Therefore, many romantic stories about Emperor Taizu were circulated among the people, and were adapted into various vernacular books and dramas.
However, Emperor Taizu was a man of great talent but not vulgarity. All his relationships with those women were consensual, and he never did anything like taking women by force or robbery.
Regardless of whether it was a fleeting relationship or he took them into the harem, he would treat the women with whom he had a romantic relationship well. The women in the harem lived in harmony and happiness, and all the concubines were as close as sisters.
Emperor Taizu added many regulations to the Jinglu to protect women's rights in marriage.
Chu You looked directly at the emperor sitting on the kang with a firm gaze, his demeanor upright and upright.
The emperor was just over forty years old. He wore a bright yellow robe with four dragon patterns and a white jade belt around his waist. He had fair skin, handsome features, a warm expression, and a noble bearing. However, he was gaunt, with slightly yellowish whites of his eyes, and the fingers that showed through his sleeves were thin, with prominent joints.
The emperor looked thoughtful as he picked up the double dragon playing with a pearl enamel teacup on the coffee table and took a sip with his movements slow and elegant.
The Emperor and Chu You, half-brothers, were very different in appearance and temperament.
Seeing that the emperor did not object immediately, Chu You felt more confident and said in a sonorous and powerful tone, "'If two people love each other, they should be together day and night.' My brother will not forget the 'earnest teachings' of our grandfather, right?!"
"My royal brother has promised my royal grandfather." The threat was evident in his words.
"..." The emperor was silent for a long time.
Emperor Taizu did say such words. At that time, the emperor was only six years old. Emperor Taizu watched a play called "The Peony Fan", which tells the story of a man and a woman who are in love with each other but cannot be together because of the feud between their two families. They sang sadly, "If love is long-lasting, why should we be together day and night?" In the end, the lovers both died.
When Emperor Taizu was drunk and in high spirits, he called him over and sighed with emotion, "If two people love each other, they should be together day and night." He also said that when he became emperor in the future, he must not be so pedantic and stubborn as to break up the couple.
The emperor was still young at that time and did not understand what love was, but Emperor Taizu pulled him aside and insisted that he agree, so he had no choice but to agree.
After a while, the emperor put down the teacup, his eyes were gentle, and just as he was about to open his mouth, a clear male voice on his right spoke first, "Seventh Uncle."
The emperor received a look from his son, remained silent, and pretended to feed a colorful parrot on the brass bird stand next to him.
Chu You turned his head and looked at Chu Yi beside him, his face expressionless, but his eyes turned cold.
Chu Yi was still dressed in white as white as snow, with a calm and relaxed temperament, which seemed out of place in this magnificent palace, just like a touch of light ink like the moonlight and the clear breeze added to an elaborate painting of colorful flowers.
"I wonder what the Queen Mother means?" Chu Yi asked with a smile.
"What do you mean?!" The colorful parrot was flapping its wings on the bird stand and imitating its beak. The parrot's exaggerated and high-pitched voice was extremely ironic in this situation.
"..." Chu You maintained his outward calm, but the gloom in his eyes deepened.
He pursed his lips tightly, and a strange look flashed across his eyes.
The Queen Mother refused to agree to his marriage with Meng'er.
After the incident at Prince Jing's Mansion, he went to see the Queen Mother and tried his best to persuade her, but the Queen Mother, who had always loved him, would not agree. She even flew into a rage after knowing that he went to Marquis Dingyuan's Mansion to propose marriage, and at one point she even thought of ordering the death of Meng'er.
Chu You begged and pleaded, and even had a big quarrel in Shou'an Palace, using both soft and hard tactics. However, Empress Dowager Yuan only reluctantly agreed to let Meng'er be a concubine.
His Meng'er is different from ordinary women. She has always been tough-tempered, gentle on the outside but strong on the inside. How could she bow her head and bend over backwards!
Moreover, he would not allow anyone to stand over Meng'er and act tyrannically, and he could not bear to see Meng'er being servile to the queen!
This time, the Duke of Ying's Mansion wrote a letter to impeach him, which caught Chu You off guard. He was angry that Fang Mingfeng still had intentions towards Meng'er, but he also felt that this was an opportunity.
He wanted the emperor to stand in front of him and make his marriage with Gu Yunyan a reality. At the same time, he could also use the emperor's power to give the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion a warning.
The emperor has always respected Emperor Taizu, and Chu You was 80% to 90% sure, but...
Chu You narrowed his eyes and looked at Chu Yi, who was only seven or eight feet away from him, and a dangerous aura emanated from his body.
Chu Yi remained calm, smiling as gently as jade, and continued, "The Queen Mother once said that she would find a good marriage for the Seventh Uncle, and asked my father to make a promise in front of the Grandfather not to interfere in the Seventh Uncle's marriage."
"Father has always been filial, how could he go against the late emperor's wishes!"
"Seventh Uncle, please don't let the Queen Mother down."
Chu Yi's speaking speed was neither fast nor slow, just right, and his words did not sound aggressive at all.
Chu You stared at Chu Yi deeply, with a storm in his eyes.
He was a little unsure whether Yi did it on purpose, just like he was unsure whether Chu Yi was involved in the Danyang City incident.
There was silence in the east warm room, except for the noisy parrot, which was sometimes shouting "marriage" and sometimes shouting "last wish".
The emperor just watched from the sidelines, silently teasing the parrot with his fingers, looking at Chu Yi with a smile in his eyes, as if he could never see enough.
Seeing that the emperor did not fall into the trap, Chu You's heart sank little by little. He felt irritated and his eagle eyes were as sharp as a knife.
Chu You has always looked down on his eldest brother, the Emperor.
The Empress Liu, the last emperor, was born in a poor family. She was just a humble commoner, not worthy of being the mother of the country. Chu Qi was only able to hold his current position because he was the eldest son of the Empress. His literary and military talents were mediocre.
When Emperor Taizu was alive, he appointed Chu Qi as the Crown Prince.
When the previous emperor was in power, he wanted to depose the crown prince several times, but was stopped by his ministers on the grounds that the crown prince could not be deposed without a good reason. This allowed Chu Qi to be promoted from the crown prince to the emperor's grandson and prince to the great Emperor Dajing.
Chu You clenched his fists, tensing the lines of his arms and fists, suppressing the rage in his heart.
He simply skipped Chu Yi and said to the emperor on the kang again: "Brother, is this what you meant?"
The emperor pursed his lips and smiled slightly, still saying nothing, leaving it entirely to Chu Yi to handle.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
