amaotonovel Chapter 409 Persuasion
Chapter 409 Persuasion
Although the King of Qi was not her biological son, he was raised by her side.
She was always indifferent to emotions, but in the deep palace, she sometimes couldn't help but feel lonely.
Especially when her pillar of support collapsed, the then infant King Qi provided her with some comfort, which helped her persevere.
This feeling alone is extraordinary.
The Queen did not want to hear the bad news about the Prince of Qi.
The imperial physician carefully fed the Prince of Qi the medicine brought by the palace servants. Afterward, he examined the Prince carefully and, after confirming that he was alright, left a bottle of pills for the eunuchs, instructing them that if the high fever persisted for two or three hours, they should take out two pills and feed them to the Prince of Qi.
After giving his instructions, the imperial physician left with his medicine chest on his back.
The Empress waved her hand to dismiss the palace servants inside the hall and ordered her trusted confidants to guard the hall entrance.
Inside the palace, only the Empress and Prince Qi and his son remained.
The Empress gazed quietly at the sleeping face of the Prince of Qi, and vaguely realized that it had been a long time since she had properly looked at him. Since he was granted the title of Prince and left the palace to establish his own residence, she had rarely seen him.
Although he wasn't particularly intelligent or had any sophisticated methods, he was a filial and obedient child.
If he was not away on official business, he would come to the palace to pay his respects on any day when it was time to do so.
If he goes out on business, he will collect some items and bring them back to her so she can have something new.
Whenever I see that her condition is serious, I get extremely anxious.
As long as she gives the instructions, even if he has other ideas in his mind, he will obediently do as she says.
Because in the King of Qi's heart, she was his mother.
The Empress felt a pang of sadness, pulled the blanket over his chest, and gently touched his forehead with her palm.
The King of Qi opened his eyes with trembling eyelashes and vaguely saw the Queen sitting by the bed. His eyes reddened: "Mother, I thought I would never see you again."
The Empress looked at his reddened eyes, took out a handkerchief and wiped them for him: "How old are you, still shedding tears in front of your own mother?"
King Qi had narrowly escaped death and was greatly frightened. Being ill, he was suddenly confronted with his own mother, which inevitably revealed his vulnerable side.
"Chong'er, your mother's wish is for you to live a peaceful and safe life."
The Queen realized a problem: she hoped that Prince Qi would be a carefree prince and live a peaceful and stable life.
However, she did not tell King Qi her thoughts, which led King Qi to focus all his attention on vying for the throne, and he almost lost his life in the process.
"Didn't you say that I am destined to be the ruler of the world? I cannot let the throne fall into the hands of Consort Shu and her son, otherwise my son and I will have no way to survive."
The King of Qi said, “Your son has always kept your words in mind and followed your instructions. But when I grew up and understood some of the stakes, I realized that you were wrong. This throne must belong to me. Not only Consort Shu and her son, but anyone else who ascends the throne will not have a place for us in Northern Qi.”
From the moment he understood that the winner takes all and the loser is condemned, he considered the throne to be his for the taking.
Anyone who covets the throne is his enemy.
But now his mother says she hopes he will live a peaceful and safe life.
They were simply advising him not to vie for the throne.
He had schemed for so many years, and the throne was practically within his grasp. Suddenly, his mother told him to give it up. How could he accept that?
Upon hearing what the Prince of Qi said, the Empress turned her face away.
When Yizhen passed away, she was devastated and depressed, and remained bedridden for a long time without getting better.
The following autumn, the Northern Qi emperor organized an autumn hunt and took his concubines with him. Since the imperial palace was built at the foot of the mountain in the royal hunting grounds, the emperor planned to stay there for a while after the hunt to help his concubine recover from her illness.
The Northern Qi emperor led his ministers on a hunting expedition, while the imperial concubines remained at the imperial palace to enjoy the scenery.
On this day, Consort Shu drugged her personal maid, framing her for having an affair with a guard. However, she learned of this beforehand and, before Consort Shu could confront her, she led her own people to cover for her.
Because she was bedridden, she still held the power to manage the six palaces, while Consort Shu, who was the most favored concubine by the Northern Qi Emperor, had no power at all.
Consort Shu was an extremely ambitious woman who had long coveted the power she held.
If it were discovered that her palace maids and guards were having an affair, they could use that as an excuse to accuse her of being incompetent in managing her subordinates and unable to control the affairs of the inner palace, thus taking away the power in her hands.
This matter was nothing more than the scheming and intrigue within the harem, not something she would take to heart. However, Consort Shu's despicable methods stirred up a long-buried memory within her. Back in the Eastern Palace, Consort Shu had also used similar dirty tricks against Yizhen.