Chapter 197 The Fake Daughter of the Imperial Palace 3
As soon as the pale yellow figure stepped in, Su Tiangang immediately turned his anger into a smile: "Ran'er, why did you come here just now? Did something delay you on the way?"
Su Youran glanced at the situation in the hall. Her second and third brothers were standing on the left, one step away from each other. When they saw her come in, they smiled at her.
On the right were two ministers. One had gray hair and was the chief minister of the imperial cabinet, Qin Liang. The other...
Su Youran’s eyes flashed. This middle-aged man who looked to be around fifty years old was the imperial concubine’s father and the grandfather of her second brother Su Jingmin, Sun Mingde.
Is there anything else he can do here?
The two men bowed their heads and saluted Su Youran. Su Youran turned sideways, slightly avoided them, and returned a half-salute.
Only then did he look towards the center of the hall.
Her elder brother was kneeling there upright, and perhaps because of Su Tiangang's previous words of disdain for his cowardice, his back was straight at this moment, but his neck was still drooping.
His bent neck seemed to reveal his decadent heart.
As the eldest prince, Su Jingtai carried the expectations of the emperor, many ministers and the people of the world. The pressure was so great that he almost couldn't breathe.
But he just isn't very talented, so what can he do?
What others may be able to learn in one day, he may need three to five days, or even longer.
His mother said that hard work can make up for one's shortcomings, so he worked harder. But even so, he still couldn't get his father's approval.
Not to mention compliments, Su Jingtai would be flattered if he could smile at him one day.
He is not outstanding to begin with, and his education has always been suppressed. It would be strange if he could be confident.
Su Youran pursed her lips and did not answer Su Tiangang's question. Instead, she said something that seemed completely unrelated:
"Brother's leg injury relapsed the other day."
Everyone was stunned. The smile on Su Tiangang's face faded. Looking at his eldest son kneeling in the hall, there was a look of distress in his eyes.
When Su Jingtai was born, he had already started fighting outside. However, at that time, his power was small, so he did not dare to take his family with him. He could only leave his wife and children in his hometown, and he did not dare to let anyone know what he was doing, for fear of getting them into trouble.
Although they secretly sent people to send some silver and money from time to time, they were orphans and widows, and they did not dare to spend the money even if they had it.
One year his wife was sick and the doctor told her to eat something nutritious. Su Jingtai was only six or seven years old at the time. In the cold winter, he went to the river alone to fish.
That winter was particularly cold, and the river was covered with a thick layer of ice. Little Su Jingtai knelt on the ice, chiseling the stones he picked up from the riverside bit by bit.
He kept digging from the evening until dawn, and was discovered by villagers who had gotten up early. They then carried him home, even though he had already frozen to death.
But my legs were hurt because I had been exposed to too much cold. Whenever I walked too much or the weather was about to change, I would feel unbearable pain.
It was only after Su Tiangang became emperor that he brought them into the palace and provided them with good doctors and medicinal materials every day that the situation seemed to have improved in the past two years.
Su Tiangang hadn't heard about the eldest prince's illness for a long time. In addition, he was too busy dealing with various state affairs every day to even notice that his legs couldn't hold him in kneeling position for a long time.
As for Su Jingtai, he was not talkative, and he could not use his injuries to win favor. Even if his legs were in unbearable pain, he would just endure it alone.
Su Youran said this because she wanted to help Su Jingtai to vent his grievances. As a father, you are unaware of his suffering and just keep blaming and scolding him. Isn't that also a dereliction of duty on your part?
Secondly, he also wanted to tell Su Tiangang that no matter how many faults Su Jingtai had, he had one very rare advantage that no one else could compare to.
That is sincerity and filial piety, filial piety with all one's heart.
Just like I do to my mother, I do the same to you, my father.
What's more, he is kind-hearted, treats everyone sincerely, and is very caring towards his younger brothers and sisters.
He may not be smart, but he is definitely not stupid. He may not have much ability to govern the country, but he can listen to other people's advice and opinions.
He may not be able to expand, but he has no problem maintaining the status quo.
Talent can be acquired, or more talented people can be recruited to help him, but the character of a gentleman and a true filial piety cannot be possessed just by wanting it.
Su Tiangang understood what he meant, and the balance in his heart couldn't help but tilt. Perhaps he was really too harsh on his son?
Su Jingtai did not grow up with him. He stayed in the countryside until he was almost ten years old before being taken in by Su Tiangang.
But by then his character had already been formed, and nearly ten years had been wasted.
He missed the best stage of enlightenment and was several steps behind others.
What the five-year-old Su Jingmin had already learned, the ten-year-old Su Jingtai had just started to learn.
The gap was already obvious at that time, and the longer the time goes, the bigger the gap will only get.
Su Tiangang only saw the gap and was anxious about it, but he did not see the reasons for the gap, which were mostly caused by himself!
If he had brought his wife and children to his side earlier and let Su Jingtai and Su Jingmin receive the same education, even though the gap in talent would still exist, it would not be as irreparable as it is now.
Su Tiangang sighed silently and waved to Wei Ying beside him:
"Why don't you help your eldest prince up? Do you really want to watch his legs become crippled?"
