Chapter 390: Planning Step by Step
The Northern Qi Emperor stepped into Changle Palace and suddenly stopped, staring straight ahead. He saw the Empress, wearing a long green dress, kneeling on a cushion, trimming branches.
Her fingertips fiddled with the delicate buds, and the petals trembled and opened, adding a touch of charm to her cold face.
His Adam's apple slid slightly, and he involuntarily walked towards the queen.
"Why are you in the mood to trim the branches today?" The Northern Qi Emperor sat behind the Empress, holding her in his arms and inhaling the delicate floral fragrance of her hair. "I heard you went to the Yangxin Palace today. Why didn't you wake me up?"
The late emperor had betrothed the empress to him. He had no romantic feelings for her, but he treated her with respect as his first wife. He would visit her courtyard on the first and fifteenth day of every month to solidify her position within the palace.
Perhaps it was because the queen was in poor health, and not only was her personality cold and aloof, she was also a bit withdrawn. She was not warm to him and would never take the initiative to look for him.
This was the first time the Queen went to see him.
He guessed in his heart that the Queen left Changle Palace and went to the Yangxin Palace for the sake of Prince Qi.
Even so, he was still in a good mood.
Because the queen had submitted to him, he came to Changle Palace after finishing his government affairs.
The queen froze for a moment, suppressed the resistance in her heart, and put a bunch of trimmed branches into the vase.
"This palace is deserted, so I asked Luzhi to pick some flowers and put them on display." The Empress turned her head to look at the Northern Qi Emperor and continued, "Eunuch Liu said you were so busy with government affairs that you didn't even have time to rest. You finally had time to sleep, how could I possibly wake you?"
The Northern Qi Emperor rarely heard a kind word from the Empress, and a smile welled up in his eyes: "Why did you come to see me?"
"I heard you punished Chong'er, and I want to plead for him," the Queen said slowly. "I've thought carefully about it. Chong'er was too reckless to send someone to trespass into the National Temple. He's so quick-witted that he needs to be tempered to avoid causing disaster in the future."
The Queen said this in response to the King of Qi's excuse.
The Northern Qi Emperor raised an eyebrow: "Are you not going to plead for Chong'er anymore?"
"To indulge a child is like to kill him. I understand these things and I also know that Chong'er's mistakes can be big or small. Your Majesty has only punished him to reflect on his mistakes in seclusion, which is already a great mercy."
The Queen's eyes showed helplessness: "I hope Chong'er can reflect on himself and come back to help Your Majesty after he has recovered from his injuries."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor of Northern Qi understood the Queen's thoughts.
This is to hope that the King of Qi can recover from his injuries, lift the house arrest on the King of Qi, and allow the King of Qi to return to the court.
He knew that the queen came to see him because she must have something to ask for.
"I hope he can understand your painstaking efforts."
The Emperor of Northern Qi held the empress by the waist and walked towards the inner hall. He keenly noticed that the incense in the hall was different from the usual ones.
He casually asked, "Did you change your incense?"
The Empress resisted the urge to push the Northern Qi Emperor away and frowned, "I've had a headache these past few days and haven't been sleeping well at night, so I switched to a sleeping incense."
The Emperor of Northern Qi knew that the Queen had a headache, but he did not suspect anything and put her on the bed.
The Queen propped herself up: "Your Majesty..."
"I will sleep with you." The Northern Qi Emperor said, "I won't touch you."
The queen pursed her lips and slowly lay down.
The Northern Qi Emperor untied his outer robe and lay down beside the Empress. He had thought it would be another sleepless night, but as he inhaled the lingering warmth and fragrance of the night, he fell asleep.
He heard the clatter of weapons and armor, the roar of killing, and amidst the blazing flames, he saw the former crown prince, under the pretext of purging the imperial court, lead his troops into the palace, marching straight towards the throne room where he sat.
He shouted loudly to the guards to protect him, but the guards who were blocking his way retreated to the sides and made way when the prince of the previous dynasty came towards him with a sword.
He was so frightened that he retreated back in fear and collapsed in the dragon throne facing the former prince who was approaching him step by step.
The next moment, a bloody sword pierced his heart.
"Don't kill me—"
The Emperor of Northern Qi suddenly opened his eyes, sat up in shock, and gasped for breath.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"
Suddenly, a concerned voice came from beside him. The Emperor of Northern Qi was startled and turned his head suddenly to look over and meet the Queen's concerned eyes.
He was stunned for a moment before realizing that he was having a nightmare.
The Queen stared at the pale face of the Northern Qi Emperor and asked, "Did you have a nightmare?"
The Emperor of Northern Qi hummed, still feeling frightened when he recalled the dream.
He threw back the quilt, got out of bed, poured himself a glass of cold water and drank it, and his mind became a little clearer.
This was the second time he dreamed that the prince of the previous dynasty had rebelled.
Each time clearer than the last.
The only thing I couldn't see clearly was the face of the crown prince of the previous dynasty.
The Emperor of Northern Qi touched his chest, recalling the scene in his dream where the sharp weapon that could cut hair was pressed against his chest, and his face darkened.
He vaguely felt that this dream was foreshadowing something.
The Emperor of Northern Qi was shrouded in a heavy haze. Whenever he thought of the remnants of the previous dynasty lurking in the dark, staring at him with eager eyes, he felt like a thorn in his back.
His eyes became fierce and he was determined to eradicate the remnants of the previous dynasty.
The Emperor of Northern Qi took out his outer robe, put it on, and left with big strides.
The queen leaned quietly against the bedpost, taking in the frightened expression on the Northern Qi emperor's face, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly.
Every time the Northern Qi Emperor came to Changle Palace, she never responded or tried to persuade him to stay. This time, she went to Yangxin Palace to find him in person. When he heard the news, he would definitely come to Changle Palace.
When she learned that the Emperor of Northern Qi was afraid of the remnants of the previous dynasty and was unable to sleep or eat because of this, she specially prepared some incense and lit it.
This incense not only helps one sleep, but also has hallucinogenic effects, which will increase the fear in the heart of the Northern Qi Emperor and make him fall into nightmares.
Given the Northern Qi emperor's temperament, each nightmare only intensified his deepest fear of the remnants of the previous dynasty. Over time, the mental and psychological torture would destroy him.
If you provoke him again at that time, he will definitely not be able to bear the blow.
The Queen called Luzhi in loudly, "Your Majesty, you had a lot of dreams last night. Please take the incense I prepared today to the Yangxin Palace."
Luzhi was surprised, but did not ask any more questions: "I will send it over tomorrow morning."
The queen nodded and ordered, "Change the bedding on the bed."
Luzhi hurriedly called the palace maid in to remake the bed.
The queen came to the desk wearing her outer coat, wrote down the news that the Emperor of Northern Qi was looking for the remnants of the previous dynasty, and ordered someone to send it to the Prince of Qi's palace the next day.
-
In the Siyi Hall, Prince Yu sat in an armchair, holding a letter from Emperor Jing'an to Zhao Yi.
The subordinate asked, "Are you going to give this letter to the King of Guangling?"
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