Today, he has finally done it. It was worth it for him to change his name to Xu Liren and endure for nineteen years. It's time for him to finally hold his head high.
He spread out his wide, floor-length sleeves: "I am the king of this world!"
Dou Akou felt as if the food she had just eaten had turned into stones, heavy and heavy in her stomach. For the past ten days, she had been wandering aimlessly in the prison, while outside, the world was undergoing dramatic changes.
A sudden realization struck her, and the jumbled thoughts in her mind quickly coalesced into a single line: "Is the one Father truly supports you?"
Dou Jincai feigned allegiance to Xu Lichi, but secretly supported Xu Liqian. Presumably, poisoning the potted plant was also at Xu Liqian's behest. Xu Lichi bought the poisoned potted plant from the Dou family and presented it to Emperor Huang Taizu, which was naturally interpreted as an attempt to murder his father and seize power, leading to his removal from the position of crown prince—the last thing Emperor Huang Taizu could do before his death.
Xu Lichi was demoted and dismissed, and Emperor Taizu passed away. With no one in the Eastern Palace, Xu Liqian naturally succeeded to the throne and ascended to the position of Emperor. The whole plan was airtight and flawless, except for the Dou family, who became cannon fodder.
Third Concubine also realized this, and she rushed to the prison door like a madwoman: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty! Although my Dou family has no merit, we have worked hard. Now that we stand on Your Majesty's side, we have absolutely no intention of treason. Your Majesty must investigate thoroughly!"
Dou Akou also realized what was happening: "Xu Li, then let us out quickly!"
Xu Liren nodded: "I have come to take you out."
Dou Akou was taken aback: "Me? Not us?"
"Of course. If we only bring you, your aunt and father will probably have to stay in this prison for a while longer."
Temporary escape
Dou Akou composed herself: "Why am I all alone?"
Xu Li's eyes flickered slightly. He still needed to use the Dou family to make a deal with someone. His habit was always to eliminate any potential threats completely. Since the Dou family had already helped him rise to power, they were no longer of any use. With all of the Dou family's vast wealth confiscated and going into the national treasury, there was even less reason for them to remain.
Dou Akou should have been waiting in this dark and gloomy dungeon with her family for him to negotiate with that person. If they reached an agreement, it would be an exchange of goods; if not, they would simply be executed on some fabricated charge. But for some reason, when he saw how much thinner Dou Akou had become in the dungeon, he changed his mind. Someone like her shouldn't be in this cold and damp dungeon.
As for why he shouldn't have taken Dou Akou away, and whether it was for his own selfish reasons, he subconsciously didn't want to delve into it.
He raised an eyebrow nonchalantly: "No reason, I'm just happy."
Dou Akou's face flushed with anger: "You scoundrel! If you're going to release them, release them all—me, Aunt, Father, and Axin—all of us! If you're only releasing me, I'd rather not leave!"
Xu Liren frowned in displeasure at Dou Akou's change in addressing Fu Jiuxin. He said coldly, "Whatever," and then turned to leave.
"emperor!"
Sure enough, someone behind her shouted to stop her, but it wasn't Dou Akou, but the Third Aunt.
Third Aunt turned to Dou Akou and said urgently in a low voice, "Akou, don't worry about us. If you can get out, get out first. Once you're out, find a way to rescue us. Even if you can't, it's better than our whole family... The Dou family needs to have an heir!"
Dou Akou's eyes reddened slightly. She couldn't bear to abandon her father, aunt, and Ah Xin and run away for her own life!
Xu Liren seemed to see through her thoughts and scoffed, "You're still worried about everyone and don't want to go out alone, but do you know where Fu Jiuxin is right now?"
Dou Akou's heart skipped a beat: "What did you do to A Xin?"
"Me? What did I do to him?" Xu Liren laughed for a while, as if he had heard a funny joke, and then clicked his tongue and said, "Come out with me and you'll find out."
The concubines nodded at Dou Akou: "Akou, you go out first."
Dou Akou gritted her teeth: "I'll go out with you."
Xu Liren inwardly scoffed, realizing that the person who had made her willingly follow him was Fu Jiuxin.
Dou Akou followed silently behind Xu Liren, staring down at his magnificent dragon boots. She no longer fawned over him and called him Xu Liren as before. Instead, an invisible barrier stood between them, and they separated themselves coldly and distantly.
