Chapter 141

Zhao Youze read the suicide note from top to bottom and sighed, "One can only live a hundred years, but one always worries about a thousand years. Li worries too much, which is a pity for the child."

Zhang Hedi turned his head to look at him and asked, "Do you think it's a pity?"

"The child is innocent," Zhao Youze said in a clear and peaceful voice, "My eldest brother has been married for several years, but he has few children. After all, Li is his first wife, and the child she gives birth to will be different for my eldest brother."

After listening to Zhao Youze, Emperor Zhanghe said in a cold voice: "He has been demoted to a commoner and is no longer your eldest brother."

"Your son spoke carelessly." Zhao Youze replied with his head down.

"Since Li is determined to die, then send this suicide note to Fengyang as well, so as to prevent Zhao Youcheng from having such delusional thoughts." Emperor Zhang He held the piece of paper between his fingertips and lightly dropped it in front of the desk.

Soon, a young eunuch came forward, picked it up respectfully, and humbly replied "yes".

Zhao Youze didn't look at this and just concentrated on drinking his tea.

He finished his cup of tea, and Chen Gong came forward to refill it for him. During this time, Emperor Zhanghe said, "I remember that Jiashan's month of pregnancy is about the same as Li's. She will give birth soon, right?"

Zhao Youze replied, "Yes. Yesterday, I happened to meet with Gong Yuanpan, who said that my sister's pregnancy this time is good, so you can rest assured."

"Gong Bixing is an expert in gynecology, so he won't be wrong." Emperor Zhanghe smiled and nodded, then asked, "How is the Crown Princess?"

Zhao Youze was supposed to get married a few months ago, but due to the sudden rebellion in Pingyang Marquis' Mansion, his wedding was delayed for some days, and he only officially married the Crown Princess at the beginning of the month.

Zhao Youze understood what Emperor Zhanghe was asking, and said with a smile, "My son and I are still young, so we are not in a hurry to have an heir. Besides, I have been blind for the past ten years, and I want to recuperate."

When he said the words "eyes cannot see", Emperor Zhang He's expression changed slightly, and after a while, it returned to a calm expression.

Emperor Zhang He said: "My son has recovered, and he has the energy of a true dragon by his side, so I can rest assured that I will have an heir."

"As long as my father is still alive, how can I be considered a true dragon?" Zhao Youze said with a calm smile, "At most, I can only be considered a small dragon attached to a true dragon."

Emperor Zhang He turned his head to stare at him. Seeing Zhao Youze's youthful profile, which seemed so familiar, he called out, "Yuan Kang."

Zhao Youze: "Your son is here."

"Ten years ago, although you were my legitimate son, I didn't love you very much. Did you ever blame your father?" Emperor Zhanghe's eyes were as dark as the night. He said, "Look at me and answer me."

Zhao Youze raised his head after hearing what was said, his pupils were clear, without any sign of fear or trembling, he said: "I have never done that."

Zhao Youze has a handsome face and looks very much like Empress Pei, but compared to Empress Pei's elegance and grace, he is more calm and steady. Perhaps this is the "true dragon spirit" that Emperor Zhanghe just mentioned.

He said, "Since ancient times, there has never been a blind monarch. I am a descendant of the Yuan Dynasty. If your father loves you too much, it will be a disaster for you, not a blessing. I know it in my heart. Later, my eye disease was cured, and your father gave me everything you could give. How could Yuan Kang resent your father?"

Zhao Youze's eyes were sparkling, as clear and bright as the twinkling stars in the sky even in the dim palace.

Emperor Zhang He had a calm expression, and it was hard to tell whether he was happy or unhappy. He said, "Good boy."

"Visit your elder sister more often when you have time." Emperor Zhanghe said, "Zhan Yanqing is not here, and she is already pregnant. I cannot ask her to come to the palace often. Although Gong Bixing said that she has a lover, she is worried and hurts her body. You can go and talk to her, which will help relieve her boredom."

Zhao Youze pondered the words "worrying about one's own health" in secret, and replied gently, "Yes. I miss my elder sister too, and will go to the princess's residence to visit her tomorrow."

Zhao Youze was a prince who kept his word. He said he would go the next day, and after the morning court the next day, he rode to the princess's mansion with the attendants of the East Palace.

Since Zhan Yanqing went to the northwest, Zhao Youze was afraid that Jiashan would be bored staying alone at home, so he came to accompany her several times. But now it is different from the past. After he became the crown prince, he had to study and assist in government affairs, so he had less free time. In addition, he had grown up and got married, so it was not good for him to come to the house again and again as a foreign man, so the two siblings had not seen each other for more than a month.

Seeing that it was the prince who came, the servants and maids of the princess's mansion were busy. Jiashan also came out to greet him in person with her big belly, smiling and said, "How come you have time to come today? Why didn't you send someone to inform me in advance so that I could have them prepare your favorite dishes."

"I'm tired of all the delicacies in the palace. Today, thanks to my sister, I can just have some light side dishes. You don't have to ask anyone to prepare anything special." Seeing that Jiashan was so pregnant that it was difficult for her to walk, Zhao Youze hurried forward and helped her sit on the couch.

"How are you doing, sister? Is the baby in your belly naughty? She is about to give birth, and there is no man to help her in this house. If something goes wrong at any time, I will send someone to the East Palace to tell you, and I will come to accompany you." As soon as Jiashan sat down, Zhao Youze opened his mouth and gave detailed instructions. She was not like a young prince who turned into a talkative old woman.

Dancui was now the oldest person around Jiashan. As someone who had come from the palace, she was more courageous than the maids in the mansion. She smiled and said, "The prince treats us princesses so kindly, how dare the princess not be kind to him? We have servants to serve you, so please rest assured, prince."

Jiashan also teased, "You have already moved into the East Palace and married your own Crown Princess. How can you come to my place anytime? Besides, the Crown Princess came to visit me a few days ago. I know what you and your wife are thinking."

"Look, you're just talking about me," Jiashan smiled, "I haven't even asked you how you're getting along with the Crown Princess."

Princess Yuan was the eldest daughter of the Prince of Ningping, who was from a noble family with strict family education. Jiashan had met Yuan several times before, and in terms of character and education, Yuan was impeccable and definitely worthy of the position of the future empress. Jiashan was quite satisfied with this younger sister-in-law, but he didn't know what Yuankang thought.

Zhao Youze said: "The Crown Princess is a good girl, I will treat her well."

He was a man of his word, and Jiashan nodded when he heard this.

Zhan Yue was not around, and even Xuan Ge'er had gone to school, so the once bustling mansion inevitably seemed deserted.

Zhao Youze looked around and said with a smile, "Sister, you don't know yet, right? This morning at the court meeting, my father and I watched the urgent victory report from the northwest. Brother-in-law has captured Marquis Anding and successfully took over his soldiers. Once the northwest is stabilized, brother-in-law will be able to lead his men back."

"I know," Jiashan waved the papers in his hand, "your brother-in-law sent a few letters home, and I was reading them before you came."

"Brother-in-law is really thoughtful." Zhao Youze glanced at the thickness in Jiashan's hand and praised Zhan Yue without pressure, "Brother-in-law must be much more detailed in his letters home than in his military affairs."

Jiashan smiled.

Zhan Yue's calligraphy is elegant and graceful. In addition to describing the northwest scenery in detail, he also drew a sketch of the solitary smoke rising in the desert. The dried ink can be seen through the paper, and every stroke of his pen is filled with lovesickness.

Thinking that Zhao Youze had never seen the scenery of Mobei, Jiashan generously handed the sketch drawn by Zhan Yue to Zhao Youze. Zhao Youze took it, looked at it carefully, and said thoughtfully: "The desert sand is like snow, and the moon in Yanshan is like a hook."

