Chapter 76 The Future Queen
After giving birth to Hexi, I was depressed for a whole year. I was so domineering and arrogant that no one dared to mess with me. Li Siyan seemed as obedient as a quail, but I didn't expect that he was secretly planning such a big move. Princess! He could even think of it!
My temper flared up, my face turned pale, and I was about to explode right then and there. Wei Wan'er saw that the situation was not right, so she dragged me down and told me to at least wait until the guests left before discussing it again.
I waited for two hours, fists clenched, but couldn't bear it any longer. I stormed into the Purple Palace, kicked open the door to Li Siyan's study, and shouted viciously, "You damned dog emperor! Who allowed my daughter to become the crown princess? Take back your decision!"
Li Siyan was stunned for a moment, then his eyes flashed with ecstasy. He grabbed my hand and said, "Yingying, are you scolding me?"
I was furious and kicked him off the chair to the ground. "You're still laughing! You're giving her the throne without my consent. How can Hexi, a one-year-old girl, handle all this?"
Even after being scolded and kicked by me, Li Siyan actually showed an extremely happy expression, as if his dream had come true.
I returned to my old self, no longer wandering in a trance without sadness or joy. Not only did I have the energy to beat him up, I even felt concerned about He Xi.
This is truly a great thing! Li Siyan's mouth instantly stretched to his ears.
With such a handsome and evil face, if he smiles too exaggeratedly, he will inevitably look like a mentally retarded child.
He got up quickly and I kicked him hard again.
Seeing that I was furious, he simply didn't get up. He lay down on the ground, leaning close to the edge of my skirt, looking up and smiling, "She is my only child, so naturally I want to give everything I have to you and your daughter. If I die early in the future, she can still respect you as the Queen Mother and take care of you inside and outside. Isn't that wonderful?"
I said coldly, "Oh? I remember you said before that if you died first, you would drag me into the imperial mausoleum to be buried with you? What, do you regret it?"
After I exposed his secret, he smiled awkwardly.
But he was, after all, Li Siyan, who was as thick-skinned as the corner of a city wall. After a moment of embarrassment, he immediately said, "Don't take these nonsense to heart, Yingying. I used to be a jerk who only thought about myself. Now I'm different. Really, as long as you and Yaoyao are good, I'll be satisfied."
I corrected him harshly: "Yao your mother's head, the name is Hexi!"
Li Siyan smiled: "Hexi, Hexi."
After calming down a bit, I suddenly realized that he had diverted the point again. I forced myself to calm down and said, "There has never been a precedent for a woman to be an emperor since ancient times..."
Li Siyan was very confident: "Yao... Hexi is a precedent. She is my only daughter. I want to give her everything. No one can stop me."
"What if I stop you?"
He seemed to have anticipated my reaction. He came close to me, flattering me, "Yingying, think about it. Our Hexi has been incredibly precious since she was born. Although she's a girl, she's received even more attention than the average prince. I won't have any other children in the future, so who else should I give this kingdom to if not her?"
I opened my mouth to say, "Don't fool me," but suddenly I felt something was wrong, and the words on the tip of my tongue turned into, "...You said you won't have other children?"
In my limited understanding, emperors are all fertility maniacs - they don't have to take care of the children themselves anyway, so it doesn't matter how many they have, right?
When Li Siyan heard me ask this, his skin tensed up all over, as if he was recalling some horrible scene.
He was silent for a moment and said, "I'm sorry."
I asked him if he would have children in the future, but he suddenly apologized to me. I was completely confused and wondered if he had done something to let me down again.
I pulled a cushion and sat down, closed my eyes, grabbed the teacup and took a sip, waiting for Li Siyan to explain what stupid thing he had done, which would determine whether I would swing the teacup at his head.
I was prepared to hear bad news, but I didn't expect this guy to say, "I didn't know that childbirth was so dangerous for women. I rashly let you suffer such a great sin. If I had known, I... would have been fine with having no children."
My teacup fell to the ground with a thud.
I was shocked. "What? You don't know there are such things as difficult births?"
He said, "I know, but I thought it would only be difficult for women with weak constitutions. I didn't expect you to also..."
I:……
"Yingying?" He couldn't help but call out when he saw that I looked constipated.
I waved my hand to signal him to go away. I just wanted to be alone.
