Chapter 138 Lying
"Your Majesty is worried that your son's investigation into the Huangshaling case will implicate Su Fu, thus exposing your identity.
It is indeed absurd that the Queen Mother of a country is the daughter of a prince of the previous dynasty, and an illegitimate daughter at that. Taking this into consideration, I promised my mother that I would not investigate the Huangshaling incident any further.
But since I know that Su Fu is a remnant of the previous dynasty, how can I really do nothing? I found out that although Su Fu is dead, there are still remnants of the previous dynasty fleeing outside.
I have considered many possibilities, but I never imagined that the remnant was actually my mother's father, Su Mao."
The emperor laughed at himself.
Who would have thought that an eighty-year-old man would resort to cannibalism to stay alive?
If he hadn't thought of this, he wouldn't have thought that the Queen Mother had feelings for the remnants of the previous dynasty and secretly helped them.
He stared at the Queen Mother, "I tried to track them down several times, but they always wiped out all traces. It was the Queen Mother who helped him, wasn't it?"
The truth had been revealed, and the Queen Mother stopped making excuses and remained silent.
The emperor closed his eyes and said, "So, the real reason why your mother didn't let me investigate the Huangshaling incident is because she was afraid that I would follow Su Fu's clues and find Su Mao."
The Queen Mother remained silent.
"Then the Queen Mother poisoned Shi Yu with Su Mao's instructions, right?"
The emperor's eyes grew colder, "My Queen Mother loves the Crown Prince, and this time the Crown Prince was deposed, it must have been Su Mao's doing.
Mother, I want to know, if one day he asks you to take action against me, will you not hesitate?"
His eyes fell on the broken teapot on the ground.
The Queen Mother pursed her lips and finally said, "You are the Emperor, I cannot touch you, and I cannot touch you.
Shi Yu was different. After he came back from Beiling, he had lost his military power and was half dead. If the people of the previous dynasty wanted to kill him to avenge Su Fu, it would not be difficult.
Shi Yu killed his only son. If I do nothing, he will definitely take action and reveal my identity.
If I take action, there is at least a glimmer of hope."
"You're lying." Wei Qingyan exposed her coldly, "Shi Yu is far less important to you than your father.
If you really cared about Shi Yu, you wouldn't have poisoned the tea. You knew that three bone-breaking strokes could kill him.
When you attacked him earlier, you might have intended to spare his life, but it was more to please Su Mao.
Because in your heart, Su Fu is Shi Yu's uncle, and the uncle is the most important. He killed his uncle, which is a great treason, and you want to punish him.
On another level, you also want to do it for the emperor to see, so that the emperor will think that you have chosen His Majesty among your two sons.
But I am also curious, in the Queen Mother's heart, who is more important, Your Majesty or Su Mao?"
Wei Qingyan guessed all her thoughts. The Queen Mother said coldly, "Don't try to alienate us mother and son."
Wei Qingyan smiled and said, "Why sow discord? The Queen Mother has already done it. You deceived His Majesty for Su Mao.
Su Mao hopes more than anyone else that your identity can be kept secret. Having a daughter who is the Queen Mother will make things much easier."
The emperor's heart also sank.
Whenever the Huangshaling incident came up, the Queen Mother always worried about her identity being exposed and couldn't eat or sleep well.
He saw that she looked haggard, but he had no doubts.
Shi Yu sent troops without permission, which angered his younger brother. The Queen Mother personally fed Shi Yu bone-breaking poison, saying that this was the punishment Shi Yu deserved for disrespecting his brother.
Although he felt that the Queen Mother was a little too harsh, he was also moved. Although the Queen Mother doted on Shi Yu, when it came to major issues, she would always favor her eldest son.
Now I know that everything was just an illusion.
"Where did he hide?"
Among those who were captured alive, some said that Su Mao's retreat was Beiling, while others said that he planned to flee to Fengzhao Kingdom.
It wasn't that the men in black were lying, but Su Mao was cunning and didn't tell them the truth.
The Queen Mother shook her head. "I don't know. He just sent a message to me, demanding Shi Yu's life, or he would punish me."
Wei Qingyan and Shi Yu looked at the empress dowager's bedroom almost at the same time.
The person who was able to pass the news into the palace so quickly must have planted someone in the palace.
Shi Yu had previously sent people to keep an eye on the Cining Palace, but found nothing unusual. He only knew that after the riot at the execution ground, the empress dowager dismissed everyone in the palace and closed the palace doors.
