Phi-Fic Chapter 193 Breakthrough Round (8)
Chapter 193 Breakthrough Round (8)
"Congratulations, Your Highness, it's a little prince!" A palace maid congratulated the imperial concubine who had just given birth.
The imperial concubine was pale and nearly exhausted, but she was very emotional.
She gave birth to the only prince.
With the emperor seriously ill in bed, what is there to doubt about this prince's future?
In recent months, the environment in the palace has become increasingly unpleasant, and the Empress Dowager's temper has become extremely volatile.
Even the pregnant imperial concubine couldn't get a kind look from him.
The birth of this prince is a truly joyous occasion.
The imperial concubine straightened her back; she requested an audience with the emperor immediately after giving birth.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty has been ill. Perhaps if he could see the prince even once, he would recover?"
There are many rumors about the emperor's condition both inside and outside the palace. The empress dowager holds power and has not yet allowed the ministers to see her.
The Imperial Concubine, having received instructions from her family, wanted to know what was wrong with the Emperor.
The Empress Dowager's face was icy: "What, you gave birth to a royal physician?"
These were very strong words. The Imperial Concubine had not expected the Empress Dowager to say such a thing when the Emperor had only one heir.
She quickly knelt down to admit her mistake, and then relayed the message to her father.
Meanwhile, inside the residence of the Minister of Revenue.
Yao Daqing's wife, Jiang, the youngest daughter of the Minister of Revenue, is arguing with her father.
"Dad, where did you get this child? Why is he registered in my name? I don't want him!"
"Your husband committed a serious crime; you should be grateful that he didn't implicate you," the Minister of Revenue advised her to accept the situation.
"Could this be the illegitimate child of the Empress Dowager and someone else?" Jiang made a wild guess.
"Oh dear, you mustn't let anyone else hear you say that."
The Minister of Revenue almost knelt down before his unruly daughter.
"In short, this girl will be raised under your name, so you must not mistreat her."
Jiang was not a fool; she sensed a hint of conspiracy in her father's words and stopped objecting.
The Minister of Revenue was worried, so he sent his steward to keep a close eye on the situation and make sure the girl was well cared for.
After receiving the news, the Empress Dowager rubbed her temples wearily and stopped paying attention to what was happening there.
Although the situation in the court has been temporarily stabilized, she is still wondering how to end it all. Thinking about the recent rebellions and uprisings in various places, she is filled with confusion.
Fortunately, good news came from the southwest soon after: the emperor had been found!
Yes, in the end, the emperor was thrown out by Gu Shijiu like trash.
There's a rumor in the mountains that the chief has gotten a younger, more handsome young man, so he's driven away that old codger.
That makes sense; the previous person was decent-looking, but his words were unpleasant.
Unlike this young man, who is both capable and honest.
The emperor was rushed back to the palace on horseback.
The Empress Dowager felt relieved when her pillar of support returned.
So, as soon as the emperor returned to the palace, he received the news that he had just recovered from his illness, but his own mother was now bedridden again.
The recovered emperor went without delay to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager.
"Mother!" The emperor cried out, looking as aggrieved as a child weighing over 100 pounds.
The Empress Dowager was also in tears: "My son, you've finally returned. What exactly happened?"
The emperor told his mother about his experiences during this period, but of course omitted the part about his castration.
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager was so angry she almost jumped out of bed: "These traitors and rebels should all be torn to pieces!"
That's the emperor! How dare they? The Empress Dowager couldn't understand it.
"Don't worry, I've got the Yao family under control. Yao Daqing is still in jail. What do you want to do with him?"
The emperor didn't want to do anything about it; he had long suspected the identities of Gu Shijiu and Cao Huan.
"This matter is not urgent. Mother, what is the situation in the court? What about those two rebellions?"
If his prediction is true, then this matter has nothing to do with the Yao family.
The emperor felt that this could be put aside for now; the real issues were the widespread refugees and rebellions.
The Empress Dowager clearly didn't think so: "The Emperor's authority is more important than anything else. Don't worry, those rebellions won't amount to anything."
The emperor was a little annoyed; he had long lost his authority: "Empress Dowager, I heard that the Imperial Concubine has given birth to a prince?"
In this way, he can also give an account of the past to his ancestors.
Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager's expression was somewhat off.
"My son, I was worried you wouldn't return, so I took it upon myself to replace the daughter born to the Imperial Concubine with a son..."
The emperor nearly coughed up blood: "How could this be? Where is my daughter?"
"Don't worry, we'll raise you at your uncle's house. All your allowances will be in accordance with the standards for a princess."
The Empress Dowager, knowing she was in the wrong, quickly offered words of comfort.
The emperor looked at his mother's haggard face and was speechless.
For the Empress Dowager, with the emperor missing and the country without an heir, the concubine's child naturally had to be a son.
But...why can't my daughter do it?
The emperor's mind was preoccupied with both ancestral rites and the wanton behavior of Gu Shijiu and Cao Huan.
The two sides are fighting.
In the end, he lowered his head and said, "I... understand."
The Empress Dowager was puzzled as to why her son was so dejected: "It was just a temporary measure before. Now that you're back, your son will naturally have something to offer in the future."
"We'll bring the princess back, and publicly say that the Imperial Concubine gave birth to twins, and the prince died young."
The emperor couldn't say that he would never have another son: "Let's leave it at that for now."
After saying this, he left the Empress Dowager's palace.
The Empress Dowager watched the Emperor's retreating figure with a worried expression, feeling that something seemed amiss with her son.
The emperor's recovery was a good thing, and the ministers were also very happy.
In particular, the emperor became more diligent in his duties after recovering from his illness.
This is even better!
For a whole month, the emperor worked diligently to deal with the backlog of government affairs.
Soon, the ministers realized that the emperor's diligence was not necessarily a good thing.
"Your Majesty, this policy is good, but there might be some problems during its implementation..."
The Minister of Revenue was somewhat bewildered by the emperor's suggestion.
The emperor has been ill for several months, but he seems like a completely different person, constantly pointing fingers and making pronouncements.
None of the proposed policies have been implemented.
The emperor felt that the ministers were making excuses, even though he had clearly seen Gu Shijiu and Cao Huan do exactly that.
Both sides engaged in a battle of wits and courage, having a great time.
The women in the harem were not happy either.
After the emperor recovered from his illness, he never summoned anyone to his bedchamber again.
Currently, only the Imperial Concubine has a son, and they also want to try their best.
Unfortunately, the emperor wouldn't cooperate, and there was nothing anyone could do; only the imperial concubine was happy.
The Empress Dowager inquired about this matter; it was the Emperor's deepest secret, and it was impossible to tell anyone.
The imperial court and the harem were in complete chaos, and the emperor felt that his current life was worse than that of a bandit in the mountains.
Rebellions were escalating, and the emperor, looking at his court officials, realized that none of them could salvage the situation.
A massive peasant uprising broke out in the northwest, and it is said that the flag raised by the leader had the character "时" (time) on it.
Gu Shijiu also found out about this: "Are you sure it's the right time?"
Cao Huan nodded: "The other side has already occupied two states, there's no mistake."
Gu Shijiu suddenly perked up: "Let's wait for them to call us!"
Cao Huan asked in confusion, "Third Sister, we only have about three thousand people at most, while the enemy has tens of thousands."
Gu Shijiu waved his hand: "No rush, we'll surrender when those tens of thousands of people arrive."
ha?