Li Siyan finally got up from the ground and muttered, "You don't know how scary you looked back then. I'd rather not have another child than have you go through this again."
Damn it, I find it so magical. I knew he had no common sense, but I didn’t expect this guy to be so lacking in common sense.
I couldn't help but look at him again: "...You don't understand, all those doctors you hired are just eating for free!"
Li Siyan said aggrievedly, "I have asked several times, and they all said that you are young and in good health, but you are just depressed."
I was so angry that I held my forehead with my hands... He was not wrong, there was nothing wrong with my body, it was mainly a mental problem.
It's understandable that the imperial physician didn't dare to tell the truth. Who dares to tell Li Siyan that your wife was driven crazy by you? Don't you want your head anymore?
It dragged on day by day, and by the time I gave birth, I was suffering from depression and had no will to live.
The Imperial Medical Bureau did fail to fulfill its duties, but ultimately, it was the fault of this ignorant emperor.
After being stared at for so long by me with such an idiotic look, Li Siyan blushed for once, and simply threw in the towel and said, "I have been uneducated since I was a child, so I don't know many things... Even the proper conduct between men and women, I only barely understood it after reading a lot of information."
Damn it, I almost fainted again, thinking that this guy had been pretending to be an experienced driver in front of me for so long, which made me think he was really talented. I didn’t expect that he learned all the driving skills on the spot. Looking at his proficiency, I wonder how many atlases left by his predecessors he had secretly studied.
Perhaps fearing I'd mock him again, he paused for a moment before continuing, "I was displaced as a child, and my life wasn't very good. When I grew up, I fought with my brothers and sisters. With the late emperor's old bald donkey fanning the flames, the sibling feud escalated to the point of a life-and-death struggle. People say the royal family is ruthless, but this is nothing more than a power struggle. I don't want Hexi to suffer this pain. After I'm gone, there won't be anyone to compete with her, so she can take over everything smoothly."
"Besides," he said, "Hexi is our daughter. She's smart and clever, and even more dignified and elegant than a man. Moreover, she's even got the official seal this time. Why can't she inherit the throne?"
──I haven’t thought about whether a woman can ascend the throne as an emperor yet. I only know that He Xi’s father has a very thick filter for her.
It's amazing, how can he see intelligence and generosity in a one-year-old baby?
I couldn't figure it out, so I stopped thinking about it. Looking at the dog emperor's despicable appearance, the desire for violence in my heart swelled infinitely. I grabbed a scroll and lashed it at Li Siyan: "I've already given birth and been depressed, and you're here babbling about sorry! If sorry is useful, why do we need the Dali Temple? You bastard, why did I have the bad luck to run into you!"
Li Siyan smiled servilely, took the scroll from my hand, replaced it with a ruler, and said to me, "This scroll contains a portrait of Yao Yao. Don't damage it. Why don't you use this ruler to hit me? It will make you feel better."
I was furious: "Shut up and kneel down before me to get beaten!"
When the imperial study was in chaos, little Li Hexi came out to save her father who was suffering from domestic violence.
Qingfu reported at the top of his voice: "Your Majesty, news has come from the side hall. The little princess is crying non-stop. Perhaps..."
Before Qingfu finished his loud words, Li Siyan flew past me like the wind and rushed straight from the imperial study to the side hall.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to put the ruler away: "... Yingying, wait a moment. After I coax Hexi, you can beat her however you want. As long as you calm down."
Qingfu had become immune to his master's servile remarks, and with an expressionless face, he led Li Siyan to the inner hall.
Through two curtains, Li Siyan was seen skillfully taking the blinding red swaddling clothes from the wet nurse's hands, pinching his throat, and singing a nursery rhyme in a nonsensical manner.
I listened for a while and then said to Qingfu, "...you should tell him to stop singing. Not a single note is on tune from beginning to end. Go to Mount Zhongnan and catch a bear; it can sing better than him."
Qingfu replied, "Your Majesty, you are wrong. The song doesn't have to be beautiful, as long as it works. The little princess should have been put to sleep by now."
I turned my head away in anger. It turns out that tone-deafness can be inherited.
Poor He Xi, he inherited a bunch of junk genes.
I sat down on his cushion and stared at the imperial seal. The coiled dragon on the seal also stared at me seriously. We stared at each other for a long time. I put it back in the drawer where Li Siyan collected important items and sighed deeply.
