Chapter 708: Long Time No See

With Li Ji in command, the city guards quickly quelled the mob of citizens frantically trying to rush out.

The carriage Ah Qi had been in was surrounded.

A soldier stepped forward and pulled aside the door curtain, only to find it completely empty inside.

Ah Qi was long gone.

Li Ji guessed that Ah Qi must have slipped away during the height of the chaos and was now hiding somewhere.

‘But he’s definitely still in the city. There’s no way he could have escaped.’

After the citizens were driven back to their homes, order was restored near the city gate.

Li Ji ordered the city gates opened. Li Liao led an elite unit into the city, and after the two forces rendezvoused, Li Ji briefly recounted his experiences inside the city.

After hearing his account, Li Liao finally let out a long sigh of relief.

“The injustice against your birth father has finally been righted. If he can see this from the heavens, he will surely be gratified.”

To see this day, Li Liao had endured decades of hardship, bearing the pain of separation from his family. Now that his wish was finally fulfilled, he was overwhelmed with emotion. His hands clenched into tight fists, his eyes reddened, and his expression was a mixture of laughter and tears.

Li Ji had been separated from his birth parents right after his birth, so his memories of them were still vague.

But perhaps it was because of their blood ties; when Li Ji thought of his birth father’s name being cleared, a faint smile graced his lips.

“Later, I will hold a memorial rite to inform my father in the heavens, so that he may rest in peace.”

Li Liao nodded vigorously. “Good!”

A single star appeared on the horizon.

It was the star commonly known as the morning star.

Its appearance signaled that the darkness was about to recede, and dawn would soon arrive.

The siege, which had been expected to be a bloodbath, was brought to a swift and decisive conclusion.

From start to finish, only a dozen or so soldiers were injured, with not a single death. It could be considered the fastest siege with the fewest casualties in history.

When the court historian recorded this event in the annals, they described it as a siege that took everyone by surprise.

The Xuanjia Army, which had arrived with overwhelming momentum, ultimately captured the Celestial Capital without losing a single soldier.

The Little Emperor, Li Qiong, was placed under house arrest in the palace. The harem’s Concubines, princes, and princesses were all fraught with anxiety.

‘They didn’t know what their ultimate fate would be.’

「A carriage moved slowly down the street.」

Hua Manman lifted the window curtain and looked out to see the sun slowly rising on the horizon.

Warm, golden sunlight spilled across the land.

The gloom that had shrouded the Celestial Capital was dispelled, and the entire sky brightened.

She turned back to look at Li Ji and asked.

“Where are we going now?”

Li Ji wrapped one arm around her waist and used the other to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, smiling as he spoke.

“We’re going home.”

Hua Manman: “But the Regent Prince Mansion was completely ransacked. It can’t be habitable if we go back now, can it?”

Li Ji was deliberately mysterious. “You’ll know when we get there.”

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Regent Prince Mansion.

Hua Manman lifted the window curtain and looked out. She saw several people standing before the main gate of the Regent Prince Mansion, and the one at the very front was none other than the steward, Gao Shan!

Beside Gao Shan stood Si Yun, Qing Huan, Jinxiu, Jin Shu, and the others.

They were all familiar faces.

Hua Manman’s eyes widened, her heart filled with a pleasant surprise.

Li Ji leaned in from behind and explained in her ear.

“I had the Ministry of Justice release them.”

After the Regent King had been declared a wanted man, everyone from the Prince Mansion had been thrown into the Ministry of Justice’s prison, and Gao Shan was no exception.

He had suffered a great deal in prison during this time. He looked significantly thinner, and many white hairs now streaked his temples.

When he saw the carriage stop at the gate, he immediately looked over, his eyes filled with hope.

‘Could the Prince be back?’

The carriage door was pushed open, and Li Ji leaped out, landing steadily on the ground.

Gao Shan’s eyes lit up, and he immediately led the others forward to welcome him.

“This servant greets the Prince!”

The entire group knelt in unison, their foreheads touching the ground and their voices trembling.

Li Ji personally stepped forward and helped Gao Shan to his feet.

“You have all suffered during this time.”

Tears welled in Gao Shan’s eyes as he smiled. “As long as the Prince and the Young Master are safe and sound, any hardship we servants endure is worth it.”

He then asked about the young prince.

Li Ji: “Gou Dan is still outside the city. Princess Rouwan is looking after him, so he’ll be fine.”

Gao Shan was relieved. “That’s good, that’s good.”

Li Ji’s expression suddenly grew serious. “I’ve brought someone else back with me. When you see her, you must remain calm. Don’t be scared.”

Gao Shan replied respectfully, “Understood.”

‘Although he was just a eunuch, he’d seen a lot of the world. Even the prisons of the Ministry of Justice hadn’t broken him, let alone just meeting a person.’

The others naturally felt the same.

‘They had just escaped the jaws of death; they didn’t believe anyone in the world could possibly frighten them now.’

Until a familiar figure emerged from the carriage.

Li Ji stepped forward and lifted her out, setting her gently on the ground.

When everyone saw her face clearly, they all gasped in unison.

Gao Shan’s eyes flew wide in shock, and he cried out.

“P-P-P-P-Princess?!”

Hua Manman gave them a radiant smile, as bright and warm as a spring day.

“It’s been a long time.”

Gao Shan was so frightened he staggered back two steps and nearly fell. He struggled to get the words out. “Y-You… Weren’t you already…”

He didn’t dare say the word “dead,” fearing it was taboo.

But even if he didn’t say it, everyone knew exactly what he meant.

‘The Regent Queen died long ago. How could a person who’d been dead for years suddenly appear before their very eyes?’

‘Were they seeing a ghost in broad daylight?!’

Jinxiu and Jin Shu were already clinging to each other in fear, trembling uncontrollably.

In contrast, the ever-timid Si Yun suppressed her fear and took a step forward.

She stared at the woman before her. No matter how she looked at her, the woman was the spitting image of the Princess Consort.

Hua Manman spoke gently. “Si Yun, have you been well?”

‘It wasn’t just her face; even her voice was identical.’

Si Yun’s eyes instantly turned red.

She looked at the Regent King and asked, her voice choked with sobs.

“Is she really the Princess Consort?”

Li Ji answered without a moment’s hesitation. “Of course.”

In that moment, her years of longing for the Princess Consort vanquished the fear in Si Yun’s heart.

With a THUD, she fell to her knees, wrapped her arms around Hua Manman’s legs, and began to wail loudly.

“WAAAH! Miss, you’re finally back! Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you all these years? I went to the temple all the time to pray to the Bodhisattva, begging for you to come back and see me just once, even if it was only in a dream! But you never came back, not even once! How could you be so cruel! WAAAH!”

She was so overwhelmed with emotion that she had even forgotten her young miss was married and that she should be addressing her as Princess Consort.

She still called her “Miss,” just as she always had, crying her heart out as if she’d been incredibly wronged.

Qing Huan couldn’t hold back her tears either.

She also desperately wanted to say something, but being clumsy with words, the more anxious she became, the more speechless she was.