Chapter 95 How did our Great Sheng fall?
Ji Jinyou took the sixteenth prince out of Chongde Hall and went back to Miaoyunxuan to call the seventeenth prince.
The seventeenth prince was quite surprised to see his sister bringing back the sixteenth prince. He took the little girl's hand, pulled her aside, and asked worriedly, "Xiaojiu, why did you bring the sixteenth prince back? The sixteenth prince was just ill a few days ago, and his mother wouldn't let him play with others."
Ji Jinyou couldn't explain the reason, but just said: "My father had something to talk to Concubine Ling, so he asked me to take my sixteenth brother out to play for a while."
When the Seventeenth Prince heard that it was Emperor Wen Zhao who ordered it, he felt relieved and said nothing more. The three children went to Jingming Palace together to find the Fifteenth Prince.
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Emperor Wen Zhao returned to the palace. As soon as he entered, he saw Lingpin kneeling on the ground with a pale face. When she saw him come in, she immediately kowtowed and burst into tears: "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong, and I will never dare to do it again."
Emperor Wen Zhao thought of how miserable the Sixteenth Prince looked every time he was sick, and he became extremely angry. He kicked Concubine Ling to the ground, pointed at her and cursed her.
"You evil woman, you are simply insane. Sixteen is such a well-behaved and sensible child, how could you have the heart to treat him like that? You are simply not worthy of being a mother. No, no, no, I was wrong. You are not worthy of being a human being."
Emperor Wen Zhao kicked Concubine Ling on the shoulder with great force, causing her bones to crack. She fell to the ground, almost fainting from the pain, and was speechless for a long time.
Wen Zhaoli was too lazy to look at her again, so he walked over to the chair and sat down: "Someone come here."
Liang Quan walked in and bowed, "Your Majesty."
Emperor Wen Zhao said in a cold voice: "Send Lingpin to Yongsi Palace and she will not be allowed to leave until she dies. From today on, Lingpin is no longer the mother of the Sixteenth Prince."
Liang Wei was stunned by this sudden decree. Before the Ninth Princess came, His Majesty was still drinking tea and chatting with Concubine Ling and the Sixteenth Prince, and there seemed to be nothing unusual. How could such a big change happen suddenly?
Liang Quan was full of doubts, but seeing that Emperor Wen Zhao had a gloomy face and fierce eyes, as if he wanted to kill someone, he did not dare to ask more questions. He quickly replied yes and went out to call for help.
When Concubine Ling heard what Emperor Wen Zhao said, she could no longer care about the pain in her shoulder. She struggled to get up, crawled to Emperor Wen Zhao's feet, hugged his legs, and cried to the sky: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I really know that I was wrong. I will definitely treat Sixteen well in the future. Sixteen can't be without a mother. Please, for Sixteen's sake, forgive me this time."
Emperor Wen Zhao snorted coldly and kicked Lingpin away: "If I had known this would happen, I would not have done it in the first place."
Liang Quan had already walked in with two eunuchs. Seeing that there was no room for improvement, he gave the two eunuchs a look. The two eunuchs nodded, walked to Concubine Ling, gagged her, tied her hands, and dragged her away.
The palace was quiet. Emperor Wen Zhao rubbed his brows, closed his eyes and thought for a long time, then said, "Go and invite the Empress and the Imperial Concubine."
Liang Quanying went out and ordered people to go to Fengyi Palace and Furong Palace to invite people.
Soon, the Empress and the Imperial Consort came hand in hand. After entering the palace, they paid their respects to Emperor Wen Zhao.
Emperor Wen Zhao opened his eyes and beckoned, "Empress, beloved concubine, come and sit down."
The Empress and the Imperial Concubine jointly managed the affairs of the harem. They had heard about what had just happened in Chongde Hall, and they also knew that Concubine Ling had been dragged directly to Yongsi Palace. Without even thinking, they knew that this must be because of what Tong Tong had said.
Emperor Wen Zhao told the Empress and the Royal Consort everything that Tong Tong had just said about Concubine Ling and the Sixteenth Prince. After hearing this, the two of them looked extremely unhappy.
The Queen tried to think from Concubine Ling's perspective as to why she did that, but she was puzzled. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't understand why a man's favor was more important than the child she had carried for ten months.
The Imperial Concubine raised her hand and slammed the table, angrily saying: "Your Majesty is too kind-hearted. Why didn't you just beat such a vicious person to death?"
There was a "pop" sound, and Emperor Wen Zhao was so frightened that his hand holding the teacup shook and the tea spilled out. He sighed helplessly.
The Queen patted the Royal Concubine's arm and gently advised, "Don't be angry, sister. Your Majesty must be thinking about Little Sixteen. After all, the child is still young, and Lingpin has been taking care of him. He must still be very dependent on Lingpin. It is too sudden to suddenly separate them. If Your Majesty beats Lingpin to death in public, I'm afraid Sixteen will find it difficult to accept it for a while."
Emperor Wen Zhao nodded repeatedly and said with satisfaction: "The Empress still understands me."
The imperial concubine rolled her eyes and said, "I am disgusted by this vicious person who even wants to harm her own child. How long will Your Majesty keep her?"
Emperor Wen Zhao looked at the empress and asked, "What does the empress say?"
The queen thought for a moment and said, "Little Sixteen is already pitiful enough. Let's separate them first. After two or three years, when he has forgotten Lingpin, we can secretly execute her."
Emperor Wen Zhao nodded: "Let's do as the Empress says."
The Imperial Concubine asked again, "What do you plan to say to Sixteenth?"
Emperor Wen Zhao put down the teacup in his hand and said, "There is no need to hide it. Sixteen has heard what Tong Tong said today. I will tell him in person later."
