CHAPTER 364: CHAPTER 358: I AM THE MARQUIS MANSION DOWAGER 47

Anning rushed towards the heavens, carrying Qinglian Immortal with her.

She followed the marks left by Qinglian Immortal and found a barrier space where she resided.

It was here that Anning finally understood the true nature of this world.

It turned out that this world was a small world that had been left behind, originally a part of the larger world’s domain, but due to issues on the larger world’s side, this small world was forgotten.

Then, some spirits who had evaded from the larger world took over this small world.

These spirits had no intention of properly governing this small world to put it on the right track, thus solidifying the world rules.

They only wished to absorb the Qi Fortune of this small world to enhance their own cultivation.

To absorb Qi Fortune, they began to lay out multiple schemes.

They did not dare to come to this small world in person to absorb the Qi Fortune directly.

After all, no matter how small the small world was, it had still formed a mature world; if they came to make trouble personally, they would certainly be killed by the world rules, or even alert the people of the larger world, at which point they would be in big trouble.

To avoid exposing themselves, they exploited loopholes in the laws and used the Tang Family to disturb this world.

If Anning had not appeared, this world might indeed have been brought to collapse by them.

However, with the variable that was Anning, not only was she not killed by them, but she also sought them out directly.

Without being trapped within the small world, Anning could use the cultivation she had recovered in the Nihility Space.

However, Anning did not really use spells but instead connected with the world rules, directly using the laws to annihilate those individuals.

After completely wiping out those spirits, Anning returned to the palace.

The Emperor was anxiously looking for people then, and the Tang Family members had not yet entered the palace when he discovered that Anning had returned.

Upon seeing Anning, the Emperor hurried over and tightly grasped her: "Anning, where did you go?"

Anning smiled and comforted the Emperor softly: "Just now someone came to cause trouble, and naturally, I couldn’t let her off, so I took her to their lair and resolved them all before coming back."

She did not care whether there were others watching or not and reached out to hug the Emperor: "Don’t worry, I would never abandon you."

Emperor Yong Guang turned his head and coughed: "Father Emperor, since Queen Mother is safe and sound, your son shall take his leave."

The Emperor hastily waved his hand: "Go on, go on quickly."

The sight of this was too much for Emperor Yong Guang to bear.

Anning looked up at the sky, and without those spirits causing trouble, even the sky seemed much clearer.

Afterwards, Anning stayed with the Emperor continuously.

When Xu Wan and Fan Yaofang had grown up, Anning found each of them a suitable match and after settling the affairs of the Tang Family, as well as dealing with Mrs. Song and Ms. Zhang, she then left the capital with the Emperor to travel the entire world.

More than ten years passed in this way, and only after the Emperor’s health deteriorated did Anning bring her back to the capital.

More than a decade had gone by, and the Capital had taken on a completely different look.

The sons of Emperor Yong Guang had come of age, and now they began to fight for the throne.

Several princes wanted to draw the Tang Family to their side.

However, now Tang Pei was in charge of the Tang Family, and he was unwilling to get involved in the strife between the princes.

His loyalty was solely to Emperor Yong Guang; he took no sides and kept silent.

If pressed too hard, Tang Pei would begin to evade all contact.

His way of doing things made it impossible for the princes to start, but it also made Emperor Yong Guang trust him immensely.

Anning and the Emperor returned to the capital and also met with Tang Pei, who was now middle-aged and appeared even more stable than when Anning left.

Aside from Tang Pei, Anning also met with Xu Wan and several others.

Tang Ying married a military general who now guards the border, and she too followed him with her children, so Anning has not seen her.

Tang Yi’s husband passed the Imperial Examination as an Advanced Scholar, and now serves as an official in the court. Tang Yi, accompanied by her two children, paid a visit to Anning.

Tang Qin went to Qianxiang Country.

In that place, women hold power, and the Eldest Princess has long admired the culture of the Jing Dynasty and sought a lady from a great Jing Dynasty family to be her reading companion. However, not a single noble lady from the court was willing to leave their homeland and go to another country.

