Chapter 1153 State and Family Affairs
The emperor strode in and saw the queen kneeling on the ground. He glared at Aunt Shang fiercely, then knelt beside the queen and said, "Mother, your son is here."
"Don't call me mother," the Queen Mother, who had been sitting upright, turned sideways, her chest heaving with anger. "Do you think I'm your mother?"
The emperor opened his mouth, turned his head and said to the kneeling queen, "Queen, please take them down first."
The queen bowed slightly and tried to stand up by supporting herself on the ground. The emperor reached out to help her, and Aunt Shang hurried forward to take it. The two of them glanced around the room, and most of the people followed them out.
Only a few of the Queen Mother's confidants hesitated and did not move.
The emperor raised his eyelids and glanced at them. They immediately lowered their heads as if they had been electrocuted. After secretly glancing at the empress dowager, they also bowed and retreated.
The emperor then sat down on the other side of the couch and sighed, "Mother, this is a matter of state, not something I can decide on my own."
The Queen Mother's face darkened. She looked up at the Emperor seriously for a long moment, then sneered, "Erlang, are you really unable to do this, or are you unwilling to do this?"
The Emperor also looked at the Queen Mother, and after a while he said, "Mother, you have heard the complaint made by Bai Shan and Zhou Man today. I must give an explanation to the people of the world, especially those in Jiannan Road."
"But he's also your brother!"
"Yes, I didn't say he wasn't."
The Queen Mother covered her face with her hands, tears seeping from her fingertips. She choked and said, "After all, whether it's state affairs or family affairs, you have the final say..."
"This happened suddenly. The entire court, including civil and military officials and even the heads of aristocratic families, is here. Do you think this son can still make the final decision?" The emperor put his arm around her shoulders and whispered, "Mother, I say this world belongs to my Li family, but it's actually more than just my Li family."
The Queen Mother lowered her hands and tightly closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened them, her sleeves sliding down to cover her clenched fists. She stared at the Emperor and asked, "I ask for nothing but one thing: can you spare your brother's life?"
The Emperor lowered his head to meet her gaze.
The Queen Mother said sadly, "Erlang, I gave birth to four children, and now only you and the fifth are left. In the past, you three brothers were away fighting with your father, and only the fifth was by my side..."
"Okay," the emperor held her hand and whispered, "I promise you, as long as Wulang stays in the capital, I can protect him."
The Queen Mother seemed relieved, grabbed his hand and nodded.
The emperor wiped her tears and asked unexpectedly, "Mother, have you heard about Wulang's situation in Yizhou City?"
The Queen Mother stiffened. She looked at the Emperor, her gaze slashing across his face like a sharp blade. "Why, do you doubt me?"
"I don't dare. I just think Wu Lang is too bold. According to Bai Shan and the others, he started preparing more than ten years ago, when my father was still alive."
The Queen Mother couldn't help but sarcastically said, "Not only is your father here, but your eldest brother and third brother are also here."
The emperor's face turned pale.
The Queen Mother closed her eyes and waved her hand, saying, "You should go and have some rest too. I'll have someone send something to Lao Wu later."
"Mother..."
"Why, I can't even bring food and clothes to my own son?"
The emperor smiled bitterly, "Mother, I will not treat Wulang unfairly in this regard."
"Of course I know you won't treat me unfairly, but what's yours is yours, and what I give you is my heart as a mother."
The emperor responded helplessly, bowed and walked out.
After the emperor had been gone for a long time, the empress dowager leaned on the couch with her forehead propped up, and said in a deep voice, "Come out."
The Princess of Yizhou, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying, came out from behind the screen and said, "Mother..."
The Queen Mother opened her eyes and looked at her, saying softly, "Come forward."
Princess Yizhou stepped forward, but as soon as she got close, the Queen Mother's face changed. She reached out and slapped her hard, knocking her to the ground.
Princess Yizhou fell to the ground with her hands covering her face. Her ears were still buzzing because the Queen Mother had slapped her with all her strength.
The Queen Mother fell onto the couch, but still not satisfied, she threw the pillow behind her at her.
Princess Yizhou was terrified and knelt on the ground, trembling, "Mother, Queen Mother..."
The Queen Mother reached out and pulled her over, staring into her eyes and asking, "Let me ask you, is what those two children said in the palace true?"
Princess Yizhou turned pale and shook her head repeatedly, "Mother, those are all false accusations, they are false accusations..."
The Queen Mother pushed her to the ground and lowered her voice to shout, "You cry, you scream, but no one knows how many people in this palace belong to the Emperor and the Empress. Whatever you scream here today, they will know it the moment you turn around."
The Princess of Yizhou covered her mouth and dared not cry out loud.
The Queen Mother sat down on the floor from the couch, right when she was face to face with the Princess of Yizhou. She stared at her and asked, "Ying, let me ask you again, is what those two children said true? Is Wulang raising private soldiers in Yizhou?"
Princess Yizhou's tears fell and she shook her head. Seeing the Queen Mother's sharp eyes, she nodded again. She let go of her hand a little and whispered softly, "Mother, I really don't know, but the prince is very short of money. He used my dowry to start a business and often asked me to go back to my parents' home to get money. I know that the prince has many retainers..."
The Queen Mother raised her hand in anger, but when she saw Ying shrink back, she put it down angrily. She glared at Ying with disappointment: "Your grandson is running around everywhere, but you still have no idea what your husband is doing outside. You, you..."
Compared with the queen, this daughter-in-law is far inferior.
The Queen Mother's heart ached so much that she could hardly breathe.
She covered her chest and remained silent for a long time. Princess Yizhou cried in fear, "Mother, Mother, please save the prince. He must not have done it on purpose."
The Queen Mother closed her eyes and asked, "Where are Xin'an and the other three?"
Princess Yizhou wiped her tears and said, "Xin'an and Xinping were taken away by His Majesty's men. Only Xinqing and Yunfeng are still with me."
The Queen Mother exhaled, "Just stay in the palace and don't go anywhere. Send Xinqing and Yunfeng to my palace. As long as you don't run around, I can protect you."
The Princess of Yizhou nodded repeatedly and was extremely obedient.
The lights were turned off in several places in the palace, but there were always a few that remained brightly lit until a faint, fish-white light appeared on the horizon, and then the lights slowly went out.
In the sky prison, Bai Shan and Man Bao finally wrapped the person on the ground into a big white dumpling before the second candle was about to burn out. Except for his head, his whole body was wrapped in medicine.
Xiang Chao, the only one who went to bed early tonight, woke up to darkness. He was stunned for a moment before realizing that there was something on his head. He immediately reached out to take the thing off his head. When he raised his eyes, he saw the two men putting down the scissors, stretching their waists and rubbing the back of their necks sleepily. Lying on the ground was the second young master Xiang, whose head was still recognizable, and the rest of his body was covered with a piece of white linen.
Xiang Chao opened his mouth wide.
The next update will be around 8pm
(End of this chapter)
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