Chapter 446: Husband and Wife, Father and Son, Brothers

Chapter 446: Husband and Wife, Father and Son, Brothers

| Ningshou Palace. |

The youngest architectural community in the palace, which has been in use for less than ten years, was owned by the most powerful elders in the palace.

It was almost midnight.

The main hall of Ningshou Palace was still brightly lit, with more than a dozen internal attendants distributed inside and outside the hall door, each of them resembling clay carvings and wooden sculptures, afraid to make any sound.

The only exception was eunuch Xia Shouzhong from the imperial harems.

He stood closest to the imperial case in the hall, sometimes looking at the Emperor sitting on the dragon chair and sometimes looking out of the hall. Although his feet were as motionless as the roots of an old tree, his heart was as restless as ants in a hot pot.

For over ten years!

It has been over ten years, and since then, Xia Shouzhong has never seen the Supreme Emperor close his eyes and contemplate in the dragon chair.

However, before abdicating, the Supreme Emperor would silently contemplate every difficult and decisive event, ranging from a moment to just one or two hours.Rêađ latest cha/p/ters on no/v/e/l(b)in(.)c/o/m

But today, the Supreme Emperor has been sitting for half a day!

He was almost eighty now, and even if he was well-maintained regularly, how could he withstand such ups and downs?!

Xia Shouzhong deliberately advised with a few words but ultimately didn’t dare to exceed his duty. While feeling anxious, he saw a light outside the hall from far to near.

Xia Shouzhong was immediately overjoyed. In the quiet of the night, even if Emperor Guangde came, he would make people report first. Nowadays, only Empress Dowager Niu could drive in without reporting.

As expected.

After a moment of effort, an elderly woman walked slowly into the hall, leaning on a cane.

“Ouch~”

Xia Shouzhong let out a gasp of surprise as he quickly stepped forward and cursed with hatred, "You inconspicuous dogs, don't you know how to serve the Empress Dowager?”

This old woman was naturally Empress Dowager Niu, but when she turned her head towards Xia Shouzhong, she signaled that he didn't need to come forward to help, and then she climbed the imperial stairs without hesitation.

Although this imperial staircase was only on the third floor, it still made her breathing appear a bit heavy. After a short rest, she finally arrived at the imperial table.

However, she didn’t disturb the closed eyes and contemplation of the Supreme Emperor. Instead, she gently leaned the cane against the imperial table, poured the already cold residual tea, and picked up the purple clay pot, trembling to fill a glass.

Ka~

When the purple clay pot was placed back in the tray, it accidentally knocked and eventually startled the Supreme Emperor. He slowly lifted his eyelids and fixed his gaze on the steaming tea cup. After a while, he finally reached out his dry palm.

Phew

Seeing this, Xia Shouzhong breathed a sigh of relief and secretly praised that the Empress Dowager's face was indeed greater.

Unexpectedly, the Supreme Emperor's movements suddenly accelerated. He swung up his sleeve and vigorously brushed it, sweeping the teacup, along with the tray underneath, onto the ground!

Clang!

As the teacup shattered on the ground, it seemed that all the attendants inside and outside the Ningshou Palace had been hit with an arrow on their knees simultaneously, and then they all kneeled!

Only Xia Shouzhong hurriedly roared up the imperial rank and said with concern, "Your Majesty, are you okay?”

“Get lost.”

However, his concern was blocked by a hoarse roar before it could fully burst out of his throat.

Xia Shouzhong paused and hesitated as he looked towards Empress Dowager Niu.

Empress Dowager Niu was calm and tight, only using her chin to move outward and calmly commanding, "You all go down.”

Xia Shouzhong then led his attendants and exited the main hall of Ningshou Palace like a tide.

When only the husband and wife were left in the hall, Empress Dowager Niu supported the imperial case and walked around to the Supreme Emperor. She leaned against him and sat on the dragon chair, still persuading in a calm tone, "If Your Majesty has any discomfort, just vent it. Why bother venting your own body?”

“Hehe...”

On the wrinkled old face of the Supreme Emperor, a hint of mockery appeared, and he murmured, “”Whitehead is as new as ever, and it's as old as ever.” I never imagined that it took me until I was nearly eighty years old to understand the true meaning of these words.”

As he spoke, he patted the arm of the dragon chair lightly with his dry palm and sneered, "You are seventy-six this year, am I right? Although you are nine years later than Wu Zhao, you still have time to compete.”

Wu Zetian ascended to the throne at the age of 67, and the words of the Supreme Emperor clearly accuse Empress Dowager Niu of wanting to learn from Wu Zetian's plan to usurp the throne and establish herself as the Emperor.

Faced with such accusations, Empress Dowager Niu only frowned slightly and sighed, "It turns out that Your Majesty is suspecting the assassination of the Crown Prince, which is related to me.”

As he spoke, his face darkened, and he solemnly said, "Actually, it's not just the Crown Prince who has lost his virtue. I've heard that there are many unscrupulous people among the descendants of this family nowadays, including those who bully men and women, those who spoil concubines and destroy wives, those who raise prostitutes, and those who set up other homes.”

