Chapter 54 Chapter 54 [VIP]
Chen Rongshou moved closer and saw the silence within the carriage. He assumed His Majesty wouldn't act so absurdly, so he continued to greet the Crown Prince calmly, "Your Highness doesn't look well. Did you catch a cold last night after all the hard work?"
The prince forced a smile upon hearing this. His body was not that weak, but he was more out of anger.
The eunuch's expression was slightly off. The Crown Prince heard the sound of cups tipping over inside the carriage and asked anxiously, "Father, what are you angry about?"
At this moment, it was hard for him not to be angry with the emperor, or it was because of the affair between him and the Crown Princess... Even though they were not on good terms, they were one in the eyes of outsiders, and it was hard for Aye not to suspect him.
Chen Rongshou's face was filled with unease. He thought that only then would His Majesty not be angry, but that was not necessarily the case right now. He gently advised, "If Your Highness has nothing urgent to do, you might as well return to your carriage. Your Majesty will summon you once you arrive at the residence."
The prince understood the steward's caution, yet he interpreted it with a different meaning. He whispered, "Father, I suppose you must have misunderstood?"
Chen Rongshou thought about it over and over again, but he didn't know why the prince was so uneasy today. Sweat broke out on his forehead. Just as he was thinking about how to put the crown prince off, the emperor in the car spoke.
Emperor Yuan Shuo said in a low voice, "What's the matter?"
The Crown Prince was surprised that his father hadn't summoned him today. Perhaps he was furious. He dismounted, handed the reins to a maid, and approached the carriage, saying timidly, "Father, I married an unvirtuous woman, and this has nearly led to disaster. I hope you will understand. I had no idea that the Crown Princess had...accepted favors from outsiders and deceived Mother."
His blood almost rushed to his face, and he felt extremely ashamed. He had no feelings for the Crown Princess, so naturally he would not give her extra money for cosmetics. But no one had expected that the Crown Princess and her good father-in-law would actually set their sights on this, choosing several sons of wealthy businessmen with strong families to marry him, and even involving A Niang!
In the past, the emperor would not send these children of nobles or poor families directly to serve in the army. He found it strange, but his father never pointed it out. Besides, the front line was indeed a good way to accumulate real merits, so he could not guess the inner story for a while.
If it weren't for the fact that A Niang's "filial piety" was difficult to return and she had angrily accused him of wrongdoing, he would not have known that this woman was so greedy!
He had a lot on his mind, so his hearing was dulled, and he didn't hear the sound of the desk shaking gently in the car.
Emperor Yuan Shuo held the beautiful woman's delicate hand in his arms and played with it carefully. Seeing her expression of anger but not being able to speak out, yet curious about what the Crown Prince was going to say, he smiled and pecked her cheek, slowly saying, "You just found out?"
Like a sapling clinging to a giant tree, when the wind gently touches its crown, she will feel the ups and downs in the closely connected roots.
Shen Youyi trembled slightly, but she couldn't let the prince know that she was here. She responded to the king timidly with her lips and teeth, hoping that he could quickly send the man out of the car.
...instead of talking about things endlessly.
The Crown Prince replied with a "yes." He was eager to distance himself from the Crown Princess and even had a bold idea: "I was so busy that I didn't think twice, and ended up being deceived by a few merchants. But this was absolutely not my intention... The rewards that my father gave to the Eastern Palace were generous enough. How could I possibly covet such dirty money!"
When the water is too clear, there will be no fish. He knew very well that his father could tolerate some absurdities of the royal family, but he would be very strict with him as he was about to take over the throne, not to mention the matter of the prince buying and selling official positions. If his father suppressed this matter, it might not be of much benefit to him.
He was practically humiliated, and gritted his teeth as he said, "Although I have been married to the Crown Princess for five years, she has neither given birth to a grandson nor managed the household properly. Instead, she instigates trouble, bringing shame upon me. If Father-in-law permits, I will sever our marital bond and have no further contact with her!"
He had long planned to divorce her. If her father and brother were from a powerful family, or were favorites who had a say in the eyes of his father, he might have to wait until he ascended the throne before taking his time. However, everything her family had now was only possible because of her status as the Crown Princess. She even dared to hide it from him and make money by relying on her status as a royal relative. So there was no need to wait any longer.
As the car reached a bumpy road, his father's words were less decisive and calm than usual: "I remember that you liked her very much at first... How did it come to this?"
