r18novel Chapter 1773 A Great Favor Must Be Remembered
Chapter 1773 A Great Favor Must Be Remembered
The Empress felt extremely aggrieved.
She had actually tried to convince herself of this.
Since things have come to this, let's not dwell on the previous engagement. She didn't concern herself with this matter before, and she shouldn't concern herself with it in the future either.
The Crown Prince said he didn't like Lu Zhaoling and had no intention of fulfilling the marriage agreement, so he would just pretend it never happened.
After all, the marriage certificate no longer exists; it has been fulfilled by Zhou Ling and Lu Zhaoyun.
As long as she didn't say anything, no one brought it up again.
Moreover, since Lu Zhaoling has already married into the Prince of Jin's household, she must be treated as the Princess Consort of Jin.
The Empress knew the whole story and knew that it had nothing to do with Lu Zhaoling.
She didn't know anything at all before.
Lu Zhaoling was even considered a victim before.
However, the Empress didn't know why, but she just couldn't swallow her anger.
In particular, Lu Zhaoling kept saying that Zhou Shiyue protected her and treated her like an elder of the Crown Prince.
Such arrogance that puts a heavy weight on the heads of this mother and son!
"She's even younger than you, and she's telling you to be filial to her!" The Empress gritted her teeth, glaring at the Crown Prince. "She even uses your imperial uncle to pressure you and me. How can you tolerate that?"
"Mother..." the Crown Prince said wearily.
"Even if your royal uncle does protect her and dote on her like the apple of his eye, he's still just a prince! Don't forget your own status; you're spoiling them too much!"
The Empress looked at the Crown Prince with a sense of disappointment and frustration.
"I don't mean for you to disrespect your royal uncle. It's only right that you respect him. He has helped you a lot over the years. However, besides being uncle and nephew, you will also be ruler and subject! I'm afraid you will only respect him as your uncle, while he himself forgets that he should be a subject!"
"Mother!"
The crown prince rebuked him in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, please be careful with your words! I am only the Crown Prince now!"
The Empress snorted coldly.
"You should have seen it today. The Second Prince has probably lost your father's favor. The reason I didn't take them seriously before, and didn't protect you or plan for you too much, was because I could see that the Second Prince posed no threat to you at all."
The Empress's expression softened.
"Your father couldn't see clearly before, but he would eventually realize that the Second Prince was not up to any great task. Now, isn't everything clear? Your father will no longer favor Consort Shu and the Second Prince exclusively, and he has lost the right to compete with you. Just wait and see, from today onwards, your father will start to value you."
Although she was frightened in the side hall today, the Empress still kept an eye on what was happening outside.
She heard the Emperor reprimanding the Second Prince.
She knew that the Emperor was definitely disappointed in the Second Prince. As for Consort Shu, after Consort Yu came into the picture recently, the Emperor didn't favor her as much as before.
With the mother and son out of favor, and Consort Yu only having a fifth princess, wouldn't the Emperor be able to rely on the Crown Prince?
The Crown Prince looked at the Empress and was surprised to see a hint of relief on her face.
A wave of sadness washed over him, and for a moment he felt utterly powerless.
"Your Majesty has ignored me for over a decade. Is it really because you feel that no one can threaten me?"
It was only at this moment that the Crown Prince realized that the Empress would use such a ridiculous excuse to absolve him.
Everyone knows that the truth is not like that.
Everyone could see how much the Emperor used to dote on the Second Prince. Didn't the Empress Dowager know how difficult his life was as the Crown Prince and how little the officials cared about him?
So what if Father Emperor stops favoring the Second Prince?
If he hadn't had his uncle's protection, he would have been bullied to death by Consort Shu and the Second Prince long ago.
He held on until today, and now everything is just casually brushed aside?
The Empress did not want to discuss this matter with him any further.
She immediately turned back and said, “In short, you have to figure out your place first. It’s not wrong for you to treat Prince Jin as an elder, and it’s not wrong for you to respect him, but you have to control the degree. At least you should let them know that filial piety is a virtue of yours, and they should not forget their own duty.”
"Just as Princess Jin said, she and I are sisters-in-law, ha..."
How can a princess and an empress, even if they are sisters-in-law, be compared?
Does Lu Zhaoling even know that she is just a princess?
Once Zhou Ze ascends the throne, her status as a princess will depend on whether Zhou Ze values them or not.
Even the Prince of Jin can only be considered a subject, so how dare the Princess Consort of Jin act so arrogantly as to demand that Zhou Ze show her respect?
He's even younger than Zhou Ze!
The Crown Prince, his face grim, countered with a question, "What is wrong with what you said, Aunt?"
The empress looked at him.
The Crown Prince added, “Mother, don’t forget that before you try to act like an empress, you should think about who saved us just now.”
"If you're going to talk about ruler and subject, then don't forget to repay the great kindness of saving your life."
After the Crown Prince finished speaking, he closed his eyes and ignored the Empress.
Just now at the ancestral temple, the First Mysterious Gate saved their entire family.
The Empress didn't take this to heart at all.
"Just now..." The Empress came to her senses and wanted to say that the Emperor Emeritus had protected her just now, and that the Emperor Emeritus had appeared to her. She couldn't give all the credit to Lu Zhaoling and the others, could she?
However, the Crown Prince kept his eyes closed and remained motionless, like an old monk in deep meditation, clearly indicating that he did not want to pay attention to the Empress.
The Empress was also somewhat annoyed by his appearance.
Upon returning to the palace, the emperor immediately summoned the imperial physician to examine him.
He felt weak all over, had heart palpitations and shortness of breath, and felt chills all over his body.
He couldn't rest easy until he took a closer look.
Now that the imperial physician has been summoned, everyone should be thoroughly examined.
As for Yin Changxing and Lu Zhaoling, the Emperor hurriedly asked them to go and see what was wrong with the palace.
Putting everything else aside, take a close look at his bedroom, study, and palace.
"Ah Yue, do you want to have the imperial physician take a look at you too?" The Emperor called out to Zhou Shiyue, looking concerned.
Zhou Shiyue shook his head.
"I will go out and accompany Sect Leader Yin and the others."
"Alright, alright, then go ahead." The Emperor was just making a show of stopping him; he secretly wished Zhou Shiyue would take Yin Changxing and the others on a thorough tour of the palace.
The emperor was truly terrified.
The Empress Dowager was so frightened that she became very listless.
The Empress, on the other hand, seemed to have recovered her spirits. She glanced at the Emperor, then turned and returned to the Buddhist temple.
No one knew what the Empress was thinking at that moment—
The Emperor Emeritus is protecting her.
This shows that the retired emperor was actually on her side.
Rounding up, the retired emperor also believed that only Zhou Ze, whom she gave birth to, was qualified to succeed to the throne of the Great Zhou.
Therefore, she will be the next Empress Dowager!
The Emperor is unaware that her position is now unshakeable.
Zhou Shiyue and Yin Changxing went to the main hall first.