Chapter 43 Chapter 42 Oh? What crime have you committed?
Although Shangguan Jing was puzzled, she still did as she was told, "All of you go down."
Afterwards, all the palace servants in this side hall walked out under the leadership of Qingyan, even Furong who was following Liang Qiulan was no exception.
After hearing the sound of the palace door closing, Shangguan Jing looked at Liang Qiulan gently and said with a smile, "Now it's just you and me in the palace. If you have anything, please talk to your aunt."
Liang Qiulan suddenly knelt down. Shangguan Jing wanted to help her up, but she shook her head. Seeing this, Shangguan Jing gave up and said with some confusion, "Since you were a child, what have you asked of me that I haven't granted you? Why are you kneeling down for no reason? You're not feeling well, so get up quickly."
"Aunt, this matter is of great importance, so I ask you to send everyone away. If you don't want to help after hearing this, Lan'er will have no complaints in her heart." Liang Qiulan said in a deep voice.
"If you have something to say, just say it directly. Why are you being so cautious?" Shangguan Jing quipped. She knew this matter wouldn't be easy to resolve. If it weren't for this, the influence of the Duke of Ying would be sufficient, and Liang Qiulan wouldn't have to come to her for help. But she didn't care. Liang Qiulan was the only one in their family now. Even if she couldn't accomplish this, the worst that could happen was to invite her retired father back home.
"What I gave birth to back then was not a stillbirth, but a baby boy." Liang Qiulan said in a deep voice. She was a little worried about Shangguan Jing's reaction after hearing this.
Although Shangguan Jing was a little surprised, she was more happy. "You mean the child is still alive?" She couldn't hide the anticipation and excitement in her tone.
"Aunt, don't you blame me for hiding it from you? What's more, this is a crime of deceiving the emperor." Liang Qiulan was a little puzzled. Shangguan Jing accepted it too calmly.
Shangguan Jing snorted coldly, her tone filled with disdain and sarcasm. "So what if it's the crime of deceiving the emperor? The late emperor was so incompetent, and he believed those so-called prophecies so firmly. If he knew you were giving birth to a boy, who knows what absurd things he would do, even taking a man as your wife. Besides, you must have had your own reasons for keeping this a secret from your aunt. Your aunt is heartbroken, so how could she blame you?"
Seeing that the other party trusted her so much, Liang Qiulan's emotions surged in her heart, and the grievances she had suffered over the years came to her mind one by one. But the moment Gu Shiyan's face appeared in her mind, everything disappeared with the wind.
"Although the child was not stillborn, he was in poor health. We secretly invited countless doctors, but they all said that he would not live for a few days. And because the child was a boy, we did not dare to ask the imperial physician. A few hours later, the child stopped breathing in my arms. I thought our fate as mother and child had ended, but then a hermit master came to our mansion." Liang Qiulan's words were intermittent. To this day, the scene of that year is still a thorn in her heart.
Liang Qiulan's voice was now tinged with tears. "He fed the child a pill, and moments later, the child began breathing again and even started crying. But the knight said that the pill was only a temporary solution, and that he had to take the child away to save his own life."
Shangguan Jing held Liang Qiulan in her arms, gently stroking her back in an attempt to comfort her. Her eyes were red with heartache for Liang Qiulan. She couldn't imagine how a mother could accept the loss of her child in her arms, then resurrection, only to experience the pain of separation. The greatest suffering Liang Qiulan had endured since childhood was being taught how to read by her grandfather. She had endured this pain for so long without a word. She had finally grown up, but if anything, she didn't want him to grow up.
"In order to save the child's life, Gu Cheng and I discussed and agreed that he could take the child away. Twenty years have passed since then, and the child finally came back a few days ago." Liang Qiulan's tone was tinged with a hint of joy from the heart.
Shangguan Jing, who was standing by, was also infected by her emotions and kept muttering, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back." She was really happy for Liang Qiulan from the bottom of her heart.
"Then you came to see me today because of this child." Shangguan Jing guessed the purpose of Liang Qiulan's visit today, so she said it directly. There was no need to hide anything between them.
"We were the ones who deceived the emperor back then. If His Majesty were to investigate, I'm afraid it would be disastrous. But before that master left, he specifically told us that the fewer people who knew about the child's life, the better. This time, we resorted to this desperate measure, announcing that I gave birth to a stillborn child." Liang Qiulan then changed the subject, his tone tinged with tenderness. "But we already owed this child too much. It would be a great injustice to let him return to the capital under a different identity."
"So I would like to ask my aunt to come forward and plead with His Majesty, asking His Majesty to grant him the position of Crown Prince." Liang Qiulan then stated the purpose of her trip, which was pretty much the same as Shangguan Jing's guess.
"I'll speak to His Majesty about this. While you're here today, please have a good chat with your aunt before you leave." Shangguan Jing agreed, but she wasn't entirely sure. She simply didn't want to worry Liang Qiulan by saying it. The current emperor's thoughts were deep, and even though she had been in the harem for decades, she still couldn't fathom this young emperor's thoughts.