At this point, he got a little angry again and couldn't help but kick Wei Ying:
"I was too busy to take care of it. Why didn't you slaves remind me? You don't take Taier seriously!"
Wei Ying knelt down hurriedly: "I deserve to die, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
He only kowtowed and apologized, saying nothing else, but he felt a little bitter in his heart:
The eldest prince came to Hanyuan Palace the least often and was the least articulate. In addition, he had always been serving the emperor closely, so although he knew a lot about what was in the emperor's mind, he could still guess about three or four points.
The ministers in the court have submitted countless petitions requesting the establishment of a crown prince, but the emperor always kept them without sending them out and scolded the eldest prince at every turn. Isn't this meaning obvious enough?
The emperor was simply not satisfied with the eldest prince and did not want to make him the crown prince.
The emperor's attitude reflects the attitude of the entire palace. The imperial concubine has been cold for a long time, but there are still people who keep coming to curry favor with her. Isn't it because they see the possibility that the second prince will ascend to the throne?
By then, the imperial concubine, as the biological mother, would be the Holy Mother Empress Dowager.
A eunuch like Wei Ying, who serves the emperor closely, does not need to rush to place his bet on the prince.
Even if the second prince seems to be gaining power, whether he can succeed or not still depends on the emperor's decision.
Wei Ying watched coldly. The emperor couldn't say he was very satisfied with the second prince.
Especially when he was particularly close to his maternal family, it made the emperor unhappy.
Arranging a marriage for the Second Prince with a young lady from the Hanlin family is a warning to him. It depends on whether he can understand and accept it.
At present, it seems that the second prince understands it, but he cannot accept it because he has too many concerns.
After all, the only person he could use was this outsider, and he was reluctant to give up this power.
As for the other three princes, they are all relatively young and the emperor is in his prime, so it is still a long way to go for him to hand over the throne.
Therefore, Wei Ying treated all the princes equally, with the same respect and humility. But as the saying goes, a servant must follow the master's lead.
The emperor has neglected the eldest prince, so how could Wei Ying think of paying more attention to what is going on in the eldest prince's palace?
Moreover, he was used to the competition for favor in the harem. No matter which concubine had a small headache or fever, he would treat it as a big deal.
Not only did she invite the imperial physician with great fanfare, but she also sent someone to give him something and a gift, just to get him to say a few words to the emperor and ask him to come and see her.
There is really no one as silent as the eldest prince. He didn't even reveal the news when he invited the imperial physician.
However, he could not tell the emperor all this, so Wei Ying kowtowed his head loudly, saying he was guilty, and did not dare to say a word to defend himself.
However, he didn't dare, but someone else did.
"What did the emperor vent his anger on Eunuch Wei for? Now it's like this. It can be summed up in four words: what goes around comes around."
As Su Youran spoke, she helped Su Jingtai up and looked at him with concern:
"Brother, how are you? Does your leg hurt?"
Su Jingtai stumbled and swayed, relying on Su Youran’s support to keep him on his feet. Even in this state, he still tried to smile at her and comfort her:
"Brother is fine. He's not in much pain. He's almost recovered now."
Su Youran ignored everyone else and shouted to the outside, “Madame Wei.”
A voice immediately responded from outside the palace: "Your Highness, I am here."
"Go and bring my sedan chair over here, and get a strong eunuch to carry the eldest prince on his back."
Wei Ying secretly glanced at the emperor's expression and saw him touching his nose, as if he felt guilty and reluctant, so he immediately crawled to the two of them:
"Your Highness, there is no need to call for help. I will carry you on my back!"
Su Youran did not refute, but Su Jingtai was a little hesitant. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate for his father’s eunuch to carry him on his back?
"Brother, I'll take you back."
Su Youran managed to help him onto Wei Ying’s back. He needed to do this right now, in order to let those servants in the palace see him.
He is the eldest prince and his position is secure.
"Go back and take good care of yourself. If you don't, you are not allowed to get out of bed for at least a month. As for other matters, no matter how important they are or who sent them, ignore them. Otherwise, you will waste your time and energy and get scolded for nothing!"
Su Tiangang coughed twice lightly. This...actually, he had a reason to curse.
Let's put things in perspective. It was wrong for the father to ignore his son, but he did not do a good job.
Is it possible that we can’t say it even if it’s not good?
At most, he could be more careful next time, not make his frail son kneel, and not scold him so loudly, isn't that enough...
Su Youran didn’t even turn her head. Although she didn’t know what had happened, it must be no small matter if it could make Su Tiangang curse at her like that despite the presence of ministers.
Moreover, Su Jingtai must have been really at fault. The seriousness of the matter can be seen from the fact that even the Prime Minister was alarmed.
But she didn't mention these, and only talked about her eldest brother's grievances and injuries. She didn't talk to you about the emperor and the ministers. For her, there was only father and son.
He is also a negligent father and a filial son.
Otherwise, based on what happened today, if it gets out, or if Su Tiangang gets angry and curses a few more times, Su Jingtai will be ruined!
From now on, who would dare to hope to support him to take the throne, and who would really take him seriously?
Su Youran watched Su Jingtai get on the sedan chair and walk back before she looked away and lowered her eyelids to hide her thoughts.
Now she still needs such a flag to block in front of her.
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