Nannan opened her eyes wide. She understood what the Imperial Grandmother said. She looked at her excited mother, then at her grandfather who kept coughing, and then turned back to look at her calm Imperial Grandmother. She suddenly felt a little sad.
"You and I have been married for life, but I, the unpopular daughter, eventually inherited the throne. In order to balance the power in the court, my mother chose Zhao Qian, the eldest son of the Zhao family who holds military power, as my husband.
To be honest, I was unwilling at that time. I even asked you. If you disagreed, I would reject this ridiculous marriage that was like a transaction. After I ascended the throne, you would be the emperor's husband.
But you compromised, saying that you were willing to make sacrifices so that I could secure the throne, but you just hoped that I would not mistreat our daughter."
"Haha, Wu Lianyi, do you think I really want to do it? What can I do if I don't want to? The late emperor threatened my family's life, and even Heer's life. What can I do? I can only swallow my anger for the time being. After all, I am still the emperor's servant, and my daughter is the eldest princess. I have to make plans for my daughter's future."
Perhaps because of anger, Rong Shijun finished his words in one breath this time before he started coughing.
The eldest princess, who had listened to the conversation between the two, lowered her eyes and closed them.
"In fact, I was disappointed when you said those insincere words. As a husband and wife, you didn't even give me the most basic trust. You were even unwilling to speak your mind and began to plot for yourself and your daughter.
If you were unwilling to give up the throne, I would have asked someone to marry Zhao Qian and prevent this marriage from the root. I agreed to this marriage because you didn't believe me. Even so, I had no bias in teaching the princess and even thought about passing the throne to the eldest princess.
First, it is compensation for you, and second, He'er is steady and capable of taking on responsibilities. However, the Zhao family holds an army of 100,000 soldiers. I want to remove these obstacles before passing the throne to He'er. This is why I did not appoint a crown princess early, but you are so impatient to use slow poison on me.
You tell me, what should I do? "
Lianyi raised her head and her sharp eyes swept across Rong Shijun and the eldest princess.
"When you and your daughter were doing these things, did you ever think that one day you would be exposed?"
"I did all this alone. It has nothing to do with He'er."
Rong Shijun supported himself on the edge of the bed, sat up with difficulty and said.
"It has nothing to do with her? She personally brought the two scriptures to me."
Ripple said mercilessly.
"Mother Queen, I deserve to die. Please save my father for the sake of our past friendship!"
The eldest princess' eyes were already red, with tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't cry. She simply kowtowed.
"It's not that I don't want to treat him, but you can ask your father if there is an antidote for this chronic poison."
Lianyi's expression remained unchanged as she asked calmly.
“.”
The eldest princess suddenly raised her head and looked at Rong Shijun, only to see that he had closed his eyes in despair. It was obvious that there was no antidote for this poison, which showed that her father had intended to kill her mother.
"He'er, your father is not in good health, so you should just stay here and take care of him."
"Wu Lianyi, you have such a cruel heart!"
Rong Shijun's shrill voice was heard by the young servants and female officials guarding outside the door, but no one looked around. They all looked at their noses and their hearts, pretending they didn't exist.
"I wonder who is the cruel one? If you didn't have this thought, how could you have come to this point today!"
Lianyi smiled sarcastically. It was obvious that he was the one who couldn't give up the power that was within his reach, but now he pushed all the responsibility onto her.
"You can be ruthless and ungrateful, but I cannot. From now on, Nannan will stay by my side. When she is able to stand on her own, I will pass the throne to her. This is my compensation as a wife, mother, and queen for the grievances you have suffered."
After Lianyi finished speaking, she stood up, held Nannan's hand, and asked softly:
"Nannan, forget what you heard and saw today once you leave this room. Don't mention it to anyone. When you figure it out one day, come and tell the Imperial Grandmother. From now on, you will stay by her side. Do you understand?"
The nine-year-old girl can already remember things. Although some things are not clear, it does not prevent her from remembering them, so she nodded heavily and said:
"Don't worry, Grandmother. I'll take note of this."
"Let's go!"
Lianyi shook off her wide red sleeves, held Nannan's hand, and left Rong Shijun's bedroom steadily and step by step.
The eldest princess listened to Rong Shijun's cough and watched her mother's receding figure, just like watching the throne moving away from her. She felt very depressed and uncomfortable in her heart, but it was too late.
The coughing seemed to be unable to stop until Rong Shijun coughed up a ball of flesh and blood. He stopped coughing and looked at his daughter who was still kneeling on the ground. He finally sighed and said:
"He'er, I don't have much time left. You should prepare your funeral in the next two days. When I die, these secrets will be buried with me.
Since the Queen values Nannan and has made a promise, she will not break it. Nannan is still young, and after the Queen dies, she will still need your support as a mother, so you should not dwell on this."
Rong Shijun's words pulled the eldest princess back to her confused thoughts. She nodded, got up from the ground, wiped her face and said:
"Father is right. I still have a chance."
He then grabbed the two scriptures, turned around and left Rong Shijun's bedroom. These were evidence of the murder of the Queen Mother. Since the Queen Mother did not take them back, she naturally did not intend to pursue the matter. She wanted to deal with them all as soon as possible.
Ten days later, Rong Shijun died of illness. The eldest princess took care of the funeral and began to observe mourning. The court was unusually calm. Lianyi would bring Nannan with her to court every day, but she never let the little girl show her face.
Nannan hid behind the Empress Dowager's large throne, listening to the arguments among the ministers in the court every day. Some people even suggested that the Empress Dowager should re-appoint the Emperor's husband, but their suggestions were rejected one by one by the Empress Dowager.
After Nannan returned, she tilted her head and asked:
"Grandmother, you already have so many granddaughters around you, why do they still want you to marry?"
"They don't want the Emperor's Husband to accompany me. They just want the title of Emperor's Husband. This way, no matter if my daughter or granddaughter inherits the throne, they will respect him as the Emperor's father and grandfather. At such a young age, he will be a person of high status in the palace. What they value is identity and status."
Nannan nodded, not quite understanding, and then said with a smile:
"In Nannan's heart, the Royal Grandmother will never grow old and will always be so beautiful!"
"Tsk tsk, how much honey did you eat? Your little mouth is so sweet. But are you trying to coax the Imperial Grandmother into assigning less homework?"
"Hehe, Grandmother, my granddaughter wants to go to the garden."
As the autumn harvest is approaching, the departure of the emperor and Rong Shijun is gradually forgotten by people, and everyone focuses on the people's livelihood.
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