klisemfg Chapter 322 Mother-Son Disharmony
Chapter 322 Mother-Son Disharmony
The Empress seemed to finally react after hearing this, and she quietly reminded him, "Mother, Consort Zhao Shu is respectful to her superiors and friendly to her subordinates. She is a well-known kind person in the palace. The Emperor originally thought she was both virtuous and virtuous and wanted to make her the De Consort. It was because she repeatedly refused that the Emperor gave her the title of Shu Consort, and later granted her the special title of Zhao to show her bright and brilliant character."
The Queen's words were a reminder to the Queen Mother.
Xie Run's virtue and title were both stamped by the emperor himself. The empress dowager said that she looked like Concubine Chen. Doesn't that mean that the emperor is blind and can't judge people?
At the same time, he was also using the emperor to warn the empress dowager, so that she would be more cautious in what she said.
Besides, the emperor is still alive.
The Empress Dowager openly dislikes Concubine Chen. Isn't that also criticizing the Emperor?
The emperor was a junior, so it was fine for the empress dowager to dislike the people in his harem, but how dare she dislike the emperor emeritus?!
But the Queen Mother would not listen to these words, and only said: "No wonder Concubine Jing just said that you are partial to Concubine Zhao Shu. I think she is not wrong at all."
When the Empress Dowager and the Queen get along, their main approach is "you say and I listen, I'm just responsible for being unreasonable."
No matter how skillful the queen is, she will vomit blood in her throat when she meets the empress dowager.
The Queen Mother said: "If she is truly virtuous, why doesn't she bring the Fifth Prince to me for a look?"
"That's all!" The Queen Mother suddenly raised her voice: "Madame Liu!"
Madam Liu stepped forward with her head lowered: "I am here."
The Queen Mother said: "Take your men to the Showa Palace now and bring the Fifth Prince to me. I just want to see the Emperor's grandson. Who dares to stop me?!"
Nanny Liu felt bitter and could not help but advise, "Empress Dowager, it's already the beginning of the hottest days of summer. It's very hot outside. The Fifth Prince is young. I'm afraid he'll easily get a heat stroke coming all the way from Zhaohe Palace to Cining Palace."
Xie Run didn't expect the Queen Mother to be so arrogant. Without saying a word, she sent someone to her palace to take the child away.
Now they say they will take the child away, but once the child arrives, I’m afraid no one will be able to take him away.
She couldn't help but clench her hands, but when she thought of the arrangements before coming, she quietly loosened her hands.
Nanny Liu didn't want to do something thankless, but after just a few words of advice, the Empress Dowager pointed at her nose and scolded her, "Whose palace servant are you?!"
"You're still resisting the orders I've given you. Could it be that you've been bribed by some bitch?"
"Why don't you go quickly? If you can't bring the Fifth Prince home, you'll have to serve in the Imperial Palace!"
The empress dowager was a person who cared a lot about face. She was rejected by a servant in front of all the palace ladies. She was so angry that she wanted to kill Liu Ma on the spot.
Unfortunately, the emperor's harem is not the harem of the retired emperor, and there are many restrictions.
If she beat or killed a servant, the emperor would probably have something to say, so he was thinking of finding an excuse to send her to accompany the retired emperor.
She also hated that the loyal Madam Wu was not feeling well today and could not come to serve her, otherwise she would not have instructed this useless Madam Liu.
When Ma Liu heard that the Empress Dowager asked her to go to the Palace, she wished she could go right away so that she wouldn't have to suffer between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
The emperor obviously didn't want the empress dowager to interfere in the affairs of the six palaces, but the empress dowager refused to give up and made all kinds of trouble. Now she was instigated by Madam Wu to have ideas about the fifth prince.
Not to mention that the fifth prince is the emperor's only two healthy sons, and his biological mother, Concubine Zhao Shu, is deeply loved by the emperor. How could she be offended easily?
Last night, Nanny Wu was suddenly dragged away. Nanny Liu realized that something was wrong and was afraid that the emperor had found out and was taking action.
Afterwards, she and the palace maids around the Empress Dowager made up a lie, saying that Nanny Wu had an emergency and was lying on the sickbed resting and could not come to serve her.
Until this point, the Queen Mother had no idea that something had happened to Nanny Wu.
Now the Queen Mother has made another foolish move. She is actually planning to forcibly snatch the fifth prince away and raise him by her side.
Nanny Liu was very conflicted, but she had no choice but to go reluctantly.
On the way to Showa Palace, she was trembling with fear and anxiety.
She showed the empress dowager's name card and said that she wanted to take the fifth prince to the Cining Palace for a visit. She was welcomed in by people from the Showa Palace.
But when he entered Showa Palace and saw the emperor holding the fifth prince, he was so scared that he fell to his knees and confessed everything.
Inside the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager was still expressing her dissatisfaction.
This dissatisfaction was not only directed at Xie Run, but more at the queen.
Xie Run had no power, and the Empress Dowager at most disliked her.
