Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 810 Heart-to-heart
When the Queen Mother returned to Qingning Palace, she learned that the Emperor had been sitting in Ciqing Palace for most of the day, and that the Crown Prince had been lingering for a long time after returning to the palace, and that someone had taken the Crown Prince directly back to Qianqing Palace. As for the details, because Chu Kuan had to leave for something, and the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, was unwilling to use other people, the daily chores were done by the attendants, so it was impossible to find out.
After all, it was said that when the little prince returned to the palace, the other tutors had been dismissed by the emperor long ago, leaving only Zhang Shou and Lu Sanlang. Now they had left the palace and could not be summoned for questioning. Chen Yongshou knew, but he was from the Qianqing Palace.
Of course, the Queen Mother would not summon two foreign ministers for this matter. After learning from the female official who stayed behind, she went to bathe and change clothes, and even postponed dinner for this. However, when she came out of the bathroom, Yuquan, who was guarding the door, changed her into the palace clothes, and whispered, "Queen Mother, the Crown Prince is here."
"Is it just Sanlang?" The Queen Mother raised her eyebrows in surprise. Seeing Yuquan nodded slightly, she couldn't help but laugh. "If I were still the emperor, he would definitely come to question me. Now it seems that he can keep his composure this time... But it may not be the case. If he doesn't come out of spite, it may be worse than coming to quarrel with me in person."
Facing the empress dowager's self-mockery, Yuquan didn't know what to say and could only follow behind silently. When she arrived at the East Warm Pavilion of Qingning Palace, she saw that the third prince's eyes were slightly red and swollen, as if he had just cried, but his expression was relaxed, not like he had been scolded by the emperor at all. After he came forward to salute, he actually supported the empress dowager's arm very smoothly.
If Yuquan could see it, how could the Queen Mother not see it? She smiled and patted the Third Prince's hand: "Why, looking at you like this, did you cry with your father?"
The third prince's eyes widened immediately: "Grandmother, how did you know?"
The Queen Mother was just joking, but when she heard such an unexpected answer, she was stunned and her feet paused unconsciously. She turned her head to look at the Third Prince and said in disbelief, "Did you really cry with your father? You are not the kind of child who cries easily, but you are very considerate."
"My teacher taught me." The third prince rubbed his eyes a little embarrassedly, and then whispered what Zhang Shou said before he left, as well as the emperor's reaction. Seeing the empress dowager's angry and amused expression, he said a little embarrassedly, "I hugged my father and cried for a while. My crying softened my father's heart, and later he confessed that he was ignorant when he was young..."
The Queen Mother never expected the Emperor to reflect on his youthful recklessness, so when she heard the Third Prince say that the Emperor actually admitted that he was young and ignorant, she couldn't help laughing: "Are you sure you didn't distort your father's meaning?"
"Of course not!" The third prince assured solemnly, but then whispered, "In fact, my father originally planned to come with me, but because he was embarrassed to see you, he asked me to come and apologize to my grandmother..."
When she heard the Third Prince's apology, even though she knew that only a few of them were the Emperor's original words, she was at least sure that this was what her son meant. As mother and son for many years, although they had heart-to-heart talks, most of the time, they were both stubborn and would quarrel easily. They would not be able to save face for a long time, and would be indifferent when they met.
Now that I think about it, is it because she and the emperor lack a confidant to mediate? Zhu Ying is good, but after all, she is not a real princess. It is impossible for her to stay in the palace like a home every day, not to mention that she is married now?
Therefore, the Queen Mother smiled and joked to the Third Prince: "Your father is a person who will not admit his mistakes for a hundred years. If it weren't for you, I don't know how many years it would take for him to apologize... From now on, I, your grandmother, will have to rely on you."
At this point, the Queen Mother suddenly realized that the Third Prince had been calling her Grandmother, which was different from the formal and respectful Imperial Grandmother in the past. Moreover, it was not just a title, just like Zhu Ying could call the Queen Mother in a thousand ways, the Third Prince's words of Grandmother now obviously had a bit more sincerity and intimacy.
The third prince did not notice the change in the empress dowager's expression. When he heard what the empress dowager said, he immediately smiled, but his still red and swollen eyes made his smile seem a little aggrieved. However, the empress dowager certainly would not misunderstand what he said because of his expression.
