MTLNOVEL Chapter 79 - 079 Avoiding Fire
Chapter 79: Chapter 079 Avoiding Fire
“`
He kept talking about the heir, which really gave me a headache.
Sang Yan ran out of patience and dismissed the matter, “The Emperor should first recover from his illness, then we can discuss this matter.”
Her words did not strongly deny anything.
He Ying was pleased and nodded in agreement, “It’s all up to you.”
He realized she needed to be alone and didn’t stay long, instructing Qiuzhi to take good care of her before he left.
Outside, the sky was clear and the air was fresh.
Pei Muyang asked with a grin, “Emperor, where are you going?”
He Ying paused, his expression gradually turning cold, “Let’s go see the Empress Dowager.”
Yongshou Palace
The Empress Dowager expected the Emperor would return.
She was wiping the late Emperor’s spirit tablet when he arrived, and she spoke first, “Why don’t you also light incense for your brother?”
Was this an attempt to play on his emotions?
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He Ying considered it and did not refuse.
He took the incense Puzhu handed him, bowed sincerely three times, and placed it there.
The late Emperor had been kind to him.
He held that gratitude in his heart.
That was why he loathed the Empress Dowager’s hypocrisy, “Does the Empress Dowager know what ‘the cat weeps for the mouse with false compassion’ means?”
If she had made a decision sooner and not tolerated the Regent King’s actions, how could the late Emperor have died in such a disgraceful way?
The Empress Dowager, realizing his sarcasm and knowing her sins were profound, did not argue in her defense but said, “I indeed owe the late Emperor an apology. Therefore, I must fulfill his last wishes.”
The late Emperor had two last wishes: one was for Da He to prosper and thrive, and the second was for the royal family to have abundant heirs.
He Ying frowned, “Sang Yan and I will have children.”
The Empress Dowager smiled, “I expect more than just one child.”
He Ying, “…”
One was indeed a bit few.
Having both a son and a daughter would be best.
More would be meaningless.
The Empress Dowager disagreed, “The Beiqi royal family has as many as twenty heirs. If the Emperor could strive for half of that, I would be completely satisfied.”
He Ying, “…”
Ten?
What did she think of him?
A breeding horse?
Anger boiled in his heart.
Just as he was about to erupt—
“Things are quite unstable in the former dynasty now, right?”
The Empress Dowager suddenly changed the subject, smiling with certainty, “Since her entrance to the palace, she has caused much controversy. The harem of the former dynasty is also unsettled. Emperor, you should know that now you can only use the heir to shut their mouths.”
He Ying felt threatened and sneered coldly, “You think I care? Whoever dares to meddle in my private matters will be killed by me.”
The matriarch, hearing this, laughed and countered, “Then why doesn’t the Emperor kill? Didn’t the new censor, Ding Sai, almost collide with the column to admonish you? Didn’t the grand academician of the Hanlin Academy, Jiang Chongyu, threaten to rally the students of the Imperial College at the Meridian Gate to plead for mercy? These too are acts of defiance. Why doesn’t the Emperor kill them?”
He Ying, “…”
Because of Sang Yan.
She didn’t want anyone to die because of her.
So he couldn’t kill for her.
“Think about it carefully.”
The Empress Dowager looked at him compassionately, as if seeing another person through him, and slowly said, “Xinyuan, my patience is running low.”
She called He Ying by his given name.
He Ying’s brows furrowed, and he said disgustedly, “Don’t call me that.”
The Empress Dowager persisted in her compassion, “You have had smooth sailing since you ascended the throne, I worry about you—”
“Enough!”
He Ying roared lowly, unable to listen any further, and turned to leave.
Hypocrisy!
Disgusting!
He strode out of the palace.
The Empress Dowager watched his retreating figure, wanting to say something but started coughing first.
“Cough, cough, cough—”
“Empress Dowager—”
Puzhu quickly supported her, calling for someone to bring tea.
“No need. I’m fine. This Xinyuan—”
She gestured dismissively, laughing bitterly, “He’s nothing like Xiuming.”
Despite being brothers, they were nothing alike.
“`
She fell into memories, her tone becoming sorrowful, “Xiuming was kind to me, a filial child, yet I failed to protect him.”
