In fact, if Queen Mother Yuan really just asked King Chu to stay in the palace for a while, and then take the Eighth Prince back to the Queen after he recovered, the Queen might not be able to agree to calm Queen Mother Yuan's doubts.
The problem is that while the queen doesn't trust Chunjia, she can't trust the Queen Mother Yuan either.
Originally, the King of Chu had a humble biological mother. The reason why he was able to surpass other princes and become the king was simply because he adopted the queen and became his legitimate son. It turned out that he was the quasi-prince.
But this special treatment disappeared as his brain burned out due to fever.
Although Chunjia still feels a little pity for him when she sees him now, it is also a pity with regret, and it is getting weaker day by day. It cannot be compared with the love for King Zhaoqing of Qin, let alone competing with the Queen Mother Yuan
If the Queen really keeps King Chu and Empress Dowager Yuan takes action, the child may follow in the footsteps of the fourth prince and die in infancy.
The queen stepped on King Chu to promote the third prince. Although she had planned to give up the child, at least she would be indifferent, but after all, she had been raised to such a young age, and she was the kind of person who regarded the child as her own. How could she know clearly that Chu The king's chances of survival are slim if he stays, so he still has to do what the Empress Dowager Yuan wants
"Mother, this time it is really not the King of Chu who did this." Gu Zhen endured his anger and carefully advised the Queen Mother Yuan, "Since the last incident, my wife has been knocking her around again and again. How can they dare to let the King of Chu go to the eighth prince?" This time it was really that cheap maid who failed to serve the Eighth Prince well. My daughter-in-law has already dealt with him, and the new one is the daughter-in-law’s dowry, which can’t be more careful."
Empress Dowager Yuan said with a cold face: "The Ai family knows that King Chu has come to you early and that he is unlucky, so you will inevitably feel particularly distressed. But if you are an ordinary concubine, it is okay to be partial. But you are the queen of the middle palace. ! Everyone in this palace wants to call you 'Mother', how can you favor one over the other and chill the hearts of the children? The King of Chu is pitiful, but is his pity caused by his brothers and sisters? ? They are all noble heirs. Why should the other grandchildren of the Ai family have to endure the bullying and harm from King Chu?! Earlier, Xiao Shi barely survived. A few days ago, it was said that the child Zhaoqing was also raped. You said he cried in public, and the concubine was still depressed even after being coaxed for several days? He tried to do harm to Xiaoba two days ago, and you said this yourself! "
"Xiao Ba is in trouble now. Do you think it has nothing to do with King Chu?"
"Then the Ai family asks you, why does Xiaoba have nothing to do with you in the morning and nothing in the future, but why does it happen at this time?!"
Gu Zhen said: "Mother, this... it is common for children to get sick. Firstly, the eighth prince's condition is not serious. Secondly, how can there be any certainty in this kind of thing? If you can choose, who will be the mother in this world? Yes, wouldn’t you rather be bedridden for many years in exchange for your child’s lifelong health and success?”
"You have always been kind-hearted." Queen Mother Yuan glanced at her and sneered slightly, "At this time, you are still talking to the King of Chu... The Ai family can't bear to blame you. But you don't know why, the Ai family is here to tell you. : Because Concubine Jing and the others didn’t come with us during our summer vacation this year.”
Gu Zhen was slightly startled when he heard this, but when he was about to say something, the Queen Mother continued, "It is said that something went wrong after the King of Chu recovered from his illness, and he was no longer smart again. From the Ai family's perspective, he was not as clumsy as the rumors said, so he was competing for favor. , isn’t he just as agile? Ai Jia looked at him and got the reminder from this incident, so he decided to attack Xiao Ba right now. If Xiao Ba was too sick to return to the palace, wouldn’t he have to stay? Are you going to be raised in the palace? When the time comes, without this brother by your side, he will be able to take up more of your time!"
"..." Gu Zhen was completely speechless. She calmed down and then said, "Mother, how old is the King of Chu? How could he possibly think of so many things?"
