Chapter 18 The Emperor Cannot Have Love

Today, the sun was so bright that it was a little blinding, and Su Jingyao woke up slowly in the caress of the morning light.

When she opened her eyes, Jun Zechen had already gone to court.

Su Jingyao slowly got up, stretched lazily, and then began to wash. After washing, she changed into an apricot-colored dress. The dress was as soft as silk, as if it blended into her skin.

The lower body is matched with a blue-green skirt, and the hem of the skirt sways gently like rippling green waves.

The belt woven with gold thread was tightly tied around her slender waist, further highlighting her slender waist that could be grasped with one hand.

Miaoxia combed her hair into an ordinary court bun, with all her hair piled up high, showing off her graceful shoulder and neck lines.

Su Jingyao has a delicate face like a painting and skin as white as snow. She is beautiful without any extra makeup.

"Master, how about you put on some more jewelry? Doesn't it look a bit plain?"

Miaoxia was holding an exquisite boudoir and was about to put it on for her when she asked softly.

"Once you put on the brooch in your hand, you will be almost done. There is no need to dress too flashily. There are many ladies in the palace attending the tea party hosted by the Empress today. You don't have to compete with them for the limelight."

Su Jingyao raised her chin slightly and spoke calmly.

"My master is so beautiful. Even in such a simple outfit, she looks like a fairy, lively and beautiful."

As Miaoxia spoke, she gently inserted the swing into Su Jingyao's bun, her eyes full of admiration and appreciation.

"You are so sweet-talking. Let's go to Qiluan Palace."

Although Su Jingyao was on the royal throne as a concubine, she was still a concubine. She could only attend banquets in the palace with the Crown Princess, and there was no reason for her to go alone.

When Su Jingyao arrived at Qiluan Palace, Ling Yue had already dressed up.

She was wearing a golden palace dress today. It was luxurious and elegant, embroidered with exquisite patterns and the gold and silver threads were very dazzling.

The jewellery on her head is dazzling and eye-catching, showing her noble appearance.

"I pay my respects to my sister."

Su Jingyao leaned forward slightly and saluted Ling Yue.

"Please get up, Concubine Su." Ling Yue's voice was faint, without a trace of emotion.

Su Jingyao hadn't come to see Ling Yue in the past few days, and this was the first time she saw her after the Flower Festival.

Now it seemed that Ling Yue had regarded her as an enemy, and even the way he addressed her had become unfamiliar.

But it doesn't matter. She really can't bring herself to do anything to people who are too kind, Su Jingyao sneered in her heart.

"Sister, I was at fault for what happened last time. His Highness should have explained it to you. I hope you don't mind."

Su Jingyao frowned slightly, a trace of guilt appeared on her face, she opened her red lips and spoke slowly.

"Concubine Su, it is your duty to serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and bear children for him. I am the Crown Princess, and any children you give birth to in the future will have to call me their legal mother. I don't mind."

Ling Yue raised her chin with a hint of pride in her eyes. She straightened her body as if showing her noble status to Su Jingyao.

"Yes, from now on my child will be my sister's child. I hope my sister will cherish him."

Su Jingyao smiled slightly, her smile was genuine and brilliant, without a single mixed thought, and her eyes fell softly on Ling Yue, full of kindness and obedience.

However, Su Jingyao secretly laughed in her heart, Ling Yue has grown up and started to speak in a roundabout way.

But isn't this what she wants to see?

As the first woman that Jun Zechen fell in love with, Ling Yue's position in Jun Zechen's heart is difficult to completely erase.

If you want to get rid of Bai Yueguang, you can only turn her into mosquito blood.

Doesn't Ling Yue know that she is becoming more and more like the person Jun Zechen dislikes?

Jun Zechen hates those vain women in the harem and those women whose hearts are full of calculations, while Ling Yue calculates against her and tries to please Jun Zechen.

It's so obvious!

What Su Jingyao found even more interesting was that Ling Yue seemed to have completely lost herself. She could hardly see the unrestrained and wild Ling Yue anymore.

Her behavior is gradually eroding Jun Zechen's love for her. When she becomes almost the same as the women in the palace, Jun Zechen may get tired of seeing her.

Tsk.

Isn't this the ending of their novel?

Ling Yue's heart was full of doubts and confusion. She really couldn't understand this woman Su Jingyao.

Why does this woman always appear so perfect, so perfect that it seems unreal, without a single flaw?

