The Tyrant's Beloved Empress

67

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

The letters were sent out one after the other but investigating century old events like this was bound to take some time. On the contrary, it was Lady Yu who sent a reply to An Chang Qing first.

After arriving in Yanzhou, An Chang Qing would write a letter to his mother back in Yejing at the end of each month. But since he needed more information on the child in his womb, he had sent out the letter earlier. Worried that the contents might be not secured, he did not explicitly explain the situation and only asked if she knew anything about the mermaid tribe. If she did, she definitely would mention it in the letter.

An Chang Qing opened the letter. Lady Yu's reply was as usual. First, she let him know that she and Xian Yu were all doing fine back at the house followed by a few sentences of small talk. Finally, she asked him in subtlety where he had heard of the mermaid tribe and if he was doing alright.

After delivering the letter, An Chang Qing remembered a particular moment. It was right after he had brought Lady Yu and An Xian Yu back to the Wang Manor. His mother had once asked him with great concern if there was anything out of the ordinary after spending the night with Xiao Zhige. He had thought that her question was quite odd and attributed it to her being overly worried about him. But now that he thought about it, there must've been something that his mother had not told him.

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He showed Xiao Zhige the letter and said, "It's impossible to get a clear explanation from a letter. It's better to talk to mother in person."

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Xiao Zhige agreed. He thought over briefly and said, "You are currently with child, it's inconvenient for you to travel. I'll have someone escort mother and Xian Yu to Yanzhou. And once they're here, we'll have them stay in Yanzhou for the time being."

An Chang Qing seemed to have understood his intention immediately, "So His Majesty is..."

Xiao Zhige nodded, "I've received news that His Majesty had recently fallen seriously ill. Even after he was cured, his health continued to deteriorate."

To be precise, it was the 'Youth Restoring Pill' from Master Liao that had gone wrong. Ever since Master Liao had offered the pills to him, Emperor An Qing had held him in high regard.

Consequently, his favoritism in Master Liao also increased his trust in Shu Guifei and the Third Prince. This time, the Third Prince was sent to stomp out the rebellion and although he did not contribute much to the current outcome, Emperor An Qing still rewarded him handsomely upon his return. Even officials from Shu Guifei's party were promoted, causing a great shift in power within the court.

Needless to say, the Empress and Crown Prince couldn't possibly sit still.

Xiao Zhige only needed to have someone leak a subtle hint and the both of them were able to easily understand the song by just listening to the tune1 and used it to pull Master Liao through the mud.

Emperor An Qing was distraught upon learning the harmful side effects of the Youth Restoring Pill. After coughing up a mouthful of blood, he laid bedridden for six days before waking up. But by then, his spirit had weakened significantly. He now looked ten years older than before he took the pills.

Luckily for him, there were still some talents among the royal physicians and with the precious herbs readily available, they had managed to keep him alive.

At this point, Shu Guifei and the Third Prince who had been implicated by Master Liao had fallen out of grace and were under confinement. The Empress's party took advantage of this situation and regained power. With the ailing Emperor too weak to pay heed to the affairs of the court, the Crown Prince had smoothly established his position in ruling the country.