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  Ming Xuan didn't have time to think carefully, and news from inside the city began to spread outside one after another.

  First, an imperial edict was issued from the Imperial Study Room, announcing a temporary halt to court activities, and all the ministers who wanted to investigate further were blocked outside the Anhe Gate. Observant people noticed that the palace guards had quietly changed shifts at some point, and under their heavy armor, the gleaming blades and guns shone brightly in the scorching sunlight, emitting an icy and ferocious glow that made one's heart tremble with fear. Those who were timid and afraid of trouble also developed a mind to retreat, while the elderly ministers with reputations did not want to take rash action under unclear circumstances, mostly adopting a wait-and-see attitude.

  Therefore, the only ones who are truly worried and anxious are the Dingguo Duke and the Cheng'en Marquis.

  But neither the Yu family nor the Lu family, whether in the imperial court or not, had any military power in their hands. The private soldiers in the mansion had always been accustomed to a life of ease and wealth, and were no match for the brave warriors who emerged from the piles of dead bodies. They didn't even have the strength to fight back. The Duke of Dingguo and the Marquis of Cheng'en joined forces, but instead of opening the heavy copper gate of Anhe Gate, they ended up losing eight or nine out of ten of their own private soldiers.

  Then, Gong Fang's defense line continued to move outward until it filled the entire outer perimeter of Zhou Palace. Not only did officials want to see him, but even a fly was not allowed in. For several days, no one entered or left Zhou Palace, like a tightly sealed wooden barrel with no gaps left behind, and occasionally, the sound of soldiers clashing and the screeching noise of metal colliding could be heard from afar.

  The battle within the palace walls was fierce, but the chaos did not spread beyond that.

  As Ming Xuan had expected, King Lin Nan did not have a large army to support him, so he rushed into the Zhou Palace and closed the door to catch the turtle in the urn, hoping to kill the emperor at once and ascend to the throne. Therefore, this disaster only set the battlefield within the Zhou Palace, and did not bring any disaster to the people of the inner city.

  However, life had to go on. After two days of anxiety, the people in the inner city saw that there was no crisis and continued to open their shops and stalls with a nervous heart. Although the gates of the imperial palace were tightly closed, life inside went on as usual. If one ignored the occasional clanging sounds coming from within the Forbidden City and the wounded soldiers being carried out by the Five Cities Military Garrison and the Capital Patrol Battalion from time to time, Shengjing City seemed to have gradually regained its surface calm after the initial shock.

  The people of Shengjing City are like this, and the days of Qingliang Mountain Baiyun An are even more quiet and leisurely.

  It was the first time he had received such care, and during the day, he became somewhat sticky. When Shifu was around, he followed Shifu everywhere, whether it was to the Buddha hall for quiet contemplation or to the medicine room for research, and when Shifu wasn't around, he stuck to Ming Xuan.

  He is only three years old, but due to his unique experiences, he often appears older than his age. However, no matter how mature he seems, he is still just a child who yearns for love and attention. He longs to interact with new people and things, and has a deep affection for his mother. Now that he knows his "mother" has passed away, he has an even stronger attachment to his aunt, who resembles her so much. He often follows her around like a lost puppy, looking pitiful and helpless.

  Ming Xuan had been radiant with maternal light since her pregnancy, and she couldn't help but soften when facing the child. At this time, she didn't really treat Yu'er as the future ruler of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but truly regarded him as the son of Yuan Fei. Every day, she would calm down and tell him some simple yet philosophical fairy tales from her past life, or accompany him to paint and draw freely with brush and paper. The days passed extremely quickly.

  Ten days passed in a flash, and one day, news came from outside that the Emperor had passed away. Before his death, he wrote an edict to abdicate the throne, wanting to hand over the golden throne of the Zhou Dynasty to Prince Lin Nan. Prince Lin Nan opened the city gate, restored the passage of the Zhou Palace, ordered civil and military officials to enter the palace for an audience, and chose a day to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor.

  In a few more days, it was heard that Pei Jingxun led the Northern Army to march into the inner city to defend the king, and fought fiercely with the rebel army of Lin Nan Wang. At the critical moment, Chancellor Han Xiu suddenly arrived with a team of elite soldiers and joined forces with the Northern Army to annihilate the rebels. Lin Nan Wang and his son had already been executed, while Cheng En Hou and Ding Guo Gong wanted to support the son of Yu Hui Fei to ascend to the throne as emperor.

  When the news arrived, Yu Zhen Shitai's mouth corner rose with a cold smile. She personally helped You Er put on an apricot-yellow imperial prince robe, tied a purple gold hair crown on his head, then bent down and smiled at You Er, saying "In these days, have you remembered what your ancestor grandmother said?"

  Dayou's face was solemn, and he seemed to know what had happened and what was about to happen. He nodded heavily, "Dayou remembers."

  "Then let's go home!"

  She put on the nine-petaled golden lotus robe bestowed by Emperor Yanxi, took off her apricot-yellow hairpin, revealing her long black hair. She coiled up her raven tresses and styled them into a small bun, wearing a purple gold lotus crown with long flowing silk ribbons hanging down, swaying gently beside her ears. Walking on the bluestone path, she held Xu'er's hand and slowly walked out of the White Cloud Nunnery. After getting on the carriage, she lifted up the curtain and smiled at Yuanhui, saying: "From now on, this White Cloud Nunnery will be yours. If you want to stay, you can be its owner. If you want to follow Brother Cheng and his wife to live a quiet life, then hand over the nunnery to Jingxin. It's up to you to decide."

