In the afternoon, Ananda had just waited for Chu Baning to drink his medicine to rest, when he saw the old housekeeper hurriedly approaching, and said in a low voice, "Princess, the emperor is here."
Ananda's heart was shocked, he quickly straightened his appearance and went out to pick him up.
Naturally, the emperor came here for a private visit, wearing a navy blue brocade robe, with only Eunuch Liu and two guards by his side. From a distance, he looked like a dignified and dignified son, but his overall demeanor made people feel uncomfortable. Dare to underestimate.
Ananda hurried forward to salute, "I have seen the emperor."
"Concubine Su doesn't need to be too polite. I came here today to see how King Su is doing." Emperor Chongde showed concern.
Ananda said respectfully: "Your Highness has already drank the medicine and rested. It will be fine when you sweat. Your Majesty, you don't have to worry."
"I'll go in and have a look."
As Emperor Chongde said, Eunuch Liu obediently stepped forward and opened the curtain to let the emperor enter the room.
Ananda followed carefully, then stopped a few meters away from the bed and waited.
Emperor Chongde came directly to the bed, and he didn't care about whether the dragon would get sick. He leaned over to look at the man on the bed, and then reached out to touch his forehead. shares of worry. Fortunately, Chu Baning just drank the medicine, which has the effect of sleeping, because he didn't wake up after such a touch, but still frowned uncomfortably, with a look of resistance on his face, until Emperor Chongde withdrew his hand, That eyebrow loosened.
Emperor Chongde was funny and angry. At this time, the younger brother still didn't give his elder brother face in this way, so he couldn't help poking his younger brother's face. When he frowned and was about to wake up, he calmly retracted hands.
This scene naturally fell into the eyes of the people in the room, but except for Ananda who was still staring worriedly—for fear that the emperor would wake up her prince, everyone else lowered their heads, not daring to see a certain emperor blatantly Bullying my sick younger brother. Perhaps, in the whole world, only this emperor dared to poke King Su's face like this.
Emperor Chongde sat on the embroidered pier in front of the bed, took the wet towel from the maid, and reapplied the wet towel on the man on the bed. He took a clean tampon again, dipped it in water, and carefully applied it to the chapped lips of the man on the bed.
Ananda looked at his careful movements, and believed that the emperor might never have taken care of a person so carefully in his life. In a daze, she thought it was a worried father taking care of his sick son...
Ananda took a few glances, then lowered his eyes.
Having been married to Chu Baning for so long, she naturally knew Chu Baning's position in Emperor Chongde's heart, so she raised him as a son. I believe that those little princes in the palace are not as important as Su Wang in Emperor Chongde's heart, or even more. Ananda once vaguely heard Wen Liang mention what happened when the first emperor was alive. During that time, the emperor was old and fatuous, treacherous officials were rampant, and concubine Li persecuted all the princes, making the former court and the harem very dark and depressing. At that time, Chu Baning was just born, and Emperor Chongde was still a prince and had not yet married, so he could not leave the palace to build a mansion. During those days, the two brothers could almost be said to be dependent on each other in this frightening palace. The mother and concubine did not live up to expectations, and the mother family could not rely on them, so Emperor Chongde took great pains to protect himself and his younger brother. Taking care of him like this doesn't feel like raising a younger brother at all. Instead, he feels like raising a son, so he raises his younger brother like this.
Ananda didn't know what happened to the brothers in the harem, but he occasionally saw Chu Baning's sharp and ruthless tactics when dealing with political opponents, and knew that those years brought the brothers a very profound thing. The eldest son of the Duke - Wen Liang's second brother Wen Zijing died protecting him, leaving a deep mark in Chu Ba Ning's heart.
Probably, that kind of feeling in adversity makes this pair of brothers like father and son. As for the question of the master of meritorious deeds and the jealousy of the brothers, Ananda really didn't see it, and felt that this pair of brothers had the most complicated and purest relationship in the royal family throughout the ages.
Emperor Chongde sat quietly for a while before standing up.
His movements were very light. A person who was used to being an emperor was so careful at this time, just to avoid disturbing the patient on the bed. This moved Ananda a little bit.
"You take care of it carefully, let King Su rest well, let other things go first, don't let him worry. I'm leaving first." Emperor Chongde ordered the servants in the room, his eyes were sharp and menacing, as if he was like a father Generally, it is normal to worry that the servants will not be able to take care of the sick children.
