Chapter 253 The Emperor's Mindset 2

What the Queen Mother said was like a life-saving straw thrown to Ruchangzai who was in a desperate situation.

She felt as if she had been pardoned. She kowtowed to Xiao Jingheng and the Queen Mother repeatedly to thank the emperor for his grace.

Although Song Zhao was watching Ru Changzai the whole time, his peripheral vision was secretly spying on Xiao Jingheng.

Seeing that his face was full of disgust, it seemed that he really wanted to kill Ruchang to vent his anger and avenge the unjust death of him and the imperial concubine's child.

But what is the reality?

After returning to the palace that day, the wet nurse had already coaxed Cheng Yu to sleep.

Song Zhao sat in front of the nursery couch, staring at the sleeping little one.

He was almost half a year old and had grown four white jade-like milk teeth. When Song Zhao teased him during the day, he would sometimes be bitten by him and he could already feel the pain.

When I sleep at night, I drool more.

Song Zhao would gently wipe the corners of the child's mouth with a silk handkerchief from time to time, and he couldn't help feeling emotional. He was born in a royal family and grew up safely, which was truly a blessing from heaven.

Outside the palace, whether a child can be born safely depends on the mother and his own luck.

But when it comes to the palace, whether the child can be born safely depends on "the right time, the right place and the right people".

And this 'harmony among people' refers to Xiao Jingheng.

Song Zhao was almost certain that everything that happened today was done by Xiao Jingheng.

The son of Concubine Chen who died young must have been suffocated to death.

The imperial concubine has no male offspring, which completely cuts off the possibility that the Ning family will use the emperor to control the princes in the future.

Xiao Jingheng looked very sad throughout the whole process, and all the concubines saw it. Even if Concubine Chen knew that her son had died in the future, she would most likely not suspect Xiao Jingheng.

Then, Ruchangzai also became the scapegoat for this incident.

Moreover, Ruchang is afraid of death and this matter is of great importance. If she wants to survive, she will definitely ask for the military power of her mother's family in exchange. After all, this is the only bargaining chip she can offer.

However, Xiao Jingheng insisted on not agreeing to this matter, but in the end, the Queen Mother agreed to it.

When the trial was going on as usual, Xiao Jingheng 'inadvertently' had all the concubines present to watch.

I'm afraid he probably wanted everyone to see that this matter was decided by the Queen Mother and had nothing to do with him, the emperor whose son had just died.

Although he holds a high position, he is actually just a poor father who cannot control his own affairs...

When Concubine Chen learns about this from someone else,

She would probably be deeply moved by Xiao Jingheng's attitude of ignoring the political situation and executing Ru Changzai for the sake of their child.

in this way,

Xiao Jingheng only lost a son.

However, he completely eliminated the possibility of the Ning family's rebellion, and instead made Mongolia willingly offer 50,000 troops.

What has he got to lose?

There are so many women in the harem, and there is no telling how many women outside the palace walls are eagerly waiting to squeeze in.

Xiao Jingheng was destined to have a large number of children.

From this perspective, he not only did not suffer any loss, but instead made a fortune.

Xiao Jingheng's calculations were clear to everyone. In his eyes, these women who accompanied him every day were not like his wives and concubines, but more like bargaining chips for him to consolidate his government and develop national strength.

What are these women in the palace fighting about?

They are fighting for it, just to show themselves in front of Jamel Xiao and show that they are more useful?

When a person's ultimate goal is to become someone else's appendage, she has completely lost herself.

This life seems to be filled with wealth and glory, but in fact, there has never been a moment of living for oneself.

In the end, I was tricked by my husband.

Song Zhao really felt bored with days like this.

Song Zhao was so absorbed in his thoughts that he forgot the time.

Yunshan saw that she had not rested yet at three o'clock in the morning, so he went to the side hall to look for her.

"My lady, it's already three o'clock in the morning. You must be very tired today. Why don't you go to bed early?"

