Reborn into the palace, she seduces the emperor's heart, driving the chief minister to madness!

Chapter 276 Let's Become a Long-Lived Immortal in the Mortal World (The End)

"Qingyin..."

Lu Zhiheng's voice was weak, yet it resounded like a thunderclap in Chu Qingyin's ears.

"Aheng! You're awake! You're finally awake!"

Chu Qingyin burst into tears of joy, tears streaming down her cheeks. "That's wonderful, that's wonderful!"

She hugged Lu Zhiheng tightly, as if trying to merge him into her own body.

Feeling the embrace from his beloved, Lu Zhiheng felt a warmth in his heart.

He raised his hand and gently stroked Chu Qingyin's hair, his voice slightly hoarse: "Silly girl, don't cry, I'm awake now."

Chu Qingyin raised her head, her dark eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Lu Zhiheng: "I'm just so happy..."

“Aheng, do you know how worried I am about you? These days, I pray every day that you will wake up.”

"It's my fault for making you worry."

Looking at her thin and haggard face, Lu Zhiheng felt a pang of pain in his heart: "Look at you, how thin you've become."

"And you're the one who said that."

Chu Qingyin burst into tears of joy, looking at him and saying, "You're even thinner than me, this side of your face is almost sunken. If you don't believe me, I'll bring you a bronze mirror later so you can see for yourself."

Lu Zhiheng chuckled: "Wouldn't I look really ugly like this?"

Chu Qingyin paused for a moment, then gripped Lu Zhiheng's hand tightly, as if afraid he would disappear again.

"It's not ugly. As long as you wake up and live a peaceful and safe life from now on, that's more important than anything else."

At this moment, the palace maids who were guarding outside the hall heard the commotion and also went inside.

When they saw Lu Zhiheng wake up, they were overjoyed and rushed to inform the imperial physician and others.

The imperial physician arrived quickly and examined Lu Zhiheng carefully. He smiled with relief and said, "Young Master Lu is out of danger. He just needs to take good care of himself."

After hearing the imperial physician's words, Chu Qingyin finally felt relieved.

"Aheng, did you hear that? You're alright now."

"heard it."

Lu Zhiheng leaned back against the large emerald green cushion, grasped Chu Qingyin's hand in return, and gave her a weak yet comforting smile: "From now on, we will never be apart again."

Chu Qingyin nodded vigorously: "Mm."

From this day forward, they would never be apart again.

Meanwhile, inside the Zichen Palace.

Upon learning that Lu Zhiheng had woken up, Pei Yuanling felt a bittersweet feeling, but he was also happy for Chu Qingyin.

He knew that his fate with her in this life had come to an end.

Now, he only wishes to protect this world, which can be considered as atonement for his past mistakes...

***

Before we knew it, half a month had passed.

That afternoon, the sunlight lazily spilled onto the glazed tiles of the palace, casting a golden glow.

Inside the Imperial Study, Pei Yuanling sat at his desk, perusing a mountain of memorials, but his mind was far from being on state affairs.

Just then, Chen Zhongliang tiptoed in, a hint of hesitation on his face, and reported softly, "Your Majesty, Consort Liang... Miss Qiao and Young Master Lu's carriages are ready and are currently parked outside Yuanzhang Gate."

He cautiously glanced at the upright young emperor behind the throne: "Your Majesty, are you... really not going to take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuanling abruptly stopped writing with his vermilion brush.

In an instant, a drop of bright red cinnabar fell onto the pure white memorial, staining it with a glaring red.

He stared at that splash of red for a long time before slowly raising his head and saying in a deep voice, "I'm not going."

Seeing His Majesty's dejected appearance, Chen Zhongliang felt a pang of pity.

Having served His Majesty for many years, he naturally knew how deep His Majesty's feelings were for Consort Liang.

Now, seeing her about to leave with another man, how agonizing must His Majesty be feeling...?

