Chapter 253: Bo Qiaohui 65
"Prince Liang is rebelling! How could it happen so suddenly?"
Liu Pengzu's first reaction was disbelief, so he subconsciously used a somewhat questioning tone.
After all, everyone in the world knew that Prince Liu Wu of Liang was raised by Empress Dowager Dou and was like a brother to the Emperor. He had also made great military achievements during the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, and had always been a role model for these future princes.
Why would he suddenly rebel out of the blue?
"Watch your attitude," Liu Qi looked at him disapprovingly, his voice lowered. "What? Are you saying that the Queen will lie to you in front of me?"
"Or do you also want to plead for that evil creature, thinking that I have wronged him without any reason?"
"I dare not! It was just that the incident happened so suddenly that I didn't react for a moment." Liu Pengzu quickly knelt down and said righteously, "If the Prince of Liang truly committed such a heinous act and disappointed my grandmother and father, he should be punished."
"So you also support the penalty taker?"
As soon as the Queen spoke, Liu Pengzu felt apprehensive. He had no idea what the main punishment party was, but since the Queen had spoken, she must have dug a trap for him to jump into.
Liu Pengzu considered it for a moment and said cautiously, "I, your son, don't understand these things either. Besides, it's not my place to speak on matters like these. Naturally, I'll leave it entirely to your father to decide."
"Forget it. What do you know about court affairs?" Liu Qi didn't react to his answer, only frowning. "However, I also hope that you and your brothers will take this as a warning and behave yourself in your fiefdoms. If you behave like those rebels of the past or Liu Wu today, relying on your royal status to act recklessly, I and the Crown Prince will never tolerate you."
"...Your son, I will follow your father's teachings." Liu Pengzu clenched his hands tightly under his sleeves, and he felt no pain even if his neatly trimmed nails pierced his flesh.
He wanted to shout: "Who are you to say I don't understand the affairs of the court? Why are we all of the emperor's bloodline, but only he can be the emperor? God is unfair! Father is unfair!"
"Alright, alright. You've always praised me, saying that among all the scholars, Peng Zu was the most content. I believe this child will not disappoint Your Majesty." Bo Qiaohui stepped in to smooth things over. She smiled and said to Liu Pengzu, "Don't worry about your enfeoffment yet. Spend more time with your mother and wait until this matter is resolved before you discuss it."
"Thank you, mother. I will take my leave."
After the boy left the hall, Bo Qiaohui turned around and continued to look at him: "This kid's ambition is no less than Liu Bi's back then."
"What's the point of being ambitious? He's not even worthy of being Che'er's whetstone."
"Then why did you choose him and let Bo Ren assist him?"
"I didn't order Bo Ren to assist. He knew he had offended you and Che'er, so he wanted to establish a new leader," Liu Qi said without hiding anything. "But it's only natural that he chose Liu Pengzu. This child is already the most talented of the remaining children."
Bo Qiaohui nodded, agreeing with Liu Qi's statement. Then she continued the discussion by bringing up the matter they had just discussed:
"Putting aside other things, is the evidence you just gave of Prince Liang's rebellion true? The Queen Mother is already an elderly woman. Since the death of Marquis Nanpi, she has completely lost her sight. If she hears any more news about Prince Liang, I'm afraid she won't be able to bear it."
Liu Qi naturally felt sorry for his mother, and he didn't want the Queen Mother to suffer this blow in her later years, but Liu Wu...
"That evidence was found by your fourth brother himself. Now Bo Xiang and other court officials are demanding severe punishment, and I am in a difficult position."
Bullshit! My brother had nothing better to do than to travel all this way to search for evidence against King Liang. What was he trying to achieve? It's obvious that you want the horses to run without eating grass, and you want them to dislike each other and start fighting.
It's simply wanting this and that and more.
Over the years, her four brothers, she, and the children have been taking on multiple roles to accommodate Liu Qi's suspicion, and each of them is almost becoming an actor or actress.
For example, now, it seems that Liu Qi is shamelessly giving an outrageous reason, but in fact he is testing himself.
All these years of acting had clearly made Liu Qi believe that they would collapse because of the benefits, but he still kept testing them.
This is probably because of lack of ability, so I am more suspicious.
"Yeah?"
Qiao Hui glanced at him with a half-smile, "Didn't you ask them to do this?"
Being questioned so bluntly by Bo Qiaohui, Liu Qi smiled awkwardly: "What are you talking about? They are just helping the court with its worries. What does this have to do with me?"
"You can say whatever you want, but if the Queen Mother asks about it, I won't cover up for you."
"Cough cough cough, I know, cough cough, I know. I won't make things difficult for you. Cough--" Liu Qi's originally gentle smile was interrupted by a sudden cough. He hurriedly picked up a handkerchief to cover his mouth. The heart-wrenching cough sounded as if he was going to cough out his lungs.
Bo Qiaohui hurried over to pat his back, and saw that he was holding his handkerchief and didn't want to show it to anyone, with an anxious look on his face: "If you don't show it to me, I won't help to hide your illness anymore..."
She swallowed the following words, as if she didn't want to mention it.
Liu Qi smiled tenderly at this moment. He leaned back and lay on Qiao Hui's shoulder. Although her arms were very thin, they held him firmly. "I'm fine, don't be afraid."
"Who's afraid? It's not a big deal. The doctor said it'll be fine as long as you take good care of it."
At this moment, Liu Qi couldn't see Bo Qiaohui's expression, but he could hear her slightly trembling voice more clearly. Liu Qi then threw the handkerchief far away on the table. The faint traces of seepage on it seemed to explain everything.
"When I was young, I always thought my father was tall and strong, and would never fall, but he left without a second thought." Liu Qi sighed. "My mother almost cried blind for him. If it weren't for Wu'er and us children, I'm afraid she would have gone to accompany my father."
"I wonder how you'll cry for me in the future. I'm really curious to see." Liu Qi's smile was now somewhat daring, like his youthful self. "But you probably won't cry for me either. I've done many wrong things, and I know I've let you down. I might have worn away your friendship long ago."
"Who knows, maybe I will follow Your Majesty and leave together?" Bo Qiaohui's eyes were so deep. She had experienced the emperor's truth and hypocrisy, and Liu Qi's words at this time could not shake her.
She would only say what Liu Qi wanted to hear the most at that moment: "The children have grown up. Che'er will be a good emperor. A mother can only watch her children go away."
"But Your Majesty, Your Majesty still owes me a promise. In this life, you are the emperor, and I can only be your high and mighty queen. In the next life, how about we live the lives of ordinary people?"
"Then I'll just lie at home every day and do nothing, waiting for you to take care of me."
Liu Qi couldn't help but laugh: "Am I so miserable?"
"You owe me this. Besides, you should be grateful to me for being able to be my husband and wife for the rest of your life."
When Bo Qiaohui said this, she blinked at the right time. The next second, Liu Qi raised his hand and looked at the crystal tear on the back of his hand, without saying a word for a long time.
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