Chapter 572 Would You Hate Me If You Were Him
The guards with golden armor went down and soon pulled a person here. After pressing him to kneel on the ground, the guards retreated.
“Greetings to you, my honorable uncle!” At the foot of the stairs was a young man in an ordinary navy-blue robe. After kneeling down, he bowed and kowtowed to the emperor, and then he said these words in a clear voice.
Some people knew about this matter, and some people didn’t know. When they heard the man call the emperor uncle, some people who did not know the truth looked in astonishment at Chu Liuchen in a wheelchair. Chu Liuchen was the one who called the previous emperor uncle, but was raised as the little prince of the emperor. Moreover, he was the eldest legitimate son of the previous emperor. Then who was the person in front of them?
Just now, some of them had been mentioning the Yuhui Nunnery and vaguely said that there was a son of the previous emperor. Wasn’t he the person?
When he raised his head, his handsome face was as good as Chu Liuyue’s and Chu Liuzhou’s. But it was far less outstanding than Chu Liuchen’s. There seemed to be some similarities between them, but they were not obvious. It couldn’t be seen if one looked at them carefully.
“Are you Chu Qing?” The Emperor’s eyes also fell on Chu Qing’s face. His eyes were cold and there was no ripple in them.
“Yes, I am!” Chu Qing said respectfully, but his behavior was graceful, which made people have to praise him.
“Tell me about your experience!” the Emperor said.
“I was born in the Yuhui Nunnery since I was young. At that time, my mother had already entered the Yuhui Nunnery. She was afraid that something would happen to me, so she did not dare to tell others about the truth. After that, she hid in the yard of the Yuhui Nunnery and brought me up as a girl. Previously, something happened in the Yuhui Nunnery. My mother was afraid that something would happen to me. So she asked me to sneak down the mountain. Originally, I just wanted to hide my ident.i.ty and did not expect that I would be involved in the robbery of other’s daughter!”
Chu Qing spoke with confidence.
The senior officials of the Ministry of Justice all knew about this matter. It was this man who saved the brother of the girl whose family members had been killed. Then, this matter was exposed.
“Which one is your mother?” The Civil Prime Minister asked with a cold look. Chu Qing didn’t say her t.i.tle directly before. All they knew was that she was an imperial concubine, and they didn’t know who she was exactly.
“The late Emperor’s Imperial n.o.ble Consort Yu!” Chu Qing said loudly.
His words shocked all the ministers. At that time, the late Emperor doted on the Imperial n.o.ble Consort Yu very much. It was said that the Imperial n.o.ble Consort Yu was a branch of an aristocratic family in the former dynasty. The Yu family had a close relations.h.i.+p with the former dynasty’s royal family. Fortunately, the Imperial n.o.ble Consort Yu only had a distant relations.h.i.+p with the Yu family, so she had a position of n.o.bility after entering the palace.
She was also the one who had the highest position of the former emperor’s imperial concubine locked up in the Yuhui Nunnery.
It was said that when the Imperial n.o.ble Consort Yu was with the late Emperor, she was almost on par with the Empress. She was very powerful in the harem and had a bad relations.h.i.+p with the former Empress. This should be one of the important reasons why she did not dare to say anything about her pregnancy when the late Emperor was ill!
It didn’t take long for her to get a high position in the palace and have children in the Yuhui Nunnery secretly when she was pregnant. It sounded that the Imperial n.o.ble Consort Yu was a somebody!
“Mother was pregnant at that time, but when Father pa.s.sed away, she fainted from crying. Later, she was sent to the Yuhui Nunnery and kept it a secret. If something had not happened to the Yuhui Nunnery this time, Mother would not have sent me down the mountain in a hurry. I did not know much about the world, so I got into trouble when I went down the mountain. Therefore, the truth was revealed!”
Chu Qing explained the cause and effect clearly. Sitting on one side, Chu Liuchen raised his eyes and looked at Chu Qing coldly with a pair of beautiful eyes. He looked calm and only rubbed his forehead with his hands, as if he had a slight headache.
Hearing this, many officials nodded slowly and felt that this matter was credible. The Imperial n.o.ble Consort Yu from the previous dynasty was also a powerful person. Moreover, this person was still in the Yuhui Nunnery, so it was very easy to find out whether it was true.
The Emperor should also believe him. Otherwise, he would not have brought him to the court and let him explain his background in front of all the officials. If he had not believed him, he would have just punished him in secret.
Although he was not the eldest legitimate son of the previous emperor, he was also a n.o.ble concubine’s son. If that was the case, could it be possible that this concubine’s son also had the possibility of taking over the throne?
At present, the emperor doted on Prince Chen very much and his love to him even surpa.s.sed his own sons. If the person in front of him was also the son of previous emperor, did it mean that Prince Chen would be out of favor? And the Empress Dowager also loved Prince Chen very much because of the previous emperor. It seemed that there would be nothing to do with this Prince Chen!
A sick and weak grandson who would die at some time in the future was always not as favorable as a healthy grandson!
In terms of the previous emperor, the Empress Dowager should also like the one in front of her, not the one half lying in a wheelchair.
Some clever people in the imperial court immediately thought that the person in front of them might be favored and could rise to the sky in one step.
“Your Majesty, since he is the eldest son of the late emperor, he should be rewarded!” As expected, Prime Minister Zhang was the first to speak bluntly.
Although Prime Minister Wen didn’t say anything, he nodded in agreement. The blood of the former emperor couldn’t be lost among the common people.
Then, all the officials agreed.
Although the Emperor did not say anything, he nodded to the eunuch who was beside him. The eunuch took two steps forward and took out an imperial edict, which had been prepared for a long time. He started to read it.
