Chapter 169 What Happened That Year
The Third Prince could no longer stay in this village. He knew that the people in this village were afraid of outsiders. If he stayed any longer, he might arouse their suspicion, and it would be bad if his identity was exposed, so he took Nan Qing away.
Nan Qing followed him this time because she felt compassion for him.
After they left the village.
Nan Qing asked: "Prince, these are all suffering people who cannot possibly know. How can you conclude with such details that the young master is still alive? If the young master is still alive, where is he?"
"Of course he was taken away by the general and his wife. If he wasn't alive in this village, he would have been taken away by them. I think they should have already set off for the capital. If we chase them, we will probably arrive in the capital at the same time as them. Then we can find a way to contact them and see my son whom I miss day and night."
This Third Prince is really smart.
However, for the sake of caution, the people over there would never enter the capital openly. If they were discovered by the eldest prince's people, they would be finished.
The people sent by the big house to Gujia Village have already withdrawn. The eldest prince is also smart. They know that this family went north after leaving Gujia Village.
But as for his most important child, it doesn’t matter whether he is alive or dead. As long as he meets this couple, he will be able to get hold of something that could hold the third child accountable.
However, this family of four was also very smart. Seeing that they were almost reaching the capital, they stopped at a small village in the suburbs outside the capital.
A family in this small village knew General Lu.
The couple at the manor heard the sound of a carriage outside the door and hurriedly opened the door to greet them.
Seeing that it was their former savior, the family of four quickly welcomed him in.
As for the carriage and the driver, they gave them the money to go back.
Their family of four planned to settle down here first, and as for the situation in the capital, they could only take a short break before making any plans.
"General, Madam, have you made up your mind? If you want to settle down here, it is not far from Jincheng. If you want to leave, you can leave at any time. If you encounter danger, you can run back and they won't catch up so quickly." These words were said by the old woman.
In fact, this story started a few months ago.
Lu Yan came to the capital without telling his wife and children, wanting to find out about the Third Prince's situation.
When I was passing by here that day, I encountered bandits and these two people, a couple. I saved them while escaping myself.
Lu Yan stayed in this village for two days.
"I know, Auntie. We will be careful. Thank you for taking us in. But we won't stay here for too long. If we stay for too long, it will cause trouble for you. I won't put you in a situation that you shouldn't be in."
This was said by Lu Yan.
After they had lived in the village for two days, everyone was almost done with rest.
Lu Yan planned to go to the city first to see the prince and tell him that his child was well again.
He left quickly, otherwise he would not be able to arrive before dark.
Wandering outside the prince's mansion before dark.
Finally, when it was completely dark, he climbed over the wall and entered the prince's palace.
He did not go to see the prince, but went to see the prince's butler.
When the butler saw him, he was also surprised.
"General, why are you here again? Everyone outside is keeping a close eye on you. If you come here and get caught, no one will save you. You'd better leave quickly and don't cause trouble for the prince."
"I came here to tell the prince that the young prince's illness has been cured and he is a normal child now. I want them to meet as soon as possible. After all, the prince said that this is his biological son and I want to return him to him. Doesn't he want his son anymore?" Lu Yan asked.
When this matter was mentioned, the housekeeper became very angry.
"General, didn't we discuss the child's matter beforehand? Why did you send the child back? Besides, the prince is not in the lake now. I don't know where he went. I went to the prince's room before and saw that he was no longer in the mansion. I don't know where he went. I even suspect that he was captured by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince again."
The housekeeper's words left him a little confused.
Didn’t Your Majesty have no children before he abdicated? Where did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince come from?
Seeing that he was confused, the housekeeper explained, "After His Majesty abdicated, in order to avoid suspicion from the Queen Mother, he could only lie and claim to be the Crown Prince. However, in front of the Queen Mother, he still called himself His Majesty, so he has no children at all. It seems that his wife has never given birth to a son or a daughter for him, so he has no heirs to inherit."
After hearing the butler’s explanation, Lu Yan understood.
Something happened recently in the palace.
The Empress Dowager had learned of her son's abdication and was furious in her palace.
"What did you say? Say it again. I don't believe this is true. How could my child be so confused?"
"It is absolutely true, Your Majesty, but Your Majesty, we did not want you to worry so we kept it a secret. I didn't expect you would find out anyway. You must get Your Majesty up quickly, otherwise it will be bad if the ministers outside find out."
"You confused child, are you stupid? You finally got to that position, how can you give it up so easily? Besides, you should waste your time to manage the government. Think about your next generation. You don't even have a child now, who will inherit the throne in the future? Do you really want to give it to the third son? And the third son's son."
"Mother, have you ever thought that this position originally belonged to the third son? I shouldn't have taken it. I have occupied it for so long that I should give it back to him. I don't have any children. Maybe it's God's punishment for me. What else can I say? So it's only right to give it back to the third son, no need to say more."
Empress Dowager Liu looked very disappointed.
"What do you know? Even if you give this position back to the third brother, will he still be grateful to you? He will think that you are leaving him a mess. It is better for you to sit in that position yourself. When your wife gives birth to a child in the future, he will be the legitimate prince, and we don't have to give up the throne to others. I don't want to, uh, step down from this position above everyone else. I haven't enjoyed the wealth and honor of the queen mother enough. Are you willing to be a prince?"
The eldest prince tried to persuade his mother earnestly.
