Chapter 203 Bo Qiaohui 15
Dou Yifang went to Jianzhang Palace. She thought Qi'er would hide in a panic, but she didn't expect to see him sitting in the main hall as soon as she entered, obviously waiting for her.
Dou Yifang was afraid of scaring him, so she glanced at the main hall and asked softly, "Where is the Empress Dowager?"
"I, your son, advise the Empress Dowager to rest."
Liu Qi knelt there, not panicking or frightened as Dou Yifang had imagined. He even had the leisure to drink tea.
"Qi'er, do you know what you have done?"
"I know that if I kill Liu Xian, his father, King Liu Bi, will definitely not let me go."
Liu Qi drank a cup of tea and looked up at the Queen. "I don't care how Liu Bi will retaliate against me. The reason I came to the Empress Dowager is that I don't want to be locked up indiscriminately by you and thrown to Liu Bi to vent his anger."
"Qi'er, how can you think of our father and mother like this?" Dou Yifang looked at her child with some hurt, but was hurt by the sarcasm in his eyes.
"It's not that I want to think this way, but that's what my father and mother do."
Liu Qi had been holding back some words for a long time. He hadn't wanted to say them out loud, but...
He squeezed the sachet in his sleeve and expressed all the grievances and confusions he had felt over the years.
"It was clearly Yu'er's negligence in serving Liu Wu that led to his accidental fall into the water. Others may suspect me, but you are my mother. Why do you refuse to even investigate and conclude that I am a cruel person who would attack a child?"
"Is your child so unbearable in your heart?"
Dou Yifang quickly said, "It's all mother's fault. She wronged you before. She apologizes to you."
Liu Qi ignored her apology and simply bent his straight back. "My father is the same. Liu Xian's casual slander is enough for him to lock me up in the torture chamber. Liu Xian is right. What kind of prince am I? I am just a pitiful prisoner."
"Your father, the emperor, also had his reasons."
Liu Qi, however, was no longer listening to these words. He just looked at Dou Yifang stubbornly and asked, "Have father and mother investigated this matter thoroughly?"
"this……"
Dou Yifang knew that as long as she told a few lies and told Qi'er that his father had found out the whole story and knew that he was innocent, Qi'er would go with her.
But looking at Liu Qi's bright eyes, she subconsciously turned her head away: "Your father has been busy with government affairs recently."
"I understand. Let's go."
Liu Qi stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked out first. Dou Yifang didn't know why, but even though she had achieved her goal, she felt very sad. Looking at Qi'er's back, she felt that the gap between them had become a chasm.
When Dou Yifang returned to the Pepper Room, Liu Heng was already waiting there. He told her the results of his investigation.
Dou Yifang knew what Liu Xian had done to more than a dozen palace maids. The incident that day must have been started by Liu Xian, who was already well-versed in human affairs.
In addition to defiling the palace maids, he did many things behind her back.
A sixteen-year-old boy had been in the palace for only a few months, but the crimes he had committed were too numerous to list.
The couple looked at each other, both feeling a little ashamed.
"Placing the child with the Crown Prince without examining his character is a dereliction of duty on our part as parents."
Liu Heng was ready to go to war with Liu Bi. He knew that what the Han Dynasty needed most now was rest and recuperation, but he could not bear to see his own child being unjustly killed, whether as an emperor or a father.
"But if we start a war, it will surely lead to devastation!" Dou Yifang subconsciously grasped Liu Heng's hand, urging him to reconsider. She had even begun to consider letting Liu Qi fight for his life.
After all, she was such a person, the people were more important than the king. She not only always applied this to herself, but also to her son.
There is no need to weigh the pros and cons between the people of the Han Dynasty and Crown Prince Liu Qi.
Seeing that Liu Heng was determined to protect the prince, Dou Yifang had no choice but to go to Taiji Hall herself.
She was heartbroken, but for the sake of the people of the world, she had to let her son take a gamble. Regardless of whether Liu Qi survived or not, she could force Liu Bi to let the matter go.
Liu Qi had just finished burning the note when Dou Yifang arrived. She was so absorbed in her own affairs that she naturally didn't notice the ashes on the table. With a subtle flick of his sleeve, Liu Qi, as a gesture of courtesy, swept the ashes to the floor.
"Mother, what is it that you are looking for me for?"
"Mother has been busy these days and has neglected you. I always feel guilty."
Dou Yifang picked up the comb and gently combed Qi'er's hair. She glanced at the packed luggage beside her and asked softly, "Where are you going, Qi'er?"
"My father asked me to go to Qi State and hide with my brother Liu Zhang for a while."
"So do you want to go?"
"No." Liu Qi looked at himself in the bronze mirror and tied a hairband around his head. "I don't want to see the Han people suffer because of me. I also have people I want to protect."
He took the initiative to reach out and help his mother up. This time he already knew what he might face, but he still went without hesitation.
In the hall, his mother's well-reasoned speech once again won the day, and King Liu Bi of Wu finally took a step back. But Liu Qi knew that this was not fair.
Because Liu Bi commanded a large army, even if Liu Xian was at fault, his father still had to compensate the King of Wu. Cede territory? Pay compensation?
In short, it is just a temporary solution, and Liu Bi will rebel sooner or later.
Liu Qi stood still, not even taking a step back because of the sword at his neck. He watched the King of Wu throw down his sword and turn away, but he thought to himself:
King Wu, I will definitely kill him.
"Qi'er, Qi'er, are you okay?"
As soon as the King of Wu left the hall, Dou Yifang could no longer hold on. She took Liu Qi into her arms in three or two steps, her back already soaked.
"I'm fine. If you're alright, Mother, I'll take my leave."
Liu Qi indifferently pulled Dou Yifang's hand away, respectfully and politely bowed to his father and mother, then turned and left calmly.
He walked through the tall and majestic palaces and didn't know where he was going, when suddenly he heard beautiful music.
Following the sound, I finally saw a figure in the peach garden.
"Master Zhou?"
The man turned around. Who else could it be but Zhou Yafu?
"Your Highness, what brings you here?"
Liu Qi walked over, looked up, and suddenly smiled: "I don't know either. I just felt so choked up inside, but couldn't cry, so I wandered all the way here."
"What instrument did the master just play? It sounded so beautiful."
Zhou Yafu looked at the young but worried prince and handed him the xiao.
"If Your Highness wants to learn, I can teach you."
Liu Qi smiled and nodded, then picked up the xiao as Zhou Yafu instructed. He opened his red lips slightly, and the intermittent music gradually became coherent. The peach blossoms bloomed and faded, bloomed and faded again. Amidst the endless falling petals, the young man who played the xiao had suddenly reached the age of knowing the beauty of young people.
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