"Well drawn!" Zhao Youze praised. After a while, he put down the paper again, his expression slightly paused, "It's a pity that I don't have the chance to appreciate it."

"I'm afraid my sister doesn't have it either," said Jiashan.

Zhao Youze asked, "Sister, do you want to see it?"

Jiashan was startled for a moment, then said, "I do think about it a little bit."

"Just a little?" Zhao Youze looked at Jiashan motionlessly, "Could it be that Sister doesn't dare to speak freely in front of me?"

Jiashan twirled the piece of paper again, and her fingertips carefully described the continuous mountains of Yanshan Mountain and the red sunset. This time she said, "I think so."

"When I ascend the throne in the future, I will confer a title on my brother-in-law and ask him to bring you with me to see the throne when he takes office. What do you think, sister?" Zhao Youze's voice was calm, yet sounded very far away.

Jiashan's eyebrows jumped, and he immediately said, "What nonsense are you talking about."

She gave a look, and all the maids in the room, except Dancui, left on their own accord. The last one even closed the door obediently.

"I'm not talking nonsense," Zhao Youze exhaled warmly from his nose, his eyes dark and bright, "Sister, I am the prince, and I will be the emperor in the future. No matter what your wish is, I can make it come true for you."

Jiashan said: "My wishes have now been fulfilled one by one."

"Really?" Zhao Youze's tone was very slow. He said calmly, "I heard that Sister has been asking about Huai Qing's news recently. Sister seems to be very concerned about her honor and disgrace."

He suddenly mentioned Huaiqing, the only daughter of Zhao Youcheng and a deal between Li and Jiashan.

Jiashan was in a trance for a moment and couldn't speak for a long time.

After a long while, she said, "Yes, I care a lot. I'm not only concerned about Huaiqing and Yuankang, but I also have a question that I've been holding in my heart for a long time, and I want to ask you too."

Zhao Youze said: "Sister, please tell me."

"When did you know that you were appointed as the crown prince? When did Zhao Youcheng and others know about it?" Jiashan looked at him intently and spoke in a low voice.

Zhao Youze looked at her meaningfully, and seemed to be happy that she finally asked this question, so he said: "Zhao Youcheng and I knew about it before my sister."

Jiashan closed his eyes and said silently: "It is indeed so."

When Li said that on that day, Jiashan felt it was strange. She had been tossing and turning over these days, but she just couldn't believe it.

Jiashan shuddered involuntarily.

Zhao Youze saw that Jiashan's reaction was not right, so he stepped forward and held Jiashan's hand. He saw that her palm was cold, which was a sign of fear, so he hurriedly called out, "Sister!"

"What are you thinking about?" Zhao Youcheng asked in a deep voice.

Jiashan said, "I was thinking about the story of Lord Zhuang raising a disaster."

Zhao Youcheng had already understood the crux of Jiashan's problem, and asked back, "Sister, do you think that father is as good to our eldest brother as Zhuang Gong is to a scoundrel?"

"Isn't it?" Jiashan said, "Otherwise, why did you deliberately leak the news that you were going to be made the crown prince to them, and why did you allow Zhao Youcheng to collude with the King of Qin and others? Did your father really not have the slightest intention of nurturing evil?"

As Jiashan was talking, she shed two lines of tears without realizing it. She was not pitying Zhao Youcheng, but she suddenly began to be afraid. Her father had been immersed in political tactics for a long time, and he could be so cruel even to Zhao Youcheng, whom he had personally raised. Then in the previous life, when there was hope for Yuankang's eyes to be saved, he was lured into the palace and killed. Was this Zhao Youcheng's attempt to root out the problem or was it a dying signal from her father to rule the world?

How much position do these children hold in the heart of such a ruthless emperor like Emperor Zhang He?

Could it be that the affection I have shown to you over the years is just a bargaining chip in my father's balancing act?

Jiashan's eyes were filled with tears and he didn't dare to think about it any further.