After not seeing each other for a few days, Bai Su didn't change much, except that she looked a little colder.
The fragrance on her body was stronger than in the previous few days. When she first came in, she smelled very anxious, but the moment she saw Duan Changchuan, the breath seemed to have consciousness and pounced towards him with fangs and claws.
The young man's face turned pale and he froze in place.
The breath seemed to know that it had disturbed him, and it was completely retracted in an instant.
When I came back to my senses, the person in front of me had become much gentler.
"How are you... doing in Qinglu Palace recently?"
Duan Changchuan asked subconsciously.
The other party probably didn't expect that the first sentence they said when they met would be a greeting. He was slightly startled, then smiled and said, "I'm doing well."
Duan Changchuan was silent.
He felt that Bai Su's life might not be that good, otherwise people wouldn't have avoided her when they were gossiping about her.
A woman without any background and without any support from her mother's family, it was already difficult for her to move forward in this palace, and she was even driven out by the emperor...
"Hey, if you have anything to say, wait until it's over. Let's talk about what happened in the court today first."
Yun Xie saw that the two people looked embarrassed and came out with a smile to help them out.
Feng Xian also nodded and led the two of them to their seats.
He pulled up his robe and knelt on one knee, saying, "This morning, Miss Bai delivered a message to Changle. Changle did not dare to delay and immediately called Yiman to deliver the message to us. Yunxie and I went through the secret passage in the palace to pick up Miss Bai. This time we acted in a hurry and acted without the consent of Your Majesty. It is Feng Xian's fault. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
Yun Xie also knelt down immediately, "Aunt, why are you trying to steal my credit? I am the one in charge of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory."
Duan Changchuan: …
While he was seeking credit, he actually took the blame for others, making him seem like a very incompetent emperor.
Bai Su, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up at this time and said, "It is certainly wrong to act without permission from His Majesty, but I believe that His Majesty is a wise ruler who clearly distinguishes between rewards and punishments, and will reward according to merit and punish according to fault. Now that His Majesty hasn't spoken yet, you have started to fight over the punishment. Your friendship is stronger than gold, how can His Majesty deal with it?"
His words were full of protection for Duan Changchuan.
Yun Xie knelt behind Feng Yu and winked at the young man.
Duan Changchuan: …
Perhaps it was because Duan Changchuan's eyes looked very frozen, Feng Yan glanced back in the direction of his gaze and caught Yun Xie red-handed.
He immediately rebuked: "Yun Xie, you should behave properly and be careful with your words and actions in front of His Majesty."
The young man immediately lowered his head, suppressed his ruffian attitude, and responded respectfully: "Yes."
As expected, there is always something that can defeat something else.
Duan Changchuan suppressed his smile and pretended to be calm and said, "Everyone, please stand up first. You can ask General Rong's deputy to write a letter to the court. This is indeed a better move. I will not blame you."
Feng Yu then stood up and sat back opposite.
"It was Miss Bai who heard the conversation between the guards and deduced the whole thing, and then went to find Changle. If Miss Bai has anything to say, you can tell His Majesty. Although Yi Man is hiding something from Qinglu Palace, Zhang Dehai was ordered by His Majesty to clean up Qinglu Palace. Now that the deadline has not arrived, it would be bad if he was discovered."
Bai Su was surprised: "Zhang Dehai?"
Duan Changchuan hesitated when the name was mentioned. Feng Yan fell silent when he saw that he had something to say.
After a while, Duan Changchuan slowly spoke: "There was a chief eunuch beside my father, named Zhao Chengfu... Zhao Chengfu's apprentice was Zhang Dehai. Eunuch Zhao wanted to follow my father to the immortal world, but my father issued an order before his death, asking him to assist me as much as possible until I ascend the throne. My mother was timid and stubborn, and my uncle was eyeing me covetously... Eunuch Zhao fought in this palace for several years, and finally became ill from overwork, and passed away five years ago."
"Before his death, Eunuch Zhao told Zhang Dehai to swear not to have any second thoughts about me..."
When talking about these old stories, the boy's voice became unsteady and his hands clenched into fists under his sleeves.
"Let me tell you the rest." Yun Xie took over the topic naturally: "Our Majesty is kind-hearted and doesn't want to say bad things about him in private. I'm not a good person, so I'll tell you."
"Zhang Dehai probably thought that his master had passed away, so he became the most powerful eunuch in the palace, giving orders to the emperor everywhere. But he actually has no talent. He has not even learned 40% or 50% of his master's methods, let alone 70% or 80%. He is also ambitious and has many faults. So I instigated Your Majesty to distance himself from him. Now, this situation has emerged."
Yun Xie seemed to have said a lot, but in fact, he hardly said a word about the real core things.
Bai Su could find out the answer by asking any of the servants.
It was common knowledge that Zhang Dehai and Changle were not on good terms. Plus, almost all of the emperor's orders were now transmitted through Changle. Anyone with eyes could tell how Zhang Dehai behaved in front of the emperor, not to mention that the palace was full of cunning people.
Of course, it was one thing for her to find out by herself, and it was another thing for Duan Changchuan and Yun Xie to tell her in person.
This was the first olive branch extended to Bai Su by the emperor's team.
If Bai Su wanted to take sides at this moment, she should kneel on the ground immediately and swear to the sky that she would be loyal to Duan Changchuan.
Duan Changchuan has actually seen this kind of drama many times.
From Zhao Chengfu to Zhang Dehai, Changle, Yiman and all the big and small connections in the court, and even everyone in this room at this moment, have played out this scene in front of him.
"I will swear my loyalty to your majesty till death."
"I will not let your majesty down."
"I will never refuse even if I die."
…
Duan Changchuan looked at the person sitting next to him, at her plain clothes, at her clean nails, and suddenly felt a little bored.
