Eunuch Tan wanted to argue, but Ji Qing stared at him, "Don't you admit your mistake? The Queen Mother did issue an imperial decree today. Just now, the Emperor went to greet the Queen Mother and casually picked up the imperial decree with the phoenix seal from the desk. The Queen Mother was surprised that you were careless and mistakenly brought a blank silk book to announce the decree. The Queen Mother was very angry. Fortunately, the Emperor persuaded you to stop and give you a chance to make amends! Wait, someone will bring the real imperial decree later. Eunuch Tan, make sure it is stamped with the phoenix seal before reading it out, otherwise... Eunuch Tan doesn't want to be punished for both crimes, right?"
Eunuch Tan was confronting Ji Qing. Ji Qing's eyes were serious and stern. He had just mentioned the emperor on purpose. Eunuch Tan knew that something had changed, so he didn't say anything more. He paused, flicked his whisk, did as Ji Qing said, lowered his head, stepped aside and watched the situation develop.
Living deep in the palace, he was accustomed to seeing the royal family fighting for power, and even their own flesh and blood could be abandoned and suppressed when necessary. How could Eunuch Tan not understand this? The empress dowager had been nagging about this imperial decree that was anxious to be issued for several days. After all, it was not in line with the emperor's wishes. Before that, the empress dowager had specifically instructed him to be careful and not let the emperor's people find out when he left the palace. As soon as the imperial decree was read out, the people of the Xu Mansion took the decree in person, and Qin was expelled from the Xu Mansion. The rice was cooked, and it would not be too late to let the emperor know. Then the second imperial decree to marry the princess came down. That was related to the reputation of the emperor's sister. Even if the emperor was unhappy, he could not stop it.
Who would have thought that so early in the morning, who would have the heart to expose this secret to the emperor? Ji Qing came so quickly, and the first imperial edict fell into his hands. He did not let Madam Xu receive it, so how could the second imperial edict come down? What did Ji Qing mean by waiting for the real imperial edict? Could it be that Marquis Xu did not need to divorce his wife, but could marry the princess? The princess lived side by side with the original wife? It was impossible, there was no such rule in the past dynasties!
Ji Qing and Eunuch Tan stared at each other in Xu's house, waiting for the "real" imperial edict to be issued. Deep in the inner courtyard of the palace, in the luxurious and comfortable Paiyun Pavilion of the Cining Palace, the empress dowager and the emperor had a dispute, and the mother and son were facing each other in silence. The imperial edict that Ji Qing mentioned was dictated by the emperor, written down by the eunuchs, presented to the empress dowager, stamped with the phoenix seal, and handed over to the eunuchs in charge of ceremonies to be sent out of the palace to the Xu's house to announce the edict.
The empress dowager's eyes were slightly red. She sat upright on the couch with a cold face and said nothing. The emperor stood beside her, holding a cup of hot tea in both hands. His attitude was respectful and his voice was gentle, but his face did not look very good.
He kept this action for quite a while, but the empress dowager just refused to take the tea. The emperor felt helpless and more annoyed, but he was not someone who would change his mind easily. "You don't want to take it, right? Your son is holding it for you, and it will stay here. You can take it whenever you want!"
The young palace maids and eunuchs were kneeling on the ground. No matter who they were, they were stopped as long as they passed in front of the emperor. The emperor shouted:
"I will serve the Queen Mother!"
He took it in his hand and delivered it to the Queen Mother himself. In a rage, the Queen Mother slapped the candied fruit presented by the Emperor away with one palm. The honey juice covered the Emperor's dragon robe, frightening everyone in the room. The little palace maids and eunuchs all knelt down. The Emperor had taken away their work and soiled the dragon robe. If they were to be punished, they would be held responsible. They had better beg for mercy as soon as possible, otherwise they would lose their lives!
The old palace maid who had served beside her for many years kept whispering advice. No matter how unhappy the empress dowager was, she knew the importance of the matter. It was true that the emperor was her own son, but he was the ruler of a country after all. He was the emperor, and his words were firm and decisive. Who could argue with him? If she continued to make trouble with him, she would be the empress dowager in the end.
The Queen Mother sighed and said in a hoarse voice: "Bring me some tea, I am thirsty!"
The emperor finally waited for these words, stepped forward with a smile, and handed the tea to the queen mother: "My son has been holding it, the ginseng tea is just warm enough, please enjoy it, mother!"
The Queen Mother hummed, took it, opened the lid, drank two sips, and nodded: "Okay, that's the way to drink it!"
The old palace servant leaned over and said with a smile: "The emperor is really kind and filial. He held the tea for the empress dowager and didn't drink a sip of tea himself all morning!"
The Queen Mother pointed at the palace maids and eunuchs on the ground and said, "Why are you kneeling here? Are your parents dead? I am alive and well. I can still support you for another ten years! Get up, do what you need to do, and make a cup of ginseng tea for the Emperor!"
