TV Series: When the Villain Chooses to Stand by

Chapter 187 Yixiu 56

Both the selection and subsequent public opinion were beyond his control.

He was forced to make a not-so-appropriate choice.

In the eyes of the emperor, posthumously conferring the title of crown prince did not cost him anything. It was just an imperial decree, and all the benefits fell on his deceased eldest son.

This time is different, although Chao Gui is tactful and volunteers to pray for the country.

But the actions of the women in the harem could influence his decision, and this matter touched the emperor's most sensitive nerve.

Zhen Huan's insights into political affairs, the Queen's control over money, and Chao Gui's use of fame made the Emperor strongly wary of the women in the harem.

Last night's dream dealt the emperor a fatal blow.

The empress dowager listened quietly to the emperor's concerns. Many years ago, they had sat together like this, discussing how to appease Yixiu, how to treat the new concubine, and who to take action.

At that time, the mother and son had the same interests, so they naturally worked together.

It's only been a few years and the situation has become like this.

After all, he is her own son. If the emperor can treat the fourteenth son well, the empress dowager is not willing to end up in a dead end.

But when she was seriously ill, the emperor was still unwilling to compromise and went back on his word, which completely disheartened the empress dowager.

The emperor continued to talk about his dream last night, trying to seek some comfort from the empress dowager.

Unfortunately, the Queen Mother pretended not to understand anything.

"The Emperor is protected by the Dragon Qi. It's just a nightmare. Don't worry too much. It's probably because he worked too hard during the day."

"Su Peisheng, remind the emperor to drink the daily tranquilizing soup."

The emperor paused, then placed the beads on the table with a slight force. "This matter is indeed not a big deal, but regarding the Empress, I would like to ask Her Majesty for some further advice."

"I don't want another deposed empress to appear in this dynasty."

Seeing the emperor angry, the empress dowager was secretly happy in her heart, but she sighed with embarrassment on her face.

"Your Majesty, why are you doing this? You've seen the current state of the Ulanara family. They can't help with the Queen's affairs."

"Since you haven't contributed, you naturally have no say. The Queen has no children, and the only son she cares about has been named the Crown Prince. There's no one in the palace worthy of her efforts."

"Keeping hold of that little bit of money is just to give yourself some confidence. You and her have been married for many years, so just get along well with each other. Besides, it's just a little money. If you want it, can the Queen really hold on to it?"

The emperor also knew this truth. As long as this position existed, no one was worth the queen's risk.

But he was still unhappy. As the king of a country, was he expected to humble himself and please the queen?

The Queen Mother could see through the Emperor's thoughts, "You are husband and wife, so there is no need to do anything special. Just get along with each other normally and give her enough respect as the Queen."

There must be no problem with the position of the queen. Once the queen is deposed, the Ulanara family will have no hope, and she, as the queen mother, will also lose face.

What's important is that the emperor is in his prime, and the empress's position cannot be vacant. The empress's family must be a prominent family. If there is another legitimate son, it will be even more detrimental to her plans.

Seeing that the emperor still didn't speak, the empress dowager had no choice but to continue to increase the pressure.

"If you are really worried, just put more restraint on yourself in the harem. If you can't have contact with outsiders, it will be difficult to do business like this."

Only then did a smile appear on the emperor's face.

Although he did not get the comfort he wanted from the Queen Mother, he did not gain nothing.

Soon, many more rules appeared in the harem, but ordinary concubines didn't feel anything.

But it’s different for others, especially those with outstanding family backgrounds.

They would normally accept support from their families, otherwise the little allowance they had would not be enough to reward others.

Everyone does this, and everyone has their own channels, but the problem suddenly became serious.

The rule that money can only come in but not go out is particularly abrupt.

The excuse she used was also very lame. The Queen Mother had nightmares every night and always felt uneasy. For the safety of the masters in the palace, she also strengthened the patrols of the palace guards.

This is something that is tacitly understood in private, and no one can say it is wrong.

When the queen heard this, she knew that the emperor was being petty again.

He even uses his mother as an excuse, they are truly mother and son.

Fang Chunyi, who was recuperating, was the first to be shocked. Looking at the increasingly bland food on the table, she could no longer hold back her tears.

"Auntie, this dish was served cold. How can I eat it?"

"Does father really not want to take care of me anymore?"

Although Fang Chunyi's appearance in the past was somewhat deliberate, she really liked to eat, and she needed food to comfort her when she was in a bad mood.

