Inside the carriage, a chilling atmosphere pervaded the air. Ye Lingfeng gripped an inkstone tightly in his large hand, remaining silent for a long time.
Hailing reached out and pulled the letter from his hand. After reading it, she understood why he was so angry.
Even she was shocked. Sima Yuan was actually backed by the Empress Dowager! How had Sima Yuan joined forces with the Empress Dowager? She had previously suspected Feng Zixiao was behind it all, but now it seemed that wasn't the case; Sima Yuan was actually backed by the Empress Dowager.
Could it be that the Empress Dowager ordered Sima Yuan to assassinate Ye? That's absolutely impossible. Hai Ling thought for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"Did the Empress Dowager order Sima Yuan to assassinate me?"
Not only Hai Ling, but Ye Lingfeng also believed that his mother sent Sima Yuan to the Songzhou post station to assassinate Hai Ling. He did not suspect himself, after all, his mother was his mother, and he could not suspect her of wanting to kill him before finding any evidence.
Even so, Ye Lingfeng was still furious.
Why did Mother do that?
As Ye Lingfeng spoke, he suddenly clenched his fist, and the jade inkstone shattered. Many shards pierced his palm, drawing blood, but he felt no pain because the anger emanating from him was so intense.
Hai Ling felt heartbroken seeing this, so she stepped forward, grabbed his hand, took a handkerchief, wiped his wound, picked out the shards, and carefully bandaged it up.
"What are you doing? We're almost at the capital. Let's talk about it back at the palace. Let's find out the whole truth first. Right now, it's all very confusing and hard to guess."
Hai Ling said this, and Ye Lingfeng finally managed to suppress his anger. However, Hai Ling knew that he was still injured. She held his hand and felt his suppressed trembling. Her heart was filled with heartache. If everything was as they had expected, how could Ye bear the truth?
Inside the carriage, all was quiet. Hai Ling held Ye Lingfeng's hand tightly, afraid that he might get angry again and hurt her.
Four days later, the imperial procession returned to the capital. High-ranking officials were waiting at the city gate, including the Ji family father and son.
This southern tour lasted about a month. Hailing was eight months pregnant and her movements were already difficult, so she did not get off the carriage but remained inside.
Ye Lingfeng did not get out of the carriage. He only instructed the people who came to see him to get up, and then he lowered the carriage curtain and entered the palace.
In the palace, as soon as the Emperor and Empress returned, the news spread like wildfire, and soon everyone knew that the Emperor and Empress had returned.
At Liuyue Palace, Ye Lingfeng escorted Hailing to her bedchamber to rest. He then went to the Imperial Study to summon the court officials to discuss some state affairs before dismissing them.
Shi Zhu also rushed back to report the matter.
"Your Majesty, Sima Yuan is currently in Beilu. Should we capture him?"
"Alright, secretly capture him and bring him back. Remember not to alert anyone, and then bring him to Cixi Palace to see me."
"Yes, I will do it immediately."
Shi Zhu withdrew, and inside the study, Ye Lingfeng clenched his fists, his body radiating murderous intent, his eyes bloodthirsty. He slowly rose. What was bound to happen would happen eventually. Even if he feared the truth, he couldn't hide it forever. Therefore, he was determined to find out what his mother was hiding. The way she treated him was unlike a mother treating her child. Could it be that she wasn't his mother? Thinking this, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
Ye Lingfeng stood in the study, feeling as if he were submerged by a tide, the cold and dampness making it hard for him to breathe. His handsome features were as pale as paper, and his deep pupils held a hidden murderous intent as he slowly walked out.
In Cixi Palace, the Empress Dowager sat on one side of the main hall. The news of the Emperor and Empress's return to the palace had reached Cixi Palace. For some reason, she felt uneasy today, as if something was about to happen.
Granny Ying sat to one side and, seeing the Empress Dowager fidgeting, asked her with concern.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"It's nothing," the Empress Dowager shook her head. Just then, a young eunuch rushed in from outside the hall and respectfully reported, "Empress Dowager, the Emperor has come to pay his respects."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager stood up in surprise. Ying Mama was even more puzzled. Shouldn't the Empress Dowager be happy that the Emperor had come to pay his respects? Why did she have such an unpredictable expression?
"Let him in."
The Empress Dowager calmed herself down and waved for the eunuch to leave. At that moment, Ye Lingfeng appeared in the hall, handsome and dashing. He walked in, bathed in sunlight, and respectfully greeted the Empress Dowager, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
The Empress Dowager squinted at Ye Lingfeng and found that there was nothing special about his expression. She relaxed a little after being worried, and waved her hand: "Feng'er, get up and sit down."
"Thank you, Mother Empress."
Ye Lingfeng got up and sat down next to the Empress Dowager. Looking at the Empress Dowager, scenes from his childhood flashed through his mind.
When the Empress Dowager saw Ye Lingfeng looking at her, her heart, which had been at ease, tightened again. She asked cautiously, "Feng'er, what's wrong?"
Ye Lingfeng came back to his senses, a gentle smile appearing on his lips, but his eyes were devoid of any warmth. He then shook his head and said, "Your subject is fine. During this southern tour, I traveled by carriage for days on end, and on top of that, there were assassins trying to kill me. I almost lost my life."
As soon as Ye Lingfeng finished speaking, the Empress Dowager looked terrified: "Who dares to order assassins to kill Feng'er? Feng'er, have you caught the person behind this? If you do, you must have him torn to pieces."
The Empress Dowager spoke harshly, and Ye Lingfeng shook his head: "They were captured at first, but they were later kidnapped again."
"Such a thing has happened! Feng'er, send people to investigate. Once you find this person, punish him severely."
"Your Majesty knows. Your Majesty has already found out where this person is and will be able to capture him soon."
As soon as Ye Lingfeng finished speaking, a hint of horror flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes, but it was so fleeting that it was almost imperceptible. She then calmly reassured Ye Lingfeng.
"Feng'er, as the emperor, you must take care of your health. Your mother is counting on you."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."
Ye Lingfeng nodded; this was the first time the mother and son had clashed like this.
Inside the main hall, two people were talking when someone rushed in from outside. It was Shi Zhu, Ye Lingfeng's subordinate. Shi Zhu quickly clasped his hands and said calmly, "Your Majesty, we have been tracking him down and have now captured the fugitive Sima Yuan."
"Good, we've caught this bastard. Bring him here. I'm going to punish him severely and make sure he dies without a burial place."
As soon as Ye Lingfeng finished speaking, the Empress Dowager stood up abruptly, her face turning pale.
Shi Zhu withdrew, and inside the hall, the Empress Dowager anxiously called out, "Feng'er."
Ye Lingfeng watched all this coldly, then asked with concern, "What's wrong, Mother? Your face looks terrible. Are you ill?"
His voice unconsciously darkened, but unfortunately, the Empress Dowager's attention wasn't on him at all, so she didn't notice. All her attention was outside the main hall, wanting to see if Shizhu and the others had really captured Sima Yuan. That was impossible; how could they have captured him? What should they do? The Empress Dowager was extremely anxious, but she couldn't show it in front of Ye Lingfeng. Hearing Ye Lingfeng's question, she had to pretend nothing was wrong and shook her head.