Lai Fu took this opportunity to say, "We need to be prudent in this matter. No matter who is behind this, we should not pursue it too much."
"I understand, don't worry, sir."
Lai Fu breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that the eldest girl would not let this matter go. To the emperor, as long as the prince did not do anything that would endanger himself, he would be given a minor punishment or a severe warning if he made a mistake. What's more, the eldest girl was only injured. If the matter became a big deal, the one who would suffer would be the eldest girl, which would be unwise.
After returning to the palace, Imperial Physician Liu explained Hua Zhi's condition one by one. "The Hua family girl's injury is not serious, but it is not light either. I saw that the arrow was heading for her heart, but she managed to avoid it a little and survived. But that place is where the heart meridian is after all, so even if she avoided it, I'm afraid she still needs to be carefully recuperated, otherwise... it may affect her life span."
The emperor suddenly remembered what Shaoyao said on the day Hua Zhi fainted in the palace. Hua Zhi protected the Hua family, so that they didn't have to marry off their daughters to protect themselves, didn't have to exhaust their wealth, and even preserved their self-esteem. But in just over a year, her body was already riddled with holes. This was the price she paid. No matter as a daughter or an eldest sister, she did the best she could.
The emperor suddenly became very curious, does she have no regrets
Thinking of this, he couldn't wait to know the answer. He didn't intend to suppress himself, so he stood up and said, "Let's go to the Hua family."
Lai Fu was stunned. What is the emperor doing...
The emperor's arrival was beyond everyone's expectation. When the Hua family was still thinking about what to do after receiving the emperor's presence, Shaoyao rushed over and knelt on one knee like a military officer, "Huahua can't get up, let me apologize to you on her behalf."
"lead the way."
When outside, Shaoyao still knew her limits, so she gave the emperor enough face and respectfully invited him into the courtyard.
Madam Zhu was worried and subconsciously wanted to follow, but Madam Sun held her back tightly, "The eldest lady can handle it."
Mrs. Zhu, of course, was relieved about her granddaughter, but, "She is still injured..."
Madam Sun looked at the emperor's back with a slightly cold look in her eyes. The master submitted three memorials, requesting that part of the rations be replaced with the ones made by Hua Zhi. Even though the meat jerky was a little more difficult to make, the cost of the crispy noodles was not high. Why couldn't it be done? It would be fine if it couldn't be done. The emperor even said that he would not stop him from solving the problem himself. Just because of this, the rations were postponed. Whose kingdom was the master guarding
Such an emperor, do you still want him to think about Hua Zhi? Dream on!
Inside the room, Hua Zhi sat up and leaned forward slightly. The emperor sat down and looked up at her, "No need to be polite."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The movement of leaning forward involved the wound. Shaoyao wanted to say something, but finally closed her mouth, took the quilt and put it behind Huahua to save her some energy.
The emperor looked at Hua Zhi, who was silent and seemed to be able to handle anything. "Don't you want me to make the decision?"
Hua Zhi was very happy, "Please let the emperor make the decision."
“…” The emperor was trapped by the words he had said, and was choked to the point of being unable to breathe.
Hua Zhi seemed to be unaware and said, "In broad daylight, there is someone so bold in the imperial city. He dared to assassinate me today. Who knows if he will dare to break into the palace in the future? For your safety, he must be brought to justice."
"Do you know who it is?"
"I don't know, so I ask you to make the decision."
Shaoyao turned her head away and held the corners of her mouth tightly to prevent herself from laughing. Huahua is so mighty!
The emperor snorted and said, "I don't know. How could I not know?" There were only a few people who were so bold as to act like this. It was just that he knew there was nothing he could do and so he simply didn't bother to investigate.
"Can you swallow this?"
Ever since she learned that the emperor was coming, Hua Zhi had been thinking about his purpose, but she still hadn't figured it out. She didn't know what kind of answer he wanted. Just as she was about to give a perfunctory answer, she heard the emperor say, "I'm not here to beat around the bush with you. I want to hear the truth."
Tell the truth? Hua Zhi smiled. For her, telling the truth was much easier than telling a lie.
"I can't swallow it, but my daughter knows the current situation."
"Oh? What kind of current affairs do you know?"
Hua Zhi gently pressed her hand on the wound. "The capital is so small. Everyone who should know knows that the Salt Tax and the Transport Department were all my fault. Even though I have made some enemies in the past year, the benefits these two departments have brought to everyone are enough to offset them. There are still only a few people who want to make trouble for me and want to kill me. Since I know I can't afford to offend them, what can I do if I don't know the current situation?"
"You can instigate my eldest nephew to help you."
"He doesn't need to know. There can be no mistakes in Jinyang. I wonder how many people in Daqing have forgotten the threat of the Chaoli tribe. The ancestors of the Hua family wrote the Chaoli tribe into the ancestral precepts, and no one in the Hua family dares to forget it."
This Hua Zhi was really not afraid of him, the emperor confirmed it once again, she was still behaving like a qualified subject, but when he mentioned Yan Xi she subconsciously gave herself away, the fearlessness in her eyes was like a newborn calf that was not afraid of a tiger.
Really, interesting.
"You have protected the Hua family and its people very well. Everyone has to admit that." The emperor leaned forward. "Even if the Hua family makes a comeback one day, and everyone else is extremely successful, and you are regarded as a hero of the Hua family, but your body is broken, what's the use of being full of glory? You can't even give birth to a child, your hair is all white in your prime, and you can't even live as long as those who have done nothing. Are you... willing?"
Hua Zhi thought about it seriously, and then she smiled. "As long as I think about Berlin growing up well, being open-minded, enthusiastic and righteous, having a few close friends, and having a beautiful wife, and becoming the kind of person he wants to be, I think it can't be better. It doesn't matter if there is no child. Berlin was raised by me. An elder sister is like a mother. I don't think there is anything missing in my life. As for other people..."
Hua Zhi used her eyes to stop Shaoyao from speaking, "At the beginning, the ones I wanted to protect were my mother and Berlin, and the others were just incidental. When the Hua family was prosperous, I rarely saw those brothers and sisters a year, and our friendship was just ordinary. But maybe it's because the Hua family has such a good foundation. Even if they all had their own problems before, they have become united after this year. They learned to work together and support each other. They feel sorry for me and care about me. Those little kids who are not even as tall as my waist even want to protect me. Only then did we truly become a family. Why should I be unwilling to give something for my family?"
"So righteous?"
Hua Zhi suddenly understood the emperor's intention. He was trying to sow discord. Without thinking, she stabbed back, "Yan Xi has done a lot for you and sacrificed a lot. Is this also a righteous cause for you?"
The emperor looked at her steadily.
Hua Zhi gave him the answer, "The difference between people is that some are willing to give everything for family and love, while others are ruthless."