"Yes, she is sixteen or seventeen years old, and we can't hide it." The Queen nodded: "Then let's say to the outside world that Lingpin is crazy. She suddenly went crazy in Chongde Hall and almost hurt Your Majesty, so she was sent to Yongsi Palace."
Emperor Wen Zhao nodded: "Yes."
The Royal Concubine asked again: "What about Sixteen?"
The Empress looked at Emperor Wen Zhao and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, if we count by age, he is sixteen and will soon be seven, so it is time for him to move out and live on his own. But this sudden change has happened, and if I let him live alone, I don't think it is appropriate."
Emperor Wen Zhao sighed: "I have the same concerns."
The Royal Concubine suggested, "There are so many concubines in the harem who don't have children. Why not find a new mother for Sixteen?"
The Queen replied, "Of course, it's fine, but who should be the right one to raise it?"
The last time they were looking for a mother for the seventeenth prince, the three of them rummaged through the many concubines in the harem, and finally picked out only one, Concubine Ru.
But now, Child Seventeen has been registered under Concubine Ru's name. If Child Sixteen is also given to Concubine Ru to raise, it will only bring hatred to Concubine Ru, and the other concubines will certainly be dissatisfied.
The Imperial Concubine thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I think there is someone who is quite suitable."
Emperor Wen Zhao asked, "Who?"
The Royal Concubine hesitated and waved her hand: "Stop it, Your Majesty must think it is inappropriate."
The more the Imperial Concubine said this, the more curious Emperor Wen Zhao became: "My beloved concubine didn't even say anything, so how do you know that I don't agree? Tell me about it."
The Royal Concubine still shook her head: "It's no use saying it." The last time when His Majesty was choosing a foster mother for the seventeenth prince, he directly omitted Concubine Zhen and didn't mention her at all.
"I hate it most when people leave their words unsaid." Emperor Wen Zhao was so angry that he pointed at her and then looked at the empress: "Does the empress know?"
The Queen glared at the Imperial Concubine and said, "Sister, why do you have to deliberately tease Your Majesty? Just say it directly."
The Imperial Concubine then spoke: "Princess Zhen."
When this name came out, the empress fell silent, and Emperor Wen Zhao also fell silent.
The Imperial Concubine rolled her eyes and said, "See what I said."
The empress looked at Emperor Wen Zhao's expression and saw that he was not unhappy, so she also spoke: "Your Majesty, I also think you can consider Concubine Zhen."
When Emperor Wen Zhao heard this, he asked, "Why do the Empress and Consort both think this way?"
The Imperial Concubine said, "Every year when I go out hunting, the only person in the harem who can compete with me in riding and archery is Concubine Zhen. Although I don't interact with her much, I think she is a good person. Moreover, every time she looks at the children in the harem, her eyes can't deceive anyone, she really loves children."
She was a woman who rode a horse and shot arrows with great spirit, and the Imperial Concubine always admired her. But such a woman who should have been free was trapped in this small world, and she couldn't even have children. Every time the Imperial Concubine thought of Concubine Zhen's lonely expression, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart that her fate was unfair.
Emperor Wen Zhao nodded slightly, then looked at the empress: "What does the empress say?"
The Queen said gently, "Princess Zhen is from Yao State, and I know your Majesty's concerns. But Concubine Ling is a Dasheng person through and through, and Sixteen is also the blood of our Dasheng. I think it would be fine even if Sixteen was given to Concubine Zhen to raise."
The Imperial Concubine continued, "Yes, Your Majesty, according to what Tong Tong said, in the original plot, Concubine Zhen had no children, and almost all the people in our palace had died, and Dasheng was destroyed. So, the rise and fall of our Dasheng has nothing to do with whether Concubine Zhen had children or not."
The Queen nodded in agreement: "Your Majesty is wise and brave, and you are in your prime. Now that Xiaojiu and Tongtong are here, our Dasheng will surely prosper for thousands of years and last for generations."
Emperor Wen Zhao smiled and took the Empress's hand: "Your Majesty, what you said hits the spot in my heart. I will follow your suggestion and give Sixteenth to Concubine Zhen to raise."
The Imperial Concubine smiled and said, "I will go and talk to her later."
The matter had been decided, and Emperor Wen Zhao didn't care who would speak up: "It's up to you."
The Queen said, "Then my sister should go and tell Concubine Zhen now. After Your Majesty has spoken to Sixteen, Concubine Zhen can take Sixteen over."
"That's right, sister." The Imperial Concubine stood up, bowed to the Emperor and the Empress, and walked out.
Emperor Wen Zhao called Liang Quan in and ordered him to find the sixteenth prince. Liang Quan accepted the order and left.
Emperor Wen Zhao and the Empress were the only two people left in the palace. Emperor Wen Zhao frowned and raised his hand to pat his forehead: "I wanted to ask you something just now. What was it?"
Knowing that Emperor Wen Zhao did not like to be interrupted when he was thinking, the empress kept silent and sat quietly by the side, waiting for him to think.
Emperor Wen Zhao thought for a while, then put his hand down and said, "Oh, yes, I remember now."
The Queen then asked, "What does your Majesty want to ask?"
Emperor Wen Zhao said: "Empress, Tong Tong said that our Great Sheng was destroyed in the end. Do you remember what Tong Tong said at that time? How did our Great Sheng end?"
The queen thought about it carefully and shook her head: "I don't remember exactly what Tong Tong said, I just remember that he mentioned the destruction of the country casually."
Emperor Wen Zhao nodded and said, "It seems that I remembered correctly. Tong Tong just didn't explain it in detail, otherwise I would not have no memory of it. But how did our Great Sheng fall?"
The queen guessed, "Perhaps it's because all of us have died fighting, and the royal family has been destroyed, so there will be a change of dynasty."
Emperor Wen Zhao nodded: "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense."