Chapter 197: Unresolved

The night falls, everything is silent, the sky is dotted with stars twinkling, and the night wind is mixed with a bit of hot breath.

Chen Hai ordered the palace servants to bring two basins of ice cubes.

The emperor was sitting in the Royal Palace, looking at the pile of memorials in front of him, and the same questions as the Queen Mother came to his mind.

"Chen Hai."

"The slave is here."

"Do you think Tianyin's behavior in Renshou Palace today was abnormal?"

"It's true." Chen Hai lowered his head and thought for a while before replying cautiously, "His Third Highness has just been lifted from the ban. It stands to reason that he should be more cautious in his words and actions than before. Moreover, the Queen Mother has always loved the Third Highness the most, both emotionally and rationally. , Your Highnesses should not lose their composure in front of the Queen Mother."

The emperor was silent for a moment, that's what he thought.

Today in the Queen Mother's Palace, he was so angry that he didn't even think about it. He only knew that Tianyin lost his temper and went crazy in front of so many people. He didn't have any princely demeanor and simply lost the face of the royal family.

In anger, he had people drag him out and beat him, and even ordered him to be put into solitary confinement. But now he calmed down and thought about it, he also felt that Chu Tianyin's state today was really abnormal.

The emperor was silent for a moment: "What do you think the reason might be?"

"My servant dare not say anything."

"You are forgiven."

"Yes." Chen Hai spoke more and more cautiously, "There are always various dark ways to fight for favor in the palace. Although I can't guess who it is, under normal circumstances, His Highness should be in such a state that he has been under some kind of trance. Crazy drugs.”

After the words fell, the emperor's face instantly became extremely ugly.

"Fighting for favor?" He said with an angry tone, "Are they fighting for favor? What they clearly want is the power and wealth that I can give them, and they are fighting for the position of crown prince and even the emperor in the future! They have been fighting since twenty years ago I started playing tricks and have been playing until now, without stopping for a moment!”

Chen Hai didn't dare to speak.

Indeed, it didn't stop for a moment, and those who stopped had already gone to see the King of Hell.

The emperor sighed deeply, his eyebrows gloomy and unreadable: "The weather is getting hotter and hotter now, but I suddenly feel the cold at high places. Looking at the court and the world, how many people can I trust?"

"Your Majesty, please don't say that." Chen Hai lowered his head, "Hasn't Her Royal Highness the Princess been behaving particularly well recently?"

The emperor fell silent, his expression changing. After a moment, he looked up at Chen Hai's lowered head: "Are you trying to comfort me?"

"Slave doesn't dare."

"The great Xiqi Dynasty has many ministers of civil and military affairs. Among them are many young upstarts who have studied hard for ten years and have passed the exam. Even including my sons, there is only one daughter that I can believe..." The emperor sneered, " Should I be proud of it?"

Chen Hai lowered his eyebrows and remained silent.

"Qinghuang has an iron fist and a good brain." The emperor closed his eyes slightly, as if thinking about something, "If I had had her courage back then, Xiqi should be a completely new Xiqi now."

"Your Majesty has done enough." Chen Hai said in a low voice, with a hint of heartache in his tone, "If it hadn't been for the Lin family's trouble in the court and the great loss of Xi Qi's vitality, so many aristocratic families would not have formed cliques for personal gain. With the opportunity, the emperor will definitely create a prosperous era for Xiqi."

The emperor did not speak, but looked at the pile of memorials on the Long Case with a serious look: "What do you think these memorials are?"

"I don't dare to make random guesses."

"Recently, several ministers in the court have taken a look at the direction of the trend and believe that the queen and her son have the upper hand. Shangzhezi asked me to establish a crown prince." The emperor snorted coldly, "Qinghuang is right, these sons of mine have no ability to govern the country. Who should I appoint? The eldest brother or the second child? Or just appoint Xiaojiu as the crown prince?"

Chen Hai was horrified: "I don't dare to discuss matters concerning the crown prince."

"I didn't ask you to discuss it." The emperor glanced at him, and then leaned back on his chair tiredly, "Establishing a prince is a big deal. If you don't do it right, it will ruin hundreds of years of Xi Qi's foundation. I have always wanted to wait and see what happens to these sons. Who has the ability, but they have been hiding in their turtle shells, not even having the courage to show off their abilities. Apart from getting into trouble and causing trouble all day long, no one has taken the initiative to share the government affairs for me. Each and every one of them still wants to be the prince? "

Speaking of this, I couldn't help but compare Qinghuang again: "Look at them, and then look at Qinghuang, I really am... You said they have one-tenth of Qinghuang's courage and ability, Why haven’t I established a prince yet?”

Chen Hai became more and more afraid to speak.

"It would be great if Qinghuang was born as a boy." The emperor couldn't help but feel confused again, "If only she was born as a boy..."

"Before..." Chen Hai said cautiously, "Didn't Dongling also have a queen?"

The emperor's face changed slightly, and he slowly sat up straight, staring at Chen Hai with deep and unpredictable eyes: "What did you say?"

Chen Hai knelt down in fear: "Old slave, you deserve to die!"

The emperor's gaze with a hint of coercion fell on the top of his head, and the color in his eyes rolled. After a while, he calmly said: "You mean, Qinghuang can be the heir?"

"I don't dare." Chen Hai apologized again and again, "I just couldn't see the emperor being so sad, so I spoke unscrupulously. I beg the emperor to forgive me for being so mean-mouthed."

The emperor said nothing and slowly leaned back in his chair.

Queen Dongling...

Yes, Dongling's last term was the Empress. Although most of the major affairs of the government were decided by the Regent, the Empress did remain the emperor safely for more than ten years.

And the prosperous age of Dongling began with the Queen.

The emperor closed his eyes, his mind filled with thoughts.