The next day, Emperor Jingren watched the sunrise with the empress again. Wrapped in a quilt, he saw the first sun of the new year in a half-asleep state and received a long kiss.
Emperor Jingren probably never felt so embarrassed in his life. Only when he really experienced it, he would know that everything in the past was just a dream. Dreams and reality are two completely different things. Emperor Jingren didn't know whether he should lament that I have three thousand beauties in my harem but I am just a virgin, or lament that my dignity as an emperor was suppressed by the queen's passionate kiss.
Probably... she didn't mind. The Queen's actions last night were extremely gentle, so gentle that Emperor Jingren, who was also a man, seriously doubted whether the Queen had enjoyed the pleasure of being a man. Emperor Jingren himself was very uncomfortable at first, but later he gradually felt a subtle sense of happiness.
It was just the beginning or the middle of the process. As long as Emperor Jingren wanted to stop her, the Queen would never do anything he didn't want to do. But on such a winter night when the fire was still extremely cold, the Queen's embrace was so warm that Emperor Jingren didn't even have the thought of leaving.
He never thought that he would love someone to this extent, to the point where he would even put aside his dignity as an emperor and not care whether the mother of a country was a man or a woman. Such an action that went against his principles made Emperor Jingren completely unaware of how far he would go for Xiao Jinyi.
Emperor Jingren would not worry about things that had not happened. He just felt that this night he finally understood that the beauties in the harem in the past were just illusions, that he was very happy that night, and that the first sunrise of this year was extremely dazzling. This was enough.
After sunrise, Emperor Jingren and the Queen would go to pay their respects to the Queen Mother, and of course they would meet the King of Huainan who also came to pay his respects.
In fact, it was not only the Emperor and Empress who did not sleep all night last night. The King of Huainan also tossed and turned and could not fall asleep. He might be a little stupid, but he was not really mentally retarded. Even if he did not understand what happened at first, he would understand it later. He finally realized that he was used as a gun by Emperor Jingren. Last night, he shocked all the ministers. Emperor Jingren was too cruel to establish his power on New Year's Eve.
Unable to sleep, he got up early the next day and waited outside the Cining Palace, hoping that the empress dowager could help him solve his puzzles. The empress dowager was old and had a light sleep, so she woke up before dawn. Seeing her youngest son looking lost, she smiled lovingly.
"I have heard a little about what happened last night." With so many eunuchs, palace maids and nannies serving last night, the Queen Mother knew about it at the first time. "You brothers did a good job. I thought Your Majesty was a little too rigid and put his own brother in jail, but it turned out to be just a show by you brothers. I know that Your Majesty is having a hard time in the court, but since ancient times, the harem cannot interfere in politics, and your grandfather also strictly ordered the clan members not to be arrogant just because they are royal relatives. My mother's family has no say in the court. I have seen Your Majesty having so many difficulties over the years, and as a mother, how can I not feel distressed. Now it's good, you have grown up, and you brothers are united, I can rest assured."
King Huainan: “…”
He couldn't ask any of the questions he wanted to ask, and could only silently accompany the Queen Mother in reciting scriptures.
The Queen Mother would recite scriptures a hundred times every morning before having breakfast. The Prince of Huainan had not slept in the first place, and now when he heard the Queen Mother's humming scriptures, which he had no idea what they were, he began to nod his head in a daze.
After the Queen Mother had recited the sutra a hundred times, she said to her son, "Tell the people to prepare the meal. My son, you must be hungry, right?"
“… Um! What?” The King of Huainan, with saliva on his mouth, suddenly raised his head, looking confused.
It's not easy to beat her own son. The Queen Mother twitched her lips and said nothing. She stood up and led the King of Huainan out of the Buddhist temple. Such a prince is good. He has a pure mind and will not stab his brother in the back. It's best for brothers to be united.
Emperor Jingren had come to pay his respects long ago, but the Empress Dowager was in the Buddhist temple and could not be disturbed, so she waited in the palace. The Empress Dowager led the King of Huainan to see the Emperor and Empress. Seeing that Emperor Jingren had a ruddy complexion, she knew from a glance that he must have had a good night last night, and smiled with satisfaction.
Wait, it seems that only the concubines who have been favored by His Majesty will be able to see at a glance that they have a very good complexion after being moisturized the next day. Something is wrong. The Queen Mother looked at the Queen quietly for a while, and then looked at the Queen's tall figure. She opened her mouth to say something, but in the end she didn't say it.
The harem is so peaceful and no one has ever caused trouble for her. This must be the queen's credit. With such a queen, the palace is really peaceful.
He expressed his deep feelings inwardly, but outwardly continued to graciously accept his son and daughter-in-law's New Year greetings, and then invited them to have dinner together.
This time, Prince Huainan paid his respects to his brother and sister-in-law in a proper manner. He was no longer as unruly as he was yesterday. Emperor Jingren was slightly satisfied.
After the meal, the Queen Mother was satisfied and let her two sons go to talk alone. After such a big move last night, they would definitely discuss the next step today. The Queen Mother was clear-headed and let them go despite missing her youngest son.
The Queen Mother did not like to be disturbed, so she did not ask the concubines in the harem to pay their respects, but the Queen had to accept it. After breakfast, he returned to Kunning Palace to meet those women who were no longer his opponents, and Emperor Jingren took the Prince of Huainan back to Zichen Palace.