It was obvious that she had fallen out of favor. Although the emperor had ordered that she should not be humiliated at will, as a concubine, her treatment could not be very good.

If you want to live the same life as before, you have to spend a lot of money.

When the day came for the letter to be delivered, there was still no news. Fang Chunyi, who was already under house arrest in disguise, became panicked.

"Don't be sad, my lady. I'll go heat it up right away. Can you have them bring some pork elbows over tonight?"

"You are the eldest daughter of the family. How could the master ignore you? I have already asked someone to take care of it. Please bear with it for the next few days, okay?"

"really?"

Fang Chunyi raised her head with red eyes. At the beginning, she was in the mood to resent An Lingrong because she was ignored, but as time passed, she just wanted to get out early.

"Really, you believe in me."

My aunt had a serious expression and tried to make herself look more convincing.

Fang Chunyi now had no choice but to believe it. She finally realized that her little cleverness in the mansion was of little use in the palace.

It's not like they don't have any money at all. It's not like they would end up in that situation after being in the palace for several years.

However, the aunt who served Fang Chunyi was very sensitive. Such a thing had never happened before. The sudden order must have meant that something had happened.

Winter is coming soon. If they still don’t have money by then, they really won’t be able to survive.

There was no other way but to put up with Fang Chunyi's words.

She had been in the palace for many years and was familiar with these secret channels. As long as someone existed, this loophole could not be closed.

There are so many people in the palace, and every family must have a few relatives.

Once the storm is over, things will go on as they should, and at most we will just have to be more secretive.

However, this method would not work at all for concubines like Nian Shilan who had a good family background and status, let alone the queen.

The emperor stayed on the throne for a long time, and the humblest servants in the Forbidden City were not within the scope of his worries and fears.

The Queen Mother was naturally aware of the twists and turns involved, but she didn't really want to intervene, so she simply kept silent.

The blame has already been taken, and she just hopes that the matter will be over quickly.

The emperor believed that by strengthening the constraints he could curb the ambitions of his concubines, and he finally felt relieved with the solution.

The blood-dropping dart he carefully trained was to be used for great things, not to hang around in the harem all day.

The people from the Jingshifang had been waiting for a long time with their signs. Su Peisheng looked at the time and walked in again with gritted teeth.

"Your Majesty, it's getting late. The people from the Imperial Household Department are waiting outside."

The emperor raised his head from the pile of memorials and stretched his sore arms.

"Let them in."

Su Peisheng immediately smiled and waved, thinking that he would have to stay here all night again.

The emperor looked at the sign in front of him and just as he reached out his hand, a faint pain in his chest prompted him to withdraw his hand immediately.

"Strange, is everything okay?" He pressed his chest with his right hand, but when he came to his senses he found that he seemed to feel nothing.

When the emperor looked at the sign in front of him again, the scene of them holding weapons to kill the king emerged in his mind, and his hair stood on end silently.

Hearing the emperor's mumbling, Su Peisheng hurried forward, "Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell? I'll go summon the imperial physician right away."

"nothing."

The emperor raised his hand nonchalantly, motioning the eunuch holding the sign in front of him to leave, "Step aside."

"Your Majesty, the dragon's health is of paramount importance. We cannot take it lightly!"

Su Peisheng bent down and advised that if anything went wrong with the emperor, those who served him would be the first to suffer.

"I have an idea in mind. You should immediately arrange a Buddhist temple and get the best Buddha statues."

"Yes!"

Su Peisheng suddenly thought of the emperor's strange behavior that morning. Not only was he sweating profusely, but even his words and actions were strange.

It's not like I haven't had nightmares before, and I'd occasionally talk about them, but that day I couldn't even ask about them.

From that day on, the emperor never entered the harem again. Apart from attending court and reviewing memorials, he spent the rest of his time in the Buddhist temple.

As the chief eunuch, Su Peisheng had to enlighten the emperor.

Seeing that there were rumors inside and outside the palace, and the emperor was getting thinner day by day, Su Peisheng had no choice but to bite the bullet and come forward to give him some advice.

He carefully presented the clean cotton cloth to the emperor and watched him wipe the Buddha altar meticulously.

The emperor also had to do these trivial matters himself.

Su Peisheng has also lost a lot of energy these days.

"Your Majesty, the plum blossoms in the Imperial Garden have recently blossomed. You've been cooped up in your room these days. Would you like to go out for a walk and get some exercise?"

"The plum blossoms are blooming?"

