679 Mighty Dabao
In order to get back the phoenix seal, he lost the heirloom seal. It could be said that it was very not worth it.
If it were anyone else who touched the heirloom seal, they would have been dragged out by the Emperor to be chopped up. However, this was Dabao, his little great-grandson.
Perhaps it was really as the Empress had said, that he was past the age where his heart was the hardest. Or perhaps this child was indeed too lethal. In short, the Emperor did not have the heart to do anything to him.
“Be good, Dabao. This isn’t fun. How about I change it for you?” The Emperor coaxed softly and picked up a beautiful little golden bow. This bow was made of pure gold, small and exquisite. Although it was for show, the strings were real and he could shoot arrows.
The Emperor was not even willing to take out such a beautiful thing when Nangong Li was young. Now, he was giving it to Dabao as if it was free. Who knew that Dabao did not want it? Dabao hugged the heirloom seal tightly with one hand and pushed his hand away with the other. There was no room for discussion.
The Emperor tried many other things, but Dabao did not even look at them. If it were Xiaobao and Er’bao, he might be able to ask them what they liked. However, Dabao did not know how to speak and could not communicate with him normally.
The Emperor could not use force.
Dabao’s innocent eyes made him unable to withstand it. All his thoughts turned into a helpless sigh.
“Wang Dequan.”
Eunuch Wang walked in. “Your Majesty.”
The Emperor instructed, “Go and call Consort Yun over.”
“Yes.” Eunuch Wang looked at Dabao, who was holding the heirloom seal, and thought to himself that there was always a way out. The Emperor had finally met someone who could suppress him.
Eunuch Wang rubbed his old hands and left eagerly.
Consort Yun had brought Er’bao and Xiaobao over. The two of them were very satisfied with their new toy, but after seeing the golden bow, the new toy did not catch their eye. Of course, the two of them did not argue, nor did they cry or make a fuss. They just widened their black eyes and looked at the Emperor innocently and cutely.
In the end, Consort Yun did not persuade Dabao to hand over the heirloom seal. Instead, the Emperor took out another golden bow.
On the other side, the eunuch led the imperial physicians to see the Empress, who had been grabbed bald by Dabao.
The Empress had been in the palace for many years, but she had never been injured so seriously. Her fingernail had never been cracked before, but now, she was almost half bald.
The imperial physician took a bold look and almost knelt down in fear. It was not that her injuries were hopeless, but she was the Empress, the Emperor’s favorite. Who would dare to hurt her like this? Or did she have a difficult illness that made her bald overnight?
The imperial doctor hurriedly took the Empress’s pulse. There was nothing wrong with her pulse! She was just furious.
“Imperial Physician, how are Her Majesty’s injuries? Are they serious?” The eunuch asked worriedly.
The Empress also looked at him worriedly, but she was too embarrassed to ask if her hair could grow. She was already an old lady. It was already good enough that she had hair. Why did she still want her hair to grow vigorously like a little girl?
The imperial physician did not dare to say what he was thinking. He only said, “Your Majesty, don’t worry. Your injuries are not serious. I will make an ointment for Your Majesty to prevent infection. Then, I will use ginger juice and knotweed to nourish Your Majesty’s hair.”
At this point, this was the only way. The Empress could not really place a knife on the imperial doctor’s neck and chop off his head.
“Send the imperial physician,” the Empress instructed kindly.
“Yes.” The eunuch respectfully sent the imperial physician out.
The imperial physician sighed inwardly. As expected of the Empress, she could still be so polite. When the Empress was young, she was also a bright beauty. However, as her appearance grew older, she gradually lost her former beauty. Suddenly, she became bald, making her look even older by more than ten years.
“Take it down!” The Empress threw away the bronze mirror in her hand.
The female envoys hurriedly removed all the mirrors in the bedchamber. The Empress felt stifled, but what could she do? Her hair was not scratched by a servant, nor was it done by Consort Yun, but by a child who was less than three years old.
What did such a young child know? Could it be that she could really execute him because she was angry with him?
He was the descendant of the Emperor, the flesh and blood of the little commandery princess and the Great Zhou royal family. Putting aside how much noble blood flowed in his body, even if he was really a child casually captured on the streets, she could not punish him.
If a virtuous Empress made things difficult for a three-year-old child, how could she be a mother of the country?
What would Consort Yun do if it were her? She would probably pick up the child and beat him up. She did not care what others thought of her.
Sometimes, it was not so easy to be a virtuous queen.