Puzhu helped her sit down on a chair, smoothed her ghastly aura, and persuaded her, “Empress Dowager, why worry yourself so? The Emperor doesn’t know your hardships at all. Wouldn’t it be better to just take good care of yourself?”
But the Empress Dowager was a stubborn woman.
She closed her eyes and gently waved her hands, “Send for Wan Zhang.”
*
Wan Zhang wrote something at his desk.
After finishing, he placed a few thin papers into an envelope and tucked it inside a book.
He returned the book to the bookshelf.
The bookshelf held many books.
The book blended in unnoticed.
Just as he did this, the door opened—
Puzhu entered and said to him, “The Empress Dowager summons you.”
Wan Zhang nodded and followed her.
Before closing the door, he glanced at the bookshelf’s direction.
“Hey, you’re not drinking today?”
Puzhu waited until the door was closed, keeping a close distance, surprised not to smell any alcohol on him.
Wan Zhang heard the mockery and laughed aloud, “Haha, stopped, from today onwards, I’m not drinking anymore.”
Puzhu gave him a puzzled look, thinking him more insane sober than drunk.
*
He Ying reviewed petitions in the Imperial Study.
After what felt like an entire day, he had only managed to review two.
Pei Muyang brought in some tea, noticing this, he softly called out, “Emperor, Emperor—”
He Ying snapped back to reality, “What is it?”
Pei Muyang smiled, “Perhaps the Emperor is tired. Why not drink some tea to refresh yourself?”
He Ying did not refuse.
He picked up the teacup, took two sips, set it aside, and began to drift off again.
Unable to contain himself, Pei Muyang asked, “Does the Emperor have any worries?”
He Ying nodded truthfully, “Ah Yan asked me to cure my illness first before discussing children. Does she mean she’ll bear my child once I’m healed?”
Pei Muyang: “…”
It turned out he had been distracted by this thought.
He pondered for a moment and replied, “It sounds… like that’s what she meant.”
He Ying asked further, “Then what do you suggest for the treatment?”
Pei Muyang was stunned, scratching his head: The Imperial Hospital has so many skilled Imperial Physicians, yet none had a clue; what idea could a eunuch possibly have?
But since the Emperor asked, he had to give an answer.
Thinking hard, he awkwardly said, “I remember Lord Sang said that drinking until senseless slows reaction. Maybe, Your Majesty could get drunk and then favor Lord Sang?”
He Ying thought it over and decided it was a good suggestion.
However, the concern remained on how to properly favor her.
“First, fetch me some fire escape maps.”
He needed to quickly make sense of the experience, else he’d embarrass himself before Sang Yan.
Pei Muyang was prompt to respond, “Yes.”
In no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he had gathered several rolls of fire escape maps.
He even glanced at a few himself; the images were clear, the figures exquisitely beautiful, especially those positions which seemed almost animated. Even as a eunuch, he found himself overheating.
But He Ying was different.
As soon as he opened them and saw the intertwined naked figures, he started to itch all over.
“This won’t do.”
He quickly closed the fire escape maps and applied some Jade Frost Ointment.
Seeing this, Pei Muyang cautiously said, “Your Majesty, if you always react this way, when will you successfully favor a concubine? I often hear the Imperial Physicians discussing fighting poison with poison and facing not evading, hence I boldly ask Your Majesty to continue looking.”
He Ying found it reasonable.
He was the Emperor, how could he not endure this hardship?
He reopened the fire escape map.
He scrutinized every detail, right down to the texture of a woman’s skin, leaving nothing unmissed.
“Ugh—”
He covered his mouth, retching violently.
His body was already densely covered with small red bumps.
No amount of Jade Frost Ointment helped.
Pei Muyang, torn between urgency and fear, knelt down, slapping his own mouth, “Your Majesty, forgive me. It was my fault for speaking too much. I won’t dare again.”
He Ying sighed, “Get up. It’s not your fault.”
His complexion was pale and swaying as he sat on the Dragon Bed, he managed a self-deprecating smile, “If I approach Ah Yan looking like this, she’d probably kick me off the bed, right?”