Chapter 349 Your Majesty, who do you want me to become?
Zhao Mingyan turned his head to look at her hand, his breath sinking.
“I come from the Ji family, the Empress Dowager in the palace is my aunt, and now I am a member of the Wei family.”
Ji Qingwu pressed down hard on his shoulder with her fingers, the tips sinking into the skin beneath the brocade robe.
The two were very close, yet seemed very far apart.
Ji Qingwu asked, "Your Majesty, who do you want me to become?"
The voice was very soft when asked the question.
Ji Qingwu stared at him stubbornly, without the slightest fear or retreat.
Zhao Mingyan's breathing became noticeably heavier.
Not only from her question, but also from the pressure of her fingers pressing down, he could sense the unease in her heart.
Ji Qingwu said to herself, "Your Majesty acts as you please. Is your next plan to send a letter of divorce to Wei Ting in the Northern Border and then announce to the world that I am Yuan Heng's birth mother?"
Although Emperor Wusu never revealed his thoughts, Ji Qingwu could guess the general idea.
Ji Qingwu then asked, "How will the world view Yuan Heng? Has Your Majesty considered this?"
"So what?"
Two voices, one loud and one soft, spoke simultaneously; one was indifferent and composed, the other was clear and childlike.
Ji Qingwu turned his head in surprise and looked at the little guy who was speaking.
Yuan Heng lifted a corner of the blanket and poked his little head out.
"I don't care, Mother, you don't need to worry about me." After saying that, she crawled back into bed.
Ji Qingwu gently patted the small body under the quilt and said softly, "Heng'er, you don't need to hide. Come out and get some fresh air."
Now is not a good time to talk about this; it would only make the precocious Yuanheng worry.
However, without Emperor Wusu's permission, Yuan Heng dared not act rashly.
Ji Qingwu looked up at him, and Zhao Mingyan said, "Come out."
Yuan Heng got out of the quilt, sat up cross-legged, but because he was wearing a loose undergarment and no pants, his two fair and tender muscular legs were exposed.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Mingyan's brow furrowed even deeper.
Ji Qingwu helped the little guy smooth out the wide hem of his inner garment and covered his legs and knees to keep him warm. Yuan Heng's eyes followed her movements intently, and he was somewhat mesmerized.
Zhao Mingyan, unable to bear it any longer, said, "Put on your own clothes."
Yuan Heng's dark eyes darted around, and his small hand quietly tugged at Ji Qingwu's sleeve.
Ji Qingwu patted the little guy's back reassuringly, turned his head, and said with shining eyes, "What exactly did Your Majesty come here for? Did you come here specifically to scold Heng'er?"
Looking at her spreading her wings to protect the person behind her, Zhao Mingyan seemed to regard him as a source of danger, a third party isolated from the mother and child.
He curled his lip and said, "Yuan Heng left the palace without permission, and I only said one sentence to him, and you're already protecting him like this."
Even though Ji Qingwu felt pressured by the emperor's cold gaze, she still said, "This has nothing to do with them. The fault lies entirely with me. Heng'er was unaware of the situation beforehand, and it was I who asked Sihai to help bring Heng'er here."
Zhao Mingyan asked, "Why do you want to see Yuan Heng today of all days?"
Ji Qingwu held Yuan Heng's small hand and said softly, "Because I miss him so much and want to know if he's doing well."
Zhao Mingyan stared at their clasped hands, his eyes turning cold.
"She ignored me for four years, and only now does she remember she has a son. Is this what a mother's longing is like?"
Ji Qingwu's expression froze, his guilt magnified a hundredfold, and his lips lost their color.
A hint of annoyance flashed in Zhao Mingyan's eyes, and he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"Father, please calm your anger."
Yuan Heng knelt down between the two of them with a humble posture, but his words were extremely impactful.
"It's just that the mother who doesn't want to leave her child."
"Father doesn't think it's because he did something wrong that made the woman who bore his children hard-heartedly abandon her husband and children."
Zhao Mingyan lowered his hand, his eyebrows furrowed, a clear sign of anger, an expression Yuan Heng was very familiar with.
He steeled himself, thinking that the worst that could happen was a beating.
"Your subject is mistaken. The phrase 'abandoning husband and children' is incorrect. Father Emperor is not Mother's husband."
Ji Qingwu blinked slowly, looking at the small figure blocking his way, and took a deep breath.
Yuan Heng wanted to transfer the emperor's anger onto himself, and his dark eyes held a hint of provocation.
“But I was born of my mother, and no matter what, I am still my mother’s son.”
Zhao Mingyan's face was extremely pale. She was so angry that she smiled. They had only known each other for a short time, but Yuan Heng had already completely sided with her.
He stood up and said, "Good, very good. This is the kind of prince I have raised. They dare to disobey and rebel against me."
Yuan Heng swallowed nervously, but stubbornly stuck his neck out, refusing to back down even a step or apologize and beg for mercy.
At the height of the tense atmosphere, Ji Qingwu muttered something under his breath.
"Good...or bad..."
The voice was so soft that neither of them could hear it.
"What?"
Ji Qingwu's expression returned to normal, and he raised his voice, saying, "Your Majesty need not be angry. What I just said is that good bamboo cannot produce bad shoots."
Zhao Mingyan was so angry that his teeth itched, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh to her.
"You mean, I am a villain?"
Ji Qingwu shook his head and said, "I didn't say that. It was His Majesty who insisted on interpreting it that way."
Zhao Mingyan said in a deep voice, "Then what do you mean?"
Ji Qingwu did not answer directly, but said meaningfully, "I am a good bamboo, and Yuan Heng is a good bamboo shoot."
It goes without saying who is to blame.
Zhao Mingyan turned his gaze to Yuan Heng, who was bowing his head and pretending to be obedient, and said coldly, "Yuan Heng is not some bamboo shoot. He is a prince. He left the palace without permission and disobeyed the emperor. He should be punished."
Punishment? Ji Qingwu's eyes widened.
"After returning to the palace, he was punished by copying his homework two hundred times and then confined to a secluded room to reflect on his mistakes for three days."
In front of Ji Qingwu, Zhao Mingyan still showed leniency and reduced the punishment somewhat.
Yuan Heng sighed, slumped his small shoulders and did not resist. Compared to being slapped on the hand, this was already considered a mercy.
Of the three, Ji Qingwu's dissatisfaction was so great that she practically jumped out of bed.
He met the gaze of Emperor Wusu, who was standing on the ground.
No one can punish her son. Yuan Heng has suffered enough. How can she just stand by and watch the little guy be punished by copying books and being locked up just because of a few words?
Ji Qingwu yanked the little dumpling off his knees on the mattress, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to her side.
Yuan Heng looked up at her in surprise. Angry his father at this time was not a wise choice; they might both be punished.
He struggled to get his mother to let go of him, but when Ji Qingwu got serious, her strength was not something a child could easily overcome.
Yuan Heng heard a melodious female voice coming from above.
"Your Majesty's reasoning is completely illogical."
Zhao Mingyan looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
Ji Qingwu said, "How can the emperor, the supreme ruler, come to a subject's bed to punish a prince?"
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