Chapter 330 Mother and Son

Emperor Tai'an calmed himself down and walked in.

It was late at night and the Empress Dowager should have gone to bed long ago at her age. However, the lanterns in the Cining Palace were still on. The Empress Dowager sat upright on the couch, looking at Emperor Tai'an who walked in.

The mother and son looked at each other, and no one spoke for a moment.

After a long time, a candle flame popped from the palace lantern, breaking the silence in the room.

The Queen Mother spoke first, her voice as old as a candle that was about to burn out: "Silang is here, sit down."

This title made Emperor Tai'an's eyes tear up.

Yes, he is the Queen Mother’s Shilang.

But the Queen Mother has more than just him...

After a long silence, Emperor Tai'an asked in a hoarse voice, "Mother, is bloodline so important?"

It is so important that they would rather drive him off the throne and take his life.

After a longer silence, the Queen Mother asked, "Is it not important?"

Emperor Tai'an moved his lips. Although he had prepared for everything in advance, when the moment came when all the warmth and warmth was torn apart, he still felt heartbroken.

"Back then, you led your troops into the capital and seized the throne from your elder brother. Didn't I have a motherly affection for him? Yet, I stepped in to help you stabilize the situation, because you are also my son. One of my sons disappeared in that chaos, and I couldn't afford to lose another..."

The Queen Mother's tone was not excited, but one could see the restraint beneath her calm surface.

"It turns out that the Queen Mother has been blaming me all along."

The Empress Dowager looked deeply at Emperor Tai'an, her emotions surging. "I have resented you, but I also hope that you will be well, live a long and healthy life, be wise and intelligent, and pass on the empire your father built from generation to generation."

"Son...hasn't he always been doing this?"

"Who are you going to pass the throne to?" The Queen Mother looked at him intently. "Prince Ning's son, Prince Jing's son, or Prince Ding's son?"

"Prince Ning, Prince Jing, and Prince Ding are all the emperor's sons, my brothers—"

The Queen Mother stood up suddenly, and the emotions that had been suppressed for a long time finally burst out: "But they are not my sons, and their descendants have nothing to do with me!"

She defeated the Imperial Concubine, the Virtuous Concubine, and all those who wanted to compete with her, allowing her eldest son to sit on the throne smoothly.

The younger son was ambitious and stole his brother's things. Although she was angry, she let it go after she was out of anger. She felt that she was still a child and even loved her younger son more.

But now, the youngest son is going to adopt the grandson of the imperial concubine, the grandson of the virtuous concubine, and the grandson of the concubine Li...

Everything she had fought so hard to hold on to, ended up being given away to someone else. She thought she had the last laugh, but in the end, she was the one who was laughed at.

"Mother..." Emperor Tai'an's face turned pale, and he completely understood the Queen Mother's thoughts.

But this is precisely the point that has no solution.

It was impossible for him to reinstate his eldest son to bring disaster to the country. The birth of his youngest son made him give up the idea of having another child. As for his eldest brother's son, if he really adopted him, there was no doubt that he would not have a good end in the future.

The Queen Mother looked at her son, whose face was hard to hide from illness, and said softly, "Besides, you are ill."

I'm not young anymore and I have everything I should have. The eldest son has several sons. What's wrong with picking the most suitable one?

Emperor Tai'an felt a pain in his heart, and his haggard look became more and more obvious.

At this point, the mother and son seemed to have nothing more to say.

He remained silent, but the Queen Mother asked, "When did you notice this?"

All along, it was clear that the mother and son were loving and filial, and they lived happily together. But she had taken action for her eldest son, and he had been prepared for it. Think about it, hasn't it always been like this in the palace? She was old and had lost.

Emperor Tai'an felt an itch in his throat, but he forced himself not to cough.

Apart from anything else, it is true that he is sick.

"That day you came to see me, I slept for a long time. The next day you came again, and I slept even longer. I felt something was wrong, so I called the Imperial Master and the Imperial Physician to check..."

Emperor Tai'an did not say what he had found out, but the mother and son looked at each other and knew what was going on.

Isn't this the right time?

The Queen Mother wanted to ask.

If he had always trusted her completely, why would he become suspicious just because he slept with her for a longer time?

The Queen Mother didn't ask in the end.

She was the same. After her son gave Yi'an's husband to Princess Yuliu without consulting her, she felt dissatisfied.

The parents and brothers in the heavenly family will not tolerate any discord, but discord is bound to arise, and most of them will end in tragedy.

The Queen Mother remained silent.

Emperor Tai'an sat quietly for a while, then stood up and said, "My son, it's time to go back. There are still many things to deal with."

The Queen Mother looked deeply at Emperor Tai'an, her voice old and calm, as if the confrontation between mother and son had never happened: "Go, don't get too tired."

Emperor Tai'an walked slowly to the door, then suddenly turned around and kowtowed to the empress dowager: "Mother, my son is gone."

The empress dowager's eyelids trembled, and she accepted the salute from Emperor Tai'an in silence.

The familiar figure disappeared at the door, and the familiar footsteps gradually faded away. The empress dowager remained motionless like a clay sculpture.

The confidant nanny knelt at the Queen Mother's feet, her voice choked with sobs: "Queen Mother, the Emperor is still filial to you. As long as you speak——"

"What's the point?" The Queen Mother interrupted the nanny calmly, "I have lived a life of honor and dignity, and all I have ever wanted was to simply stay alive."

She could indeed continue to live a life of luxury by shedding a few tears, but from then on she was no longer the empress dowager respected by the emperor, but a prisoner in the palace.

She couldn't stand this kind of day for even a moment.

That night, the candles in the Cining Palace were never extinguished. When dawn came, countless suppressed cries were heard.

At dawn, the news that Prince Ping and the commander of the imperial guards, Zhang Ze, had colluded to break into the Qianqing Palace at night shocked the court and the public. Soon after, news came that the Queen Mother had died of fright in the palace riot, which made the hearts of all the officials and nobles tremble again.

Zhang Ze was the empress dowager's distant nephew. If we look into it carefully, it is hard to say whether the empress dowager died of fright or committed suicide after the coup failed.

No matter what, it was obvious that the Empress Dowager had died of fright, and the Emperor would not allow any other rumors to arise.

Each family once again reminded the younger generation to behave themselves recently. For example, Prince Jing immediately grabbed his youngest son and gave him a scolding to calm himself down.

Treason was a serious crime, and all the elders in King Ping's family were given white silk, except Qi Ming.

Emperor Tai'an summoned Qi Ming to the Yangxin Palace.

When Qi Ming saw Emperor Tai'an, he didn't say anything, but just bowed silently.

Emperor Tai'an glanced at him, his heart full of mixed feelings: "I heard that you were tied to the bedpost. Why weren't you with your father?"

Qi Ming hadn't had time to change his clothes yet, his disheveled appearance couldn't conceal his moonlit demeanor. Hearing this, he raised his lips and smiled, "Whether we were together then or not, it really doesn't matter to you. Fourth Uncle, white silk is worthless, just give me one."

Emperor Tai'an looked at his nephew, who casually asked for death, and shook his head. "I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. Since he said you were not his son, you should not be implicated now. Qingyuan is quiet and peaceful, just right for you. Go back."

Qi Ming smiled and said, "Since I'm not his son, how can I live in Qingyuan?"

"So what are your plans?"