Chapter 438 Endured Too Much
Chu State, inside the imperial palace.
The imperial guards walked hurriedly towards the imperial study.
The morning court session had just ended and ministers were walking out of the council hall in groups of two or three.
"It's been so long, and the Emperor is still unwilling to announce the Queen's death. How long will the harem be empty?"
"Your Excellency, please be more alert. The last time someone mentioned this, the Emperor flew into a rage and ordered the imperial guards to drag the person out and beat him with a stick, saying that he was cursing the Empress. Who dares to mention this now?"
A few heads moved closer.
"There's no movement from Duke Jingguo's side?"
"I'm afraid Duke Jingguo is unwilling to wade into this muddy water, so let's just wait and see what happens."
The imperial guards gradually walked away, accompanied by the ministers' whispered discussions.
As soon as Xiao Jin sat down in the imperial study, Zhang Shuming walked in.
"Your Majesty, there are imperial guards outside the gate asking to see you."
Xiao Jin picked up a memorial without even looking up, "Let him in."
The imperial guard walked into the inner hall and said loudly: "Your Majesty, half an hour ago, I found a carrier pigeon outside the palace gate. There was a letter tied to the pigeon's feet. I took out the letter and found something strange, so I didn't dare to delay and sent it to Your Majesty."
Xiao Jin raised his eyebrows upon hearing this, his pupils calm and expressionless, "What's written?"
The imperial guard said, "It says on the letter that the queen is still alive."
Xiao Jin paused and stood up from the dragon chair, "Bring it here."
The imperial guards immediately handed over the letter.
Xiao Jin took the letter and looked at it. There was unfamiliar handwriting on it, but it clearly stated that Su Ying was still alive and was currently in Jincheng.
Jincheng was his former fiefdom. No matter what route one takes from Cangjiang River, it is impossible to get to Jincheng.
Zhang Shuming glanced at the letter and said, "Your Majesty, this news comes from an unknown source, so we should not believe it easily."
Xiao Jin was not stupid, so he would not believe it easily. "Did you see anyone suspicious?"
"Your Majesty, I did not find any suspicious people during my patrol. I found this pigeon at the foot of the city wall."
Xiao Jin slowly clenched the note in his hand, "I understand, please leave. If you find anything unusual again, please let me know immediately."
"yes."
After the imperial guards withdrew, Zhang Shuming brought tea to Xiao Jin and said, "Your Majesty, have some tea."
Xiao Jin waved his hand and unfolded the note in his hand again.
Zhang Shuming couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, there might be something fishy going on here."
"If it's a trap, they will come again if they fail once. I want to see who is behind this." Xiao Jin was convinced that Su Ying was still alive, but he would not believe this news easily.
Zhang Shuming breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Xiao Jin was not fooled. During the time when the empress was away, the emperor seemed to have become a different person. He spent all day dealing with state affairs and the rest of the time teaching the eldest prince. He sat alone on the bed at night, and it was unknown whether he slept or not. It has only been a short time, but he has lost a lot of weight. Alas!
The eldest prince is really pitiful. He only has four hours of sleep time every day, plus one hour for eating. The rest of the time he is almost studying endlessly. Besides that, he has to spend two hours every day in the imperial study to listen to the emperor and ministers discussing politics.
Despite such an exhausting daily routine, the eldest prince had no complaints, but his childish face smiled less and less.
Xiao Jin did not tell the two children about Su Ying's affairs, and the two children surprisingly did not ask. It seemed that the three of them had reached some kind of tacit understanding, as if as long as some people didn't mention it, she would always be there.
In silence, a small figure appeared outside the imperial study.
Zhang Shuming reminded softly: "Your Majesty, the prince is coming down."
Xiao Jin clenched the letter in his hand and let Dabao enter the hall.
"Greetings, Father."
"Come and sit down. Have you read all the memorials that your father asked you to read yesterday?"
Dabao nodded and said, "I've finished reading it."
Xiao Jin hummed.
"Father, after I finished reading the memorials last night, I wrote summaries for two of them. Please have a look at them."
Xiao Jin took the paper in his hand with some surprise and looked at it.
It is impossible to test Dabao's views on state affairs at his age. We can just ask him to recognize all the characters on the memorial and further understand the content of the memorial and make a summary. If he can make a good summary, it means he has made progress.
The overview is written in a very immature way, but it is very rare for Dabao at this age.
Dabao stood in the hall with a hint of uneasiness in his eyes.
After reading it, Xiao Jin affirmed, "It's well written."
After hearing Xiao Jin's praise, Dabao raised the corners of his lips as if relieved, "I will continue to work hard."
Xiao Jin asked him to sit next to him. Seeing that he had faint bruises under his eyelids at such a young age, he couldn't help but feel distressed. "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Dabao said softly, "I stayed up a little later than usual last night to write the overview. I can make up for it by taking a nap later."
Xiao Jin held his little hand, "Ji'er, Father knows that you have worked very hard. If you are really tired, take a rest."
Dabao held Xiao Jin's hand, his eyes full of determination, "Father is the one who is tired. If Ji'er learns more and knows more, he can share more of the burden with father, and then father won't be so tired."
Xiao Jin felt relieved and held Dabao in his arms, "Silly child..."
"Don't worry, father. Ji'er is not tired. Ji'er likes reading books and listening to the teacher's lectures. Ji'er has a lot to learn. In the future, she can protect father, Ling'er, and... mother..." Dabao choked up when he said the last part.
He knew, he knew everything. Those people would always secretly say behind his back that his mother had fallen into a huge flood and would never come back. When he heard it, he would scold them angrily and tell them loudly that his mother would be fine and she would definitely come back!
Just like when she and her father fell into the water, they were able to come back!
Mother Zhao and the others would always cry secretly behind his and Ling'er's backs, and he was very angry. Why were they crying when their mother clearly didn't come back?
Dabao was very angry, and also angry at himself. If he had grown up and could share his father's worries, then he would be the one helping his father. In this way, his mother would not leave the palace and would not be in danger!
So Dabao worked hard to learn to read and study, hoping that he could understand more, grow up quickly and become his father's helper, so that his mother could come back!
Children's thoughts are always mature yet naive to an extent that is difficult to understand.
This maturity that was not in line with his age made Xiao Jin feel distressed, but as the eldest son, this was the only way for him to go.
"Your mother will definitely come back."
Dabao raised his head from Xiao Jin's arms. This was the first time Xiao Jin mentioned this matter in front of the child since Su Ying disappeared.
"I also think that mother will definitely come back. Mother also told me not to worry about her, because she will be back soon!"
(End of this chapter)
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