klisemfg Chapter 369 The Courage of the Princes
Chapter 369 The Courage of the Princes
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire Yanjia Palace fell silent.
Jia Yuanchun's body, lying on the ground, was trembling slightly. She did not raise her head, nor did she make a sound. She just trembled, gently knocked her head, touched the ground with her forehead, and did not move again.
She kept silent and did not refute, using silence to control movement.
In this state, it would be difficult for the Emperor and the Queen Mother to get angry with her.
The two saints looked at each other.
The Queen Mother sighed softly, shook her head, turned away, slowly stretched out her hand, and stood up: "This coat is very tight, you guys, come and help me change clothes."
Concubine Yang Lifei and Concubine Kou, who were closest to the Empress Dowager, stood up quickly and took a step forward to take the hand extended by the Empress Dowager.
Another concubine, Dou, also understood what was going on. She stood up respectfully and followed the empress dowager and others to the bedroom in the back.
The only people left in the main hall were the retired emperor, Jia Yuanchun who was kneeling on the ground, and the five princes.
"Xiao Qi, how long have you lived in Fengzao Palace?" The Supreme Lord asked the Seventh Prince kindly.
The Seventh Prince looked up at him and said, "To answer Grandpa Huang's question, four months and seventeen days."
"Oh? How come you remember it so clearly?" The Supreme laughed and reached out to hug the Seventh Prince again.
The Seventh Prince was given greater courage by this intimate embrace, and he said loudly: "Because my grandson has been living a miserable life in Fengzao Palace!
"Everyone in Concubine Jia's palace treats my grandson as an outsider! They spy on me secretly and even collude to exclude my wet nurse!
"They told Concubine Jia everything I said and did! They even told Concubine Jia when I made a few mistakes when reciting a passage in front of the tutor!
"The people of the Jia family still think that my grandson is a rare commodity! When Concubine Jia's grandmother entered the palace, my grandson had not yet been written under Concubine Jia's name in the imperial genealogy, and she dared to let me call her great-grandmother!"
The Seventh Prince stared at Jia Yuanchun lying on the ground with hatred on his face.
The Emperor slowly loosened his arms and paused for a moment before softly asking:
"Then who told you that your father didn't want to record you under the name of Concubine Jia?"
The Seventh Prince glared at the top of Jia Yuanchun's head angrily and snorted, "My wet nurse told me that Sister Zhu Ying, who is beside the Empress, told her so!
"Also, when I was staying at the Crown Prince's place, I heard two of my aunts talking about this!"
The Supreme nodded slowly, then took him out of his arms, pointed to the empty cushion opposite him, next to the princes, and asked him to sit there.
The Seventh Prince sat down with a hint of trepidation on his face.
The Grand Master then smiled lovingly at the princes and asked in a gentle voice, "Who can tell Grandpa Huang, who did the right thing and who did the wrong thing in what Xiao Qi said?"
Everyone looked at each other hesitantly, not knowing how to answer.
The Seventh Prince also looked at the Emperor with a puzzled look on his face: "Grandpa Emperor, is there anyone else who did something wrong besides Concubine Jia?"
The Supreme smiled and asked, "Xiao Qi, do you think Concubine Jia did something wrong? Then what did she do wrong?"
The Seventh Prince pursed his lips and thought for a long time, then snorted, "She allowed people in her palace to spy on me, and she also allowed her family to randomly claim royal relatives! She is greedy!"
"Oh, greed." The Supreme Emperor smiled and looked at the other princes. His eyes wandered around and landed on the Second Prince. "Little Prince, what do you think?"
The second prince hesitated for a long time before saying, "The word 'greed' is a heart-breaking statement.
"Since Father has allowed my seventh brother to live in Fengzao Palace, it means that he wants the Imperial Concubine to take care of him.
"What Seventh Brother calls surveillance is actually the responsibility of all palace servants.
"Every move and word I make in the palace, as well as the eunuchs and palace maids who follow me, must be reported to my mother.
"Otherwise, mothers know nothing about our affairs, so how can they teach and advise us? This is their instinct and duty as mothers.
"Seventh brother, it was actually the same when your biological mother, Concubine Wu, was alive. It was just that you were young at that time and didn't notice it."
The Supreme Master twirled his beard and smiled as he nodded, "Well, that's well said." He paused and asked, "What about the Jia family's behavior? What do you think, waiter?"
The second prince scratched his head in embarrassment and said hesitantly, "I'm not sure about this grandson.
"In theory, my seventh brother has his own maternal family, and everything is fine. If the Jia family avoids suspicion and only considers seniority, not closeness, that's fine too.
“But my seventh brother was raised in the palace of Imperial Concubine Jia, and the Jia family is willing to show some affection on behalf of Imperial Concubine Jia and show goodwill to my seventh brother, which is understandable.
"After all, my seventh brother is still young. Wouldn't it be better if he could be loved by two outside families?"
As he spoke, he glanced at the Seventh Prince in confusion, then looked at the Retired Emperor, and lowered his voice:
"So, my grandson thinks that the person who led my seventh brother to think of something that could have been a good thing, but made my seventh brother so hateful, should be questioned about her intentions..."
The Supreme laughed, leaned forward, and patted the Second Prince on the shoulder: "Not bad! Although your mother is not of high rank, she is a very upright and straightforward woman! She has taught you very well!"
The second prince's eyes sparkled and he smiled with his white teeth: "Thank you, Grandfather Emperor, for the compliment!"
When they saw the second prince being praised, how could the rest of them sit still?
Before the Third Prince could speak, the Fourth Prince rushed to speak: "Grandfather, I think that Zhu Ying beside the Queen and the two maids in the Crown Prince's palace are all doing the wrong thing!
"Whether Father lets my seventh brother live in Fengzao Palace or lets my seventh brother live in the Crown Prince's palace, Father has his own intentions.
"They shouldn't speculate on the emperor's thoughts, and they shouldn't speak nonsense!
"Seventh brother and Concubine Jia are not biological mother and son. It's already very difficult to cultivate a relationship. Let them spread gossip back and forth like this, isn't it even more difficult?"
Tai Shang twisted his beard and nodded repeatedly: "Yes! Yes! Xiao Si is right! Very right!"
The Third Prince waited for them to finish speaking, looked at the Seventh Prince's pale face, and added the last sentence slowly:
"In my grandson's opinion, the one who made the biggest mistake was my seventh brother's wet nurse.
"Now that Concubine Wu is gone, and my seventh brother doesn't trust anyone else, this wet nurse is the person he cares about the most.
"If she hadn't said these nonsense to my seventh brother, how would a six or seven-year-old boy like him know these trivial things about closeness and distance?
"In the final analysis, it was this wet nurse that Concubine Wu left for my seventh brother who had bad intentions. She was trying to alienate my seventh brother from Concubine Jia!"
The Grand Master's eyes gleamed, and he stared at the Third Prince closely: "Xiao San, what you said hits the nail on the head!"
Unexpectedly, the Third Prince was not excited at all. He just smiled, touched his nose, and snorted, "What kind of person is a wet nurse?
"If there is a fundamental fault, it is my father's fault.
"Noble Concubine Wu is gone. Xiao Qi is so young. He is the closest person to him, but Father did not carefully check their character and let them lead Xiao Qi astray. How can he be such a father?"