The affairs of the Crown Princess were indeed abominable, but Emperor Yuan Shuo did not know much about the conflicts between the couple. It seemed that the harmony of their newlyweds had not lasted long, and they had turned into a pair of enemies. There was even a concubine maid whom the Crown Prince did not particularly favor.
If it weren't for the Crown Princess's heinous crimes, as parents, they would still hope that their son and daughter-in-law would have trouble. Emperor Yuan Shuo caressed the slightly dissatisfied beauty and mouthed a reassuring gesture to her, "Family affairs are difficult to judge. Are you the son of an ordinary family? How can you so easily ask for divorce in a moment of anger? I am tired today. If you are determined not to change after returning to the throne, please submit another memorial. I will have the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Concubine take a look before we discuss it."
Shen Youyi opened her eyes wide, not because whether Nan Yaozi divorced or not had anything to do with her, but because she was not the prince's biological mother. Even if she was, it would not be appropriate for her to join in the fun. This!
The Crown Prince was somewhat anxious. Even though his father was unhappy, he did not approve of his divorce from the Crown Princess.
Before he finished speaking, Chen Rongshou didn't care about offending anyone and tried to make a gesture with his eyes, so that the two of them could talk in one step.
The prince realized his own misconduct, but his father's ambiguous attitude of avoiding him today really made him uneasy.
He whispered, "Manager Chen, does Aye not trust me very much?"
Chen Rongshou looked around helplessly. The imperial concubine's maid was not far away. Even if he thought about how favored his wife was, it made sense... With the imperial concubine's maidservant by his side, wouldn't it be inconvenient for His Majesty to meet with his ministers?
However, he also heard that the prince had not been close to women for a long time and did not intend to offend his father's favorite concubine. But His Majesty was very tolerant in other matters, but felt a little uncomfortable with the imperial concubine.
Otherwise, if it was just for my wife's treatment, there would be no need for all the fuss these days.
He couldn't say the awkwardness came from the Crown Prince, so he smiled and changed the subject, "Since Your Majesty didn't ask, he must have valued and trusted Your Highness more. Those young men would have been discussed about their backgrounds if they stayed at court, but they wouldn't have been so conspicuous in the army. Your Highness's cousins have been immersed in the prosperity of Chang'an, so there's nothing wrong with them visiting the frontier."
As his father's most trusted eunuch, Chen Rongshou comforted the Crown Prince to a certain extent, but he still felt uneasy: "But Aye didn't even let me in to answer him. Are you really not angry with me?"
"Your Majesty has been tired from the journey and is feeling a little unwell," Chen Rongshou lied calmly. After all, no one could have imagined that a monarch who had been celibate for so many years would one day indulge in pleasure with his favorite concubine in a carriage. "Your Majesty has always been stubborn and would not easily give me medicine. I was thinking that if he still doesn't feel better by evening, I would still try to persuade him, even if it would anger Your Majesty."
The Crown Prince breathed a sigh of relief, then felt a touch of self-blame. "I was so anxious that I didn't notice the difference in Aye's voice. The steward is always at His Majesty's side, so even if he spoke frankly and gave advice, I don't think it would offend His Majesty."
Chen Rongshou agreed with a smile and asked the servant beside the prince to lead the horse, and finally sent this living god away.
However, when the prince passed by the imperial concubines' procession behind the imperial carriage, he found that the imperial concubine's carriage was very deserted.
He was suddenly startled, and when he looked back, all the self-blame, filial piety and even fear turned into a sneer.
Why didn’t I think of it just now!
His father used these principles to discipline and teach him, to make him a saint who could not do whatever he wanted. But his father himself even wanted to keep the Empress Dowager, who had been Empress for twenty years, in the palace to recuperate...
Although the palace is quiet and peaceful, is the queen's illness really just due to overthinking and overwork?
His father got the beauty he wanted, but he didn't allow him to divorce his wife who didn't agree with him. Maybe when he was sweating profusely just now, he was still flirting with Yi Niang. Maybe he was so confused that he even promised the beauty who almost became his daughter-in-law that he would make her the queen one day!
The moral principles of the royal family had long been in chaos, and King Zhao was not the only one whose father had taken his son's concubine!
But he just couldn't say it out loud, like the Prince of Zhao did when he broke his father's head!
In a trance, he even remembered the sound inside the car that seemed like a cat's claws scratching on wood... and the almost indistinguishable low breathing.
Could that be the voice made by Yiniang?
Even if she has taken the poison from southern Xinjiang, will she still fall in love with someone else?