She had always thought the emperor was only interested in power, but in recent years, he had even become less involved in court affairs. Getting the emperor to willingly agree to this would be difficult, unless she could find the woman he had met in Jiangnan. However, as far as she knew, that woman had long since passed away, and the emperor had been depressed for a long time because of it.
The two of them talked about many things in this side hall. When Liang Qiulan left, Shangguan Jing gave him many rewards, so that Liang Qiulan was followed by five or six young eunuchs. When he arrived at the palace gate, he attracted a lot of attention. They didn't dare to look at him openly, but just took a sneak peek in secret.
While Liang Qiulan and Shangguan Jing were talking in the Cining Palace, on the other side, in the Chengming Palace.
Mu Congmo was half leaning on the dragon throne, playing with a jade ring made of fine mutton-fat jade in his hand, and listening to the man below him talking with great interest.
"Your Majesty, the aristocratic families have become increasingly arrogant in recent years, even engaging in many acts of extortion against the people. I beg Your Majesty to punish them severely and serve as a warning to others."
Upon hearing this, the emperor on the throne curled up his lips in a strange smile, making it impossible to discern his true thoughts. He chuckled and said, "I remember that Lord Gu was also born into an aristocratic family. Why are you talking about other aristocratic families today?"
The man kneeling below was none other than Duke Gu Cheng of Ying. He knew that if he wanted the emperor to forgive the past and appoint Gu Shiyan as Crown Prince, he would have to offer him a bargaining chip that would move him. Unfortunately, the emperor possessed immense wealth, and offering such leverage was not easy. He pondered for a long time, analyzing the current situation in the capital. Factional strife was intensifying, and the aristocratic families had always been a major concern for the emperor. If he voluntarily submitted to the emperor and abandoned his neutrality, perhaps he could successfully secure the Crown Prince position for Gu Shiyan.
Three years ago, the aristocratic families were at their most violent. This coincided with the Huai prince's rebellion, and Duke Hanguo, in collusion with him, was publicly beheaded by His Majesty. For a time, the aristocratic families were in a state of panic, fearing that the emperor would one day turn his hand to them. Even everyone in the court believed that the emperor was planning to take action against the aristocratic families, but the aristocratic families had no such intentions.
The world had therefore calmed down somewhat, and had only recently begun stirring up trouble to test the Emperor's attitude, but the Emperor hadn't reacted, as if nothing had happened. However, the Shadow Dragon Guards were omnipresent, so how could the aristocratic families' little tricks escape their notice? This only proved that the Emperor didn't care about the matter.
Gu Cheng was a little nervous. He wasn't sure what the emperor was thinking, so he could only test the waters. But when he heard the emperor's question, he knew the matter was already halfway settled. If the emperor didn't have the intention of eliminating the aristocratic family in his heart, he would definitely not speak.
"Your Majesty, I am first a commoner of Daliang, and then a descendant of an aristocratic family." Gu Cheng said it in a very high-sounding manner. In this way, he could show his loyalty to the emperor and express his patriotism. Why not do it?
Mu Congmo chuckled softly, his smile tinged with sarcasm, and he cursed inwardly, "You've been an old fox for so many years, and you're still pretending to be a patriotic scholar. How ridiculous!" As for those aristocratic families who were like jumping clowns, he had previously simply been too lazy to deal with them. But now that A Yan's traces had appeared in the capital, he could no longer keep these jumping clowns around, in case they were careless and offended A Yan one day.
"My dear minister, just tell me what you want. Why bother with this hypocritical talk? I'm getting annoyed listening to it." Mu Congmo didn't give the other party any face. They were all smart people. If they had any requests, they could just say it directly. There was no need to hint at it in a roundabout way.
"I am guilty, and I dare not ask for more. I only pray that Your Majesty will forgive me." Gu Cheng wasn't offended by Mu Congmo's words. After all, he was the emperor, and since he had something to ask of him, it made sense to be humble. He sighed inwardly, thinking this emperor was truly different from previous ones. Even the thick historical books had never recorded an emperor speaking so directly. But he had to admit that Mu Congmo was indeed born to be an emperor.
Mu Congmo showed compassion for the people, and his achievements in civil and military affairs were among the best of Daliang's previous emperors. He could have been hailed as a wise ruler in history books. Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, the emperor insisted on launching an army against the Northern Rong, even dispatching the Buddhist Master Jingkong, who was stationed at the Huguo Temple and was responsible for protecting the emperor. Despite the ministers' opposition, they were ultimately forced to submit to the emperor's majesty.
The war with the Northern Rong has been going on for three years now. The army led by General Jing Ziping has captured dozens of Northern Rong cities. The Northern Rong has also written to the emperor many times requesting peace talks, but the emperor has no intention of negotiating at all.
"Oh? My dear Gu, you have devoted yourself to the country and worked hard for it. How can you be said to be guilty?" The emperor on the throne finally became interested at this moment. He sat up straight from his half-leaning position just now. His pair of captivating phoenix eyes slowly opened and looked at the person kneeling below.
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