readytorunbook Chapter 848 The Emperor's Sons
Chapter 848 The Emperor's Sons
The emperor put this idea aside, thinking that the prince would not do that.
That little girl is totally clueless.
"Ask Concubine Rou to arrange a roasted deer banquet in the palace tomorrow."
Concubine Rou was the mother of the third prince. After Concubine Tong fell into poverty, it was Concubine Rou who took charge of the harem.
In fact, there have always been voices among the court officials urging His Majesty to hold a grand selection of the queen.
The position of queen has been vacant for a long time, which is not a good thing.
However, the emperor kept suppressing it and ignored it.
"Yes!"
Eunuch Fu accepted the order and withdrew.
Not long after Concubine Rou got the news, she made a special trip to the imperial study.
"Your Majesty, this is the chicken soup I made myself. You are busy with official duties, so please don't miss the meal." Concubine Rou looked at her with charming eyes and spoke in a soft voice.
"Oh?" The emperor remained calm and did not put down the memorial in his hand.
"Is this really made by my beloved concubine herself? Then I dare not drink it."
Concubine Rou blushed and pushed him coquettishly: "Your Majesty, you are annoying."
When they first met, they were at the hunting ground. In order to show off, Concubine Rou personally roasted a rabbit without even plucking the hair, and burned it directly into charcoal.
Obviously, the emperor knew about his concubine's cooking skills.
"It was made in the imperial kitchen. I just added a little salt. Is that okay?" Concubine Rou stamped her feet and pouted.
Concubine Rou is already in her thirties, but she has taken good care of herself, and she doesn't look ugly when she acts like a little girl.
The emperor had a smile on his face. After so many years, Concubine Rou still had the same temper. Every time she pretended to be serious, it would never last more than a quarter of an hour.
"I have received your kindness, my beloved concubine. Is there something you want to ask me?"
Concubine Rou thought of the important matter and raised her voice again, her voice so soft that it could produce water.
"Your Majesty, it's not a big deal."
She tentatively glanced at the emperor's expression and continued, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is old enough to get married. I see that the other princes are not young either. Why not take a look at them all?"
In the palace, the only princes who have reached the age and have married are the eldest prince, the second prince, and the third prince.
Qingyan was actually the fifth child in the family, but he was born of a legitimate wife, so he became the crown prince at birth.
In fact, in addition to the legitimate wife, there is also the eldest son who is the crown prince.
But the eldest prince was hardly mentioned in the palace or the court, as if he didn't exist.
In fact, long before the crown prince was born, the eldest prince's mother had been in a lot of trouble in the palace.
The empress had been in the palace for a short time, and the emperor was fond of her. He also believed that the reason so many princes fought for the throne when the late emperor was old was because he failed to establish a legitimate heir in time.
So he planned to wait until he had a legitimate son in the harem before having other children.
In other words, before the queen became pregnant, other concubines in the palace had to take contraceptive pills after sleeping with her.
But Concubine Zhuang was unwilling to give up. She secretly poured contraceptive soup into the woman's vagina and managed to get the Empress Dowager's protection after she became pregnant.
At that time, the emperor had just ascended the throne, and it was the time when he needed to show his motherly love and filial piety to the empress dowager.
The Queen Mother said that having a prince would stabilize the government and reduce the Queen's pressure.
The emperor had no choice but to keep the child, but he hated Concubine Zhuang in his heart.
Since Concubine Zhuang became pregnant, the emperor changed his strategy. He stopped giving contraceptive medicine to some of the concubines and selectively allowed some of them to become pregnant.
Concubine Rou, Concubine Tong, and others whose families are powerful are all included in this list.
Unfortunately, Concubine Tong gave birth to a princess, so the prince got the emperor's consent and adopted her.
Later, there were the second prince, the third prince, and the fourth prince.
During those years, the emperor ignored the eldest prince in every way and showed great affection for the younger princes.
This led to frequent fights between Concubine Zhuang and several other concubines, and the princes were also inevitably involved in the fights between the concubines.
Therefore, the eldest prince had a reputation for being dull and unteachable when he was young.
It is hard to say that there is no emperor's handiwork here.
Until the queen became pregnant.
The queen's pregnancy became the top priority in the harem, and many people wanted to take action.
Especially concubines who already have children.
The emperor and empress took great precautions, which enabled the prince to be born safely.
It was also in this year that the emperor completely eliminated the threat posed by his eldest son, the eldest prince.
Concubine Zhuang suffered from illnesses both major and minor. She went to the temple to burn incense and pray for blessings. The monk personally asserted that the eldest prince was unlucky for his mother, and that the illness had not occurred because he was young and had dragon energy suppressing him.
In the future, the consequences will probably become apparent.
Concubine Zhuang didn't believe it. How could this happen to her own son?
But not long after, she and the always healthy Queen Mother fell seriously ill and almost passed away.
Out of filial piety, the emperor ordered the eldest prince to become a monk and to get rid of his evil spirit in the temple.
The eldest prince became a monk at a young age and is still in the temple.
As he left the palace, Concubine Zhuang and the Queen Mother gradually recovered.
Concubine Zhuang has been very low-key in the harem in recent years and rarely appears in public.
In short, the eldest prince became a monk, and the second prince was not Concubine Tong's biological son. Sometimes Concubine Rou felt a chill down her spine when she thought about it.
Fortunately, her third prince grew up safely.
Five years ago, the eldest prince had gotten rid of his evil spirit and was about to return to secular life, but he was discovered having an affair with the eldest daughter of the Lu family in a temple.
The emperor directly granted him the marriage, made him a prince, and sent him to a remote place.
All the court officials could see that the emperor hated his eldest son from the bottom of his heart.
Miss Lu's father was only a fifth-rank official, and the Lu family was a small family.
The eldest prince's marriage did not bring him any help.
As for the second prince, he relied on Concubine Tong's power to marry a lady from a noble family.
Unfortunately, the Second Prince's wife suffered severe hemorrhage during childbirth and lost the baby, and she herself became sickly.
He can't stand the wind or the cold, and suffers from cough and typhoid fever most of the year.
He has to take medicine all day long, and he rarely sees his own children, let alone shows up in public.
Relatively speaking, the Third Prince's wife came from a decent family, had a gentle personality, and was in good health. She even gave birth to two daughters.
There is just one bad thing, the Third Prince's wife has no opinion of her own and listens to the Third Prince in everything.
The emperor frowned slightly: "Oh? The eighth child is only thirteen, so he can be engaged, but there is no rush."
Concubine Rou was anxious.
Except for the eldest prince, the second prince, the third prince, and the fourth prince who were demoted to commoners, the sixth prince died early.
And there is the seventh prince, the seventh prince is also born to Concubine Rou.
Why did Your Majesty think of the Eighth Brother?
"Your Majesty, you must not forget the Seventh Prince..."
The seventh prince is already fifteen years old.
"Oh, the seventh brother has a lot of ideas. As his father, I can't make the decision for him." The emperor interrupted directly.
If these were said by an ordinary father to his son, they would just be spoken in anger.
But when it came from the emperor's mouth, it expressed the emperor's dissatisfaction.
Concubine Rou felt a little guilty, but she still fought for her son: "Your Majesty, in the past, the Seventh Prince was young and ignorant. This year, I have seen that he has grown up and is now ready to get married."
The seventh prince was engaged.
The emperor personally chose the young lady from General An's family. General An held a large number of troops and had real power, and was also trusted by the emperor.
But the Seventh Prince heard from somewhere that the second young lady of the An family was a big and strong girl, grew up in the military camp, and had lost all her innocence.
He came to ask for a breakup of the engagement, but the emperor disagreed.