Chapter 385 Da Bao Farts in the Emperor's Arms
On the other side, after finishing his court session, Zhao Xuan discussed with his trusted ministers how to deal with Zhao Rui, who had been released.
Hanlin Academy scholar Yun Yanzhe believed that in order to prevent the other party from colluding with Da Jing, he should be placed under house arrest.
Lu Wenyuan, the Vice Minister of Rites, felt this was inappropriate. According to the rules, he should be granted the title of Prince and a residence.
"Your Majesty, the Second Prince represents not only himself, but also the Northern Hunt royal family and ministers. If he is imprisoned, people outside will say that Your Majesty does not want you to welcome back the Emperor, and will accuse you of a great act of filial impiety. Please think carefully, Your Majesty."
Zhao Xuan stared at him coldly for a long time without saying a word.
Lu Wenyuan slowly knelt down, "This old minister's death is not a pity, I beg Your Majesty to put the country first."
"Minister Lu, please get up. What you said is not wrong."
He ordered that prisoners be exchanged for people, as it would be unreasonable to imprison them instead.
If Zhao Rui returns to Lin'an, he must be rewarded and granted a residence.
Zhao Rui is ambitious and will definitely interfere in court affairs and win over ministers.
His throne was not yet secure, and welcoming Zhao Rui back to Lin'an would only bring disadvantages, unless Zhao Rui died quietly on the way.
He must die, but not in Lin'an.
Zhao Xuan knew that he had spies among the ministers around him, and that if he made a single wrong move, they would seize the opportunity to use their power against him.
He cannot do these things.
We can only let someone else do it.
In the inner palace, Lady Li, along with her daughter Li Yuying and her grandson, entered the palace. She was Yun Jiaoyue's aunt, and the two families were related by marriage. After returning to Lin'an, they often visited each other, and Lady Li would often enter the palace to chat with Yun Jiaoyue.
This time it was because Li Yuying and Yun Yanzhe had another fight.
Li Yuying tearfully pleaded with her, "Your Highness, my husband actually suspects me of having an affair, saying that the child I bore is not his. I am so wronged! He has taken several concubines in one year, and I have tolerated it all. Not only does he suspect me of having an affair, but he also allows his concubines to bully Ping'er, even bruising him all over his body."
As her mother, it breaks my heart to see this. Your Highness, Ping'er is your only nephew, your own flesh and blood. You must stand up for us, my son and me! Waaah…
Ping'er was the child she gave birth to during her exile, after she had survived countless near-death experiences. Her name was Yun Youping, meaning that God would bless her with peace.
She had been proud for over a decade, but after getting married, everything went wrong. She was despised by her husband and bullied by his concubine.
This was the last time she had to compromise, yet Ruoyun Yanzhe still didn't treat her like a wife.
Don't blame her for being ruthless!
“My aunt was wrongly accused of adultery, and her body was never found. Now I am also wrongly accused of adultery, and my husband still refuses to believe me. If it weren’t for Ping’er being so young and needing her mother, I would truly want to die to prove my innocence…”
She deliberately brought up Wang Shi, hoping to soften Yun Jiaoyue's heart, but she didn't know that she had touched her sore spot, because Wang Shi had indeed betrayed Yun Xiuwen, and her youngest son, Yun Yanyang, was indeed not a member of the Yun family.
Yun Jiaoyue interrupted her angrily, "Shut up!"
"My mother has passed away, why are you still bringing up people from the past?"
Li Yuying dared not cry anymore, and lowered her head to wipe away her tears with a handkerchief. "Yes! It was I who misspoke."
Lady Li then said, "Your Highness, please persuade your son-in-law. For the sake of the child, let him treat Ying'er well. The couple should be considerate and supportive of each other. A harmonious family will lead to a smoother career."
Li Yuying would run back to the Li family every few days to cry and complain, disturbing their peace. If the couple reconciled, she could finally have some peace and quiet.
