Free Web NovelChapter 405: Chapter 407: I Like Them All
Hua Manman was truly starving and ate with great gusto.
Si Yun had been a little worried that the Princess Consort would lose her appetite due to the pregnancy. Now it seemed she had overthought it; the Princess Consort’s appetite was excellent!
Li Ji kept putting food on Manman’s plate.
Seeing her eat with such relish, he felt even more satisfied than if he had eaten his fill himself.
Only when Manman had nearly finished did Li Ji start to eat.
Manman sat beside him, watching him eat. A sudden thought struck her, and she asked.
"My Prince, do you hope this baby will be a boy or a girl?"
Without looking up, Li Ji replied, "A girl."
He hoped for a daughter who would be just like Manman—clever and adorable.
Hua Manman’s little face scrunched up. "You don’t like boys?"
Li Ji took a sip of soup. "They’re fine, I guess."
His tone was clearly forced.
Hua Manman hadn’t expected him to have such an aversion to sons. She couldn’t help but ask.
"Why don’t you like sons?"
But Li Ji didn’t answer her question directly. "As long as you’re the one giving birth, I’ll love them."
It wasn’t that Li Ji disliked sons; he just didn’t want Manman to have a son like him.
He was ill-fated. Everyone said he was a cursed star, born to be accompanied by bloodshed.
’If I had a son who was just like me, what a miserable life he would lead.’
’A daughter would be better.’
’A daughter as beautiful and clever as Manman would be cherished from a young age. How wonderful would that be!’
The sixty thousand reinforcements from Hedong County and He Nei County traveled day and night and finally reached Shangjing, only to be told that Prince Dongyang had already fled and the entire rebel army had been routed.
In other words, they had made the trip for nothing.
But the Emperor didn’t send them back. Instead, he had them make camp outside the city to rest for the time being.
By now, all the rebels within the Imperial Palace had been captured.
The Emperor was reclining on a soft couch, listening to his subordinates report on the situation.
After his heart condition had flared up, he had taken medicine and received acupuncture, but he hadn’t recovered. His face was exceptionally pale, and his brow was perpetually furrowed, making him look quite weary.
Even so, he could not rest.
The losses from the rebellion still needed to be tallied, and the subsequent clean-up work had to be arranged.
One thing followed another; there were so many tasks that he had no time to take even a short break.
Someone came in to report.
"Prince Dongyang and Xu Jiwu have escaped Shangjing. Prince Zhao went in pursuit. During the chase, Xianfei was shot and killed. Her body has been brought back to the palace to await Your Majesty’s orders."
The Emperor was silent for a long while before speaking slowly.
"Strip Xianfei of her title and demote her to a commoner. Cremate the body and send her ashes to the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Emperor clutched his chest, his expression pained.
Zuo Ji was very nervous. "Your Majesty, should I call for the Imperial Physician?"
The Emperor took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress the pain, and said weakly.
"No need."
Zuo Ji asked, "Then would you like to take a pill?"
The Emperor nodded.
Zuo Ji immediately ordered someone to fetch the medicinal pill and helped the Emperor take it.
After taking the medicine, the Emperor felt the pain in his chest ease slightly, but his complexion remained very poor.
Zuo Ji knew in his heart that the Emperor was grieving Xianfei’s death.
Xianfei had been in the palace for twenty years and had always been gentle and submissive. The Emperor had trusted her completely and never imagined that she would one day betray him.
Now she was dead, killed while trying to escape.
For so many years of companionship to end in such a tragic way—no one could accept it.
The Emperor closed his eyes.
’I really want to ask Xianfei why she betrayed me. Have I ever wronged her in any way?’
But now that she was dead, he couldn’t even ask.
The turmoil in his heart kept building, crushing him until he could barely breathe.
Zuo Ji, observing his expression, asked cautiously.
"Would you like to rest for a while?"
The Emperor opened his eyes, indicating that he did not.
The Empress Dowager and Concubines in the palace were waiting for his reassurance, and the common people outside were waiting for him to provide an explanation.
It was not yet time for him to rest.
Zuo Ji had no choice but to have someone bring a cup of strong tea to help His Majesty stay alert.
The sky gradually darkened, and one by one, the palace lanterns were lit.
The Emperor’s work at hand finally came to a temporary halt.
He had the few old ministers stay for a meal.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, everyone relaxed a little. They chatted idly while eating fruit after the meal.
Someone brought up the Fourth Prince.
"The Fourth Prince disregarded his own safety to fight the enemy and protect the common people. He even personally opened the city gates to welcome the Saint back into the city. Such sincere devotion is truly moving!"
The Emperor actually had no fond feelings for his son, Li Ying.
This was not only because Li Ying’s birth mother was of humble origin, but also because she had been unchaste, secretly corresponding with another man behind his back.
The Emperor had demanded to know who her lover was, but she refused to say, even on pain of death. In the end, to protect her lover’s identity, she chose to take her own life.
Although she was dead, the Fourth Prince, Li Ying, was still alive.
Whenever the Emperor saw Li Ying, he was reminded of his mother, and his heart filled with vexation.
For all these years, the Emperor had completely ignored Li Ying.
The Emperor had guessed that such a young child, living alone in the Imperial Palace, would most likely not survive to adulthood.
However, the reality exceeded the Emperor’s predictions.
Not only had Li Ying grown to manhood, but he had also stepped forward during the rebellion and performed a great service.
The Emperor’s feelings were extremely complicated.
On one hand, he was happy to have such an outstanding son; on the other, he felt irritated. ’Why did it have to be Li Ying?’
The old ministers naturally knew the Emperor didn’t particularly care for the Fourth Prince. After a couple of sentences of praise, seeing that the Emperor didn’t respond, they tactfully changed the subject.
Prince Dongyang and Xu Jiwu had escaped and seemed to be heading toward the Southwest.
An old minister stepped forward and said.
"The Southwest region is full of mountains and forests, a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. If we let Prince Dongyang and Xu Jiwu establish a foothold there, it will be much harder for us to capture them in the future."
The other old ministers agreed. They couldn’t just let Prince Dongyang and Xu Jiwu go. They had to send troops to annihilate them before they could establish a foothold, thus eliminating the threat for good.
The Emperor naturally understood this reasoning as well.
He asked, "My dear ministers, who do you think should lead the troops to quell this rebellion?"
The ministers each expressed their own opinions, successively mentioning the names of several military generals.
Whether by coincidence or tacit understanding, no one present mentioned Prince Zhao’s name.
The Emperor had only just managed to reclaim military authority from Prince Zhao. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he could not allow Prince Zhao to have any contact with military power again.
After some discussion, they finally settled on two candidates for military general.
Conveniently, the sixty-thousand-strong army was still camped outside the city. At dawn the next day, they were to break camp, and the two chosen military generals would lead them in pursuit of the rebel forces.
When Li Ji learned of this, he didn’t have much of a reaction.
He was summoned to the Imperial Palace by the Emperor.
In the palace, he happened to run into the Fourth Prince, Li Ying.
Li Ying merely glanced at him and was about to walk away.
But Li Ji called out to stop him.
"Fourth Prince, this Prince has something I’d like to ask you."
Li Ying had no choice but to stop. He was quite surprised. ’Prince Zhao is actually talking to me of his own accord?’
"Please speak, Your Highness."
Li Ji said, "It’s like this. My Princess Consort is pregnant, and the child will need a name when it’s born. This Prince has been worrying about what name would be good. Could the Fourth Prince offer a suggestion?"
Li Ying: "..."