"Mother, now the ministers all know that the throne does not belong to me. Even if I sit on that position, what good will it do? If I cannot convince the people, sooner or later I will have to give it up to someone else. Instead of that, it is better for me to take that position as soon as possible and let someone with talent and ability sit on that position to benefit the people."
Empress Dowager Liu blamed her son.
"The third son has talent. If he did, he wouldn't have let you take his place. He has been sitting on this throne for so long. He must be talentless and incompetent. His son is still so young. Do you want his son to inherit the throne? Let's see who can convince the people. You should be quiet for a while. Tell them honestly tomorrow that you are still the emperor of this country and it is better for you to be the emperor. Then the rest is to hurry up and have a child. Otherwise, there will be no one to succeed you. How can you be worthy of your dead father?"
But Big House also thought it through. He would never sit in that position again. Although that position was good, it could cost him his life if he was not careful.
The eldest prince has thought about it and decided that he wanted to live a few more years and did not want to die at such a young age, so of course he would not agree to such an unreasonable request made by his mother.
He said, "Don't worry, mother. No matter who becomes the emperor, you will still be the empress dowager, second only to the emperor and above all others. You can still enjoy wealth and honor. The third son is a kind person. Besides, didn't his mother die when he was very young? So even if the third son becomes the emperor, you will still be the empress dowager, second only to the emperor and above all others. This will not change."
Empress Dowager Liu gets angry when talking about this.
Although they all said that the third brother was a good person, there was one thing that the Empress Dowager Liu was very clear about.
After all, the third child’s mother also participated in it back then.
I still remember those years.
The third child's mother was still just a concubine. The emperor promised her, "My beloved concubine, as long as you can give birth to a prince and let me have another prince, I will make you a noble concubine, and a noble concubine second only to the emperor and above all others, with a title. You will enjoy wealth and honor, and our child will be more noble and enjoy wealth and honor in the future. When the child grows up, if he has talent, I will make him the crown prince, and the entire throne will be his."
The third prince's mother was very happy at that time, and she was also looking forward to the baby in her belly.
On the day when the third prince's mother gave birth, she encountered a problem: the child was difficult to deliver. She tossed and turned in the room for several hours. The emperor paced back and forth at the door, very anxious.
Finally, a loud cry pierced the sky.
They had been looking forward to the birth of the little prince, but just when everyone was happy, a palace maid came to report that Prince Shang's mother was too weak after giving birth and was about to die. The emperor quickly ordered the imperial physician to do his best to save the mother, and finally saved her.
However, his mother had suffered a fundamental injury when she gave birth to him, and her health had always been poor and she was particularly weak.
Finally, the Third Prince died of a sudden illness when he was still a child.
But now that Empress Dowager Liu has spoken out about this matter today, it means that she and the Third Prince have an irreconcilable feud.
In fact, before the Third Prince’s mother passed away, the First Prince’s mother, now the Queen Mother, went to look for her.
"Sister, you are so lucky to have given birth to a prince. His Majesty dotes on you and even makes you a noble concubine. But don't forget that I also gave birth to a son. It is unknown which son will become the crown prince in the future and who will inherit your position a hundred years later. Don't be too proud too soon. With your sickly appearance, even if he becomes the emperor, he will be ridiculed by the people. Everyone will know that he has a sick mother who may kill him at any time. Can you really bear to let him live in such an environment?"
The third prince's mother was indeed somewhat touched.
"I understand what you mean, but I can't give in. My child must be taken care of by us personally, so I won't agree to anything you say."
"You are a noble concubine, and I am just a concubine. His Majesty gave you this honor because I gave birth to a prince earlier than you and you have been favored by His Majesty for many years. But you look so sick, how many years can you live? How many years can you protect your children? It's better to die early, so that you can drag them down less. What I said are all great principles, I hope you can understand."
After saying this, the empress dowager left. However, the empress dowager at that time was only a small concubine without a title. She only had a seat in her own palace. His Majesty at that time had many concubines in the harem, but only a few of them had children.
After the concubine left, the third prince's mother just thought about it.
Maybe I really can't bring any benefits to everyone by dragging this sick body along. Maybe what others say is right. I should make some plans for my children earlier and not put it off day after day.
On a sunny afternoon, the third prince's mother chose to end her life in her own bedroom.
By the time the Third Prince and His Majesty found out, it was too late and there was no way to save her. His Majesty had not eaten or drunk for several days because of the loss of his beloved concubine. The cause of death of the Third Prince's mother is still a mystery, and no one knows. Only the current Empress Dowager knows why he died, so the Empress Dowager is afraid. If the Third Prince ascends the throne one day, he will definitely investigate the cause of his mother's death, and many people will be implicated. Then she, the mastermind behind the scenes, will be exposed by them.
Given his love for his mother, he would definitely bring the mastermind behind the scenes to justice and execute him.
His own son foolishly said that the third brother was a kind-hearted person and would definitely not kill his mother. That was because he didn't know the reason. If he knew the specific reason, he would definitely kill him as soon as possible.
Faced with her son's stupidity, Empress Dowager Liu felt very disappointed.
He knew very well how his son got this position, and he had helped him in some ways.
Therefore, she must not let her son step down from this position. She must let him sit on it again. Only when he sits on this position can he continue to be the queen mother with peace of mind. Otherwise, she will have trouble sleeping and eating every day, and sooner or later it will cost her her life.
After saying so much to her son, she left her son and returned to her own palace. However, she was still a little worried and hoped that day would come later.
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