"Bai Su, what do you want?"
He spoke softly.
Want status? Protection? Or something else... Let's talk openly.
"If I say I have nothing to ask for, you won't believe me, right?"
The woman looked back at him with a relaxed smile on her lips.
Duan Changchuan knew that she never played by the rules, so he nodded cautiously.
The next moment, he blurted out: "How about, Your Majesty, give me a child?"
As soon as the words fell, the whole room fell silent. Duan Changchuan had not expected Bai Su to make such a request, and he was at a loss as to how to respond.
Yun Xie was too shocked and hadn't recovered yet.
So, in the room where no one responded, after a long time, the first voice that was heard was Feng Xian's.
Said: "Your Majesty, Feng Qi thinks it is okay."
Yun Xie was choked by his own saliva and started coughing. He quickly dragged the person out: "Aunt, cough cough... I, cough... Why do I keep coughing? Please come out and help me... cough cough cough..."
Feng Qi: "What is there to see? Isn't it because he was choked?"
Yun Xie: "You, ahem... then you should come out quickly too!"
Even after the door was closed, I could still hear the conversation between the two people:
"Why did you deliberately drag me out here? It would be best if Bai Su got pregnant with your majesty's child. This is the best way to tie her to your majesty."
"That's their business!"
"Husband and wife? I'm talking about politics, what does it have to do with husband and wife? Miss Bai is a wise woman. It will be good for His Majesty and us to tie her to our side... Hmm..."
"I'm sorry, auntie, but... can we go out first?"
…
Then I heard the distant door creak shut, and the whole yard returned to peace.
Duan Changchuan and Bai Su were the only ones left in the room...
The young man pursed his lips, glanced at the inner room, and asked, "You want me to... uh, give you a child?"
Bai Su actually just said it casually.
She is almost done differentiating these days. Not to mention that she can't get pregnant at all, she will be exposed if the two of them are honest with each other.
But Alpha's badness made her want to continue bullying him, especially after her glands had been raging for many days.
"Yes, you heard what Feng Xian said just now. Giving me a child will be good for both you and me. What do you think?" she said with a smile.
This morning, when Duan Changchuan was still in the morning court, Bai Su roughly knew that Yun Xie was the emperor's drinking buddy on the surface, but in reality he was his think tank. This Feng Qi was even more amazing. After she asked a question, he could respond with the same idea as her within just a few seconds. He was also very decisive and would do what he said he would do without any hesitation.
And from Duan Changchuan's performance just now, it can be seen that this Aunt Feng Qi holds a very important place in his heart. If Feng Qi is right, he will definitely think about it again and again and finally approve it.
Moreover, judging from the current situation...
It was indeed the right decision to let the new queen have a child.
Sure enough, after Bai Su asked, the young man took a deep breath and said in a calm voice, "Follow me."
Then he got up and went into the inner bedroom.
"Changle, go guard the door outside the courtyard and don't let anyone in."
He spoke to someone outside through the window.
Changle's voice immediately responded from the yard: "Yes."
-
After Changle also went out of the yard, the young man silently lowered the curtain, then slowly turned around and looked at Bai Su.
"What are you waiting for? Come over here."
The boy's face was hidden in the shadow of the curtain and could not be seen clearly... but from his silence and muffled voice just now, one could still sense his displeasure.
The wind seeped in slightly from the window, causing the curtains to rise and fall.
The house was quiet and silent.
Bai Su suddenly felt that... she was so bad.
From beginning to end, it was extremely bad.
Although in her opinion this was just a harmless joke, Duan Changchuan was a man of this era. He held a high position but was constrained everywhere.
And being threatened by a woman he had just married with merit and asked to give her a child... This would probably be the most humiliating moment since he became an emperor.
She doesn't want this...
This isn't funny either.
So, when the young man had already sat down on the edge of the bed and touched her collar, Bai Su walked over in three or two steps and held his hand with one hand.
He said in a deep voice: "Duan Changchuan, don't be like this, I was just joking."
The boy lowered his head and let his arms hang weakly.
Half of his face was hidden in the shadows.
He didn't say anything, Bai Su sighed helplessly: "Don't do things you don't like, Duan Changchuan, you are the emperor, you have many ways to subdue others, don't force yourself to do anything you don't like."
The young man then took a deep breath and said, "I...actually, there is nothing I like."
There was confusion in his voice.
He lived in the palace since he was a child and lost his father who loved him the most when he was six years old.
At a young age, he shouldered the heavy responsibility of the whole world and dealt with people from all walks of life.
The queen mother, who should have been a helpful person, was weak and timid.
Those who should have helped him with all their might passed away. Those who had pledged their allegiance to him turned around and changed their attitude.
It is said that the deep palace is a cage that locks up concubines. Isn't it the same for Duan Changchuan
So he said he didn't have anything he liked...
"I want to be a wise ruler, protect my father's kingdom, and not let him down. A hundred years later, when I am in the underworld, he will... praise me."
Even though the young emperor had endured these twelve years alone, what he wanted most was for his father to hug him and praise him.
Bai Su half-knelt down and raised her hand to touch his cheek.
"He will. You are already a wise ruler. You are able to bend and stretch, to act boldly, not to be arrogant, and to distinguish right from wrong. This is already very impressive."
"Changchuan, you are the best emperor I have ever seen."
I racked my brains to comfort him, and when I said the last sentence, the boy's expression finally warmed up a little. He tilted his head awkwardly and said, "Don't try to fool me. You have only seen me, the emperor."
Bai Su curled her lips and laughed quietly: "Doesn't that prove that I didn't lie?"
"You didn't lie, but you fooled me."
Bai Su pinched his cheeks: "Yeah... I made a joke and made her almost cry, so why don't you coax her back?"
The boy blushed and complained quietly, "Slippery tongue."