If an ordinary woman had been mocked like this, she would have been so angry that she would have gnashed her teeth.

But Su Jingyao was different. She could even tell her with a smile that her child in the future would be Lingyue's. This made Lingyue feel that she was even more unfathomable.

Ling Yue's complicated gaze fell on Su Jingyao. She looked at Su Jingyao carefully, trying to find a hint of flaw in her expression.

But Su Jingyao was wearing an elegant dress, her hair falling softly on her shoulders, and she always had a gentle smile on her face, making it difficult to guess her true thoughts.

Afterwards, Ling Yue raised his chin slightly and said indifferently, "The tea banquet hosted by my mother is about to begin. Let's go."

"Yes, sister." Su Jingyao replied softly. Her voice was gentle and melodious, as pleasant as the gurgling of running water.

She nodded slightly, still with that smile on her face, but there seemed to be a subtle deeper meaning in her smile.

She followed behind Ling Yue, her figure graceful and light as a willow swaying in the wind.

garden.

The ladies from various palaces invited by the Queen have basically arrived one after another. They are all dignified and dressed in gorgeous palace costumes, showing off their noble status.

Su Jingyao followed Ling Yue, walked slowly to their seats, and sat down gracefully.

Beside them, the families of other princes had also taken their seats, and the scene seemed quite lively.

Su Jingyao sat quietly in her seat. She raised her head slightly and looked around.

There were quite a lot of people coming. The ladies in the palace were either dignified and elegant, or charming and attractive. The princes' families also had their own charm.

At this moment, a sharp eunuch's voice broke the silence.

"The Queen is here————" The voice was high-pitched and piercing, echoing in the air.

Immediately afterwards, the queens of the various palaces and the princes' families stood up one after another and said in unison: "Your servant\/Your servant pays respect to the Empress."

The Queen walked in slowly surrounded by the crowd. She was wearing a gorgeous red palace dress today. The bright color was as dazzling as a flame, making her look even more graceful and elegant.

The Queen's appearance was extremely exquisite, and she had many similarities with Jun Zechen, especially the charm between her eyebrows, which made people feel her majesty as the mother of the country.

She sat dignifiedly in the first seat, her eyes slowly scanning the crowd, her tone neither fast nor slow.

"Today, the palace is holding this tea-tasting banquet because recently foreign countries, some small countries, and the southern city of the monarchy have offered a lot of good tea as tribute. Your Majesty is grateful to the sisters in the palace and specially gave these tribute teas to you sisters to taste."

"In addition, I have also invited the wives of the princes to have tea together."

After the queen finished speaking, she gracefully picked up the teacup and raised it slightly to show respect.

The ladies of the palace and the princes' wives also picked up their tea cups and stood up to say thank you, "Thank you, Queen."

"But there is another important matter today. For this year's selection, I have discussed with His Majesty that everything should be kept simple, so we only selected some women from the list of noble ladies in the capital, and selected a few outstanding women from various cities in the monarchy, a total of thirty people."

The Queen's voice echoed clearly in the meeting hall.

"These thirty women will be selected by the younger sisters for the princes."

Upon hearing the news, Ling Yue's face turned pale instantly and his body even trembled slightly.

Today is the day for the princes to select concubines!

Does Her Majesty want to send more people to the Eastern Palace?

Didn’t Su Jingyao just join?

Does the prince know about this?

For a moment, countless questions swirled in Ling Yue's mind. She felt her mind was in a mess and she couldn't sort out the thoughts at all.

When Su Jingyao heard the news, she was also shocked. She really didn't expect such a thing to happen.

She frowned slightly and wondered to herself, was this talent show mentioned in the novel? How come she had no recollection of it at all?

Could it be that because she was favored by the prince, a butterfly effect occurred?

But it doesn't matter.

Su Jingyao doesn't care whether a man is clean or not.

If she lived in a world where women were dominant, she would probably be much more fickle-minded than Jun Zechen, and would do whatever she wanted. She would take whoever she liked without any scruples.

Anyway, no matter whether he chooses now or not, Jun Zechen will still have to choose the best after he ascends the throne.

At this moment, Su Jingyao sat calmly in her seat, her posture elegant and dignified, and she always kept a perfect smile on her face, as if nothing could break her composure.

