Shen, the old nanny beside the Empress Dowager, interjected: "Empress Dowager, it's already June. In previous years, you would have gone to the Summer Palace."
The Empress Dowager thought about it and agreed, "Very well, Grandmother will grant my wish. I'd like to see how my eldest grandson will show me filial piety."
Uncle Gu smiled smugly: "Then naturally I'll offer you the best of Kunzhou. Grandmother, rest assured, whatever you want, your grandson will do his best to find it for you!"
The Empress Dowager gently patted Uncle Gu's head a few times: "Alright! Then go back and get ready. Grandmother will talk to the Emperor, and we'll pick a date to set off."
After Uncle Gu withdrew, the Empress Dowager sent someone to invite the Emperor.
When the emperor arrived, he was still wondering whether Uncle Gu had managed to get things done.
He thought Uncle Gu was a bit silly and might not be able to get it done.
The Empress Dowager sipped her tea, waiting for the Emperor. When he arrived, she went straight to the point and asked, "The princes are coming of age one after another. Does Your Majesty intend to appoint a Crown Prince?"
The emperor was taken aback, then shook his head: "No. Alas, Grandmother, tell me, your grandson and Gu Lao Er share the same grandfather, so why are our children so different? Is it possible that my father is really much less capable than my uncle? That it's caused my children to be less capable than Gu Lao Er's children?"
The Empress Dowager gave him a speechless look: "Your second son has two daughters who have grown up, and your son was just born. You can already tell that he is more capable than your son?"
The Emperor nodded: "Of course! You wouldn't believe it until you investigate my sons. The Second Prince is all sweet and pitiful in front of me, but outside, he's a force to be reckoned with, secretly plotting against the Seventh Prince. The Third Prince is the Empress's son, right? Theoretically, he should be the Crown Prince, but he's a fool! He's completely infatuated with Consort Li from the Rongguo Duke's mansion. I'll see what happens to him one day! I've already told the Empress that this son isn't fit for the throne. Either we keep trying to have more children, or you accept the sons I had with other concubines. Then there's the Seventh Prince. His maternal grandfather's family has secretly contacted many officials, and now they're all on the Seventh Prince's side, even trying to force me to make a Crown Prince! Get lost! Finally, let's talk about the Eighth Prince. He's a womanizer, his mind is always on pretty girls. Tell me, what use is he to me?"
The Empress Dowager smirked, "You seem to know quite a lot. Well then, I'm relieved. You've been watching everything."
The Emperor, having gotten carried away, continued, "Grandmother, I want the Empress and I to try for another son. But we're both over thirty, so it's probably difficult! I just don't know how my uncles' wives are so lucky. Not to mention the fourth son's wife, just look at the wives of the eldest and second sons of the Gu family, they're about the same age as the Empress, and they're both pregnant again. Grandmother, do you think Kuncheng has particularly good feng shui? It makes it especially easy for people in their thirties to conceive? Look at the fifth daughter of the Peng family, didn't Old Madam Peng give birth to her in Kuncheng when she was over thirty?"
"Ha!" The Empress Dowager sneered, "Are you itching for a ride and using this as an excuse to go to Kuncheng for fun?"
"Oh, Grandmother, I wasn't doing this for myself!" The Emperor firmly denied it. "Isn't this for the continuation of our Ye family? Tell me, which of my sons can shoulder this great responsibility? Why don't you summon Gu Lao Er (Second Prince Gu) and let him come over so you can take care of his son and raise him properly?"
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