Remarrying Chun Yuan

Chapter 149 The faint king

The echo lingered and drifted into the Cixi Palace on the east side.

In the Cixi Palace, Emperor Qi Xiao nearly fainted several times upon hearing the crisp words "tyrant".

"What kind of woman did you marry? She's as beautiful as a willow in spring breeze, but her temper is even fiercer than Sun Erniang's. She stood at the door and cursed me? What kind of behavior is this!"

Yuan Cuo leisurely prepared the medicine, showing no signs of being about to be buried alive with the Empress Dowager.

His hands flew across the page, moving rapidly, yet he didn't neglect his words, "It was His Majesty who insisted on testing her heart; it has nothing to do with me. I have always believed that my wife would never leave me, and I have never doubted her."

Emperor Qi Xiao's face darkened further. What did that mean? Did it mean that he, the emperor of Great Qi, had been abandoned?

But he wasn't wrong; he was indeed abandoned by a woman. And that woman even gave birth to this gossipy son!

"How dare you judge her and say such things in front of me?" Emperor Qi Xiao couldn't hold back his anger.

Yuan Cuo paused, "You really want to try?"

"Scared now?" Emperor Qi Xiao sneered. "I don't believe that if I give her enough benefits, she won't agree to abandon you and become the Queen of Meng."

"This humble subject was afraid that Your Majesty would lose face if you were rejected. Besides, the disaster relief funds for last year's snow disaster were donated by my wife. You only gave me the title of official merchant, and that title was only because I became the son-in-law of the Liu family. Otherwise, it would have just ended there."

"What's the point of talking about generous benefits if you don't have money?" Yuan Cuo chuckled.

He continued to prepare the medicinal liquid, which also contained a row of palm-sized needles, numbering in the hundreds, each with a strange color.

Emperor Qi Xiao was speechless. He had originally wanted to see Liu Yuechu, but now he had no intention of doing so.

"Can you even prepare the antidote properly? The Empress Dowager is old and can't stand your constant torment!"

These hundreds of fine needles pierced his bones every day. Putting himself in their shoes, if he were lying there one day, Emperor Qi Xiao would be eager to die and start anew, rather than suffer this torment any longer!

"Even the Empress Dowager has tolerated it, so why should Your Majesty feel sorry for her? If it weren't for His Highness the Crown Prince ordering Commander Zhang to use wild kudzu vine to poison Yuwen Chan, and me testing it on him first, this palace would have been covered in white curtains long ago. In that case, Your Majesty should really reward His Highness the Crown Prince." Yuan Cuo shut his mouth and stopped talking, but Emperor Qi Xiao was so angry that he couldn't stay any longer.

He left in a huff, leaving Cheng Hai behind to keep him company.

After seeing His Majesty off, Cheng Hai returned and sighed, "Why bother? Why did you do this?"

As the Empress Dowager's poison worsened and threatened her life, he met with Emperor Qi Xiao. Although the father and son had never spoken before, they chatted without any awkwardness.

Logically speaking, since Yuan Cuo saved the Empress Dowager, Emperor Qi Xiao wanted to take the opportunity to acknowledge this son, but he disliked Liu Yuechu's background as not being good enough.

That's why Emperor Qi Xiao issued an edict ordering Yuan Cuo to be buried alive with him. He wanted to see how the Liu family would react and whether Liu Yuechu would abandon Yuan Cuo, otherwise she wouldn't be worthy of being his daughter-in-law.

But unexpectedly, Liu Yuechu not only attracted the favor of the Right Chancellor's son, but even Yuwen Chan sent a special envoy to deliver a message, forbidding Emperor Qi Xiao from harming her.

The key point is that this was something His Majesty provoked and wanted to test, and when his daughter-in-law stood at the door and called him a "tyrant," he really couldn't get angry.

Yuan Cuo didn't speak, but gestured with his chin towards the front of him, and Cheng Hai immediately picked up the tray of needles.

The two walked towards the Empress Dowager's bedroom. This was the eighth time the acupuncture had been administered. Two more treatments would extend her life by half a year, at least allowing her to survive this birthday banquet.

The Empress Dowager opened her cloudy old eyes and saw that it was Yuan Cuo who had entered again. A flash of resentment and hatred suddenly appeared in her eyes, but she closed her eyes again and gritted her teeth.

Yuan Cuo skillfully pricked a hundred needles into the wrinkled, aged skin, causing her to scream in pain. But Cheng Hai had already placed soft cotton cloth in her mouth, so only muffled sounds could be heard.

Black venom was pumped out drop by drop from the long needle.

The Empress Dowager finally couldn't hold on any longer and fainted.

Seeing that she had fainted from the pain, Yuan Cuo very slowly pulled out the long needle.

Cheng Hai waved his hand, and the palace maids immediately stepped forward to wipe and tidy up the Empress Dowager.

Yuan Cuo carefully picked up the poison from the silver needles, putting it all into a small bottle and sealing it.

Cheng Hai felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the black liquid and kept his distance. "She's really old and can't take it anymore. We know you can make sure she doesn't have to suffer like this."

"Don't slander me, I don't admit it." Yuan Cuo denied it very decisively.

Cheng Haicai didn't believe it. "It's no use denying it. You can't fool our family. Since you've already promised to save her, why make things so embarrassing? The Empress Dowager won't remember your kindness."

“Do I need that? I’d rather she hate me to the core.” Yuan Cuo’s smile was tinged with nostalgia. “Only when she hates me will I feel that my father and mother have been avenged. I saved her not so that she could live, but so that she could experience a few more days of living hell.”

"Keep your voice down!" Cheng Haixin was heartbroken.

How can this couple say such outrageous things? One calls the emperor a tyrant, and the other wishes the Empress Dowager a fate worse than death.

Just because Yuwen Chan of the Mongol Kingdom is backing you up doesn't mean you're all that. Yuwen Chan wants to steal his wife, not take them in.

Yuan Cuo snorted coldly and turned to leave the bedchamber.

He only had one more day before he could leave the palace and go home. He really missed his wife…

"Has Yue Niang left?" He was confined by Emperor Qi Xiao and was not even allowed to go up to the rooftop to look around, otherwise he could have taken a look out.

Cheng Hai shook his head. "His Majesty still saw her."

"This foolish ruler, how can he not believe in superstitions?" Yuan Cuo said speechlessly.

Cheng Hai slapped his forehead; he really didn't want to talk to that couple anymore.

At this moment, Emperor Qi Xiao was in his study, gazing intently at the young woman before him. He had seen her from afar before, but this was the first time he had seen her up close.

Moreover, before, I saw her as the daughter of a painting master; now I see her as a daughter-in-law, and no matter how I look at her, she seems to have a rebellious nature, just like that brat.

"This humble woman, Liu Yuechu, greets Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!" She curtsied but did not kneel or kowtow.

Emperor Qi Xiao coldly replied, "You know that Yuwen Chan wants to marry you, don't you? Tell me what you think."

How could she not know?

He stood at the door with his hands on his hips and cursed Tuoba Yun for a long time.

Liu Yuechu, however, did not bring up this topic at all. "My husband is not dead yet, and Your Majesty is asking me to think about remarriage. Great Qi has always been a land of etiquette, but Your Majesty's question is really improper."

Emperor Qi Xiao sneered, "So you're going to curse me as a tyrant? What kind of behavior is that!"

Liu Yuechu was disgruntled; she hadn't expected Yuan Cuo to be alive.

Blame Zhongyao's brother for his old-fashioned face; he spoke as if she were a widow...