It was not that the Empress did not suspect that Consort Yun was the one who instigated it, but she could not say it even if she suspected it. The Emperor could, but from the looks of it, he had never suspected Consort Yun at all.
The Empress felt even more stifled. She applied ointment, put on a veil as a wig, and quietly waited for news of the phoenix seal.
Not long after, Eunuch Wang returned with the phoenix seal. The moment she saw the phoenix seal, the Empress heaved a long sigh of relief. The Emperor was finally not stupid enough to let the child take away such an important thing.
What the Empress did not know was that the Emperor did not let Dabao take the phoenix seal, but Dabao took the heirloom seal.
The Emperor tried his best to “deceive” the heirloom seal from Dabao, but Dabao ignored him and hugged it tightly.
“Just snatch it,” Consort Yun said.
“Then… you’ll do it?” The Emperor said.
Consort Yun snorted. “No! I’m not the one who made promises to Dabao!”
In Consort Yun’s opinion, this was not Dabao’s fault. If the Empress had not puff herself up at her own cost, she would not have let Dabao take the phoenix seal. That was why there was a series of incidents.
How could such a young child know that this was an heirloom seal? If he felt that he liked it, he would hold it in his hand. Anyway, the Emperor had said that as long as he put down the phoenix seal, he could choose whatever he wanted in the imperial study.
See, didn’t he choose it? It just depends on whether you give it or not!
Consort Yun did not care about the heirloom seal, nor did she weigh its value. In her eyes, this was something that could please Dabao. She could give advice to the Emperor, but she was unwilling to snatch Dabao’s beloved little thing.
The heirloom seal was too important. If he accidentally lost it, the entire royal family would become a laughing stock.
The Emperor cleared his throat and decided to snatch the heirloom seal.
He reached out to take the heirloom seal from Dabao’s arms. As soon as he moved, Dabao’s eyes turned red.
Dabao looked at him aggrievedly, making his heart break!
Consort Yun took out her handkerchief and wiped her tears. “The three of them didn’t grow up by Ah Wan and Jiuchao’s side originally. They suffered a lot and were tortured. They were pressed in on a cold day…”
Stop talking. I won’t snatch it anymore, alright?!
The Emperor retracted his hand!
Consort Yun put away her handkerchief and said briskly, “Your Majesty, when Dabao falls asleep, he might let go!”
The Emperor glanced at her coldly. “…”
So, whose side are you on?
However, this was indeed a good idea. No matter how much Dabao cherished it, could he still hug it when he fell asleep? After he fell asleep and let go, he would bring the heirloom seal over. Of course, in case Dabao cried, the Emperor had asked the craftsman to carve a fake one.
There was no one else in history who could make a fake heirloom seal.
The Emperor brought Dabao back to his bedchamber and guarded him without leaving his side. After washing up, he also looked at him without blinking. Such a young child had played for an entire day. Logically speaking, he should be dozing off a lot, but no one expected that Dabao would still be awake even after the Emperor fell asleep.
The next day, when the Emperor woke up from his sleep, Dabao was already sitting cross-legged beside him and playing with the heirloom seal.
This, this child!
The Emperor was about to break down. However, what was even more devastating was yet to come.
Dabao had originally established a good friendship with the Emperor. Now that the Emperor had given him such a beautiful thing, Dabao liked him even more. Wherever he went, Dabao would follow him, even forgetting his two silly brothers.
The Emperor went to the study, so did he.
The Emperor went to the garden, so did he.
There was a black tail behind the Emperor. Finally, it was time for court. Dabao still followed him persistently.
“How about Dabao go to Consort Yun’s place?”
Every time he said this, Dabao would look at him as if he had been abandoned.
That gaze was too lethal. The Emperor took a deep breath. “I really owe you. Come, come.”
Dabao’s expression changed in a second and he happily followed!
Therefore, on this day, the civil and military officials of Nanzhao witnessed the legendary scene of the Emperor bringing a little black egg to court. The Emperor strode in front, and the little black egg carried the heirloom seal and slipped behind.
The Emperor walked up the steps, and the little black egg also climbed up the steps one by one.
The Emperor sat on the throne and asked Eunuch Wang to move a small chair for the little fellow. Dabao looked at his small chair and then at the Emperor’s golden chair. He walked over with the heirloom seal and sat on the throne!
The civil and military officials gasped! So His Majesty was here to appoint the crown prince today?!!
The Emperor trembled in panic!
No, no, no, you’re thinking too much! I’m not here to appoint the crown prince! I didn’t!!! I really didn’t!!!