Persuasion – If the Emotions Were Really That Deep, How Could Husband and Wife Get to That Point? (2)

Empress Dowager Qi ignored his outburst and patted Qi Chenxiang next to him. “Go, pour a cup of tea for your father to put out his anger.”

“Your Highness!” Qi Mu heard the Empress Dowager’s disapproval and was a little impatient for a while. He took the tea from his daughter and put it back on the table without drinking a sip.

“Why are you in a hurry? I think the Emperor is right. In the past few years, you have forgotten that the Emperor of Great Liang’s surname is Xiao.” Empress Dowager Qi glanced at him, drank tea slowly, and continued to move the beads in her hand like a kind and peaceful Buddha statue.

Qi Mu was speechless and blustered for a while before he said, “Your Highness, are you not in a hurry? Can’t Your Highness see the meaning of the Emperor? He wants to force us noble families to have no place to stand!”

“In a hurry?” Empress Dowager Qi slowly closed her eyes, clasped her hands on her chest, and her voice was calm and gentle, “As long as I am here, are you afraid that there will be no place for the Qi family? I gave him the throne arbitrarily, and I will naturally be able to take it back in the future. Great Liang belongs to him, and it also belongs to several big families. He is young and vigorous, and if he keeps making trouble, there will come a day when others will not be able to bear it. What you should think about as an in-law to the palace is who you will replace him with when the time comes.”

Qi Mu didn’t respond immediately, and his eyes twitched slightly when he heard the word “in-law”.

That’s right, the Qi family’s existence today was all because of the presence of the Empress Dowager. If one day, the Emperor provoked public anger, the Empress Dowager could abolish the Emperor with a single decree – this was not unheard of in the previous dynasties.

However, they had to find a suitable successor first, and this successor had better come from the Qi family.

He glanced at his modest daughter and suddenly understood the Empress Dowager’s intention.

When the prince Xiao Yu proposed to marry, the Empress Dowager had the idea of

marrying the Qi daughter to the East Palace, but she gave up because of the prince’s resistance and his father’s objection, but now he understood.

“This citizen understands. After New Year’s Day, I will ask the Emperor to start his harem as soon as possible and give birth to children to consolidate the country’s roots.”

“That’s how it should be.” Empress Dowager Qi relaxed her face, put down her hands that were folded in front of her chest, wrapped the Buddha beads around her wrists, let Qi Chenxiang sit down, and pushed a plate of snacks over to her. “Take some, you are a good child. You got up early in the morning to accompany me to recite Buddhist prayers, and you should be hungry now.”

Qi Chenxiang smiled and thanked her, sat down, and took a snack to eat, but she was a little hesitant.

She heard the whole conversation between her father and the Empress Dowager clearly. It turned out that they wanted her to marry the Emperor, not because they sincerely found a satisfactory marriage for her, but because they wanted her to be the empress and continue to maintain the status of the Qi family. Not only that, they even have plans to pull the Emperor down from the throne!

That being the case, why did they always tell her that marrying into the court was the best chance to improve her life?

She put these doubts in her heart, and it became heavier and heavier. Finally, after Qi Mu left, she asked the Empress Dowager.

Empress Dowager Qi looked at her and shook her head gently. Her eyes dimmed, from pity or something else, “I told you last time, you have to think long-term. If you have power in your hands, you will do nothing. Don’t be afraid. Among your brothers and sisters in our family, I value you the most. You are the youngest, but you are the most sensible and submissive one. You have always behaved in a proper manner and are generous and humble. I look forward to having you in my position in the future. Come up. Your days are still long, so take your time, understand?”

“Aunt, I—” Qi Chenxiang stared at her blankly, opened her mouth to say something, but couldn’t say anything.

She wanted to ask her aunt if she had lived well in the Taiji Palace these years, and if she regretted marrying Emperor Gaozong.

Everyone knew that Emperor Gaozong fell in love with the Empress Dowager at first sight, and after bringing her back to the palace, they had been in love for more than 20 years. It was precisely because of this feeling in his heart that Emperor Gaozong could tolerate the Empress Dowager removing the other concubines from the harem one by one in his later years, and then demoting or expelling his children, leaving only the cowardly eldest son Xiao Lian to inherit the throne.

But she always felt that all of this seemed to be fabricated by others. If the emotions were really that deep, how could husband and wife get to that point?

Such a life was not what she was looking forward to in her heart, but in the face of her aunt’s loving and stern eyes, she couldn’t say anything to refute it. She could only go against her will and nodded, saying respectfully, “I understand”.

…

That day, Feng Yu checked on Guoer’s illness and confirmed that there was no serious problem. It was just that the little lady had a weaker immune system before and was unaccustomed to the new place.

Seeing that New Year’s Day was there, the people’s spirits were high. It was just that Lishan was different from the bustling and prosperous Changan, so people couldn’t go to the restaurants and markets to play. Instead, they had to go to the village market at the foot of the mountain, the manor pavilion near the Hot Spring Palace, and the horse farm in the countryside at the foot of the mountain.

Among them, there were a lot of people on the racecourse. Apart from the young men, there were also many young and beautiful noble girls. There was no other reason for them to gather there; many people heard that the Emperor loved to ride and shoot. He would go to the race courses and ride every other day to relax and maintain his skills. Sometimes, he would even bring his envoys and their children who came to the New Year banquet.

On this day, seeing that the heavy snow that fell a few days ago had almost melted away, Chu Ning took the now healthy Guoer and went down the mountain to the horse farm in the countryside.