Originally, the emperor could only eat alone, and no one was allowed to urge him to eat, let alone sit beside him. But at some point, this set of rules completely disappeared in front of Zhou Zhaonuan. In a short while, the little girl picked out a small plate of dishes for Zhou Beichen and placed it in front of him, and took the chopsticks with a smile.
"Daddy, please eat quickly. After you finish eating, you can have a good rest."
Zhou Beichen's mouth curled up, and anyone could see that he was in a good mood. "You eat too, Nuannuan is in the prime of her life."
"That's natural."
Nuan Nuan immediately found a place to sit down, "Nuan Nuan is having a meal with daddy, I am so happy."
"With your limited achievements, why don't you have some lofty ambitions?"
As soon as these words came out, Nuan Nuan immediately refused to do it, slammed her chopsticks on the table, and glared at him.
"Daddy, who said Nuannuan doesn't have lofty ambitions? Nuannuan will definitely not be a caged bird in the future. Nuannuan has made up her mind. I want to be the regent princess in the future."
The palace maids who served Zhou Beichen were already accustomed to such rude words. At first, they would kneel down when the princess said such outrageous words. But as time went by, they found that the emperor would never get angry. Instead, he would smile and praise their daughter for being sensible and motivated. So why should they be so shameless?
Xiao Shunzi took a secret look and found that Zhou Beichen was indeed more satisfied with Zhou Zhaonuan than before.
Halfway through the meal, when both of them were half full, Nuannuan rolled her eyes, then leaned over with her little head and asked slyly.
"Father, since Prime Minister Li has had his property confiscated and his family executed, what will happen to Imperial Noble Consort Li? And what about my second and third brothers? Do you plan to give them to other concubines to raise, or demote Imperial Noble Consort to a lower rank and still let her raise them?"
Zhou Beichen paused with his chopsticks and shook his head. "I haven't made up my mind yet. If I kill Imperial Noble Consort Li, she has worked hard to serve me for so many years, as have the Second and Third Sons. But if I don't kill her, the resentment accumulated by the people in the harem over the years will be difficult to resolve. What's more, she has repeatedly harmed you before..."
Zhou Beichen said, looking at the little girl meaningfully, "So, does Daddy want to kill her or not?"
Zhou Zhaonuan didn't quite understand what he meant, but her father seemed to have some affection for her mother, and he probably took advantage of the rest of the concubines in the harem.
Zhou Beichen thought for a moment and said.
"Kill them. As for the Second and Third Princes, according to Nuannuan, who would be better to keep?"
The little girl shook her head. "Actually, whether Daddy kills the Imperial Concubine or not, Nuannuan doesn't care. Of course, if the Imperial Concubine could make a comeback, then Nuannuan would definitely not let her live. But judging by the current situation, she simply doesn't have that ability. However, Daddy, Imperial Concubine Li knew about her father's rebellion and didn't stop it. This is already a capital crime."
Nuannuan spoke in a serious tone. Zhou Beichen looked at her and finally smiled with satisfaction.
"Haha, Nuannuan is worthy of being my daughter. You are right, Imperial Concubine Li, you cannot stay."
"Xiao Shunzi."
He shouted to the door, and Xiao Shunzi came in hunched over, "Your Majesty."
Zhou Beichen gave the order in a firm tone, with a hint of hesitation.
"I hereby declare that Imperial Noble Consort Li of Li'an Palace, knowing nothing about the crime, has failed to report it, and is complicit with Prime Minister Li. Considering her the mother of the second and third princes, I shall demote her to the rank of commoner, confine her to the cold palace, and order her to commit suicide."
After saying this, Xiao Shunzi went to convey the order. Zhou Beichen seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He felt a little sad in his heart, and no one knew what expression was on his face.
.......
Li'an Palace.
Ever since Imperial Noble Concubine Li came back from the Golden Throne Palace, her heart has been pounding and her temples have been throbbing. She has a bad feeling in her heart.
"Mother, the Emperor has beheaded Grandpa. What should we do?"
The children in the palace were all precocious. Seeing the gate of Li'an Palace full of guards, the second and third princes were filled with fear and confusion.
Imperial Noble Concubine Li thought about the journey she had taken. Although she felt hatred, she had no regrets. Who in this world doesn't want to move forward?
She tried hard to hold back the tears that were about to burst out of her eyes, and with a heart full of sadness, she held the two children in her arms and spoke slowly.
"It's okay, you two are fine. No matter what happens to your mother, you two are your father's biological sons. He won't do anything to you."
For some reason, the Third Prince cried out "Wow" and started crying loudly. Imperial Noble Concubine Li's face was full of anxiety, and she hurriedly wiped the Third Prince's tears.
"What's the matter, child? What's the matter? Why are you crying?"
When the Third Prince heard this, he pursed his lips, buried his head in Prime Minister Li's arms, and cried even harder.
"Mother, if you say that, are you going to stay away from me?"
Thinking that things had developed to this point, and that the emperor would probably not keep the two children with her anymore, Noble Concubine Li's eyes were already blurred with tears.
She hugged the two children in her arms again, resting her chin on their heads, as if she was giving her last words in life.
"Silly children, Mother will not leave you far away, never. Mother will just go to a very far place. Mother will watch over you and protect you from there."
After saying this, Imperial Noble Consort Li wiped her own tears, and then wiped the tears of the Second Prince who had started crying without her knowing.
"Okay, stop crying. Let's talk about something good right now. Oh, and tell me what you've learned in the Shangshufang recently, okay?"
The second prince wiped away his tears with strength. He had always known and listened to his mother. In this palace, his mother loved him the most and was the one who supported him the most. Therefore, he also liked his mother the most and always considered her in everything.
As for the emperor, he had too many children, but there were only two of them, the mother. So, no matter what he and his brother did, they had to put the mother first and the emperor second.
As he was thinking, the second prince suddenly had an idea. Father, the palace maids and eunuchs used to say that their father was the most influential person in the world. No matter what, father and mother were sleeping in the same bed. He wanted to plead with father for his mother.
Although Zhou Beichen put Consort Li under house arrest, he did not issue any house arrest order for the second and third princes.
Immediately afterwards, Imperial Noble Consort Li saw the Second Prince running out with a determined look in his eyes.
"Yu'er, Yu'er, where are you going? Be obedient and come back soon. Don't go looking for your father. Things have come to this point now. It's useless."
At some point, a light drizzle began to fall outside. No matter how anxious Concubine Li was, she could not stop Zhou Zeyu from going to find Zhou Beichen.
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