0p0 Chapter 261: Each Ring Returns to Its Own Owner
Chapter 261: Each Ring Returns to Its Own Owner
Perhaps due to her pregnancy, Lan Qingwu felt drowsy after reading only a few books. The Emperor Shenwu took the memorial from her hand and asked with pity, "Are you tired?"
Lan Qingwu gently rubbed his eyes, "Brother Heng, why do your ministers write such nonsense memorials?"
Emperor Shenwu chuckled and said, "Perhaps they are afraid that I will forget these ministers, so they chat with me through memorials, occasionally reminding me not to forget them."
"..." The memorials Lan Qingwu imagined were all for reporting important government affairs to the emperor. It was hard for her to imagine someone writing down trivial matters in a serious manner on a memorial, and then passing through the government post stations layer by layer to reach the emperor's ears.
Emperor Shenwu asked her, "Are you still reading to me? I never thought that you could fall asleep just by reading a few memorials!"
Lan Qingwu put down the memorial in her hand and took the initiative to get into the arms of Emperor Shenwu. "Forget it, I'm not cut out for reading memorials. Brother Heng, it's your turn to read to me."
Looking at Lan Qingwu's sparkling eyes, Emperor Shenwu couldn't help but laugh: "You haven't even finished reading to me, and you're already asking for a reward?"
Lan Qingwu suddenly sat up straight on Emperor Shenwu's lap. Emperor Shenwu looked at her in confusion. He saw Lan Qingwu untied the three-colored rope around her neck with both hands and gently took off the Hetian Run topaz couple's rings that she never took off.
This pair of rings was carved by Lan Qingwu at a century-old shop when they were young. It was a birthday gift she gave to the young Yun Heng.
After Lan Qingwu entered the palace, Emperor Shenwu made it into a necklace and wore it around Lan Qingwu's neck.
Lan Qingwu took off her Hetian Run yellow jade wedding rings, and her nimble white fingers kept untangling the three-colored silk threads. Emperor Shenwu just looked at her quietly.
In less than a moment, two smooth and flawless Hetian topaz wedding rings lay in Lan Qingwu's snow-white palms. Each pair of rings had a peach blossom carved inside, and in the center of the peach blossom, each ring had the other's name engraved on it - "Heng" and "Ruo". There was only one such pair in the world.
Lan Qingwu placed the men's ring engraved with the word "weak" on the ring finger of Emperor Shenwu's left hand with great care. This birthday gift, which came so late after so many years, was finally worn by its rightful owner.
Emperor Shenwu felt his heart beating non-stop in his chest. Tiny starlight flickered in his deep eyes as he stared fixedly at the ring on his ring finger.
"After so many years, I finally wear this gift given to me by Ruo Ruo."
Lan Qingwu said softly: "I think it's not too late!"
Emperor Shenwu's heart moved, and he picked up the remaining female ring and put it on Lan Qingwu's right ring finger: "It's not too late! I have been waiting for Ruo Ruo to put this pair of rings on me!"
Emperor Shenwu hugged Lan Qingwu and held her tightly in his arms, wishing he could merge her into his own flesh and blood.
More than ten years later, this pair of Hetian topaz wedding rings finally returned to their respective places and were worn on the hands of their respective owners.
"I like Ruo Ruo's gift very much!" Emperor Shenwu might not be fully aware of the significance of the pair of rings, but he vaguely understood that it was a very important thing for Lan Qingwu to personally put the pair of rings on him.
Lan Qingwu thought to himself, No! You don't understand the true meaning of these rings! If you knew, would you still wear them so willingly? Wearing them on each ring finger signifies entwining the other's heart. As an emperor, would you be willing to be with me forever? In your imperial mindset, would you accept such an approach without hesitation or reservation? That's all, as long as the Shenwu Emperor is willing to honor their promise. Thousands of years separate them, and their perspectives are bound to differ.
Emperor Shenwu was thinking about what Lan Qingwu said when he just woke up after being in a coma for two days. As long as she was willing to stay in the Dasheng Dynasty, he could agree to anything she wanted!
