Chapter 557 Must Be Found
Consort Sun has been extremely busy lately, fearing that one of the concubines in the harem might accidentally become pregnant.
Lu Yuanbin was also very troubled by this. Logically speaking, with Lu Youming gone, he was the only one in the court who could shoulder this heavy responsibility. So why did his father still want to cultivate a non-existent crown prince?
"What can I think? He's already this old, he can't possibly have a little brat trying to steal my child! If he really does that, I guarantee I'll kill that brat."
Lu Yuanbin had betrayed his brothers more than once or twice; he didn't really care if he killed one or two people for the throne.
Consort Sun also felt that it was impossible for the emperor to raise another child at his age. Not to mention whether the emperor could live to see the child reach adulthood, even if he could, he might not be able to defeat his own son.
"Son, do you think we should join forces with the ministers to put pressure on your father?"
Consort Sun felt that she and her son were powerless against the emperor, but if they joined forces with the court officials, the emperor would have no choice but to take the issue seriously.
“What Mother Consort said is not something I haven’t thought of, but my people just mentioned it before Father Emperor stopped them. I’m worried that if I bring it up again, Father Emperor might be angry with me.”
"So what? He doesn't want to make you the crown prince, so why should we be afraid of him getting angry? Most of the people in the court are your people now, so even if your father does something, he has to consider the feelings of those old ministers."
It is said that the emperor is worshipped by all the people and his word is law, but the emperor's every word and action, even eating and sleeping, is watched by everyone.
If public opinion in the court is strong, even the emperor will have to find ways to restrain it.
“What Mother says makes perfect sense. In that case, I will go back and discuss it with my advisors. I will leave the matter of the palace to Mother to take care of.”
As Lu Changqing emerged from Consort Liu's bedchamber, his guards quickly followed.
"Does Master really intend to marry Princess Ruyue?"
"Who said I was going to marry Princess Ruyue? She's just a little girl, what good would that do me?"
Besides, his position as the principal wife has already been chosen, so how could it be given to someone else?
"Then why didn't Your Majesty refuse Consort Liu just now?" the guard asked, puzzled.
Lu Changqing glanced at him and slowly said, "Consort Liu only brought up the marriage because she wanted to establish a stable relationship with me. If I refuse directly, it will not only offend Consort Liu, but also make her no longer treat me with the same sincerity."
Therefore, neither agreeing nor refusing, just keeping the other party hanging, until one has consolidated power with the help of the Liu family, then naturally there will be no need to please Consort Liu like this anymore.
The guard found all this intricacies utterly perplexing. His only concern, however, was protecting his master; nothing else mattered.
Seeing Lu Changqing's attitude, Consort Liu immediately wrote a letter and sent it to the Liu family, the gist of which was to suggest that Liu Ruyue not be engaged yet.
It has to be said that whether it was Lu Changqing or Liu Fei, the ultimate goal of all their actions was simply to exploit each other.
In the Empress's bedroom, the Emperor rarely dined with her.
The Empress seemed very happy and asked the imperial kitchen to add several more dishes. Seeing this, the Emperor did not say anything else but quietly accompanied the Empress to finish the meal.
After the palace maids had cleared away all the bowls, the emperor took the empress's hand and patted it, saying, "Yesterday I had a dream, and I have been troubled by it ever since I woke up. I would like to ask the empress for help in understanding it."
"Your Majesty, what's with all this talk about inviting or not inviting? It's my duty to share Your Majesty's burdens."
The Empress was virtuous and did not blame the Emperor because of Lu Tianhua's matter, so the Emperor trusted her even more.
"Last night in my dream, I acquired a golden kitten, but while it was out playing, it met a mixed-breed cat and had kittens that weren't purebred. I didn't want the kittens, but then the imperial physician told me that the golden kittens might not be able to have kittens anymore. Your Majesty, do you think I should keep the kittens?"
After the emperor finished speaking, the empress covered her mouth and smiled, saying, "Since Your Majesty said it was a dream, what does it matter whether we keep the kitten or not? We'll wake up anyway, won't we?"
The Empress answered in this way, but the Emperor did not reply; he simply looked at her quietly.
Seeing this, the Empress understood that the Emperor needed her to give an answer, so she thought for a moment and said, "Since this kitten was also born of a golden cat, even if the bloodline is not pure, it is still a descendant of a golden cat. Since the golden cat can no longer reproduce, I think it would be better to keep the kitten."
"As expected of the Empress, she has the same idea as me."
After the emperor finished speaking, he patted the empress on the shoulder, stood up, and left with his entourage.
After the emperor left, the empress asked the palace maid beside her, "Why do you think His Majesty asked this question?"
Even the Empress couldn't fathom the Emperor's thoughts, so how could a mere palace maid possibly know what the Emperor was thinking?
"Perhaps His Majesty was just having a dream, Your Majesty, please don't overthink it," the palace maid comforted the Empress.
The Empress, however, did not think so. The Emperor was always decisive in his actions. He would not make a special trip to have a meal with her and seek her opinion just because of a dream.
Recalling what the Empress had said about pure bloodline, a bright and beautiful woman suddenly flashed through her mind.
"Could it be her?" the Empress muttered to herself, but quickly dismissed the thought.
That woman has been dead for over twenty years, so how could it be her child? She personally witnessed that woman and her child being buried together in the same coffin.
Perhaps he was just overthinking things.
The first thing the emperor did upon returning to his bedchamber was to summon the commander of the Imperial Guards and inquire about the progress of the search for the child.
However, based solely on Madam Ouyang's two sentences, finding the child in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty would undoubtedly be more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.
"Please excuse us, there is still no news."
Although the answer was already in the emperor's mind, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he actually heard the commander of the Imperial Guard say it.
"Search, keep searching, don't overlook any clues, we must find him."
The emperor had never been so eager to find news of anyone. Seeing the emperor's eagerness, the commander of the Imperial Guards couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should."
"Since when have you started using this kind of trick on me? Tell me!"
The commander of the Imperial Guard had been by the emperor's side for decades and was considered to have earned the emperor's deep trust.
Seeing that the emperor agreed, the commander of the Imperial Guards continued, "The events of that year were long ago, and those who knew about them were all dealt with at the time. Who can be sure that the young prince back then wasn't dead and was switched with someone else? Even if what Lady Ouyang said is true, and the young prince was indeed taken away from the palace, how can Your Majesty guarantee that a young prince raised among the common people will be better than the Fifth Prince after so many years of wandering among the common people?"
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