The emperor lowered his eyes, straightened his face, and returned to the cold and calm state he had been in before the empress dowager took the tea.
The old palace maid leaned forward to help the Empress Dowager adjust the fruit plate on the low table, and at the same time gave her a look, reminding her not to provoke the Emperor again.
The Queen Mother snorted. After arguing for a long time, the Emperor was not able to give in even a little bit despite her status as the Queen Mother and the Emperor's biological mother. In the end, the outcome was still this, which was really unacceptable. She gave birth to three children. The eldest son, Zhao Yu, was too selfish and resolute. She had worked hard for most of her life and spared no effort for him to smoothly inherit the throne. On the surface, he was respectful and filial to his mother, caring and responsive to her requests. But when it came to certain things, such as wanting to gain benefits for her mother's family, making the children of the Chen family more promising, and requiring that all male children be given official titles and ranks, he did not need to have much real power, as long as he could highlight the special status of the Chen family among many nobles. At the beginning, Zhao Yu could still listen to her and do whatever she said. But less than a year after he ascended the throne, he gradually changed. He never talked about state affairs in front of her, and never adopted her opinions on any decision. Whenever she made a request, he either avoided and prevaricated, or pretended to be deaf and dumb, pretended to forget, or simply refused with a tough attitude and no room for turning back.
The Queen Mother was sad and disappointed, and sometimes she couldn't help thinking that if her youngest son Zhao Bao ascended the throne, he would definitely not treat his mother like this, and her wishes would be more satisfied. Although Zhao Bao was eccentric, different, and even absurd to the point of being somewhat unorthodox, he was very filial to his mother and could see things clearly, unlike Zhao Yu, who said one thing in public and another behind his back, and it was like seeing flowers in the fog what was true and what was false.
The Queen Mother said to the Emperor, "It has come to this. I am tired too. Your Majesty, please go and take care of your government affairs! Let's put Su De's marriage aside for now. We finally found a man she likes and she readily agreed to marry him. The imperial decree has been issued, and the Emperor has to get her back... How can the emperor's dearest sister be so noble if she is not allowed to marry a court official? Don't mention the foreign officials that the Emperor just mentioned. Su De is a princess in her prime. She has a mother and a brother. She is not an orphan like Zhuang Yulan who has no one to rely on. Why should she marry a foreign official in his thirties or forties as her second wife? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at? You can think of such a thing!"
The emperor walked to the other side of the couch and sat down. He took the ginseng tea handed over by the little palace maid and took a sip: "Who dares to look down on these foreign officials? They are all the confidants carefully selected and cultivated by my father! As the emperor, he sits in the court every day, busy with state affairs, and has to hold on to this splendid country and keep the world peaceful. He has to rely on countless such loyal foreign officials! These people have worked hard for many years and their political achievements are particularly outstanding. Last year, they came to Beijing to report on their work. I kept them in Beijing and promoted them to Beijing officials. They are all talented and knowledgeable. They work diligently for the court. It is not easy to stay in remote places for more than ten or twenty years and monitor the situation in one place. Shi Songmao, the governor of Jianghuai, is 46 years old. He was the top scholar appointed by his father. Since he was 24 years old, he has been working in the north and south of the Yangtze River and served as a secret envoy. He has done several major things for the court... "She has made contributions and worked hard. Now that she is old, sick and has lost her wife, I will reward her with an idle civil official position to take care of her for the rest of her life. I am also thinking of granting her a happy marriage to show her the grace of the royal family. Most princesses and county ladies of the royal family are not suitable to marry. I think Zhuang Yulan has a very good status. She has some relatives with my mother, so she can be regarded as a royal relative. If the imperial decree is granted, both parties will have face. Old Madam Xu should have nothing to say - she should be happy. Zhuang Yulan will marry Shi Songmao, which is also a second-rank imperial decree! As for Su De, I did say that it was right. She can marry anyone she wants, except Xu Junying! I don’t know what my mother’s considerations are. Why did she insist on promising her to Junying? Would forcing ministers to divorce their wives and marry princesses not be laughed at by the court and the public? My mother should have thought that once Princess Shang became Xu Junying’s son-in-law, he would have to accompany the princess wholeheartedly and would not be able to hold military power and manage military affairs. It would be like my son suddenly having his left and right arms cut off. How would he live?"
The Queen Mother said, "Since Junying is your consort, why can't he be your right-hand man? You grew up together and are very close, but you want to be on guard against him just because he married Sude? You are worried about the King of Qi, and now you can't even trust Sude!"