Perhaps it was really God's will. He Xi ignored the toys on the table and only fell in love with the official seal of the ceremonial officer. In addition, it seemed that her biological father would not have any other children... It was indeed as Li Siyan said, if the country was not given to her, then who would it be given to?
Although I have a huge grudge against the emperor, I am a diligent citizen of the country after all, and my feelings are really complicated at the moment.
It is true that He Xi is now extremely favored, but if she does not have power in her hands, her current glory will be a disaster for the rest of her life. If Li Siyan and another woman have a prince, He Xi's situation will be difficult. If not, it will be even worse. The Li family has no decent heir at all, and it is not certain whether she can continue to make a living by relying on this family name.
But if she became empress... she would become a boss who provided food for others. But how difficult would it be to be an unconventional empress? Not to mention the pressure of worldly affairs, even my mother, a historian, found it outrageous.
To be an excellent politician, one must possess both civil and military skills, as well as physical and mental qualities. Crucially, one must also be able to reproduce. Otherwise, without even a child, how can one continue the dynasty? Who would truly accept that?
There are precedents of women ruling the country in history, but most of them were empress dowagers and queens. God knows how much suffering it would take to go from behind the pearl curtain to in front of the pearl curtain. Does He Xi have to suffer the same pain?
I rubbed my temples vigorously, feeling deeply conflicted.
When Li Siyan came back from coaxing his daughter, I was rummaging through his drawer where he kept important items. I pulled out Emperor Gaozu's will, Emperor Taizong's arrows, a small handicraft made by Li Siyan's mother, a painting of a magpie climbing a branch that I gave him, and so on. Suddenly, I pulled out a handkerchief stained with a strange red, threw it on the table, and asked Li Siyan, "What is this?"
His expression changed slightly, and he chose to play dumb: "This... is just a dirty old handkerchief. I forgot to wash it for Huiyue and the others."
I frowned and said, "No, this looks familiar..."
A light bulb went off in my head, and I suddenly remembered, "Isn't this the handkerchief you used to wipe your hands on my first day as a steward in the Purple Palace?"
Li Siyan said "oh", and was visibly flustered: "Really?"
"You put it away!"
"I……"
I looked at him and said, "Oh, so you've been thinking about me since then."
You’re so good at pretending!
Seeing that he couldn't escape, Li Siyan simply admitted it: "Yes, this is the handkerchief from that time. Since then, I have been a little... curious about you."
Curious? That's a nice way to put it, isn't it just that you think I'm interesting and want to tease me?
I rolled my eyes at him and continued to pick up the things.
Today I am determined to strip off the emperor's underwear.
Most of the things in this drawer are a bit old, and the papers are yellowed with age. Suddenly, a piece of snow-white new paper caught my attention. I pulled it out to take a look, but as soon as I took it out, it was snatched away by Li Siyan.
He said nervously, "It's nothing important, don't look at it."
I held out a hand, palm facing up, and said calmly, "Give it to me."
There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. I have to take a look.
After a long stalemate, Li Siyan finally gave in and put the page in my hand, saying, "...It's really not an important item, but if you want to see it, then..."
I was too lazy to pay attention to him and just started reading by myself.
But this time, after reading the first line, I looked up in surprise and asked, "What is this? A suicide note... Li Siyan, you actually wrote a suicide note?"
Li Siyan pursed his lips and said, "...I haven't finished writing it yet."
Shocked, I read on at a glance and saw that he had carefully written about how to accommodate He Xi and me, how to mobilize the imperial guards... He wrote a bunch of random things, but it stopped abruptly in the end.
The letter should have been written during the period after Hexi was born. At that time, she did not have a name and was referred to as the Princess.
It fills a whole page with words, and it's not difficult to imagine the care he put into writing it. However... it's a bit too messy, and he's not afraid of annoying the ministers who are reading the will.
"And then?" I asked him, "You're going to put it behind the plaque on the door of the Imperial Study?"
Li Siyan shook his head and snatched the paper from my hand again, saying, "I was halfway through writing when I suddenly felt that this was a foolish move. If there ever comes a day when I die unexpectedly and everyone is forgotten, who can I control with just this mere will?"
"So, it would be better to help He Xi to the throne while she is still alive. Once she is established, I can abdicate and become the emperor. Wouldn't that be great?" There was a look of longing in his eyes.