More importantly, her son held a minor official position of the seventh rank in the imperial court.
If you want to climb the social ladder, you can't lose the Yun family through marriage.
"I understand. You may all return now." Yun Jiaoyue looked tired, her eyes slightly closed, her elbows propped against her forehead, and she waved to the outside, signaling them to leave.
"This humble woman takes her leave."
Yun Jiaoyue opened her eyes, her gaze clear and bright, without a trace of fatigue, but rather revealing a hint of ruthlessness. "Someone, go and wait at Chongde Hall. Once the Emperor's meeting is over, go and invite my brother over."
He goes to the palace every few days to cry and complain to her; it's so annoying.
She still hasn't gotten her Phoenix Seal back, as she's being targeted by those two vile women, Consort Liu and Consort Su.
With no sign of pregnancy and already burdened with her own worries, she didn't want to listen to Li Yuying's tearful complaints in the palace anymore.
If the child Li Yuying is carrying is not from the Yun family, then divorce her and kick her out of the house to avoid causing her any trouble.
The palace maid had just stepped out of the palace gate and hadn't taken two steps when she saw Zhao Xuan bringing Yun Yanzhe over.
"This servant greets Your Majesty."
Yun Jiaoyue rose to greet him, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
"Your Highness, Imperial Concubine."
"Your Majesty, why did you come with my brother? Is there something you need from me?"
She hasn't done anything recently.
Ever since the Phoenix Seal was taken away, she dared not make a move, waiting for that bitch Liu Yiyi to deal with her.
She turned the tables and devised a plan to snatch the Phoenix Seal back, but the other party never made a move.
If she doesn't make a move in another two weeks, she'll have to take the initiative.
"I was thinking of you two siblings, who haven't seen each other for a long time, so I brought Minister Yun here so that you two could catch up."
After sitting for a while, Zhao Xuan sent someone out of the palace to invite Yun Zhaoxue. To avoid suspicion, the person was sent in the name of Yun Jiaoyue.
Yun Jiaoyue didn't know why he went to invite Yun Zhaoxue, but her elder brother was also there, so it couldn't be for personal reasons; it must be for official business. Thinking this, she felt relieved.
Suddenly, Zhao Xuan called out to the palace maid, telling Yun Zhaoxue to bring Da Bao along.
A dark glint flashed in her eyes, and she was furious.
He's not the child's father, yet he's never shown such concern for Consort Liu's princess. You'd think he was the real father of Lin Zhaoxue's son.
Yun Zhaoxue brought her eldest son into the palace. It was his first time in the inner palace, and he smelled a faint, unpleasant odor, as if it were emanating from the palace buildings.
Zhao Xuan saw Da Bao and immediately tried to hug him.
Seeing Da Bao's chubby little face, I felt happy and thought to myself, "If only he were my son."
Several concubines in the harem became pregnant, and a few months later he had his own son, making his adopted son superfluous.
However, you could become his son-in-law; he happens to have a princess.
"I like my nephew Da Bao very much. Why don't we arrange a marriage between him and my Princess Qingyun?"
As soon as these words were spoken, a "pfft" sound suddenly came from beside my ear.
I don't know if it was poop or fart.
Zhao Xuan has obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness and subconsciously wanted to throw away the child in his arms.
Yun Jiaoyue, who was nearby, also smelled the unpleasant odor. Her brows furrowed so tightly they could trap a mosquito. She quickly turned her head away, covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and dared not breathe.
Yun Zhaoxue's expression changed slightly. She reached out and took the child from him, her face showing just the right amount of fear and guilt. She bowed slightly to apologize to him, "Your Majesty, the child is young and doesn't understand. This humble woman apologizes on his behalf."
She deliberately taught Da Bao to do this on the way here, to fart and annoy Zhao Xuan, so that he wouldn't keep nagging about Da Bao anymore.
