Nightfall

Li Yu didn’t forget that night when she knelt in front of her father, asking for the marriage to the Wilderness. She didn’t forget the crying night before the wedding. She just buried it in the depth of her heart and pretended she had forgotten it as the time passed by.

She didn’t expect that her little brother, who was very young at that time, had kept those things in his heart for so many years until he ascended the throne. Upon knowing this, she was nothing but touched and a little sad, and she could not blame him at all.

“Besides Miao Kechi, I want to kill that woman. If not for her, who had been instigating beside our father, and her officers who pushed it, the Imperial Astronomer’s prophecy could not cause so big of a turmoil and you would not have to be forcefully married to the barbarian in the Wilderness.”

Holding Li Yu’s hands, Li Huiyuan grimly said, “Don’t worry, elder sister. I am the emperor of Tang now. No one can oppress us anymore. Miao Kechi’s death is just a beginning and I will keep the woman in Helan City. She would never dream to come back.”

Listening to this, Li Yu suddenly woke up. She tightly held his hands, staring at his eyes, and dignifiedly said, “I have a plan for Helan City, so you can stop. The woman is our nominal mother and the Queen mother anyway. If you want to do something to her, we should wait for the perfect moment. What we need to do now is to stall her a little longer before she comes back to Chang’an.”

Li Huiyuan was still going to say something.

Li Yu shook her head while looking at him, and said, “I know the rumors about the fake Edict in Chang’an bothers you a lot, but you should know the rumors are only rumors. Minister Xu wrote the eight characters because he was angry. You should not embarrass him. Your Majesty, you should remember, neither the Edict nor the woman are important, as well as the Imperial Astronomer’s prophecy. The key lies in who the ministers and people support.”

Li Yu’s words were reasonable. As an emperor, he should have a broad chest and tolerance and should avoid resorting to petty means.

However, she didn’t tell her brother—the Edict and the Imperial Astronomer were not important, but the Empress in Helan City was a key person to Li Huiyuan’s throne. Besides her, the military and the Academy’s attitudes were also important.

Li Yu’s biggest troubles were the Academy and the woman in Helan City. At this moment, she suddenly began to miss Ning Que, who could smooth everything if he was in Chang’an, but…

Since her father liked Ning Que very much, Ning Que must support him back. If Ning Que knew she forged her father’s Edict, would he change his attitude toward her?

The palanquin quietly moved in the night and stopped in front of a peaceful palace. Li Yu got off the palanquin, gesturing her maids not to follow her, and entered the palace.

This palace was a special place in the imperial palace as it was the queen’s Bedchamber.

Li Yu came here because she felt a little soft at this time—every time she came here, she would get angry. At this moment, anger would make her strong.

As the owner of this palace was still in Helan City, there were few lights in the palace. Even though, the ornate furnishings could be seen clearly in the dark.

As the maids and eunuchs were all driven away, Li Yu was alone here.

She stood in front of the embroidered jade bed, revealing a sarcastic expression in silence.

Her mother was supposed to be the real and only queen who died many years ago because of an illness. She never had a chance to sleep on the bed that belonged to her.

The woman, who slept on the bed after she died, was beautiful and gentle. Everyone, including her father, her uncles, and Uncle Chao told her to call her Mother when she was young.

However, she never did.

Until she grew older, she began to call her Mother.

Every time she called her, her heart bled.

For more than ten years, her heart had hurt so many times and never had a chance to recover.

She had to admit that her father and the woman were not bad to her. However, she was unable to forgive them because of the day her mother died.

On that day, after she happily greeted her mother, she climbed into the bed to play with her little brother when her mother began to cough badly, and then closed her eyes.

The doctors came and went, but she never opened her eyes.

Her father was not there.

He was with the woman.

Li Yu quietly stood beside the bed. It was uncertain if she pictured her mother or the woman, and she tightly clenched her fists, trembling.

This was the feeling of anger.

As her body trembled with anger, the familiar force returned to her and calmed her down. She turned around and walked out of the palace.

Even if the woman could return to Chang’an, she could not sleep on this bed anymore.

Back to her own palace, Li Yu began to review the memorials. Even if she was skillful, the memorials were too many to finish in a short time.

She rubbed her eyebrows and asked for a new cup of tea. After cleaning her face with a warm towel, she felt refreshed.

When she finished reading all the memorials, it was early morning. She rubbed her sore wrists and called in two ministers, ignoring the eunuch’s persuading.

What happened in the imperial court in the past few days was within her expectation except for the impatient emperor. Although she didn’t agree with the emperor’s tough means, she would not reduce the vigilance against the Queen’s ministers. At this moment, she had to firmly control Chang’an.

In order to do this, she had to control the army: first, the Yulin Royal Guards. Second, the Valiant Cavalry Battalion. The Bodyguard office which guarded the palace was the most important one.

If something happened, besides the army, there was another place important for her: the Chang’an Local Government. It had enough local government runners and constables who were familiar with the terrain in the city.

Therefore, one of the two people she wanted to meet was the prefectural magistrate of Chang’an City, Shangguan Yangyu.

The other was Chao Xiaoshu.