mtl008 Chapter 638 Giving Up and Choosing
Chapter 638 Giving Up and Choosing
Empress Dowager Li insisted, "I will never allow you to kill Mingzhu! If you want to touch Mingzhu, you must kill me first!"
The Emperor Shenwu's eyes were filled with such certainty. At this moment, Princess Mingzhu could no longer bear the shock and completely collapsed. The most honorable Princess Yuan was simply a joke to her. She covered her ears, curled up, and muttered to herself: "No, no, it's not true, it's not true..."
At the same time, she no longer had the courage to commit suicide a second time.
Empress Dowager Li was filled with anger, anxiety and heartache. She confronted Emperor Shenwu. In her heart, since Lan Qingwu was safe and sound, Princess Mingzhu could naturally be given a light punishment and a severe warning.
"I'll take Mingzhu to the imperial palace and Xi'an Temple. Anyway, it won't bother the Emperor! It won't bother the Empress either. That's all right, right?"
"You threaten me!"
Emperor Shenwu warned, "Mother, if you choose Mingzhu, you are giving up on me and the pampered life in the palace!"
Empress Dowager Li gritted her teeth and refused to give in. Of course, she didn't really want to leave the palace. That would mean she'd give up her position as empress dowager and everything she had. Furthermore, Empress Dowager Li didn't believe that Emperor Shenwu would risk the wrath of the world by driving his own mother out of the palace. That would be extremely detrimental to the emperor's rule and reputation.
"Are you going to leave the palace? Or stay here?"
Empress Dowager Li was so angry that she burst into tears: "What? As a son, do you really want to drive me out?"
The Emperor's eyes were bleak and fierce. "Mother, you have chosen someone else again! You have abandoned me again. This is not the first time. Back then, you and Concubine An fought to the death. At the most critical moment, I heard with my own ears that you transferred all the people you were protecting to Zhou Qihuai, leaving me exposed to the enemy. You gave up on me then! And the Li family has never taken me seriously. The only one my uncles are close to and support is Zhou Qihuai. So after I was named Crown Prince, your brother knew that I had a grudge against them and was afraid that I would not use them. That's why he took the risk and let Li Wanhui poison me!"
Empress Dowager Li looked at Emperor Shenwu in shock: "You...you know everything?"
A dark glint flickered in Prince Ding's eyes. He and Emperor Shenwu had each experienced their own difficult childhoods, but he had never been abandoned repeatedly by his closest relatives like Emperor Shenwu. Under the influence of Empress Dowager Li, the Li family had never taken the legitimate youngest, the Seventh Prince, seriously. So, when the Seventh Prince, whom they had so little regard for, unexpectedly became the next Crown Prince, how could they not be uneasy? Even if the Li daughter became the Crown Princess, the head of the Li family found that the Crown Prince repeatedly excluded them from the inner circle, no longer being a trusted and close minister. How could they, who had always been so high and mighty, accept this?
Emperor Shenwu looked at Empress Dowager Li sadly. The two should have been the closest mother and son, but in his impression, they had never been close. Was he such a failure?
"When I was little, I asked myself why my mother didn't like me. Why did she give up her son for another child? Why was it always me who was abandoned? Now I ask you again, what will you choose?"
Empress Dowager Li looked at Emperor Shenwu with red eyes, and seemed to finally realize that the man in front of her was not only the emperor who could bring her glory and status, but also her own son. She could no longer open her mouth and say that she chose Princess Mingzhu, but her body was even more tense to protect the eldest princess who had already suffered a mental breakdown.
Empress Dowager Li was speechless, not knowing what to say except crying. She trembled slightly, and the mother and son looked at each other. Emperor Shenwu understood Empress Dowager Li's choice, and tears flowed from his eyes. Some things cannot be forced, and some people cannot be forced. It was time for him to let go completely: "After all, I have no chance with the daughter of the Li family. Good!"
Emperor Shenwu shouted angrily, "Come! Prepare the carriage and escort the Empress Dowager out of the palace!"
Everyone was at a loss. Even the most clueless Prince Kang knew things had gotten out of hand, and the situation was clearly unfavorable to Emperor Shenwu. He reached out and grabbed Prince Ding's sleeve, his eyes demanding what to do.
Prince Ding looked at the panicked crowd, then at the Crown Prince, whose face was filled with stern resignation. He sighed, stepped forward, and said, "Your Majesty..."
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Ruhan rushed in in a panic. She took a breath and said, "Your Majesty, the Queen has woken up. She has been calling you! Please go and see her!"
The Emperor Shenwu no longer cared about anything else and turned to walk out. The others took this opportunity to follow him out.
Prince Ding was about to follow him out, but when he saw the crown prince standing still in the room with a solemn expression, his heart trembled slightly. He didn't care about the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects at this moment, and pulled the crown prince out.
The prince looked at Prince Ding with confusion.
Prince Ding asked directly, "Your Highness, are you still thinking about taking Princess Mingzhu's life at this time?"
The Crown Prince raised his phoenix eyes and looked at Prince Ding calmly, but he said nothing. Silence meant he agreed.
Prince Ding immediately put on a serious face and said, "Your Highness, the lives of the Empress Dowager and Princess Mingzhu are now linked together. This is not an easy thing to do, and we cannot force it."