  Although Yuan Hui was dull-witted, Shifu had already made it clear, how could she not understand? She hastily bowed her head and replied, "Yes."

  The mistress smiled and beckoned Ming Xuan to come forward, softly saying to her, "Xuan sister, wait for a moment, Zhen brother is already on his way, after returning to Shengjing, we'll meet again."

  A small head poked out of the carriage, a pair of sparkling eyes blinked at Ming Xuan, "Sister, when I get home, you must come see me!"

  Ming Xuan smiled and pinched Tong Er's cheek, nodding lightly, "Definitely."

  She watched the unremarkable carriage disappear into the distance, her heart unable to calm down for a long time. She knew that whether it was Shifu or Xiao Yu, this departure would bring about tremendous changes. They, and the two people she had been with until now, would never be the same again.

  Shifu was right, when Ming Xuan returned to her room to tidy up her clothes, Pei Jingchen arrived in a flurry.

  He hadn't even removed his armor, but he had already taken big strides forward and pulled her into his arms, this action was already quite difficult, yet he still wanted to leave a gap in his abdomen so as not to press against Ming Xuan's belly.

  So at this moment, the atmosphere and scene in front of them were quite ridiculous and laughable to Yan Niangniang and Dan Hong. However, they only had a smile on their faces but didn't dare to laugh out loud, fearing that it would disturb this beautiful and romantic moment. The two of them exchanged a glance with pursed lips, then put down the clothes in their hands and quietly retreated, closing the door behind them and locking the warmth inside the room.

  It wasn't until much later that Pei Jingchen finally reluctantly let go of Ming Xuan, his hands supporting her cheeks as he gazed at her intently, and after a long while, suddenly choked out a sentence, "You've lost weight."

  Ming Xuan couldn't help but burst out laughing, she tiptoed and pinched Pei Jingchen's face, "Not only has he lost weight, but also got darker."

  After finishing speaking, both people burst out laughing.

  The whole house is vegetarian, and Yuanhui has been changing her ways to give her a variety of dishes. After all, it's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice, and she eats very lightly, and with worries in her heart, she can't help but think day and night. It's been like this for over a decade, if she were to get fat instead, that would be strange. As for Pei Jingzhen, it was so hot today, and the battlefield of the Northern Ridge Army is mostly rocky cliffs, which must have suffered greatly from the scorching sun. Marching and fighting, eating poorly and sleeping poorly, it's impossible not to lose weight or get darker.

  Pei Jingchen's lips landed heavily on Ming Xuan's, and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, saying, "The capital is currently shrouded in darkness, and it will take some time for the dust to settle. Rather than returning now, why don't we stay here for a few more days, relax our minds, and consider it a trip out to enjoy the scenery?"

  Out of nowhere, a three-year-old imperial son appears to compete with the son of Concubine Yu for the throne. Whether it is the Duke of Dingguo or Concubine Yu, they will certainly not accept this, and even if it is an official, they will still question it. After verifying his identity, there will be a good fight. Even if Shifu has made perfect preparations, without a few days to distinguish himself, it's probably not going to work. As the child under the name of Empress Yuan, Pei Jingchen is also the great contributor of this expedition, so if they return to Beijing now, they will have to endure this trouble.

  If it were in the past, then so be it. But now that Ming Xuan's belly is bulging like that, he doesn't want her to be bothered with these things anymore.

  Pei Jingchen greedily took a deep breath in the crook of Ming Xuan's neck, his eyes suddenly becoming so soft they seemed to be dripping with water. "I'm used to sleeping with someone by my side, these days I've been alone and it feels empty, no matter what I do, I just can't sleep well. Today, finally having you in my arms, no matter what, I have to take a good rest here before leaving. Besides, this mountain valley has many wonders, I've always wanted to bring someone here to see them, now that I have the chance, if I were to miss it, wouldn't that be a pity?"

  He suddenly thought of something, a sly smile spreading across his face, and he leaned in close to Ming Xuan's ear, saying in a low voice, "Do you still remember that hot spring on the back mountain? Now that you're pregnant, it's not suitable for you to take a bath, but revisiting old haunts has its own unique charm!"

  Ming Xuan's face turned slightly red as she couldn't help but softly scold him, "What nonsense are you talking about? The hermitage is a place of quiet cultivation."

  They were husband and wife, embracing was a normal human behavior, but this place was not the Anping Wangfu, it was a Buddhist nunnery, where even just sleeping together was a kind of desecration.

  Pei Jingchen's eyes sparkled, "Did you think that when I came to find my ancestors in the past, I always stayed in the nunnery? Except for the last time when I was forced to detoxify, I have always been careful and followed etiquette. In the back mountain, I have my own residence, don't worry, that place is far from both the White Cloud Nunnery and the Qingliang Temple, so the gods won't think I'm being disrespectful."

  He casually picked up the package that Ming Xuan had packed and grabbed her hand with a smile, "Let's go!"

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