Chapter 168 Chenghu Deposed, Emperor and Empress Enraged
"Empress." Kangxi's voice was hoarse, showing that he had been quite angry about Chenghu's matter today. He wanted to comfort the Empress, but he couldn't utter a single word.
He witnessed the imperial physician cutting off Chenghu's leg, and the pain he felt was no less than that of the Empress. He was also deeply grieved.
But isn't Chenghu a different story?
Nothing is better than being alive.
Fanghua ignored the Emperor. Suppressing her grief, she wept silently, her former self long gone. At this moment, she was simply a grieving mother.
Emperor Kangxi also shed tears. He stepped forward and embraced the Empress, burying all her grief in his heart.
The servants who had been attending to the master in the room had already left, leaving only Wei Zhong and Qiao Ling, who served the master personally.
Fanghua continued to cry silently, her hands pounding on Kangxi's body, devoid of her former awe and distance.
All he had was his wife's resentment towards him.
How could Kangxi not feel it? But he could only silently endure it all.
He has already sent people to investigate Chenghu's matter. Although there are no results yet, the damage has already been done to Chenghu, and there is nothing he can do but try to make it up to him in the future.
Of course, Kangxi was also relieved that it was not the crown prince who was injured this time, otherwise the Qing court would have been in turmoil.
With the Three Feudatories affair still unresolved, no accidents can be tolerated. Whoever committed this crime, Chenghu will be severely punished.
"Fang'er, don't be sad. I will never let those who hurt Chenghu get away with it. Don't worry, I will definitely avenge our son."
Seeing that the Empress was unable to calm down, Emperor Kangxi immediately spoke up to comfort her.
"Our Chenghu's injuries will not have been in vain, Fang'er. I am sorry for what I did to you."
The emperor talked on and on for a long time, and Fanghua cried herself to sleep in his arms.
Knowing that the Empress would not feel at ease sleeping in her own quarters, Emperor Kangxi ordered the empty courtyard next door to be cleared out, and he slept there with the Empress that night.
Fanghua was truly exhausted, both from fright and fatigue. However, even in her sleep, she was restless, much to the dismay of Kangxi, who slept beside her.
He would be startled awake by the Empress after only a short while, and while the Empress was still asleep, nightmares would come one after another.
The next day, Kangxi went to court early in the morning. When Fanghua woke up, only Qiaoling was waiting for her in the room.
As soon as Fanghua opened her eyes, she asked about Chenghu's injuries.
"How is Chenghu?"
Qiaoling couldn't help but shed tears as she recalled the scene she had witnessed yesterday. "Your Majesty, the First Prince is alright now. He had a slight fever last night, but the imperial physician gave him medicine, and he is now stable. We are just waiting for his wounds to heal slowly."
Qiaoling said a lot, but she didn't say a word about Chenghu's broken leg.
It was as if she could forget about it if she didn't mention it.
Fanghua was unaware of her thoughts. After quickly tidying up, she went to Chenghu's courtyard next door.
When she entered, the courtyard was very quiet. Fanghua's uneasy heart rose again, and she asked repeatedly, "Why is the courtyard so quiet?"
She was afraid something might happen to Chenghu.
Li Changfu stayed here all night, his godson was still imprisoned, waiting for the Empress's judgment.
"Your Majesty, the First Prince is still asleep. To avoid disturbing him, I had the servants move around quietly so that the courtyard can be a bit more peaceful."
Upon hearing Li Changfu's words, Fanghua nodded in satisfaction. "That's excellent. Is the imperial physician here?" She still needed to ask the imperial physician Chenghu about the extent of his leg injury.
"Your Majesty, the eldest prince is staying in the imperial physician's room."
Fanghua nodded in satisfaction, and then headed towards Chenghu's sleeping quarters.
When I entered, the smell of blood had dissipated, leaving only the aroma of incense and herbs.
She took a few steps to Chenghu's bedside and saw her son lying pale on the bed. Her eyes welled up with tears.
My son won't be able to stay with me for much longer; next year, he won't be able to be by my side anymore.
Why leave?
She was filled with reluctance, so she reached out and touched Chenghu's pale little face. Although she had taken good care of him, he was still only ten years old. How could she let him go out alone?
Although she had no choice, how could she, as the mother, be at ease?
Chenghu noticed his mother entering the room. He wanted to avoid her for a while, but unexpectedly, she started sobbing softly, forcing him to wake up.
"The Queen's Mother."
Chenghu's voice was very soft, weak, and hoarse, which showed that he had not used it for a long time.
"Don't cry, it's your unfilial son who's crying." If they hadn't come up with this idea, how could the Empress Dowager have been so heartbroken?
He's starting to feel resentful; he shouldn't have believed his nonsense.