But as for the Queen, I really don't like anything about her.
The queen couldn't sit for long before she said she was not feeling well and wanted to leave.
The Queen Mother said sarcastically, "Why don't you go directly to the court to see the Emperor? Tell him that I have troubled you again and made you pay your respects a little too long, and that you are feeling unwell again?"
The Queen: "How dare I? Even if I am feeling unwell, I must endure it in front of my mother, so as not to displease her again."
The Queen Mother was very confident and didn't understand the subtle difference between the Queen's words. "If I'm unhappy, it won't be just one or two days. Anyway, you have the Emperor's support, so you can be more presumptuous."
The queen was so angry that her blood was boiling in her chest.
The Queen Mother was full of fighting spirit. Seeing that the Queen didn't say anything, she turned her gaze to Xie Run.
Seeing that Xie Run wasn't dressed particularly ostentatiously, she said, "After all, Concubine Zhao Shu is the emperor's favorite concubine. If you dress so plainly, others might think you don't take me seriously and are deliberately dressing casually. Or perhaps they might think the emperor is mistreating the women in the harem and isn't willing to give them even a decent piece of jewelry."
Xie Run lowered his head, his eyes slightly drooping, looking very docile and well-behaved, "The Empress Dowager is right."
The Queen Mother was waiting for her to respond and curse a few more times, but was stopped by Xie Run's words.
For a moment, all the words in my heart were stuck in my stomach, unable to come out, and unable to swallow.
The Queen Mother was not convinced and continued to nitpick: "I heard that Concubine Zhao Shu has a sister who is a female doctor?"
Xie Run paused and said softly, "The Queen Mother is right."
It doesn’t matter to the empress dowager whether he is a miracle doctor or a female doctor. She is just looking for trouble on purpose.
Xie Run simply gave up to deal with her.
The Queen Mother continued, "Concubine Zhao Shu, you are the Emperor's favorite after all. How can it be wrong for your own sister to be a lowly female doctor? If people knew about this, it would be a disgrace to the Emperor."
Xie Run remained quiet and docile, "I dare not follow the example of Concubine Chen and exploit the Emperor's favor to benefit my family."
This sentence, which was neither soft nor hard, actually made the Queen Mother feel a little depressed.
The Queen Mother had just been disliking Xie Run for being as arrogant and domineering as Concubine Chen, but now, after hearing Xie Run's "frightened" words, she felt that she was being sarcastic to her.
During the years when the Empress Dowager was a noble concubine, she used her favor and offspring to benefit her own mother's family.
She didn't even dare to tell Concubine Chen about this.
If it weren't for Prince Su's rebellion, which led to the extermination of the Empress Dowager's mother's family, the Emperor's harem would probably be filled with the female relatives of the Empress Dowager and her son.
Xian Zhaoyuan would definitely not be in the Empress Dowager's eyes.
The Queen Mother felt guilty and slammed the table, angrily scolding: "Zhao Shufei, you are so outrageous!"
Xie Run seemed a little slow to react, and slowly squatted and saluted: "I am at a loss, and I beg the Empress Dowager for guidance."
The Queen Mother righteously accused Xie Run, "Were you just mocking me for seeking power for someone in my family?!"
At this moment, Xie Run suddenly understood what kind of life the Queen had been living all these years.
Just as Xie Run was about to respond, he heard a calm male voice from within the Cining Palace: "Your Majesty, you should know that the harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs. Now you are encouraging my concubines to seek benefits for my family. Is it true that Your Majesty, Your Majesty, cannot bear to see me live an easy life?!"
The emperor's questioning was so penetrating that every word reached the empress dowager's ears.
The empress dowager was still a little afraid when facing the emperor.
She stood up and asked, "Emperor, why are you here?"
The concubines in the Cining Palace stood up and saluted the emperor.
The emperor didn't even look at them, but walked forward and helped the queen up with one hand and Xie Run up with the other.
But his expression was not very good, so no one dared to speak.
Emperor: "I originally wanted to have dinner in Zhaohe Palace, but I saw that Concubine Zhao Shu did not return for a long time. I think she was kept in the palace by my mother."
The Queen Mother complained subconsciously: "Emperor, you came at the perfect time."
"I also want to say something about you! This Concubine Zhao Shu bullies lower-ranking concubines and has no respect for me. You shouldn't have spoiled her so much that she became lawless!"
The emperor said coldly, "I heard that when my mother was in favor, she slapped three concubines in the imperial garden and made them kneel for three hours."
"I also want to ask you, Queen Mother, if this is considered lawless."
The Queen Mother didn't expect the Emperor to bring up the past and embarrass her. She was immediately furious, "Is the Emperor questioning me?!"
"How dare I? I'm just confused." The emperor smiled. "If my mother thinks so, I won't dare to refute her. It will also make Concubine Zhao Shu reflect on her mistakes. If not, I will ask my father what he thinks."
Even though the empress dowager was in great favor at the time, she was still reprimanded by the emperor for her excessive punishment.