Did she enjoy the scent of her father's robust but decaying body, or the smell of ambergris and power?
The prince closed his eyes almost in despair. Even if he wanted to turn a blind eye, the love between his father and Yi Niang flashed before his eyes every day.
Yi Niang's serving of her father was not necessarily out of necessity as she claimed.
Seeing the prince's unhappy expression, the attendant beside him whispered, "Your Highness, the sun is scorching outside. Why don't you go back to your carriage and sit down, and discuss this with His Majesty later?"
The prince snorted coldly and shook his head: "No need, I'll go sit with the Crown Princess!"
…
Shen Youyi was almost scared to death. She waited until the sound of horse hooves had completely faded away before she pushed the emperor away, almost trembling, and put on her clothes tremblingly. Seeing that he could still smile... she became even angrier.
"Why is Yi Niang angry with me?"
Emperor Yuan Shuo pulled her back and kissed her lightly. Seeing her moan and sweat on her forehead, he felt a little tempted again. However, thinking of her displeasure, he restrained himself and said, "Am I not Yi Niang's antidote?"
Any man could be her medicine! But Shen Youyi didn't dare to say that. She still had some strength in her waist and didn't have the courage to leave him directly. She complained softly, "That can't be the case. Can't you just bear it for a while?"
Based on her experience with men, she knew this position was more likely to slip, so she could just run away. But perhaps because his part was somewhat special compared to the previous two, she had to endure it and wait for him to have his fun before she could have some room for bargaining: "Your Majesty, the dignity and respect of an elder, don't you want me to keep it?"
Besides, whether the Crown Prince divorced or not was none of her business. She said, "I don't care whether he divorced or not. I'd rather destroy ten temples than break up a marriage... But I can't offend the Crown Prince, can I?"
Emperor Yuan Shuo knew who she was talking about. He straightened his waist slightly, and seeing her leaning weakly in his arms, he smiled slightly and said, "Yi Niang, you should also take a look at the affairs of the palace. You will be his mother in the future, so it is only natural for you to take charge of your children's marriages."
Shen Youyi was confused and a little surprised. She thought that the emperor would not make her the empress so quickly, and whispered, "Will Yang Xiuyuan agree to adopt such a big son?"
Emperor Yuan Shuo looked at her steadily, and after enduring his anger again and again, he finally revealed a helpless expression. He gently rebuked her, "Yi Niang, if you ever make me laugh, you will cry!"
Shen Youyi, however, reached out to embrace him and kissed him flatteringly: "Your Majesty has many ways to bully me. If that day comes, can't you still... kiss me?"
She originally thought that she was extremely greedy, but she realized in the past few days that she was not that bad. It was just that she had been without sex for a long time, so she was inevitably a little anxious and hoped to have a strong man to fill the void.
But these days, under the name of detoxification, she felt that the stuff was not replenishing her, but seemed to be hollowing her out bit by bit. Even though the emperor retained his old annoying habits, she was not as dissatisfied as at the beginning.
I prefer to make up for those regrets by being close to each other, like leaning lazily in his arms right now, without having to think about anyone else.
I won’t think about any annoying things anymore.
Instead, Emperor Yuan Shuo blamed her for being afraid of seeing a doctor and not caring about her own health. Whether it was the bitter and sour medicine or him, she wished she could escape every two or three days.
She thought angrily that she had to take the medicine several times a day, and he was almost the same, so of course she couldn't bear it!
Emperor Yuan Shuo remembered her curiosity about government affairs and said gently, "I have selected several ladies for you to socialize with. They all come from scholarly families, and their fathers were my teachers. Yi Niang needs to understand what's going on outside and read more books. It would be better to let them select and explain things to you first. There are several good female officials in the imperial court. Teach them to explain some of the memorials to you, so that Yi Niang won't be confused when she reads them in the future."
Shen Youyi nodded weakly and tapped his tense back with her fingers. The court ladies who could make Emperor Yuan Shuo remember them must be quite capable, and it would be convenient for her to make friends with their husbands through these people.
As for the female official in front of the emperor... she believed that she was sent by the emperor to watch over her. Just one year was not enough for the emperor to control her.
Emperor Yuan Shuo talked to her for a while, and when he saw that she looked very tired, he patted her softly for a while and told the palace maids to go in and clean up.
Although he did it heavily, he was very restrained. Even the small clothes half hanging on her body were intact. Shen Youyi blinked in confusion. The old man still had a little conscience. It was impossible for her to stay in the emperor's carriage for a while and change her clothes from head to toe, right?
