Yuan Zhao's perspective: I only wish the one he loves a peaceful life...
Yuan Zhao knew from a young age that he would become the next emperor.
Many envied his good fortune. He was crowned Crown Prince just one month after birth, his mother the Empress, the emperor's sole and unwavering favorite. Meanwhile, the princes born before him were either imprisoned or lived in obscurity and neglect. The Prince of Jin, the only one who could even compete with him, unexpectedly supported him at court, clearing many obstacles for him.
Yuan Zhao liked his second brother very much. Every time when he couldn't complete the homework assigned by the tutor, his second brother would always help him secretly. Although he would still be scolded if his father found out later, his second brother would always stand by him and help him retort to his father.
Yuan Zhao felt that his second brother was the most courageous person in the world. Everyone else was afraid of the emperor, but he was not. He even dared to go against the emperor openly, and for some reason, the emperor tolerated him every time.
But whenever my father got upset with my second brother, he'd run to my mother to complain. Even at his age, he'd still pester her every day, insisting she'd say nice things to him. Even after my mother had coaxed him, he wouldn't give up. He'd run to my second brother with a smug look on his face to show off. Yuan Zhao had no idea what he was so proud of, but every time my second brother heard him brag, his face would turn sour.
Yuan Zhao always felt that his father was an old man without shame, and he didn't know why his mother, who was so young, beautiful, gentle and kind, fell in love with his father.
Yuan Zhao had heard the stories about his mother and father countless times from the palace people since he was a child, and even the people had compiled many storybooks with them as the protagonists.
The first time he discovered those storybooks was in his father's study. Yuan Zhao pulled it out from the bottom of the memorials and was reading it with great interest. He didn't notice that the male protagonist in the storybook had unknowingly walked behind him.
"What is Zhao'er looking at?"
Yuan Zhao was startled and dropped the book in his hand with a "bang". "Father...Father?"
The emperor picked it up and, after reading the contents on the cover, raised an eyebrow. He didn't scold him but asked, "Zhao'er, what do you think of the story in this book?"
Yuan Zhao was only eight years old at the time, and had already learned a lot of poetry and books. He remembered the general content of the dialogue book after reading it once.
He thought for a moment and said, "Not very good."
"What's wrong?" asked the emperor.
"Mother is a fairy, not a monster!" Yuan Zhao said angrily, thinking of the plot in the storybook.
I don’t know which scholar wrote the book, but he fabricated the bizarre setting of reincarnation for his father and mother.
In his first life, his father was an immortal who was high above the heavens, and his mother was a little flower demon whom he accidentally rescued on the battlefield. They had feelings for each other, but because of the difference between immortals and demons, they were separated and sent into reincarnation.
In the second life, the emperor's father was a brave and skilled general, while his mother was an orphan whose family was destroyed. The general died on the day the city was broken, while his mother committed suicide by jumping off the city wall in a red dress.
It was not until the third life that my mother was reincarnated as an ordinary merchant's daughter. When she performed a dance, she smiled and won the emperor's heart. The emperor, who was always cold-hearted, took her back to the palace and appointed her as a noble concubine, enjoying a lifetime of honor.
This scholar is indeed talented. He writes the entanglement of three lives and three worlds vividly and vividly, making people intoxicated. However, Yuan Zhao is extremely dissatisfied with the setting that his mother in the first life was a little flower demon. Why is his dear mother a demon when his mother is obviously a little fairy?
As expected, even the emperor nodded in agreement: "I also think that your mother must have been a fairy in her previous life."
Yuan Zhao smiled and wanted to take the storybook back from his father happily, but his father forced him to sit in front of the desk, so he could only stare at the thick brick-like "The Doctrine of the Mean".
The emperor put the storybook away and taught him a lesson earnestly: "But you are still too young to read this. Go and finish reading the Four Books first."
The emperor was clearly watching it himself, but he just wouldn't let him.
Yuan Zhao finished reading for half a day in a huff, and ran to his mother to complain as soon as school was over.
"Mother, Father is secretly reading a strange book behind your back."
My mother's face changed immediately after hearing this, so when my father came to Fengqi Palace again that night, he was locked outside the door.
"I heard that Your Majesty has been distracted from his studies lately and has been obsessed with reading storybooks. If that's the case, then I'll wait until Your Majesty has read enough before you can come back."
His father's expression turned grim: "I didn't do that. Who dares to slander me?"
Yuan Zhao covered his mouth and laughed secretly behind his back. As expected, no matter how powerful his father was, he had to be humble in front of his mighty and domineering mother.
But he stopped laughing immediately because his father looked at him. Yuan Zhao's heart shuddered and he quickly retreated behind the door.
He heard his father pestering his mother for a long time, constantly defending himself. When Yuan Zhao dared to stick his head out again, he saw that his father had already hugged his mother in his arms, with his arms clasped around her waist tightly.
Yuan Zhao couldn't see his mother's expression clearly. He could only vaguely see her red cheeks from anger and her eyes that were about to shed tears.
Yuan Zhaoke couldn't help it now, and immediately jumped out from behind the door, pointing at his father and shouting:
"Father, you are bullying mother again!"
He was furious. Didn't he know? Every time Father came to ask Mother to sleep at night, Mother would stay in bed for a long time the next morning. Several times, he accidentally caught her with bruises all over her body.
