C222 (1/2)

Rong'er thought to himself: In this palace, there will always be people who are happy, and people who are sad, and who are always alternating. If someone wants to seize all the happiness, that person will be asking for trouble.

He looked at the Great Wall, surrounded by green trees, rippling green water, serene and comfortable. Most of the time, the empress dowager stayed near the temple, and during the day, Rong'er and the other imperial concubines would accompany the empress dowager as they recited the Buddha, while Xuan Ye and his three bros would patrol the vicinity, most of the time not within the palace.

One day in July, after Xuan Ye returned to the palace, his face was filled with joy. At that time, Rong'er and a few imperial concubines were chatting with the empress dowager in her palace. Seeing that Xuan Ye had suddenly returned to pay his respects, Xuan Ye smiled and waved his hands.

”Your majesty, why are you so happy today?” The wrinkles on her face had deepened, and her tone was not as angry as it was in the past. However, there was still a dignified carving of time that remained on her face. Of course, in the face of Xuan Ye, the current her didn't have the sternness she once had, and was more like a kind grandmother.

”Royal Grandmother, your grandson just received a good news from the capital. Shi Lang's war in Taiwan has already conquered Penghu.” Xuan Ye said happily.

”Really!?” So fast! This is truly a cause for celebration! ” The empress dowager smiled as she spoke.

”That's right, that's why I've already instructed the Ministry of Internal Affairs to hold a banquet at the palace tonight. We'll stop Shi Lang and take Taiwan as soon as possible!” Xuan Ye nodded.

When she saw her grandson's confident and strong face, the empress dowager smiled in relief. Back then, the Zheng family of Taiwan had always been a sore point in her son's heart, but now, her grandson was finally about to fulfill his last wish. ”Your majesty, we've already been out for more than a month, it's time to return to the palace. Now that the south side of Taiwan is at war, the emperor should sit in the palace and direct.”

”Royal Grandmother, it's alright. This trip is to let you take the summer off. It's fine to stay here for a few more days.” Xuan Ye softly said to his royal grandmother.

A few days ago, This Dowager asked the people who came to the palace whether they were happy or not. They said that Yi Yi Fei cried like she was crying every day, and how it would be of any use if the empress dowager was by your side. The empress dowager smiled bitterly.

Seeing the empress dowager's expression, Rong'er's heart ached for no reason. She felt that it was too little for a woman to be able to reach the empress dowager, and she was so strong, that she watched her own man, Taizong, leave, and watched her own son, Greatest Ancestor, leave. She even watched as so many of her great-grandsons and great-granddaughters passed away, and admired the empress dowager from the bottom of her heart.

Xuan Ye naturally saw the empress dowager's expression and couldn't help but feel unwell. He forced a smile and said, ”If grandma wants to return to the palace, we'll set off in two days.”

The empress dowager smiled and nodded. ”This Dowager's summer shelter is quite good. Let's head back to the palace.”

On the way back to the palace, Xuan Ye received a piece of news that he was extremely unwilling to hear: Imperial Noble Concubine Yi's little princess had passed away. When Xuan Ye told the empress dowager the news, they had just set out on their way. After they arrived at the capital that night, Xuan Ye knew that sooner or later they would let the empress dowager know, so he didn't hide anything from her. At that time, Rong'er was accompanying the empress dowager for a meal, and when the empress dowager heard the news, she didn't say a single word.

After a long while, the empress dowager raised her head and said, ”Actually, we've already guessed it. We're staying here to take shelter, so it must be very sad for the palace. Ah, especially for your mother, she was already very pampering to XiuNing. XiuNing is too pitiful. Let's bring some things back for her and comfort them a little more.”

Xuan Ye nodded in agreement. He raised his eyes to meet Rong'er's, and both of their eyes were filled with helplessness and heartache.

The next day, Xuanye played the letter of the empress, saying that he was on his way back to the palace, but that the time of return was difficult to determine. He personally made Lu Wei serve with the empress dowager, and after leaving the palace for almost two months, he missed his mother very much, and at the same time prepared some hazelnuts to send along with the letters and horses back to the palace.

Because of the news of the death of our royal daughter, everyone became a little less cheerful and silent. The concubine that accompanied them this time wasn't a talkative person and because she was usually kind to others, we couldn't help but feel a little bit sad.