flstandardbreds Chapter 172: There were also henpecked husbands in ancient times
Chapter 172: There were also henpecked husbands in ancient times
At 3 p.m., in the imperial study of the palace, Emperor Li Ruian was looking through the memorials on the imperial desk that impeached Prime Minister Qin for his lax management of the household. The more he read, the tighter his brows furrowed. He knew very well what these ministers who wrote the impeachment memorials were planning. It was just that since Prime Minister Qin was old, they were all eager to replace him.
To be honest, he had very complicated feelings towards Prime Minister Qin. He admired him for being diligent and hardworking despite his advanced age, but sometimes he was dissatisfied with him for being too involved in government affairs, which made him, the emperor, feel that power was not concentrated enough. He loved and hated this old minister.
But compared to these other ministers, who only thought about squeezing out the old prime minister, and did not care about the country or the people, but instead wanted to squeeze out the old ministers by relying on other family affairs, he disliked them even more.
He had met Qin Qianbai, the only son of Prime Minister Qin. He was a handsome man, but he had little knowledge and was easily influenced, making him useless. Originally, for Prime Minister Qin's sake, he was given an idle position as a sixth-rank palace secretary a few years ago, responsible for the collection and organization of books in the palace.
Even this had gone wrong and had nearly resulted in a catastrophe, so for the sake of Prime Minister Qin he was dismissed from his official position. Now he was favoring his concubine and neglecting his wife, and even using his deceased wife's dowry, which had left him with an even worse impression of her.
Qin Qianbai certainly didn't expect that his actions would even alarm the emperor.
Outside the palace gate, a young eunuch came in carrying a food box. Eunuch Jingde behind the emperor hurried down to get it. He didn't even need to ask, as he knew it must be another tonic sent by the Empress Dowager.
Eunuch Jingde carefully opened the exquisite wooden box, and inside was indeed a bowl of pitch-black medicine. He first tested it with a silver needle and found it was not poisonous. Then he held the bowl and stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the tonic sent by the Empress Dowager has arrived."
The emperor frowned even more when he heard this. He had been taking tonics for several days, each one more bitter and unpalatable than the last. However, in order to give the queen a child, he still had to drink it. He said in a deep voice: "Give it to me."
Eunuch Jingde hurriedly brought the medicine over. He watched the emperor drink it all in one gulp, and immediately brought the tea for rinsing his mouth and some candied fruit to sweeten his mouth.
He felt a little sorry for the emperor. He vomited after taking the medicine last time, and he had to drink it again this time. Fortunately, he didn't vomit this time.
On the other side, the queen was also drinking medicine to regulate her body. In addition to the prescriptions from the Imperial Hospital, she also looked for various folk remedies. The suffering she suffered these days was no less than that of the emperor.
After a while, the young eunuch came in again. He knelt down respectfully and said: "Your Majesty, Prince Ye has arrived."
When the emperor heard that it was his younger brother, his brows immediately relaxed and he looked very happy. His younger brother had not entered the palace for a long time since the last time his mother urged him to get married. He came suddenly this time. Could it be that there was something important?
He hurriedly said: "Announce."
Eunuch Jingde hurriedly shouted shrilly: "Prince Xuanye enters the palace."
As soon as Prince Ye came in, he knelt on one knee and saluted, "Greetings, my royal brother."
Yue Ren behind him also saluted and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
The Emperor hurried down the steps beside the imperial desk and personally helped Prince Ye to his feet. "You and I are blood relatives, why do we need to be so polite?"
King Ye smiled and said, "Etiquette cannot be abolished."
The emperor looked at his younger brother and sighed, "You!!!, get up."
"Royal brother, what's the important matter that brings you here today?"
Prince Ye waved his hand, and Yue Ren handed the things to Eunuch Jingde behind him. He smiled and said, "I found some good things and came to give them to my royal brother and sister-in-law." Then he introduced the functions of toothbrushes and toothpaste, and how to use them.
The emperor took a toothbrush and took a look at it. He said, "Brother, you are so thoughtful. This looks very good. The shape is so exquisite and beautiful. Your sister-in-law will definitely like it. There is an extra set here, so it can be given to the queen mother."