"Yes, they have been blooming for some time. This year they are blooming especially luxuriantly. As soon as you enter the Imperial Garden you can smell the fragrant aroma."

God opens your eyes!

Su Peisheng's mouth immediately curled up, there was finally hope.

"Let's go then."

"Hey! The sedan chair is ready. I will help you change your clothes right away."

Su Peisheng quickly raised his hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and quickly stood up to prepare, fearing that the emperor would change his mind the next moment.

It’s a pity that things don’t always go as we wish.

That was Chunyuan's favorite red plum blossom. The emperor originally wanted to go out and take a look, but then he thought of the pain of being pierced through the chest under the apricot tree.

He abruptly retracted the step he was about to take.

Su Peisheng just turned around to pick up the cloak, and when he looked back, the emperor knelt down again. His brows drooped instantly.

"emperor?"

"Forget it, I won't go. I'll just ask the people in the flower shop to cut some for the vase."

"Yes……"

How could the emperor not see Su Peisheng's anxiety, but ever since he had the nightmare last time, he could no longer look directly at the concubines in the harem.

He couldn't accept even people like Lipin who had never appeared in person.

Not to mention meeting them, I feel numb all over every time I see information related to them.

Eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures these days have not had much effect.

The empress dowager, who had originally not taken it seriously, could no longer sit still and wanted to ignore it.

But she needs to play the role of a loving mother.

Others didn't know that the emperor had a nightmare, but she knew it. If she did nothing, she was afraid that the emperor would remember it.

I don’t know who he resembles with that petty personality.

Knowing that the emperor was chanting Buddha's name, he specially invited a high monk to the palace to pray for blessings in his own name, and also held a grand Dharma assembly under the pretext of the New Year.

The emperor also studied Buddhism diligently when he was in the palace, but he was not a professional after all.

"Your Majesty, do not worry. What you saw in your dream, no matter how terrifying, is not real. It is an illusion created by evil spirits in an attempt to confuse your mind."

"You are the Supreme Lord, blessed by the Dragon Qi, and invulnerable to all attacks."

With the guidance of these eminent monks, the emperor slowly emerged from the haze.

After his mood suddenly became clear, the emperor's first thing was of course to go see his favorite concubine Wan.

Zhen Huan has been very worried these days because she really likes the emperor.

But these days the emperor issued an order not to allow concubines to move around freely, and no one knew what was happening to the emperor.

Zhen Huan couldn't go to the Yangxin Palace to comfort her, so she could only stay in the palace and worry about herself.

She always likes to read books in her spare time. In winter, when the sky is covered with snow, sweet chestnuts are roasting on the stove, making slight crackling sounds from time to time.

The moment the unique sandalwood scent of the Buddhist temple appeared, Zhen Huan's eyes lit up and she stood up to greet it in great surprise.

"emperor!"

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you! Why didn't you inform me of your arrival?"

"I haven't seen you for a long time, what are you doing?"

"What else can I do? I'll just read some books to kill time."

Seeing the worry and smile in Zhen Huan's eyes, the emperor finally let go of the impact of his previous dream.

This woman who loves him deeply is definitely not the vicious woman in his dream.

The Emperor took Zhen Huan's hand and sat down. "I've been so busy these days that I've neglected you."

"State affairs are of the utmost importance. How dare I harbor resentment? But Your Majesty should also be more attentive. I haven't seen you for so long and you've lost weight. What should I do if you're hurt?"

The emperor smiled and hooked the tip of Zhen Huan's nose, "It's okay, with Huan Huan taking care of me, I will be safe and sound."

Zhen Huan raised her eyes and glared at the Emperor with a smirk, "Your Majesty is making fun of me again. I wonder if the kitchen hasn't been prepared in advance for your visit? How about we have a hot pot with mutton soup today?"

"Okay, you arrange it."

"When I came here just now, I saw that the plum blossoms in your courtyard were in full bloom. It would be convenient for me to enjoy the flowers."

"The Emperor specially ordered the plum blossoms to be planted, and the gardeners have taken exceptional care of them. I never expected them to adapt so well."

The emperor looked at the shadows of the trees outside the window, as if he had thought of something.

"This plum blossom suits you, and should be planted here."

The two of them agreed to pick flowers together and make some plum blossom wine some other day.

The emperor did not mention the reason why he did not enter the harem, and Zhen Huan did not ask any further questions.

The harem finally returned to normal, but this seemed to mean nothing to the other concubines.

Those with family background and status are too lazy to fight, and those who have children should concentrate on taking care of them.