Daning Imperial City, Jianzhang Palace.

Wushuang hurriedly walked into the main hall and saluted to Empress Dowager Jiang, but before he could speak, he was interrupted by a chaotic sound of footsteps.

Lu Yingquan walked in from the outside with a big belly and a calm face, followed by a group of palace maids and eunuchs behind him, and in the hands of the eunuchs, there were two men with thief eyebrows and rat eyes tied.

"The queen mother is so interested!" Lu Yingquan was the first to speak, but he couldn't suppress the anger that was about to erupt.

"Bold! What are you doing? What is the place of Jianzhang Palace? Is it deliberately to find the bad luck of the mourning family by bringing these people over?" Empress Dowager Jiang saw the two men who were tied, her face changed, but she forced her mouth to scold calmly.

"It's not that the concubine wants to find the queen mother, but the queen mother has to go against the concubine. Lu Yingquan waved his hand and asked the eunuch behind him to throw the two men to the ground, and then spoke, "Queen Mother, where did Yun Yao offend you? Do you have to put her to death?" If it weren't for the concubines who had insight into your plans and caught people when they left the palace, I'm afraid there would have been a large wave of killers going north to intercept and kill Yun Yao, right?"

"You...... What nonsense!" Empress Dowager Jiang's heart trembled, she didn't expect that the plan she had been planning for a long time would be debunked by Lu Yingquan like this.

"Queen Mother, I call you Queen Mother because I respect you for the emperor's sake, not because I have to indulge you!" Lu Yingquan said sharply, "General Gu has made meritorious contributions to the country on the front line, and his life and death are unknown; Yun Yao is as deep as going north to Haibei to find a husband, what is in your way? Do you have to send someone to hunt her down? I know, the queen mother is afraid that Yun Yao will determine the news of Gu Qingming's death, come back to seek refuge from me, and then help control Daning's authority and become the second queen to interfere in politics, right?"

Empress Dowager Jiang's face was pale, and she felt embarrassed and annoyed by being peeped on.

"You are afraid of the dictatorship of your relatives, you are afraid that I will follow the old path of the Empress Dowager Jingduan, and you are afraid that the emperor's hard-won country will be controlled by me! For such a ridiculous reason, you suppressed me, targeted me, and prostituted the courtiers to let the emperor choose a concubine, and privately provoked the hostility of the second prince towards me. I don't care about it, because I am worthy of my heart, and no matter what you do, you can't affect me! But you shouldn't have hit Yun Yao with your mind!"

"The palace is full of murderous machines, every step of the crisis, if there is no Yun Yao to help me all these years, there will be no living Lu Yingquan, let alone the current prince! I used to be just a coward who hid under the wings of others and secretly survived, but now I am the queen of Daning, I have someone I want to protect, if anyone wants to hurt my sister, don't blame me for being unkind to her!"

"If you live well in Jianzhang Palace, I will naturally support you with the emperor to the end of your life, but if you have other thoughts, don't blame me for being ruthless! This time I am disrespectful to the queen mother, I will go to the emperor to ask for guilt, and I will not work hard to complain to the queen mother. These two killers will be handed over to the queen mother to dispose of by herself, and today's matter will be stopped for the time being, I will do all I say, and the queen mother will do it herself!"

Every time Lu Yingquan said a word, the anger on the Empress Dowager Jiang's body increased, and when Lu Yingquan finished saying these words, turned around and brushed her sleeves to leave, the Empress Dowager Jiang was already angry and couldn't say anything, pointed to Lu Yingquan's resolute back, looked at her eyes, and fainted.

Jianzhang Palace was naturally in a panic, but all this did not affect Lu Yingquan's footsteps, there was no possibility of peaceful coexistence between her and Empress Dowager Jiang, and now she and Empress Dowager Jiang faced each other, which was just the beginning of this harem tug-of-war.

But fortunately, she finally used her ability to protect Yun Yao once.

Empress Dowager Jiang has always been worried that Yun Yao's ability is too strong and will push Lu Yingquan to the height of the Empress Dowager of the Qin family, so she wants to take advantage of Yun Yao's departure from Beijing to the north to send someone to assassinate her, so as to never suffer in the future.

didn't expect that the plan she thought was foolproof would be controlled by Lu Yingquan in the palm of her hand, and it ended without a problem.

At this time, Yun Yao, who was riding a horse north, didn't know that Yingquan, the good sister she protected in the past, guarded the cold court alone, and put an end to future troubles for her with her own strength.

Yun Yao has been freed from the cage of the court's words, and has become a gust of wind of freedom on this vast land, where her heart desires, where she goes, and goes to the place where Gu Qingming may be.

But Lu Yingquan chose a completely different path, still struggling in the deep palace, and she is no longer a woman who needs Yun Yao's planning and protection, she has her own connections, her own means, ability and courage, and the capital of the world.

The snow covered everything, and the icy chill was like the winter day when Yun Yao was punished to kneel many years ago, and that was the beginning of all stories.

Since then, Lu Yingquan has been high up, but trapped in the gorgeous court, watching the flowers bloom and fall, while Yun Yao is free, walking in the vast world, looking at the clouds.

