The Queen cried and said, "My Queen Mother, if I tell even a single lie, I will be struck by five thunderbolts and die a miserable death!"
The Queen Mother said angrily, "Shut up. As the Queen, you swear at every turn. Are you afraid of the wrath of heaven? Do you have any sense of propriety?"
The queen fell to the ground, crying in grievance, "Mother, if I had not been bullied to such an extent, I would not have come to you."
When the Empress Dowager saw that the Empress, who always paid attention to her manners, was crying like this, she thought it seemed that Ajie really said those words.
This boy always causes trouble for her.
"Please get up, sit down and tell me what is going on!" The Empress Dowager nodded and signaled Eunuch Sun to help her up.
Eunuch Sun stepped forward, held the queen's arm, and said softly, "Your Majesty, please get up quickly. The ground is cold."
The queen sat on the chair sobbing and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. "Ah Xin came to the palace today and said that he had fallen in love with Miss Lin. I saw that his previous marriage with Zi'an didn't work out, and it was rare that he fell in love with a woman, so I agreed. I didn't expect the prince to come to the palace and get mad at me, saying that I had ulterior motives in arranging this marriage for Ah Xin, and he scolded me severely."
"Ah Xin wants to get married?" The Queen Mother's expression tensed, then she waved her hand, "Is this Miss Lin the one who said before that she wanted to marry Xia Huaijun? If it's this, I don't approve of it either."
The Queen said, "Even if it's Miss Lin, I don't agree with her either, but Ah Xin said he likes her and came to the palace to ask me for help. What can I do as a mother? You, Queen Mother, know his situation."
The Empress Dowager was stunned for a moment and subconsciously looked at Concubine Cui.
Concubine Cui said, "Isn't it just that his legs are a little disabled? What's the problem? I never understood you before. Why didn't you find him a good woman? Why did you buy a concubine? Hey, he's a good child."
The Queen Mother winked at the Queen, signaling her to be careful with her words.
The Empress Dowager had no idea that Prince Liang's hidden illness had been cured.
"Axin really likes this Miss Lin?" asked the Queen Mother.
"He came to the palace to ask for my help. He must have liked me very much. I have always felt guilty towards him. But as long as he is happy, I will agree to whatever he asks for." The queen's eyes were red and her voice was choked with sobs.
The Empress Dowager had no doubt that the Queen loved her son deeply, but, to be honest, she was not satisfied with this Miss Lin. But how could Axin, with her hidden illness, be a good match for a young lady from a wealthy family
Once the news gets out, can he still live as a human being
The grandfather of this Miss Lin is just a minister. He can be fooled by giving her some sweet treats so that she won't make any trouble.
Alas, this child has a very hard life.
"Did Ajie get so angry in your palace because of this?" asked the Queen Mother.
The Queen said, "No, there is one more thing. Zi'an examined Axin before and said that he could treat his leg. I was very happy to hear that at first, but after knowing the treatment plan, I did not agree. The Prince then said that I did not trust Zi'an."
"Zi'an said that Axin's leg can be cured? What's the treatment plan?" The Queen Mother was immediately ecstatic.
"She said that Axin's leg had been dislocated before and needed to be broken and reattached. This sounded too dangerous. If it was broken and couldn't be reattached, wouldn't he never be able to stand up again? I thought the risk was too high and didn't agree. The prince probably thought that I didn't trust Zi'an and took advantage of this."
"Interrupt and reconnect?" Concubine Cui was horrified. "This is too dangerous. No, no."
The Queen Mother asked, "What did Zi'an say? Is she confident?"
"Mother, no matter how confident I am, I dare not do this. If something goes wrong, I will never be able to stand up again. I cannot let Xin take this risk."
The Queen Mother thought about it and felt that the risk was indeed high, but being able to cure her leg was also very attractive. She thought for a while and said, "How about this, you go back first, and I will find Zi'an to find out. As for Ajie, I will blame him."
The queen burst into tears again, "Mother, I am not asking you to blame the prince. The prince spoke wildly to me because he felt sorry for Axin. But he shouldn't treat Qiao'er like this. They are all his nephews, why should he be discriminatory? This is unfair to Qiao'er."
The Queen Mother sighed softly, "I'm not saying anything bad to you, but you really need to discipline Qiao'er. If he continues to mess around like this, the position of Crown Prince will be replaced sooner or later."
The queen was startled. If even the empress dowager thought so, then Murong Jie must have had this idea as well. Now the only one who could compete with Qiao'er for the position of crown prince was Xin'er. She absolutely could not let the brothers fight to the death for the position of crown prince.
Seeing that she remained silent, the Empress Dowager thought that she found her words unpleasant to hear, so she said calmly: "Anyway, I am just giving you a few words of advice. If you can listen, then listen. If you can't, then that's fine."
The queen straightened her expression and said, "I will follow your instructions and supervise Qiaoer when I return."
After a pause, she continued, "However, Qiao'er is willing to do something practical. He has proposed several policy measures to the prince before, but they were all rejected by the prince."
She wanted to tell the Queen Mother that Murong Jie was arbitrary and oppressive to the Crown Prince, but she did not expect the Queen Mother to be absolutely unambiguous on this matter. "Since Ajie rejected his opinion, he must have his reasons. In terms of governing the country, Qiaoer should learn more from his uncle."
The queen was met with a soft rejection, and said awkwardly, "Yes, that's what I told Qiao'er."
The Queen Mother nodded and said, "You can go. As for the marriage, I will ask Xin'er. If he really likes the girl, then he can marry her."
The queen bowed, "Yes, I'll take my leave then!"
After the Queen left, Concubine Cui asked curiously, "Xin rarely goes out, so how did he fall in love with Miss Lin?"
The Queen Mother looked at her and asked, "You also find it confusing?"
"It's not that hard to understand. Young people nowadays are always talking about love and affection. Isn't Lady Chen very worried recently? She arranged a marriage for Liu Liu, but the girl refused to marry, saying that she already had someone she liked. The old lady was so worried that she said she couldn't sleep for several days."
As Concubine Cui spoke, she covered her mouth and laughed. Lady Chen's rudeness had always been a topic of ridicule for these noble ladies.
The Empress Dowager also laughed, "This Lady Chen also has no rules when speaking. She is somewhat similar to our ancestor."
"Speaking of the ancestor, where did she go? Will she come back?" asked Concubine Cui.
"She left without saying goodbye to anyone. Isn't that her usual style? It's not surprising. But this time, she sent me a letter after she left, saying that she had passed away and that I should not contact her for anything in the future. She would not come back."
"This old lady is unpredictable. Didn't she hold her own funeral and say she wouldn't come back? But she came back, didn't she?"
The Queen Mother shook her head. "It's hard to say this time."
Concubine Cui smiled and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about her. The Queen said that Ajie is arrogant and wants to pull the Crown Prince down. What do you think? How can she allow Ajie to be so presumptuous?"
The Queen Mother spread her hands, "What can I do? All power in the court is in his hands, and the emperor only trusts him. Not to mention the emperor's will, just say that he holds a large number of troops in his hands. Do you think the military order of the Ministry of War is so effective? It's not as effective as a word from the regent."
"This is too dangerous. The emperor knows that he holds a large number of troops, but he still lets him hold great power. If he has any ideas, the throne... will put some constraints on him."
The Queen Mother waved her hands and said, "Neither you nor I understand the affairs of the court. The Emperor said that trust is the best constraint."
(End of this chapter)