Chapter 103 The Imperial Edict Finally Puts Consort Shu's Anxiety to Rest
The imperial physician stopped the bleeding from Consort Shu's wound, applied medicine, and instructed her to rest for half a month and not to move around. After that, he bowed and took his leave.
Consort Shu's already pale face was now even more bloodless. She leaned against the emperor's chest with her eyes half-closed, looking exhausted.
“Your Majesty, I never thought you would harm Ah Xuan. I know you wouldn’t.”
She whispered.
"You're lying, you don't believe me at all."
The emperor put his arm around her shoulder, his gaze falling on the injury on her knee. Although he was still refuting her words, his tone was more one of helplessness.
Consort Shu moved her head on his shoulder, adjusting to a more comfortable position, and sighed: "Even tigers don't eat their cubs. His Majesty has never been a heartless person. How could he harm his own child? If Prince Ning hadn't intended to kill his father, you wouldn't have touched him."
“Ah Xuan is different from Prince Ning. He is someone you cherish deeply, so you would never hurt him over trivial matters.”
“I’m not worried about how you will treat him, I’m worried that… as time goes by, you will eventually not like him as much as you do now.”
The emperor frowned slightly and looked down at her: "How could I not like him...?"
“It’s not that I don’t like it,” Consort Shu interrupted, “it’s just that I don’t like it as much as I do now.”
She looked up and met the emperor's gaze: "We all know why Qinghe died. It seems that Ah Xuan and Ah Ci were truly unaware of the situation, otherwise this wouldn't have happened."
“But Your Majesty, you are their elder and Ah Xuan’s father. You certainly want to have prestige in front of your son and do not want to affect your image in the children’s hearts because of other things.”
"You believe Ah Xuan knows nothing now, so you treat him as before. But what about the future? What if you suspect Ah Xuan knows something, or feel you've lost all authority in his presence? Won't you distance yourself from him because of that?"
"I……"
"You definitely think you can't."
Consort Shu interrupted again.
“I believe that you really don’t mean it that way, but you will definitely mind it. No man can be indifferent to this kind of thing, I understand.”
She patted the emperor's hand as she spoke, to comfort him.
"Your grievances don't stem from Ah Xuan, but from the deceased Prince Ning and Consort Fang. But the dead can't bear your anger any longer, so you have to swallow your remaining resentment. If one day you feel that Ah Xuan might have guessed it, you won't hate him because you know it's not his fault. But you might feel that you've lost face in front of him and not know how to face him for a while, so you might reduce the number of times you see him and let yourself calm down for a while."
"Or perhaps it has nothing to do with this matter, but rather he caused trouble or something else, and you'll have to leave him out of the picture for a while. Can Your Majesty guarantee that such a thing won't happen?"
"You mean even if he makes a mistake, I can't give him a hard time? Wouldn't that make him completely lawless?"
The emperor frowned, his voice tinged with displeasure.
“No,” Consort Shu shook her head, “I mean, whatever the reason, this kind of thing will definitely happen in the future.”
"Whether he made a mistake on his own initiative or was implicated by others as he is this time, no matter how much His Majesty loves him, he cannot protect him every moment."
"You have many important matters to consider, from court affairs to the balance of the harem, you have to worry about everything, it is impossible to focus all your energy on one child."
"Right now, Ah Xuan still has me. When Your Majesty is too busy, I can still look after him. But what if I'm no longer here one day, and Your Majesty has no time to take care of Ah Xuan..."
"Don't talk nonsense!" the emperor scolded lightly. "The imperial physician said you are just a little weak. Just take your medicine on time and eat well, and you'll be fine."
He patted Consort Shu's shoulder and pulled her closer into his arms.
Consort Shu simply smiled and shook her head: "I know my condition, and so does His Majesty. I won't die, but I won't live long either."
"Ah Ning!"
The emperor tightened his grip on Consort Shu's shoulder, not wanting her to say such things again.