Yun Yao embarked on a journey to find Gu Qingming.

Follow the road she and Gu Qingming used to walk north, pass through Night City, enter Chicheng, exit from the North City Gate, and then go north.

Chicheng is now stable, there are no more foreign invasions from Beidi, and the people live and work in peace and contentment, and all this is what Gu Qingming and tens of thousands of soldiers exchanged for their lives and blood.

In Chicheng, there are many people who know Yun Yao, especially those in the army, those soldiers who were rescued by her in the past, knew that she was here to find Gu Qingming, so they spontaneously followed her footsteps and walked to every corner of the northern border.

Up the snow mountain, down the deep valley, as long as you can go, Yun Yao will not let go.

The winter in the north was extremely long, and the snow and ice on the mountains did not melt until the end of April, and Yun Yao revisited the road she had traveled before, and those locations that were too deep to reach because the snow was too deep were searched again.

Can still be ...... Nothing.

Coming to the cliff where Gu Qingming left his long sword, Yun Yao followed the few clues and continued to search.

At this time, Gu Yan's injuries were completely healed, and he hurried from the capital to the north to join Yun Yao and Gu Chen.

According to Gu Yan's inference, Gu Qingming must have been seriously injured at that time, and it was difficult for him to move, and even if he walked, he couldn't go far. Now they have searched the entire northern border, but they have not found the slightest trace of Gu Qingming, except for the sword that fell before, there is nothing to prove Gu Qingming's existence.

In this way, there is only one possibility - Gu Qingming is still alive, although he was seriously injured at the beginning, he was rescued, and now he doesn't know where to recuperate.

With this belief, Yun Yao no longer despaired, she thought that even if she traveled all over the mountains and rivers of Daning, she would definitely find him. If Daning can't find it, she will go to Xiyue, Nanyi, and farther away, and one day she can find him back.

Day after day, year after year.

Spring flowers are splendid, summer nights are bright, autumn leaves are yellow, and winter snow is scattered.

For Yun Yao, time seems to have become a cheap commodity that can never be used up, she has nothing, the only thing she has is time.

She didn't know how long she had been searching, and she didn't know how far she had walked, from north to south, from east to west, crossing famous mountains and rivers, and passing through deep mountains and old forests. She has been to prosperous cities, where she has experienced the peaceful and stable life of the people, and she has been to deserted mountains and forests, where she has experienced the transcendence of being far from the world.

Yun Yao is no longer a palace maid, no longer a young envoy, no longer a female official, and no longer an eldest princess.

She became a doctor again, took Gu Chen and Gu Yan, practiced medicine and saved people all the way, and after saving people, she didn't need to pay for a consultation, but only asked the rescued person to worship an ever-bright lamp at home and pray for a man named Gu Qingming.

Gu Qingming, the indelible god of war in the hearts of the people of Daning in the past, has finally become a long-term memory of everyone in the passage of time, and will continue to fade away with the passage of time.

"Madam, this is already the last place, we have searched the whole of Daning in the past five years, if we can't find the general again, I'm afraid we will have to go farther away. Gu Yan stood on the street of a slightly dilapidated town and said so.

Five years have passed in a flash, and Gu Yan and Gu Chen are still accompanying and looking for each other. Five years can change many things, such as their appearance has become more and more hardened in the erosion of five years of wind, frost, rain and snow, but the only thing that remains unchanged is their persistent heart.

"It's okay, if we can't find it here, we'll go to Nanyi. Yun Yao chuckled, five years of tempering had already made her heart more peaceful and calm.

Gu Yan nodded, and was about to say something, but was interrupted by a noisy voice-

"Wang Erdan, you stand still and give me back my sword! This is what Mr. made for me! If you want it, go and ask Mr. yourself!"

A little boy about seven or eight years old, holding a sword made of nanmu in his hand, hurriedly ran over waving it, and happened to pass by Yun Yao's side. Maybe it's because the step is too big, one stumbles, and falls forward.

Gu Chen quickly grabbed the child's back collar, lifted him up, and then stood firm. Before I could ask anything, the "pursuers" had already arrived—about five or six children, all of whom looked to be only seven or eight years old, and their faces were gray after a long chase.

"Why should I give you the sword made by Mr. first? Obviously, I was the first to worship Mr. as a teacher!" The boy who was called Wang Erdan, the one who happened to be saved by Gu Chen, stuck out his tongue at the child behind him, and then hid behind Yun Yao.

"Sir said that I am the most talented and suitable for learning swords, so naturally I want to give me the sword! Wang Erdan, don't bully people because you are old, if you don't give it back to me, I will tell Sir! Look at Mr. is still willing to accept people like you as apprentices!" The child begging for the sword said angrily, and then secretly looked at the strangers who came to the town, as if he was afraid that these people were the helpers invited by Wang Erdan.

"Xiaohu, what are you going to tell me?" A clear and deep voice came from behind Yun Yao, with a soul-stirring power.

"Sir, Wang Erdan snatched the sword you made for me!" Xiaohu saw someone coming, and rushed over to sue.

