Chapter 163: Deposed Queen and Deposed Prince
Concubine Xiu's power immediately rebounded, exposing all the dirty deeds of the Empress's faction, as well as the fact that Uncle Zhao secretly used his wealth to support the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, making the people live in dire straits.
The emperor was so angry that he fell ill, and Lan Yan and the imperial physician Ji, who had already retired, were summoned into the palace.
Originally, there were many doctors in the Imperial Hospital, but the emperor now seemed to not trust them and wanted Lan Yan and Doctor Ji to take care of his health.
The emperor asked about the relationship between Lan Yan and Jun Huolan, which made Lan Yan realize that his whereabouts were also being monitored by the emperor.
Or maybe he went to Prince Lan's Mansion and was secretly seen by the Emperor's men.
Fortunately, Lan Yan spoke half truthfully and half falsely, saying that he had treated King Lan in Chen State before, and also told the story of how Jun Huo Lan had suffered in Chen State at that time.
As a father, the emperor couldn't help but feel ashamed of his son Jun Huolan when he saw that the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince were so disappointing.
Moreover, he just realized that Concubine Hui was under the tight control of the Empress and was greedy and afraid of death, so she sent Jun Huolan as a hostage. It was actually the Empress who was plotting for her own two sons behind the scenes.
Back then, he doted on Concubine Hui, who had persuaded him that she was willing to let her own son go as a hostage. If she had refused to let Jun Huolan go, he would have let the Fourth Prince, Jun Wuyang, go.
Concubine Hui was controlled by the Empress, while Concubine Xiu Gui was the backstage of her own family, so in the end, the Fifth Prince Jun Huo Lan had to be sacrificed.
Now that the emperor thinks carefully, he really owes too much to his son Jun Huolan.
He should be nicer to him. Although Mo Yunzhu could not make him the Princess of Lan, she could give him a few other women.
"Lan Yan, how is Huo Lan doing now?" The old pervert lying on the bed had a very pale face and was indeed sick. It was obvious that the court was very angry.
"Prince Lan's health is a little better than before, and the main herbs he uses are better, but his foundation is completely damaged. Now I can only treat the symptoms and not the root cause. Alas, no matter how good my medical skills are, I can only let him live a little longer, but I can't cure him completely."
"Then can he marry and have children to carry on the family line?" The emperor frowned. He still hoped that Jun Huolan could have children, but of course it couldn't be Mo Yunzhu in his next life.
Lan Yan shook his head and said, "No, my body is too badly injured, there is no point in getting a wife."
The emperor stared for a moment, then sighed with regret, it seemed that sending women as gifts was useless.
Even if Mo Yunzhu married Prince Lan, he still could not bring her happiness.
"You should visit the fifth brother more often and try to make him more comfortable while he is alive. This child has suffered too much, and I am sorry for him." The emperor seemed very sad.
"Yes, Lan Yan understands. Your Majesty, you are angry and your blood is flowing. You should calm down and rest more."
"Okay, I understand. You can go back." The emperor let Lan Yan go, but Imperial Physician Ji did not leave. Instead, he went to treat Concubine Xiu.
Ever since Concubine Xiu Gui was hit in the face by the Empress, she has been full of anger and kept beating and scolding the palace maids and servants, but she couldn't go to the Empress to settle the score, and ended up fainting from anger.
When Imperial Physician Ji came back from visiting Concubine Xiu, he went to see the Emperor. When the Emperor saw Imperial Physician Ji, he sighed.
"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself." Imperial Physician Ji actually didn't want to see this beast in human clothing again. Did he really think no one knew that he had killed the empress dowager?
"Doctor Ji, I don't have anyone to talk to right now."
"Your Majesty, there are so many concubines in your harem, how come there is no one to talk to?" Doctor Ji thought that it was because of your own paranoia that everyone was alienated from you.
"Hehe, those women nowadays, I really don't know whether they are false or pretending, they are really scary." After the emperor said this, Doctor Ji could only sneer in his heart.
The most terrifying thing is not himself.
"Doctor Ji, you and the Queen Mother have always been close." The Emperor's sudden words made Doctor Ji's old face change.
"Your Majesty, you, you are..."
"Don't be afraid. I just want to ask, has the Queen Mother ever mentioned which child she likes the most? The Crown Prince or any other prince?"
Doctor Ji's heart was beating wildly, and he was wondering if the emperor had seen through his thoughts.
However, his feelings towards the Queen Mother were based on affection and courtesy, so he couldn't find any trouble. It seemed that he was still guilty of being a thief.
"The Queen Mother is kind and treats the princes very well. She never says anything bad about them. It's just that she feels a little sad when she talks about Prince Lan. After all, when Prince Lan was young, he spent a lot of time with the Queen Mother. The child is handsome, well-behaved and smart. The Queen Mother likes him very much."
The emperor immediately thought of Jun Huo Lan's appearance when he was ten years old. He was really good-looking and lovable. Although he was a little cold and aloof at times, he still called him "Father" when he saw him.
If Concubine Hui hadn't disliked this son, he would have doted on such a well-behaved son.
Now I think that it was not that Concubine Hui did not like him, but she was forced by the Empress not to like her own son. Plus, she was greedy and afraid of death, which made Jun Huolan a hostage in the end.
"I feel a little regretful now. How do you think I should compensate this child?"
"Your Majesty, Prince Lan is in very poor health. It would be great if he could live a few more years." A dark light flashed in Doctor Ji's eyes.
"Oh, that's right. Now when I think of the Crown Prince and the Third Child, I feel uncomfortable. The Queen, this vicious woman, has done so many things for these two children that it's hard to list them all! Ahem."
"Your Majesty, as a mother, the Queen can actually understand." Imperial Physician Ji said this after a while.
The emperor was stunned for a moment, then he sighed and said, "So, it's not wrong for Concubine Xiu to do this for the Fourth Prince?"
Doctor Ji immediately panicked and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not speak nonsense."
“Now that I think about it, aren’t the mothers of the sixth, seventh, and eighth princes all the Empress’s people? Why do they have to wait for the Crown Prince to choose before they dare to choose their own prince’s consort? Hahaha…” The Emperor’s laughter made Doctor Ji feel a little chilly.
"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. Some things are too early to talk about. You should focus on taking care of your health." Imperial Physician Ji's eyes were full of concern.
The emperor shook his head and said, "My health is getting worse and worse. Time is really unforgiving. I didn't think the harem was full of filth before. Now it seems that among my women and sons, how many of them are sincere to me?"
Doctor Ji was silent.
"I want to depose the queen and the crown prince!" The emperor suddenly glared, and the aura of an emperor immediately spread out.
Doctor Ji jumped up in shock, then knelt on the ground and said anxiously, "Your Majesty, please calm down."
"You go down." The emperor stopped talking and asked Eunuch Gao to come in and serve him.
When Doctor Ji walked out, there was sweat on his forehead. After wiping it, a hint of coldness appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he quickly left the palace.