BXBX NOVEL Chapter 208 - 208: Daily Family Life (2)
Chapter 208 - 208: Daily Family Life (2)
Something had gone wrong in the Longevity Palace. The artisans were reinforcing and clearing the tunnel overnight. In order to prevent disturbing the palace servants, it had already been sealed. The empress dowager had moved to the Eternal Joy Palace to stay temporarily.
It was late at night, and the lights in the palace had already gone out, but there was some light in the Peaceful Hall.
The empress of Great Wei, who was wearing a red gauze nightgown, was lying on her side on the dragon bed, her proud figure faintly discernible under the gauze. Although she was wearing pajamas, they covered her like mist and were not much different from not wearing them.
The empress dowager was a little more conservative. She was leaning against the head of the bed in a dark red nightgown, holding a book in her hand and concentrating on reading at night.
Reading the scene in the book where the male lead risked his life to sneak into the imperial mausoleum to open the coffin to reunite with the empress dowager and them hugging each other and crying tears of joy, the empress dowager couldn’t help biting her red lips lightly, her eyes glistening.
The book wasn’t thick, and only one chapter was left. The empress dowager couldn’t bear to read it, so she closed the book and asked, “Your Majesty, what happened to the heir of the Prince of Liang during the reign of Empress Dowager Xuanyang in the previous dynasty?”
The empress’s eyes were closed, and she seemed to be asleep. But when the empress dowager asked, she opened her red lips and answered, “There’s no story behind it. After inheriting the title, he became lecherous. It’s hard to count his wives and concubines. Just his children alone were more than seventy.”
“Huh?” The empress dowager slid down a little and lay in front of the empress in disbelief. “No way. 1 read in a book that he’s suave, talented, and intelligent. He should have some achievements…”
Even without looking, the empress could feel the helplessness on her face. “Novels can’t be read as official history. Even if Empress Dowager Xuanyang had an affair with the heir of a vassal prince, it was the heir who deliberately curried favor with her and used her rule to suppress the civil and military officials in the court. How could she be like in the book, seduced by a few words from a man and become infatuated?”
The empress dowager retorted, “That’s hard to say. No matter how powerful a woman is, she’s still a woman. Your Majesty, think about it. If that Prince of Liang’s heir looks like Ye Jingtang but is more proactive and lecherous than Ye Jingtang and even knows how to coax people with sweet words, how many women in this world can resist him?”
The empress thought for a moment. “That’s true. Liren was so rigid in the past that I thought she didn’t like men. But now, she’s chasing after Ye Jingtang all day and has almost forgotten about me.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it. Ye Jingtang is really capable and loyal. If Your Majesty had met him first, Your Majesty might not be able to attend morning court anymore.”
The empress opened her eyes, finding it funny. “In that case, is it actually a blessing for Great Wei that Liren is filling her own pockets?”
The empress dowager was afraid that talking about this would affect the relationship between the empress and her sister, so she stopped in time. “I’m just joking. Marriage is destined by the heavens. Your Majesty’s future… um… emperor consort’s looks will definitely not be inferior to Ye Jingtang’s.”
The empress shook her head silently and didn’t reply.
The empress dowager thought for a moment and remembered something. She whispered, “Speaking of which, Your Majesty’s marriage is not easy to handle. The crown prince is the foundation of the country. Without an heir, the ministers and people will feel uneasy. With an heir as the crown prince, Great Wei will change its surname, and the vassal princes will definitely rebel. The Green Bandits are obsessed with assassinating Liren because Your Majesty only has Liren as your heir. If something happens to you two, the vassal princes won’t even need to fight to inherit the throne…”
The empress knew that after succeeding to the throne as a woman, she would inevitably face this dead end. She would either have to cut off the military power of the vassal princes so that no one in the world could disobey her will or let her child have the same surname and family, compromising with the princes of the imperial family.
The empress had snatched the throne with her own ability. It hadn’t been given to her by the imperial family. Ten years ago, she could make the eldest son of the emperor take off his dragon robe and shout ‘long live’ in front of the palace. How could she act according to the wishes of the vassal princes in the future?
However, the empress couldn’t say these things in front of the pure-hearted empress dowager. She only said calmly, “I’ll take it one step at a time. We’ll talk about these things later.”
The empress dowager knew that this matter was difficult to handle.. She sighed faintly and didn’t say anything else…