“I heard that there are still some people who have an affair with women outside and dare not be included in the royal family list even after giving birth. It's annoying and hateful.”

“This kind of shameful behavior should be well managed by the Emperor.”

After hearing this, Emperor Guangde's eyes flickered slightly, but on the surface, he stood up and responded solemnly, saying that he would let people secretly investigate the words and deeds of the clan's children and punish those who were not worthy.

“I heard that the Crown Prince was assassinated, and I haven't been calm for a day and a night. I believe the Emperor feels the same as me," said the Supreme Emperor. "Now that this good news has come out, you should rest earlier to avoid overwork and injury to your body.”

At this point, he suddenly remembered something and quickly pursued. "By the way, did you ever find out the person behind the assassination of the Crown Prince?”

Emperor Guangde hesitated a bit and said, "Nowadays, many shreds of evidence have faintly pointed to Second Brother.”

“It won't be him.”

Without hesitation, the Supreme Emperor firmly said, "This is of no benefit to him. If his remaining parties had such skills, they would have saved him long ago.”

Upon seeing this scene, Emperor Guangde knew that it was impossible to take advantage of the situation and kill Prince Yizhong.

So he nodded and said, "I think the same way too. I have ordered Xu Furen to continue investigating the culprit behind the scenes.”

“Well, this matter must be thoroughly investigated and the traitor must be completely executed.”

The father and son spoke a few more words before Emperor Guangde stood up and retreated.

After seeing off Emperor Guangde's departure, Empress Dowager Niu, who had been silent beside him, suddenly said in a faint voice, "Even if it is from your clan relatives and children, it is not your descendants after all.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

The Supreme Emperor suddenly stood up and looked down at Empress Dowager Niu from a high position. He fiercely demanded, "Pierce this lame lie, drive him completely to the corner, and then face my son in battle! Play a great play that is more exciting than the change of treason, to leave a lasting reputation in history and become a joke for those sour and corrupt literati?”

After finishing this statement in one breath, the Supreme Emperor's chest rapidly undulated and he reached out to hold onto the imperial table before collapsing on the dragon chair.

Empress Dowager Niu remained silent for a long time before suddenly slowly closing her palms and reciting the Buddha's name with low brows and pleasing eyes. "Amitabha, God bless the Emperor to find out the true culprit as soon as possible, so that our Niu family will not suffer unjustified injustice.”

As soon as Emperor Guangde arrived outside the walls of the Qianqing Palace, he collided head-on with Prince Zhongshun.

“Go, all down.”

Prince Zhongshun drove away all the accompanying attendants like flies, carrying a lantern and walking side by side with Emperor Guangde. He lowered his voice and said, "Did the old man ever see any flaws?”

“Flaws?”

Emperor Guangde sneered with a calm face and said, "My father has seen everything in his life. How could such a trick be concealed from him?”

“So he...”

“Listening to his means, he should acquiesce.”

Emperor Guangde sneered and said, "However, he secretly marked a boundary for me. The ”Imperial Grandson” must be found from the royal family.”

Seeing two eunuchs in front, Prince Zhongshun paused for a moment until he entered the palace before nodding and saying, "I should look for it from the royal family. The old man is quite reasonable this time.”

“Being reasonable?”

Emperor Guangde sneered and said, "It's just a matter of conscious wrongdoing, unwillingness to punish the old godly woman, and even less wanting to leave behind the stigma of father-son cruelty. It's just a temporary compromise.”

As he spoke, he gritted his teeth and punched the beam-column, saying in a hateful voice, "One day, I will exterminate the nine clans of the Niu family.”

Prince Zhongshun followed him and cursed the Niu family a few times, but then changed his tone and praised, "I never expected that the Sun family, Erlang, had such courage and insight at such a young age. If he hadn't made this decision in time, we would have been much more passive in a few days if this matter had spread.”

As he spoke, he hesitated and said, "This kid is so bold and young, and he has already become famous in the Capital city. If he really establishes his foothold in the court in the future, it may not be a blessing for the court.”

Emperor Guangde shook his head and said, "Since ancient times, I have only heard that newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. When he settles down and has children and grandchildren, the edges and corners will be almost polished. Besides, children and grandchildren will have their children and grandchildren too.”

He originally intended to say ”children and grandchildren have their own blessings,” but when he thought about the current situation of the Crown Prince, he couldn't help but feel dejected.

At this moment, Prince Zhongshun suddenly took out a booklet from his sleeve and respectfully presented it with both hands. "Your Majesty, please take a look at this thing.”

Emperor Guangde took the pamphlet with some confusion and flipped through it, only to find that all the records above were examples of having a baby at an old age over fifty years old, and even two special cases of seventy years old and rare.

“Your Majesty has had a strong foundation since childhood; how can you still not compare to these folk people?"Prince Zhongshun timely advised, "But your Majesty has a deep relationship with the imperial Sister-in-law, and you rarely spoil other concubines normally. If you find a few good and meticulous cultivators, you may be able to give birth to another prince.”

Although Emperor Guangde didn’t respond, he repeatedly rubbed the booklet. It was obvious that he was moved.