"He is five years old and is about to go to school. Why do you still treat him as a child who doesn't understand anything?" Empress Dowager Yuan said coldly, "If he really is a child who doesn't understand anything, then Tell Ai Jia, how did he know how to bully Xiao Shi, know how to lift Zhao Qing's legs, and how he knew it would be detrimental to Xiao Ba?"
Gu Zhen said: "This is just a fight between children for favor. The daughter-in-law did not discipline the King of Chu well... But as the mother said, how could the King of Chu have such a scheme? If he could have it, the daughter-in-law would still need so many legitimate sons. ?"
Gu Zhen secretly felt resentment when he thought that King Zhaoqing of Qin had already entered school, but he could only count on the third prince to win back the honor of the middle palace.
If King Chu hadn't been deposed, why would she be so anxious
There is no need for Uncle Zhaowu to mess with the battle situation and make Chunjia angry!
After all, the entire Gu family, including the queen, took the wrong approach because King Chu couldn't do it!
The legitimate prince who is no longer old enough to enter school at the same time as the eldest son of the emperor has to face the growing strength of the common prince, and absorb the teachings and love of Chunjia, and the affirmation and support of the courtiers in advance... He may not follow in the footsteps of the legitimate son of King Sejong. .
He was obviously the prince who should inherit the throne according to the ancestral etiquette, but he met a miserable end because he was born too late.
Let me ask you, if Tai Tai, the eldest son left by Empress Sejong and Yuan Dynasty, grew up peacefully, even if his qualifications were mediocre, as long as he did not cause wrath and anger, what would happen to Shenzong
The queen concealed her heartache and continued in a slow voice, "Don't be angry, mother. My wife heard someone say early in the morning that children get sick every time, but they will be healthier when they grow up."
He added, "Besides, the Queen Mother also said that the last time the King of Chu went to frighten the Eighth Prince without any sense, it was only a few days ago. How can the Third Prince rest assured? In the past two days, the King of Chu has been following the Eighth Prince well. I won’t have a chance to get close to this younger brother.”
Empress Dowager Yuan hummed: "Even if King Chu didn't do it this time, King Chu has done many things that were unfavorable to his brothers. You and the younger emperor, in addition to the eighth prince, there are also ten princes, twelve princes, etc." Prince. Even if you don’t care about the eighth prince, don’t you care about the safety of the tenth prince and the twelfth prince? Now that King Chu is only five years old, he is already able to do many things. When he is older, he will even do it in front of you. Faced with the disadvantages of several young brothers, can you stop it? Do you have time to stop it? It's not that the Ai family is deliberately making things difficult for you, but as a queen, you should consider all the emperors' heirs, not just feel sorry for the King of Chu."
"You must know that other imperial heirs are also your children."
"According to the Ai family, it is better to keep the King of Chu in the palace. Firstly, it will prevent other royal heirs from being trembling and worrying about what will happen to the King of Chu when they go out. Secondly, it will also allow him to calm down and know that he is wrong and go to the palace." I won’t dare to do it again.”
The Queen Mother changed her expression to a gentle one, "We'll just let him stay alone in the palace for a few months. It's not like we don't leave anyone to serve him. When we come back next year, he must have a long memory and know how to behave. In this way, we can save our worries and the friendship between the children will be deeper."
If she didn't know that she was the kind of person who would kill King Chu, the queen would have almost agreed.
"Mother, how about this?" She was silent for a moment, then took a step back, "When he returns to the palace, my wife will give him a small courtyard to keep him in custody, and he is not allowed to go out at will. What if he stays in the palace, and he is the only one in such a big palace? , the child is so young, even if there are servants accompanying her, how can the daughter-in-law rest assured? Moreover, something happened in Yushan. Although it was a deliberate murder by the servants, the daughter-in-law has dealt with many people since then. This time for the sake of The Eighth Prince, you are not a little embarrassed! What if after we leave, some slaves who are not noticed by the wife make things difficult or even murder the King of Chu? What should we do? Even if the King of Chu is bad, he is still His Majesty's heir after all."
