flstandardbreds Chapter 138: Secret Conversation between the Empress Dowager, the Emperor and Her Son
Chapter 138: Secret Conversation between the Empress Dowager, the Emperor and Her Son
The back garden was very quiet, so quiet that it seemed as if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had never been there. Fang Qingge had the illusion that she had just had a dream.
And dreams will not leave her nose with the scent of someone lingering.
Fang Qingge touched her burning cheek, tried hard to calm her violently beating heart, took a deep breath and spoke.
"Madam Zhao, I'm here to look at the moon."
"Madam, it's getting late. I came here to look for you because I was worried. You should go and rest."
"it is good!"
Afterwards, Fang Qingge and Nanny Zhao went back together, holding lanterns.
*
However, under the Chuihua Gate, there was a figure kneeling on the ground and not moving. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Uncle Zhang, who was in charge of security in the outer courtyard and was patrolling back and forth.
When he heard a little movement in the back garden and a slight exclamation from Fang Qingge, Uncle Zhang hurried over to check.
He never expected that before he could run over, he would be acupunctured by a man in black.
His heart skipped a beat and he immediately realized that he had met a master.
Zhang Bo was anxious and worried that something might happen to his wife, and there was a look of despair in his eyes. However, he did not expect that the man in black actually left a message.
"In consideration of your loyalty, I'll give you a heads up. It's my Master An who's talking to the Madam."
Then, his eyes blurred and the man in black disappeared from his sight again.
When the acupoints were opened, Zhang Bo heard the footsteps of Zhao Ma and the lady returning to the main house.
Zhang Bo heaved a sigh of relief and felt relieved. He guessed that Master An's identity must be extraordinary.
I couldn't help but put my hands together and prayed that Master An would have mercy on me and not hurt my wife and the two children. I also decided to find another skilled woman to accompany my wife from tomorrow.
**
Let’s talk about the next day at 4 p.m.
Royal study room.
Emperor Kun, who was busy with government affairs, glanced outside the door and summoned Eunuch De.
"Dezi, why didn't that brat come today?"
The chief eunuch De was stunned when he heard this and quickly replied,
“Your Majesty, the prince was seriously injured yesterday and has had a high fever since returning home.
But the fever has subsided today and he is resting. Don't worry."
"Who's worried about him?!"
Emperor Kun snorted.
"Dezi, did I have such strong hands yesterday?"
"Your Majesty, you were so angry yesterday that you beat the Crown Prince with thirty-six sticks! The imperial physician said that his back was completely torn and bleeding!"
After hearing this, the emperor stopped talking.
*
Eunuch De raised his head slightly to assess the emperor's expression and whispered:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being so nosy. The Crown Prince has always been calm and self-possessed, and he follows the rules and etiquette. Please don't let him be hurt by your punishment."
Emperor Kun looked up at the closed door, then looked at Eunuch De, and sighed deeply.
"Dezi, you don't understand!"
After a long time,
Emperor Kun raised his head slightly.
"Thinking about it the other way around, what Concubine Xiao said is not wrong. Everyone has experienced the recklessness of youth. That's it! A woman is a bargain for them."
Emperor Kun's expression softened when he said this, and he said to Eunuch De:
"Go tell the Crown Prince that I will take a step back. Since this is the first time the Crown Prince has asked me for permission, I will give that commoner girl a higher position!
But not now, don't think I don't know his little thoughts. Tell him to take care of himself. Let him settle the troubles in the East Palace first."
After Emperor Kun finished speaking, there was a smile in his eyes.
"Yes, Your Majesty. You are wise. I will go to the East Palace and pass on your instructions."
Eunuch De received the oral order and prepared to go out.
*
"Stop, you are not allowed to go."
The door of the imperial study was suddenly opened, and the Empress Dowager came unexpectedly.
Eunuch De hurriedly bowed and greeted him.
"May the Empress Dowager be blessed with good health!"
Emperor Kun was also stunned and asked,
"Why are you here, mother?"
The emperor and eunuch De in the room were surprised when they suddenly saw the empress dowager.
The Empress Dowager would not come to the Imperial Study unless it was something important.
Emperor Kun glanced at the guards outside the door, who were already kneeling on the ground and trembling.
"You don't need to look at them. I didn't allow them to speak out. If you want to blame me, punish me like you punished the prince yesterday, right?"
"Mother?!"
Emperor Kun said helplessly, and stretched out his hand to the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother pointed at Duke De and said,
"Dezi, get out. You are not allowed to go to the East Palace to pass on the message."
Eunuch De raised his eyes slightly and looked at the emperor. Seeing him nod, he immediately responded,
"Here."
After Eunuch De bowed and went out, he closed the door.
*
inside the house,
"Mother, if you have something to ask me, why bother making the trip yourself?"
"You are doing very well! If I hadn't come here in person, how would I know that your order had been passed on?
Emperor, I want to ask you, how do you want to treat the prince?"
Emperor Kun looked at the Empress Dowager's face and knew that she was really angry. He hurriedly stepped forward and helped her to sit down on the couch.
"Mother, calm down. If your son does something wrong, you should scold him harshly, but don't hurt your body. You still need to live a long life so that your son can fulfill his filial piety!"
Hearing this, the Queen Mother laughed.
He stepped forward, raised his arm, and struck Emperor Kun on the back. After two heavy blows, the old man gasped and groaned:
"If you weren't such a pure and filial person, your mother would have been pissed off to death this time.
You are so cruel! The Queen Mother's heart almost broke when she saw the scars on the Prince's back.
You have never hit him since he was a child. No matter if you did it for show or because you really feel sorry for him, you have gone too far this time."
After the Queen Mother finished speaking, tears glistened in her eyes as she looked at Emperor Kun.
"That's what my mother taught me."
"Ah! You..."
Emperor Kun slowly sat down beside the Empress Dowager. The mother and son intertwined their fingers and were silent for a while.
The room was very quiet, so quiet that it seemed as if time had stood still.
*
The Queen Mother sighed deeply and said,
"I know what you are thinking. After all, you crawled out of my belly!"
"Mother." Emperor Kun's elegant, fair face, with no signs of aging, suddenly turned red.
The crown prince looks more like Emperor Kun, while the second prince looks more like Concubine Xiao.
"Hearing what I have to say, Your Majesty, I understand that both the palm and the back of the hand are made of flesh. I admit that the Second Prince Hengrui is also an excellent child.
But now that we are in this position, we must follow the ancestral teachings left by our ancestors: to establish the heir based on age, not virtue; to establish the son based on nobility, not age. We must act according to these principles and laws!"
After the Queen Mother finished speaking, she saw Emperor Kun stand up and slowly walk to the window. Looking at the brightest star in the night sky, he said,
"Mother, I understand. Do you still remember? Back then, the former crown prince and my son Zhongbo were equally matched.
But my son's ambition does not allow mediocrity. He does not allow you to be inferior to the queen. That's why we have what happened later.
You should know more about how your son became the emperor?!"
"emperor!"
The Queen Mother rebuked Emperor Kun harshly and didn't know what to say next.
The imperial study suddenly fell into silence again.
**