In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

The Prince of Han's Palace.

Li Yuanchang's horse had barely come out of sight when the Prince of Han's residence erupted in chaos.

"It's His Highness! It's His Highness's Crimson Lightning!!"

"His Highness is back!"

Cheers erupted immediately.

The vermilion gate was crowded with people, and excited women such as Situ Lan, Qin Keyu, Cui Wanqing, and Chi Lian rushed out.

Their faces were radiant, their lips were upturned, and they were so excited that tears were welling up in their eyes.

Bang bang bang!

The red lightning streaked by, drawing ever closer like a hurricane.

"Ladies!!" Li Yuanchang shouted.

"Your Highness!" Situ Lan could no longer hold back her tears. Dressed in palace attire, she had specially made herself look radiant and beautiful, just to welcome Li Yuanchang.

She rushed forward.

"Whoa!!"

Li Yuanchang reined in his horse, halted it on the long street, then dismounted and charged forward.

boom! !

In full view of everyone, the two embraced, and Li Yuanchang picked her up and spun her around several times before kissing her fiercely on that captivating face that haunted his dreams.

In broad daylight, in front of a large crowd, Situ Lan felt no embarrassment, but instead, tears welled in her eyes as she embraced him tightly.

It was just a kiss, and it even left a trail of saliva.

Situ Lan immediately wiped it away with her hand, her eyes gazing at Li Yuanchang with tender affection, like the most moving ripples in the world.

"Your Highness, you're finally back."

Li Yuanchang gave a heavy "hmm": "Sorry to have kept you waiting."

"No, it's alright. As long as Your Highness is back safe and sound, that's all that matters." Situ Lan stroked his cheek, her affection deep.

At this moment, Li Yuanchang caught a glimpse of Qin Keyu, Cui Wanqing, and other women waiting behind him, all of whom were also shedding tears, having also experienced a separation of life and death.

He put Situ Lan down, then walked over and embraced her directly.

Cui Wanqing was able to calm herself down, but Qin Keyu burst into tears.

The servants of the Prince of Han's mansion who were watching from the sidelines were all secretly moved to tears; it was deeply touching.

When the news of the Prince of Han's death first reached Liangzhou, and then returned to Chang'an, that period was like hell for everyone in the Prince of Han's residence.

The women wept every day, wearing mourning clothes...

Fortunately, everything is different now.

"Walk!"

"Let's go back to the manor first!"

"Let's have a wonderful family reunion!"

"Yes, it's good that Your Highness is back. Please come into the mansion first." Fang Weng wiped away his tears.

"Keyu, Wanqing, where are the children?"

"Your Highness is at the residence."

"..."

Upon returning to his residence, Li Yuanchang immediately went to see his three children.

One is the eldest son, Li Zhaoye, who is almost two years old and still babbling.

Qin Keyu gave birth to a daughter, while Cui Wanqing had a son.

As soon as Li Yuanchang hugged her, she burst into tears, leaving her father flustered and making the whole household laugh.

Even the Han king, who swept across the northern deserts, had this side to him.

After seeing the child, Li Yuanchang quickly bathed, burned incense, changed his clothes, and patted his body with willow leaves, which was an ancient procedure to dispel bad luck.

He didn't believe in this, but the women in his family did, so Li Yuanchang cooperated with them throughout the process to put their minds at ease.

Then came the grand reunion. Li Yuanchang ordered a substantial reward to be given to everyone in the mansion, and a family feast was held, with deer and sheep slaughtered.

This can be considered a belated 100-day celebration for the two newborn children.

At the banquet, Li Yuanchang also named his second daughter and third son, Li Qingcheng and Li Zhaoan respectively.

On the day of the return, the entire Han Prince's Palace was filled with happiness and joy, just like during the Lunar New Year.

late at night.

Li Yuanchang went to Situ Lan's room. After all, she was the principal wife, and the other wives had no objections to this.

As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. After not returning home for more than a year, the scene was like dry wood meeting a raging fire, a thunderous explosion.

Although Situ Lan was young, she was already a wife and mother, but she still reacted very strongly, as if she were dying.

It wasn't until late into the night that the palace fell silent and quiet returned.

Scattered moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating a small portion of the bedside area.

Situ Lan, with her hair in a bun, revealed her slender neck and fair collarbone. Completely naked, she reached out a hand and touched Li Yuanchang's wound.

"Your Highness, you must have suffered a lot while you were out there."

Li Yuanchang joked, "Didn't you start eating well as soon as you got back?"

Situ Lan understood his flirting, and the mistress of the house immediately smiled shyly.

"Your Highness, what are you saying... ah!"

She suddenly screamed.

Li Yuanchang's head was already buried under the covers.

Situ Lan blushed, her body trembled slightly, overwhelmed with shame, and she hugged Li Yuanchang's head.

a long time.

Li Yuanchang poked his head out and gasped for breath.

She reached out and wiped Li Yuanchang's lips, her gaze gentle.

The two looked at each other without saying a word, but that silence spoke volumes.

Situ Lan grasped his hand, glanced at the ring on his finger, and then hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Madam, please speak your mind." Li Yuanchang could tell she had something to say.

Situ Lan took a deep breath, her chest heaving like a woman's, covered in hickeys.

"Your Highness... about a month ago, a guest who claimed to be an old friend of Your Highness came to our house, saying that he had come to visit and wanted to see Ye'er."

Li Yuanchang raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Who?"

"His name is Ling Shuang."

"Ling Shuang?" Li Yuanchang frowned. He didn't know anyone like her, did he?

At this moment, Situ Lan tentatively said, "He has a ring on his hand that is very similar to His Highness's."

"Similar rings?" Li Yuanchang was taken aback.

Wearing rings was a common practice in the Tang Dynasty, but the mainstream rings of the Tang Dynasty were completely different from those of later generations, representing two distinct styles.

This ring is from when he was with Wu Zetian...

Upon thinking of this, something flashed through Li Yuanchang's mind, and he looked up sharply.

How tall and thin are you?

His reaction was so strong that it caught Situ Lan off guard: "He is about the same size as me, rather thin, with red lips and white teeth, a dignified bearing, and very heroic-looking eyebrows and eyes."

boom!

Li Yuanchang's mind exploded.

is her!

His thoughts instantly returned to the night he spent on the pleasure boat in Chang'an before setting off on the expedition. Huo San Niang, the owner of the pleasure boat, said that a man who called himself Young Master Ling paid the bill.

The note that was left behind had long since disappeared into the waters of the Wuding River, but when all the clues were put together, wasn't this Wu Zetian?

A storm raged within Li Yuanchang's heart, so much so that his eyes glazed over.

He instinctively wanted to find someone, but more than a month had passed, so where could he look?

Seeing his reaction, Situ Lan felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

"Your Highness, do you still love her?" she suddenly asked.

Li Yuanchang snapped out of his daze: "Who?"

"The Wu family woman." Situ Lan's eyes were fixed on her.

Li Yuanchang frowned: "Why are you suddenly asking that?"

"Thinking back, that Ling Shuang must have been a woman. Her ring was exactly the same as His Highness's, and she was an old acquaintance. Who else could it be but her?" Situ Lan's lips curled into a bitter smile.