Chapter 79 Mental Calculation
The childless concubines and the palace maids who served them closely were all very nervous, but who suffered the most was naturally Empress Dowager Zhang.
Hu Shanxiang passed the news to Renshou Palace, and Empress Dowager Zhang immediately rushed to the Qianqing Palace with her grandson. Zhu Qizhen was about to prepare for the audience on the first day of the new year, but was temporarily dragged here, with sleepiness and confusion on his face.
In the world of children, death is too far away, not to mention that the palace is now under martial law. Please ask the Ministry of Security to lift it. Concubines are not allowed to move around freely except to attend to the sick, in order to prevent the news from leaking.
Especially for Empress Dowager Zhang, her husband's death was expected, but her son was in his prime and suddenly became so seriously ill. She had to wonder if someone was secretly behind this.
But if someone deliberately plotted to murder him, my son has always been cautious and careful, and the people who serve him were promoted by him personally. No one could interfere, not even Empress Dowager Zhang. So who could have harmed him?
Although Empress Dowager Zhang didn't want to associate it with anything, the words that Concubine Guo had said at the time were still lingering in her mind at this moment.
"Zhang Shuangyi, I want you to swear to heaven that if you don't treat my mother's family and my son well after I die, your bloodline will be cut short for generations to come!"
Empress Dowager Zhang believed she had a clear conscience regarding Concubine Guo's three sons. Although Concubine Guo's eldest son died young, her second and youngest sons were safe and sound. Especially the youngest, Prince Wei, Zhu Zhanji, was treated as their own by his brother and sister-in-law, Zhu Zhanji and Hu Shanxiang. At the age of thirteen, he was already performing royal sacrificial duties and was given an annual stipend of 1,000 dan of rice and 4,000 ingots of banknotes. Could it be that she owed Concubine Guo anything? Why did she allow her sons to suffer such unfair treatment?
The Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince both rushed over, and Hu Shanxiang could not stand outside the palace with her daughter. In addition, Zhu Qizhen was still young and needed someone to take care of him. Empress Dowager Zhang was busy taking care of her son and naturally had no time to take care of her grandson.
Seeing Zhu Yuhuan there, Zhu Qizhen immediately moved closer to his sister and asked in a low voice, "Sister, is Daddy very ill?"
To be honest, Zhu Yuhuan was not in a good mood and had no desire to speak at the moment, but he still calmed down.
Zhu Yuhuan glanced at Empress Dowager Zhang, who had her back to the others, and whispered to Zhu Qizhen, "Dad has a severe headache. He just took some medicine, and I think he fell into a deep sleep again."
Seeing Empress Dowager Zhang staring blankly at her son today, which was rare, Zhu Yuhuan could guess what she was thinking.
In recent years, Empress Dowager Zhang has been concentrating on practicing Buddhism in addition to taking care of her grandson. At least her heart is definitely not as calm as when she promised Concubine Guo.
Zhu Qizhen uttered an "oh," showing a rare hint of panic. He asked, "Then...will drinking the medicine make me better? Dad also promised to take me to the Western Garden after the spring. When I grow up a little, we can go patrol the border together..."
When Hu Shanxiang heard him rambling on about what Zhu Zhanji had promised him, she knew her daughter was in a bad mood. She walked up to Zhu Qizhen, touched his head tenderly, and said soothingly, "You will see His Majesty soon. Don't be afraid, Prince, and don't be anxious. When you wake up, His Majesty will definitely have a lot to say to you."
Zhu Qizhen was comforted by Hu Shanxiang's gentle voice, and then he nodded slightly, without speaking loudly as usual.
Zhu Yuhuan took this opportunity to break free from Zhu Qizhen's hand. She walked to the table, tested the temperature of the tea, and then poured a cup to Empress Dowager Zhang, saying, "Grandma, please have some tea. Otherwise, when Daddy wakes up and sees you looking so haggard, he will definitely be even more worried."
Empress Dowager Zhang came back to her senses, then reached out to take the tea and took a sip, then just looked at Zhu Zhanji intently without saying a word.
After learning that Zhu Zhanji had ordered his granddaughter to become a female Taoist priest, Empress Dowager Zhang immediately understood Zhu Zhanji's thoughts. It was simply because of her advanced age that she was worried that the prince was too young and would lose his ancestral legacy after losing the protection of his father and grandmother.