Consort Shu did not stop, leaning against his side and saying, "If it weren't for His Majesty's efforts to keep me alive all these years, I would have died long ago. It is already a blessing from God that I have survived until now."
“I thought I would never have the chance to see Ah Xuan grow up, but now I not only see him grow into an adult, but I also see him get married and marry the girl he loves. I am truly happy for him, and I believe His Majesty feels the same way.”
“But Your Majesty, although the Xie and He families are no longer in the court, there are still the Zhang, Zhao, Liu, and Wang families. The court has never lacked such prestigious families. If these people regard Ah Xuan as an enemy, it is hard to guarantee that the Ning Prince’s incident will not be repeated.”
“I am incompetent and cannot offer Ah Xuan any assistance. My son and I have never coveted things that do not belong to us. But we are innocent, but we are guilty of possessing treasures. Others may think we have such intentions.”
"I really don't want to be troubled by this anymore, and I don't want Ah Xuan to suffer any more undeserved misfortune. So I beg Your Majesty to let Ah Xuan leave, just for his own good."
"From now on, he will live his life in his fiefdom, and we will live ours in the capital. He can spend his life with the one he loves, and we will stay together in the capital until we grow old. Isn't that good?"
She paused, then seemed to remember something: "I forgot, I don't have long to live..."
He then chuckled, "So Your Majesty wants Ah Xuan to stay with you?"
"Ah Ning, do you really have to rip out my heart like this?"
The emperor looked at her with red eyes, his voice trembling.
Consort Shu lowered her head, closed her eyes in the Emperor's arms, and tears streamed down her face. "You can't keep him here, Your Majesty. Ah Xuan will leave the capital sooner or later; we all know that. Since that's the case, why not let him leave at the most opportune time? Must we wait until later, until the situation is out of our control, and then watch him be driven out of the capital?"
"If it weren't for Aci's help, Axuan would have already been demoted and banished from the capital, and the Prince of Ning's evil deeds would have gone undiscovered for who knows when. And he also has troops under his command. I don't even dare to imagine what Axuan would encounter on his way to his fiefdom after leaving the capital..."
"If something like this happened again..."
She choked back tears, her shoulders trembling slightly, and soon her tears soaked the emperor's robes.
The emperor held her tightly, recalling the confessions he had extracted from Prince Ning and the Xie family, and knew that her worries were not unfounded.
But……
But……
He patted Consort Shu's shoulder, rested his chin on the top of her head, and finally spoke slowly: "Let me think about it, Aning, let me think about it..."
Consort Shu loosened her clenched fist, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.
…………
Three days later, an imperial edict was issued from the palace, ordering the Prince of Jin to leave the capital and assume his fiefdom in March of the following year.
Both are princes leaving the capital, but Prince Jing'an is leaving next month, which is like telling him to get lost and not stay and get in the way, while Prince Jin's departure is scheduled for after the New Year, which is obviously intended to let him spend the New Year in the capital before leaving.
Moreover, March is early spring, neither too hot nor too cold, making the journey more comfortable. The emperor's decree did not even specify how long it should take for the Prince of Jin to reach his fiefdom, implying that he could travel at his own pace and not rush.
The difference in treatment between the two princes was so obvious that it was clear which one was more important.
However, Qi Jinghong was implicated in the treason case because of the He family, and there was also the incident of Consort Hui's suicide. The fact that the emperor did not pursue the matter further was already a mercy. Now that he can go to his fiefdom, it is the best outcome. Many people think that the emperor is benevolent.
Qi Jingxuan was already favored by the emperor, and he had been wronged in the Ning Prince case. The emperor was lenient with him, so it did not provoke much opposition from the court officials.
For them, the fact that this纨绔 (playboy) could leave the capital was incredibly good news. This was not only beneficial to the stability of the court, but also to their own physical and mental well-being. Otherwise, this guy would be causing trouble in the capital every day, beating this person today and cursing that person tomorrow, which would be a real headache.
Now that he's gone, everyone only needs to endure it for another six months. It's truly a cause for celebration!
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