Concubine Wu accompanied the emperor and poured him a glass of wine. Her round eyes looked at him affectionately, "Your Majesty has a good tolerance for alcohol. I offer you another glass. Your Majesty is a master of both civil and military strategy. The people of the country are united. You are truly a modern-day Yao and Shun, a contribution that will endure for all eternity!"
The emperor laughed and said, "How can I compare to what my beloved concubine said? After all, I cannot compare to the achievements of the late emperor in pacifying the troubled times."
Concubine Wu said seriously, "Your Majesty is too modest. They say conquering an empire is difficult. In my humble opinion, the late emperor was merely a brave man. Governing an empire is the true skill. Your Majesty is far superior to the late emperor. The world is ignorant, so they cannot see your Majesty's achievements."
These words touched the emperor's heart. He put his arm around Concubine Wu and sighed, "My beloved concubine understands me best. If everyone understood my heart as well as I do, there would be no need to worry about the prosperity of my country."
The emperor drank a glass of wine from Concubine Wu's hand. He looked around at the table and turned to ask Liu Xi, "Where's A Yan? Is he still refusing to come?"
Liu Xi knelt down with a thud and said loudly, "I have already invited you and tried to persuade you, but Your Highness is not feeling well and cannot come to the banquet."
The emperor sighed, a look of dejection on his face. "I want to be a kind father, but A Yan always gets in my way. It's not that he has any physical problems, it's just that he doesn't want to see me!"
"Forget it, let him be. It's not that I'm unkind, but this child is too stubborn. I can't do anything about him."
Concubine Wu patted the emperor's chest and gently advised, "Your Majesty has been very lenient with the eldest prince. Your Majesty did not vent your anger on the eldest prince regarding the Qi family incident. However, the eldest prince did not know what was good for him and insisted on defending the traitor. This is what hurt Your Majesty."
"I understand your majesty's fatherly heart. You've been sending people to invite him every day. Perhaps the eldest prince will come today. I believe that one day the eldest prince will understand and comprehend your majesty's difficulties."
The emperor held Concubine Wu's hand and said, "My beloved concubine, you have worked hard. Ah Yan has a bad temper. I am sure he has made me angry a lot, right?"
Concubine Wu looked shy and said, "It is not hard for me to share your Majesty's worries."
The Fifth Prince came over at the right moment and said indignantly, "Big brother, you are disrespectful to our father. You are unfilial! Our father, why should we be saddened by such an unfilial person? I am also your child. I will definitely be filial to you and will never make you sad."
The emperor laughed. "Okay, okay! I know you're filial. Come here and let me take a good look at you. You've lost weight. Are the duties of the Ministry of Justice too tiring? You should make sure to rest during the day..."
On the high platform, the three of them were having a great time, laughing and talking happily.
The other princes had no chance to get a word in, and even when they toasted the emperor they were only given a quick glance. I'm afraid the emperor didn't even get a clear look at what they looked like.
The eighth prince was even worse off. He was born with a stutter, and before he could finish his toast, the emperor impatiently threw his sleeves and shouted angrily, "What did Concubine An teach you? You can't even speak clearly. Leave!"
Xiao Mu's position was behind many other princes, almost next to the door of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The emperor didn't like him, so naturally no one came to talk to him.
When he was bored, he heard a creaking sound. He turned around and saw his elder brother sitting in a wheelchair with only a delicate palace maid following him.
There was a threshold to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, but the eunuchs around seemed blind and no one came forward to help Xiao Yan.
Xiao Mu vaguely felt that his father did not think as highly of his elder brother as he appeared to be, otherwise why would these eunuchs dare to neglect his elder brother like this.
"Brother? Why are you here? Let me help you." Xiao Yan immediately stood up to help lift the wheelchair.
The beautiful maid glanced at him, seemed a little disgusted by his small stature, and said coldly: "No, I can do it myself."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Mu saw that the palace maid actually lifted the heavy wheelchair, stepped over the threshold steadily, and carried the eldest prince and the wheelchair into the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Xiao Mu widened his eyes in surprise and couldn't help but look at the palace maid a few more times. It was the first time he saw a palace maid with such great strength.
Such a big commotion at the door immediately attracted the attention of many people.
Ji Yunhuan sat in a wheelchair, bearing the identity of the deposed crown prince, and calmly accepted the onlookers' gazes. She didn't care whether it was ridicule or pity.
It was just a few steps. Xiao Yan pushed the rough wheelchair with difficulty. Veins bulged on the back of his hands. He tried his best to be patient and not show any resentment towards those people!
In fact, he was not as strong as Xiaoyun imagined. The feeling of falling from heaven to hell was really hard to bear. He never showed up and hid himself in a dark cave, as if this could isolate him from all malice.
Three years later, when he returned to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he seemed to see blood all over the ground and heard his mother's sad and angry accusations. His mother left so resolutely, and the bright red blood splashed on his face, becoming his eternal nightmare.
Ji Yunhuan knocked on the armrest of the wheelchair, Xiao Yan stopped, and the wheelchair stopped in the center of the hall.
Xiao Yan lowered his head and whispered in Xiao Yun's ear, "Your Highness, are you able to do this? If not, let's go back."
Ji Yunhuan was wearing a simple cotton dress, which was out of place with the luxurious atmosphere in the hall. She lowered her head, coughed lightly twice, and looked sick.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. You can leave first. I can handle it myself."
Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment, then let go of the armrest of the wheelchair and stepped aside with his head lowered.
He has a small hidden sword in his palm, and he will ensure Xiaoyun's safety no matter what.
Ji Yunhuan steered the wheelchair with difficulty. The further she moved forward, the more people there were and the harder it became to move. No one came to help her. The whole court was silent, as if everyone was watching a comedy.
Finally, she knocked over the fifth prince's desk and came before the emperor.
There was a high staircase between the two of them, so she naturally couldn't climb up. Now she could only look up at the emperor who was high above her.
Ji Yunhuan was gasping for breath and looked extremely weak. She propped herself up and stood up, but soon fell back into the wheelchair.
She bowed to the emperor, then lowered herself to the throne. "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Father," she said in a heavy voice. "Long live your Highness! Now I can't even pay my respects to you, Father. I'm truly ashamed."
Xiao Qiping wanted to laugh out loud!
Three years passed, and Xiao Yan finally bowed to him!
This is the majesty of the emperor! No matter who it is, even the crown prince appointed by the previous emperor, if they dare to disobey him, they will never have a good end!
This was just the beginning. If Xiao Yan truly surrendered, he wouldn't have to kill a useless person.
Xiao Qiping was extremely excited and shouted, "Great, great! It's good that he's here! After three years, my son finally figured it out."
Concubine Wu was also smiling, but the smile did not reach her eyes. "Your Highness is finally here. His Majesty was just talking about you."
The Fifth Prince returned to his seat. Several eunuchs were clearing the table that had been knocked askew. He was furious and said angrily:
"Yes, we all came here early in the morning, fearing that we would miss the emperor's presence. Big brother, you are late, but are you dissatisfied with the emperor?"
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