The bedroom was filled with the smell of medicine.
Zhuangzhuang sat in front of the bed, holding the steaming hot medicine in his hand. The purple clay medicine bowl had no patterns. Zhuangzhuang gently stirred it with a spoon, blew on it gently, and asked softly, "Is the emperor feeling better?"
Ever since Zhuangzhuang entered the hall, the emperor has been half leaning on the bed with his eyes closed. When Zhuangzhuang sat down, he did not open his eyes, but his body was slightly stiff, as if he was on full alert.
Now that Zhuangzhuang spoke, he slowly opened his eyes. He didn't look at Zhuangzhuang, but only at the purple clay medicine bowl in her hand. "I feel much better. My aunt is so thoughtful."
Zhuangzhuang hummed, "That's good."
She took the spoon and brought the bowl to his mouth, "The medicine is cold, drink it."
She didn't feed him with a spoon. She wanted to show intimacy, to ignore the authority of the royal family and just talk about the blood relationship, but in the end she couldn't do it herself.
The emperor drank the medicine from her hand and then breathed a long sigh of relief.
Zhuangzhuang took out a handkerchief and handed it to him. The emperor took it and wiped the corners of his mouth himself, saying self-deprecatingly: "My aunt has become estranged from me. If it were in the past, my aunt would have wiped it for me."
Zhuangzhuang also smiled, "Yeah, it's a bit strange now. In the past, I liked to follow behind you the most."
The emperor looked at her and said, "In the blink of an eye, you have grown up. I really miss the past."
"It's not that I'm older, it's that I'm old." Zhuangzhuang was still smiling, but his smile was a little thinner, and one could faintly see sadness in it.
The emperor was slightly startled, stretched out his hand to gather the quilt, pulled it up a little, and sighed, "Just now I said it might rain today. I wonder if it will rain on your wedding day."
His eyes passed over Zhuangzhuang, as if he wanted to look outside, but the curtains were heavy and the palace door was closed, so how could he see outside
Instead, he seemed guilty.
"It doesn't matter whether it rains or not."
"Yes, it doesn't matter. You have fulfilled your wish by marrying Xiao Xiao. I am very happy for you." said the emperor.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhuangzhuang looked at him, "But I hope what Your Majesty said is true."
The emperor slowly withdrew his gaze and looked at Zhuangzhuang's face, with a look of judgment, "Do you think that I am not sincere?"
Zhuangzhuang smiled and was absent-minded the whole time, but when he was questioned, all his thorns would immediately stand up.
"It's not what I think, but what I hope." Zhuangzhuang restrained his smile and said seriously, "I especially hope to get your blessing. You should know in your heart that I care about you a lot, even more than the seventh brother, the second brother and the third brother."
The emperor smiled, "Yes, you have always loved to stick to me since you were little, and you wouldn't be close to anyone else. Later, the seventh brother also loved to stick to me. At that time, you still valued me more, but as you grew up, you became close to the seventh brother."
"That's because you started to manage government affairs with my brother. You were so busy that it was hard for me to see you. I was active, so I went out to play with the Seventh Old Man, Xiao Xiao, and the others. Do you remember? At that time, you were in the Crown Prince's study, and I secretly went to visit you several times. When my brother found out, he scolded me and said that I was hindering you. I was most afraid of my brother, and since then, I rarely went to see you."
The emperor smiled and said, "Yes, father is very strict, and you are the one who is most afraid of him, but father also dotes on you very much."
"He dotes on me?" Zhuangzhuang laughed insincerely, "Do you really think so?"
The emperor was silent for a moment. "Your marriage with Song Ruiyang is beneficial to both countries. He is the emperor and cannot help but consider this."
"What about you?" Zhuangzhuang's voice turned cold and hard. "You helped me reject the marriage proposal from Liang State, but you also separated Xiao Xiao and me. Was it because you were afraid that Xiao Xiao would rebel after getting my help?"
The emperor felt his breath stagnate for a moment, and subconsciously avoided his eyes, "Sometimes, the ruler cannot tolerate willfulness."
"Do you really think the Xiao family will rebel?" Zhuangzhuang asked.
"As for this question, we have said before that although the Xiao family has no ambition to rebel now, there is no guarantee that they will not..."
"Because the Xiao family has the ability to rebel, right? Just because of your suspicion, you have made me suffer for so many years?" Zhuangzhuang's tears came all of a sudden. She raised her head and tried to force back the tears, but failed. She was sad not only because she had been separated from Xiao Xiao for so many years, but also because of his indifference and cruelty to her. "Do you know why I came today? I can not come. I actually don't want to talk to you. I hate you, hate you to the bone. You killed the maid beside me, and made Xiao Xiao and I uneasy. Every time I think of what you said to me when you ascended the throne, I feel sad and hate you."
Zhuangzhuang almost spoke the last two sentences with gritted teeth.
After he ascended the throne, he told her that he would never let her marry Song Ruiyang and move to Daliang. From then on, the aunt and niece would be separated and would never see each other again. He also would not let her and Xiao Xiao suffer for the rest of their lives.
These words had touched her so much.
His voice became cold and silent. "Then why did you come here today?"
Zhuangzhuang wiped his face and said suddenly: "Because after you recover from your illness, you will be the emperor, and you still hold the power of life and death over Xiao Xiao and me. I want to tell you that Xiao Xiao will not rebel. If he does, I will kill him first and then commit suicide. But will you believe what I said? I married Xiao Xiao, but I am a member of the Murong family. Why do you think that because I love Xiao Xiao, I will tolerate him trying to seize the kingdom of my Murong family?"
The emperor stared at her, as if trying to determine the truthfulness of her words, or as if trying to determine her sincerity.
"Your Majesty still doesn't believe me, right?" Zhuangzhuang smiled sadly, "I thought you should at least understand me, you watched me grow up."
The emperor looked at her, "Is marrying Xiao Xiao so important to you? You always say that I can't understand you, but do you understand me? You said something very well, you are a member of the Murong family, and this country is also a part of you, so can't you think about the Murong family? When I was here, I could still contain the Xiao family, but what if I'm not here? The Xiao family is growing stronger, even if Xiao Xiao and Xiao Tuo have no ambitions, but there is no guarantee for the future, little aunt, do you understand? I am thinking about the country of the Great Zhou."
Zhuangzhuang sighed softly and looked at him, "You are still unwilling to give me this blessing, right?"
The emperor thought for a moment, looked at her thoughtfully and asked, "You just said that after I recover from my illness, I will take power again. Who told you that?"
Zhuangzhuang sneered, unable to hide the sadness in his eyes, "Your Majesty, do you not believe that Zi'an can cure you, or do you not believe that the Seventh Master will return power to you?"
The emperor said nothing. In fact, he didn't believe it.
Everyone thought he was paranoid, but who could understand his good intentions
Yes, he was indeed selfish, but everyone has this kind of selfishness. Who would be willing to die? Who doesn't yearn for power? He was in his middle age, and he still had many ambitions to fulfill.
(End of this chapter)