"Grandma, my father said that from now on, I will live in both the Qingning Palace and the Qianqing Palace Zhaoren Hall. Please don't find me annoying!"
This was another unexpected request. The Queen Mother knew that she couldn't keep the Third Prince by her side forever, and the Emperor's patience must have reached its limit. However, now that the Emperor was willing to let the Third Prince come to accompany her, her brows relaxed immediately, and her glance revealed the charming charm of her youth.
"Did your father agree to this, or did you ask for it? Also, don't you care about your mother? She has limited opportunities to see you as her son, and you only care about me and your father. Aren't you afraid of neglecting her? You can't just leave her aside because she will never say you are unfilial."
Facing the Queen Mother's reproach, the Third Prince couldn't help but feel guilty, and then whispered: "I asked my father to take a day off every ten days, and I will go to spend more time with my mother on this day. However, my mother has always been quiet and stays in the palace all year round. Grandmother, didn't you promise Sister Yingying to visit the girls' school often? Can you bring her with you when the time comes? It's good to just relax."
If someone else had made such a request, the Queen Mother would have certainly regarded it as a conspiracy. However, when the Queen Mother saw the Third Prince's eyes full of hope and request when he said this, her heart softened at once.
After all, the third prince now does not have to worry about his status at all, and the same goes for the former Concubine He - one is already the crown prince, the other is the imperial concubine, and even though Concubine Yu is now a concubine and is pregnant with a baby, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl, it will not shake the Eastern Palace for at least the next ten years.
Thinking of this, she readily agreed: "If I don't agree to you, won't you go to your father and cry to him again? It's such a small matter, I promise you."
The Third Prince was immediately delighted. After all, his biological mother and concubine were cautious people. Even though she was now called the Imperial Concubine, she still had the same temper as before. In order to avoid causing trouble for him, she would not leave her own palace most of the time, and usually only interacted with Concubine Yu and Concubine Jiang.
As a result, extremely unreliable rumors that the imperial concubine was arrogant and domineering spread everywhere inside and outside the palace.
The Third Prince was overjoyed that such a difficult problem had actually been solved. Next, just like when he had communicated with his father before, he described in detail how he had met the Fourth Prince in Baijia Village, and his vision for the future, even including the rail carriage and steam iron ship he had heard from Zhang Shou...
The once shy child now spoke with great relish about the future from his own presumptuous perspective, without any caution, without a gentle mask, and without pretending to be mature...but the Queen Mother found this attitude very interesting.
The emperor also had such a true character in his past, but that true character was arrogant and self-centered, so whenever he argued with her, sparks flew and they ended up parting on bad terms. In contrast, Prince Lu was very good at pleasing her and would agree with her in everything. Even when he made requests, he seemed to have guessed her preferences and bottom line in advance.
She was also happy to treat the other son left by the late emperor better, not to mention that the emperor was very partial to this brother, so if she was more generous, it would save some trouble in the court and the palace. But this did not mean that she could not see the arrogance and viciousness behind the well-behaved child, nor did it mean that she did not know that people had always pretended to be a good son in front of her.
Because of this, after the rebellion of Prince Ye, she took the initiative to kill Prince Lu to eliminate the root of the problem, even though the emperor was unwilling to speak to her for several months because of this.
However, she would always remember the crazy shouting of Prince Lu when faced with the cup of poisoned wine: "I have always been trying to please you and my brother, but you are not the same. You have always been pretending to favor me and pretending to like a bastard like me! How could my mother die so early? Wasn't it you who did it?"
"I just want to overthrow you. I just overestimate my own abilities and am greedy! Chen Sheng, a peasant, knows about kings, princes, generals and ministers. How can I be so noble? I am a legitimate prince and nobleman. Why can't I have the same dream as you?"
At that time, facing the King Lu who was crying and laughing like a madman, she did not say a word, but just watched him being drunk and died, and then quietly turned and left. She was not like the emperor, who had given his true love to the wrong person, and then blamed himself for a long time and could not let it go. She had never given true love, so she did not care much about betrayal.
He was not her own son. She selected the best teachers for him, gave him the best house, food, clothing, and even the title of king which she personally requested. She also treated him like her own son in front of others. What else could she ask for?
Treating him like your own son, feeling sad or happy about his every move?
Thinking about these old stories, the Queen Mother couldn't help but be a little dazed, until the Third Prince couldn't help but call her several times, she suddenly came back to her senses, but she lowered her head to look at her own grandson, and smiled and said: "You are a good child, your father is very lucky to have a good son like you, and your fourth brother is also very lucky to have a good brother like you."
"That's because my father and my fourth brother have always been good to me."
The Third Prince shook his head, and then said with sparkling eyes: "Grandmother, I am really curious about what those foreign countries are like... However, I may not even be able to leave the capital, so I can only pin my hopes on my fourth brother."
“When the emperor travels, the earth shakes and the mountains tremble. Therefore, in all dynasties, except for the founding emperor, the emperors of later generations are often trapped in the deep palace, and can’t leave the capital. As a result, they can no longer see the real people, let alone the sparks that gradually spread across the prairie.”
The Queen Mother was deeply touched when she said this, and she smiled and said, "This is what Emperor Taizu said. People in the past often thought that he was talking about the chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, but later we found out that what he said is not only applicable to chaotic times, but also to times of peace. When a dynasty is founded, there are often powerful people, heroes in the court, and everything is revived. Any policy is easy to implement, but the later it is..."
"It is easier to have chronic diseases and problems, because the old heroes have become aristocratic families, and the officials have become local gentry and wealthy families. If you want to change anything, it will affect their interests. Even if your fourth brother comes back after broadening his horizons in a foreign country, do you think those useful things can be promoted? Your father has such a strong temper, and now you can only be patient and take it slowly."
As she spoke, she looked at the Third Prince with a smile: "Don't you think so?"
"Grandmother, I know that what my father couldn't do will be even more difficult for me to do in the future. After all, I don't have the same strong wrist as my father, but," he took a deep breath and whispered, "There are many manuscripts of Emperor Taizu in the Gujin Tongjiku. No one can understand them, but there are also people who can understand them. For example..."
"For example, Emperor Taizu believed that if the ships went east, past Goryeo and Japan, they would reach a rich land with vast territory and fertile land, which was very suitable for farming. In the past dynasties, when a country was founded, it was often possible to grant land to each household, but as time went by, the population grew, and there was not enough land, so land annexation became more and more serious, and many people lost their land."
"Although these people can go to work, the number of people needed to work is limited. So what should we do if the remaining people are landless and jobless? If there is land to accommodate these people, then can the so-called chronic illness be alleviated a little?"
The Queen Mother listened quietly to the Third Prince's words, which were obviously carefully chosen, and suddenly interrupted, "I remember you said before that you wanted your fourth brother to visit those small countries in the west. How come it became the continent in the east that buried Emperor Taizu?"
The Third Prince was immersed in his own words at this time, and did not notice that the Queen Mother's tone suddenly became a little cold, but he said without hesitation : "It is said that the countries in the west are also fertile. The teacher said that the rivers in many places are even named such as flowing milk and honey. I want my fourth brother to go and see what the local customs and practices there are like..."
"If the people there live in hardship and are oppressed by the king and the church, and the educated people have no place to use their skills, then... can we recruit them? They don't understand etiquette, law, classics, and history, but they may understand technology and machinery?"
The Queen Mother thought that the Third Prince would say that if those small nations in the West were having trouble making a living, then could the Ming Dynasty, as the Celestial Empire, take this opportunity to send troops and expand its territory? But when the Third Prince smiled shyly and then mentioned the words of recruiting talents, she couldn't help but laugh.
This is the prince, not the emperor. He is not a madman who wants to use tough measures at every turn! Thinking of this, she joked: "So, you want your fourth brother to learn many foreign languages, so that he can communicate with others more conveniently, so that you can recruit more talents?"
"Yes, yes, grandmother, you are very observant!" The third prince smiled until his eyes narrowed. "If my fourth brother is well-educated and fluent in foreign languages, coupled with his status, wouldn't he be invincible when he goes out? Then, all the heroes in the world will be in my grasp!"