"He must have been incredibly kind to you, to the point where even though you knew he had evil intentions, you still defended him without hesitation, even if he dug a secret passage through your palace."
No one entered the Cining Palace from outside, and the Empress Dowager suddenly closed the palace door. It could only be that someone came to the Empress Dowager through the secret passage and informed her of the situation outside.
The emperor had previously trusted the empress dowager and had never doubted her. Now that he knew the truth, he understood as soon as Wei Qingyan's words came out.
"It's time for you, Queen Mother, to choose between being the Queen Mother of this family or being a remnant of the previous dynasty in the prison."
The emperor's voice was distant but carried imperial majesty.
The queen mother's expression suddenly changed, and finally, she pointed in the direction of the wardrobe.
A hint of contempt appeared on Wei Qingyan's lips.
She overestimated the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother took into consideration the father-daughter relationship between her and Su Mao and helped him conceal his whereabouts, but the premise of all this was that she was still firmly sitting on the throne of the Queen Mother, which was also the real reason why she would not take action against the Emperor.
If the Shi family lost their kingdom, she would also lose her position as empress dowager, and Su Mao would have to take a back seat in her heart. Just like now, when the emperor asked her to make a choice, she chose to betray Su Mao.
The secret passage led to an empty courtyard in the slave house. When the secret guard passed through the secret passage, the spy planted by Su Mao had already committed suicide by taking poison.
Su Mao's whereabouts were lost again.
The emperor was so angry that he ordered that all the remnants of the previous dynasty in the slave camp be executed, the families of the remaining convicted officials be moved out of the palace, and the slave camp be completely closed.
"Emperor, you can't..."
The Queen Mother was about to speak.
The emperor interrupted him harshly, "Why can't your son do that? They should have died thirty years ago when the country was destroyed.
The late emperor was merciful and spared their lives, but what kind of lives have they become? Can they still be called human beings?
Among these people, who are really crazy? Who are connected with Su Mao and waiting for an opportunity to act?
I would rather kill them by mistake than give them another chance and disrupt this country.
As for the Queen Mother, she was frightened upon hearing of Princess Yu's evil deeds and has fallen ill. From now on, you should rest and recuperate in the Cining Palace."
Then, he looked towards the door and said, "Feng Ruobao, the Queen Mother needs some quiet time to recuperate. Send away these servants in the palace and find a few capable ones to accompany the Queen Mother."
This is house arrest.
As Wei Qingyan thought, the Queen Mother had a ruler in her heart: her son was not as important as his father, but her father was not as important as herself.
The premise of her protection of Su Mao was that she was the high and mighty empress dowager, enjoying endless wealth and splendor, but when the emperor wanted to deprive her of all this, she panicked.
"Emperor, I am your mother, you cannot treat me like this..."
The emperor remained unmoved.
She cried, "Yes, I am indecisive and reluctant to give up that little bit of family affection, but I have been in the Xie family for more than ten years, and I have suffered from cold and hunger. All the good things I have received were given by them.
Three years ago, I learned that even though the country was destroyed, they actually survived.
And the brother who took me secretly to the restaurant when I was dizzy and hungry, and who stood up for me when I was bullied by the girl from the Xie family, died under Shi Yu's sword.
I am the most noble woman in the world, but my elderly father is displaced and hiding everywhere. How can I ignore him?
I only learned about what Princess Yu and the others did today. I have never been involved in harming the people of Wei.
I just did what a daughter should do. The emperor governs the country with filial piety, so what have I done wrong?
"Your mistake was that you knew there was something fishy about the Huangshaling incident, but in order to protect Su Mao, you refused to allow your brother to conduct a thorough investigation, thus preventing 20,000 soldiers from being wronged.
Your mistake is that as the queen mother of a country, you cannot distinguish between loyalty and treachery, do not know right from wrong, and regard the lives of the people as worthless.
If it weren't for the bravery of the National Protection Army, perhaps Su Fu would have succeeded in his rebellion three years ago. Behind Su Fu is Su Mao. Where do you say you went wrong? "
Without her answering, Shi Yu said coldly, "One day, I will kill Su Mao with my own hands."
Seeing that the three men ignored her, the Queen Mother walked out and threatened, "You think it's easy. Do you know how many people from the previous dynasty are in this court?
Do you think the truth about the Huangshaling incident has been revealed?
I tell you, no!"
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