Heartache
"Mother, please take a seat." The Emperor smiled at Lady Lezheng and gestured for her to sit down.
But Lady Lezheng politely replied, "No need, I can speak while standing."
The emperor's smile instantly froze on his face, and upon closer inspection, anger gradually surfaced in his eyes.
Empress Dowager Lezheng cut to the chase: "I've heard that His Majesty intends to host a banquet for all the ministers?"
The Emperor chuckled softly: "I merely wish to host a banquet for them, so they may know who the true Emperor of the Great Zhou is! And whose words carry the weight of imperial edicts!"
Empress Dowager Lezheng did not pay much attention to his sarcastic remarks, and simply said, "Your Majesty, I have no objection to hosting a banquet for the court officials, but if the number of people is too large, I think Your Majesty should reconsider."
The Emperor found it amusing: "Consider? Mother, I am the Emperor, the Son of Heaven of the Great Zhou. Now I am to host a banquet for my subjects in my own palace, so that they may enjoy themselves with me. Do I need to consider this? What need is there for me to consider this?"
Lady Lezheng seemed to understand what he cared about, her brows furrowed and her expression hardened.
“Your Majesty, Zeyu is your subject, and he is a subject of the Great Zhou. He is loyal to you and devoted to the Great Zhou. Your Majesty need not worry so much.”
With a lukewarm smile, the Emperor slowly sat down and said, "Mother, you really only care about my brother! Even at this point, you're still speaking up for him!"
Empress Dowager Lezheng: "Your Majesty, I am telling the truth! Zeyu swore an oath to me and to the late Emperor that he would dedicate his life to you and to the Great Zhou, until his dying breath."
The Emperor couldn't help but sneer: "Is that so? If that's really the case, why is my brother unwilling to hand over military power to me?"
Lady Lezheng did not know how to answer this question.
The Emperor's expression turned cold in an instant: "Mother, I forgot to tell you. I have already imprisoned my brother in the Imperial Prison."
Lady Lezheng was greatly alarmed and staggered backward.
The emperor watched this scene with his own eyes, his mockery and disdain impossible to conceal.
After being helped up by a palace maid, Lady Lezheng hurriedly asked, "Why? What exactly did Zeyu do that made Your Majesty so heartless as to throw him into the imperial prison?!"
The Emperor, his face expressionless, began to play the zither and said, "When Mother goes to see for herself, she will know."
Empress Dowager Lezheng clutched her clothes tightly, her heart aching with disbelief. She looked deeply at the cold and heartless Emperor and said, "I'll go now!" Supported by a palace maid, she left the Hall of Mental Cultivation without looking back.
Shangguan Zeyu was caught between extremes, being beaten and then treated, then beaten and then treated again, in a never-ending cycle.
As Lady Lezheng approached the imperial prison, her steps grew heavier and smaller. By the time she finally staggered to the prison, she was in so much pain that she could hardly breathe.
Seeing her like this, the accompanying palace maid was very worried: "Master, why don't I help you back first and come back later?"
"No." Empress Lezheng broke free from the maid's support. "Wait for me here." She walked in slowly, step by step.
The prison was dark and the air was stifling; it seemed that with just a breath, one could inhale the sinners' resentment, pain, and sorrow.
After walking only a few steps, Lady Lezheng could no longer hold back her heavy breathing.
The soldiers wanted to approach her to help, but she resolutely refused, and then forced herself to walk step by step into the depths of the prison.
Shangguan Zeyu's hair was disheveled, and his head hung low. His clothes were tattered, especially his upper garment, which was completely devoid of any intact fabric and covered in dried, dark brown bloodstains. His upper body, covered in wounds, lay beneath the tattered and filthy clothes.
Lady Lezheng recognized him at a glance, and tears instantly blurred her vision.
Her poor son!
Her precious son!
How could he have become like this?
What tortures did he suffer?
On her way here, Lady Lezheng had already imagined all sorts of scenarios of her meeting Shangguan Zeyu, but when she saw what had just happened, she still couldn't help but shake her body.
Oh my god, her heart aches so much, it aches so much!!
Lady Lezheng's tears fell like beads from a broken string, sliding down her cheeks one after another, quickly wetting her entire face.
Perhaps Shangguan Zeyu was telepathically connected with her, for he vaguely heard her calling him. He shook his head slightly and slowly raised his eyelids.
Lady Lezheng clearly saw the bloodstains and bruises on his face, and tears, which she could no longer control, streamed down her face like a flood.
"My son!!"
Lady Le Zheng cried out in pain and staggered to Shangguan Zeyu's side, where she hugged him tightly.
"My son, your mother is late! Your mother is late!!" Her heart ached uncontrollably.
Shangguan Zeyu's eyes were still vacant, but upon hearing her mournful cry, he suddenly regained some consciousness, and his eyes focused a little light.