I murmured, "Then you better live longer. Wait until Hexi has a child before you abdicate. Otherwise, she will have no one to rely on when she gives birth, and there's no telling if someone might harm her."
Li Siyan nodded and said, "Don't worry, I will take care of everything for her."
I hummed, put his treasures back one by one, closed the drawer, and sat there in a daze.
Li Siyan was most afraid of seeing me in a daze, so he hesitantly picked up the ruler on the table and asked in a low voice: "You... do you still want to fight?"
I came to my senses and waved my hands irritably: "I'm tired, just hit yourself."
After Hexi turned one year old, I said goodbye to my aunt and moved back to Chang'an.
My aunt had anticipated this day. As she watched me pack my luggage, she said, "Women are always too soft-hearted. You still can't let go of that little girl."
"Of course," I said, "It's already been born, so I can't just put it back in."
My aunt fell silent, probably cursing me in her heart for being useless. After wandering around for a while, she picked up a painting I had thrown away and said, "How is the Emperor these days? Do you want to live in the palace?"
"Of course not. I finally got out, why would I go back?" I said quickly, "I live with my aunt, and I just went to the History Museum to oversee the history compilation."
My aunt grumbled, "I, Aunt, spent more than ten years trying to outlast the old editor and finally got the top job at the Luoyang History Museum. But you, on the other hand, got the job straight away."
I said, "Not only that, I will be the queen mother in the future."
So I moved back to Chang'an, returned to the History Museum, started from the grassroots level, and was busy writing bad things about Li Siyan every day.
I have to say that we in the Shen family are born with the soul of a social animal, and only work can fill our empty hearts.
Li Siyan naturally did not dare to say anything about me writing bad things about him. After reading it, he applauded and praised me for writing well, cleverly and excellently. I asked him what was good about it, and he replied: It portrayed his bully temperament vividly.
There was a bad habit in this dynasty of the emperor interfering in the writing of history. Li Siyan, with his own efforts, broke this tradition and erected a stone tablet, ordering his descendants to never interfere with the historians' writing of the truth.
This massive stele now stood at the entrance to the History Museum, its presence immense. Carved with Li Siyan's crooked handwriting, every historian passing by could see at a glance the emperor's efforts to appease his wife...
Time flies, and the following things have happened in the past few years.
Xiaochuan grew up and graduated from the Imperial College. He traveled around the world to observe the scenery. Li Siyan arranged a marriage for him and Guan Yunyu. The couple went out to travel together at public expense and had a very happy time.
My aunt started trying to do some business to pass the time. In fact, she had wanted to open a dim sum shop for a long time, but she lacked the capital. Later, she had the money, but our whole family was monitored by Li Siyan, and she never got what she wanted.
Now that Li Siyan heard about this, in order to please Yue's family, he gave all the properties he had acquired when he was a prince to his aunt without saying a word, and let her choose whichever shop she liked.
The aunt didn't bother to be polite with him and directly asked for a three-story restaurant in a prime location in the East City, happily starting her journey as a domineering female shopkeeper.
Brother Meng was promoted and devoted his youth and passion to his new position.
Everything was running smoothly in the Meng Mansion in Chang'an until Hexi was four years old, when a small stone broke the deadness of the Meng Mansion.
The news spread like wildfire: The eldest son of the Meng family suddenly brought back a fair-skinned girl from Jiangnan, pulled her in front of Old Lady Meng, and said bluntly: I want to marry her.
The whole Chang'an was shocked. Thousands of girls who had a crush on Meng Xu suffered a second heartbreak after he got engaged to me.
Of course, that doesn't include me.
When I heard about this in the History Museum, I was shocked at first, and then I was so excited that I couldn't control myself - Oh my God, Meng Xu, this iron tree, can actually bloom?
In order to join my childhood friends in the front row, I skipped work, threw down my pen and rushed to Anyifang.
As soon as I entered the Meng family's gate, I saw a shy and gentle girl standing in front of the hall, with her head lowered, listening to what Old Lady Meng was saying.
I slowed down my pace and looked at her carefully.
The girl saw me and blinked. Meng Xu whispered something in her ear, and she gave me a look of "Oh, so it's you!" and immediately leaned over and gave me a standard greeting: "Greetings, Her Majesty the Queen."