Yun Yao's gaze followed Xiaohu's figure to move, then turned around and looked at the man standing three steps away, dressed in a washed white old robe, which could no longer see the color, but when it was worn on his body, it still couldn't hide the noble and natural aura on his body.

In an instant, the heavens and the earth seemed to have lost their color, and the town and the children all turned into nothingness, and they only saw each other in their eyes, and only saw each other.

"This girl, I seem to be ...... I've seen you in my dreams. ”

In just one sentence, Yun Yao's strength that she had disguised for many years fell apart in an instant, she ran to the man crying, hugged him, and couldn't care about being reserved, so she cried loudly.

Tears slipped from his eyes, dripping on Gu Qingming's neck, and penetrated into his clothes along his neck, and he couldn't help but hug the woman in front of him, so delicate, but so strong.

"Ah...... Yao, don't cry, I'm here. ”

Hearing this, Yun Yao cried even more fiercely, but she couldn't help but rejoice in her heart - the mountains and rivers were all over, the memories were far away, and she finally found it despite the wind and rain.

I can't help but hear the war song I heard in the northwest mountains two years ago: a thousand tents of lights in the middle of the night, fortunately I didn't die, and if the beacon fire ends up in the coming year, I will live in the snow country together.

After a thousand sails, the lead is washed away, and she is still the clear-faced woman with a smart face, who will hold hands with him and grow old together, walking through this red dust calmly.

————————

In February of the tenth year of Cheng'an, it coincided with the tenth birthday of Shen Jue, the prince of Daning.

He was wearing a bright red python robe, wearing a five-bead crown on his head, standing in front of a bronze mirror, with a handsome appearance.

No one would have thought that the white and round little fat man when he was a child has now grown into a handsome little man like the breeze and the moon, and Shen Che also decided to canonize him as the crown prince on Shen Jue's tenth birthday.

In the ten years since Shen Che ascended the throne, there is still only one queen Lu Yingquan in the harem, and since Yun Yao left, Lu Yingquan has given birth to three princesses, four princes and five princes for Shen Che.

Today, the eldest prince and the second prince are ten years old, the third princess is seven years old, the fourth prince is five years old, and the fifth prince is only two years old. The huge harem is occupied by a group of small radish heads, and every day is full of laughter.

Since Empress Dowager Jiang was angry with Lu Yingquan that day, she stopped her thoughts, closed her door, worshiped the Buddha with peace of mind, and only occasionally summoned the second prince to accompany her. I don't know what she said to the second prince every day, when she grew up, the second prince Shen Jin was not as sticky to Lu Yingquan as she was when she was a child, nor was she as close to Shen Jue as she was when she was a child.

However, Lu Yingquan didn't care, the estrangement between her and Empress Dowager Jiang could never be eliminated, the two of them wanted to choose a concubine for the harem, and who to set up for the prince to fight for so many years, and finally had a result when Shen Jue was ten years old.

As the eldest son of Genzheng Miaohong, Shen Jue is a well-deserved crown prince, and judging from his performance over the years, it is not an exaggeration to describe him as talented. Shen Jue can complete the homework taught by the teacher, and can draw inferences from one another, and even debate with several imperial histories in the imperial study, so that several imperial histories who are hundreds of years old together are defeated in the hands of him, a yellow-mouthed child.

There was a joy in Daning Palace, Lu Yingquan took the princes and princesses to leave the Hehuan Hall and came to the Fenglai Water Pavilion, everything had been prepared, and the courtiers had already arrived, just waiting for Shen Che and the Queen Mother to come over.

After a while, Shen Che came in in a dragon robe, saying that the Queen Mother was unwell and would not participate in the court banquet, but Lu Yingquan knew in her heart that the Queen Mother must not be able to see her son as the prince, so she made an excuse not to come.

The years don't seem to have left any traces on Shen Che's body, he has become more and more calm and restrained over the years, but that face is still handsome, it can be seen that Shen Jue has inherited Shen Che's good appearance.

Halfway through the palace banquet, Yuan Bao hurriedly walked in from outside with a box in his hand, presented it to Shen Che and Lu Yingquan, and said:

"Your Majesty, the queen, someone at the door of Chaoyangmen sent this box, and this token was sent together. ”

Lu Yingquan looked towards the token, and the whole person suddenly became excited-the token belonging to the eldest princess of Jing'an.

It's no wonder that the people of Chaoyangmen didn't dare to delay and reported the box directly to Yuanbao. After all, it has been many years since the eldest princess of Jing'an left, and it is really surprising that she suddenly appeared today.

"What about the person who sent the box?" Lu Yingquan asked hurriedly.

"The guard guarding the door said that he didn't see anyone, and the box was directly transmitted to him, so ......" Yuan Bao replied with some embarrassment.

Lu Yingquan couldn't wait to open the box, there was a fine ancient sword inside, and a belt embroidered with a python, all of which were birthday gifts for Shen Jue.

And the person in this world who can deliver the box to the guards through the air must be a master.

This is Yun Yao telling Lu Yingquan that she has found Gu Qingming, and now she is living a good life, and she also hopes that Lu Yingquan can live more freely.

Although they have never seen each other, they know each other that they will each live peacefully in some corner of the world, and accompany the people they love until they grow old.

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