The emperor frowned upon hearing this, looked at the eunuch beside him, and asked again, "Didn't I forbid her from leaving the Cold Palace? How did she get out?"
“Well… she is, after all, a concubine, and His Majesty said that she must not be harmed, so the guards dared not stop her.”
"Send her back to the Cold Palace. There's no point in discussing her brother's matter. If she's smart, she should stay in the Cold Palace."
Upon seeing that the emperor had spoken, the eunuch immediately bowed, replied "Yes," and left the imperial study.
After leaving the room and closing the door to the Imperial Study, he turned back and sighed helplessly.
The emperor, the imperial concubine, and General Jian were actually childhood sweethearts who grew up together.
However, His Majesty previously only had a brother-sister relationship with the Imperial Concubine, and the Imperial Concubine also treated His Majesty like an elder brother.
At that time, His Majesty was just a prince. Although he was of noble birth and the eldest son of the Empress, the late Emperor did not like the Empress at the time, nor did he like the Empress's family.
Even the emperor at the time disliked her. However, the empress dowager's family was too powerful, so even though the late emperor disliked her, he could only feign compliance.
On the surface, he was still a loving husband and wife and a kind father and son with the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, but in reality, he loathed them.
His Majesty also knew this, which is why he stopped expecting fatherly love during his childhood.
He never expected that his father would be such a useless person.
Although the late emperor secured his throne, he was indeed incompetent and lacked virtue, and could only resort to marriage alliances when faced with attacks from enemy states.
The person chosen by the enemy state at that time was the Imperial Concubine, General Jian's sister.
Even if the late emperor was incompetent, he wouldn't dare to go against General Jian's family. He knew very well that General Jian's family definitely didn't want to send their daughter to a marriage alliance.
The emperor did not want to antagonize a family of military generals who had served three dynasties.
But if you want to refuse, you must have a suitable excuse.
So His Majesty, who had grown up with the Imperial Concubine, stepped forward and said that he and the Imperial Concubine were childhood sweethearts, and that he had long harbored feelings for her, and that the two of them had confessed their feelings for each other long ago.
However, His Majesty had been betrothed to the eldest daughter of the Grand Tutor's family since childhood, so General Jian's sister could only become a concubine before becoming a Noble Consort.
Over the years, in the eyes of outsiders, His Majesty seemed to dote on the Imperial Concubine, but they never made any intimate gestures towards each other.
The three of them had always had a good friendship, but now that General Jane was in trouble, their friendship was shattered.
To be honest, the eunuch has been by His Majesty's side for many years, and he believes that General Jian would not do anything to betray the country. However, it is indeed true that he has suffered repeated defeats on the battlefield. Alas! Now the general's reputation is truly declining.
…
The eunuch walked up to the Imperial Concubine, his face showing more sympathy: "His Majesty does not want to see you. You should go back and rest as soon as possible. His Majesty is reluctant to hurt you because of some old feelings, but that is not a reason for you to run away from the Cold Palace. If Your Majesty does not want His Majesty to dislike the General even more, perhaps Your Majesty should not come out again."
Upon hearing these words, the imperial concubine seemed to have completely lost her footing and collapsed to the ground.
"No! Eunuch Xiao, please speak to His Majesty again! My brother would never betray the country and collude with the enemy. Please, Your Majesty, clear my brother's name."
"Your Majesty, His Majesty will be angry if anyone dares to mention General Jian these days, so please don't make things difficult for this old servant."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
