Chapter 273
On the day Prince Xuan returned, Emperor Yan directly sent Zhao Zhong to escort Prince Xuan to the palace, without even allowing him to visit the Prince's residence.
Looking at his younger brother who was limping, Emperor Yan remained silent for a long time before asking, "Is the injury serious?"
King Xuan smiled, just like he always did after returning from battle: "It hurts a lot, but it's nothing serious."
Even their words were the same, except for one sentence: "Just being alive is enough."
At that time, they felt lucky to be alive every time they left the battlefield.
Emperor Yan asked directly, "Do you need me to thoroughly investigate this matter?"
These words were a test. If this matter was arranged by King Xuan, then Emperor Yan would not keep such a close watch on it. It wouldn't be good to tear away the last veil of pretense.
"Of course!" Prince Xuan seemed not to have noticed: "Not only do I have guards from the Prince's Palace by my side, but Baojie also arranged for people to protect me because she was worried about my safety. Even so, someone still tampered with my horse. If I hadn't been slow, something terrible would have happened."
Emperor Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Judging from Prince Xuan's attitude, it seemed that Prince Xuan was truly unaware of this matter: "You want to leave the capital?"
Without the slightest hesitation, King Xuan looked directly into Emperor Yan's eyes and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I wish to leave with my family."
"Why?" Emperor Yan couldn't help but ask, "Is it because of Bao Jie's matter?"
King Xuan said, "No, it has nothing to do with Bao Jie's matter. I just feel tired, and... I owe my family too much, and I want to make it up to them."
Emperor Yan remained silent.
King Xuan smiled and said, "When Baojie and Guige first came to the capital, I promised them that I would teach them how to ride horses and shoot arrows, but I failed to do so. I promised them many things, but I failed to do any of them."
Emperor Yan looked at King Xuan and realized that King Xuan was speaking from the heart.
King Xuan said, "Sometimes I think to myself, I have given my wife and children riches and honors, but is that what they need most?"
After thinking for a moment, King Xuan said, "It is necessary. Otherwise, I would feel sorry for them if they had to live a hard life. But besides that, I also want to spend more time with them."
"Life is unpredictable; no one knows how much longer they will live," King Xuan sighed. "I don't want to have any regrets."
Emperor Yan closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, he had regained his composure and said, "You blame me for the Empress's death."
Prince Xuan remained silent for a long time: "In your heart, she is just the Empress, but... but in my heart, she has always been the sister-in-law who saved my life, the sister-in-law who served our father until his death, and the sister-in-law who took care of my wife after she gave birth..."
He spoke too quickly, and King Xuan lost the refined manners he had been feigning.
King Xuan's eyes were bloodshot as he said, "Brother, I know you are a man destined for great things, and I have always admired you, but... but I feel like you are becoming more and more of a stranger to me."
Emperor Yan clenched his fist. In fact, after the Empress was gone, he would occasionally dream about the past. But when he woke up, he felt like a stranger to her. But that was only when he was not fully awake: "I now have two sons, and the youngest son is weak and sickly."
King Xuan said, “Brother, you are still young. As far as I know, some people in their fifties or sixties still have young children born.”
Emperor Yan shook his head, offering no explanation or further comment: "I've thought about adopting Brother Gui."
King Xuan's expression changed, and he looked at Emperor Yan in surprise, quickly saying, "This is inappropriate."
Looking at Prince Xuan's expression, Emperor Yan seemed to find it quite amusing, and said, "Later I realized that it was indeed inappropriate."
King Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's nothing else, it's just Gui Ge's personality." Emperor Yan didn't look at Prince Xuan again, but simply said, "Gui Ge can't be controlled."
King Xuan was filled with unease. Adoption was a complicated matter. Although it was possible that his adopted son would eventually become the crown prince and emperor, it was not an easy thing. Right now, Emperor Yan only had two sons alive, and neither of them were suitable. But what about in the future? What if he had a son or grandson he liked?
Then Gui Ge's position would be very awkward, and even dangerous. If that were the case, he wouldn't be able to properly act as the heir apparent. At least he only has one son, and the future position will definitely be his.
Emperor Yan did not bring up the matter again, but said, "You are also a prince, but you have never had any fiefdom. The area in the southwest is for you. When you recover, take your family there."
southwest……
King Xuan paused for a moment before replying, "Yes."
The southwest is not so easy to deal with. General Shi probably already considers the southwest his own territory, and when King Xuan goes there, it's like he's trying to steal food. You can imagine how General Shi will treat King Xuan.
It is likely that Emperor Yan also realized that General Shi was out of control, but he was unable to deal with it. If the southwest was the fiefdom of Prince Xuan, then it would be equivalent to turning the potential conflict between General Shi and the court directly into a conflict between General Shi and Prince Xuan.
It's not a matter of the East Wind prevailing over the West Wind or vice versa. In this case, the support of the imperial court is especially important, particularly for General Shi, because there is also Princess Yongfu in Fuzhou. If Prince Xuan and Princess Yongfu join forces, General Shi may have no place to stand.
Therefore, General Shi could only rely on the support of the imperial court, which naturally meant he had to curry favor with Emperor Yan.
Emperor Yan's strategy can be described as killing two birds with one stone: restricting King Xuan while forcing General Shi to make a choice.
King Xuan wasn't stupid, but he had no choice at all.
Moreover, geographically speaking, the southwest is relatively close to Fuzhou, making it easier for the wife to see her daughter.
King Xuan bowed and said, "Your subject obeys."
Emperor Yan looked at his younger brother kneeling on the ground and said, "From now on, you are not allowed to enter the capital without being summoned. You... take care."
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