Several maids in the room quickly knelt down and said yes, and Ananda also stepped forward to salute.
Although Emperor Chongde was still worried, he was busy with state affairs recently, so he took time out of his busy schedule to come here, and after a while, he had to go back to the palace immediately.
Ananda, the princess, was naturally going to see her off, so she followed Emperor Chongde.
Emperor Chongde's pace was neither too fast nor too slow, and Ananda followed with ease.
Arriving at a courtyard of King Su's Mansion, Emperor Chongde suddenly stopped and looked at the courtyard with a melancholy look on his face.
Ananda also stopped, and remained silent with the group of servants, not daring to disturb the emperor who was in deep thought.
"Your majesty..." Eunuch Liu called out cautiously, reminding the emperor that it was time to return to the palace.
Emperor Chongde came back to his senses, looked at the people standing respectfully behind him, and moved his gaze through the crowd to Princess Su in palace attire. After watching for two seconds, he retracted his gaze and said, "Eunuch Liu, look at this courtyard. I have been waiting for you for a long time. It’s not here, but it hasn’t changed much.”
Eunuch Liu said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you had someone design and build this courtyard for King Su. It is your kindness, and naturally it will not change."
"Oh, it seems to be ten years ago. Baning left the palace to build a mansion at the age of fifteen. I was afraid that he would not be used to living in it, so I asked the best craftsmen in the palace to design the best prince's mansion. I didn't expect it to happen in a blink of an eye. It's been ten years, time flies so fast, I feel vaguely like it happened yesterday." Emperor Chongde looked disappointed.
Emperor Chongde's emotions were rarely out of control, and he didn't know if he was frightened by his younger brother's sudden illness today. After a while, Emperor Chongde waved his servants back to the distance, leaving Ananda alone.
Ananda felt a little uneasy. Although she is a princess, she has never been alone with Emperor Chongde because of the great defense between men and women in this era. Ever since she married Chu Baning, every time she saw the emperor, there were other people present , and she was never the main character, so she never had to face the saint alone. Moreover, in order to avoid idleness, Emperor Chongde never looked at her more.
"Princess Su, you have been married to King Su for five years?"
"Go back to the emperor, yes." Ananda replied reverently. Emperor Chongde was facing the courtyard. Ananda could only see his back, but he did not dare to take it lightly.
Emperor Chongde was silent for a while, and Fang said lightly: "You have given birth to King Su, thank you for your hard work."
Ananda twitched the corner of his mouth, and said to himself, really don't want to say this in such a tone like a father to his daughter-in-law, it's really awkward to hear.
"... Your majesty, this is the duty of a concubine."
Emperor Chongde was silent for a while, probably because he felt that someone's words were too standard and did not meet his wishes, so he continued to say: "Princess Su, my younger brother, is the most important person in my heart. He is the strongest man in the world, and he will never be crushed by anything. Even if Concubine Li did those things to him back then, he... I was incompetent. I couldn't protect him back then, so I made him a... Concubine Li's adopted son... King Su's illness was so fierce that I was a little scared. Then I remembered that Ba Ning was also tired, sick, and lying on the bed weakly like an ordinary person. Maybe , One day, he will grow old and disappear. It is my fault that he has done too many things for my dream. Ba Ning is a good boy. There are some things he doesn’t like, but because of my ambition, he still I will do my best to complete it. In this world, there is only such a Chu Baning, and there is only such a brother... "
Ananda quietly listened to Emperor Chongde's nagging. From being confused at the beginning, she now understands the emperor's meaning. He just wants to find someone to chat with and relax. He can't say these words to the ministers He said, he couldn't tell the concubines in the harem, he couldn't tell his biological mother, so he needed someone who he could confide in without revealing it. And she, Concubine Su, was the wife of his most trusted younger brother, so she became the best object of nagging, just like nagging the daughter-in-law of his favorite son.
From the black line at the beginning to this kind of nagging, Ananda calmly regarded it as a little nagging from his father-in-law to his daughter-in-law-by the way, girl, this emperor is an uncle, he is really not your father-in-law, hey!
"Princess Su, my younger brother, I will leave it to you."
Ananda heard the solemn and sad words, and quickly said: "Your Majesty, this is the blessing of my concubine."
As expected, Emperor Chongde had been an emperor for more than ten years, and he soon recovered his mood. He was that majestic and calm emperor again, and left with his subordinates.
Ananda sent the driver to the front of the mansion, until Emperor Chongde got on the carriage safely, and finally heaved a sigh of relief.
