Chapter 524: She is indeed a witch
In Wanshou Palace, the empress dowager received the news that the emperor had returned to the palace, and she specially ordered the small kitchen to prepare some of the emperor's favorite dishes, waiting for the emperor to come for dinner.
But what arrived were two people, and Chu Liuzheng was forced to follow the emperor to the Wanshou Palace to eat.
The Queen Mother could barely give Chu Liuzheng a good face before, but now she wants to use her eyes to scrape off a layer of skin from Chu Liuzheng.
She actually instigated the emperor to dismiss the harem. What a disaster!
Xiao Jingfan said, "Mother, it's getting late. Let's eat first."
The Queen Mother snorted coldly and ordered someone to serve the meal.
The meal was eaten in silence. Even Chu Liuzheng, who usually turned a deaf ear to the outside world and only wanted to eat, found it difficult to swallow.
It’s not that she doesn’t want to eat, but she feels that eating this meal might give her stomachache, which is not worth it.
In less than two quarters of an hour, the three of them put down their chopsticks and the palace servants came forward to take the food away.
Chu Liuzheng held the tea and looked to the left and then to the right.
[Tsk tsk, the Queen Mother's face is so gloomy that you could squeeze water out of it. If you didn't know better, you would think the food just now was poisoned.]
[The tyrant has such a blank expression on his face. Didn't he say he wanted to have a good talk with the Queen Mother? With this expression, he looks more like he's here to collect a debt.]
"Why aren't you talking? This isn't a game where whoever speaks first loses. Are you trying to see who can hold their breath the longest?"
She took a sip of tea, looked at the two silent people, and took another sip of tea.
[By the way, the tea in the Empress Dowager's palace is as delicious as ever.]
[No, I'm already halfway through my tea, why aren't these two talking? How about I start a conversation?]
【Hurry up and speak!!】
Holding the remaining half cup of tea, Chu Liuzheng felt like leaving.
You must not drink too much water when doing serious work, after all, people have three urgent needs.
She gave the emperor a look, and without caring whether he understood or not, she stood up and walked out silently.
"Stop." The Queen Mother glared at him. "Where are you going?"
Chu Liuzheng: "Going to the toilet."
The Queen Mother: “…”
Chu Liuzheng looked at her innocently, "Can I leave now?"
The Queen Mother snorted "hmm", which sounded more like a snort.
Chu Liuzheng got up and walked away.
[You two, mother and son, should have a good talk. I won't get involved.]
As she watched her leave, the Queen Mother withdrew her gaze and looked at the Emperor, "This is the person you chose."
The tone was very dissatisfied.
Xiao Jingfan said: "She is fine."
The Queen Mother said: "The late Emperor once asked you which was more important, a beauty or the kingdom. Do you remember your answer?"
Xiao Jingfan nodded: "Remember."
"So what are you doing now?" The Queen Mother's voice was filled with anger. "To disband the harem for such a woman, I think you have lost your mind!"
She raised her hand and slammed the table, frightening everyone in the hall so much that they knelt down, lowered their heads, and remained silent.
Xiao Jingfan waved his hand, and Zhou Yuande immediately led the palace people to retreat.
Suddenly, only the royal mother and son were left in the palace.
"Are you angry with me for disbanding the harem for her, or are you angry with me for sending Concubine Xie away?" Xiao Jingfan took off the Bodhi beads from his wrist, put them on his four fingers, and slowly twisted them one by one.
The Queen Mother knew she had spoken out of turn, but she was also disappointed with Xiao Jingfan. She said in a stern tone, "No matter who it is for, this shouldn't happen."
"I still became the Queen Mother just to make the Xie family angry with me." Xiao Jingfan raised his eyes and stared at the Queen Mother, "So it's not true?"
The sight of the Empress Dowager gave him a sudden shock, and he felt a little uneasy for no reason.
The emperor had never looked at her with such a scrutinizing, cold gaze. What happened?