It was Tang Qin who personally pleaded with Emperor Yong Guang, willing to go to Qianxiang Country to be a reading companion.

After she went to Qianxiang Country, Emperor Yong Guang granted many conveniences to Tang Man, who knew well of Tang Qin’s earnest intentions. Since then, he seriously studied and, although he later did not pass as an Advanced Scholar, he did pass as a scholar, and is now a wealthy man.

On the contrary, Tang Rong’s choice greatly surprised Anning.

Tang Rong did not marry; instead, he became a monk.

Perhaps the incident with Ms. Zhang had too great an impact on him, and in his life, he no longer wished to marry, nor was he greedy for fame and fortunes, instead, he became a monk. Later, due to his genuine study of Buddhist scriptures, he actually became a highly accomplished monk.

This accomplished monk Tang Rong was different from others; his heart was set on liberating all the suffering women in the world.

He traveled around, giving lectures on the Law at different places every day. Besides this, he learned many skills, which he would teach to those women who sought refuge in the Buddhist faith.

These women were either tormented by their in-laws, abandoned by their husbands, or had fallen into unsavory circumstances—each had her own pain.

Tang Rong treated all these women equally, not only consoling them but also teaching them skills for a living.

Later, Tang Rong contacted Tang Pei, also appealed to Tang Baoguo, and with the silver Anning had left him, he used these funds to open schools for women, as well as textile workshops, and workshops producing rouge and face powder.

His schools and workshops provided refuge for those women with nowhere else to turn.

Additionally, Tang Rong inherited the Tang Family’s good looks.

Even as a monk, he was the handsomest one, and every day in each place, not only did he win the support of impoverished women but even those noble ladies were also immensely attracted to him for his appearance and demeanor.

After knowing about these deeds of Tang Rong, Anning smilingly awarded him the title of Women’s Friend.

When this jokingly given title reached Tang Rong’s ears, the monk, who had already distanced himself from fame and fortune, merely smiled and said that he hadn’t yet saved all women from their suffering and truly did not deserve such a title.

As for Jiang Mingzhu, the reborn woman, she ultimately married a poor scholar, using the Jiang family’s wealth to support her husband’s progress, and the final outcome was much better than in her previous life.

Song Jingman, however, died old and childless within the palace.

Xu Wan, Wu Lan, and Fan Yaofang all married their ideal husbands and now lead relaxed and leisurely lives with both sons and daughters.

Anning stayed in the palace with the retired Emperor for some time, and the Emperor’s health progressively worsened.

Finally, more than a year after Anning and the retired Emperor returned to the capital, the retired Emperor passed away.

Emperor Yong Guang, along with all the Princes and the retired Emperor’s other sons, knelt by his bedside and cried.

It was the Empress who was by Anning’s side, intending to comfort her, only to realize that the Supreme Empress, who had been indulged and pampered by the retired Emperor, had already passed away.

The Empress burst into immediate tears.

Neither Emperor Yong Guang nor any of the Princes or Concubines in the harem had imagined that Anning would be so deeply attached to the retired Emperor, willingly accompanying him in death.

After all, the retired Emperor had died an old man, whereas Anning still bore the youthful appearance from the time she left, clearly healthy and capable of living many more years.

Even the Queen Mother, upon learning of this, sighed, and merely instructed Emperor Yong Guang to bury Anning and the retired Emperor together.

And at the time of Anning’s death, the traveling Tang Rong also returned to the capital.

He chanted and prayed for Anning and the retired Emperor at the meditation chamber of Xiangguo Temple.

The Tang family, overwhelmed by grief, all requested Emperor Yong Guang to allow them to hold a vigil and perform mourning rituals for Anning, which he granted.

Anning returned to the Nihility Space once more.

This time she sat for a long while before starting to summon the surrounding lost souls.

Soon, a flamboyantly dressed noble lady approached.

Anning noted the lady’s beauty and fine dress, her spirited demeanor which suggested a pleasant life before death, leaving one to wonder what unresolved grievances she had.