The emperor sneered, "Your Majesty Queen's thoughts are somewhat disappointing to me! I have something to say, and I must say it! Throughout the dynasties, there has never been such a precedent - a prince consort can be in power. Su De and the Prince of Qi are my brothers and sisters. As long as I am in power, I can ensure their safety for the rest of their lives. No matter how absurd they are, I will just pretend that I didn't see it. But if they go too far and their mistakes endanger the country and my throne, I will never forgive them easily!"
The Queen Mother slapped the purple wood carved low table with her palm and shouted angrily, "No mercy? What are you talking about? They are all my own flesh and blood. If you dare to hurt them, I will fight you to the death!"
The emperor stood up, bowed and saluted: "Mother, calm down! Mother, don't be anxious! Nothing has happened yet, I am just talking about hypotheticals! I also ask you not to forget that I am also your biological child. If the King of Qi and Su De work together to take over my kingdom and want to put me to death, will you fight them to the death?"
When the empress dowager heard this, she was shocked to see the emperor raise his head with a worried and sad look on his face, just like when he was a child and was asked about his homework by the late emperor, he could not answer for a while, so he was reprimanded by the late emperor and punished by being alone in a quiet room. The Queen Mother could not help but feel soft in her heart, and her eyes were red again. Only she knew how difficult their life was. There were many concubines in the harem, and there were beautiful women everywhere. The late emperor mostly favored young and beautiful newcomers. After she gave birth to the eldest prince, she could only see the late emperor when he came to visit the prince. At that time, in order to make the eldest prince more loved by the late emperor, she forced her little son to study the scriptures and memorize the sage classics and history books. As expected, the late emperor valued his eldest son and made him the crown prince at the age of five. She finally climbed onto the throne of the queen step by step, but she was even more restless. There were palace struggles everywhere. The concubines gave birth to princes one after another, each one smarter and cuter than the other. Unfortunately, the crown prince became more and more naughty as he grew up, and was scolded the most by the late emperor. She was worried all day long, using all her tricks to fight with the concubines who were competing for favor, and at the same time, she circled around her son like a hen protecting her chicks. She hugged the wronged crown prince and cried so many times with her son that she couldn't count them...
The Queen Mother sighed and said in a hoarse voice: "I am old and can no longer take care of you! My own children are as dear to me as my own flesh and blood. I love them all the same. Brotherhood is hard to come by. If you cannot live in harmony, I will not be able to rest in peace until I die. When I go to heaven in the future, I will not be able to face the late emperor..."
She took up the handkerchief to wipe her tears. The emperor approached and said, "It's all my son's fault! You have worked so hard for so many years. You should be able to enjoy your life in peace. But you always make me worry and sad... You don't have to think too much. How could you not understand the preciousness of blood ties? I have seen how you treated your brothers and sisters since you were young. Now that you have grown up, your feelings towards you and your brothers and sisters will not change!"
The Queen Mother wiped away her tears, nodded, and said to the Emperor: "Recently, I have been feeling palpitations and shortness of breath, and my shoulders and back are sore. I have also suffered from dizziness again. My eyesight is poor and I can't see far. I can't do anything well. I can't take care of everything. I will stop interfering in your affairs from now on. Just live your peaceful life and eat as much as you can."
The emperor reached out his hand and rubbed her shoulders: "You must have been tired yesterday, holding the grandson for most of the day. Let me rub it for you! I'll call Zhang Jingyun to see you later and prescribe another set of pills for you to take, okay?"
The Queen Mother smiled and said with great enjoyment, "My Yu'er is the best at massaging my shoulders! Bao'er's hands are too heavy, and Sude has no patience, so he made me uncomfortable. These two enemies... You said that Zhang Jingyun is good, right? The eldest son of the Duke of Jingguo, although he made a fuss when he was a child, he should inherit the title. He is handsome and good-looking. I asked him to check Sude's pulse, why didn't Sude look down on him?"
The emperor smiled bitterly: Just now he said he didn't care about Su De's marriage, but when he heard Zhang Jingyun's name, he was tempted again. The empress dowager is really idle. The emperor has no objection to Zhang Jingyun marrying a princess. Zhang Jingyun's appearance and background are impeccable, and he has superb medical skills and martial arts that are not exposed. It would be good for him to be his brother-in-law, but it depends on whether he is willing. Zhang Jingyun is also a good friend, and he is arrogant. Although Su De is a princess, he may not look at her well. Otherwise, why would he ignore the ban he gave him and wear a mask when he diagnosed Su De's pulse again and again
"I don't know about this son either. Maybe Zhang Jingyun is too cold and silent. Su De doesn't like men like that!"
The emperor had no choice but to give this explanation, although he knew it was a bit far-fetched. Wasn't Xu Junying, who had been causing him trouble recently, also cold and boring and taciturn? Su De also liked it, how could this be explained
Fortunately, the Queen Mother was concentrating on enjoying it, closed her eyes and didn't ask any more questions. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)