Chapter 104 I beg you, how many people do you intend to spend your life with?
"Mother, what...what's wrong with you?"
Upon entering Zhaohua Palace, Qi Jingxuan saw Consort Shu leaning against the bed. The smell of medicine in the room seemed different from usual, causing him to frown.
Although Consort Shu was frail and often ill, she always dressed neatly and sat properly whenever Qi Jingxuan came to see her, in order to put her child at ease. She rarely lay in bed like this.
"It's nothing serious. I've just been feeling a bit unwell lately and haven't been wanting to move around much."
Consort Shu said gently.
Qi Jingxuan's brows remained furrowed, and he inexplicably felt that the smell of medicine in the room was somewhat familiar.
He sat down beside Consort Shu, the medicinal smell growing stronger. Just as he was about to ask, he suddenly remembered the origin of that familiar feeling, and his expression changed abruptly: "You're injured?"
With that, he yanked off the thin blanket covering Consort Shu's legs.
Her left knee was noticeably more swollen than her right, clearly indicating that she had a bandage wrapped around her trouser leg.
"What happened? What's wrong with your knee?"
Qi Jingxuan said anxiously, and got up to try to lift up Consort Shu's trouser leg, but she stopped him with her hand.
"I'm really fine, I just bumped into something by accident."
Her voice remained gentle as she pulled Qi Jingxuan back to sit down, telling him to be quiet and not to startle her.
"How did you bump into something like that?" Qi Jingxuan was still very anxious. He wanted to touch her injury but was afraid of hurting her. "I was wondering why this medicine smelled so familiar. It turns out it's a liniment for sprains and bruises from the palace."
He is very familiar with the things he has used since childhood.
Consort Shu smiled wryly. Her knee was badly injured. It was more comfortable to lie flat, but it hurt a lot when she bent it even slightly.
She originally intended to sit and wait for Qi Jingxuan as usual, but after trying it, she couldn't hold on any longer and was afraid that Qi Jingxuan would find out, so she simply lay down and covered herself with a thin blanket.
Little did they expect that Qi Jingxuan's keen sense of smell would detect something amiss as soon as he entered the room.
"Everyone bumps and bruises sometimes, it's nothing. You fell and fought your way up from a young age, and you're still this big."
Consort Shu smiled.
Qi Jingxuan, however, felt that something was wrong no matter how he thought about it.
With so many servants in the palace, and given her mother's poor health, those attending to her were even more meticulous. Over the years, she hadn't even suffered a scratch, let alone a bump or bruise. How could she have suddenly been injured this time, and so severely at that?
A bad feeling rose in his heart, and he tentatively asked, "Mother, is your injury... related to the decree issued by Father that I leave the capital and be enfeoffed?"
He entered the palace today to ask the emperor about this imperial edict, but he habitually came to Zhaohua Palace first to visit Consort Shu. Unexpectedly, he learned that she was injured.
Consort Shu hadn't expected him to connect the two matters so quickly. She originally wanted to find another excuse to brush it off, but then she thought that Qi Jingxuan would be leaving the capital next year and would have to face everything on his own in his fiefdom. So she stopped trying to hide it: "It's true that you become like those you associate with. Aci is a smart girl. You've become smarter by spending time with her."
She spoke seriously in a joking tone, but Qi Jingxuan was taken aback.
Mother Consort...this confirms his words.
That sudden imperial edict was indeed related to my mother.
His eyes immediately welled up with tears, and he tugged at Consort Shu's sleeve, asking, "That imperial decree... it was Mother Consort who helped me obtain it... and you were even injured because of it..."
Consort Shu patted the back of his hand: "Ah Xuan, leave the capital. This is the best choice now."
"I know, I know," Qi Jingxuan choked back tears, "but what about you, Mother? What will you do?"
"I"
Consort Shu chuckled and turned to look at the square courtyard outside: "I'm destined to spend my whole life here."
“But Ah Xuan,” she said, then looked at Qi Jingxuan, “this has nothing to do with you. You have a long life ahead of you, and you shouldn’t be burdened by this palace.”
"Listen to your mother, stay far away from here, and never come back without an imperial edict. Even if there is an imperial edict from the capital summoning you back, try to refuse it, and it's best not to come any closer to this place."
Once a prince leaves the capital, even if the emperor or empress dies, he is not allowed to return to the capital for the funeral without the permission of the new emperor, let alone the fact that Consort Shu is only a concubine.
There's only one possibility for Qi Jingxuan to return to the capital: the emperor must issue an edict summoning him. And whether that emperor is the current one or the future one, it's unlikely to be a good thing for him.
The current emperor's summons of him to the capital will unsettle the crown prince and the other princes. The new emperor's summons—who knows if it's to get rid of him?
Therefore, Consort Shu would rather he stay in his fiefdom for the rest of his life and never return.
But never returning meant that he and his mother would never see each other again. When Consort Shu passed away, Qi Jingxuan wouldn't even be able to attend her funeral.
Qi Jingxuan had been unable to make the decision to leave the capital these past few days because he couldn't let go of Consort Shu. Now that Consort Shu had taken the initiative to obtain the imperial decree for him to leave the capital, he was overwhelmed with emotions and couldn't express them, which turned into rolling tears.
“I will beg my father, I will beg my father to let you leave the capital with me.”
He held Consort Shu's hand and choked up as he spoke.
Consort Shu gripped his hand tightly, her gaze resolute: "Don't say such things to him, not a single word!"