However, when they arrived at the residence in the evening, Shen Youyi had just been changed into clothes and was about to help Emperor Yuan Shuo change into his casual clothes for the banquet, when the eunuch came to report that Yang Xiuyuan wanted to see him.
Shen Youyi remembered that when she first entered the palace, Yang Xiuyuan really disliked her in every way and wanted to make trouble for her. She even asked another young and lively beauty to seduce the emperor. But now that the two of them met, Yang Xiuyuan only disliked her.
She didn't take the mockery of a few words to heart.
Emperor Yuan Shuo shook Shen Youyi’s hand and whispered, “Is Yi Niang jealous?”
Shen Youyi came back to her senses. She realized that her brows would be tightly furrowed when she was lost in thought, and shook her head: "His Majesty said there would be no one else. There is no need for me to be jealous over such a small matter. Why don't you meet her? Maybe Madam Xiu Yuan has something important to ask for."
It's not a good idea to be so confident. Emperor Yuan Shuo smiled softly: "Yi Niang is virtuous."
He hoped that his beloved woman would be jealous of him, but Shen Youyi was hardly aware of this. The banquet would be held in half an hour, and the emperor would meet with his concubines in front of the palace people. What could he do?
Shen Youyi deliberately avoided it and stayed behind the screen in silence.
She saw a bare-chested and barefoot beauty in plain clothes slowly walking in. Perhaps the brick floor was too cold, and the arrogant beauty shivered.
Shen Youyi clenched her hands slightly under her sleeves to prevent herself from laughing inappropriately.
But this fact is extremely strange. Even if the Crown Princess accepted bribes and the Crown Prince was scolded, in her opinion, Yang Xiuyuan would never come with her hair disheveled to apologize.
Emperor Yuan Shuo was also a little surprised. He looked annoyed and said, "What are you doing? How will the families of foreign ministers look when they see this?"
Although he knew that his former lover was not a clean man, he always turned a blind eye to it for the sake of the prince.
Yang Xiuyuan's drooping face was filled with resentment, but when she knelt at the emperor's feet, her voice was filled with genuine sorrow, barely suppressing her tears: "Your Majesty, all the mistakes are the fault of me and the Crown Princess. Please do not punish the Crown Prince, as this will only hurt the relationship between father and son."
Shen Youyi hid behind the screen and almost sighed. Emperor Yuan Shuo's mind was mostly on her at that time. The prince had already cleared himself of all charges and personally went to his father to plead guilty. At most, the crimes were negligence, recklessness, and lax management of the family. He even had the mood to ask his father for a divorce from the Crown Princess.
There was no need for her to plead.
But the next moment, Yang Xiuyuan knelt forward and said in a mournful voice, "Zihui has been suffering from a high fever due to his fear of Your Majesty's anger and is still in a coma. The people in the Eastern Palace were afraid that Your Majesty would blame them, which led to speculation from outsiders. They only used a cold handkerchief soaked in wine to wipe the prince's skin and didn't even send for the imperial physician. If I hadn't gone to visit him, I'm afraid Zihui would have died tonight..."
Shen Youyi was stunned. Even if the prince had a fever, it would not be related to this matter. However, it was possible that he was sick after running around for days.
But if the Crown Princess doesn't even dare to hire a doctor, that would be a bit unreasonable.
A fever of a certain degree can be fatal, and it is not uncommon even in the imperial palace. The prince is the only hope for these people, so it is not the right time to resort to a self-torture trick.
As expected, Emperor Yuan Shuo's voice was filled with anger: "What are the people in the Eastern Palace doing? They dared to conceal such a major event as the Crown Prince having a fever!"
Shen Youyi could no longer hide behind the screen, so she followed Emperor Yuan Shuo to visit the prince at his residence.
Seeing Emperor Yuan Shuo's stern expression, she softly comforted him, "I know your majesty is worried, but there are many skilled doctors in the palace, and the servants also use wine to cool down the body, so perhaps nothing will happen."
Emperor Yuan Shuo simply held her hand in his palm and rubbed it without saying a word.
When several court officials and the prince's trusted imperial physician arrived breathlessly, they saw that the emperor and the imperial concubine were waiting outside, while Yang Xiuyuan was still crying inside, saying some angry words about "demanding death". They only performed the usual courtesy to the emperor and the imperial concubine, and immediately went inside to invite Yang Xiuyuan to the side room.
