Emperor Tianwu had finished what he wanted to say, and no one had any doubts. The matter of the Sixth Prince acting as regent was officially settled. After kneeling and worshipping, people left Zhaohe Hall. Feng Yuheng gave Emperor Tianwu another anti-inflammatory injection, and agreed to come to the palace every morning to give him injections and medication, and then left with Xuan Tianming.
People came and went in a hurry, but only the queen was left in this side hall.
Emperor Tianwu did not chase them away, but simply waved his hand and dismissed all the servants, including Zhang Yuan. Finally, when only the emperor and the empress were left in the side hall, the empress asked, "Your Majesty, are you still waiting for that person to show up? If that person doesn't show up, when do you plan to take back my position as empress?"
Emperor Tianwu vaguely recalled that on the first day of the Lunar New Year, he and the Empress went hand in hand to the Qiankun Hall to accept the worship of the ministers. He had ridiculed the Empress who had never done anything wrong, and the words he said were extremely unpleasant. Thinking about it now, if it were him, it would be difficult to accept it.
He sighed bitterly and said, "You also know that I was not in a clear mind at the beginning, and I could not control what I said and did. Why did the Queen bother to settle this account with me?" He looked at the Queen with a tired face and said, "You have worked hard these days."
The Queen shook her head, found a chair and pulled it to the side of Emperor Tianwu's bed and sat down. She said, "I can't say that I'm tired, but I'm just worried. There was one thing that I once thought the Emperor didn't know, but then Liu used it to threaten me. After a few times, I realized that the Emperor should know everything, but he just didn't say it. He kept me in this position just to attract that person to show up. If we didn't fall out before, this identity would be insignificant, but in this situation, he has been missing for many years, and I have become an excellent chess piece."
"I have never treated you as a pawn." Emperor Tianwu said to her seriously, "You have made great contributions as the Queen of Dashun. I have ignored the harem for so many years, but I regard you as a partner. It is a very comfortable thing to govern the world with you. You can understand what I mean with just one look from me, and you can execute my words more clearly than anyone else. When I work with you, we don't need too many words, everything is tacitly understood, which is very rare."
This was the first time that Emperor Tianwu took the initiative to express his inner thoughts to the Empress. The Empress thought that if Emperor Tianwu was young, he would never say such words. Even before the series of events with the Eighth Prince and Concubine Yuan, he always acted like an emperor, maintained his pride and dignity, and never took the initiative to praise her. But now, the old man said it, and it made her feel sour.
She smiled bitterly and said, "It sounds like you and I are not husband and wife, but just partners. I will help you govern the world, support your harem, and use the best manners to stabilize the people's hearts while sitting on the throne of the queen. And you, you give me honor and power, but you are unwilling to give me even a little bit of affection. Xuan Zhan" She called Emperor Tianwu's name, "Although I am not your first queen, I am also your legitimate wife. Do you know that compared to power, what a woman wants most is the love of her husband?"
She spoke miserably, and her face, which had always been well-mannered, suddenly looked old.
But Emperor Tianwu asked back: "Not everyone thinks this way. Think about Liu. What she wants is not love, but power. Otherwise, which woman would use such a poisonous technique to murder her husband?"
"She did it for her son." The Queen said something fair. "Besides, you have neglected the harem for more than twenty years because of Concubine Yun. How strong must a woman's feelings be to have not worn out in these twenty years? Xuan Zhan, don't blame others. Everything in the world has a cause and an effect. This is the cause you planted, and today you must bear the consequences. Fortunately, you still have several good sons, and Ah Heng has brought back the dead. Otherwise, I'm afraid this world would be ruined because of this."
The Empress' words, which sounded like a bit of a warning, stunned Emperor Tianwu for half an incense stick of time. He finally came to his senses and asked in a low voice, "Is it all my fault? Did I turn their love into hatred? Did I make them become what they are today?" He looked at the Empress and asked, "What about you? I haven't slept with you for more than 20 years. Have you ever thought of harming me like Liu did?"
The queen shook her head, "No. But it's not because I'm so great, but because I don't have a son. What's more, you gave me the position of queen, second only to the emperor, and above all others. So, I am different from them."
"You mean, if you also had a son, and if you were not the queen, you would be the same as Liu?"
The Queen thought for a moment and said, "Not necessarily. After all, everyone has a different temperament. Just like Concubine Gu Xianfei and Concubine Shi Defei, they also have sons, but they didn't do such things, did they? But don't think that if we don't do it, others won't do it. Think about why Feng'er gave his first decree to Concubine Li after he took over the position of Regent! He is a minister and a son, and he wants to protect his biological mother, but he has to use such a method. I can see that Feng'er is very reluctant in his heart, but this also shows that Concubine Li must have had some thoughts that Feng'er saw through. Feng'er is a good child, but he cannot be loyal and filial at the same time. This is what he had to do, and it is also his explanation to all his brothers."
