu to reorganize the salt administration.

How am I supposed to face his parents now?!

Seeing that the Empress Dowager was about to shed tears, Zhao Luan quickly stopped her, "Mother, don't think such things. It's not about Lü Si, it's about... my elder brother!"

"About your older brother?"

The Empress Dowager blinked her tired eyes and looked at Zhao Luan blankly.

Zhao Luan didn't know how to explain it to her, so she could only take out the letter and hand it to the Empress Dowager, while gently embracing her.

Sensing Zhao Luan's unusual behavior, the Empress Dowager quickly took the letter and opened it.

Upon seeing the contents of the letter, the Empress Dowager's previously blank eyes instantly turned red, her hand holding the letter trembled, and large tears streamed down her cheeks, eventually dripping onto the letter.

The Empress Dowager did not get angry, nor did she roar hysterically, but Zhao Luan could clearly feel her body trembling.

It's not that she wasn't angry.

The grief that had been buried in her heart for so long temporarily suppressed her anger.

She must be thinking about her older brother who died young right now.

That was her only son, and her most prized child.

Zhao Luan gently patted the Empress Dowager's back and then raised her hand to wipe away the tears in her eyes.

However, her tears flowed like a burst dam, and she couldn't wipe them away no matter what she did.

After a long, long time, the Empress Dowager closed her eyes in anguish, her voice trembling as she said, "Pei Du, tell me everything you and Qin Yu... have found out, in detail, without omitting a single thing!"

Due to limited space on the letter, Qin Yu did not go into too much detail.

I can only mention the important points.

She now wants to know all the details!

all!

Pei Du dared not delay and immediately recounted everything they had found, including their analysis and suggestions, to the Empress Dowager in detail.

He talked for more than fifteen minutes.

Even though the Empress Dowager kept her eyes tightly closed, her tears never stopped.

After Pei Du finished speaking, the room fell into a long, deathly silence.

After a long silence, the Empress Dowager let out a hysterical roar: "Guo Yang!"

"Yes, sir!"

Guo Yang slowly emerged from the shadows, his face chillingly cold.

The Empress Dowager suddenly opened her eyes, her bloodshot eyes flashing with a fierce light. She growled menacingly, "Take your men and head to Jiangning Prefecture immediately! Submit them to Qin Yu's side! Find out who's behind this! They cannot be allowed to die!"

Guo Yang slightly opened his mouth, "Empress Dowager..."

"go!"

The Empress Dowager erupted completely, letting out a beast-like roar.

"Mother, please calm your anger!"

Zhao Luan held the Empress Dowager tightly, preventing her from losing control. "I have already ordered the entire Baojing Division to go to Jiangning Prefecture to report for duty! Rest assured, Mother, as long as Qin Yu's guess is correct, I will dig three feet into the ground and find out who is behind this!"

"No!"

The Empress Dowager clenched her fists tightly, her eyes bloodshot as she growled, "I must personally send people to investigate! I will not let them die so easily!"

She is a mother!

She wanted to avenge her son herself!

She wants to find all the people behind this and tear them to pieces, skin them alive, and pull out their tendons!

Zhao Luan parted her thin lips slightly, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

That's it!

Let her be!

After all, that was a lifelong pain in her heart!

After a moment of silence, Zhao Luan instructed Guo Yang: "Investigate, but do not arrest anyone arbitrarily before the facts are clear! Follow Qin Yu's orders in everything!"

"yes!"

Guo Yang accepted the order and bowed to the Empress Dowager again: "Please take care of yourself, Your Majesty. This servant will take people to Jiangning Prefecture immediately!"

The Empress Dowager waved her hand laboriously and said through gritted teeth, "Also, ensure the safety of Qin Yu and Lü Si! Don't let them be harmed by treacherous people again!"

"yes!"

Guo Yang accepted the order and quickly left the room.

"You may also leave!"

Zhao Luan waved to Pei Du, "Go to Jiangning Prefecture tonight with the people from the Baojing Division! Tell Qin Yu that I believe him!"

Pei Du accepted the order, bowed, and took his leave.

As they left, only the mother and daughter remained in the room.

With no outsiders present, the Empress Dowager could no longer hold back and burst into tears in Zhao Luan's arms.

"Cheng'er! My beloved Cheng'er..."

The Empress Dowager cried her heart out, and Zhao Luan, hearing this, couldn't help but shed tears as well.

There was no comforting words, nor any further explanation.

She simply held the Empress Dowager tightly as she wailed and wept.

For the current Empress Dowager, this is perhaps the greatest comfort.

The assassination of her elder brother was an eternal pain in the Empress Dowager's heart, and it was also an eternal pain in her own heart.

Now, Qin Yu's letter has reopened the wounds in their hearts that could never heal, causing them to suffer intense pain once again.

This pain goes deep into the bone marrow.

If she was like this, what about the Empress Dowager?

The mother and daughter hugged each other and cried for a long time until the Empress Dowager had cried all her tears. Only then did Zhao Luan order the imperial physician to come and treat the Empress Dowager.

She walked out of the room, her face frosty, and instructed Yun Ying: "Issue a gag order. Anyone who dares to divulge even a single word about tonight's events will have their entire clan exterminated!"