newbobooks Chapter 61 The Frustrated Emperor
Chapter 61 The Frustrated Emperor
The third prince was protected in the queen's arms. He looked at his mother proudly and showed off: "It is still the mother who loves me. I like her the most." He was just imitating Xinhe.
Concubine Shu was so amused by her that she was about to step forward and slap him: "Why are you trying to imitate Xinhe? She's cute. Look, you're trying to disgust me to death."
The Third Prince was not convinced: "Why is that little flatterer so cute? How can I, the Third Prince, be disgusting?" The Crown Prince finally couldn't stand it anymore and chuckled: "Compared with Sister Xin'er, you are really unbearable for me! It's a bit disgusting."
The third prince was so shocked that he yelled, "Crown Prince, you bully me too." Concubine Shu finally found an opportunity and slapped her son again when the queen was not paying attention: "Speak properly! Why are you yelling?"
The Queen was so amused by the mother and son that she couldn't stop laughing: "Alright, alright, you two are making me dizzy, please stop it."
The emperor stood by the door, staring blankly at the queen's beautiful smile, as if he hadn't seen the queen smile for a long time. The queen was always dignified and respectful in front of him, and had never smiled so wantonly.
The emperor seemed to see again the little girl who was following her sister under the plum tree with a sweet smile on her face. That smile made people feel warm, and it seemed that the sky seemed especially blue and the flowers seemed especially colorful.
The emperor sighed inwardly. He thought the queen had long forgotten how to laugh, but he never expected that the queen still smiled so beautifully in private.
The emperor glanced at Zhang Dequan, and Zhang Dequan understood and quickly announced to the people inside: "The emperor has arrived." The laughter in the room stopped abruptly. When the emperor stepped into the queen's Qingliang Palace, the four people in the room had put away their smiles and greeted the emperor in a proper manner.
The emperor looked at the hall that was so cheerful just now and suddenly became silent. He waved his hand helplessly to signal everyone to stand up. He was so unpopular. The four people were so happy just now, but now they treated him as an enemy. The emperor was a little upset.
The emperor asked about the studies of his two sons. The crown prince's studies were never something he had to worry about, but the third prince was always lazy and didn't care about anything, so he was only slightly better than the fourth prince. Fortunately, following the crown prince, the crown prince was a good brother and was able to often urge the third prince to make progress.
The emperor looked at his prince with satisfaction. The queen had really brought him up very well. He was studious, respectful and polite, and often received praise from the old officials in the court. If he was trained well, he would definitely be able to shoulder the Xiao family's empire in the future.
When the prince finishes his studies, he can abdicate and enjoy a peaceful life. Thinking of this, the emperor looked at the queen, wondering if the queen would be willing to accompany him at that time.
Seeing the emperor's eyes turned to her, the queen had no choice but to ask, "Your Majesty, do you have anything to tell me?" The emperor rewarded her with jewels and came to Kunning Palace at an unusual time of the year. Wasn't there something going on?
The emperor was choked by the queen's question. Look at what the queen said. They are husband and wife. Can't he come to Kunning Palace? The emperor remembered what Xinhe said and mustered up the courage to look at the queen: "Oh, I came to ask, does the queen like those little toys that I ordered Zhang Dequan to bring to the queen?"
When Concubine Shu heard what the emperor said, she secretly curled her lips. The emperor was really rich and powerful. Any one of those little gadgets was priceless, but in the emperor's mouth they became little gadgets.
But this emperor is so strange, when did he start to care about the queen's preferences? Concubine Shu looked at the emperor in confusion, and the emperor felt a little embarrassed when she looked at him. He glared at Concubine Shu, and Concubine Shu immediately lowered her head and looked at her nose without saying a word, looking like she didn't want to pay attention to the emperor.
The emperor was a little upset by Concubine Shu's attitude. Concubine Shu was always like this. She always looked disgusted when she saw the emperor.
There was nothing I could do about her, because she had a powerful father who led troops outside. Just because her father worked so hard to guard the border for me, I could only treat Concubine Shu better.
The Queen looked at Concubine Shu and the Emperor with amusement. She raised her eyes to the Emperor and said, "Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty. I am unworthy of such a precious reward because I have done nothing."
The emperor quickly explained: "The queen raised the prince for me and managed the affairs of the six palaces, which made me less worried and able to focus on court affairs. This is a great contribution."
Shufei secretly rolled her eyes at the emperor again and said, "Yes, raising your children with other women and taking care of your concubines is really a great contribution."
