Chapter 36: Neither Mother nor Son Has a Mouth
He laughed.
I have lived half my life, and I have gone through many hardships to ascend to the throne, but I am not as clear-headed as a child.
He had been afraid before, but he didn't show it in front of others.
Sometimes, late at night, I would think that although I had lived a life that was worthy of the country and the people, I had done many evil things.
Will he go to hell after his death? Will his descendants suffer retribution?
What Chu'er said makes sense. God might be too lazy to bother with them.
Otherwise, someone like him who was deducting merits every day should have gone to see King Yan long ago.
The emperor was shocked by the "death news" of the empress dowager, and drove to Renshou Hall to pay his respects to the empress dowager.
By the way, Bei Jingchu was also picked up.
In the Renshou Hall, Aunt Hui, who was standing beside the Empress Dowager, trotted in with a happy look on her face.
The Queen Mother laughed and scolded her: "You are so old, yet you still look so happy. Are you so happy because you found some gold?"
"Queen Mother, please stop teasing me. His Majesty is here to pay his respects to you. The carriage is already on the way."
The Queen Mother stood up from the couch and was no longer sleepy.
"Why did you think of visiting me out of nowhere?"
Aunt Hui said what she liked to hear: "Your Majesty is filial and obedient! It's just that he is busy with court affairs."
"I may be free now, so I came to pay my respects to you."
In fact, a normal emperor would pay his respects to the empress dowager every day to set an example of filial piety.
But the reason why the current emperor is judged as a tyrant is that he never cares about his reputation and does not care about the evaluation in later history books.
Therefore, the Empress Dowager felt sorry for the Emperor's hard work in handling state affairs and exempted him from paying his daily respects.
However, the ministers did not know whether this feeling of distress was voluntary or forced, and they did not dare to ask.
Bei Jingchu was also carried to Renshou Palace. When the empress dowager saw her, she smiled even more brilliantly.
But she scolded the emperor: "How old is Chu'er? You brought her out in such a cold weather. Aren't you afraid that the child will get cold?"
As soon as these words came out, the Queen Mother fell silent.
Her relationship with her son was already strained.
It would be fine if you didn't show some concern and try to bring the mother and child closer, but you blame them as soon as you speak.
The emperor's tone was as cold and hard as ever: "Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. I came here in a warm sedan chair and will not let the princess stand in the cold wind."
“…Okay.”
Bei Jingchu rolled her big eyes around as she looked at the awkward atmosphere.
[Actually, Aye blamed the Queen Mother for being too busy vying for favors and not caring about the children.]
[He was lying on the bed with a fever and unable to speak, but the Queen Mother was still thinking about how to please the late Emperor.]
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor froze at the same time.
The emperor felt uncomfortable because his thoughts were revealed, but the empress dowager was surprised how the child knew that.
[Alas~ I have few children, and I love all of them, so I don’t know how the unfavored princes are treated. 】
[The prince is favored simply because he is promising, or because his mother is a favored concubine. ]
[But how can you tell whether a child will succeed or not before he or she starts school?]
[Besides, a prince who is too promising will not only be looked down upon, but will also be easily suppressed by jealousy. ]
【It was with this in mind that the Empress Dowager gave her sons enough time to compete for favor, giving the Emperor a chance to hide.】
[These are all very simple truths, but the mother and son were confused and didn't understand. ]
【As for my foolish father, he was young at the time and was misled by others. He thought that the Queen Mother was just using him as a tool, so he hated her even more.】
[They don't have a mouth, they just blame their mother for not caring about them. 】
[One of them is a son who is boring and hard, and has a face like a stone all day long. 】
[It was not until the Queen Mother was dying of the plague that she said, "A son wants to raise his parents but they are no longer around. Isn't this ridiculous?"
The emperor and the empress dowager's heads were buzzing from the incessant complaints.
The emperor held Bei Jingchu's arms tightly.
It turns out that A'niang didn't just care about her father's favor and her son.
Don't use him as a tool to win favor, or as a stepping stone to gain power or a noble position.
Rather, he fought for it so that he could obtain better resources and successfully keep a low profile.
The Queen Mother then understood why the Emperor's temper had become like this.
She remembered that the child was very well-behaved when he was young, although he was not lively and had a shy personality.
The Queen Mother loved to tease him the most. He would become shy when teased, and would even cry if provoked. It was really fun.
I just don't know when I became more and more unfamiliar with it.
By the time she noticed, the child no longer wanted to talk to her.
They had never had a frank conversation with each other, so it was not easy to untie the knot in their hearts.
Also, will she die of the plague?
Bei Jingchu didn't know that two people were eavesdropping, and continued to think: [In fact, the Queen Mother got what she wanted. ]
[Concubine Yeon is devoted to her son. The relationship between mother and son is so wonderful.]
[But he didn't help the child at all, and lost the battle for the throne by just one move.]
[No matter how good the relationship is, they can only reunite together underground. 】
[Rather than having a close relationship with her child, she probably wants her child to live a good and glorious life.]
[So after all these years, I have no regrets, I can only say it is a pity. ]
[But I regret it so much! I regret it so much! Tsk, how pitiful.]
Bei Jingchu watched the two of them talking to each other in silence and became so anxious that she almost wanted to speak.
The Queen Mother gave the Emperor a strange look. She couldn't imagine how this heartless boy would feel sad and regretful.
In that case, let's find a chance to talk it out.
The Queen Mother took a deep breath and said, "Let me hold Chu'er."
Bei Jingchu was moved into the Queen Mother's arms.
"Chu Chu, do you miss your grandmother? She wants to bring you to live in Renshou Palace."
"It's just too cold outside, and I'm afraid you might catch a cold on the way and give up."
"But your unreliable Aye just took you out."
This time the emperor did not refute, but just lowered his head slightly to listen to the instructions, and he actually felt a rare sense of obedience.
"Is our little baby feeling cold?"
Bei Jingchu smiled sweetly, and was simply a lively and adorable little girl.
The Queen Mother sighed that having a granddaughter is better.
Much better than the brat she gave birth to.
Now that she was here, she actually wanted to keep her granddaughter with her.
But I thought about what the young man said, that she died of the plague, and what would happen if she was infected.
The emperor stayed in Renshou Hall for a long time, which was rare, and left only when he had no time to deal with state affairs.
Seeing that the Queen Mother liked Bei Jingchu, he also wanted to keep the little guy here.
But I thought that the Queen Mother might be infected with the plague.
Losing his mother was tragic enough, and he couldn't let his daughter also get sick and die.
After pursing his lips, the emperor still couldn't call out "mother".
He said in a restrained voice: "I will come to pay my respects to the Queen Mother every day from now on."
The emperor left with a slightly heavy heart.
After he left, Aunt Hui almost cried for joy.
"Great! Your Majesty is finally filial and obedient."
The Queen Mother was helpless: "You sly fellow, you said before that His Majesty was filial and obedient, but he just didn't have time. Why? Now you contradict yourself?"
"No, I was wrong. Your Majesty has become more filial."
The Queen Mother snorted.
When I returned to Yu's study, a nanny was standing in front of the door.
Eunuch Jiang recognized that she was one of the maids specially sent to serve Concubine Shu.
The main task was to monitor Concubine Shu's daily life and diet, and to ensure the safe birth of the royal heir while keeping her under house arrest.
After consulting the emperor, he stepped forward to ask.
Bei Jingchu was carried by the emperor into the study.
After a while, Eunuch Jiang came back.
"Your Majesty, it was Concubine Shu who was causing the hunger strike."