r18novel Chapter 454 Extra: Dongjun 2
Chapter 454 Extra: Dongjun 2
Dongjun couldn't believe it. Could it be that his father had always had health problems?
Li Fude seemed to see the new emperor's doubts and couldn't bear to see him misunderstand and be sad. "Back then, the late emperor only didn't use this when he was with Empress Chenyuan Zhao. He had to use it when the other concubines served him."
The implication that it was unavoidable was too obvious!
Dongjun couldn't hold back his tears. After a long silence, he asked, "Father, have you ever regretted it?"
Do you regret becoming emperor?
But after asking, Dongjun realized how foolish he had been. Did his father have any other choice back then?
It must have been incredibly difficult for someone who wasn't passionate about power to sit on the dragon throne, yet the Emperor still worked tirelessly day and night without ever slacking off.
Li Fude said, "Your Majesty, it's all in the past! With Empress Chenyuan Zhao around, the late Emperor was always happy."
With half a bottle of pills left, Dongjun poured them all into the brazier, leaving only the bottle. He often played with it, and it always reminded him of his father and mother. In their figures, he vaguely saw something.
The emperor observes mourning for his father by observing days instead of months, but Dongjun did not do so. He observed mourning for twenty-seven months in a row, and by the time he finished, his eldest son was almost four years old.
After Empress Ling Xinian returned to the capital with the Crown Prince, she lived in the palace. Empress Chen Yuanzhao took her by her side and gave her guidance at any time. She was intelligent and eager to learn, and she also learned some of Empress Chen Yuanzhao's insights and perspectives.
There are many legends about Empress Chen Yuanzhao in the palace. Ling Xinian respects and admires her mother-in-law very much, and she is always learning from her. Whenever she encounters difficulties or feels down, she always thinks, "If it were my mother, what would I do?"
My mother's life is like a book, with profound words, but not obscure or difficult to understand. On the contrary, it is fascinating and thought-provoking.
After the mourning period ended, Ling Xinian became pregnant again. Some people in the court took this opportunity to propose that she be selected as a concubine to enrich the harem and continue the royal family line.
To be honest, the fact that the Crown Prince only has one Crown Princess by his side is truly an oversight by the late Emperor and Empress Chen Yuanzhao. Back when the Crown Prince was still in the Eastern Palace, he didn't even have a maid to teach him.
After the Crown Princess entered the palace, she was always alone.
The emperor only has an empress now, and there are no concubines in the harem.
When Ling Xinian heard about this in the inner palace, the palace maids around her were quite worried. However, Ling Xinian thought back to when she entered the palace years ago, her mother spoke to her and told her that, nominally, the empress was the emperor's legal wife, but if she truly considered herself someone's wife, then she was not suitable to be the empress.
She even asked her mother, "What would be suitable for Dangdang?"
The Empress Dowager said that the most appropriate thing to do is to treat being Empress as a job. When doing a job, you only need to put in your energy. If you put in your emotions, you will only make things difficult for yourself.
Ling Xinian had never understood before, but now she realized how insightful her mother's words were.
Although she and the Emperor had known each other since childhood, how could that compare to the Emperor and Empress Dowager's childhood friendship and their journey together? Of course, later on, the Emperor doted on the Empress Dowager alone, but in the previous ten years, too many people had been involved between them.
However, they kept trying to get closer to each other, and in the end, only each other remained.
If Dongjun wants to gain more power in politics, he must compromise on some things, such as the talent show.
He really didn't know how to bring it up with the Empress, especially since she was pregnant. At this moment, he finally understood what the pills in his father's jade bottle meant.
A man's dignity was trampled underfoot by the power of an emperor.
A eunuch entered to announce, "Your Majesty, the Empress requests an audience!"
Dongjun let the emperor in, and saw the empress carrying a stew pot. "Your Majesty, I ordered someone to make some white fungus soup. These days it's been a bit dry and hot, so this is the best way to nourish yourself. Your Majesty's lips are all chapped."