I quickly said, "Sister-in-law, there's no need to be so polite."
She smiled at me, her brows full of the gentle and affectionate look of a girl from the south of the Yangtze River. She looked completely different from me.
I was amazed.
My goodness, Meng Xu never mentioned this to me in his correspondence, and out of nowhere he found himself a fiancée. What's this? A belated rebellious phase?
I was itching to gossip about them, but due to my noble status now, it was inconvenient to ask directly, so I could only cough and say, "The young lady and I hit it off right away, but I came here in a hurry today and didn't bring any decent gifts. Why don't we meet at the Chen Mansion another day?"
The girl turned her head and looked at Meng Xu.
Meng Xu whispered, "Just agree to it, and I'll go with you."
The girl nodded, her voice carrying a distinct southern accent: "Yes, Queen."
The next day, I posted a message asking them to hurry to the Shen Mansion to report. After symbolically grabbing two expensive jade pieces from Li Siyan's storeroom as gifts for my fiancée, I switched to a comfortable, melon-eating position and asked eagerly, "Tell me quickly, how did you two meet?"
This is a long story.
The girl was afraid that I couldn't understand her accent, so she spoke very slowly on purpose. It turned out that she was a concubine's daughter from a branch of a prominent family in Jiangnan. Her surname was Lu and her given name was Zhi. She was robbed by Japanese pirates on her way out for an outing and was detained for two days and one night before being rescued by Meng Xu and his men.
Although the person was rescued, his reputation was completely lost.
Even though the Japanese pirates disliked her thin arms and legs and did not do anything to her, her family still felt that this was a huge family disgrace and forced her to go to a Taoist temple to practice.
When she was almost at the end of her rope, Meng Xu couldn't bear it any longer and rescued her again. Seeing that she could read, he let her do some clerk work in the government office.
After a few visits, we became familiar with each other, and after a few visits, she became my fiancée.
The old-fashioned hero-saving-the-beauty plot mixed with the trendy workplace romance made me so fascinated that I couldn't help but slap my thigh.
This girl and I have similar personalities, both of us are very fierce, but upon closer inspection, we are quite different. I am the rebellious type who doesn't care about anything, but she knows when to advance and when to retreat. Perhaps it was this rational firmness that touched Meng Xu.
As his childhood friend, I expressed my sincere wishes for him to find a marriage partner.
Meng Xu didn't bother to be polite with me and told me directly the reasons why he came to Chang'an. First, he wanted to bring the person home to see, and second... Although Lu Zhi was a good person, her status was too low, and it was really a stretch for her to be a good match for Meng Xu.
As a concubine's daughter from a branch of a wealthy family, she was at the bottom of the class among the gentry. If Meng Xu hadn't taken a fancy to her, her life would have been extremely difficult.
"So, you want me to adopt her as my sister?" I said.
Meng Xu asked, "What do you think?"
I agreed immediately: "No problem, I'll spread the word tomorrow that she and I hit it off right away, and she's my sister from now on."
Lu Zhi's face lit up with joy as she stood up and bowed to me, "Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for your kindness."
"Sister-in-law, don't be like this." I rushed over and helped her up. "This is what I owe Brother Meng. I should pay it back."
Apart from being escorted when I go out and not having to pay for meals, the title of queen has never brought me any extra benefits. This time I can finally use this to help Meng Xu. For the first time, I feel that having a noble status is a good thing.
To elevate her status, I dug out a bracelet that Li Siyan had given me that looked extremely wealthy and put it on her wrist. "...Take this. When you get married, I'll have something else for you."
This gold bracelet reflects Li Siyan's aesthetic taste. It is magnificent and perfect for showing off.
Meng Xu took one look and immediately said, "Forget it. It's not good to accept something too valuable."
I thought for a moment: "...It seems so. Then I'll change it."
In the end, she took away a hairpin from my girlhood.
Although this hairpin looks rather ordinary and is only decorated with two small pearls, it was the piece of jewelry I wore most frequently when I went out. Everyone who has seen me recognizes it. Now that I have given this hairpin to Lu Zhi, everyone in Chang'an will know that she has a close relationship with me.
Meng Xu's way of expressing love is to worry. Now it seems that he has really put a lot of effort into this Miss Lu.
I was very pleased and felt a sense of pride that a friend who had been single for many years had finally successfully sold his product.
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