She couldn't help but soften her tone. "You love Chu, and you only favor her. Although there are complaints in the harem, they haven't been too bad over the years. With your protection, Chu has never suffered a single loss. You are happy to favor her, and you can continue to do so in the future. Why do you want to disband the harem?"
The harem is inseparable from the previous dynasty. Isn't this asking for trouble?
Hearing that the Queen Mother's words were all about her being considerate of him, Xiao Jingfan's eyes warmed up a little and he was willing to say a few more words.
"There are too many people and too much trouble. She doesn't like the fighting in the palace, and I don't want to bother her. Mother, please don't blame her. It wasn't her who instigated me to disband the harem, but I did it willingly."
He looked at the smooth, round bodhi beads in his hand and whispered, "If I hadn't insisted, she would have already flown out of the palace to find her freedom. I imprisoned her in this world out of selfishness, and I feel guilty about it, and I always want to make it up to her."
The Queen Mother frowned upon hearing this, "My prince, are you possessed by a demon?"
"Ms. Chu is just a peasant girl. If it weren't for your favor, how could a peasant girl like her be so rich, dressed in fine clothes, surrounded by servants, and not even need to carry an embroidery needle?"
"You gave her a life of prosperity, something that others could never hope to obtain even after praying to countless gods and Buddhas and kowtowed to their heads. Yet, she isn't grateful and instead blames you. How can this be justified?"
As the Queen Mother spoke, her anger rose again.
How could this clever and intelligent child become so stupid the moment he met that woman?
To have bewitched her own son to this point, Chu was indeed a witch.
The Queen Mother lowered her eyes to drink tea, a hint of murderous intent flashing across her eyes.
After hearing what his mother said, Xiao Jingfan just wanted to shake his head.
To others, it was indeed wealth and honor that they could never obtain, but to Chu Liuzheng, what he did was probably no different from a disaster.
He had never understood before why Chu Liuzheng was so ignorant as to resist everything that others envied?
After spending more than four years together, he gradually understood from Chu Liuzheng's inner thoughts that it was because of Chu Liuzheng's previous life.
In Chu Liuzheng's previous life, women, like men, had many choices. But in Dasheng, marrying, bearing children, and living dependent on men was the fate of most women.
Although Chu Liuzheng was reborn in Dasheng in this life, he was deeply influenced by his previous life and never considered getting married and having children as a must. He still believed that everything depended on himself.
For example, she always talked about wanting to be a rich woman, but she always thought about earning it on her own, such as doing her best to get more rewards, or opening a restaurant after leaving the palace and making money with her cooking skills, rather than marrying a rich and powerful man based on his talent and beauty.
If he had not stopped her at the palace gate, she might have opened a restaurant in a corner of the capital with the money she had saved, or taken a caravan to the south of the Yangtze River to see the white walls and green tiles, and the misty rain that formed a painting.
Anyway, with that woman's temper, she won't stop making trouble.
If Chu Liuzheng were given a chance to choose, she would probably choose to leave the palace.
Xiao Jingfan couldn't tell the Queen Mother about this. He could only say, "There are many things involved, so it's inconvenient to tell you. Just remember this—"
He clutched the Bodhi beads and looked at the Queen Mother, "The story of the Phoenix Girl is not groundless."
The Queen Mother was stunned. What did she mean by "not groundless"? Was Chu really the reincarnation of a deity?
Where do gods come from in this world?
She curled her lips and said unhappily, "My prince, please don't try to fool me. If Chu is truly a deity, ask her to transform into one for me to see. If she can, not only will I dismiss the harem, I'll even build a lotus pedestal to enshrine her."
"The lotus platform is not necessary." Xiao Jingfan curled his lips and smiled lightly, "If the Queen Mother wants to see it, she will be able to see it in a few days."
The Queen Mother's eyelids twitched, and she had a bad feeling. She asked hurriedly, "What do you mean?"
Xiao Jingfan: "I will make Chu my queen."
(End of this chapter)
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