After his eldest brother passed away, the emperor built a Zen temple for his wife in the palace. The queen had been practicing in the temple with her hair uncut for many years, but this was the first time that Huan Xuan set foot in the Zen temple where the queen lived.
The grass and trees in the yard are beginning to bloom, shrouded in the misty drizzle, like an ink painting.
Although it is a place for Buddhists to practice Buddhism, it is not as luxurious as a palace, but the scale of the buildings is almost the same as that of a palace. The lotus bricks on the floor come from the ancient temples of the Six Dynasties, and they are gleaming in the fresh rain. The beams and pillars are all made of agarwood and cypress, mixed with the fragrance of plants and trees. When you step into it, you will feel the elegant fragrance that is refreshing and makes you feel like you are in another world.
However, the two people sitting opposite each other in front of the chessboard were both full of thoughts and had no leisure time at all.
For a moment, all I could hear was the crisp sound of jade chess pieces falling on the rosewood chessboard, mixed with the sound of raindrops falling on the porch outside the window.
The queen raised her eyes and looked at her son: "I remember when you were a child, we often played chess like this."
Huan Xuan just nodded slightly and said nothing. The so-called "often" means to go to the Queen's palace twice a month to pay respects. The mother and son had nothing to say, so they could only play chess to avoid embarrassment.
Playing chess was one of the few pleasant memories between him and his mother. Only sometimes would his mother give him a few favorable looks and a few words of praise.
So the Queen summoned him here, and instead of talking about serious matters, she invited him to play chess first. This was truly a well-intentioned move.
The Queen continued, "Several years have passed in the blink of an eye, and your chess skills have not improved. I am no longer your opponent."
Huan Xuan said calmly, "Mother, you are too kind."
The Queen said, "I am telling the truth."
His chess style was very steady, but she had neglected it in recent years and showed signs of decline after playing fifty or sixty moves.
The Queen added: "There is no need to proceed with this game of chess."
As he spoke, he began to put the white pieces into the chess box one by one, and Huan Xuan also put away the black pieces.
The queen closed the chess box, signaled the maid to put away the chessboard, replaced the tea bed, and then dismissed the servants.
road:
"The Yangxian tea of the golden year has not been delivered yet. It is from last year." The queen glanced at the rough pottery tea bowl in front of Huan Xuan, "You can drink it as you like."
Huan Xuan said, "Mother, the tea here is always the best."
Having said that, he did not touch the tea bowl.
The queen could see his vigilance: "Are you still blaming my mother for being ruthless?"
Huan Xuan knew that she could no longer hold back and that her true intentions were about to be exposed, so he said calmly, "My son dare not have such a rebellious thought."
The queen's lips curled up with a sneer: "You are giving up the throne to someone else, is that considered treason?"
Huan Xuan said: "My son is mediocre in talent and lacks strategic thinking. I am not fit to be the heir apparent. Your Majesty choosing another wise man is a blessing for the country. I think this is within my ability and not a rebellious act."
The queen's face darkened slightly: "Now you are the only legitimate son of His Majesty, who else can the Crown Prince of Dayong choose but you?"
Huan Xuan said: "My son has expressed his feelings to Your Majesty, and I hope mother will agree to it."
The queen stared at him for a while, then suddenly sighed, "Mother, I know you are still blaming me. Ever since your elder brother passed away, I have been troubled by your feelings and let you suffer. Although we are not close as mother and son, we are blood relatives after all. Do you really want to abandon your family and country, and leave your parents and relatives behind for a woman?"
Huan Xuan looked at her mother quietly. Huan Rong's death had obviously dealt a heavy blow to her. The frost on her temples became darker, and wrinkles appeared on her forehead, eyes and mouth. Even her eyes were cloudy. When the wind blew, tears welled up in her eyes, and at this moment, her eyes were also misty with tears.
Any of the other three children would have felt soft-hearted after seeing her like that, but Huan Xuan not only had little affection for her, he also knew her very well. She was just using a combination of soft and hard tactics, taking advantage of her son's natural admiration for his mother to achieve her goal.
Therefore, he just said calmly: "My son has never been filial to my mother, and has not visited her regularly for several years. My elder sister and half brothers will surely serve my mother well on my behalf."
The queen's face fell when she heard this: "No matter how you argue, the throne can only be yours. You have great ambitions, but now you are blinded by lust. You will regret it one day."
Huan Xuan did not refute her, but just said: "Maybe it is as you expected, mother, or maybe not, please wait and see."
The queen stared at him in silence for a while before saying, "Back then, I disregarded your wishes and asked for Ruan Sanniang on behalf of Erlang. I know you are angry, but you really don't have to ruin your future to avenge me."
After a pause, he said, "I have thought about it. It was indeed my fault to separate you two. It is not difficult for you to have her. When you enter the East Palace, I will ask her to change her status to a branch of the Ruan family and be your concubine. I have already selected several candidates for the Crown Princess for you. They are all ladies with good morals and good looks. The one I like is the only daughter of Prime Minister Zhang. She is both talented and beautiful. She is also a close friend of Ruan, so I will not treat her badly."
Huan Xuan felt that her reasoning was absurd and ridiculous. After she finished speaking, he said, "Mother has made careful arrangements. It's a pity that my mother reported my sister-in-law to the barbarians. Please forgive me for not being able to obey your orders."
