The first question seemed like a casual chat between mother and son, but the second question, even though it was only four words, revealed an undisguised questioning and ridicule, so much so that except for Chu Kuan who lowered his head with his hands down, the other palace servants and eunuchs instantly showed expressions of horror. In contrast, the Queen Mother only frowned slightly.
"Whether it's interesting or not, you'll know that only after you've done it. When you were their age, you were already ruling the country and ruling the world, but they only know how to confront each other and don't know the details of the matter at all."
"You are joking, mother. When I first took power, I made quite a few jokes. To be honest, if you hadn't calmly helped me to stop the ministers' troubles every time, I might have been the emperor if I had been so reckless and arrogant back then..."
"Emperor!" The Queen Mother's face suddenly changed. She scolded him harshly, and when she saw that the Emperor finally looked a little serious, she looked around and saw that the female official Yuquan immediately gestured to the left and right. The eunuchs and palace servants hurriedly filed out, Yuquan followed behind, and Chu Kuan also bowed and saluted, and retreated without saying a word. It was not until the curtain of the East Warm Pavilion fell that she patted the armrest and stood up.
"What do you want to say?"
"It is normal for young people to make mistakes when they are young and ignorant, but is it necessary for the Queen Mother to use a young official to provoke your two grandsons? Moreover, I heard that when Zhang Shou and Yingying came to Qingning Palace, the young eunuch who framed him was almost beaten to death without asking any questions. Who do you plan to protect, Queen Mother?"
The Queen Mother's face became more and more irritated and annoyed: "Don't forget, Wang Datou has already found out that Zheng Huai'en is the mastermind!"
"That idiot, he has no morals or talents, yet he still dreams of marrying Yingying. Not to mention that his father is the heir and king, even if he himself is the heir and king, he should get out of here as soon as possible!" The emperor raised his eyebrows impatiently, and then said lightly, "It's the queen, right?"
The Queen Mother was silent until the Emperor said the next sentence: "The imperial attendant who went to Rongshui Village to shoot arrows to scare people was also assigned by the Queen. I just don't understand, is it necessary for her, the master of the six palaces, to do such a thing? Even if she doesn't like Yingying, is it necessary to do such a thing to hate the whole family?"
The Queen Mother could keenly hear that the words "hate the house and the people in it" were a distinct Zhu Ying style, and she couldn't help but frowned: "Yingying knows?"
"I didn't ask whether she knew or not, but if you don't want others to know, then don't do it. I suppressed the assassin's matter, and Mingyue even took the blame. Wang Datou also tried him in a way that was easy, and Zheng Huai'en himself admitted it. It seems that the queen has nothing to do with it, but only God knows, the earth knows, you know, and I know!"
The emperor was so angry that he laughed. "She already has two sons. Can't she be smarter? And you, mother, those two boys have finally calmed down. Why are you still teasing them?"
Knowing that the emperor did not look furious, but was in fact extremely angry, the empress dowager was silent for a moment, and finally sighed and said, "You have not yet appointed a crown prince. I know that you do not want to appoint a younger one, but you think that the two older ones are not ideal. However, you know that appointing a younger one may cause unrest in the world, so you have been hesitating."