The emperor covered his face, tears still streaming from between his fingers. "Father had clearly made up his mind to protect us two, but this time, he did something that will make our situation even more difficult."
He told the eldest prince what had happened at the morning court, and ended with a tearful voice: "...What a pity, Lord Wei."
Xiao Yuanjin was first shocked and angry, then sad and relieved. He comforted the emperor, "Father has done nothing wrong. You have not disappointed Lord Wei."
The emperor was dejected. "If only I could have saved his life. It's my incompetence that not only have I failed to protect such a loyal and honest minister, but I've also caused you, an innocent person, to suffer along with me."
Xiao Yuanjin shook his head, "It's okay with me."
His father was the emperor after all, but Lu Tong and the guards outside the Golden Palace were unwilling to even give him superficial respect. Lord Wei was forced to commit suicide in order to protect his father. How could his father continue to pretend to be stupid and ignorant against his conscience?
Xiao Yuanjin understood and sympathized with his emperor father. He poured the emperor a cup of tea and said, "You did the right thing. I am proud of you."
When the emperor heard this, the tears that had finally stopped fell again.
Yu Zizhen, who was catching up on her sleep in the next room, was awakened by the emperor's voice. She listened for a while in a daze. When she heard the emperor say that Lord Wei had died by hitting a pillar in anger, she sat up with a gasp and regained her consciousness.
She sighed, digesting the news as she sat on the edge of the bed and continued to listen to the father and son talk.
Only after they fell silent did Yu Zizhen leave the inner room. "Your Majesty."
The emperor was shocked by her sudden appearance. He didn't expect that there was an "outsider" hiding in the eldest prince's bedroom.
However, his eldest son obviously did not treat Yu Zizhen as an outsider. Not only did he allow Yu Zizhen to be the one who had ears through the wall, but he also asked him without hesitation if there was any way to help the Wei family.
With his trust in Yu Zizhen, the emperor felt that he was almost catching up with his old father who depended on him for survival.
The emperor felt bitter, but Yu Zizhen was oblivious. She bowed to the emperor and offered him a few words of comfort without any hesitation. Then she said to Xiao Yuanjin, "I will help the Wei family to the best of my ability."
Minister Wei had already submitted a petition to resign and return home. If it weren't for what happened today, the Wei family would have packed up and returned home soon. But now they have become a thorn in the eyes of the Lu family, so they can forget about returning home, otherwise they will easily be sent back to their real "hometown".
In view of this, before Yu Zizhen came out to meet the emperor, he had already decided to send the Wei family to a place where the Lu family could not reach.
She told the emperor her thoughts. Although the emperor was skeptical about what a half-grown child like her could do, in the current situation, he didn't know who else he could entrust his trust to except Yu Zizhen.
Yang Zhengde was a civil servant and had difficulty protecting his own family. The emperor knew that he would definitely not be able to spare any manpower to escort the Wei family out of Beijing.
Thinking of Yu Zizhen's identity, the emperor couldn't help but secretly pray that she could really help the Wei family.
Yu Zizhen didn't realize she was being underestimated. She asked the emperor, "Given how angry old Lu Tong is this time, Your Majesty, do you think he will do anything else to express his displeasure, besides just having people treat you poorly as he did before?"
The emperor smiled bitterly, "The Queen Mother will probably send someone to reprimand me."
Yu Zizhen said that verbal attacks were no big deal. "Then just let it go in one ear and out the other. Don't take it to heart. What else?"
The emperor spread his hands and said, "They are just trivial matters. They will pass if you endure them. After all, they won't kill me or Jin'er for this. Zizhen doesn't need to worry too much."
What the emperor didn't say was that his life and the eldest prince's life had been artificially tied together by him.
After the eldest prince was poisoned, he stayed by his side without eating or drinking, and swore that if the eldest prince died, he would die with him. Even when the queen mother came to scold him and had him dragged away, he had no intention of giving in or compromising.
He resisted fiercely like a madman, and insisted on staying by the eldest prince's side even at the cost of self-harm. The empress dowager was wary of this and finally did not think of taking Xiao Yuanjin's life again.
At that time, he had just ascended the throne, and he had not yet had time to show whether he was wise or foolish. The empress dowager could not change the emperor of Da Qi just because he loved her own child, especially since the only bargaining chip in her hand was Xiao Shaoke, who was still very young at the time.
Replacing an adult emperor with a little kid without a decent reason would not be acceptable to the aristocratic families and the officials of the Qingliu faction.
The emperor used this method to show his bottom line. Over the years, although he and Xiao Yuanjin had not lived a comfortable life, they had both survived.
Others might find his weak resistance that was beyond their capabilities very funny, but Yu Zizhen admired the emperor for being able to save Xiao Yuanjin in that situation.
She glanced at the eldest prince, then silently took out two small wax pills that were very familiar to both the emperor and Xiao Yuanjin. "Your Majesty, please keep these detoxification pills for emergencies."
The universal detoxification pill produced by the system can detoxify most of the poisons in the world, and can help delay the effects of those it cannot. It is a form of protection for the father and son who live in the deep palace and it is difficult for her to rush to their side in the first time when an emergency occurs.
The emperor was shocked when he saw the wax pill. "How could you just casually carry such a miraculous medicine on you?"
Yu Zizhen had given him a pill before, and he had kept it in his bedroom with great care.
Yu Zizhen shrugged. "If I don't carry it with me, what if I get poisoned? I'm afraid I'll die before I can even take the medicine."
So why did she prepare the antidote pills? Was she spending a fortune to build an inheritance, giving others the opportunity to reap the benefits without any effort?
Emperor: ...That makes a lot of sense.
The emperor wanted it, but he couldn't afford it because it was too precious. He was struggling when Yu Zizhen said, "Your Majesty, take it. I have a few more pills stored in the palace."
The emperor took a look at his son's legs and finally decided to shamelessly accept the precious detoxification pills from the half-grown boy Yu Zizhen.
His son was unable to walk because he was poisoned, and it was thanks to Yu Zizhen that he was able to recover later.
What if someone poisoned them again in the future, and it wasn't this kind of slow-acting poison, but a strong poison that would take effect quickly...
Yu Zizhen may not be able to arrive in time when they are poisoned, but Yaowan and the others can learn from Yu Zizhen and carry him with them all the time.
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