Seeing his mother's expression, Yuan Chaokang said with certainty, "Mother, you guessed it too!"
"I just can't believe it! I think I have some kinship with the Emperor. I can't say I have absolute trust, but I do have some brotherly love.
I was so arrogant before because I felt he wasn't the type of person who would do anything to me for a trivial matter."
Speaking of this, Zhou Qiongyue no longer wanted to stay in Yuan'an. Who knew when the emperor would dislike her again?
In fact, Zhou Qiongyue really only regarded the second prince as the future emperor at the beginning. It was also in the later interactions that she gradually began to really treat him as her cousin.
Otherwise, she is not a fool, and she would not give money and effort so easily from beginning to end.
Now that the emperor has changed, he is just the emperor, not the second cousin in her heart, so she will no longer meddle in his affairs. She also doesn't want to have to perform brotherly love from time to time.
Zhou Qiongyue had no intention of running away forever, she just wanted to escape temporarily. After that, she would still be the emperor's "good cousin".
At this time, Yuan Chaokang felt that his mother also had a feeling of loneliness and frustration.
"Mother, there's a saying since ancient times that serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. With so much power in your hands, who can remain consistent?
Sometimes, even if you want to be your original self, there will always be a group of people pushing you in an unknown direction.
Maybe sometimes the emperor has no choice but to do so!"
Yuan Chaokang really felt this way about the last sentence. Only ruthless people could sit firmly on the throne, and being an emperor was not about being a good guy. There were always some bad things that he had to decide.
The retired emperor was a wise ruler, but after abdicating, he was too merciful. He felt that since he was the retired emperor, there was nothing he could do to harm him, so he relaxed his vigilance.
The deceased emperor's surroundings were like a sieve. Any son dared to reach out to him. Even if nothing happened this time, there would be trouble in the future.
Zhou Qiongyue felt better after hearing her youngest son's advice. After all, the emperor was not a particularly important person to her, and she would not do anything just because the emperor changed.
So Zhou Qiongyue was still in the mood to tease Yuan Chaokang: "I thought you were going to join your mother in scolding the emperor."
"Not really. What happened between them has nothing to do with my son. I won't worry about it that much!
Just keep your hands off your son."
Yuan Chaokang felt that his idea of opening a brothel in Yuan'an needed to be put into action quickly. He was almost grown up, and what grown-up dandy wouldn't love to hang out in brothels?
Going to someone else's place is not as safe as going to your own place.
Seeing her son so calm, Zhou Qiongyue also calmed down surprisingly. She couldn't help but praise him, "As expected of my son, Zhou Qiongyue, he's so smart. I wonder what kind of woman will be worthy of such a smart son of mine in the future."
Yuan Chaokang wasn't one of those naive kids who blushed when women were mentioned. He had his own opinion on this matter: "Mother, is it possible that there's no one worthy of me?"
Zhou Qiongyue didn't take Yuan Chaokang's words to heart. In her heart, Yuan Chaokang was just a child: "You are still far from enlightenment, child!"
Speaking of marriage, Yuan Chaokang had an idea, "Mother, can I decide who my concubines are from now on?"
Zhou Qiongyue didn't insist that her son marry someone she liked. As long as they liked each other, she had no objection. As for Yuan Bohua, as long as Zhou Qiongyue had no objection, he would have no objection either.
As for what to do if the Yuan Chaochang brothers marry a woman she doesn't like? In this era, the status and power of the mother-in-law are very high.
Zhou Qiongyue felt that if her future daughter-in-law insisted on provoking her, she would not be the one to suffer.
周琼月还可以一言不合，就给两个儿子一顿'爱的教育'，别人的孩子不能揍，自己的儿子还不能揍？
Therefore, Zhou Qiongyue agreed to this matter very happily:
"As long as the candidate is suitable, you can make the decision yourself if the emperor doesn't make the decision. But you will also have to bear the risk of whether life is good or bad."
Yuan Chaokang originally thought that he would need to persuade his mother for a while longer, say some nice words or point out the advantages of him making the decision himself before his mother would agree. Unexpectedly, his mother agreed as soon as he mentioned it.
Yuan Chaokang was truly happy. The thing he was most grateful for was being able to be his mother's child in this life: "Thank you, mother!"
Zhou Qiongyue chatted with her son and her mood was obviously much better: "Alright, stop being so hypocritical, you are only thirteen, it is still a long time before you can marry a princess!
Come on! Let's have a fishing competition, and give your father and elder brother a feast tonight."
Yuan Chaokang felt that he could be said to be "mastermind" in many matters, but when it came to fishing, which his mother loved so much, the harvest was really rare.
Of course, Zhou Qiongyue’s gains were not much better than Yuan Chaokang’s.
Yuan Chaokang swung his fishing rod and said with a smile, "I don't think my father and elder brother would have such a blessing!"
"What if there is?" Zhou Qiongyue's main point is to be full of hope.
Yuan Chaokang reminded with a wicked smile: "My son means that we are still in the mourning period. Father and elder brother are destined not to have this blessing."
Zhou Qiongyue: What you said makes a lot of sense, but I don’t want to listen.
In the days that followed, it was basically Yuan Bohua and Yuan Chaokang who took turns to accompany Zhou Qiongyue at home, or the three of them would go out for a walk.
But it is still the mourning period for the late emperor, and Yuan'an City is not lively. Zhou Qiongyue went out once and found it boring, so she didn't want to go out again.
Zhou Qiongyue was not a person who liked to go out, and she felt very good staying in the palace.
When the sun came out, she would order someone to bring a lounge chair so she could sleep in the sun. On rainy days, Zhou Qiongyue would sit on the porch, drinking tea and watching the rain.
Life can be as leisurely as you want.
But the leisurely days passed by so quickly that a year had already passed in the blink of an eye. The mourning period for the late emperor was over, and the Yuan Chaochang brothers were fourteen years old.
Zhou Qiongyue got up early that day and had breakfast with her family as usual. Then they sent Yuan Chaochang to the carriage to the palace.
Zhou Qiongyue took Yuan Bohua and Yuan Chaokang, father and son, who had nothing to do today, to pick flowers in the pear orchard in the mansion.
Today, the three of them plan to brew some pear blossom wine themselves to drink next winter.
Zhou Qiongyue and the other two worked hard for a whole day before they finally made the wine. After they moved the pear blossom wine into the wine cellar, Zhou Qiongyue looked at the sky outside and realized, "Why hasn't Chang'er come back yet?"
Yuan Bohua reacted and immediately asked Fang Fu to inquire about it. Yuan Bohua advised Zhou Qiongyue, "Don't panic. It must be something in the palace that has delayed him."
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