They've even arranged a marriage between their children. Look how anxious their eldest child is, he's letting out the smelliest fart in his excitement.
Zhao Xuan waved his hand dismissively, "It's alright, all children are like that."
Yun Jiaoyue asked a palace maid to bring hot water and used a wet towel to wipe Zhao Xuan's hands.
Next, Zhao Xuan dismissed the palace servants and revealed the purpose of summoning Yun Zhaoxue to the palace: reminiscing was a pretense, and his real intention was to have her write a secret letter to Xiao Xuance to silence her.
The secret letter was written and encrypted by Yun Yanzhe, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy.
To avoid being intercepted halfway, gaining leverage, and turning the letter home into an encrypted "imperial edict".
Yun Zhaoxue felt the air was fresher after leaving the palace. Staying in the harem for a while made her feel uncomfortable, as if there was a smell floating in the air. She couldn't describe what it was, but she just felt uneasy.
She went once and never wanted to go again; she didn't want her children to be exposed to any potential dangers.
"Dabao, you did very well today. The palace is no fun at all. Let's avoid going in the future if we can. Let's go home. Another day, Mother will take you and Erbao shopping, okay?"
Da Bao nodded vigorously, "Yes, let's go home."
He lay on Yun Zhaoxue's lap, reaching out his little hand to her, wanting to snuggle into his mother's arms, "Mother, hug me..."
The brat always tries to take his mother away from him.
Yun Zhaoxue pulled the person into her arms, "Okay~ hug."
Children raised on the spiritual spring water are stronger than ordinary children; at just over a year old, they look like two or three-year-olds.
When he got home, he learned that Pei Huaiji had come to visit.
He came over specifically to deliver a visiting card for his father's 50th birthday, mainly so that he could openly and legitimately visit his nephew.
Xu Yao shamelessly followed him over.
The guards in the manor knew Pei Huaiji's identity while protecting him in Lingnan, so they did not stop him.
He was holding his second child in the front hall, and Hongzao was there too.
Xu Yao and Zhang Heng sat in the hall drinking tea and catching up.
Pei Huaiji sent a visiting card, and three days later, his father celebrated his fiftieth birthday with a banquet for relatives and friends.
"Xue'er, there are no outsiders here, so I'll be frank. My father and brother are both hoping that you can attend the banquet. My father, in particular, wants to personally hand over my second uncle's belongings to you."
"Okay, I'll definitely go then."
"Can we bring Da Bao and Er Bao along?"
"We'll see how it goes then; it's been a bit cold lately."
It's gotten colder these past few days, and unless there are special circumstances, she rarely takes her two children out, as young children are prone to catching a cold.
Xu Yao waited until they finished speaking before leaning over, "Cousin, oh no, Princess, Princess cousin, I'm your cousin. We met once when we were boating on West Lake, do you remember? My surname is Xu."
He has a problem: he gets so nervous when he sees a beautiful woman that he can't even speak properly.
Yun Zhaoxue nodded, "I have some recollection of it."
"So you still remember. Oh, by the way, I went to West Lake again after that day, and it was exactly as Miss Xiao Si described in her poem—a vast expanse of white, with the pavilion in the middle of the lake just a tiny black dot. If you still want to go but can't find anyone to accompany you, I can..."
The little mouth kept chattering away, and Pei Huaiji grew impatient and shoved her aside.
"Go away, if anyone's going to keep you company, it should be me. It's not your turn. There's a lot going on at the factory, Xue'er is very busy and doesn't have time for that."
This guy promised him he wouldn't talk nonsense before he came, but even though he didn't talk nonsense, he still spouted a bunch of rubbish.
Pei Huaiji was in charge of preparing for the birthday banquet and still had many things to purchase, so he left after a short while.
Yun Zhaoxue sent a letter to Dingzhou.
The Second Prince indirectly caused the death of the Prince of Zhenbei, and Xiao Xuance will not let him off the hook.
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