BXBX NOVEL Chapter 922 - The Emperor Is Partial
Chapter 922 The Emperor Is Partial
The Emperor was very explicit about his attitude! He had always taken good care of the young couple. Now Chu Liuchen was leaving to escort the ambassadors to Nan Jiang, so he would naturally promise his nephew to look after his wife well. He also enjoyed his nephew’s trust in him, though Chu Liuchen was a little arrogant.
Compared with his two sons who always wanted to benefit from him, Chu Liuchen was much better.
“I thank you on behalf of Zhuozhuo, Uncle the Emperor!” Chu Liuchen stood up with a smile.
His intimate attitude delighted the Emperor a lot. Later, the uncle and nephew talked about Nan Jiang for a while before Chu Liuchen left.
It became quiet in the Imperial Study after Chu Liuchen left. “Derong, do you think I am wrong?” the Emperor suddenly asked.
Derong’s forehead was covered with sweats. He quickly lowered his head and said, “You are a wise emperor, Your Majesty!”
“Nonsense! If I were wise enough, such a thing would not have happened!” the Emperor sighed and leaned against the broad chair. “I’ve betrayed him, haven’t I?”
“Prince Chen will not blame you, Your Majesty!” Derong said carefully.
“He will if he knows it! But I had no choice at that time...” the Emperor sighed heavily again, looking extremely upset.
“You always treat Prince Chen so well as you do to your son, Your Majesty!” Derong tried his best to calm himself. “Prince Chen is the most favored person, who can do whatever he wants in the Palace!”
The Emperor became delightful due to Derong’s words. A benign smile gradually came into being on his frowned face. “The kid was born with a weak body and pushed to the edge of his dying for several times. How lucky it is that he can grow up well. How can I allow others to bully him?”
“Your Majesty, you are benevolent!” Derong lowered his head and said.
The Emperor fell in silence for a while and thought of the past. Compared with the other princes, Chu Liuchen was whom he paid the most attention to. He was afraid that Chu Liuchen could not survive. Fortunately, Chu Liuchen was getting better, and it gratified the Emperor so much. Compared with his other sons, Chu Liuchen was smarter, and he did not care about the throne at all.
They looked more like father and son when they talked to each other.
“However, he doesn’t have a deep affection for his other brothers!” the Emperor said and couldn’t help frowning again.
“Prince Chen has been in poor health since he was a child, and the imperial physician repeatedly warned him to keep calm. After so many years passed, it is hard for him to get close to other princes even if he is in good health now!” Derong said in a low voice.
What he said upset the Emperor again. “The child lives a bitter life! But he does keep a light brotherhood with his brothers! It doesn’t mean there is no relationship between them!”
“He actually regards his family as important!” the Emperor sighed and said.
Derong was confused, wondering why the Emperor drew such a conclusion. Everyone in the Palace knew that Prince Chen was cold-hearted. He never let go of anyone who annoyed him for anyone’s sake. Either when they were children or now, the other princes once suffered because of Chu Liuchen, though they were all princes of the same status.
Of course, Derong would not take the initiative to ask the Emperor. The Emperor was partial, and as his trusted eunuch, he had to turn a blind eye on it.
“At least, Prince Chen is very filial to you and Empress Dowager!” Derong talked about something pleasant with a smile.
“It might be Prince Chen’s only advantage. He cares about no one else in the Palace except for His Majesty and Empress Dowager. Of course, under the protection of Empress Dowager and the Emperor, Prince Chen doesn’t have to show respect to anyone else, including the other princes.
“When he is in a good mood, he might call those princes Brothers. When he is in a bad mood, he will just be indifferent.
“As for the occasional gentle smile on his face, it is actually a mask!” Derong tended to believe that Prince Chen was an emotionless person.
As he thought of these, he felt a chill on his back. Every time he saw Prince Chen, who didn’t look well, Derong always became intense.
After Chu Liuchen left the Imperial Study, he was not in a hurry to return to his mansion. He ordered Xiao Xuanzi to push him in the wheelchair to the Empress Dowager’s Palace of Benevolent Peace.
When he arrived at the Palace of Benevolent Peace and found that Consort of Virtue was also there, with wet eyes. At first glance, he knew she must be crying just now. She hurriedly looked away and wiped her tears when she caught sight of Chu Liuchen. When she looked back, she kept a smile on her face. After Chu Liuchen bowed to her, she said, “Empress Dowager, Prince Chen is so filial to you. He comes to visit you now!”
“This child cherishes affection and personal loyalty!” Empress Dowager smiled and waved her hand in a gesture that indicated Chu Liuchen to sit next to her. Chu Liuchen was pleasing to her eye. “Not only is he good-looking, but he also values the relationship with me so much. Now that he has recovered, he will be able to bring me a great-grandson soon!”
Consort of Virtue cast an annoyed glance at Empress Dowager, and then looked at Chu Liuchen’s face. Chu Liuchen behaved properly but he didn’t show respect to her! After he bowed to her, he totally ignored her! “Is it the so-called cherishing affection and personal loyalty?”
