Yanran noticed that the little golden turtle's neck seemed to have become very thick.
Upon closer inspection, it looked like it had swallowed something.
That thing was clearly bigger than its mouth; I don't know how it swallowed it.
Like a snake, it swallows things several times its own size; I don't know how it does it.
The problem is, the little golden turtle is currently completely stuck.
"Sister-in-law, come and see quickly!" Yanran said hurriedly.
She thought, "I hope I don't choke to death like this..."
Lang Xuan crouched down and, seeing the little golden turtle in such a state, was also extremely anxious.
"Xiao Huai, be good, spit it out, spit it out."
Lang Xuan opened her hand and placed it under the little turtle's mouth, her voice anxious but gentle.
She doesn't actually want to be gentle at all; she's very irritable right now.
But she was also extremely worried.
Xiao Huai must not get hurt; these are the eggs she has painstakingly protected for so long!
Yanran: "..."
My sister-in-law is so naive.
The little golden tortoise isn't human; it can't understand human speech.
Besides, even if it could understand human speech, could it really just vomit this thing up whenever it wanted?
Didn't you see it's stuck in my neck, unable to go down or up?
Even Linlin felt it was a bit unreliable and was thinking about finding a veterinarian, but she didn't know if it was a good idea.
However, under everyone's watchful eyes, the little golden turtle painstakingly spat out the round but not quite round thing that was stuck in its neck, bit by bit.
Everyone: "..."
The item landed in Lang Xuan's palm; it was warm and slightly sticky.
"What is this?" Yanran asked curiously, her eyes practically glued to the screen, but Linlin stopped her.
"Let me see." Linlin took Lang Xuan's hand.
this...
It looks like a seal.
However, this seal is very strange; it is a multifaceted sphere, with different characters engraved on each side.
It was too dark at night, and the ball wasn't very big, so I couldn't see it clearly.
Linlin said in a deep voice, "Let's talk about it when we get back."
Lang Xuan nodded, took out a handkerchief, carefully wiped the seal clean, and then handed it to Linlin.
Linlin's eyes held a smile, "You can keep it."
"No, what if it's something important? Don't let me lose it."
She realized that if she was shameful, disgraced, or even worthless... then there was nothing she couldn't lose.
Oh, it's okay.
She's become thick-skinned; as long as she doesn't lose Yuwen Duo, she'll just take a laissez-faire attitude towards the rest.
Linlin smiled as she held the item in her palm, her other hand intertwining with hers. "It's getting dark, be careful."
"Um."
Yanran nudged Cui Xiaoqiu and whispered, "Did you see clearly?"
Cui Xiaoqiu: "No. But I think it might be a good thing."
Is this what we're looking for?
"Most likely."
So with so many people around, it's not appropriate to study this in front of them; I'll have to go back and examine it slowly.
Yanran immediately perked up, exclaiming, "If that's true, then it's like finding a needle in a haystack!"
If the grave is difficult to dig, then let's not dig it.
All they wanted was that thing.
But the problem is, they don't even know what that thing is, so how can that be verified?
Yanran somewhat worried.
Qu Nian also seemed to sense something, and instead of immediately going back to find Ren Yingying, he followed along.
Everyone gathered in the Linlin outer study, watching him place the seal from his palm onto the Xuan paper.
Yanran was anxious. "Cui Xiaoqiu, go and check quickly. Is it a sibling to your jade pendant?"
Cui Xiaoqiu: "..."
How would he know?
Linlin picked up the seal and examined it against the candlelight, then suddenly said, "This is it."
Decisive and resolute.
"Ah?" Yanran said, "Big brother, so you know what it is?"
Lang Xuan was also very nervous.
She even suspected that Yuwen Duo was talking nonsense just to curry favor with her.
But this was all thanks to Xiao Huai.
She didn't care about any of that.
Yuwen Duo, we need to find the right thing, so please don't say anything carelessly.
"This is the seal of the Emperor Gaozu," Linlin said.
Cui Xiaoqiu's eyes suddenly lit up. "Is there another side on top that was reserved for Empress Chungong of Gaozu?"
Linlin nodded.
This seal was Emperor Gaozu's most famous seal, a testament to his ingenuity, but it later disappeared.
To everyone's surprise, it ended up in the princess's hands.
Cui Xiaoqiu also believed that this should be the most precious treasure.
There is no treasure in the Princess's Tomb that surpasses this one in quality.
Qu Nian felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders.
He said to Linlin, "Don't delay. Have someone escort this item back to the capital and hand it over to the Emperor."
The rest is up to the Emperor.
Bring the four treasures to the summit of Mount Tai to complete this ceremony.
Perhaps it's useless to the bird, but at least I can put my mind at ease.
In the latter half of the night, everyone dispersed and went home to sleep.
Lang Xuan was filled with anxiety, tossing and turning in bed.
She's gotten bolder now; she even dares to reach out and shake Linlin through the blanket.
Linlin wasn't asleep either. Feeling the cat-like strength in her hands, she smiled faintly and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Your Highness, I'm a little scared."
"What are you afraid of?" Linlin grasped her hand.
"I'm afraid that what Xiao Huai finds isn't what you're looking for; wouldn't that be just filling a void?"
If she were to harm the Empress, how could she ever face her as her daughter-in-law again?
Yuwen Duo couldn't let her off the hook either!
"If you're talking about someone who's just filling a position without actually doing anything, then it was my decision."
"But..."
"Don't overthink it. You've done me a huge favor," Linlin said. "A huge favor, the kind I'll be grateful to you for the rest of my life."
Lang Xuan thought to herself, "I don't ask you to thank me, I just hope nothing bad happens."
She was already quite satisfied with the current situation.
They don't seek further progress, they only seek to maintain the status quo.
Linlin: I want to go even further...
"Not only me, but also Father Emperor, Mother Empress, Heir to the Prince of Min are grateful to you, you understand?"
"Oh," Lang Xuan said, "What is that seal made of, and why did Xiao Huai find it?"
"I don't know either, maybe it's some kind of special material in the water. But anyway, it's good that we found it."
It's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't.
The person you love most cannot withstand any risk.
"It's good that we found it," Lang Xuan murmured.
Now, Yuwen Duo can focus on preparing for battle.
Once the Oirat People are driven back to their homeland, they can probably become a real couple.
She was looking forward to that day and wanted to have many, many children with him.
"Go to sleep." Linlin chuckled softly, gently placing her hand on her body and pulling her close through the blanket.
Meanwhile, Tang Zhuyun was fast asleep.
She was almost entirely nestled in Emperor Wen's arms, her favorite sleeping position.
She had a very sad dream, so much so that she cried in the dream, and her tears fell onto Emperor Wen's chest, waking him up.
"Tang Zhuzi, wake up, wake up--"
What kind of nightmare could have made her cry like that in her sleep?
(Based on everyone's feedback, the next chapters will only focus on Emperor Wen and Tang Zhuzi. After that, I'll explain their respective pairings in the epilogue. Don't worry, I'll try my best to explain the pairings that everyone left comments wanting to see in the epilogue.)