The Queen also chuckled: "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? Isn't this what I should do?" This sentence made the Emperor at a loss as to how to continue. Seeing that the conversation was going to end, the Emperor became even more upset.
At this time, a little palace maid hurried into the hall and knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, Empress, Concubine Xuan of Chuxiu Palace is pregnant."
Concubine Xuan had recently become favored after the Imperial Concubine was put under house arrest. It was said that she was gentle and beautiful, and was very much loved by the Emperor, otherwise she would not have become pregnant so quickly.
When the queen heard the news, she congratulated the emperor calmly: "Congratulations, Your Majesty!" The emperor only hated that the little maid came at the wrong time. He was talking to the queen to build their relationship. Who asked her to come to announce the good news at this time? What good news? It was just like a quacking crow.
The emperor was furious and shouted at the little palace maid who was still waiting for her reward: "Get out!" The little palace maid was so scared that she crawled away.
Zhang Dequan looked at the frightened little maid and shook his head. There were always some people in the palace who thought they were smart and broke in to announce the good news without informing him, thinking that the emperor would give her a big reward. Little did she know that she came at the wrong time and made the emperor angry. Fortunately, she didn't get a beating.
The Queen saw that the Emperor was angry and tried to persuade him kindly: "Your Majesty, having a child is a happy thing. Why are you so angry? If Concubine Xuan knew that the Emperor was angry, she would think too much. Please stop affecting the Emperor's child."
The emperor looked at the queen with a calm face and felt even angrier. However, he could not get angry at the queen, so he had to lower his head sullenly.
Seeing that the emperor was silent, the queen ordered Zhang Dequan to prepare a reward for Xuan Meiren in Chuxiu Palace, and specifically told Zhang Dequan to say that it was a reward from the emperor, to comfort Xuan Meiren and let her take good care of her pregnancy. Zhang Dequan quickly ordered people to do as the queen instructed.
The emperor watched the queen arrange things in an orderly manner without saying a word, and his heart was filled with worry. It was always like this, whenever someone in the harem got pregnant, the queen would be so courteous and considerate, and make all the arrangements properly, so he didn't have to worry about anything.
But, watching all this, why did he feel so uncomfortable? The emperor raised his head and stared at the queen blankly, thinking of how happy the queen was when she was holding Xinhe and Nan'er, the queen should also like to have a child.
The emperor suddenly thought of a good idea. He looked at the queen and said, "Queen, I see that you like Xinhe very much, but Xinhe can't stay with you every day. Why don't you wait for Concubine Xuan's child to be born and bring him to your side to raise. This way, you will have a child to accompany you every day."
The emperor thought his idea was great, and he looked at the queen expectantly, waiting for her to answer. The emperor did not notice that Zhang Dequan was so anxious that he wanted to cover his face, and the concubine was also looking at the emperor in shock. The concubine wanted to open the emperor's brain to find out what he was thinking about all day.
The queen was stunned when she heard the emperor's words, then she put away her smile and said, "I cannot do anything to separate mother and child. It is better for Lady Xuan to keep her child with her. If the emperor thinks Lady Xuan's position is too low, you can use the fact that she is pregnant to raise her position."
The queen looked at the prince beside her again and said: "I don't want to have other concubines' children raised by my side, so as to prevent someone from being greedy and having improper thoughts."
After that, the queen sighed and leaned over to the emperor: "I am tired, please forgive me for leaving." After that, the queen walked into the back hall. The emperor was left staring at the queen's back blankly, wanting to say something but stopping himself. He could only stand up in frustration and walked out of Qingliang Palace in depression.
Zhang Dequan followed the emperor out and sighed secretly at the emperor's distraught look. The emperor was wise and decisive in handling state affairs, but why did he always talk nonsense when it came to the empress? Not only could he not get close to the empress, but he made the empress unhappy.
"Zhang Dequan, did I say something wrong again?" The emperor's frustrated voice rang in his ears. Zhang Dequan was stunned and had to step forward and whisper to the emperor: "I know that the emperor meant well and was thinking about the queen, but I still think that Miss Xinhe's words are always reasonable."
The emperor stopped and looked at Zhang Dequan in confusion. Wasn't it because he thought that the queen liked children that he wanted to give her a child to make her happy?
Zhang Dequan smiled and replied, "I remember Miss Xinhe said that we can't always think that we are doing good for others by giving them things we think they like. Your Majesty, please think about it again. What does the Queen want? Maybe it's not a child?"