The prince narrowed his eyes slightly, and his hand unconsciously grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Prince Ding said earnestly, "Your Highness, you don't have to die to achieve your goals. Just like your father, he didn't make a big deal about Queen Duanhui's betrayal. Besides the fact that he was just crowned as the Crown Prince, and the Fourth and Fifth Princes were eyeing him covetously, the situation was not optimistic. He couldn't create more unnecessary enemies. If he had been so cruel to his mother's family before he ascended the throne, what would outsiders think? They only look at the results, not the process. Under the circumstances at the time, it would definitely not be conducive to your father's secure position as the Crown Prince. Of course, Your Majesty..." "I still have a glimmer of hope for my mother. If I do something extreme, there will be no turning back between them. So when your father cut off the firewood, without Empress Duanhui by his side, most of the Li family's calculations fell through. The Li family has not been reused since then, and for so many years they have only been given the title of Duke of Cheng'en. They are very frustrated! But the Queen Mother Li and the Li family can't say anything, and they have to be grateful for your father's tolerance and magnanimity. Isn't this an endless revenge and punishment for the Li family and the Queen Mother? Your Highness, do you understand what I am saying?"
The Crown Prince finally spoke: "Uncle Ding, are you asking me to let Princess Mingzhu go now?"
Prince Ding nodded directly. "Sometimes death is the only way to be liberated. Look at Princess Mingzhu right now. How can she possibly live a good life in the future? As for how to live her life afterwards, isn't that something that can be planned? You and His Majesty are emotionally agitated right now, and it's not appropriate for you to make a decision. If you trust Uncle Ding, let him take over and resolve this matter."
Prince Ding paused and continued, "Uncle Ding isn't trying to plead for her, but if we kill Princess Mingzhu and injure the Empress Dowager at the same time, I'm afraid the court and even the world will condemn us. As I said before, people only care about the results! I'm afraid the Empress will be involved. Your Highness, you are the crown prince. You must assess the situation and weigh the pros and cons in everything you do. If you only care about your own momentary anger and act according to your temperament, and cannot tolerate what ordinary people cannot tolerate, the price you will pay later will be even greater, and it will also drag down the people you care about."
The Crown Prince looked at Prince Ding steadily: "So what does Uncle Ding want to do?"
Prince Ding said, "I will persuade the Queen Mother to avoid the attack first and have her take Princess Mingzhu out of the palace to Xi'an Temple for temporary refuge. We can publicly say that this is for the Dasheng Dynasty to pray for blessings and chant sutras. After Princess Mingzhu leaves the palace, isn't it up to Your Majesty to decide whether she can return? Besides, Your Highness, Princess Mingzhu is just a controlled knife. Don't forget that the mastermind has not yet been dealt with!"
The prince's expression was grim. Thinking of the two people in the clan prison, he looked at the closed door again and seemed to see Queen Mother Li standing in front of Princess Mingzhu. He really couldn't bypass Queen Mother Li and chop Princess Mingzhu down without caring about anything, and let her live a few more days.
The prince clasped his fists and saluted: "Then I'll trouble Uncle Ding!"
Prince Ding quickly bowed and saluted, "No need to be so polite, Crown Prince. We are all family. I will certainly share your worries for Your Majesty and His Royal Highness!"
The extremely disappointed Emperor Shenwu was only thinking about Lan Qingwu at this moment. He quickly returned to the bedroom in the main hall of Fengqi Palace and rushed to Lan Qingwu's bed without stopping, "Weak!"
The Shenwu Emperor called out cautiously. Lan Qingwu's pale face, as white as snow, made the Shenwu Emperor heartbroken. "Ruo Ruo, I'm back."
Lan Qingwu only woke up briefly. She opened her eyes slightly and said in a very weak voice: "I thought I was dreaming. I dreamed that you came back! I even heard your voice."
"Wei Ruo Ruo, it's me, I'm back, I will never leave your side again."
Emperor Shenwu leaned over and hugged Lan Qingwu. The treasure that was lost and found again in his arms made his whole body tremble slightly.
Lan Qingwu said softly, "Why are you crying? Brother Heng, let them go! Don't be sad, don't be sad for them. Ruo Ruo will always be with you, Ruo Ruo will always choose you."
Emperor Shenwu responded: "Okay, okay, okay!"
After Lan Qingwu woke up briefly, she fell asleep again. Her body was too weak. For nearly ten days, apart from resisting the poison of her ill-fated beauty, she only used Ice Crystal Spirit Dew and had almost no food or water.
Emperor Shenwu lay on his side on the bed in the middle of the night and finally slept peacefully beside Lan Qingwu.
The next day, just as Nie Wushuang said, Lan Qingwu finally woke up in the afternoon. Emperor Shenwu stayed by his side and personally took care of him, giving him medicine and water.
But Lan Qingwu was so weak that he couldn't even move a finger, so the two of them could only whisper sweet words to each other.
The next day, Emperor Shenwu finally returned to court. In the Golden Throne Hall, he issued an imperial decree ordering that sacrifices be offered to the ancestors of the Zhou family in the Fengxian Hall. All civil and military officials were to kneel and pay their respects in the outer hall. The officials were a little confused, then agitated slightly before kneeling to receive the decree. "Long live Your Majesty!"