However, the only thing Su Jingyao remembered was that the reason why Jun Zechen in the book began to favor the concubines indiscriminately was because of a conversation with Emperor Jing Sheng, but the content of the conversation was not introduced in the novel.

I don't know what Emperor Jingsheng and Jun Zechen said...

After the Queen made the announcement, she glanced in the direction of the Crown Princess. Seeing Ling Yue's distraught look, the Queen became really annoyed. How could a person with such a temper be the mother of the country in the future?

Su Jingyao's dignified and calm appearance is her ideal ladylike demeanor.

Concubine Shu gave birth to the third prince and the ninth prince. The third prince was named Prince Duan and is already twenty-six years old this year.

The Crown Prince is the seventh among the princes, and the Ninth Prince is only seventeen this year and has not yet been given a title.

After the empress finished speaking, Concubine Shu elegantly picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and then said with a smile: "The second grandson of Prince Duan's mansion has been born this year. Looking at these budding women, I will reluctantly choose one or two."

"Your Majesty, why don't you choose more for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

It was obvious that Concubine Shu's words were meant to provoke the Empress. She had been fighting with the Empress for so many years, but she never expected that it was because her own son was not ambitious enough. Concubine Shu also resented the Prince's intelligence and ruthlessness.

Yet one has to admit that the prince is born to be an emperor.

When the Queen heard Concubine Shu's sarcasm, her eyes darkened instantly. Concubine Shu had nothing else to say except talking about the Emperor's grandson.

She couldn't help but turn her gaze to the Crown Princess again, with a hint of sternness in her eyes.

If it weren't for Ling Yue, the useless Crown Princess, how could she, the queen, be ridiculed by Concubine Shu?

Ling Yue was still immersed in the attack that was about to break into the East Palace, and didn't notice the Queen's gaze at all.

"Shufei, I will naturally choose the Crown Prince's concubines. I will not decide whether the Prince Duan's Mansion will choose one. However, it is indeed time for the Ninth Prince to choose a few imperial concubines."

"Yes, the Queen is kind and virtuous. I will carefully select a concubine for my Ninth Prince."

Concubine Shu nodded slightly, still with a false smile on her face.

Su Jingyao sat quietly in her seat, looking dignified and elegant, but actually feeling bored inside.

She tried hard to maintain her composure, but her body was a little stiff, and every part of her body showed fatigue.

I have been sitting here for nearly two hours today, and all I have experienced during this time are the cumbersome procedures of the concubines.

Although the process has been simplified a lot, she still felt exhausted just sitting there.

Her eyes were a little wandering, while the Empress and the ladies in the palaces were either selecting beauties for their princes or giving all kinds of suggestions.

Their voices rose and fell, chattering, all of which were polite on the surface but meaningless in reality.

It was obvious that these ladies had already decided which concubines would be chosen, but they had to wait and be polite again. At first, Su Jingyao was quite interested in the talent shows of the concubines, but later she couldn't watch it anymore because of fatigue.

All she wanted now was for this to be over.

Ling Yue, who was standing next to her, was paying close attention to which concubine the empress took a fancy to. After all, the concubine the empress took a fancy to would have to enter the East Palace.

Just like that, after a lot of trouble, the queen finally selected five of the thirty beauties for the prince.

Yu study.

"Father, was it you who requested the tea feast hosted by our mother today?"

Jun Zechen frowned slightly, with a hint of doubt between his brows. He raised his head slightly, looked at Emperor Jing Sheng who was sitting on the dragon throne, and asked.

Emperor Jingsheng sat steadily on the dragon throne, wearing a gorgeous dragon robe. The embroidery on the dragon robe was exquisite and complex, demonstrating his supreme majesty.

However, his figure was a little thin, as if revealing a bit of fatigue and desolation.

"yes."

Emperor Jingsheng's gaze fell on Jun Zechen calmly, without the slightest emotion.

"Father, did you know that Mother would choose a concubine for your son at the tea-tasting banquet?"

"Prince, since you have favored Concubine Su, I thought you have come to your senses and are no longer limited to those petty love affairs."

Emperor Jingsheng looked at Jun Zechen quietly with indifferent eyes.

"Before, you were still young and energetic, and I never told you the rules of becoming an emperor in the Kingdom."

Jun Zechen was slightly startled, and deep doubts were revealed in his deep eyes.

"I hope Father can help me solve this problem."

"Your Highness has been very good at reading history since he was young. You should know that there were ten dynasties recorded before the monarchy, but each dynasty never lasted more than five generations. Do you know why?"

