Emperor Qi's voice was still a little hoarse. After regaining consciousness, he blinked slightly and looked at the courtiers surrounding him.
He didn't know why, but after waking up this time, his body felt lighter than ever before.
The feeling that the vitality was gradually draining from the body was gone.
All the organs in his body became more sensitive, and soon he smelled the strong smell of blood in the air and saw the blood splattered on the window sill of the palace.
"Did something happen while I was asleep?"
Xie Xun nodded and told him in a few words that Prince Ning had colluded with Xie Yang to rebel.
To everyone's surprise, when Emperor Qi heard that someone was plotting rebellion, his expression was not as angry as expected. He only asked one question.
"So what happens now?"
Xie Xun said calmly, "Prince Ning's soldiers and horses have been controlled. He has raised many soldiers in the fiefdom. The fourth son was also watched by me."
Emperor Qi nodded, then frowned slightly as if he remembered something, "Then the Japanese country..."
"My son was originally preparing to lead troops to counter the Japanese attack. He realized something was wrong on the way, so he brought half of the troops back. The rest was led by Rushuang's younger brother Qin Rufeng to fight against the Japanese. Father, rest assured that there are enough troops.
Already."
When the father and son were talking, their expressions were unexpectedly calm.
He was so calm that the surrounding courtiers felt a little weird.
Seeing that both of them were silent, a minister on the side said anxiously, "Your Majesty, since you are awake, then..."
Before he finished speaking, Qin Rushuang, who was standing aside, shook her head imperceptibly, signaling for him to shut up.
Emperor Qi ignored the courtiers' questions. He looked at Xie Xun calmly and asked, "How much time do I have?"
As soon as these words came out, several veterans on the side had red eyes.
Emperor Qi reigned for more than twenty years.
When he was young, he worked hard and had great ambitions, and he also thought about bringing Da Qi to the prosperous Qingming Dynasty. However, time has passed and I don’t know whether Emperor Qi has changed or they have changed. Emperor Qi seems to have forgotten everything that happened in the past.
Already.
He is no longer as agile and decisive as he was when he was young. He has become conservative, cowardly, addicted to beauty and pills, and has made more and more foolish actions.
But until now, when they looked at Emperor Qi's calm eyes, they felt as if the former Emperor Qi had returned.
Facing Emperor Qi's question, none of the courtiers could bear to give the answer. Only Xie Xun was silent for a while and said in a dry voice: "Three days."
Emperor Qi nodded, with a melancholy tone in his voice, "Three days..."
Xie Xun then took out the porcelain bottle in his arms and told Emperor Qi the purpose of the bottle of medicine in his arms.
Emperor Qi did not blame him, nor did he say whether he wanted to use the medicine. He only said to the courtiers around him, "My dear friends, you are frightened today. Please go back and have a good rest."
Then he said to Qin Rushuang who was standing aside: "Rushuang, you have worked hard too. Pick up Linbao and go back to Prince Huai's Mansion. I have something to talk to the second brother."
Qin Rushuang looked at Xie Xun with some worry in her eyes.
Xie Xun cast a comforting look at her, opened his mouth slightly, and said silently, "I'm fine."
Qin Rushuang had no choice but to follow the courtiers back to the imperial concubine's palace and take Linbao back to Prince Huai's Mansion.
After everyone left, Emperor Qi screened away the palace attendants around him, leaving only him and Xie Xun.
"Second brother, have you ever blamed me in all these years?"
Xie Xun was silent for a while and nodded: "I was surprised."
Emperor Qi suddenly laughed.
He stretched his elbows back and tried to sit up. Xie Xun saw this and went over to help him so that he could lean on the bed.
After Emperor Qi sat firmly, he patted the empty space beside the bed and motioned for Xie Xun to sit down.
Xie Xun sat on the edge of the bed obediently.
Emperor Qi raised his hand, as if he wanted to touch Xie Xun's head. But when he raised his hand, he realized that the child he could lift up to tease him had grown tall and strong. Even if he stretched out his hand, he could not
I touched the top of his head like I did when I was a child.
Perhaps because the dying person had already looked away from many things, Emperor Qi's face showed a rare trace of kindness.
Xie Xun did not have a warm personality, and remained silent after sitting down. On the contrary, Emperor Qi slowly began to talk to himself.
"You've grown so big."
"When you were little..." Emperor Qi raised his hand and gestured, "When you were only up to my knees, you were very cute. You often hugged my knees and acted like a baby. Once, you heard some nonsense from a servant.
, came and asked me why I don’t like you?”
"I told you at that time that I liked you very much, just like other children."
Emperor Qi sighed: "How despicable you are, I lied to you."
"I do like you, but I am also afraid of you. When you were young, I could still deceive myself. You were just like other children, no different. But as you grow up, you become better and better, more and more outstanding.
, you stand out among other princes, and my feelings for you are becoming more and more complicated."
"It's like... I haven't aged yet, but you are already better than me. The sense of crisis in my bones makes it impossible for me to treat you or your mother and concubine with a normal attitude."
Emperor Qi seemed to simply want to say something from his heart to Xie Xun. His sentences were intermittent and without any logic, as if he was simply explaining his own feelings.
When he talked about the imperial concubine, a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes.
"Actually, among the women in the harem, the one I admire the most is your mother-in-law."
"She is smart, witty, gentle, and calm."
"I have never seen her show anything like love to me from her eyes. She seems to be just a harem woman who does her duty. She does everything to be loyal and abide by and play the role of a noble concubine."
Emperor Qi raised his hand but could not touch the top of Xie Xun's head. He simply patted his shoulder and said, "Actually, your mother-in-law loves you very much."
"After you were born, she seemed to see that I was afraid of you, so she kept a very low profile. Not only her, but your mother's family also kept a low profile to the point where I couldn't even find fault."
"Are you very confused? It seems that you haven't seen much of your mother and concubine's family since you were a child."
"That's because after you were one year old and your grandfather passed away, their family moved to the desolate Linzhou."
"The entire family, except your mother and concubine, all men, women and children have resigned from their official positions and only engaged in business in Linzhou. Even in business, they are extremely low-key."
"At this point, you have to remember the kindness of your mother and concubine. She is telling me with her actions that King Huai does not have a strong maternal clan and no support like the fourth child. She hopes that I can feel at ease with you."
Hearing this, Xie Xun's expression was touched for a moment.
Emperor Qi continued, "Promise Father, I know that you have some complaints against your mother and concubine because of Rushuang. But she loves you no matter what! There is no hatred between mother and son. While being considerate of Rushuang,
You must also learn to be considerate of your mother and concubine."
Xie Xun nodded and said softly: "I understand."
Emperor Qi smiled and laughed at himself: "Did I talk a lot today?"
He sighed, "There are only three days... There are some things I'm afraid I won't have the chance to say in the future if I don't say them now."
He put away the emotion in his eyes and said, "After talking so much, I have nothing more to tell you. Let me rest for a while."
