Liu Zhao went to Weiyang Palace.
When mother and son met, the atmosphere was a little tense.
Eunuch Wen was tactful and took all the palace maids out of the bedroom, leaving the mother and son alone.
Liu Zhao coughed lightly twice, as if his throat was clogged and he felt uncomfortable.
"Is mother feeling better?"
"You won't embarrass Old Four, will you?"
The mother and son spoke at the same time, saying different things.
Then they all frowned again, and the atmosphere became even more tense.
Phew!
Liu Zhao lowered his head and laughed out loud.
There was sarcasm in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
"In the eyes of my mother, what kind of person am I? A cold-blooded, heartless man who would kill anyone for the sake of imperial power? Or am I a soft-hearted, indecisive man?"
Empress Dowager Pei's breathing became rapid and her eyes showed impatience.
"Just tell me if you will embarrass Old Four. Is it impossible to answer such a simple question?"
Liu Zhao shook his head. "It's clear that my mother didn't take my question to heart. Let me be frank. He is my brother, and I will not take his life."
Empress Dowager Pei immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and her tense face visibly relaxed.
"I thank you on behalf of the Fourth Master."
"Let the fourth brother go to the palace to express his gratitude himself." Liu Zhao said in a stern tone, leaving no room for rebuttal.
Queen Mother Pei was speechless and stunned for a moment before she said, "You are too harsh on him."
Liu Zhao was dissatisfied, "I have never asked him to do anything. Is it because he is disabled that he can't even come to the palace to express his gratitude?"
Empress Dowager Pei waved her hand. "I'm tired and don't want to argue with you. Tomorrow, I'll send someone to the palace to ask him to come in and express his gratitude. And you, please be kind to him. Don't start finding fault with him the moment you meet. No matter how bad he is, you're still brothers, connected by blood."
Liu Zhao hummed, "I have a question that has been on my mind for a long time. Mother, could you please explain it to me?"
"Ask!" Empress Dowager Pei was in a good mood at the moment. As long as they didn't quarrel, she was happy to talk more with Liu Zhao.
Liu Zhao played with the ring on his thumb and asked softly, "When I was twelve years old, I came back from outside injured. My fourth son was naughty that day and fell from a tree, scraping his skin. My mother stayed by his side, nervous all night. My mother only glanced at me briefly, and the bleeding wound didn't allow her to stay for a moment. I want to ask, what do I mean to you, my mother?"
Queen Mother Pei's expression was stiff, and she looked at Liu Zhao with complicated eyes.
Liu Zhao sneered, "My father passed the throne to his son, and my mother went crazy for a while, even asking me to give the throne to the fourth son. Am I not her son? Don't you feel guilty for being so partial?"
"Why……"
Empress Dowager Pei has aged rapidly in the past year and has lost her former vigor and vitality.
She didn't want to argue, and she couldn't.
She said weakly, "Of you two brothers, I do favor the fourth one."
Lu Zhao's mouth twitched twice, but he said nothing.
Empress Dowager Pei said slowly, "The fourth child spoke early. When he was a little over a year old, he would call out "Mom, Mom" every day and chase after me like a little tail. You spoke later, and only started talking when you were about two and a half years old. But you and I are not close. When I hold you in my arms, you resist.
You brothers were all raised by your wet nurses and nannies. No matter what, the fourth brother and I were always very close. But you, let me be frank, you're born with a heart of stone, and no one can warm it. Once, twice... eight or ten times, over time, I lost my patience and turned to paying more attention to the fourth brother. People, after all, like well-behaved and caring children.
Liu Zhao sneered, "Because I wasn't close to you when I was little, you've become so biased that you consider me an enemy."
Empress Dowager Pei smiled bitterly and said, "I don't want this to happen either. But you have the right mindset. In all these years, have you ever listened to me? If it were Liu Yu and the others, would you be happy if they always opposed you? When you see him, don't you think he's annoying?"
"Even if I think he's a debt collector, I will definitely give him what he deserves. I will never take away what belongs to him just because I dislike him."
Liu Zhao's words were powerful and resounding.
Empress Dowager Pei's face flushed red, and she felt very embarrassed.
"Everything in this world is easier said than done. I favored the fourth child, neglected you, and even suppressed you. I do owe you something. But I have no regrets! The fourth child is my favorite child, so of course I want to leave all the good things to him. This is human nature."
Liu Zhao nodded and said coldly, "I understand! In your eyes, no matter how well I do, I am not as good as the Fourth Brother."
Queen Mother Pei shook her head. "No, you are much better than the Fourth Brother. I have always known this. But when it comes to emotions, you are not as good as the Fourth Brother. I have always been emotional. If you want the truth, this is it."
Liu Zhao laughed. "You are so sentimental! After all, in your eyes, I am not as important as the Fourth Prince. Well, we are both old, why should I bother with such things? Mother, take good care of your health. I will come to visit you when I have time."
After saying this, he was about to end the conversation.
I’m so tired!
Why bother? You're just asking for trouble.
Empress Dowager Pei opened her mouth as if she wanted to keep Liu Zhao, but in the end she didn't say a word.