Emperor Jingsheng's voice was calm and steady, and his eyes met Jun Zechen's.

"Their last emperor was incompetent, so it was normal for the dynasty to be overthrown." Jun Zechen answered without hesitation.

"The monarchy has been passed down to me for ten generations, making it the longest-lived dynasty in history. Why do you think that is?"

"Every emperor of the monarchy has made remarkable achievements and outstanding abilities. The national strength of the monarchy has become stronger under the hands of each emperor, and it will naturally continue to be passed on."

"Then do you know why there has never been a foolish and incompetent emperor in your country?"

Jun Zechen was silent for a moment, his brows furrowed.

Emperor Jingsheng continued, "The first emperor of our country once established a rule that every emperor of our country must give birth to at least seven sons, and all seven sons must have different mothers."

Emperor Jing Sheng paused for a moment when he spoke here, and his gaze fell on Jun Zechen again, "Do you understand?"

Jun Zechen was shocked. Is this really the case?

Every emperor of the kingdom was outstanding and made the kingdom increasingly powerful, until today all nations come to congratulate it.

It turned out to be because.

The seven sons competing for the throne is like raising pigs, where the fittest will survive.

The heir raised in such a cruel way is of course excellent and cruel.

Just as he personally dealt with his eldest and second brothers, it turned out that either they would die or he would die.

This is the royal family, the cruel and realistic royal family.

"You are my most outstanding son. Since you entered politics at the age of fifteen, you have not only been able to stand up to your brothers who have already entered politics, but you have even come up with more sophisticated policies than them."

Emperor Jingsheng paused for a moment and continued, "I also know that your intelligence is too dazzling, and it is inevitable that people will envy you. Several of your brothers secretly assassinated you. I did not help you, and I will not favor any of you."

"I believe that the prince is so smart that he must have understood my painstaking efforts."

Having said this, Emperor Jingsheng's eyes became even deeper, and he stared at Jun Zechen.

Jun Zechen certainly understood that his father was the one who sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight, and only the final winner could become the king.

"When you were young, I could tolerate your excessive emotions, but now if you want to ascend the throne, giving birth to an heir is your unshirkable responsibility. I believe that you can ensure that during your term of office, the country will be peaceful and the people will be safe, and the country will be strong."

"But the hope of your family is that your kingdom will continue for thousands of years. It is best for you not to have any emotions. Even if you do, you should not show them easily. The emperor's emotions should not be easily detected, and the emperor's majesty should not be offended."

Emperor Jingsheng's voice gradually became lower and lower, and a trace of fatigue and helplessness appeared on his face.

"There is another reason why I am telling you so much today. Doctor Gu examined my pulse a few days ago and said that my five organs are failing and I only have one year to live at most."

"I shouldn't have said these words to you now. I originally wanted to tell you before you ascended the throne, but after I learned that you favored your concubine, I felt that it was appropriate to say these words now."

As a man, Emperor Jing Sheng could naturally understand his son's attitude towards feelings. As long as he doesn't love one person, he won't love anyone deeply.

Jun Zechen's originally calm eyes suddenly widened, filled with disbelief and shock, his lips trembling slightly, "Father, you..."

Jun Zechen never thought that his father would not have much time left.

"I have not told anyone about my health condition, including your mother. Before you ascend the throne, I will clear all obstacles for you. The experience of seven sons competing for the throne has ended. You are the heir to the throne that I have chosen, and I will not let you make any mistakes."

Emperor Jingsheng's voice was firm and powerful, and his eyes were full of trust and expectation.

Jun Zechen clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turned white from the force, his heart was in turmoil, he didn't know how to describe his feelings at the moment.

It turns out that the love he had always longed for when he was a child was simply a luxury for the royal family.

When he was a child, he wanted his father to love his mother and his father to love him, so he worked very hard and tried his best to do everything.

He thought he was favored by his father, but it turned out that the trial was over and he was the heir chosen by his father, so his father favored him.

If he became emperor, he would not be able to love anyone, including his children.

Thinking of this, Jun Zechen felt a surge of bitterness in his heart. Everything he longed for as a child, he couldn't get, and neither could his child.

Jun Zechen took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He knelt down slowly and saluted. "I will follow your father's instructions. I will take my leave."

His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a hint of complex emotions that were difficult to describe.