Chapter 379 The Emperor and Empress Dispute
The Queen paused slightly while holding the teapot, and lowered her eyelids to hide the emotions in her eyes. She poured herself some tea while choosing her words.
"I heard that Prince Guangling's illness was cured thanks to Princess Guangling's contribution. Now, less than a year after their marriage, you're already inserting someone into Prince Guangling's chambers. Isn't that a bit ungrateful?"
"In addition, Princess Guangling is the apple of the eye of the King of Zhenbei. In order to find his daughter safely, the King of Zhenbei waited for fourteen years for the opportunity to make a contribution."
"Now that I have finally found my daughter, I discovered that she is already married and cannot be taken home to be pampered for a few years. The King of Zhenbei feels guilty about his daughter, so how could he bear to let her suffer in her husband's family?"
The Northern Qi Emperor could no longer bear to hear this: "Husband and wife are one. Isn't it her job to find a miracle doctor to treat her husband's illness?"
"How many soldiers of Northern Qi did the Prince of Zhenbei kill? I overcame all objections and canonized her as the Princess of Guangling. This is already a way of repaying her kindness."
"Besides, what man in this world doesn't have three wives and four concubines? As a prince, isn't it natural for Prince Guangling to take a concubine? Why is she being wronged?"
"As the legitimate wife, she should be tolerant. If she can't even tolerate a concubine, such a narrow-minded jealous woman, even if she is divorced, no one will dare to say anything."
"So what if the Prince of Zhenbei is dissatisfied? He's not in the right to begin with. How dare he send troops to Northern Qi?"
At this point, he sneered, "Every soldier has a loved one, and no one wants to start a war. They will obey the king's orders and expand the territory. They will fight bloody battles to defend their country's territory. However, they will never send troops to Northern Qi just because Prince Guangling takes a concubine."
This is simply ridiculous.
If the Prince of Zhenbei did this, he would lose the support of his army and the people, and even push Shen Qingtan to the forefront.
Even if the King of Zhenbei found other reasons to send troops to Northern Qi.
He has Shen Qingtan as a hostage in his hand. Prince Zhenbei wouldn't disregard his daughter's life for such a trivial matter, right?
The queen held a porcelain teacup inlaid with glazed filigree in her hand. This was the only one of its kind, different from the other tea sets on the small table.
She took a sip of the tea and said, "That makes sense."
The Northern Qi Emperor's expression eased slightly, and he drank a few sips of tea to calm down his temper.
"It's just that it's always been the wife who gives birth to a legitimate son first, and then the concubine is allowed to get pregnant to expand the family line." The Queen said in a calm tone: "If a child born out of wedlock is allowed to take the throne first, it will definitely go against the rules of our ancestors."
The Emperor of Northern Qi immediately thought of himself. When the Queen was still the Crown Princess, she had no children, but Concubine Shu gave birth to children one after another.
Even Yizhen, who came into the palace later, became pregnant and gave birth to her eldest son, but there was still no movement in the queen's belly.
It was not until the second year after Yizhen's death that the Queen announced the good news.
Even if the queen said this unintentionally, it still made him feel ashamed.
The Empress seemed unaware that her words had struck a nerve with the Northern Qi Emperor as she continued, "The wedding of Guangning and Prince Yu is scheduled for early April. Their marriage is crucial to the alliance between the two countries, so we cannot be careless."
"Besides, Prince Yu personally requested permission to come to Northern Qi to welcome Guangning as a sign of his respect for her. After the fifteenth day, he will leave for Northern Qi. The Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple must prepare to receive the envoy, and the wedding should be put on the agenda."
"At this critical juncture, if we give Prince Guangling another concubine, wouldn't that just cause more trouble?"
"In my opinion, we should focus on Guangning's marriage for the time being and put other matters on hold to prevent any problems."
She put down her teacup and turned to look at the Northern Qi Emperor: "What do you think, Your Majesty?"
The Emperor of Northern Qi turned his head and met the Queen's eyes. They were cold and indifferent, like water, as if she didn't care about anything at all. She was too cold-hearted.
Even if they disagreed, she would not argue with him, but would just change the subject and achieve her goal.
For example, right now.
The Emperor of Northern Qi felt very depressed and anxious, but he had to agree with the Queen's words.
"It's as you say."
The Emperor of Northern Qi was unhappy. There were only two women who made him feel suffocated in his life.
One is the queen and the other is Yizhen.
He stood up and threw down a list: "During this time, you pick a concubine for Prince Guangling. After Guangning gets married, it will be put on the agenda."
After saying this, the Northern Qi Emperor walked out of the palace, deliberately slowing down his pace. After five or six steps, without waiting for the Queen to persuade him to stay, he left Changle Palace with big strides, his face darkening.
The queen glanced at the teacup used by the Emperor of Northern Qi without even raising her eyelids.
Luzhi immediately removed the tea set used by the Emperor of Northern Qi.
The Empress did not use a complete set of tea sets, but prepared a special teacup separately because she was afraid that she would feel nauseous if she got the one used by the Emperor of Northern Qi.
Luzhi was brought by the Queen from her natal home and was particularly trusted by the Queen, so she knew how much the Queen hated the Emperor of Northern Qi.
"Now that the Concubine Shu has fallen, will His Majesty come to your palace more often from now on?"
"He comes whenever he wants, can I stop him?"
Luzhi pursed her lips and smiled secretly, thinking: You won't stop it, but it will make His Majesty angry.
The Emperor of Northern Qi had a very strong sense of self-esteem. After being rejected by the Empress several times, he would find an excuse every time he came to Changle Palace to seek some peace and quiet.
The queen saw through his thoughts, and every time he came, she would deliberately ask him what he wanted to discuss.
The Emperor of Northern Qi was embarrassed and had to follow the Queen's words and discuss unimportant matters with her.
If after the discussion he wanted to stay in Changle Palace, he would have another cup of tea and sit quietly for a while, waiting for the Queen to say something to keep him.
Unfortunately, the queen never tried to keep him.
Luzhi recalled the Northern Qi Emperor's words and was filled with questions: "Why did Your Majesty suddenly want to take a concubine for Prince Guangling?"
"The virtuous prince was kicked out of the succession race, leaving the Qi prince's family in power. He was worried that his position would be jeopardized, and he was eager to support a prince to oppose the Qi prince."
The Queen picked up the list on the couch, glanced at it indifferently, and said sarcastically: "The only one who can be used is Prince Guangling. But because of Prince Guangling's status, he dare not reuse him easily, even if it means taking advantage of him."
Luzhi understood that by taking a concubine for Prince Guangling, she was planning to use her to restrain Prince Guangling.
The queen waved her hand, motioning Luzhi to come closer and whisper a few words to her.
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