The incident of Princess Shunde being victimized not only proved the stupidity of the Sun family, but also proved another thing, that is, as the imperial concubine, Concubine Sun had no control over her natal family, and the prince's upbringing had to be separated from Concubine Sun.
The two brothers were unable to handle the task, and the others were not brothers from the same mother, so the son could only place his hopes on his granddaughter.
Zhu Yuhuan was just a girl. If Empress Dowager Zhang was not around, Zhu Yuhuan would pose no threat to the vassal kings and would be the perfect tool.
Princess Shunde is not a man, and her descendants have nothing to do with the royal family. Even if she has ambitions, she will only be doing thankless tasks. After all, the world still belongs to the descendants of the Zhu family.
Realizing her son's success, Empress Dowager Zhang felt complicated.
She naturally understood that her son did this for the sake of the royal family, but it was indeed too cruel to her granddaughter. If Zhu Yuhuan had not had a good reputation, Zhu Zhanji's decision would have almost ruined the rest of his life. Even if Zhu Yuhuan could really get married, apart from those who wanted to cling to the powerful, how many people would be able to treat her sincerely?
A woman without a husband and no descendants, even if she is a princess, is destined to have a miserable old age as emperors come and go, and she will not even have anyone to offer incense to after her death.
Even though Empress Dowager Zhang favored her grandson, she did not want to "kill all" her granddaughter.
But Zhu Zhanji's plan was indeed reasonable. Not only did Zhu Yuhuan have to stay with Zhu Qizhen, but Zhu Qiyu also had to stay.
Although Empress Dowager Zhang was reluctant to think so, if the crown prince died before having children after inheriting the throne, at least Zhu Qiyu would have the throne passed to his younger brother, and the throne would not fall into the hands of a younger clan.
Neither the grandfather nor the grandson spoke. Seeing this, Hu Shanxiang asked, "Mother, should we summon the imperial concubine to visit His Majesty?"
Empress Dowager Zhang said calmly, "I'm the Empress Dowager, you're the Empress. Zhen'er and Huanhuan are here too, so why are you calling in extra people? Once the palace gates open, the ministers will be summoned. How can a concubine like Sun be here?"
Hu Shanxiang was not frightened, but simply replied, "My daughter-in-law understands."
Empress Dowager Zhang simply sighed and said, "Having her here at this time is just another example of her making a fuss and causing unrest in the palace. If this delays the Emperor's edict, it will be a huge problem. Empress, are you worried that the Imperial Concubine will cause trouble for you later?"
Hu Shanxiang spoke frankly, "I dare not lie to my mother. I am indeed worried that the imperial concubine will be distracted by love and say something inappropriate, which will bring disgrace to the royal family."
Empress Dowager Zhang was slightly stunned and turned to look at her daughter-in-law, who had always been low-key. She saw that she was still holding the hands of Zhu Yuhuan and Zhu Qizhen, obviously considering the two children.
After a long while, Empress Dowager Zhang finally spoke: "After the Emperor has finished explaining to me, please send the Imperial Concubine to visit the patient."
Hu Shanxiang then bowed and said, "Thank you, your daughter-in-law, for your help."
Empress Dowager Zhang saw Zhu Zhanji's fingertips move, raised her hand to signal Hu Shanxiang to stand up, and said, "You three, mother and daughter, go to the side hall and wait first. I'll be here."
She had originally despised Hu Shanxiang's noncompetitive nature. While Sun Mengqiu's methods were somewhat inferior, she at least had some ambition. But with a concubine like Sun Mengqiu in her son's harem, he needed a queen like Hu Shanxiang to ensure harmonious coexistence. If the queen and concubines were always fussy about trivial matters, what would the imperial palace become? Wouldn't it just turn into a brothel?
Nowadays, Hu Shanxiang still abides by her duties as queen and treats the prince as her own son. Even Empress Dowager Zhang has to admit that her daughter-in-law has a different mind.
Now that the emperor is away, she, the queen, is finally going to become the empress dowager, and she has officially come out of the shadows.
Seeing Hu Shanxiang taking Zhu Qizhen away, Empress Dowager Zhang looked at Zhu Yuhuan and asked, "Huanhuan, why are you still here?"
Zhu Yuhuan knelt down with a plop and said, "Huanhuan has something to give to grandma."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