Xu Li was alone when he entered the dungeon. As soon as he emerged from the dark dungeon, Dou Akou heard a unified voice: "Your Majesty."
She couldn't get used to the bright light at first, but as she gradually became able to accept the light, she opened her eyes and saw many palace maids and guards kneeling respectfully on both sides to welcome the emperor.
So he really did become emperor.
Xu Liren walked gracefully through the crowd kneeling on the ground, with Dou Akou following behind him, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Emerging from the dungeon, Dou Akou sat in the carriage, which rumbled past Ziwei Qingdu. Peeking out from behind the curtain, she saw that they were passing by Qingyun Street, where the Dou family lived. Two dilapidated stone lions sat forlornly at the entrance, and the gate was tightly closed with two seals on it.
She silently lowered the carriage curtain and looked away, unsure of where to focus her gaze, so she could only stare at her toes.
Xu Liren kept staring at her, and when he saw that she deliberately avoided his gaze, he snorted.
He slowly shifted his gaze from Dou Akou's face, then suddenly spoke: "When I was little—"
Dou Akou childishly covered her ears, her face showing an expression that said, "I don't want to hear this."
Xu Li stared at her for a long while without speaking. Perhaps in the past, she would have been willing to look intently into his eyes and listen to him talk about the wounds in his heart that had never healed; but now, he had gained the world, yet he had lost someone who was willing to listen to him.
He destroyed her home and harmed her family. Her obvious anger and silence were palpable, but there was no hateful hatred in her eyes.
Fu Jiuxin, Fu Jiuxin, how much care and pampering do you need to raise her to have such a charming and innocent nature?
However, thinking of Fu Jiuxin's current situation and status, he suddenly laughed again. Fu Jiuxin, the innocence and kindness you nurtured with your own hands will also be destroyed by your own hands. This experience must be... wonderful.
Xu Liren thought to himself with amusement, then coldly snapped at Dou Akou, who was still covering her ears, "We've arrived. Get out of the car."
The Ziwei Palace still looks as magnificent and grand as ever, only now it has a new owner. The flowers in the Imperial Garden still bloom brightly, celebrating the peace and prosperity of this dynasty.
Xu Liren led Dou Akou to a palace and said, "You will stay here."
Dou Akou reluctantly called out to him, "Wait a minute. When are you going to release my family? And what about A Xin? When are you going to take me to see him?"
Xu Liren gave a slight smile: "Just you wait."
He left, and Dou Akou angrily tried to chase after him, but was driven back by the eunuch who was serving Xu Liren.
As Xu Liren walked, he imagined Dou Akou's angry face and couldn't help but chuckle.
A person walked towards him and curtsied, saying, "Your Majesty, I have been waiting for you here for a long time."
Xu Liren's eyes flashed with a hint of impatience, but his smile deepened: "Zisu, it's windy outside, you can wait inside."
Ding Zisu giggled and leaned against him with her soft, boneless body, intentionally or unintentionally rubbing her chest against his arm.
Xu Li burst into laughter, took Ding Zisu's arm and entered Cuiwei Palace, dismissing the others, and pressed her down on the table before reaching under her skirt.
Ding Zisu wanted to use his power to become empress, and he wanted to use the Ding family's medical skills to cure his poison. The man and woman were in love and hit it off immediately. Physical pleasure was just a side effect.
But that's all there is to it. In this world, who else will truly care for him, regardless of whether he is a musician or a prince, whether he can only live to thirty or live to a hundred?
Xu Liren rode Ding Zisu on top of him, the woman beneath him moaning in a daze. He covered Ding Zisu's mouth, and suddenly his mind flashed back to the shocked yet innocent eyes of Ding Zisu when they were having fun at Caoyin Lake, hiding behind a tree.
The owner of these eyes once treated him sincerely.
Xu Liren suddenly felt nauseous. He withdrew from Ding Zisu's body with a waning interest and got up to straighten his clothes.
Ding Zisu opened her eyes dazedly, and it took her a while to recover from the surge of passion. She touched Xu Liren's chest with concern: "What's wrong?"
Xu Liren smiled at her: "I feel the effects of the poison taking hold."
Ding Zisu quickly took his wrist: "Your pulse is still stable. You should rest."
Xu Liren fastened his sash: "Can you really cure my poison?"
This wasn't the first time he'd asked Ding Zisu. Ding Zisu met his eyes and said, "Of course. I'm just missing a few rare medicinal herbs."