The emperor was even more puzzled. "I saw that the queen was so happy every time Xin He came to the palace. She would hold Xin He tightly and wouldn't let go. I thought that the queen might like children. If Concubine Xuan's child is raised by her, wouldn't the queen be able to enjoy the happiness of having a child in her arms?"
Zhang Dequan secretly groaned, thinking how could a wife in this world be happy raising a child from her husband's concubine? Your Majesty is really too generous!
Seeing that the emperor was still waiting for his answer, Zhang Dequan could only continue to reply: "Your Majesty, you only saw that the queen was happy to see Miss Xinhe, but Miss Xinhe is not the only one who brought a child like her to the queen. There are also princesses and children of royal relatives. Have you seen the queen like anyone? It's only Miss Xinhe, right?"
The emperor thought about it carefully and realized that it was true. Those princesses, counties and matrons had tried their best to please the queen, but only the fat girl Xinhe was favored by the queen.
The emperor thought of that fat girl Xinhe and smiled: "Are you saying that the queen only likes that fat girl Xinhe?" Zhang Dequan shook his head: "I think that the queen likes Miss Xinhe's sincerity and sincerity. In the past, those princesses and county ladies came to the queen and tried their best to please her, but they lacked sincerity. To put it bluntly, they came with a purpose, wanting to get benefits from the queen."
The emperor nodded, indicating his agreement with Zhang Dequan's statement. Zhang Dequan quickly apologized: "It is actually presumptuous of me to comment on the princesses and county ladies like this. However, I have seen that Miss Xinhe treats the queen differently from those young ladies."
The emperor was curious: "Why is it different?" Zhang Dequan thought of the quirky fat girl and couldn't help but smile: "Miss Xinhe likes our queen from the bottom of her heart. Your Majesty doesn't know that last winter, the queen caught a cold and had a severe headache. Although she took the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician, the headache could not be stopped and she couldn't sleep well all night."
Zhang Dequan thought of what Ziyuan had told him, and the smile on his face deepened: "The princesses greeted and asked a few questions and then left. Only Miss Xinhe sat next to the Queen and insisted on giving her head a massage, saying that she learned the massage technique from her mother and it can relieve headaches."
The emperor did remember Zhang Dequan's story. He had also sent doctors to treat the queen, but he was busy with court affairs at the time and didn't know the queen had such a severe headache. He felt guilty.
He looked at Zhang Dequan and listened to what Zhang Dequan said: "The Queen was reluctant to let Miss Xinhe suffer, but she couldn't persuade Miss Xinhe, so she could only let Miss Xinhe give her a massage."
Zhang Dequan sighed, "The child really massaged the queen seriously, and the queen fell asleep peacefully after the pain subsided. The child stayed by the queen's side and massaged until she woke up. The queen was so distressed that she almost cried while hugging Miss Xinhe."
Zhang Dequan sighed and said, "Those who are jealous of Miss Xinhe always say that Miss Xinhe flatters the Queen and gets a lot of benefits from her, but they don't see the girl's sincerity."
"Whenever the child enters the palace, he brings some small things from outside the palace to the Queen. They are all insignificant things, but they are all treasures that Miss Xinhe cherishes very much. She always shares them with the Queen without reservation."
Zhang Dequan looked at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, didn't you notice that the treasure pavilion in your majesty's palace is filled with small toys given to you by Miss Xinhe, such as small clay figurines, grasshoppers made of straw, and inconspicuous bottles and jars outside the palace. Miss Xinhe thought they were treasures and brought them all into the palace for the queen. I heard from Ziyuan that your majesty likes them very much."
The more the emperor listened, the more frustrated he became: "No wonder the queen didn't even look at the treasures I gave her." Zhang Dequan thought of the glittering treasures the emperor had given him and quickly shut up. Wasn't this clearly saying that the treasures the emperor had given her were not as good as the worthless trinkets the child had given her?
The emperor looked at Zhang Dequan: "Are you done?" Zhang Dequan hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but add one more sentence: "Your Majesty, our queen has seen all kinds of treasures. The reason why the queen likes Miss Xinhe and those inconspicuous little things Miss Xinhe gave her is because the queen values Miss Xinhe's sincerity towards her!"
The emperor seemed to be thinking about something: "A sincere heart?" Zhang Dequan nodded at the emperor. As a servant, he had said enough today. The rest depended on the emperor to figure out for himself.