Chapter 406: Concubine Lan, the Past
After a long while, Yan Xiuyun asked again, "What's going on with Prince Qi? Is Father also testing him?"
Lin Xiaoqi did not answer directly, but his expression said it all.
"It's a pity that the third prince made the wrong choice and now he has ended up like this. Although it is his own fault, it has ultimately caused Your Majesty to bear the pain of losing a son." Lin Xiaoqi's tone was filled with regret and compassion.
"Back then, Concubine Lan disguised herself as a man to take the imperial examination, but her identity was exposed during the palace examination and she was thrown into prison.
Your Majesty cherished her talent and loved her character, and could not bear to kill her. So he secretly rescued her from prison, changed her name, and became Concubine Lan in the harem. "
Lin Xiaoqi sighed and slowly recounted the events of the past.
"After entering the palace, Concubine Lan was in great favor. At that time, the emperor had just ascended the throne, the court was not stable, and the struggle in the harem was fierce. And the current Empress..."
"She--" Yan Xiuyun had rarely heard anything about his biological mother since he was a child, so when he heard Lin Xiaoqi mention it, he couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Mother...what is your relationship with my biological mother?" Yan Xiuyun asked cautiously.
"Empress Lan has a kind and open-minded character, and is well-read. Even after entering the harem, she has devoted most of her attention to studying and has never cared about competing for favor.
The Queen is the mother of the country and has ruthless methods, but she also admires the talent of Concubine Lan and never makes things difficult for her. She even defends her many times, so the two of them have a very good relationship. "
Hearing this, the tension in Yan Xiuyun's heart relaxed.
"Later, a plague broke out in the palace and many people died. It was at that time that Concubine Lan gave birth to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Lin Xiaoqi said, his eyes fell on Yan Xiuyun.
Yan Xiuyun had never seen his biological mother since he could remember. When the past was mentioned, his heartbeat began to speed up.
"In order to protect the safety of the prince, His Majesty decided to follow the rumors and find an ordinary baby from outside the palace to swap identities with the prince, and secretly escort the real prince out of the palace.
The baby found at first was indeed Chen Zao, but when they entered the palace, they discovered that Chen Zao's parents had lied about his birth date, so they sent Chen Zao back and found another child.
This child is now the Ning'an Earl's son Gongsun Yushu."
"I have a question." Zhu Lan hesitated for a moment, and asked with mixed feelings: "Looking for a baby outside the palace to protect the prince from disaster, does Concubine Lan also agree with this?"
The so-called "warding off disasters" by using other children to confuse the God of Plague is pure superstition and nonsense.
It is perhaps understandable that Concubine Lan, who grew up in this era, believes in these folk tales.
But I have already made up my mind that after the matter of the crown prince is settled, I will write a letter to the emperor to strongly advise him to abolish this bad habit forever!
"No." Lin Xiaoqi shook her head. "Empress Lan never agreed to this matter. It was because of this matter that she and His Majesty had their first disagreement."
"Never agreed?" Zhu Lan was a little surprised.
"Yes."
Lin Xiaoqi's eyes revealed regret and sadness.
“When someone first proposed replacing the prince with a baby from outside the palace, Concubine Lan strongly opposed it.
The queen said that the source of the epidemic has never been related to ghosts and gods. If you are worried about the safety of the prince, just send him far away from the palace. There is no need to find a baby from the people to bring into the palace. "
Even if those children were born in the common people, they would still be loved by their parents. But is there anyone in the world who would be willing to send their healthy children to a place where the disease is rampant?"
Even if the emperor's original intention was not to rob and force the people to hand over their children, when the people below were to do things, they would directly bring up the emperor's name in order to save time and effort. "
Using the power of the emperor to pressure the people is called persuasion, but it is actually coercion, which is not what a wise ruler should do. "
"Well said!" Zhu Qingyan couldn't help but stand up and said loudly.
"Those officers and soldiers acted bossy towards the people, how could they discuss things in a friendly manner with the parents of those children? In the end, they just robbed the children by force!"
After Zhu Qingyan finished speaking, he saw that everyone's eyes were on him, his cheeks suddenly felt hot, and he smiled awkwardly:
"I just think that Concubine Lan is right. You...you continue talking."
"Even before Concubine Lan gave birth, she already knew that His Majesty wanted to find a baby from the common people and bring it into the palace, and she had been trying her best to dissuade him.
The Queen insisted that the epidemic had nothing to do with ghosts and gods, and advised Your Majesty to urge the Imperial Medical Bureau to thoroughly investigate the diet of the palace people, and to allocate funds to find doctors with superb medical skills from the public to come to the palace, and work together with the Imperial Medical Bureau to find out the source of the epidemic and prepare a usable medicine as soon as possible. "
Upon hearing this, Zhu Lan couldn't help but nod secretly, agreeing with it deeply, and his respect for Lady Lan increased even more.
"It's just a pity..." Lin Xiaoqi's eyes darkened.
"Your Majesty ultimately failed to fully listen to the Queen's advice, despite investing a lot of manpower and financial resources to urge the Imperial Medical Bureau to come up with a solution...
But to be on the safe side, His Majesty still insisted on bringing Gongsun Yushu into the palace and exchanging identities with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Lin Xiaoqi was silent for a moment and continued:
"Newborns are weak and more susceptible to diseases than adults. As expected, Gongsun Yushu fell ill not long after entering the palace and nearly died.
Just when everyone thought he was beyond help, the Imperial Medical Bureau finally developed a prescription and brought the child back from the brink of death.
His life was saved, but he was left with sequelae."
Lin Xiaoqi looked at Zhu Lan, "You have seen Gongsun Yushu, you should know, right?"
Zhu Lan nodded, "His right arm is like a dead stick, and he can hardly move freely. He is half... disabled."
"Empress Lan was already weak after giving birth. She has always felt deeply guilty about Gongsun Yushu's matter and even had trouble sleeping every night." Lin Xiaoqi said.
Yan Xiuyun's eyes were slightly red, and he couldn't help but clenched his fist and said, "But this is not her fault!"
Lin Xiaoqi closed her eyes sadly, "But the queen doesn't think so."
"She said that she had been studying since she was young and wanted to enter the government to gain fame and do something for the people of the world.
Although she later entered the harem, she never forgot her original intention. If she could give the king some advice as a concubine, it would not be a waste of her life.
Sacrificing civilian children to protect the prince from disaster is a bad custom that should have been abolished long ago, but because of herself, she caused an innocent child to suffer a lifelong disability.
This incident was like a nightmare that haunted the Empress, causing her health to deteriorate. His Majesty was extremely worried and sought out famous doctors all over the world, but none of them could cure her heart disease. He could only watch the Empress become increasingly haggard.
When the queen was dying, she forced herself to finish writing the Annotations of Various Philosophers, and soon after..."
Lin Xiaoqi's voice sunk to the bottom of the valley. The people present felt heavy-hearted and were all silent.
Yan Xiuyun turned his back and quietly wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve.
He had never thought that the reason behind his biological mother's early death... would be like this.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Qingyan took a deep breath and asked Lin Xiaoqi:
“So… your last name is not Chu, so you are not Chu Xiuning’s niece, but you know these old stories.
Who are you anyway?
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