Chapter 349: Filial piety and Foolish piety

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Emperor Jingyuan had three sons. They were the First Prince, who was born to Consort Shu, and the Second Prince, who was born to the Empress. As for the Third Prince, his biological mother was a servant. I ler background was too low and could be ignored.

The First Prince was already past his thirties. He had a warm and naive personality, so it was not appropriate for him to be a ruler.

More importantly, Consort Shu was a smart person. Ever since she entered the palace, she was very cautious and deliberately raised the First Prince to have a simple and honest personality. The First Prince was not liked by Emperor Jingyuan. Because of this, although the First Prince occupied the status of the eldest son, he could grow up safely in the ruthless harem. Later on, he moved into his own residence and married a wife.

As for the Second Prince, although the Second Prince was the legitimate son of the Central Palace, he suddenly had a fever when he was young. When he woke up, he had the temperament of a child. He was already 23 years old, but the Second Prince had yet to marry.

As for the Third Prince, he was born with an eye disability and did not have a strong presence.

“His Majesty’s three princes are really be dogged by bad luck.” Ji Zhao could not help but sigh. “1 heard that His Majesty is only fifty this year. How did he suddenly fall so ill?”

“It’s probably a mental illness.” Shen Yao chuckled. “Maybe he took something he shouldn’t have, that’s why God treats him like this.”

Ji Zhao opened her eyes silently. She felt that Shen Yao was implying something.

“Zhaozhao, it’s late. Shall we settle down early?” Shen Yao suddenly cupped her face and kissed her affectionately—

The moon was bright and the starry sky was resplendent.

However, the atmosphere in the palace was really suffocating.

Qianqing Hall.

Emperor Jingyuan half-leaned on the dragon bed, his eyelids drooping, not saying a word.

“If Imperial Brother wants to recover as soon as possible, you still have to drink medicine.” Prince Xian pointed at the bowl of medicine on the red sandalwood table and said softly, “No matter what, your health is the most important.”

“Seventh Brother, are you very proud of yourself?” Emperor Jingyuan suddenly looked up and his gaze landed on Prince Xian’s face. It was extremely sharp.

“Brother.” Prince Xian sighed in disappointment. “In my heart, you will always be the brother who jumped into the lake without hesitation to save me.”

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingyuan lowered his eyes to hide the complicated emotions in them.

“You are well aware of my sister-in-law’s intentions,” Prince Xian said softly. “Brother, do you really want Great Jing to fall into the hands of outsiders?”

Emperor Jingyuan remained silent.

“I’m tired. You can leave first.”

“Then have a good rest, brother.”

Prince Xian turned around and left.

The next day, the Grand Princess Imperial’s residence suddenly received an imperial edict.

Emperor Jingyuan summoned the Grand Princess Imperial of Chang’an. Princess Kang Le and Ji Zhao looked at her worriedly.

The Grand Princess Imperial of Chang’an, who had long gray hair on her temples, comforted her daughter and granddaughter with a faint smile. “Don’t be nervous. The Emperor is my nephew after all. It’s reasonable for him to want to see me. Coincidentally, I have something to say to him.”

Now that Emperor Jingyuan was seriously ill, the Grand Princess Imperial of Chang’an felt that she had something to say. If she didn’t say it, she probably wouldn’t have a chance in the future.

“Then Grandmother, be careful!” Ji Zhao hurriedly warned.

“Don’t worry!”

The Grand Princess Imperial of Chang’an tidied up a little and entered the palace.

As soon as she stepped into the Qianqing Hall, she smelled the strong smell of bitter medicine in the air.

She frowned in discomfort.

“Aunt.” After Emperor Jingyuan dismissed everyone, he looked at the Grand Princess Imperial of Chang’an sitting at the bottom and called out with mixed emotions.

“The Emperor wants to see me because of the black iron badge, right?” The Grand Princess Imperial of Chang’an met his eyes fearlessly and asked indifferently.

“Yes.” Emperor Jingyuan was unwilling. “Before my father died, the last person he saw was aunt. At that time, I knew that the black iron badge must be in your hands. Over the years, I have asked you for it many times, both openly and discreetly, but you refused to hand the badge to me. However, now that you have handed it to my seventh brother, I… am unwilling. I want to know what is the difference between me and my seventh brother.”

The Grand Princess Imperial of Chang’an looked at his stubborn and lonely eyes and sighed softly. “Yuhan, do you really not know what you’re lacking?”

Emperor Jingyuan’s name was Zhou Yuhan.

It had been a long time since he heard this name from others.

“Back then, my brother had eight sons. Only you and Seventh Brother were the direct descendants of the Empress of the Central Palace. However, you know very well who my brother favored the most. The emperor must weigh the pros and cons. My brother deliberately divided you brothers into six groups to train so that he could choose the most suitable person to be the heir to the throne. Yuhan, although you are proficient in both literary arts and martial arts, you are not as courageous as Fourth Brother, nor are you as bold as Seventh Brother. More importantly, you are too obedient.”

“Aunt… As a son, is it wrong to be filial?” Emperor Jingyuan was really unwilling.

“As a son, you should be filial. You can’t be blindly filial!” The Grand Princess Imperial looked at him deeply, her eyes filled with helplessness. “In order to clear the obstacles and support you to get to the top, how much blood was on your mother’s hands? How many innocent bones were piled up in this deep palace? You know very well, don’t you?”

“Mother… she did it for me!” Emperor Jingyuan argued. “I’m the eldest son of Father, but Father dotes on Seventh Brother and Eighth Brother. Mother is afraid…”

“Do you think you can kill the innocent just because you’re afraid?” The Grand Princess Imperial of Chang’an couldn’t help but shake her head. Her voice was filled with disappointment. “Yuhan, even now, you still haven’t figured out what your mother has done. Everything she has done is for her own selfish desires. She wants the Jiang family to rise to the top. She’s not doing it for you. She’s doing it for the Jiang family’s glory and wealth for generations to come. However, she forgot that she was your father’s wife first, and she’s the empress of Great Jing!

“What about you? You’ve also forgotten that you only remember that you’re your mother’s good son, but you’ve forgotten your identity. You’ve forgotten that your surname is Zhou! The harem cannot interfere in government affairs, but what have you done? You’re biased and trust the Jiang family unconditionally. Even if the Jiang family has done many infuriating things, you’ll turn a big matter into a small one! You want to be an obedient son and a good grandson of Grand Tutor Jiang, but you’ve forgotten that you’re the emperor of Great Jing!”

Perhaps because she had accumulated too much disappointment in her heart, the Grand Princess Imperial of Chang’an could not help but shed tears at this moment.

“The last person your father saw before he died was indeed me. He handed the black iron badge to me and made me swear to the heavens that 1 would never leave the capital for the rest of my life. Therefore, I have never left the capital all these years. 1 have always kept my oath. Why do you think 1 did this?”

“I also know that you’ve always wanted to take back the black iron badge and concentrate all the power in the hands of the emperor, but Yuhan, why don’t you ask yourself honestly? If 1 really gave you the token, would the empire of Great Jing still be surnamed Zhou?” The Grand Princess Imperial of Chang’an smiled bitterly. “I thought that after your mother passed away, you would repent and realize your mistake. You would work hard in the government and be a wise ruler of a generation, but what did you do? You didn’t even consider how to be a wise ruler of a generation. You chose to follow your father’s path and used all the emperor’s power on the harem, causing the Sun family to expand.. You even wanted to make Noble Consort Sun’s son the crown prince, right?”