"His Majesty……"

Chen Zhongliang wanted to say something more, but Pei Yuanling raised his hand to stop him: "Alright, you may leave. I still have state affairs to attend to."

Chen Zhongliang: "..."

Oh well, never mind.

He sighed deeply in his heart. Why should someone like him, a rootless person, get involved in matters of love between men and women?

He only hoped that His Majesty would not regret it in the future.

After Chen Zhongliang quietly withdrew with his whisk, Pei Yuanling tried to refocus his attention on the stacks of yellow-covered memorials.

But the handwriting before her eyes seemed to have transformed into Chu Qingyin's image, lingering there.

In both his past and present lives, every moment he spent with Chu Qingyin—whether beautiful, contentious, or filled with sorrow—has now become the most untouchable scar in his heart.

Sound…

His voice.

She should have been his wife, his empress.

But he was so selfish and arrogant, thinking she would wait for him forever, disappointing her time and time again.

It was he who personally lost her, and also lost the person who loved him most in this world.

Finally, he could no longer sit still and got up to walk out of the hall.

The spring sunshine in March is bright and beautiful.

The majestic palace towers are set against the azure sky, creating a particularly pleasant scene.

Pei Yuanling stood atop the city wall, watching the canopied carriages slowly moving along the long palace road.

As the spring breeze blew by, the tassels on the four corners of the carriage swayed gently in the breeze, and his heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand.

He stood there quietly, staring intently at the carriage, as if trying to etch it into his heart.

Chen Zhongliang followed behind, watching the emperor's forlorn figure, and felt a strange pang in his heart.

If only I had known then what I know now...

He sighed inwardly, then quickly picked up the black cloak embroidered with gold dragon patterns and gently draped it over the emperor.

In that instant, he seemed to see a tear slide down the corner of the emperor's eye.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, it shimmered faintly, flashing by in an instant.

Was it just his imagination?

Chen Zhongliang's heart skipped a beat. He didn't dare to look any longer and quickly lowered his head, retreating behind someone.

As the carriage gradually drove away from the palace gate and became smaller and smaller in his field of vision, Pei Yuanling seemed to hear all the promises he had made to Chu Qingyin.

He said he wanted to give Chu Qingyin the best of everything in the world.

He also said that he wanted her to sit on the throne of empress, so that she could share this beautiful country and its magnificent land with him.

But now, he can only watch helplessly as she leaves.

From then on, in this vast land, the highest position belonged to only him.

He truly is a lonely man.

"Chen Zhongliang".

The emperor's sudden call startled Chen Zhongliang.

He quickly bowed and stepped forward, saying, "This servant is here."

The man standing on the city wall did not turn around, but said calmly, "By imperial decree, the six palaces are dismissed, and there will be no more selections of concubines from now on."

Chen Zhongliang was stunned, and it took him a long time to come to his senses: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, this is probably not appropriate..."

The emperor replied, "There's nothing wrong with it."

He had already decided that he would either choose a branch of the clan to adopt, or...

If Yinyin and Lu Zhiheng have a child, he can return the throne and empire that belong to Zhang Xian's lineage to them.

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Chen Zhongliang knew that his mind was made up.

Having no other choice, he had to go down and give the orders.

On the palace road, in the carriage that was gradually moving away, Chu Qingyin gently lifted the curtain and looked back at the tall yet lonely figure in black on the city wall.

A complex emotion welled up in my heart.

The man she once loved deeply, and later hated deeply, after all these years of entanglement, is finally saying goodbye forever...

"Stop looking, or I'll get jealous."

Lu Zhiheng gently embraced Chu Qingyin from behind, lowered the curtain by the window with his long fingers, and then cupped her face, making her look at him.

"Am I not prettier than him?"

The man's deep voice seemed to carry a hint of coquetry.

Chu Qingyin couldn't help but chuckle, turning to look at Lu Zhiheng with tenderness in her eyes: "Why have you become so childish, Lord Lu, after you've recovered from your illness?"