It must be that my father secretly bullied my mother while he was away!
For some reason, as soon as he finished speaking, his mother's face suddenly flushed. She pushed his father away and stared at the ground embarrassedly as if she was looking for a crack to crawl into.
"It's so late, why don't you go back to bed? Master Xie told me that he would test your knowledge tomorrow."
His father looked at him with a forced smile, which instantly reminded him of the terrifying face of the Grand Tutor, and his heart almost jumped out of his chest with nervousness.
"Why? The Master didn't tell me!"
He hasn't reviewed at all yet, and if he can't answer the question tomorrow he will definitely be spanked.
The emperor's eyes flashed: "Maybe Master Xie forgot."
Yuan Zhao suddenly felt that his future was dark and his life was hopeless.
That night, he had nightmares all night long.
But the next day, my father walked out of my mother's room looking refreshed. As usual, my mother stayed in bed until very late that day.
…
Yuan Zhao grew up in this ordinary and smooth way until he was sixteen years old.
He looked like his mother, a look that was too handsome on a man, and attracted shy glances wherever he went.
As soon as he turned sixteen, the court officials began to discuss choosing a concubine for him.
When his mother asked him for his opinion, he said, "Don't worry, I haven't waited for the person I like to appear yet."
His father laughed at him, "How can you be so sure you'll ever find the person you love? What if she doesn't appear until you're old? Will you never marry?"
When he grew up, he was no longer afraid of his father and retorted, "Father was still able to meet mother at the age of 36, so I will definitely meet my mother earlier than you."
His mother burst out laughing and glanced at his head: "Little rascal."
The emperor nodded seriously, "We must wait a little longer. The most important position should be reserved for the person we like most."
When my father said this, he was looking at my mother.
So the next day, the emperor rejected the ministers' proposal on his behalf in the court.
Yuan Zhao watched his father's tough tactics. The ministers who had always been defiant did not dare to say a word in front of his father, which made him feel that he still had a lot to learn.
However, the time for him to learn the ways of ruling from his father was about to end.
When I was seventeen, my father suddenly fell ill one winter day.
He was injured in the battlefield when he was young, and at the age of 37 he was stabbed and left with a chronic illness. That year, all the accumulated weaknesses in his body suddenly broke out.
Yuan Zhao privately consulted the imperial physician, who bluntly told him that his father might not survive the winter.
Returning to the room, Yuan Zhao saw his haggard mother standing by his father's bedside, and silently buried the words of the imperial physician in his heart.
He has always witnessed the love between his father and mother over the years. There is no more loving couple in the world than this. If his father passed away first, his mother would not be able to bear it.
That night, he reluctantly coaxed his mother to go back and rest, and took over to look after his father.
It happened that my father woke up briefly that night.
"Zhao'er, you've grown up now and can protect your mother on your father's behalf." His father seemed to have realized his time was running out and calmly instructed him about his final arrangements. "After I'm gone, your mother can do whatever she wants. You must not stop her."
"Father..." He was choked with sobs and couldn't speak.
"And your second brother," the emperor said with some hesitation, but he finally let it go. "I don't intend to hide it from you. Your second brother has had some issues with me and your mother. He's been childless for years and treats you like one of his own. As for your mother... just follow her wishes."
The emperor did not explain it clearly, but Yuan Zhao already knew it.
There are traces of how his second brother treats him, the complicated look in his eyes when he occasionally looks at his mother, and his defiance of his father.
But his father never cared about it, and he pretended not to notice.
Both his father and second brother are among the people closest to him in the world.
After the emperor finished giving his instructions, he stared at him until he agreed before closing his eyes.
The next day, his mother came to take over his place early in the morning. She had to see with her own eyes that his father was still alive before she could feel at ease.
He watched his mother holding his hand and crying silently beside his father's bed. He was so heartbroken that he couldn't control himself, but he couldn't say anything to comfort her.
It was because he knew that as long as his father did not recover, his mother would not be able to rest in peace.
My second brother also often came to the palace. My mother looked at my father lying on the bed, and my second brother looked at my mother who was guarding my father's bed.
Fortunately, perhaps my mother's true love moved God, and one day after the snow stopped, my father finally woke up.
My mother cried for a long time in my father's arms, calling him a liar because he had clearly promised her that they would be together forever.
My father kept apologizing and coaxed my mother for a long time before she smiled again.
However, although my father woke up, his body was still much weaker than before.
Yuan Zhao thought that he had grown up and could no longer always hide under his father's wings, so he went to talk to his father.
The next day, my father issued an abdication edict and passed the throne to him.
At the age of seventeen, Yuan Zhao ascended the throne that was destined for him.
My father became the leisurely and comfortable emperor, and took my mother to go to the south of the Yangtze River, where my mother grew up. The scenery is beautiful and it is very suitable for living.
On the day that my father and mother left the palace, Yuan Zhao and his second brother came to see them off.
The second brother watched from afar the intimacy between them that had remained the same for more than ten years, and suddenly laughed, with a relief in his eyes that he had never seen before.
That's it.
Yuan Zhao thought that from now on, his father and mother would have a free and unfettered life, and he would be the one to protect them.
I just hope that the one he loves will be well forever.
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