Xu Liren nodded: "Alright. The day you cure my poison will be the day you become the Queen Mother of the Huang Dynasty."
He took a few steps outside, then turned back: "I really don't like that Grand Physician of the Silver Seal Palace. Next time I host a palace banquet, you find a way to poison him without anyone noticing."
Ding Zisu replied, "Okay."
After Xu Liren had walked away, she got up angrily to wash and dress, then called someone in: "Who did the Emperor see today?"
Although Xu Liren has not given her any official title, not even the title of concubine, she is the only woman in the Ziwei Palace who serves Xu Liren. Although the palace does not know her background, they dare not neglect her.
So the palace maid explained clearly in detail: "She is a young lady from the Dou family."
"The Dou family? The imperial merchant Dou family? Weren't they imprisoned?"
"Yes. The rest of the Dou family are still imprisoned. Only Miss Dou was brought into the palace by the Emperor today."
Ding Zisu narrowed her already long and narrow phoenix eyes. She remembered that when Xu Liren first came to the Ding family of Baicaojing, he said that he was a musician from the Dou family, so he must have some connection with Dou Akou.
She used to think Dou Akou was dull and foolish, and didn't take her seriously at all, but she was wrong. This little girl managed to get Xu Liren to release her from the prison; it seems she was careless.
She put on her clothes: "Where has the Emperor arranged for her to stay?"
"Red Palace".
"Then let's go to Chiwei Palace."
Dou Akou sulked in the Chiwei Palace. The palace was magnificent, and everything used there was of the finest quality. The bed was covered with a soft silk quilt, but it did not give her any sense of security.
Dou Akou hugged the quilt on the bed and pounded it a few times, tossing and turning, thinking that it wasn't as comfortable as her wooden plank bed in Qingyong City.
She jumped up in a fit of rage, threw the blanket off the bed, and wanted to sleep with Ah Xin in her arms!
When Ding Zisu entered the Chiwei Palace, she saw Dou Akou with her hair disheveled.
Dou Akou was startled by the voices and immediately reached for her waist, intending to touch her dagger. But she found nothing, and then she remembered that her dagger had been confiscated when she was imprisoned.
She turned around nervously to see who it was, and froze: "Miss Ding, what are you doing here?"
Ding Zisu was dressed in the gorgeous attire of a palace lady, her head adorned with jewels, her hands adorned with bracelets and rings, her dress layered and elaborate, clearly transforming her from a chivalrous woman of the martial arts world into a woman confined to the inner palace.
Ding Zisu smoothed her temples, her alluring demeanor tinged with a hint of malice: "That's a question for you. How did you end up here? You should be in the dungeon, awaiting the Emperor's judgment."
Dou Akou was looking at Ding Zisu's outfit and felt uncomfortable looking at it, thinking that how could she fight like that?
Upon hearing this, she honestly replied, "Xu Li said he would take me to find Ah Xin."
Ding Zisu's eyes flashed, and she instantly understood Xu Liren's plan. Her killing intent subsided, and she smiled, "So that's how it is. On the fifteenth of next month, the martial arts tournament will be held in Xilie Fortress, and the Emperor will also be attending. At that time, you will see Fu Jiuxin in Xilie Fortress."
Dou Akou was initially relieved, thinking happily that since Axin was in Xilie Fort, it meant he was alright. Then she wondered, "Hasn't the martial arts tournament ended yet?"
The martial arts tournament was originally scheduled for March 25th, but she was already in prison in early March, and after being locked up for so many days, it should have been over by now.
"It was originally going to be held. But then the late emperor passed away and the whole country was in mourning, so the martial arts tournament was postponed for a while." Ding Zisu carefully studied Dou Akou's expression. This fool's emotions were written all over her face, and she could tell what was on her mind at a glance.
Sigh, she's actually happy that Fu Jiuxin is safe and sound. I wonder what her expression will be when she sees Fu Jiuxin.
Siyou Kingdom
Life in the deep palace was unbearable. Dou Akou would rather eat simple vegetables and radishes in the dark and gloomy prison than eat the tasteless and exquisite food in the Chiwei Palace.
She tried several times to break out of the Crimson Palace to find Xu Liren, but was stopped each time. She was also unsure of the situation outside and was very anxious.
Dou Akou initially intended to protest by going on a hunger strike, but after enduring two meals of hunger, she couldn't resist the temptation of braised pork and ate it.