As soon as he entered the Purple Palace, Emperor Jingren said coldly, "Kneel down."
The Prince of Huainan, who was lively and courageous yesterday, became extremely obedient today. He knelt down immediately after receiving the order.
"Do you know why I asked you to kneel?" asked Emperor Jingren.
The King of Huainan didn't know much about it. Logically speaking, since he had been set up since he was arrested when he entered the capital, Emperor Jingren should have praised him and comforted him today. But Emperor Jingren was obviously really angry with him, and he was furious. A very bad thought arose in the King of Huainan's mind, but he felt that it was unlikely that Emperor Jingren would find out, so he thought it was impossible and shook his head tremblingly.
Seeing that this man was still crying before he saw the coffin, Emperor Jingren really wanted to give him a good beating. He ordered all the servants to leave. After the palace was quiet, Emperor Jingren said, "My brother should have heard about the assassination attempt on my hunting ground, right?"
As soon as these words came out, the King of Huainan, who was not good at hiding his emotions, immediately lowered his head with a guilty look on his face. The reason why he could face Emperor Jingren calmly was that he originally sent people to bring Emperor Jingren to Huainan first, and did not think about the rest for the time being. He really had no choice. He came later than the others, and when he arrived here, he had already arrived in Huainan to be a vassal, and he had not even seen Emperor Jingren! Compared to the others, that was Eunuch Lian, who at least could see Emperor Jingren, but he could only receive imperial edicts one by one, and the number of times was very, very small.
Fortunately, he knew that the original Huainan King really wanted to usurp the throne, and he had private soldiers under his command, and later he and Emperor Jingren snatched Su Huailing together. He didn't have the idea of usurping the throne, so he thought about using the arrangement of the original book to try to kidnap Emperor Jingren. After kidnapping him, he had two choices according to the situation. One was to cultivate Stockholm syndrome, and the other was to show up in person to rescue Emperor Jingren, and the two of them would cultivate feelings in the mountains through hardships.
Even if the kidnapping fails, the Prince of Huainan can still be put in the small dark room by Emperor Jingren. Prince Huainan doesn't mind whether it's Emperor Jingren in the small dark room or being put in the small dark room by Emperor Jingren.
But he never expected that Emperor Jingren was such a smart and perceptive person. Everyone else saw that Emperor Jingren shocked the ministers last night, but only the Prince of Huainan knew that Emperor Jingren also shocked himself.
After last night, even though King Huainan knew that the man in front of him was just an NPC, he still couldn't help but feel awe.
"I am guilty." King Huainan could not explain anything and could only bow his head deeply to the ground.
He himself underestimated the world and Emperor Jingren, and his elimination was inevitable.
"You are guilty," the deep voice of Emperor Jingren came from above, "but I am willing to give you a chance to explain."
This means that whether the King of Huainan is out depends on this explanation.
If it were someone else, they would probably try every possible means to come up with a perfect explanation to save both Emperor Jingren and themselves. But after the education of the past few days, the King of Huainan realized that Emperor Jingren was not someone who could be fooled. Either tell the truth or say nothing. Lying to cover up would only backfire.
He still has a chance! An idea suddenly popped up in the often foolish mind of King Huainan.
So he said, lying on the ground, "I am confused."
Generally speaking, such a sentence would represent the rebellious intention of the King of Huainan, and this sentence would be enough to kill the King of Huainan. However, Emperor Jingren always felt that there was something else in this muddled sentence, so he asked back: "How is it muddled?"
The King of Huainan gritted his teeth and mustered up his courage to say, "I have been a vassal for more than two years and have not been able to see my brother. I miss him so much that I can't control it. So I came up with this absurd idea to tie my brother up so that we can live alone."
Emperor Jingren: “…”
Emperor Jingren was so shocked by the thunder of King Huainan that he could not describe his mood at this moment. He should have severely punished Shen Junyi, his ignorant brother, but he had spent a ridiculous night last night. Now he felt that King Huainan was hinting at something in every word, and he could not calm down for the time being.
Not hearing any angry voices from above, the Prince of Huainan slowly raised his head and saw Emperor Jingren staring at him with a sullen face. He felt that death would be the same whether it was early or late, so he might as well seek wealth and honor in danger and go for it!
So he looked up and looked directly at Emperor Jingren, and said frankly: "I only miss you, my brother. I feel happy just by seeing you every day. I have been in the vassal state for two years and seven months, more than nine hundred days and nights, and I can't help myself. I know that my thoughts are wrong. After the hunting ground, I didn't dare to come to the capital to see my brother. I was overjoyed when I received the imperial edict, but I was also timid. I came to the capital on the date, that's why."
Emperor Jingren: “…”
Still no words, still no dragging to the Meridian Gate to be beheaded? The King of Huainan felt that there was a chance, so he racked his brains and searched for ink from his stomach, desperately confessing: "I know I am guilty, but I miss you so much that I can't control myself. I only ask that my brother grant me a quick death, so that I can completely dispel this absurd evil thought. This feeling, except death, can never be dispelled."
"Really?" Emperor Jingren regained his composure after the Prince of Huainan continued to express his feelings.