"Chenghu." Fanghua could no longer hold back her tears. Although she knew it was all fake, seeing half a leg bone missing, how could the word "fake" soothe the sorrow and worry in her heart?
"Waaah, my dear Chenghu, how dare you do this?"
Fanghua hugged Chenghu, sobbing with a mournful voice, "If I had known that I would have to exchange your leg for this peace, Mother would never have agreed."
So what if she's the emperor? Why should she allow imperial power to oppress her again after being reborn?
Why should her child suffer such injustice?
Just because he is the emperor?
“Don’t cry, Mother. I did all of this willingly. You know that I am not as good as I am outside the palace. That is my mission in this life.”
If defying fate comes at a price, he's glad he can pay that price himself.
"Empress Mother, I will come back to see you every year from now on. Don't worry, I will definitely tell you after I settle down." Chenghu hugged his Empress Mother back.
Leaving him was also difficult, but what could she do? If she didn't leave, she would become a knife in her father's hand, a sharp knife that would pierce her own younger brother.
This was certainly not what he wanted, so when Chengren proposed the plan, he agreed without hesitation.
He had already decided on his destination, since he was now a cultivator and needed to prioritize tranquility.
Therefore, the ancestral lineage of the Chinese nation has a very good origin, Kunshan, the birthplace of everything, where he can definitely cultivate steadily.
"Don't cry, Your Majesty. When I have achieved some success in my cultivation, I will take you out of the palace. Then I will accompany you to travel the world, okay?"
The little girl spoke the most heartwarming words; it would be a lie to say she wasn't moved, but she also knew that it wasn't something that could be accomplished in a day or two.
"Yes, Your Majesty is waiting for you to come and fetch me. But Chenghu, could you stay with Your Majesty a little longer?"
She couldn't bear to part with her son.
"Alright, spend more time with Your Majesty. How about I leave next autumn?" Chenghu nodded in agreement. He also wanted to spend more time with His Majesty, but some things couldn't be delayed.
It is true that he is injured now. Although he is out of the running for the throne, he and Chengreng are siblings from the same mother. He cannot become his father's weapon, so he can only become his younger brother's help. He has the title of the eldest son of the legitimate wife, and no one will let him go in the struggle for the throne.
The younger brothers are still young, so these things won't happen to them. But Chengreng is right: the children are innocent, but the adults are not. The children are just tools in the hands of the adults.
What a child does or says is not something a child can control.
His departure as a cripple was a good thing for both the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince.
"Hmm, are you hungry? How about I feed you myself?"
Fanghua took Chenghu back to Kunning Palace to recuperate. Kangxi naturally did not refuse and even rewarded Chenghu with many things. He also declared that he would severely punish the murderer who harmed the eldest prince.
This matter concerns Chengreng. He has been disliked by his Empress Dowager these past few days. Although he feels he has done nothing wrong, from the Empress Dowager's perspective, he is completely wrong.
Therefore, he obediently endured the cold treatment from his mother.
If Long Ling hadn't told him that his mother already knew the truth, he would have felt a little guilty seeing her like that.
“Empress Mother, if you continue like this, you will really lose your son.”
Chengren could no longer help but complain to his mother, "It's been so many days, Mother, you're too biased. I know you care about my elder brother, but he agreed to this."
Yes, Seung-ryung is jealous.
These days, seeing how much care his mother takes for his elder brother, he feels jealous.
Hmph, my elder brother is too wicked. Even though the injury is fake, he still makes the Empress Dowager feed him by hand every day.
He's still so small, and even his mother hasn't fed him.
"You brat, you think you're right? I don't believe your older brother has the brains to come up with such a harmful and self-defeating method." Yinreng is good in every way, except that he is a bit extreme in his actions. However, the suffering he endured in his previous life made her understand that he can't change in a short time.
Besides, being extreme isn't without its benefits for him; he's not incapable of bearing the consequences of his own extreme behavior. Therefore, she was satisfied with Yinreng's actions.
However, what she was unhappy about was that he shouldn't have inflicted harm on his own family.
"Isn't there any other way? Your older brother has plenty of ways to leave. Why use such a harmful method? I think you deserve a beating."
After saying that, Fanghua pretended to hit Chengren, but Chengren was very clever and immediately hid on his elder brother's bed, saying, "Empress Mother."
He glared at his mother and elder brother with resentment and dissatisfaction, "Elder brother, can't you say a word in defense of your younger brother? How long has Mother been ignoring me these days?"
···
The maternal love and filial piety between mother and son in Kunning Palace were unknown to anyone.
However, after investigating the cause and effect of the First Prince's injury, Kangxi discovered that many people were involved, and he was so angry that he arrested them on the spot.
The Imperial Household Department incident purged many bondservants, but unexpectedly, Chenghu's matter was connected to the previous dynasty.
Looking at those names, Kangxi's eyes turned red with anger.