Lu Zhiheng was already young, and with the careful care of the Imperial Hospital, his body had recovered most of its strength in the past two weeks.

Although her face was still thin, her complexion was rosy and no longer as pale as before.

The saying goes that it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. Originally, the imperial physician wanted to advise Lu Zhiheng to rest for a while longer, but as soon as Lu Zhiheng was able to get out of bed, he thought about leaving the palace.

Even though Pei Yuanling seemed to have compromised and was willing to let him and Chu Qingyin be together, he didn't dare to gamble.

The emperor's heart is unpredictable; every day one stays in the palace increases the risk.

If Pei Yuanling were to change his mind again and refuse to let Qingyin leave the palace, he wouldn't have the troops to stage another rebellion.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhiheng hugged Chu Qingyin tightly, buried his head in her neck, and gently nuzzled her: "Why be serious in front of my wife?"

Chu Qingyin leaned against Lu Zhiheng's chest, and her heart was filled with sweetness as she heard him call her "wife".

However, as she stroked the scar on his palm, she couldn't help but sigh softly.

Lu Zhiheng lowered his head, his chin resting on her forehead: "Why are you sighing for no reason? Are you reluctant to part with that person?"

"certainly not."

Chu Qingyin denied it, her slender fingers playing with the man's fingers for a while before she looked up at him and asked, "Aheng, will you regret this?"

Lu Zhiheng was slightly taken aback, and asked in return, "Regret what?"

Chu Qingyin looked at him and said seriously, "You gave up the country for me."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhiheng's dark eyes softened.

"No regrets."

He lowered his head and gently kissed Chu Qingyin's forehead with his thin lips, his voice full of tenderness: "In this life, I wish to win the heart of one person and stay together until our hair turns white. As long as you are by my side, it is more important than any empire."

Chu Qingyin was moved by Lu Zhiheng's words, but she retorted, "Sweet words, who knows if they're just flattering me?"

Lu Zhiheng chuckled: "Then how do you want me to prove it?"

He paused for a moment, then raised his finger. "I swear to God, if I, Lu Zhiheng, ever betray Chu Qingyin in this life, may I be torn apart by five horses... um!"

A slender finger covered her thin lips.

Chu Qingyin glared at him: "I barely managed to save you from the brink of death, you're not allowed to talk nonsense!"

"Alright, alright, I'll do as my wife says."

Lu Zhiheng held her fingers, his handsome eyes filled with tenderness and sincerity: "Qingyin, I have lived a solitary life, and I have finally met the one I love. I only want to grow old with her and live a life without regrets."

"No matter what I say now, it can't compare to the words and deeds I do for the rest of my life."

He took her hand, placed it to his thin lips, and kissed it, then kissed it again. "I will prove how much I love you every day from now on."

Even after experiencing two lifetimes, Chu Qingyin couldn't help but blush when she heard this usually aloof man make such a passionate confession.

She lowered her long eyelashes, trying to pull her fingers out of the man's palm.

I tried pulling it out twice, but still couldn't get it out.

She frowned and glared at him: "Let go."

"Don't let it go."

Lu Zhiheng's thin lips curved slightly, and the next moment, his tall, fiery body covered him.

A warm breath brushed against Chu Qingyin's ear, and she heard the man's deep and tender voice: "My wife promised that I can kiss you for as long as I want from now on."

Before she could react, the man grabbed her chin.

"Hmm! Lu..."

"Shameless..."

Lu Zhiheng's throat bobbed slightly as he gently bit her lip: "In this life, I have only been shameless towards you, my wife."

The carriage with its vermilion wheels and ornate canopy continued on its way, the magnificent palace gradually receding into the distance behind them, bathed in the brilliant spring sunshine.

Time marches on, and the years bring new prosperity.

From now on, I will always smile in the spring breeze and live a long and healthy life like an immortal in the human world.

(Finish)