The Queen Mother couldn't win the argument, so she clutched her chest and slumped down in her chair, pretending to be distressed: "Emperor, you've become successful now, but you're settling old scores for a concubine?!"
"I feel so miserable..."
The emperor lowered his eyes and said coldly, "It's not that my son wants to settle accounts, but does your mother really care about me, your son?"
"After all, Queen Mother has raised two sons. Don't you know that one-year-olds are the most delicate?"
"How old is the Fifth Prince? Your Majesty, your mother, insisted that someone carry him to the Cining Palace in the hottest weather, just for the sake of your so-called filial piety?"
"Queen Mother, do you feel bad for your grandson and want to see him, or do you want to use the Fifth Prince to control me? Why don't you speak frankly today?"
The emperor and the empress dowager were quarreling in public, and the concubines in the harem, such as Xie Run, lowered their heads, wishing they could disappear from their sight.
The empress dowager did not expect that the emperor would expose her little thoughts in public. She was angry and annoyed for a moment, not knowing what to say, and even forgot to pretend that her chest hurt.
The emperor asked angrily one second, and his expression changed the next, looking sad. "I feel sorry for my mother's frailty and her inability to endure fatigue, so I specifically asked the six concubines not to bring the children to trouble her. I didn't expect that my mother would think that I and the princes and princesses were unfilial."
Before the Queen Mother could react, she had already stepped forward to comfort him: "That's not what I meant. I don't blame you for being unfilial."
The sadness on the emperor's face disappeared instantly, "It turns out that the queen mother also loves her son."
"It's natural."
The emperor continued, "Your Majesty loves your son just as much as he loves the Fifth Prince. I believe your Majesty will understand your son's reluctance to let him suffer. Please don't blame him."
The Queen Mother hesitated for a long time before she said, "I will naturally not blame you."
The emperor was furious the previous second and seemed to be about to quarrel with the empress dowager, but he suppressed the empress dowager's arrogance.
The next second, he acted like a filial son and questioned the queen mother aggrievedly, and his continuous attacks left her no chance to react.
This was also the first time that Xie Run saw how the emperor and the empress dowager got along with each other, and it felt like one thing overcame the other.
The other concubines in the six palaces were not surprised, only the queen was indifferent from beginning to end.
Apparently, it's nothing new.
Seeing that the emperor had softened his temper, the empress dowager thought she could get more power and remembered the advice that Nanny Wu had given her.
"I've been ill for some time now, and I've always felt the emptiness of my family. I also feel that this Cining Palace is too empty and lonely, so I've thought about adopting a child so that I can enjoy the happiness of family life."
The emperor was not as angry as before, but asked gently: "Does the Queen Mother want to raise Xiao Wu?"
The Queen Mother hesitated for a second, then nodded. "I saw Xiaowu when I paid my last respects to him. He was chubby and very cute."
The emperor pretended to be worried: "But the Queen Mother has been ill for several days and is now old. She might be too tired to raise a child."
The empress dowager has always refused to admit her old age. When she heard the emperor say that she was getting old, her face twitched.
Xie Run and the Queen were standing close and could clearly see a slight twitch on the Queen Mother's face, and her expression changed from anger to forbearance.
The Queen Mother's voice seemed to tremble slightly: "I am much better now, raising a child should not be a problem."
"Didn't I raise you, your brother and your sister all by myself?"
The emperor suddenly changed the subject and stopped talking about raising the fifth prince. Instead, he said, "Now that my mother is well, I believe she has heard something."
The Queen Mother asked, "What's the matter?"
"Father has been feeling a little unwell. Since Mother is well, could you please go and look after him?" The Emperor said calmly, "I know Mother is always thinking of Father. Father is lonely and needs someone to take care of him. How about I have someone pack up immediately and send Mother to accompany him?"
"No!" The Queen Mother's voice broke in her haste, which scared the others.
The emperor's dark gaze fell on the empress dowager: "Mother, are you unwilling to take care of father?"
The Queen Mother's mind raced wildly.
But she was not a smart person, and now she couldn't think of a solution. She could only think quickly and cover her chest and continue to pretend to be sick.
"I was just mad at you, and my chest feels stuffy. Go call the imperial physician to come and see me."
The Queen Mother tried to get away with it by pretending to be sick.
But this time the emperor was determined not to let her off easily, so he asked Madam Liu to find the imperial physician.
He glanced behind him and said, "The Queen Mother is not feeling well. You guys are taking up space here. Go back to your own palace."
When Xie Run saw the emperor standing with his hands behind his back beside the empress dowager, he knew that the matter was not over.
As soon as she left Cining Palace, she hurried to Zhaohe Palace to see Taotao.
Before leaving, he took a glance and found that the Queen had called Concubine Jing. He didn't know what it was about, but he guessed that it was related to the false accusation that Concubine Jing had just made in front of the Queen Mother.
Xie Run was anxious to see his son, so he left Xiao Shu to ask her for news and then left.