After leaving Fengyi Palace, Emperor Wu drove to Baoxiang Palace, which was the residence of Concubine Gua.
Concubine Gua was a breath of fresh air in the harem. She never participated in the competition for favor, but she was always the emperor's favorite woman.
Of course, Emperor Wu's love for her was not simply a matter of love between men and women, but more of a trust and reliance on her abilities, which other concubines did not have. Even the queen respected her.
, other concubines will naturally not be enemies with her.
Besides, there is no need to be an enemy.
The Emperor's heirs are few and far between. Now there is only Sicang, and the rest are princesses. No matter what, no one in the palace has been as noble as his mother over the years, and the concubines seem to have lost interest in competing for favor.
The other concubines at least have a princess under their knees, but Concubine Gua has not given birth to a son and a half in these years. Not only that, Concubine Gua's life experience is unknown. Apart from the emperor's trust and her skills, she has no other power in the imperial city.
rely.
What's the point of competing for favor when the emperor's favor cannot bring visible benefits?
"Your Majesty, please have some tea." Concubine Gua, dressed in plain white, came over, handed the Emperor a cup of tea, and then sat down on the other side, "Situ Xuan died. The Queen must have been hit hard. The Emperor did not go.
Comfort me?"
"I just came out of Fengyi Palace." The emperor frowned slightly and leaned on the couch, "The queen is not in a good mood."
Concubine Gua sighed: "My favorite nephew has an accident, and the Queen will definitely not be in a good mood. Your Majesty, please be more considerate."
Emperor Wu was silent for a moment, then looked up at Concubine Gua: "Situ Xuan's death was expected by me."
Concubine Gua was not surprised: "He was tortured when he was locked up in the prison, and then he was beaten with eighty sticks. It is normal that he cannot survive it, and even a strong martial arts practitioner may not be able to survive it intact.
.”
There are many types of court criminal laws, with different severity.
The spanking is for the buttocks. Even if the spanking is bloody and bloody, it only looks serious. If you use some good medicine to take care of it, there is no risk to your life.
Punishment with a stick can injure the root. Who among the people in the palace who is good at executing punishments is not a human spirit? The emperor ordered the stick to be eighty, so he had no intention of letting him live well, not to mention that the people the Situ family offended were the prince and the princess.
In addition, if someone went to give them a call, Situ Xuan would definitely die with a heavy blow from the eighty stick.
"The Queen probably won't let it go." Concubine Gua was holding a tea cup. Her delicate hands were white and her fingertips were thin. Compared with the carefully maintained jade hands of other concubines, they had lost their luster. "If the Queen and the Crown Prince completely turn against each other..."
"If you turn against her, just turn against her." Emperor Wu raised his hand to his forehead and was extremely disappointed with the queen. "Even if she doesn't turn against the prince, the relationship between her and the prince will be irreparable. What's more, if the Situ family is not destroyed, her heart will be broken.
I will always favor the Situ family."
When the prince ascends the throne in the future, he must not have such a holding back mother.
A strange color flashed across Concubine Gua's eyes, but her voice was calm: "What does the emperor plan to do?"
"I want to abdicate in September and take a good rest." Emperor Wu said calmly, "Maybe I can see the prince unify the world in my lifetime."
The prince unified the world?
The corners of Concubine Gua's lips twitched slightly, even if they were really the same world, the leader of that world should not be the prince.
"I think the Crown Princess is not ruthless enough." Concubine Gua said calmly, "If you want the Crown Prince to unify the world, you must not let anyone hold him back."
Unifying the world was an obsession in Emperor Wu's heart. He had been thinking about it since he was young. Now more than twenty years later, he is still thinking that if he cannot close his eyes after the world is unified, it will be an eternal regret for him.
Concubine Gua knew better than anyone else that one of the biggest reasons why the prince could successfully come back as the crown prince was that she convinced Emperor Wu that the prince would have someone who could fulfill his wish.
Otherwise, would a son whom he has not seen for twenty years really have a sudden conscience attack and start to overflow with paternal love?
"Holding you back?" Emperor Wu frowned slightly and looked at Concubine Gua puzzledly, "I see that the Crown Princess is an independent woman. I heard that she is good at riding. Isn't she also a bit skilled? She doesn't look that delicate and weak.
Weak."
When she was assassinated at the racecourse, the Crown Princess dealt with the dead soldier herself.
Speaking of the dead soldiers, Emperor Wu frowned slightly: "The Crown Princess can deal with the dead soldiers alone, it seems that she is hiding her secrets."
"Her martial arts was taught by the prince, and they used to depend on each other." Concubine Gua said, "But the prince will become the prince's right-hand man in the future, and her good skills alone will not make any difference at all."
Emperor Wu was confused: "That depends on what you want..."
"There haven't been many female generals in Dongyou." Concubine Gua mused, "It might be better if there is an opportunity for the Crown Princess to go to the battlefield to experience."
Emperor Wu said nothing, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he was thinking about the possibility she mentioned.
"If she were just the mother of a country, the Crown Princess's current temperament is actually quite good, she is smart and independent-minded, and she is broad-minded and tolerant." Concubine Gua said slowly, "But to unify the world, we need to conquer the north and south, and blood will inevitably flow on the battlefield.
, the Crown Princess is not ruthless enough to deal with a family now, and if she faces more enemies in the future, if she is merciful, it will have fatal consequences."
Emperor Wu felt that what she said made sense and nodded in agreement: "Going to the battlefield to practice can see the hard work of soldiers training. Personal experience is always more touching than talking about military affairs on paper. At the same time, it can also train a strong will and character."
In fact, there are also women with similar temperaments to Yun Zishu in Dongyou, such as the girl from Huangfu's family and Princess Wuyang. Both of them are also smart, decisive and have good skills.
"But the prince probably won't agree to let her leave alone." Concubine Gua said calmly, "Besides, the prince is still pregnant."
"Pregnant?" Emperor Wu was surprised, "Why didn't anyone tell me about such a big thing?"
Concubine Gua smiled lightly: "The prince should have told her to keep it a secret. There are risks for women in the early stages of pregnancy, so it is right not to make it public."
"It's a good thing to be pregnant. The royal family hasn't had the joy of having an heir for a long time." Emperor Wu sat up straight, and his tone sounded a little happy, "But as a result, the princess's body becomes more delicate, and it's normal for the prince to take more care of her.
, whether there is a chance to go to the battlefield, let’s wait until later, there is no rush for now.”
"If you want the Crown Princess to become more ruthless, you don't have to go to the battlefield." Concubine Gua smiled lightly, "The Emperor has been fighting for half his life. He knows a lot about the battlefield and generals, but he has little understanding of his daughter's family.
Know."
Emperor Wu laughed: "So I'm not here to listen to your opinion?"
Concubine Gua took a sip of tea and said calmly: "Has the emperor ever thought about whether he really wants the prince to guard only one woman for his whole life?"
Emperor Wu did not expect that she was asking this question. He was silent for a moment, and then said calmly: "There is no need to consider this issue for the time being. When we unify the world and become the overlord of the world in the future, there will be no need to consider it."