The queen couldn't help but blush, and then sneered: "Don't forget Xiao Ling's identity, she is your eldest sister-in-law!"
Huan Xuan said, "General Xiao and my elder brother have not yet consummated their marriage. If I remember correctly, my mother had already prepared to choose a concubine for my elder brother. Can you tell me, uncle and sister-in-law?"
The queen frowned and pursed her lips tightly, her eyes burning with anger, as if she wanted to burn him to ashes: "You have to be the crown prince whether you want to or not."
Huan Xuan looked at her calmly: "My son has made up his mind."
The queen slammed the table and said angrily: "I don't care what you think, the Crown Prince of Dayong must be my son!"
Huan Xuan remained unmoved: "Please forgive me for not being able to obey your order."
The Queen asked, "Your elder brother acted on his own for that woman and disobeyed mother. Do you want to repeat his mistakes now?"
Huan Xuan looked at her with a complicated look, one that seemed to be contemptuous but also pity: "As long as mother learns from the past, son will not repeat the same mistake."
The queen could hardly look him in the eye. She tightly grasped the Buddhist beads in her hand and finally managed to hold back from dodging: "I don't care what you think. I carried you for ten months and almost died giving birth to you, not for you to disobey me for a woman!"
She paused and said threateningly, "Unless you want to be branded as a rebellious and unfilial person."
Huan Xuan sneered: "A rebellious and unfilial person is even less worthy of being an heir."
His eyes fell on her left wrist. "Mother, are you planning to repeat the same trick you used to keep my eldest brother on your son?"
The queen's expression suddenly changed: "What did you say?!"
Huan Xuan looked directly into his mother's red eyes and said, "Mother, do you think that by killing all the palace servants who knew about the incident, you can keep the incident a secret?"
The Queen snapped, "That's nonsense!"
Huan Xuan said: "I am not the eldest brother. If you don't believe me, you can give it a try. Then I will just return my flesh and blood and my life to you."
The Queen's anger erupted like magma, and the calm she had barely maintained was shattered into pieces: "You are an unfilial and unfraternal person, you are a bastard who covets my eldest sister-in-law!"
Huan Xuan looked indifferent: "It's good that you understand, mother. Please take care of your body. It's not worth getting angry over such an evil son."
With a loud "crash", the queen swept the coarse earthenware tea sets on the table to the ground, the tea splashed everywhere, and the pottery shards broke into pieces.
Her chest rose and fell sharply, and she murmured, "If only Ye'er were here..."
Tears flowed from her eyes: "You are all beasts, only Ye'er takes me, a mother, seriously..."
Huan Xuan's eyes were as cold as a knife: "Mother threatened to die back then. Did she really want to die? Do you think I can't tell?"
The queen's body shook violently.
Huan Xuan continued, "Mother, do you think that my elder brother obeyed you because you threatened to kill him? It was only because he respected and loved you."
He bowed and slowly stood up: "It's a pity that my son doesn't have anything in his heart."
The queen's shoulders slumped, and her originally straight back slightly bent, like a mountain suddenly collapsing. She covered her eyes with her hands: "Ye'er..."
Huan Xuan said, "Take care, mother. I will take my leave now."
The queen suddenly raised her head and said, "Stop."
Huan Xuan asked, "Mother, do you have any other instructions?"
The queen slowly wiped away her tears with a silk handkerchief and sneered, "You will come back to find me."
Huan Xuan just looked at her, retreated outside the curtain without saying a word, and walked down the stairs without looking back.
On the calf carriage back to the palace, Huan Xuan leaned against the carriage with his eyes closed to rest. The smile on the queen's lips when she left hung over his heart like a dark cloud, and her words, although seemingly bluffing, he always felt that there was some reason behind them.
Huan Xuan pinched his brows, lifted the carriage curtain, and the guard ordered, "Go to Duting Inn."
Guan Liulang was surprised and asked, "Your Highness is injured. You have been in the palace for such a long time. Why don't you go back and ask the doctor to check the injury first?"
Huan Xuan felt more and more uneasy, and said firmly: "No need, let's go to Duting Inn first."
He paused and said, "Send someone back to the palace to get the wooden box next to my pillow. Be careful not to damage the items inside."
Guan Liulang received the order and gave the order.
The calf cart moved steadily and slowly, and when it arrived outside Duting Posthouse, the guards who were going back to get their things had already arrived.
Huan Xuan got out of the car, took the box from his hand, opened it and took a look. The glazed lotus lamp was intact, lying safely on the silk mat. He breathed a sigh of relief, as if as long as one lamp was intact, their agreement to light lanterns would still stand.
Sui Sui was watching the servants packing up the boxes in the courtyard. When he received the business card brought in by the postman, he hesitated for a moment, but finally sighed secretly and said, "Your Highness, Prince Qi, please sit in the hall for a while. I will come after changing my clothes."
Huan Xuan followed the postman into the hall, where he drank tea while waiting for Sui Sui.
The Xiang curtain in the hall was half rolled up, the rain was drizzling like silk, the apricot tree in the courtyard was in bud, and under the eaves of the corridor, a pair of new swallows were carrying mud to build a nest. Huan Xuan watched them flying around the beams with interest, and his heart seemed to rise and fall with them.
Suddenly, a familiar figure broke through the rain curtain and entered his field of vision. He stood up involuntarily: "Su... General Xiao."
Sui Sui stepped forward and bowed: "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi."