GBP Chapter 73 The Time Has Come
Chapter 73 The Time Has Come
A series of rumbling sounds came from the swirling black clouds in the sky. A moment later, a strong wind blew up, sand and rocks flew everywhere, and raindrops as big as soybeans fell, as if to sweep away the heat of the world.
The Empress Dowager sat by the window, looking at the palace shrouded in heavy rain, her heart unusually calm.
Since this spring, her cough has been intermittent. She has taken a lot of medicine, but her cough is always getting better and worse. After forcing herself to see Yongle off from Beijing, she fell ill after returning and has only recently recovered.
She coughed softly a few more times and looked at Yuanfu. Her health was getting worse and worse. What would she do with the child in the future?
Lu Yun did not ignore the Empress Dowager's gaze. Who wouldn't be worried? She had been in the palace for almost three months and wanted to go home all the time.
As long as she can go home, it's fine if she brings Qin Dashou with her! Lu Yun touched her chin dejectedly.
Summer storms come quickly and go away quickly.
The Empress Dowager and Nanny Guizhi paced back and forth in the open space of Changchun Palace.
Children's laughter could be heard in the distance. Nanny Guizhi turned around to look. Everyone in Changchun Palace knew that the Empress Dowager liked peace and quiet. The only one who could laugh and play so recklessly was—
"Your servant greets the Crown Princess and the Emperor's eldest grandson." Nanny Guizhi knelt down and saluted.
Crown Princess Guan, holding the eldest grandson Qin Chao's hand, bowed to the Empress Dowager. Guan said with shame, "Chao'er was naughty and disturbed the Empress Dowager's mood."
The Queen Mother smiled and shook her head, bending down to touch Chao Ge'er's face. Qin Chao was seven years old this year and hated being touched the most. Even though he knew it was the Grand Empress in front of him, he couldn't help but shrink back.
The Queen Mother's fingers barely paused, and she patted his clothes instead. Guan's eyes flickered at this, but she remained silent.
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "It's Grandmother's fault for forgetting that Chao Ge'er doesn't like others touching him."
Guan clutched her son's hand awkwardly, almost kneeling down to apologize, "Grandmother, it's my fault for not teaching my grandson well. Please forgive me."
The Queen Mother shook her head to indicate that everything was alright. "It just so happens that Yuanfu is here too. Come to my palace and have some tea."
Guan responded in a low voice.
In Changchun Palace, Lu Yun was playing with Yuanfu in the miniature courtyard. The craftsmen had upgraded the miniature courtyard again, designing the houses into detachable building blocks, which were both interesting and ornamental.
With only a few pieces left to put together, she and Dashou were taken by Nanny Guizhi to pay their respects to the Crown Princess and the young grandson. The Crown Princess was very kind, and the young grandson nodded briefly, eagerly starting to play with the miniature courtyard on the mat. He dismantled the courtyard that Dashou had spent the entire afternoon putting together, leaving the broken pieces scattered all over the floor.
Lu Yun pouted in anger. Qin Dashou released her sister Lu Yun's hand and ran forward to push the emperor's eldest grandson who was sitting on the ground. "You, bad." She didn't push hard enough, only pushing him halfway to the side.
Qin Chao turned around immediately, his chubby face full of hostility, and pushed back with both hands. The big man and the small man fell straight off the mat.
Everything happened in a flash.
This fall might have caused a concussion, so Lu Yun reacted very quickly and rushed forward. A young eunuch who came out of nowhere bumped into her, causing her to miss Dashou.
With a loud bang, Princess Yuanfu's head hit the golden bricks of Changchun Palace and she lay on the ground motionless.
The room was in chaos. The Queen Mother stood up from her seat in fear and walked over quickly, her voice filled with anger, "So many servants can't even take care of one person! If anything happens to Yuanfu, I will make you beheaded!"
Lu Yun was about to curse, but she didn't miss the smug look on the eunuch's face. He didn't even look at whose territory it was. Damn it, your master is still a bean sprout! Lu Yun kicked him hard with her foot.
The young eunuch cried out and hugged his legs.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the culprit had already fallen into his mother's arms. Guan hit her son twice and wiped his eyes. "Grandmother, please don't be angry. It's all my fault for not taking good care of Chao Ge'er."
Qin Chao had never suffered such an injustice before. He twisted his hands and feet in his mother's arms, and Guan covered his mouth and carried him out of Changchun Palace.
After diagnosis by the imperial physician, it was fortunately only a mild brain vibration and only required rest for half a month.
Dashou fainted for less than a quarter of an hour before waking up. "Ugh, it hurts."
The Queen Mother asked the imperial physician to check again. After confirming that it was normal, her heart, which had been in her throat, slowly settled down. She leaned against Nanny Guizhi and looked at her granddaughter with a kind look. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief and coughed softly a few times. "Guizhi, don't let the yellow door be a phoenix tree. Only by being a monk can you spend the rest of your life. Now I have to believe it."
He dared to do this in front of her in Changchun Palace. What would happen to Yuanfu if she passed away one day? Would she be fooled like a fool first, and then be ordered to marry by an imperial decree when she grew up? Just thinking about it made the empress dowager feel a dull pain in her internal organs!
Emperor Longqing hurried over with Wang Quan. When he saw the bump on the back of Yuanfu's head, he said he would issue an imperial decree to reprimand the prince for his poor parenting.
The Empress Dowager slumped on the kang, looking listless and pale, coughing softly from time to time. "I guess I'm useless now. I keep thinking about Changning these days. When she was little, she loved to follow you around, calling you brother, brother all the time." The Empress Dowager was filled with emotion when she recalled the past.
Emperor Longqing listened quietly.
"Later, the government was unstable, and the late emperor, despite my pleas, married her off to the Chang clan. He passed away after just five years, leaving behind a silent Yuanfu." The old empress dowager was heartbroken. She clutched her son's hand tightly, her eyes filled with pleading, "Your Majesty, for the sake of your sister and me, please let Yuanfu leave the palace. You know, all the members of the Chang clan are dead."
You could hear a pin drop in the house. Wang Quan didn't dare to breathe, and his head almost hung down to his crotch.
Emperor Longqing had a complicated look in his eyes and sighed slowly, "Mother, I never had the intention to take Yuanfu's life. I don't care whether she comes or stays. Please believe me, mother." The Chang family had long since turned into dust in history books, and he had not heard the name of his old friend for a long time.
"Please take care of yourself, mother. Only in Changchun Palace can I feel that I am not alone." Emperor Longqing held his mother's hand and said, "Without you, who will still treat me as their son? They only treat me as the emperor."
The old queen mother wept. "I know you're having a hard time. Don't worry, I believe you. Please don't scold the Crown Prince for such a trivial matter. It's just that the Emperor's eldest grandson is a little bit unruly. Fortunately, he is still young, so we can teach him slowly."
Emperor Longqing smiled and said yes.
Emperor Longqing couldn't hold back, however. He summoned Crown Prince Qin Zhong to his chambers, dismissed everyone, and gave him a scathing scolding. Immediately afterward, he set up a study in a side hall of the Purple Palace and moved the eldest grandson, who had been raised in the Eastern Palace, there. He placed him under the tutelage of a nurse and lecturers from the Hanlin Academy. He also issued an imperial decree requiring all princes and grandchildren to follow this standard in their studies.