kingnovel Chapter 385 Leaving without saying goodbye
Chapter 385 Leaving without saying goodbye
Autumn morning.
mist.
Sun Zhonghuai took Old Zhao out of the city in a carriage.
In the palace, the emperor came back from his morning court session and said to little Dengzi:
"Why didn't Lord Sun come to court today? Is he ill? Or did he drink too much at the Yong'an Marquis's wedding banquet yesterday and can't get up?"
Xiao Dengzi's face darkened and he carefully presented a memorial.
"Your Majesty, this was delivered by someone from the Sun Mansion this morning."
"What is he doing?"
The emperor chuckled and opened the letter.
The more he read the contents, the uglier his expression became. In the end, his face turned ashen, and he threw the letter on the table and shouted:
"Change clothes! I want to leave the palace!"
Little Dengzi fell to his knees and stopped the emperor, saying in panic:
"Your Majesty, no!"
"Go away!"
The emperor kicked Xiao Dengzi away.
"Even you want to stop me?"
Little Dengzi hugged the emperor's legs and cried:
"Your Majesty, Lord Sun has made up his mind to leave. The messenger who brought him the message said that Lord Sun had already left the city as soon as the city gates opened in the morning. Your Majesty, even if we rush to chase him now, we will not be able to catch up."
"Even if I can't catch up with him, I will chase him! I want to ask him, what do I mean to him? When he does this, has he ever thought about what will happen to me?"
After saying that, he raised his foot and kicked Xiao Dengzi away, then walked out of the hall.
"stop!"
Outside the palace, the Queen Mother took the lead.
As soon as they entered the hall, the empress dowager waved her hand and asked everyone to leave, leaving only the empress dowager and the emperor in the hall.
"Where is the emperor going?"
The Queen Mother questioned sternly.
Li Gan turned his head away and said in a muffled voice:
"The palace is too stuffy, I'm going out for a walk."
"and then?"
The Queen Mother stared coldly into Li Gan's eyes. "Are you going to abandon me and our ancestral legacy to follow him?"
Li Gan was shocked and looked at the empress dowager in disbelief.
The Queen Mother was ruthless.
"Your Majesty, you chose this path yourself. Now that you've taken it, you must be responsible for it. If you just walk away, what will become of the entire court? What will become of the people of this world?"
"Mother, if I can't even keep the one I love, what good is this throne?"
"You finally admitted it."
"..." Li Gan looked at the Queen Mother and suddenly understood something. He asked doubtfully, "Mother, was it you who did this?"
Since he ascended the throne, the Queen Mother had been pressuring him to appoint a queen and had also selected so many concubines to fill his harem. Now that Sun Zhonghuai had left without saying goodbye, he couldn't think of a second reason other than the Queen Mother's pressure.
"That's right!"
The Queen Mother didn't want to deny it, so she simply admitted it.
"I went to Lord Sun and personally begged him to let you go. Your Majesty, you can't be so stubborn!"
"Let me go?"
Li Gan's eyes were filled with sorrow.
"Mother, Zhonghuai is not wrong, and he is not pestering me. It is I who has been pestering him! Mother, I cannot live without Zhonghuai..."
"Snapped!"
Before Li Gan finished speaking, the Queen Mother had already swung her arms and slapped him hard in the face, saying angrily:
"Asshole! How could you, as the Emperor, say such foolish and foolish things? I thought you had grown up a lot in the past two years, that you had the whole world in your heart and shouldered the responsibility. But you actually... You make me so heartbroken!"
Li Gan covered his burning face, feeling heartbroken as well.
He couldn't understand why he had to choose between the throne and Zhong Huai. Couldn't he have both?
If the premise for keeping Zhong Huai was that he had to compromise and accept the women in the harem, he...
I really can't do it!
"Mother, you are right! I am not a qualified emperor. Mother, please choose someone more virtuous."
Li Gan's thoughts gradually became firmer.
The Queen Mother stood there in a daze upon hearing this.
Did they, mother and son, end up like this today?
Li Gan said:
"Mother, I've thought about it. Ji'er is very talented and outstanding in both civil and military affairs. Mother, please support Ji'er to ascend the throne. I don't want to be the emperor anymore. I..."
"shut up!"
The Queen Mother tried her best to suppress her anger and shock.
She really didn't expect that the emperor would have such thoughts.
"Mother, Ji'er is my eldest brother's bloodline. You've always loved him, so why don't you agree? You said at the beginning that my eldest brother was the only choice for the crown prince. Now, just think of it as me returning the throne to my eldest brother. Isn't that okay?"
Li Gan has been thinking about this matter for a long time.
It has even been put into action.
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother connected all the events of the past and finally understood the reason for her uneasiness.
But when I really heard such words from the emperor, I was still extremely shocked.
"Do you think the succession of the throne is just a game? If you are not careful, you will get hurt. What's more, Ji'er is only ten years old..."
"One year!"
Li Gan said firmly.
"Mother, please give Ji'er and me another year. During this year, I will nurture Ji'er and help him make a smooth transition. After a year, please let me go."
"You don't regret it?"
"no way!"
The Queen Mother slumped down in her chair.
My son's heart is no longer here, and no matter how hard we try, we can't get him back.
My son has a free and easy temperament and is naturally fond of freedom.
He had lost a lot in the fight for the throne over the past two years, and the smile on his face was no longer as bright as before.
Since he ascended the throne, the relationship between mother and son has not been as harmonious as before, and it has even become alienated.
If this is the price of sitting on the throne, then it is really too high.
The Queen Mother's mind was in turmoil.
Fortunately, Ji'er and Li Guo are different.
Ji'er was indeed born to be a politician. He was courageous and resolute at a young age. He dared to sneak into the Dali Kingdom alone and quell the Dali rebellion. His future should not be underestimated.
Seeing that the Queen Mother had softened her stance, Li Guo gradually calmed down.
"Don't worry, mother. Ji'er will definitely be a good emperor."
"Forget it! You'd better not regret it! However, this matter is only known to me and my mother. For the time being, no one else can reveal it, understand?"
"it is good!"
……
On the official road in the suburbs.
Sun Zhonghuai sat in the carriage, watching the rising sun outside the window. He didn't know that the emperor and the empress dowager had a fierce quarrel over him.
"Sir, where are we going?"
Old Zhao asked loudly while driving the car.
"Go south!"
Sun Zhonghuai responded.
The Ministry of Works reported that Lord Pei was in charge of the construction of water conservancy projects in three provinces in the south. It was the flood season in the south, so he happened to be going to the south for an inspection.
"okay!"
Old Zhao whipped the horse and drove south.
……
The eighth day of the eleventh month is Pei Yao's wedding day.
The Pei family hurried and finally entered Lin'an City the day before.
When the two brothers Pei Shizong and Pei Shichang saw their mother, the three of them immediately hugged each other and cried.
"Mom, I thought I would never see you again in this lifetime! Mom! I'm an unfilial son. I haven't been filial to you for so long! Mom!"
Pei Shizong cried so hard that he couldn't get up.