"How dare they do that?"
After his outburst of rage, Kangxi ordered his men to arrest him immediately.
Chenghu, the eldest son, could not hide his injuries.
Songgotu repeatedly requested to see the First Prince and the Empress, but Kangxi rejected his requests each time.
Fanghua also received a letter from home. She only allowed her mother to visit Chenghu in the palace. After seeing that Chenghu had broken his leg, Borjigit's wife fainted several times from crying. She stayed in the palace for three days before the Empress forced her to leave the palace and calmed down.
The Hesheli clan also learned about their eldest son's broken leg, and they all cooperated with the emperor to cleanse the court and the harem.
What Fanghua least expected was that Chengdao, that idiot, was also involved.
Although the injury was fake, the attack was real, and Fanghua had no intention of letting him off the hook.
Naturally, she was waiting for Kangxi's decision. If it didn't satisfy her, she wouldn't mind letting this second prince experience what it's like to be a cripple.
The wrath of the emperor and empress is not something that can be extinguished by anyone. Kangxi punished the court officials and cleaned up the harem. He made an example of Fanghua to warn others, and the harem fell silent. No one dared to raise their voice.
Even Consort Tong, who had discovered she was pregnant, dared not cause any trouble and stayed quietly in her Chengqian Palace, not daring to step out even half a step.
The Imperial Concubine visited Kunning Palace several times, but Fanghua refused her visits each time.
The gift that Consort Ke sent to Chenghu was accepted by Fanghua.
A month later, the matter of the eldest son's injury finally came to a conclusion.
Unfortunately, Kangxi disappointed Fanghua once again.
Because Kangxi protected Cheng, not only were all traces of him erased, but someone else was also found to take his place. Was it because they thought they couldn't afford to hurt one more person?
She might turn a blind eye to other things, but when it comes to her son, no one's face matters.
What Emperor Kangxi could not have imagined was that the Empress was even more ruthless than he had thought.
"So you think that if one son is ruined, the other son can't be ruined too? Hmph, we'll see if I agree. Chengreng, I don't care what happens in the future, but Chengdao and his mother cannot stay here for long."
Consort Hui, it's time to go and report for duty.
"Yes, son will avenge his elder brother." Much has changed in this life, but this mother and son are still so repulsive to him, so of course he won't let them go.
I just didn't expect that Cheng Dao was much more disgusting than Yin Zhi.
Yinzhi wore his dissatisfaction on his face, while he kept it well hidden.
He looks a bit like the fourth brother.
It's true what they say, a barking dog bites but doesn't bark.
"I will not let my brother's injuries be in vain." The injuries may be fake, but the incident is real. How could he let the person who hurt his brother get away with it?
"Yes, that's very good." Fanghua's eyes were full of smiles, feeling that her two children were the best. "However, we can't let him go so easily. I plan to..." Fanghua whispered her plan to the two of them.
Upon hearing this, the two felt that the plan was brilliant.
"He was just making fun of his older brother for becoming a cripple, so his son wouldn't mind helping him spread some word."
Chengreng's face was full of excited smiles.
"Hmm, be careful. The matter of having no heir is a sensitive one. Don't let your imperial father find fault with it." She would never underestimate the power of the royal family.
"Your imperial father had a very strong secret guard force. It's a pity that after the Empress Dowager passed away, one of them was handed over to her."
That was the Phoenix Guard, which she naturally coveted, but unfortunately, the Empress Dowager wouldn't give it to her.
“Empress Mother.” He knew about this, but it was only after learning about Chengren that he felt heartbroken.
In his previous life, his father, the Emperor, doted on him so much, yet he never revealed anything about the secret guards.
"Alright, don't feel aggrieved. We don't care about other people's things. We'll raise them ourselves." Patting her son's aggrieved head, Fanghua's eyes flashed with heartache. "With the Dragon Spirit here, are you afraid that you can't raise someone who surpasses the royal family?"
The secret between the mother and her two children is revealed, and all three know each other's secrets.
It's a pity that Chengreng can't enter her secret realm, but Longling can. She allows Longling to use everything in the secret realm.
Furthermore, after Chenghu leaves, he can enter the secret realm to meet Fanghua, but the only one he cannot see is Chengreng.
Chengren threw a tantrum about this, but it was all in vain.
Heaven forbids emperors from cultivating themselves, possessing heaven-defying martial arts or cultivation.
Therefore, he can only live as an ordinary person, but he can learn some martial arts to protect himself. He can forget about anything else. Even if he uses spiritual herbs and medicines, apart from being a little healthier, he will still get sick and die as he is meant to.
"That's right. After you abdicate and pass the throne to your nephew, I will guide you in your cultivation. Together, we brothers will break through the barriers of this world, and for the rest of our lives, the three of us, mother and son, will never be separated."
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