amaotonovel Chapter 425 Fulfillment
Chapter 425 Fulfillment
The Northern Qi emperor looked at the empress with a gloomy gaze, a nameless rage rising within him.
The King of Qi is being held in confinement in Guangyang Palace. His crimes will not be made public for the time being, and will be discussed after the King of Xian arrives in the capital.
Now that the Empress has volunteered to guard the imperial mausoleum, the ministers in the court are all shrewd and will surely guess what has happened in the palace.
"Are you angry with me? Are you resentful that I punished Chong'er, or resentful that I made you undergo a physical examination?" The Emperor of Northern Qi suppressed his anger, convinced that the Empress had figured out his thoughts and was deliberately using this tactic to pressure him: "If it is the former, I have already shown mercy. If it is the latter, I had no choice but to resort to this tactic in order to protect your and Chong'er's reputation."
The Empress looked up at the Emperor of Northern Qi. From their very first meeting, she knew he was not someone she could entrust her life to. His subsequent actions only confirmed this.
She longed for freedom, but was imprisoned in the deep palace, and for the rest of her life, she could only see a small patch of sky above her.
The only thing she did for herself was to risk the extermination of her entire family by adopting Chong'er and raising him as her own son. Her life seemed to have found meaning again—supporting the Prince of Qi to ascend the throne and defeating the Northern Qi Emperor and Consort Shu.
For so many years, she had been working towards her goal, until Zhao Yi returned to the capital, where the imperial tutor supported him from behind the scenes. In order to save the lives of her entire clan and Chong'er, she persuaded Chong'er to give up the struggle for the throne.
Unexpectedly, things took an unexpected turn when Lord Feng found the female physician and revealed Chong'er's true identity.
Back then, only his closest confidants and the female doctor knew the truth.
She erased every trace that could be erased.
The only variable is the female doctor.
For her, killing the female doctor was the only way to eliminate future troubles.
But she didn't harm the female doctor.
Because the female doctor once said that she came from a poor family and had been seriously ill as a child, but her parents had no money to treat her, so they abandoned her at the door of the clinic.
Her master, seeing her pitiful state, took her in and raised her, teaching her medicine so she could practice healing and help others. She took this as her aspiration and diligently studied medicine, but in the end, she was trapped in the deep palace, which was truly a helpless situation.
Moved by compassion, she released the female physician from the palace and gave her a sum of money so that she could pursue her ambitions and help more people in need.
Because she believed that the female physician, a person with great love and compassion, had not been blinded by the glitz and glamour of the palace for several years and had always adhered to her original intentions, and would never betray her.
Moreover, if she were to betray her and reveal that Chong'er was not her son, the female physician would also be guilty of deceiving the emperor.
Helping her might offer a glimmer of hope.
She never expected that Lord Feng would request a physical examination, and that the Emperor of Northern Qi would actually agree. What she thought was a certain death turned out to be a surprise when the nanny conducting the examination sided with her.
She had endured it all alone for too long. If it weren't for the fate of her entire clan on her shoulders, she wouldn't want to struggle anymore and would accept her fate with equanimity.
In that way... she will be free.
"Your Majesty, I am not angry with you. It is because Chong'er committed treason. Your Majesty spared his life out of consideration for our father-son relationship, and I am deeply grateful to you. You also spared my life out of consideration for our husband-wife relationship, and I am deeply moved. However... I have failed to properly educate Chong'er, and I am ashamed before the ancestors of the Chu family and Your Majesty. I have no face to continue to hold the position of Empress and enjoy wealth and honor. I wish to go to the imperial mausoleum to apologize to our ancestors."
The Empress touched her forehead to the ground: "Please grant my request, Your Majesty."
The Emperor of Northern Qi gritted his teeth, staring intently at the Empress. Her gaze was resolute, as if nothing he did could change her mind.
A surge of anger rose in his head, and his head throbbed with a sharp, stabbing pain.
He suppressed the waves of dizziness, and the discomfort in his body ignited a anger within him. He said angrily, "Why did you choose to guard the imperial tombs instead of being a proper empress? Fine, I'll grant your wish." He growled at Eunuch Liu, "Go to Chang Le Palace and retrieve the empress's golden book and seal!"
Liu Gonggong was so frightened that he trembled and dared not answer.
The Empress calmly expressed her gratitude and then slowly rose and left the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
The Northern Qi emperor grabbed an inkstone from his desk, smashed it to the ground, and said to Eunuch Liu with a fierce expression, "While you're at it, go and investigate the secret chambers of Chang Le Palace."
Eunuch Liu's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly realized something. Even if the Empress was exonerated, Lord Feng had ultimately planted a seed of doubt in His Majesty's heart.
He dared not delay and left upon receiving the order.
The Emperor of Northern Qi looked at the female physician kneeling in the corner and said coldly, "Take her away and deal with her."
The female physician trembled slightly, then slowly loosened her clenched fists. She stood up gracefully, allowing the imperial guards to lead her away.
From the moment Lord Feng came to her door, she saw through her fate.
She should have died twenty years ago, but the Empress, out of compassion, spared her life, allowing her to fulfill her wishes. She lived for another twenty years, curing countless patients and training many apprentices.
Even if I were to die now, I would have no regrets.
Only the Emperor of Northern Qi remained in the hall. No longer able to suppress his physical discomfort, a severe headache swept over him. He leaned against the table, but missed and fell to the ground. He opened his mouth to call for the eunuchs outside the hall to come in, but no sound came out.
He was in so much pain that he was covered in cold sweat. With difficulty, he took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve, poured out a few pills with trembling fingers, and swallowed them all at once.
The dim candlelight illuminated his face, giving it a somber, aged look.
After an unknown amount of time, Eunuch Liu returned carrying the golden book and treasure. Upon seeing the Northern Qi Emperor lying on the ground, he was startled and quickly put down the items in his hands, helping the Northern Qi Emperor to lie down on the bed.
The Northern Qi emperor, his breath unsteady, asked, "Did you find anything in Chang Le Palace?"
"Your Majesty, in the court, it's always one side dominating the other. Intrigues, framing, and slander are rampant. With so many eyes watching, if the Empress truly had a problem, why would it have taken twenty years to be exposed?"
Eunuch Liu advised, "I found nothing unusual in Chang Le Palace, so please don't worry."
The Northern Qi emperor, still uneasy, pressed his aching head and said, "You...you order the cabinet to draft an edict summoning Prince Xian back to the capital." He paused, then added, "Arrange for an elite force to secretly bring Prince Xian back, but be careful not to alert any of the other factions."
Eunuch Liu immediately understood that the Northern Qi emperor wanted to make Prince Xian the crown prince. He agreed and prepared to deliver the message.
"Wait a minute," the Northern Qi emperor ordered. "Send men to keep a close eye on the Prince of Guangling."
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At this moment, Zhao Yi sat upright in the quiet teahouse, poured a cup of tea from the teapot, and handed it to the Imperial Tutor opposite him.