"The queen mother had cared so much for your majesty's heir, so she wouldn't just ignore the life of King Chu just because he is like this?"
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law argued back and forth for most of the day with no result. In the end, the Queen Mother was exhausted and gave up.
However, the queen was careful and worried that Queen Mother Yuan would be unfavorable to the King of Chu in private, so she specifically told those around her to keep an eye on the King of Chu to prevent anything from happening to him.
Even though he was so prepared, on the way back to the palace, the boy still got into trouble: the horse pulling him was frightened for no reason, suddenly rushed out of the road, and fell headlong into the cliff on the roadside!
The queen almost fainted when she received the news!
Part of it was worried about King Chu, and part of it was angry.
She promised to actually trap King Chu after returning to the palace. Why would Yuan's old and cheap maid want to kill him all? !
No matter how bad the King of Chu is, he is at least the legitimate son recognized on the jade plate.
In terms of dignity, why should the Eighth Prince compare with him
Gu Zhen suddenly had the urge to pick up the Eighth Prince and throw him down the cliff! ! !
She was persuaded by many voices from the left and right, and even Ping Xianyi came over to comfort her again and again. Then she held back her anger with trembling hands and asked someone to rescue her with a trembling voice.
At this time, everyone had no hope for King Chu's life, but unexpectedly, he did not die.
But there is no such good luck as being unscathed.
His legs were broken after being stuck in the carriage. According to the description of the Imperial Guards who went to the rescue, all the bones were exposed, and the man fainted from the pain.
The queen was angry and distressed, and couldn't help crying.
After all, he is also a legitimate son, or a former quasi-prince. If something like this happens, it is impossible for others to ignore it.
Yun Fenghuang made a special trip to visit her, and even comforted the queen with a few words.
She had no grievances against the King of Chu in the past, but something happened to the King of Chu before she could even think of eradicating this legitimate son, so she felt a little pity. But ever since King Chu spoke about Zhao Qing in public, Yun Fenghuang disliked the prince very much.
Now I am saying "Fortunately, my life is safe, don't be sad, my queen", but I am quite happy in my heart: I asked you to tell me that my daughter's leg is disabled and she will not be cured, and now your own leg is not cured either!
It turned out that she was not the only one who thought so.
The day after this incident, the team continued on the road, and rumors spread that the reason why King Chu fell off the cliff was simply because the imperial concubine was angry that he had spoken freely in front of Princess Zhaoqing, and deliberately ordered his subordinates to give him a lesson!
Otherwise, if a man and his carriage fell down from such a high place, how could it happen that nothing else happened and only one of his legs was broken
This clearly shows that the imperial concubine is venting her anger on her daughter!
… Many people believed it.
Even the King of Qin rushed to Yun Fenghuang and said emphatically: "Don't worry, concubine, I am still young now. When I grow up, I can break my fifth brother's legs without my concubine taking action! "
Yun Fenghuang: "...???!!!"
She went directly to the emperor and cried, "I didn't do anything, but even the King of Qin suspected that I had plotted to kill the King of Chu!"
Chunjia had actually figured out the ins and outs of this matter, but just as the queen thought, if someone else murdered his own flesh and blood, he would definitely not let it go.
But it was Empress Dowager Yuan who did this...
Especially since the King of Chu was also an abandoned prince, Chunjia couldn't help but not wanting to fall out with the Queen Mother over the child's legs.
His plan was to tactfully mention this matter to Empress Dowager Yuan, to show that he knew the truth, and to ask the Empress Dowager to restrain herself and stop attacking her children, otherwise it would only make him tired of the Eighth Prince.
But now that the imperial concubine has come to cry, the situation is different.
Because of the grievances between the imperial concubine and the Queen Mother Yuan, it was hard for Chunjia not to think about whether the empress dowager Yuan wanted to kill two birds with one stone, eliminating the possibility of the King of Chu murdering his brothers in the future and framing the imperial concubine