Emperor Chongde came and left in a hurry, which didn't alarm anyone, but it made Ananda feel inexplicably emotional. From what Emperor Chongde said just now, she knew that Emperor Chongde valued Chu Baning more than anything else. This is a very serious matter for an emperor. Anan thought, perhaps, it was because of such importance that Chu Baning dedicated his life to this dynasty so loyally and without regret.
What Ananda didn't know was that Chu Baning had never wanted anything in his life other than his only attachment to her.
Emperor Chongde saw everything in his eyes and felt sore in his heart. Since this woman was the only thing his younger brother wanted in his life, he could grant his wish.
Emperor Chongde once asked Chu Baning curiously why he was so obsessed with the Lu family. I still remember that at that time, Chu Baning pondered for a moment, and Fang said lightly: "The first time I saw her, she was lying on the bed in a red wedding dress, which made me want to feel sorry for her."
So was it love at first sight? This thing seems unreliable, brother!
Emperor Chongde thought so secretly, and then asked again, but Chu Baning was no longer willing to say any more.
Emperor Chongde had carefully looked at Princess Su inadvertently many times, and he really couldn't see anything special about her. His outstanding emperor brother was so persistent and valued. Some understand it. That was when Concubine Su was pregnant with her second child, Chu Baning was assassinated in the palace. In order to investigate this matter, Chu Baning stayed in the palace, but someone took advantage of the loophole and revealed the matter to the pregnant Liujia in Su Wang's mansion. Su Wangfei caused Su Wangfei to give birth prematurely.
Emperor Chongde still remembers that when Chu Baning heard the news, he became flustered and pale. Perhaps, that might be the only time in his life that he saw a fragile face on the face of his always strong and calm brother. expression.
Before he had time to comfort his younger brother whose expression had changed drastically, Chu Baning had already raised his head and said to him who was sitting in front of the imperial case: "Brother Emperor, if something happens to her, I will definitely let the lineage of King Anshun become history forever."
The indistinct suffocation between the brows made people feel terrified.
After saying this, Chu Baning even ignored the etiquette, left the palace on horseback and went back to Su Wang's mansion directly.
From then on, Emperor Chongde understood that that woman had become an unbearable pain in his younger brother's life.
Perhaps, it was the sympathy that arose when they met for the first time that made his younger brother willing to spoil that woman; perhaps, it was that woman who taught his younger brother the unspeakable relationship between a man and a woman, which made his ruthless and rational brother fall into a demon, persistent for one person; perhaps, there are other reasons...
But no matter what the reason, he still wanted his brother to be happy.
In his life, he chose to become a capable emperor, and he realized that he was doomed to lose a lot of things when he realized that the heights were overwhelming.
Therefore, he hoped that the younger brother he had raised since childhood would be happy.
Fortunately, his brother's happiness made him feel that everything they did was meaningful.
Perhaps, when the heights were overwhelmingly cold, his younger brother who was firmly by his side made him feel the warmth of a family in an ordinary family.
For the sake of the Great Chu Dynasty, and for the sake of this beautiful country he cherishes, he will go on unswervingly and create a prosperous dynasty.
*************
When Ananda returned to the room, he found that Chu Baning had woken up and was sitting at the head of the bed drinking water.
"My lord, why don't you sleep more?" Ananda went to touch his forehead, and was a little happy to find that the temperature had dropped.
Chu Baning frowned slightly, "Why didn't I see you just now?"
Ananda laughed and found that the man was sick and seemed clingy, so he explained: "The emperor came just now, but he left after seeing you for a while. Isn't this my concubine going to see you off?"
Chu Baning nodded and said, "Brother Huang didn't say anything?"
"The emperor told you to rest well." Ananda pursed his lips and smiled, naturally he would not tell him that the emperor treated her like a daughter-in-law and nagged her about his "son" for a while, "So, my lord, are you Should you rest more?"
What Ananda was most afraid of was that he would force himself to get up and go to the study to deal with official business or something, and hard-nosed people would not be able to bear it.
"I'm so lazy..." Chu Baning leaned against the head of the bed and said, his expression was still rather tired.
Ananda rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Then I will give you a massage, but after the massage is over, you have to continue to rest."
Chu Baning added a condition, "You have to come up and sleep with me."
"Okay~~"
Ananda responded generously, then pushed him down even more impatiently than Chu Baning, climbed onto the bed by himself, rolled up his sleeves and began to massage him.