Emperor Tianwu had no regrets about giving the position of regent to Xuan Tianfeng, and the queen was also very satisfied. Emperor Tianwu raised his hand and wiped his face, sighing, "I thought the throne was such a good thing, and I wanted to keep it for Ming'er, but Ming'er... didn't want it." As he spoke, he looked at the queen and brought up his previous words again. He said, "You are right and wrong. I really want to use you to lure Duanmu Anguo out. He set up a winter palace in the northern border to raise his winter concubine, gave birth to so many children, and sent countless daughters out. I also knew your identity many years ago, but you didn't know it at that time. But I never thought of abolishing you from the queen position after luring Duanmu Anguo out. You are not a chess piece, but my queen."
The Queen couldn't believe what he said. She looked at Emperor Tianwu, trying to find a flaw in his face, but unfortunately, she couldn't find one after searching for a few times. She couldn't help but ask, "Are you serious? Am I not a chess piece?"
Emperor Tianwu nodded, "No, you are my queen, and no matter which prince succeeds to the throne in the future, you will be their legitimate mother and the empress dowager by right."
"But I am Duanmu Anguo's daughter! Aren't you afraid that I will rebel against Dashun one day? Aren't you afraid that once Duanmu Anguo dies, I will do everything I can to avenge him?"
Emperor Tianwu laughed, "You won't."
"Why are you so sure?"
"With my eyes."
What else could the queen say? She had been worried about this for so many years, but today she heard this answer. She sat there in a daze for a long time, and then she covered her face with her hands and burst into tears. This was the first time she cried so wildly after becoming the queen, even in front of the emperor, without caring about her image. She just wanted to cry, but she couldn't stop.
The heart that had been hanging for so many years finally settled down. She wanted to say that she was so tired, and she also wanted to say that she was so happy. She also wanted to say that even if she couldn't be the woman in your heart, but was just a queen in name, just a partner, she was happy enough. What else could she ask for to be trusted by the man she kept in her heart?
Seeing the queen crying like this, Emperor Tianwu felt distressed for no reason. He wanted to raise his hand to comfort her, but he couldn't reach her. It hurt to move his body, so he had to give up.
He put his hand down, thinking about what the queen had said before. Indeed! Everything in this world is about cause and effect. For Concubine Yun, he had neglected the concubines in the harem for more than 20 years. Even if those concubines had deep feelings for him in the past, they had almost worn out in the past 20 years. It was good that they didn't become enemies, and it seemed normal for them to become enemies like Liu.
However, it was enough to avenge Cheng Yu only, but it should not bring disaster to Da Shun. Emperor Tianwu was very clear about this. Now listening to the Queen crying, he was thinking about how to deal with the two people in the death row. He always valued family affection and blood, but this was the first time he was disappointed in a son to this extent.
Finally, the Queen stopped crying. She smiled at Emperor Tianwu, wiping the tears from her face while smiling, "I am sorry to have embarrassed you, Your Majesty. It was I who lost my manners."
Emperor Tianwu shook his head, "No problem."
"Since I am not a pawn, I will continue to be the Queen of Dashun. Don't worry, Feng'er will not cause any trouble while he is the regent, and I will manage the harem well. As for that person... he will come eventually. I have the grace of giving birth but no love for raising him. I can't even remember what he looks like, so even if he comes to me, I have no intention of defecting. Your Majesty, just rest assured."
The empress had expressed her stance to Emperor Tianwu, and also given herself a firm stance. When she walked out of Zhaohe Hall, the haze that had accumulated in her heart over the years seemed to be swept away. Even Fangyi could see her changes. Although the empress's eyes were still red and swollen, Fangyi smiled and asked, "Is there any good news, Madam?"
The queen nodded, put one hand on Fangyi's wrist, and said excitedly: "From now on, we can live openly! We don't have to carry that heavy burden in our hearts anymore!"
Fang Yi naturally understood what she meant by "big burden" and became excited for a moment. "So, the emperor doesn't blame you? He doesn't mind your identity?"
"Yes! I am still the queen, and I will always be the head of the harem of Dashun. I will guard this world well for the Xuan family until I die, and I will never allow anyone to take advantage of it!"
This day was very exciting. Some people had their dreams shattered and were thrown out of death row, some people injured themselves but were able to have their whole body reattached, and some people let go of their years of knots and lived honestly from now on.
Outside the palace, at this moment, another king was in a private room in Xianya Tower, trying his best to coax the young woman in front of him, and kept saying to her, "If you care about the three beauties in the harem, just get rid of them yourself, I will never stop you. Also, if you miss your hometown, I promise you that I will come back at least once a year, or you can come back whenever you want, okay? I tell you..."
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