Song Zhao looked up at her in a trance and asked inexplicably,

"Yunshan, do you think that women are born to be appendages of men?"

Yunshan didn't understand what Song Zhao meant, but answered seriously.

"A woman should obey her father at home, obey her husband after marriage, and obey her son after her husband's death. This has been the case since ancient times."

She answered fluently and naturally, as if she was speaking out the wise sayings engraved in her bones.

Everything seemed so natural.

Song Zhao lowered his eyes to look at the sparse moonlight sprinkled on the windowsill, and murmured softly:

"If it's all like this, does that mean it must be right?"

"What did the queen say?"

"Nothing." Song Zhao shook his head calmly, then reached out his hand and let Yunshan help her up.

"I'm tired. Please help me wash up."

Those who can't sleep tonight,

In addition to Song Zhao, there is also the Queen Mother.

Since she returned to the palace, she has been kneeling in front of the Buddhist shrine, burning incense and praying.

I recited the Rebirth Sutra over and over again, and my knees became sore from kneeling, but I didn't want to get up.

Qingzhu felt sorry for her, so she advised, "Queen Mother, it's getting late, you should rest."

The Queen Mother added new incense and placed it upright in the incense burner.

Then he sighed briefly and asked tiredly:

"Qingzhu, do you think I was wrong to do this?"

Qing Zhu Ming said: "Empress Dowager, please allow me to say something unpleasant. You are not the emperor's biological mother. If the emperor wants you to cooperate with him in anything, as long as it is for the peace and prosperity of Daqi, you must cooperate to do it."

"But after all, he is the emperor's own flesh and blood." The Queen Mother's tone was inevitably a little excited, and she said mockingly:

"The emperor has made three plans in advance. This time, he has not only checked the Ning family, but also weakened Mongolia. The late emperor chose him to ascend the throne. He really had a keen eye for heroes."

Qing Zhu said: "Since ancient times, which emperor did not climb a mountain of corpses to ascend the throne?"

"But how many people are stepping on their own flesh and blood?"

Faced with the Queen Mother's question, Qingzhu was speechless for a moment.

Afterwards, she stopped persuading him and let the Queen Mother chant sutras for the poor child all night long.

*

In the previous dynasty, Ru Changzai's family letters were sent to Mongolia at an urgent speed of 800 miles, and he soon received a reply from the Mongolian king.

What the Mongolian king said in the letter was that Mongolia voluntarily offered 50,000 troops to the imperial court without any conditions in exchange.

Ruchangzai was able to break the impasse and lift the house arrest.

She is a timid person. On the surface, she has the domineering attitude of Concubine Chen, but in fact she can't stand being scared.

Since escaping death, she has had nightmares almost every night.

That night, she woke up from her dream, screaming and touching her neck.

The personal maid Sergi, who was on night watch outside, heard the noise and immediately ran into the inner bedroom to check what was going on.

"My lord! What happened to my lord?"

"My neck!" Ruchang grabbed Sergey's shoulders and said incoherently: "My neck was broken! Such a thick hemp rope! No, I don't want to die!"

Seji held Ruchangzai's hand tightly and said firmly, "Don't be afraid, my lady. It's just a nightmare. You are fine. The emperor has not pursued you anymore, and no one will harm you."

After a long while, Ruchangzai finally distinguished between dreams and reality.

But she was still sweating and her body was shaking.

She clenched her fists tightly and pounded on the quilt, saying angrily:

"It's all the fault of that Concubine! She deserved the death of her child. She couldn't save her own child, so what does it have to do with me?"

"My lady, you can't say that!" Saiji made a silent gesture to Ruchang, "The emperor doesn't allow the harem to mention this matter. The imperial concubine doesn't know about it yet. If she knew, she would be very sad..."

Hearing this, a cunning light flashed in his eyes as usual, and he sneered:

"Tomorrow is the seventh day since her son's death. As a mother, how could she miss such a 'good day'?"

He hooked his finger at Sergey.

"Come here, I have something to tell you."