Chapter 289: The Empress Returns to the Palace

“Di Xuanlang, I hope your future is bright, that you find a good partner to spend your life with. We won’t meet in this lifetime.”

If you love, love deeply.

If you abandon, do it completely.

Severing ties with karmic love is good for everyone.

—

A few days later, the Great Tyrant and his entourage returned to the capital.

The Concubine De and Concubine Chun had received news from the Great Tyrant and had been waiting early at the palace gate.

This time, other concubines had also come.

After all, this was the longest the Great Tyrant had been away on a campaign.

“Liang Qin!!” Ah Bao lifted the curtain of the carriage and immediately saw Concubine De in the crowd. The little girl was thrilled, running into Concubine De’s arms and rubbing her sleeve. “You smell so good, Liang Qin! I missed you so much. Did you miss me?”

Ah Bao was skilled at charming, making Concubine De smile broadly.

“I missed you too. Mother missed Ah Bao the most.”

“Ahem.” The Great Tyrant stepped down from the carriage and glanced at Concubine De.

Look, the daughter really has forgotten her father once she has a mother.

Concubine De bowed.

Concubine Chun, pulling Di Rongjing along, and the other concubines approached, each exchanging a few words.

Concubine Chun had not wanted to join the crowd, but she had to come early to welcome her son.

“This… Why does it feel like someone’s missing?” The Great Tyrant scanned the crowd and called for Eunuch Xi. “Why isn’t the Third Prince here?”

During his time away from the palace, he had left administrative affairs to the Third Prince.

The reason for choosing the Third Prince was that something seemed off with him lately.

He used to stay in the royal residence but had recently been out every day, seemingly searching for his biological mother, as if obsessed.

He knew the Third Prince had no interest in the throne, so he thought of giving him something to do.

Eunuch Xi sighed, “Sigh, Your Majesty, you should go back to the palace and see for yourself. The Third Prince…”

Upon returning to the palace, before entering the study, the Great Tyrant heard steady breathing. Entering the hall, he saw the Third Prince lying on the floor, sleeping soundly.

“This is… the Third Prince?” The Great Tyrant was stunned. The person before him was unkempt and didn’t resemble his dashing Third Prince at all.

“Your Majesty, you didn’t make a mistake.”

“In just over a month, how did he change so much?”

“Father… Father Emperor? You’re back? You really came back?” The Third Prince opened his eyes, seeing the Great Tyrant. He seemed a bit disbelieving, rubbing his eyes to make sure it was indeed the Great Tyrant.

“Father Emperor, you’ve finally returned!” The Third Prince crawled over, hugging the Great Tyrant’s leg and crying sorrowfully.

Di Zian, Di Chenyu, and the Eldest Prince, who had come with Ah Bao, heard the Third Prince’s heart-wrenching cries.

“Father Emperor, these memorials are unbearable! It’s so exhausting!” The Third Prince wiped his tears.

The throne is truly not easy to handle.

Any prince who dreams of being emperor must have some issues in their head.

Why not enjoy being a leisurely prince? Why become emperor and exhaust oneself?

Isn’t living a carefree life better than constantly dealing with memorials?

For the past month, he barely had time to eat or sleep, and even drinking water had to be in large gulps. His life had become ten times busier.

He was extremely unaccustomed to it and was almost sick of handling memorials.

In just a month, he felt like he had aged ten years. It was terrifyingly exhausting.

—

The Great Tyrant understood that the Third Prince was exhausted to the point of being dazed.

“Father Emperor, I truly admire you,” the Third Prince said, his eyes full of stars, unable to stand up, so he just sat on the floor.

The Great Tyrant was speechless (⊙o⊙)…

Well then.

The Third Prince would definitely not contend for the throne in the future. It seemed the child might have a psychological trauma regarding the throne.

“Alright, take a few days to rest. In a few days, your mother will return to the palace. Be prepared to welcome her when she leaves the palace.”

The Third Prince was astonished. “Mother?”

Ah Bao, lying on a soft cushion, suddenly remembered, 【almost forgot, that Daddy’s harem includes the Empress, the Queen Mother of the palace, and this Queen Mother…】

The Great Tyrant perked up his ears, wanting to hear Ah Bao’s thoughts, wondering if there was any gossip about the Empress.

But Ah Bao seemed to have closed off her thoughts, not considering this topic any further.

After a short break, the Great Tyrant proceeded to reward the officials from Lingnan for their contributions.

General Lei, Lin Xuanzhi, and the others were all rewarded and promoted.

Only the Eldest Prince Di Xuanlang was ordered to be under house arrest in the royal residence for three months.

—

At the palace gate.

General Lei watched the crowd gradually disperse and seemed to spot a familiar figure among them.

He stretched his neck to look but found that the person had already turned away, so he didn’t see their face.

“General Lei, who are you looking at?” Lin Xuanzhi, who was standing beside him, asked with a smile.

General Lei withdrew his gaze. “Nothing.”

It couldn’t be Lin Rumeng. Moreover, today, everyone welcoming the emperor back were palace concubines.

“Old Lei, don’t tell me you have taken a liking to Concubine Hui. Don’t do that. If a minister has feelings for a concubine, it’s a serious crime!” Lin Xuanzhi followed General Lei’s gaze and immediately recognized that it was indeed Concubine Hui.

She was accompanied by the Eighth Prince.

Lin Xuanzhi wasn’t very familiar with Concubine Hui, but he knew the Eighth Prince well. Everyone knew the Eighth Prince was blind and often wore a white silk band over his eyes.

General Lei glared at Lin Xuanzhi. “What nonsense are you talking about? I’m not tired of living.”

“Let’s go, let’s go. The emperor is back in the palace. Let’s go have a drink. The emperor has many wives, and we’re both single, so there’s no point staying here.”

“You go drink if you want. I need to go home and see my grandmother first.”

General Lei grew up in Lingnan alongside his father, but his grandparents had always stayed in the capital. Over the years, they had considered bringing his grandparents to Lingnan, but his grandmother was unwilling to leave.

Now that he had returned to the capital ahead of schedule, he wanted to go home and visit them.

“Grandmother!” General Lei rushed into the main hall as soon as he entered the house.

The old lady was watering the flowers in the courtyard when she suddenly saw someone burst in. She immediately picked up the watering can and threw it, shouting, “Good heavens! In broad daylight, someone’s breaking into our house. How dare you come in so openly, trying to steal something? We’re penniless, with nothing to steal, just my old bones. Why don’t you just steal my old bones instead?”

“Don’t move! I’m telling you, even if you hit me, I’m not afraid. My grandson is a general stationed at the border. If you dare hit me, when my grandson returns, he will ransack your home and drag you out to be whipped in the streets.”

“Grandmother, grandmother… I am your grandson.”

The old lady was stunned. “What nonsense! My grandson is far away in Lingnan. He’s probably dead by now.”

She had heard about the epidemic in Lingnan.

“Really, it’s me, grandmother. I’ve returned.” Lei Yun quickly looked up, despite his whole head being drenched by the watering can.