"Mother... Mother Consort?" The hoarse, cracked voice made Lady Lezheng's nose tingle, and her tears flowed even more profusely.
Shangguan Zeyu smiled weakly and said, "Mother, I'm fine."
Lady Lezheng cried out in pain, mumbling, "How could I possibly be alright?"
Shangguan Zeyu smiled weakly, "Really, Mother, I am no longer in pain."
Le Zhengshi's shoulders trembled even more violently, and she tightened her grip on Shangguan Zeyu. Shangguan Zeyu had suffered severe injuries to his upper body, and with her tight embrace, he struggled to breathe and began to cough violently.
Lady Lezheng was so frightened that her face turned pale instantly. She hurriedly shouted to the outside world, "Imperial physician, quickly go and call the imperial physician!!" Then she looked at Shangguan Zeyu's painful face with heartache and fear, as well as his wound that was constantly heaving and bleeding.
"My son, your mother knows you're in a lot of pain! Your mother has already sent someone to fetch the imperial physician." Seeing that Shangguan Zeyu was still coughing violently, she was so frantic that she kept shouting, "Imperial physician, where is the imperial physician? Go and fetch the imperial physician quickly!!!" She gently patted Shangguan Zeyu's back.
Under her gentle reassurance, Shangguan Zeyu quickly stopped coughing, but his face grew increasingly pale, turning ashen.
Seeing Shangguan Zeyu in such pain and discomfort, as if she were constantly feeling someone cutting her flesh, she was in so much pain that she forgot to breathe.
Shangguan Zeyu forced a faint smile, his eyes unfocused, and looked at Le Zhengshi, saying, "Mother, don't worry, I'm fine."
Only then did Lady Lezheng notice that Shangguan Zeyu's hands and feet, which were bound by thick shackles, had already...
It was ground until it was bloody and mangled.
"Guards! Guards!!"
The jailer rushed in from outside, and before he could even greet Lady Lezheng, she couldn't help but shout, "Release him!!!"
The jailer turned deathly pale with fear and stammered, "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty..."
Upon hearing the word "Emperor," Empress Lezheng's disdain was palpable. She coldly interrupted the jailer before he could finish speaking, "You want me to go and talk to the Emperor about this myself?!"
Upon hearing this, the jailer was so frightened that he quickly removed the shackles from Shangguan Zeyu's hands and feet.
Without their restraints, Shangguan Zeyu's body suddenly slumped to the ground like a rag doll that had been thrown away.
Lady Lezheng hurriedly opened her arms to hug him, gently dragged him to the ground, and helped him slowly lie down on her lap.
"My son, you will be alright! Your mother will never let anything happen to you!!!" She wanted to stroke Shangguan Zeyu's cheek with heartache, but she was afraid of hurting him. She could only stare at Shangguan Zeyu's slightly open eyes with pain and sorrow.
"Mother, I have caused you worry."
"My child, be good and don't speak," Lady Lezheng said gently, as if coaxing a three-year-old child.
Shangguan Zeyu smiled faintly and slowly closed his eyes.
Lady Lezheng was truly heartbroken. Seeing Shangguan Zeyu, who had suffered so much yet remained so obedient and considerate, she couldn't help but burst into tears once again.
The imperial physician arrived quickly; he was the same physician whom the Emperor had ordered to treat Shangguan Zeyu in the imperial prison. He deftly cleaned Shangguan Zeyu's wounds, applied medicine, and bandaged them.
Lady Le Zheng helped throughout the entire process, fearing that the imperial physician's movements might be too rough and hurt Shangguan Zeyu.
After the imperial physician treated Shangguan Zeyu's wounds, Lady Lezheng asked him, "How many days has Prince Duan been imprisoned here?"
The imperial physician was terrified; although he was standing, he felt as if he wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground immediately.
After waiting for a while and receiving no reply, Lady Lezheng said again, "If anything happens to Prince Duan, I will make your entire clan pay with their lives!"
The imperial physician was so frightened that his legs went weak and he knelt down on the ground with a thud.
Lady Lezheng looked at Shangguan Zeyu with a deep sense of pity and reluctance before leaving.
She had the palace maid beside her bring Shangguan Zeyu soft blankets and mattresses, as well as clean clothes, and she also had the eunuch wash Shangguan Zeyu's hair and body.
Emperor Shangguan Kangde had been waiting for this day to come, so he felt no guilt whatsoever about his mother, Consort Lezheng, knowing that he had imprisoned Shangguan Zeyu in the imperial prison and tortured him. On the contrary, he felt quite pleased.
Empress Dowager Lezheng did not go to see the Emperor again, but stayed in her Chenxi Palace.
The Emperor was initially quite puzzled, because based on his understanding of his mother, he knew that if his beloved son had been abused by him, she would definitely be furious and demand that he release Shangguan Zeyu.
However, as the days went by and his mother remained the same, he stopped caring about the matter.
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