The emperor was destined to have no intention of attending tonight's banquet. Shen Youyi knew that staying here would be an eyesore, so she whispered to Emperor Yuan Shuo, "I'd like to host the banquet for Your Majesty. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not seriously ill, please come over and sit for a while."
Seeing her so understanding, Emperor Yuan Shuo felt a little apologetic. She was a delicate and beautiful woman. If he wasn't watching, there would always be people trying to plot against her. She couldn't drink, so she was afraid she would struggle to cope with such a situation. However, tonight's incident had happened suddenly, so he said, "Tell the people around me to go with you. If you really don't like it, it's okay to leave early... They will know in a few days."
Shen Youyi said yes. She acted like an elder, looked worried in front of Emperor Yuan Shuo, and comforted the Crown Princess and Yun Liangdi in a soft voice.
The Crown Princess looked quite calm, but she was too close to people when she saluted, so Shen Youyi could not help but see a little bit of red on her neck.
It doesn't feel like a mosquito bite, but more like a man's strong...
Shen Youyi suppressed the turbulent waves in her heart. She was even on the verge of divorce. She had some doubts that these traces might not be the work of the prince.
However, she had no evidence and just pretended not to see it.
The prince's illness came on very badly. Apart from high fever and coma, he had no other symptoms. The Song court envoy asked the prince about what he had eaten today. After careful consideration, there was nothing wrong. For example, the dishes given to others at lunch were not ate by the servants, ministers, or even the concubines of the Eastern Palace, and there was no strange reaction. Even if all these dishes had entered one person's stomach, they would not have been mutually exclusive.
This pulse condition is somewhat similar to that of the Imperial Concubine... But people's luck may not always be so good. The Imperial Concubine almost recovered without treatment, but the Crown Prince may not.
They temporarily prescribed painkillers and fever-reducing medicine for the prince. Several concubines and eunuchs continued to wipe the sweat off the prince's limbs and fed him some warm water. Yang Xiuyuan cried intermittently for an hour and felt a little chest tightness and shortness of breath. Emperor Yuan Shuo was impatient to listen to her remarks that were directed at the imperial concubine, so he ordered people to feed him some calming soup and arranged for him to rest in the nearby building.
The imperial physician and eunuchs were busy until late at night, and the prince's symptoms gradually showed signs of subsiding.
Although Emperor Yuan Shuo did not like the Crown Princess, he could see that they looked haggard and their eyes were red from staying up late, so he asked them to come back to serve him tomorrow.
Several concubines were very happy to see their father-in-law who was rumored to be very majestic. When they found that the emperor did not intend to blame them for not serving him well, they felt a little panic-stricken and happy, and went back to take a nap.
Only the Crown Princess still seemed reluctant to leave.
However, due to the emperor's order and the fact that she had experienced too many things that day, she could no longer hold on. She gave the eunuch a few instructions and left with unsteady steps.
The originally chaotic inner room suddenly became quiet. The imperial doctors retreated to the side room, and only the eunuchs who were wiping the prince's body were left inside.
The eunuch felt a little uneasy when he saw the emperor pull the curtain back inside, but then he heard Emperor Yuan Shuo say, "Go down."
After the prince took the medicine, his breathing had stabilized. The eunuch guessed that the emperor might want to take care of him personally for a while, so he answered yes and left the inner chamber to the emperor and his son.
The young man on the couch was over twenty years old, but he was lying there weakly with red cheeks.
Emperor Yuan Shuo recalled the time when he was sick in his childhood. He and his son had experienced such times many times before. In his impression, the prince was like him, having become a man very early. Even if he was sick occasionally, he would be full of energy again in a few days.
He sometimes reflects on himself and realizes that as his son grows up, he becomes a little too strict.
There is not much difference between them as father and son, but they are a generation apart. Even an emperor would be jealous of his youth.
When the child came to him in panic to apologize, he was having fun with Yi Niang in the car and just casually brushed him off because of the shameful dark jealousy in his heart.
Emperor Yuan Shuo raised his hand to straighten the quilt for the sleeping prince. Just as he was about to wipe his palm with wine, he was grabbed by the prince's wrist.
His palms were very hot and not very strong, so he could easily break free. Emperor Yuan Shuo waited quietly, not wanting to disturb him.
However, the sleeping prince frowned uncomfortably, as if he smelled something and was eager to catch the source of the fragrance.
"Yi Niang..."
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