Princess An's wife, Li Wanqing, died of an acute illness. Her funeral was a low-key affair. After the seventh day, a young eunuch reported to Emperor Shenwu, "Your Majesty, Prince An is deeply grief-stricken and has taken to his bed."
Emperor Shenwu remained silent. "Since that's the case, then let Prince An observe three years of mourning for Princess An. He shouldn't leave Prince An's mansion unless necessary."
Li Xiang was startled and quickly looked at his apprentice Xiao Fuzi. Xiao Fuzi reacted and quickly took the order and left.
Li Xiang stood motionless behind Emperor Shenwu. He understood that this was a disguised form of imprisonment. His Majesty was suspecting Prince An of involvement in the poisoning. Regardless, it was an indisputable fact that Prince An failed to effectively manage his family, leading to this disaster. With this outcome, Prince An was not wronged.
This belated punishment left Empress Dowager Li sleepless. She was terrified that her eldest son would be forced to die of illness without her knowledge during his confinement. Such tactics were common in the palace, and her youngest son, Emperor Shenwu, was known for his merciless nature. This poisoning incident had crossed Emperor Shenwu's line, and Empress Dowager Li didn't believe he would let it go.
Sure enough, only a few days later, several other descendants of the aristocratic Li family were suppressed by their colleagues in the court. Emperor Shenwu took this opportunity to demote or dismiss them. For a time, Duke Cheng'en seemed to have aged several years.
This time, Empress Dowager Li no longer had the courage and confidence to go to Emperor Shenwu. It seemed that Empress Dowager Li gradually realized that her influence on Emperor Shenwu was getting smaller and smaller.
After Emperor Shenwu resumed his court sessions, Lan Qingwu was still worried about his health, so the two switched places, and now Lan Qingwu stayed in the Qianzheng Hall every day, quietly waiting for Emperor Shenwu to return from court.
On this day, Emperor Shenwu returned to Qianzheng Hall. In the bedroom, Lan Qingwu was looking through some account books in the palace.
When the Emperor entered the bedroom, Lan Qingwu hurriedly stood up to greet him. The Emperor held Lan Qingwu's arm and asked, "What are you looking at?"
"Just some ledgers."
The two of them sat together on the imperial concubine couch before Lan Qingwu spoke again: "Brother Heng, isn't it time to prepare for the ceremony of enthroning the concubines in the harem? It's been delayed for quite a while because of your poisoning."
Emperor Shenwu nodded and said, "Then we can choose an auspicious day in the next few days and let the Ministry of Rites take care of it."
Lan Qingwu hesitated for a moment and then said, "Brother Heng, what about Concubine Wan and the eldest prince in Changle Palace... The eldest prince is almost fifteen years old..."
Emperor Shenwu frowned slightly: "I have thought about this too, but let's forget about it this time. When you give birth to the little princess safely, I will let Concubine Wan bring the eldest prince back to the palace to congratulate you!" Then he took the opportunity to stay in the palace.
Lan Qingwu understood that the Emperor Shenwu was taking precautions for her, so she nodded and said, "I'll listen to your Majesty! However, the eldest prince has only returned to the palace during the New Year holidays in recent years, and Concubine Wan has never left Changle Palace. This time, the harem has been conferred. I'm afraid they will misunderstand Brother Heng if they are not allowed to return to the palace."
Emperor Shenwu said calmly, "It's only a few months late, it's no big deal."
This is also the final test set by Emperor Shenwu for the eldest prince Zhou Chengxuan before returning to the palace. In the past few years, the eldest prince has obviously become much more sensible. Although this son is not good at literature, he has a good talent in martial arts.
The civil and military instructors sent by the Emperor Shenwu all gave the eldest prince an above-average rating. Zhou Chengxuan had already fully admitted his mistakes, so as an emperor and a father, he could give his son a chance. Now, it all depended on whether Zhou Chengxuan could hold his composure.