However, Consort of Virtue didn’t dare to rebuke Chu Liuchen. After all, he was Empress Dowager’s favorite grandson! “My son is the eldest son of the Emperor and the first grandson of Empress Dowager. Shouldn’t Empress Dowager like him more? Why does everyone pay attention to such a sick person?”
“Do you feel better, Your Highness?” Consort of Virtue asked. She was dissatisfied, but she didn’t dare to show it on her face.
“Thanks to you, Consort of Virtue, I feel good!” Chu Liuchen said.
“Did the imperial physician say something?” Empress Dowager asked. She became worried as long as it came to Chu Liuchen’s health.
“Don’t worry, Imperial Grandmother! I have been in good health now. I am leaving for Nan Jiang to escort the ambassadors in a few days. I hope that Imperial Grandmother can take care of Zhuozhuo!” Chu Liuchen said softly.
“Can you not go?” Empress Dowager had just informed it and she was very displeased.
“Someone has to go! Anyway, I’m getting better now. It doesn’t matter if I take the task!” Chu Liuchen comforted Empress Dowager with a smile.
Empress Dowager was very reluctant about it, but she was well aware that she couldn’t stop Chu Liuchen since he had made up his mind. “He has always been a strong-willed child.”
“As a patient who had just recovered a little, how dare he travel far? Be careful and don’t lose your life in another country!” Consort of Virtue sneered in her heart, “Well, I wish he could die outside in case he becomes fully recovered and then plots against us.”
“Empress Dowager, you can rest assured! Prince Chen wants to dedicate himself to our country! Yue’er has told me about this and he praised Prince Chen again and again. He said he also would like to go out to broaden his horizons if Prince Chen did not accept this decree. It is said that there are many things in Nan Jiang that we have never seen before!” Consort of Virtue flattered Empress Dowager with a smile.
But she was implying that Chu Liuchen was going to have fun in Nan Jiang.
“If Consort of Virtue likes Nan Jiang, I can give up my chance to Eldest Brother!” Chu Liuchen said.
With only a few words, Chu Liuchen made her speechless and nervous. Of course, she did not want Chu Liuyue to go to Nan Jiang, even if there was no danger. At the critical moment of striving for the throne, how could Chu Liuyue leave the capital city?
She became embarrassed and laughed. Then she tried hard to show an aggrieved smile on her face. “I want him to go, but he was punished by His Majesty just now. I’m afraid that he needs to stay in bed for ten days or half a month!”
When it came to what happened at the Imperial Study, Consort of Virtue’s eyes turned wet again. She turned around and said, “Empress Dowager, Yue’er was framed, he shouldn’t have been punished. When I went to see him just now, he asked me to see whether His Majesty felt uncomfortable or not! Yue’er cares about His Majesty so much, even when he himself is still in pain!”
“Eldest Brother are so considerate of Uncle the Emperor. Uncle will definitely be gratified if he knows!” Chu Liuchen said in an indifferent tone.
It was a perfunctory reply, obviously.
Consort of Virtue blinked her eyes. It didn’t get the expected effect, so she was unable to do the show anymore. She could only reply to Chu Liuchen with a simple word and looked away to wipe her tears. She couldn’t talk about the topic anymore. Suddenly, a trace of anger flashed in her eyes. “Chu Liuchen becomes more and more annoying, but I can’t do anything to him!”
She couldn’t deal with Chu Liuchen. Instead, she had to pretend to care for Chu Liuchen for the sake of the Emperor and Empress Dowager. It really made her feel wronged and angry!
The Emperor’s decree was brought to Duke Yong’s Mansion. Countess Yong passed out as soon as she heard that Di Yan’s position as the heir of a duke was removed, which meant the title of Duke Yong would be kept until Di Rufeng passed away.
Di Yan was pale. He looked at the eunuch announcing the imperial edict in disbelief. After the eunuch finished the announcement, Di Yan took over the imperial edict and read it over and over again. He staggered and almost fell over.
He had no title anymore. From now on, he would be the same as ordinary people. If he couldn’t pass the imperial exam, the Di Family would completely decline and no longer be a noble family.
“How could it happen? Why was I implicated in the matter? It was Mother and Qin Yuru who made the trouble, and it had nothing to do with me!”
Di Yan was in a daze. He stared at the imperial edict in his hands with his fingers trembling.
“Cousin...” Qin Yuru also couldn’t believe it. She came over to read the imperial edict in Di Yan’s hands. “Could there be a mistake? How could it end up like this?”
Early in this morning, Countess Yong took Di Yan to Ningyuan Army General’s Mansion. She promised that she would return all the money to Qin Yuru, and that Di Yan would expel all his concubines away and live a peaceful life with Qin Yuru in the future!
Qin Yuru was easily convinced. Persuaded by Qin Huaiyong and Madam Di with a few words, she followed Di Yan back to Duke Yong’s Mansion. Unexpectedly, no sooner had she entered the gate than the imperial edict was issued, with such bad news that Di Yan’s title was removed.
“Di Yan’s title is gone, then even if I give birth to a son in the future, he won’t have a title.” Qin Yuru panicked.
“Pa!” She was heavily slapped in the face...