All the officials knelt down to listen to the imperial edict.
The imperial edict was very simple. It meant that Chu Qing was indeed a royal son and the son of the former emperor. He had been raised in the Yuhui Nunnery for many years. All the imperial concubines in the Yuhui Nunnery could testify for him, so he was given the t.i.tle of Commandery Prince Qing.
As soon as the edict came out, although Chu Qing was stunned for a moment, he immediately thanked for the favor of emperor.
“As for the matters of the Yuhui Nunnery, the Ministry of Justice has to hurry up. If there are remnants of the previous dynasty, we will never let them go. As for the imperial concubines of the previous dynasty, I still need to discuss it with the officials. I am tired today, so you may leave!” The emperor stood up and said slowly. Then he left the main hall with a group of eunuchs and palace maids.
The ministers also left in groups. Prince Xin and Prince Zhou were the last to leave. They looked at Chu Qing, who was still kneeling on the ground, with disdain. With a sneer on their lips, they turned around and left. A county prince could not attract their attention. They thought that their father would give him the t.i.tle of prince, but now it seemed that he was just an idle county prince.
After almost everyone left, Xiao Xuanzi pushed Chu Liuchen’s wheelchair and they were about to leave.
“You are… my second brother?” At this time, Chu Qing had already stood up. When he saw Chu Liuchen in the wheelchair, he was surprised and excited. He hurried over and said.
Chu Liuchen raised his eyes and looked at him. There was a trace of coldness and cruelty in his cold eyes. They could not be the eyes of a weak person at all. His eyes were extremely cold and aggressive.
Chu Qing couldn’t help but take a few steps back. The words that came to his mouth were forced back by such a cold look, and the warm smile on his face became stiff.
Xiao Xuanzi glanced at him coldly and slowly pushed Chu Liuchen away, even ignoring him.
Seeing that Chu Liuchen left, Chuqing’s face became gloomy, and the look on his face also became cold. He clenched his fists hard. “He is just a patient. Who does he think he is! When I get the favor of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor in the future, who will pay attention to this patient? But it is not the right time now.”
Chu Qing calmed down and hurried out, trying to catch up with Xiao Xuanzi. However, he found that Xiao Xuanzi, who had just come out of the hall, was asked to go somewhere by a eunuch. It seemed that the eunuch should be a servant of the emperor.
Why did the Emperor ask a eunuch to come here at this time? Was it for his sake?
Standing in front of the Main Hall, Chu Qing felt a little uneasy…
Chu Liuchen was indeed called away by the emperor. He did not go to the emperor’s imperial study, but only met the emperor in a side hall where the emperor stayed.
There was no one else in the side hall, only a close-fitting chief eunuch standing there. When Chu Liuchen’s wheelchair came in, he waved his hand to ask Xiao Xuanzi to leave, and then he took the initiative to push the wheelchair for Chu Liuchen.
Xiao Xuanzi answered the order and left. He stood outside the hall and waited. The chief eunuch pushed Chu Liuchen’s wheelchair into the hall.
The side hall was not big and could not be compared with the emperor’s imperial study. Because it was not big, it seemed to be a little casual, just like the flower hall in the general mansion. It looked very leisure.
The emperor sat in the middle of the chair. When he saw Chu Liuchen coming in, his cold face softened a little. He asked the chief eunuch to put Chu Liuchen in front of him and said with a gentle look, “You don’t have to care about that person just now. He was just a left one. Your Imperial Grandmother and I care about you the most. We will never let Chu Qing affect you!”
“Don’t worry, uncle. I’m fine. I just don’t like the sudden appearance of another person, and he is hiding in a place like the Yuhui Nunnery!” Chu Liuchen said gently. Although it was obvious that he did it with difficulty, he was still trying hard to show that he didn’t care.
The Emperor sighed softly, stood up, and patted him on the shoulder gently. “In the hearts of your Imperial Grandmother and me, you are the only son of my royal brother. No matter what happens to others, it has nothing to do with you. You don’t have to care about it. If you want to talk to him, just talk to him. If you don’t want to talk to him, just ignore him!”
His words were extremely intimate, as if he was an elder. Moreover, he was an elder who doted on his juniors very much. Even his voice was softened a little.
“Thank you, my uncle.” Holding the wheelchair, Chu Liuchen stood up and bowed deeply to the emperor. Although he looked calm, he couldn’t hide the excitement in his eyes. It seemed that he was touched, which made the emperor very satisfied.
“Well, sit down and have a good rest. Don’t get up. Although you are a little better, you can’t stand such torture. If you feel better, you could come to the court. Since you could help me do something, you can’t be lazy!” The emperor smiled and held Chu Liuchen’s hand to let him sit down.
“I will listen to uncle’s arrangement!” Chu Liuchen said softly. He looked gentle and elegant. Although he was sick and weak, he had a natural elegance.
Seeing this, the emperor felt more and more pity in his heart. He waved his hand, and the chief eunuch pushed Chu Liuchen’s wheelchair out. At the gate of the hall, Xiao Xuanzi took it and then pushed Chu Liuchen to leave away.
When the chief eunuch, De Rong, returned to the hall, he saw that the Emperor was still looking at Prince Chen’s back as he left. He looked gloomy so De Rong hurriedly bowed his head and stood aside.
“Do you think whether he will hate me?” The Emperor’s voice was very soft, as if he was talking to himself, but De Rong knew that he was talking to him.
He answered carefully, “Your Majesty, you worry too much. Your highness is filial. If he knew… He wouldn’t hate you. Even in the current situation, he does not hate you. Just seeing that he has been close to you for so many years, you will know. Your highness just doesn’t like… Queen!”