Inside Yangxin Hall, the Emperor had a sickly countenance, and the strong smell of medicine permeated the area.
When the Empress entered, she was startled by the appearance of the Emperor. It seemed that overnight, the Emperor had significantly aged, looking haggard and worn.
She approached the bed, softly calling out, "Your Majesty."
The Emperor responded with a grunt, opened his eyes, looked at the Empress, and said, "Sit, please!"
The Empress took her seat.
The Emperor asked, "Have they all left?"
"I sent them all away," replied the Empress, fixing her gaze on the Emperor. "The children are all very worried about you. You must take care of your Dragon Body."
The tone of the Empress seemed calm, but upon paying closer attention, it revealed worry and concern.
The Emperor extended his hand, "Help me up."
The Empress reached out and helped the Emperor up. A perceptive eunuch immediately brought a pillow for the Emperor to lean on.
Having found a comfortable position, the Emperor took a closer look at the Empress, saying to her, "Mingyan, I have aged, and so have you."
Tears welled up in the eyes of the Empress, "Your Majesty, you have not aged."
The Emperor shook his head, caressing her face, and sighed, "All these years, I have wronged you through neglect."
Over the years, the Empress had done nothing wrong. She had been cautious and prudent, concerned that the Emperor would find a fault with her, yet even so, once or twice a month, she was subjected to the Emperor’s harsh criticism and indifference for minor issues.
The Emperor’s oppression of the Crown Prince also led to the Empress being disrespected. This was common knowledge, not a secret.
The Emperor was well aware of his wrongdoings over the years. Whenever he fell ill, unlike this time, he would not allow the Empress, the Mother of the Nation, to come near. The Empress, confined outside, could only come and go without him. Moreover, besides the 1st and the 15th of each month, when the Emperor would not step foot in Fengyi Hall, the Empress, being respectful, would not go to him.
The Empress did not commit serious mistakes, leaving the Emperor no legitimate reason to punish her severely. He could stress or neglect her only, unable to remove her Phoenix Seal. The Crown Prince, never blundering, even if the Emperor knew his prestige and reputation surpassed himself, the father, he could only repress and neglect, unable to depose the designated Crown Prince.
Therefore, looking back at these many years, he realized that the memories of his wife and son, were not at all filled with joyous, family scenes.
The furthest he could remember, when he first conducted the Great Wedding with the Empress, were moments of marital bliss, filled with excitement and praise because she bore him a smart son.
But that was all a long time ago.
A tear fell from the Empress’s eye. With a slight sob, she spoke, "Your Majesty did not wrong me. It’s just that I wasn’t pleasing to you, my lord. The Crown Prince, being dignified from a young age, couldn’t act spoiled and dote on you, and was not pleasing to you as well."
The one who the Emperor favored as he was good at flattery and gaining favor was Crown Prince Yan Li, while the one who knew how to play politics and charm was Prince Yan Lin. Yan Huisheng, though the legitimate son, because he was named Crown Prince at birth, couldn’t behave like them. Especially so since Grand Tutor Qin, despite his vast knowledge, was a man of utmost propriety and discipline and couldn’t possibly raise an undisciplined Crown Prince.
The Emperor shook his head, handed her a handkerchief, "You are my Empress, how could I not like you? The Crown Prince, as the designated future ruler, should definitely behave with dignity. None of these is a mistake."
The Empress did not speak. She took the handkerchief and gently wiped her tears, thinking, if none of these were of any concern, then what were the true concerns? Was it her too dignified air or the Crown Prince’s virtuous education and the love he received from the people?
The Emperor, seeing the Empress silent, asked in a penetrating voice, "Mingyan, have you always resented me inwardly?"
The Empress shook her head, "I do not resent you, my lord."
It’s not that she dare not, but she indeed did not resent. She knew the Emperor liked to hear her say ’I do not resent’, and so she would say it.
The Emperor held her hand, sighed, "Mingyan, sitting in this position, there are many things I don’t have control over."
The Empress nodded, "I understand which is why I have never complained to you."
This was the truth.
The Emperor nodded, "Indeed, the one who knows how to cry gets the candy."
He squeezed the Empress’s hand harder, "The Imperial Concubine understands this trick, hence, I have ended up favoring her more these years."
But the Empress thought, not just the Imperial Concubine, the Virtuous Consort, and the Benevolent Consort employ the same tactics. The Imperial Concubine resorts to looking unhappy for the Emperor to spoil her with good things while the Virtuous and Benevolent Consorts tend to cause a fuss and beg for favor, amusing and flattering well. All of them get the candy they ask for.
However, being the Empress, she couldn’t completely behave like them. Otherwise, she would be deemed undignified, criticized by the Emperor, and censured by the court officials. In short, the actions they could carry out, she could not.
The Emperor continued, "I did not expect that the Imperial Concubine would secretly commit so many errors behind my back, especially kidnapping the women of the Su family and planning to murder Su Rong. All the favors I showed her by bestowing her the title bearing the word ’Valuable’ were wasted."
The Empress didn’t know what to say and could only reply, "It’s indeed surprising that the Imperial Concubine did that. Why would she? Ever since her arrival in palace, for more than ten years, you have always treasured her and never treated her unfairly. Given this, she shouldn’t have, and has no reason to commit such acts. Besides, she has always lived within these palace walls. How could she have cultivated so many assassins?"
The Emperor’s face darkened, "I interrogated her last night. She refused to tell me anything. However, I am not a fool. She, as Imperial Concubine, has obviously brought benefits to many people over the years. I only need to give it some thought to find out."
With a grim face, he said, "I have already sent people to investigate Marquis Nanping and Zhang Ping."
Though the Imperial Concubine was sent into the palace by the Magistrate of Nanping, the Magistrate was under the jurisdiction of Marquis Nanping, so they were inevitably implicated. Pingxi General, on the surface, seemed to have no connection with the Imperial Concubine, but because of the Fox Fur incident, by presenting it to her, he resolved his quarrel with the Crown Prince and won her heart. Thus he bought himself into her good graces, and most of the silver from the national treasury flowed into Jibei. He was the one who profited most. The Emperor didn’t believe there was no connection.
The Empress thought, the Emperor had not spoken such words to her ever since he started viewing the Crown Prince as a threat, at least for seven or eight years. Now, because of his fury towards the Imperial Concubine, he ended up revealing everything to her.
The Empress couldn’t figure out what was going on in the Emperor’s mind. Was he opening up to her, attempting to salvage their marital relationship, or was he trying to test her? Was he anxious to see if she and the Crown Prince were trying to suppress the first, second, and fourth Princes in the current court situation, and gain an upper hand? He was so worried about what they might do to him, the Emperor, and wanted to make it easier for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne.
No wonder the Empress was thinking this way, as she was living with a tiger. The Emperor, in front of her, with his sickly face, was the one who best knew how to toy with people’s hearts and probe their innermost thoughts.
She, as the Empress, had served two decades by his side. Even if she didn’t completely understand him, she had a fair idea.
Her face showed a worried expression as she consoled, "Marquis Nanping and Pingxi General have shown their loyalty over the years. Perhaps, Your Majesty, you are being overly suspicious. You must first take care of your health. The court and country are waiting for you to address a pile of matters. The first snow of this winter has been falling for three days and nights now. The Crown Prince is concerned about possible snow disasters. You must take care of your Dragon Body."
The underlying message was, ’This world of Daliang still belongs to you, anticipating your wise decisions.’.
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