She couldn't help but feel sorry for him when she saw it.
Dongjun took her hand, led her to sit on his lap, and hugged her, saying, "Niannian, only now, at this moment, do I realize how lonely it is to sit on this dragon throne. The higher you climb, the colder it gets."
Only then did he understand how much hardship his father and mother had endured to finally enjoy more than ten years of freedom in the deep palace, allowing them to grow up carefree.
Seeing his predicament, Ling Xinian felt that, given his current predicament, it wouldn't be so hard to accept sharing a husband with someone else in the future.
Which man in the world isn't like that?
Even the Empress Dowager started as a lowly concubine and suffered injustices in the palace, but she always kept her original intentions and never harmed anyone.
Her mother had also told her that she hated intrigue and schemes, and although she would not use them to harm others, she would never allow anyone to use such methods to harm her.
She understood what her mother meant.
The harem was about to be in turmoil. Her peaceful days and the favor she had enjoyed since entering the palace were all thanks to her mother. She could not live her whole life under the protection of her ancestors.
The Empress Dowager said that the reason why a woman's life is so tiring is not because she is fighting against a man, but because she is persecuted by the system.
No matter whose backyard she was in, she would inevitably have to face concubines and illegitimate sons. She had chosen the most brutal battlefield, and she had already gained the upper hand. If she still couldn't win in the end, then she was incompetent.
"No matter what the future holds, I will stay with Your Majesty." Ling Xinian leaned against her husband's chest. She longed to have him all to herself, but she suppressed that desire deeply.
"Someone proposed holding a talent show in court today."
Ling Xinian smiled and said, "My husband, don't worry. I will arrange everything. I will inform you to come and watch when the palace selection takes place."
Dongjun stroked her face. "No need. I'll have someone give you the list of candidates later. Just choose those."
Ling Xinian said, "Okay!"
She had expected the Emperor to give her a list of personnel, but instead, he gave her a list of officials, and the only ones he wanted to keep were their daughters.
Suddenly, the Empress felt that this most noble and honorable couple in the world was so pitiful and tragic.
The Empress was heavily pregnant when she selected seven women for the imperial concubine selection. During the palace selection, the Empress herself chose seven women to enter the palace.
She went to the Emperor to discuss her rank and palace arrangements, but the Emperor told her she could arrange it herself, which meant that she would arrange everything in the harem on her own.
She couldn't help but think of her mother, who never bothered with the concubines in the harem; everything she did was aimed at her father, the emperor, and she deeply tied her own interests to his.
Ling Xinian decided to follow suit.
Unlike his father, Dongjun didn't need to use drugs when he had sex with his concubines, but he never put any effort into any of them. After he had sex with one, he wouldn't even ask her name before having her carried away.
The Empress was pregnant, still in the first three months, but he would go to Fengyi Palace without fail on the first and fifteenth of each month.
He spends at least five or six days a month in Fengyi Palace, and sometimes he even lets the Empress stay overnight in Qianyuan Palace.
None of the other concubines dared to overstep the Empress's authority, and the harem became exceptionally quiet.
As the former empress's residence, Zhaoyang Palace was where the late emperor lived for nearly five years. It was also where the emperor and his four siblings lived. Now it is sealed off, and only some of the old people who used to serve the emperor and empress are left inside to guard it and clean it every day.
After dinner, the Emperor and Empress would stroll to the Peach Garden, where the Emperor would tell the Empress some interesting stories from the past. The Empress could then imagine how happy and fulfilled the family of six had been back then.
Dongjun touched the Empress's belly and said, "I intend to make Yan'er the Crown Prince. I will do my best to give Yan'er and the others a happy childhood."
The Queen leaned against Dongjun's chest, utterly content, and smiled, saying, "Good!"
Li Yan was the name Shen Shixi gave to his eldest grandson, meaning "peace and tranquility."