"But……"
"No buts."
Consort Shu's tone was resolute: "Ah Xuan, your mother cannot leave. No matter what you say, your mother cannot leave. So... do not do anything unnecessary, do not let your mother's efforts be in vain."
As she finished speaking, her voice softened and she gently wiped away Qi Jingxuan's tears: "If you go to see him, either thank him for letting you leave the capital, or tell him how much you miss him, but please don't mention me."
Qi Jingxuan held Consort Shu's hand and knelt by her bedside, weeping bitterly.
How can I express my gratitude to him? How can I say a word of thanks to my father?
I thank him for forcibly bringing my mother and me into the palace back then. I thank him for all the suffering he and my mother endured over the years, weighing the pros and cons. I thank him for knowing that the incident at the Cheng'an Marquis's residence was the work of Prince Ning, yet he did not pursue it. I thank him for knowing that he should be allowed to leave the capital and be granted his fiefdom at this time, yet he only agreed after my mother was injured and begged. I thank him for separating my mother and me from this point on, never to see each other again, even in life or death.
Qi Jingxuan had once genuinely loved and respected the emperor; he had understood and admired him, believing he had his own difficulties. But there were things he could have easily done with a simple gesture, so why wouldn't he?
With so many concubines in the harem, why does Father Emperor insist on keeping Mother confined here? Since he claims to love her, why can't he let her live the life she desires instead of locking her up in this cage?
Qi Jingxuan didn't know how long he had stayed in Zhaohua Palace, only that his mother kept talking to him, saying many things. She advised him not to go to his father, told him to take good care of himself in his fiefdom, and asked about his recent relationship with Aci…
He didn't even dare tell his mother that Aci actually wanted to divorce him, but he had torn up the divorce papers.
Finally, he left Zhaohua Palace in a daze, promising his mother that he would not see his father that day.
It was indeed inappropriate for him to see his father in his current state. He couldn't explain his disheveled state, nor could he express those insincere thanks and reluctance.
Qi Jingxuan walked step by step toward the palace gate, just one step away from stepping out. The Prince's carriage was already waiting outside, and the coachman, seeing him, had already gotten out of the carriage and set up a treadmill.
As he had done countless times before, he only needed to take one more step forward to leave peacefully, smoothly, and without accomplishing anything.
Qi Jingxuan suddenly froze at this moment, remaining motionless for a long time, which drew frequent glances from the imperial guards stationed at the palace gate.
Just as the Imperial Guard hesitated to step forward and ask, he suddenly turned around and ran back.
He moved with incredible speed, as if afraid of hesitating, running through countless palace paths until he finally arrived in front of the Imperial Study.
Qi Jingxuan bent over, supporting himself on his knees, panting heavily. Once his breathing had calmed down a bit, he sent a palace servant in to announce that he requested an audience with the emperor.
Before long, a palace servant came out and said that the emperor wanted him to go in.
Qi Jingxuan entered the room and knelt down with a thud. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the emperor spoke first.
"What kind of panic is this! Imperial Censor Lin and the others just left my quarters. Did you run into them? Tomorrow, I'll probably have another memorial impeaching you on my desk. You'd better be careful. Don't think you can just ignore everything just because you're leaving the capital."
His words, as always, carried a hint of reproach, but he didn't seem genuinely angry.
Qi Jingxuan hadn't paid any attention to who had passed by him, and when the emperor brought it up, he didn't care. He wanted to get back to the main topic, but then he heard the emperor say, "Your sixth brother will be leaving the capital in a few days. I know you two don't get along. But you're brothers after all. Go see him off, even if it's just for show."
Qi Jingxuan nodded in agreement, but seeing that the emperor was about to say something more, he couldn't help but interrupt: "Father, I have come today with an important matter."
He kowtowed deeply, saying, "I beg Your Majesty to allow me to take my mother with me out of the capital to fulfill my filial duty."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room froze, and the emperor's previously mild expression turned gloomy.
Fu Shun, who was serving by his side, sighed silently, waved to the other eunuchs, and they quietly withdrew.
The emperor spoke again, his voice much lower than before, "I am your father. You are so eager to be filial, yet you only mention your mother and don't think of me?"
"Father, you are the ruler of the country, the foundation of the court. Your son is incapable of shouldering the responsibility for the ancestral temples and the state. The only contribution I can make to the court and to Father is to take up my fief on time. However, this means I cannot be by your side often, which I feel truly guilty about as your son. Fortunately, I have many brothers and sisters in the capital who can convey my regards to you on my behalf. I will also wish Father good health from my fief."
“But Mother is different. She only has me as her child. If I leave, she will be all alone. I really don’t want that…”
"She has me!"
The emperor suddenly shouted, interrupting Qi Jingxuan's next words once again.
"With me here, she is not alone! You are her son, but I am her husband! Children will eventually leave their parents when they grow up, only husband and wife can stay together for life! And your mother and I are husband and wife! You have your own wife, isn't it enough that I allow you to leave the capital with her now, Ah Xuan? Don't push your luck!"
Before Qi Jingxuan arrived, he had already thought that the chances of the emperor agreeing were slim, and he also thought that his words and actions might anger him, but he still did not expect him to be so angry.
In the past, he would always feel a little afraid when the emperor was angry, but now, seeing his father so furious and hearing him keep talking about husband and wife, he just felt it was absurd.
He asked almost instinctively, "Father, how many wives do you have, and how many will you spend your life with?"
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