After Liu Zhao left, Eunuch Wen went into the bedroom to serve him.
Empress Dowager Pei leaned back on the couch exhausted.
"He hates me in his heart!"
This is a declarative sentence.
Even if someone argued otherwise, Queen Mother Pei would stick to her judgment.
She believed that her judgment would not be wrong.
Eunuch Wen sighed, "Your Majesty has too many knots in his heart."
Empress Dowager Pei laughed at herself, "In the past, I hated her too. But now, it doesn't matter whether I hate her or not."
"Your Majesty is right! One day, Your Majesty will figure it out."
Queen Mother Pei's face was miserable. "I'm afraid I won't be able to wait for that day."
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Wen became anxious. "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. The imperial physician has written a dietary plan to help you maintain your health. As long as you cooperate with the imperial physician, your health will get better and better."
"What's good about it? I'm already old, how good can it be? I've lived a few years longer than the late emperor, so I've earned it."
"How can Her Majesty say that? Her Majesty is actually a few years younger than the late Emperor..."
"Alright, alright, I know what you want to say. I've been very tired these past few days, feeling restless and irritable. Now that the Fourth Brother is confirmed to be fine, I'm sure I'll be better in a few days."
Eunuch Wen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He was close to Empress Dowager Pei. If Empress Dowager Pei was gone, he would naturally have no future.
Go to the imperial mausoleum to guard the tomb!
This result is already relatively good, at least it can have a good ending.
He didn't dare to hope that the Empress Dowager would use him after Empress Dowager Pei was gone.
That is an honor that only people like Chen Dachang and Chang En can enjoy.
…
Xiao Qin'er was holding back her energy.
She has talked about her thoughts with Liu Yi twice in a row.
"I want to kill that bitch Xiao Shuer!"
Liu Yi advised her, "The situation at court may seem tense, but it's all just nonsense. I may not have been respectful enough to you, the Emperor, but I have absolutely no intention of rebellion. You, the Emperor, are well aware of this. The Censor has been making a fuss for so long, and the Jinwu Guards haven't made any move. This must be a false alarm. And you, stop talking about killing people all the time."
"How can you be sure it was a false alarm? What if His Majesty gets angry with you and wants to take advantage of you to do something to me... then this family will be finished."
Xiao Qin'er got so excited that she started crying.
She wiped her tears and was very scared.
Liu Yi comforted her, "I understand my brother's temper. I promise this is a false alarm. You are just worrying for no reason."
"I was worried about you, but you said I was worrying too much. Mr. Liu, do you have any conscience?" Xiao Qin'er was angry.
Liu Yi laughed, "That's right! Don't cry all day long, it's ugly. You'll even cry your way through your wrinkles."
"Where are the wrinkles? Don't talk nonsense."
When Xiao Qin'er heard that wrinkles appeared on her face, she panicked and hurriedly looked for a mirror to look left and right.
Her skin is as delicate as ever, with only three fine lines at the corners of her eyes, no more, no less.
Knowing she had been deceived, she was furious, "Liu Yi, you bastard!"
Liu Yi laughed, "I was just trying to make you happy. You're not anxious anymore, are you?"
Xiao Qin'er punched him several times before she felt relieved.
She sat down on the chair panting, "That bitch Xiao Shu'er, she framed you, aren't you angry?"
Liu Yi shook his head. "That's all she has. She's not to be feared. And she can't use the same trick twice."
Xiao Qin'er huffed, "You're too lenient with her. Is it because she likes you?"
Liu Yi frowned, "You've lost your mind! What nonsense are you talking about? Can you really kill her? She's the imperial concubine, just stay away from her."
Xiao Qin'er gnashed her teeth and said, "I can't swallow this."
"So what do you want to do?"
"I want revenge."
Liu Yi said solemnly, "As long as they don't make mistakes of principle, all dynasties have been relatively tolerant of the concubines of the previous emperor. She is a concubine dowager and has served my father. My brother will give her some respect."
The so-called mistakes of principle mainly refer to those between men and women, or situations such as colluding with others to rebel.
Xiao Shuer is a smart person. She will not make mistakes of principle and give others a handle to hold her accountable.
Xiao Qin'er gritted her teeth and said, "According to you, as long as she doesn't get caught, she can be rich and prosperous forever?"
"That's about right!"
"She framed you, so she can't be punished?"
"You can punish me! The prerequisite is that my royal brother is willing to intervene in this matter and seek justice for me. But it is obvious that my royal brother is not willing to intervene in my affairs. He despises me!"
When it comes to the word "disdain", Liu Yi's tone changes.
He became a bad person, very irritable and annoyed.
Xiao Qin'er said simply, "Then let's find a way to kill her ourselves! I don't believe we can't find her weakness."
No matter what, I must take revenge and kill Xiao Shuer.
Xiao Shu'er was the first to act, harming her entire family. Don't blame her for not caring about sisterhood.
Liu Yi had no intention of thinking about revenge.
At this moment, he is very depressed!
He just wanted to drink and didn't want to face the reality that he was not as good as Liu Zhao.
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