Zhang Shou looked in the direction of the voice, only to see that the emperor was not sitting there waiting for him and Chu Kuan to enter, but was actually coming in from a small door opposite with Hua Qi, with undisguised anger on his face. His first reaction was that Chu Kuan's words about the prosperity of a family were heard by the emperor, so he thought it was a sarcasm, but when he thought about it more carefully, he felt that there might be more to it.
Could it be that... Chu Kuan's previous confession of his life story was also heard by the emperor
Although the emperor's words were directed at Chu Kuan, he could have pretended to be deaf and dumb, but he was just a listener after all, so he could only interrupt and say, "Just now, Eunuch Chu told me about his life experience, and then he expanded on it on a whim. Some of the sentences he said were probably not very careful. This is also because I asked for details. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
Although Chu Kuan and Zhang Shou's words were very abrupt when they came in, the Third Prince felt mixed emotions after hearing them. From his perspective, the Queen was deposed, and he was now the ruler of the Eastern Palace. But thinking back to his life since childhood, and the many upheavals during this period, he himself did not know whether he would be more content with such a life if his mother was virtuous and his elder brother was a man of great talent and strategy.
Besides, shouldn't all families in the world practice monogamy? Therefore, seeing his father blaming Chu Kuan and Zhang Shou helping him, he subconsciously wanted to speak up as well. But the next moment, he found that Hua Qi, who followed his father in, actually shook his head slightly at him.
After hesitating for a moment, the Third Prince did not speak rashly. But the next moment, he was frightened and panicked for the first time in his life, and even wondered if he was wrong for not speaking up to mediate.
"Zhang Shou, you don't have to speak up for him! Chu Kuan, you were just talking about your brother, but weren't you scolding your biological parents for not caring about your child's birth? Yes, I didn't care about Da Lang's birth, but that was because I didn't want to teach him well. The Queen was wary of me at that time as if I were a thief. Since she had a son, she has become a different person!"
"I didn't give them much instruction and reminders as a father, but I never treated them badly, and neither did the Queen Mother! They were treated better than Sanlang and Silang, and their teachers were carefully selected by the Queen, but what happened to them later? If I hadn't taken Sanlang and Silang in and raised them by my side, they might have been bullied to death by their two brothers!"
“I also want monogamy, just like Duke Zhu Jing of Zhao, who had a first wife and a second wife, and they were all in love with each other. Even though they had misunderstandings for more than ten years, they were still able to reconcile in the end… But the Queen Mother said that the royal family is not afraid of having too many sons, but too few. She also cited the example of the Southern Song emperor who had to adopt a son to succeed him, and the fact that several generations of emperors in the late Han Dynasty were from the common people. What else can I say?”
"I know that I can't rely on blood ties to make them listen to me and grow up according to my arrangements. I also know that this violates some of the promises I made to the Queen in the past. But since she has changed, I must change as well. When I appointed Sanlang as the Crown Prince, I was already aware of this, even if it meant sacrificing Dalang and Erlang!"
Just as the Third Prince was horrified and Zhang Shou was sighing inwardly, Chu Kuan, who was facing the Emperor's wrath, suddenly said, "Since Your Majesty has already figured it out, what I just said was really superfluous."