King Ye said: "Yes."
The emperor suggested, "Let's go and sit with the Queen Mother. You haven't been to the palace for a long time, and the Queen Mother must miss you."
Prince Ye also missed his mother, but he was more afraid of being urged to get married. However, he could not resist his royal brother, so he had to follow him obediently.
The two brothers walked towards the Cining Palace leisurely. During the walk, Prince Ye mentioned the issue of forced conscription of civilians to his elder brother. When talking about political affairs, the emperor responded with a serious face and said that he would send someone to investigate. Then the two of them talked and laughed about other things.
But when he arrived at the gate of the Queen Mother's Cining Palace, he heard bursts of laughter coming from inside, some from the Queen Mother and some from young women.
When Prince Ye heard this, he didn't want to go in anymore, but his brother pulled his sleeve, so he had no choice but to follow in reluctantly.
The two brothers greeted the Queen Mother together, "Greetings, Mother. Your sons have come to pay their respects to you!"
The woman who laughed was the daughter of the Minister of Personnel—Lin Qianqian. She quickly stood up and saluted the emperor and the prince, "Greetings, Your Majesty. Greetings, Prince Ye."
After the ceremony, she looked at Prince Ye shyly. She sighed in her heart that the prince was still so handsome and extraordinary. Just one glance made her unable to take her eyes off him.
She came here today just to give some handwritten Taoist scriptures to please the Queen Mother. She made a fool of herself here last time, so she came here specially to hand out scriptures and tell some jokes so that the Queen Mother would have some favor on her, and it would be best if she could have the opportunity to become Princess Ye. However, she did not expect to see the prince again today. It was really a pleasant surprise.
The Queen Mother looked at Prince Ye and curled her lips and said, "Ze'er, it's rare that you still remember this old woman, the Queen Mother. Why haven't you come to see your mother for so long?"
Prince Ye hurriedly coaxed: "You have brought gifts specially to see your mother. These are good things." Yue Ren behind him hurriedly handed over the things in his hand.
Then Prince Ye recounted the effects and functions of toothpaste and toothbrush. The Queen Mother forgot she was angry with him and looked at the two exquisitely crafted toothpaste and toothbrush in front of her with great interest.
The emperor looked at Lin Qianqian's straightforward gaze towards Prince Ye. He still remembered that the last time this girl played the piano, his royal brother had offended her and it was his mother who cleaned up the mess in the end. Now, it seems that the girl is still looking at her royal brother with the same affection as before.
He couldn't help but want to pull the trigger, he said: "My royal brother is free today, why don't you give Miss Lin some pointers on her piano skills?"
Prince Ye looked at his brother who looked like he was enjoying the show, and he said slowly: "The most important thing in playing the piano is the state of mind. I don't have this state of mind today. Since my brother has made this suggestion, I believe that my brother is in the right state of mind to guide Miss Lin. Why not let my brother do it?"
Prince Ye bowed and said: "Brother, Mother, I have remembered that I have important things to do, so I will take my leave first." After saying that, he hurried away.
The emperor was shocked when he heard this. Wasn't his younger brother trying to trick him? So he quickly said goodbye and said, "Mother, I have important things to do, so I'll take my leave first."
So he left quickly. If the Queen knew that he wanted to teach the girls to play the piano in his mother's palace, he would have a hard time explaining it. He might not even be able to enter the door today... So he walked even faster.
Eunuch Jingde behind him hurriedly jogged to catch up. He didn't want to get involved in these matters anymore. He still remembered the last time the Empress Dowager punished him to clean the toilet.
With so many people leaving, the atmosphere became quiet, and Lin Qianqian had no choice but to say goodbye.
The Queen Mother looked at the palace which had suddenly become quiet and was very unhappy. She wanted to leave the palace. Humph, she was so angry that her two sons were both like this.
One is henpecked, the other refuses to get married at all, and that drives this old woman crazy, right? ... Every woman he sees is like a flood or a beast.