and highlighted the benefits of marrying into the Su family. He even subtly suggested that if Miss Su continued studying for the exam, Ming might become an official, a truly auspicious event that wo...At this time, the three children had already been carried away. The room was restored to silence. Lian'yi strained to open her eyes and looked at the Crown Prince whose hair bun was somewhat dishevelled, speaking in a broken voice:

"My prince, my concubine's child."

"The children are all fine, don't worry."

"If I, Your Highness, were to be gone, you must take good care of the children!!"

After Ripples finished speaking, she stared intently at the prince, waiting for his reply.

"Ripples, you can rest assured. This palace will establish Eldest Prince Hongji as the crown prince and he will inherit my throne in the future."

The prince was also moved, and immediately promised.

With the prince's assurance, Lian Yi smiled at the corner of her lips and then fainted completely, her breathing becoming weak.

The crown prince was heartbroken. He personally picked up Lianyi and gently placed her on the bed, then said to the pale-faced maidservant beside him:

"Have the Crown Princess's clothes changed. Send a physician to examine her pulse in a while, and do everything you can to save her."

Yes, Your Highness!

Two living palace maids trembled as they replied in hushed tones.

The Crown Prince understands that although the Crown Princess's chest is still rising and falling, she has already breathed her last. It is only a matter of time. But appearances must be kept up. If he doesn't try to save her and just lets her die like this, what will people think of him as the soon-to-be emperor

At this time, Ch'i-fu ran up to the prince's side and said:

"Prince, please go to Fenqichong Palace quickly! The Empress is unwell!"

"What's going on How could it be bad Did everyone sent to protect the mother die"

The prince's eyes narrowed, and he immediately rebuked.

"Reporting to His Royal Highness, the casualties are indeed severe. It was merely that Her Majesty the Empress was schemed against by a concubine."

Quanfu followed closely behind the prince, walking and talking.

"Just say it clearly!"

"The noble consort used a poisoned hairpin to slash the empress's arm, and the empress died from the poison."

Quan Fu hung his head and said.

"What!"

The prince's steps faltered, and he immediately strode toward Phoenix Nest Palace.

When he entered the Fengqi Palace, what he saw were three corpses laid out in the middle.

The Empress died from poisoning, which is why her lips were purple and blood flowed from her seven orifices.

While Empress De was found dead after striking a pillar. Her son had already passed away, and she lost all hope, unable to live on any longer, so she chose to end her own life.

When the Liang Fei saw the Empress die with blood flowing from her seven orifices, she knew she couldn't live either. Her own men were almost all dead. So she stuck the hairpin in her neck and chose to commit suicide as well.

The crown prince knelt directly on the ground, weeping bitterly:

"Mother! Father has been killed by the second and third sons, how can you also leave me!"

"Your Highness, please accept my condolences!"

Quan Fu also knelt beside the prince, whispering words of comfort.

The prince wept bitterly. This time, he was truly heartbroken. He had originally planned for his mother to help him stabilize the harem, but now everything was ruined.

When the prince finished crying, he was helped by Quan Fu to go to Qianhe Hall with difficulty. He summoned all the officials in the imperial city to handle the affairs that followed.

He wanted to ascend the throne as quickly as possible, and complete the transition of power. He also needed to eliminate the remaining forces of his second and third brothers completely.

"All is well, the bell tolls, to announce it to the world!"

The crown prince pretended to look sad and said.

"Yes!"

As the first rays of dawn broke, the mournful tolls of bells echoed throughout the imperial city.

Last night, the sound of horses' hooves running through the city and the clashing of armor alerted these people that times were about to change.

As expected, the emperor has passed away! It remains to be seen which of the three adult princes will have the last laugh.

The people hastily removed their clothes and jewelry, donned mourning attire, put away all things red, and the entire nation went into mourning.

Next, the residences of the second and third princes were surrounded by the Imperial Guards, allowing entry but not exit. Everyone speculated that the ultimate winner was the Crown Prince.

As expected, all the officials entered the palace that day and didn't return to their residences until sunset. Shortly after, the Crown Prince held a funeral for the Emperor and Empress, and he announced the charges against his second and third brothers for regicide, and against Concubine De and Noble Consort Liang for poisoning the Empress, implicating nine clans.

For a long time after, the blood on the ground at Caishikou never dried. It was washed daily until the new emperor ascended the throne successfully, and then the purge of dissidents stopped.

And it is worth mentioning that Ripple, now the Empress, ascended to the throne alongside the new emperor. Due to her role in guarding the East Palace and vowing to protect the three children with her life, Empress Ripple's position is very secure.

When Meng Guangshen arrived at the imperial city in time, his visit turned into an observation. Seeing his "sister" with a pale face sitting on that position every woman in the world yearned for, he felt a mixture of emotions.

If it were her own younger sister, not to mention protecting the child, she would probably have been scared to death during a palace coup. But Xia Fuzhang's daughter did very well, exceeding the expectations of an ordinary noblewoman.

Another conflicted person was the Crown Prince. Although he held Lian Yi while she was regaining consciousness, Liang Taiyi still managed to save her in the end. Although he rewarded Liang Taiyi, he also hinted that the latter should retire soon, otherwise, he might take his anger out on him.

After all, he has already chosen a new empress. Now that ripples has come back to life, if he doesn't make her the empress, General Meng will probably be the first to turn against him. Look, he even sent his second son over! It’s clear that he is supporting Ripples.

When he first ascended the throne, matters of state in the court were still not in order. If there was turmoil at the border at this time, he would definitely be unable to cope. He dared not take this risk, and in the end, he could only reluctantly seal Lian Yi as empress.

With ripples wearing a golden phoenix robe made of gold thread and jade pieces, and with a nine phoenix crown on her head, she sat beside the new emperor on that supreme position. She became the true first woman in the harem.

After the enthronement ceremony was over, the new emperor and empress completed the sacrifice to heaven. The emperor immediately plunged into the court, with piles of memorials to read every day, and had to balance the power of various factions. He was so busy that he only slept for two hours a day.

The ripples are now much more relaxed. The three nannies are very respectful to Ripples now, besides feeding the child on time every day, they dare not approach the three princes at will, this is what the new empress requires.

The original words of ripples are:

They only provide food for the children; there's no need to get too close to them. If they want to be close, it should be with me as their maternal relative.

And Grandmother Sun became the head housekeeper, while Lan Chi rose to become a top palace lady and became the new Empress's right-hand woman. Their status was incomparable.

Lian Yi asked the grandmother beside her:

"Grandma, did you see my second brother when you left the palace"

"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, this servant has seen the second young master."

How are things at home

"The Second Young Master said that everything at home was fine, as long as you were well, everything would be fine at home."

Rill, after hearing this, continued to say:

"Has your Imperial Highness prepared everything I told you to"

Everything is ready.

“Since preparations are complete, send me out of the palace early. Let Second Brother bring back the gifts I’ve prepared to the border as a daughter's filial piety.”

"Yes, old slave will instruct the carriage to be loaded immediately. Tomorrow, it will be sent out of the palace."

The ripples nodded in satisfaction, then had Lan Zhi bring the three children before her. She looked at each one carefully, finding nothing amiss. She amused them for a while, until the three little ones started yawning, and then had them carried away for their afternoon nap.

The whirlwind gracefully padded up to Ringlets, brushing against her skirt. this time."Jo Lao'er muttered something and then scooped Ripples up in his arms.Liàn yī closed her eyes, but she heard the other person's whisper clearly. She said that this man who only knew how to...