Chapter 438 - 438 Not Seeing
438 Not Seeing
It was not that he did not want to see her, but he had no time to see her now.
Wei Ling’s expression was adrift for a moment, but she still said, “Eunuch, please inform him again. What I want to say is important and can’t be delayed.”
Eunuch Lian nodded, then turned around and went back in.
Not long after, he came out and replied respectfully, “Your Majesty, the emperor said that you should return to the palace first. He will come over to see you immediately after he’s done. The emperor also said that Her Majesty’s body is weak, so she should return to the palace to recuperate. He will definitely come over when he’s done.”
Eunuch Lian lowered his head and quietly waited for Wei Ling to leave.
Wei Ling’s face was pale. If it weren’t for the palace maids supporting her, she wouldn’t have been able to stand.
She gulped and calmed down all her impetuous emotions before saying, “Then I’ll go back to the palace first. When the emperor is done with his work, if the emperor forgets, I hope you can remind him.”
Eunuch Lian lowered his head and replied, “Yes, I will remember it.”
Wei Ling then returned to the palace.
After Wei Ling left, Eunuch Lian entered the inner hall and reported, “Your Majesty, the empress has already returned to the palace. Her Majesty looks weak. Should we get the imperial physician to take a look?”
The emperor, Zhou Zhao, who was leaning against the dragon throne with his eyes closed, said calmly, “Yes.”
After receiving permission, Eunuch Lian went down to pass down the order.
“I’m so tired.”
Zhou Zhao sighed softly.
The old eunuch behind him, Eunuch Chen, immediately went forward and massaged his forehead. Eunuch Chen smiled and said softly, “Your Majesty is tired. You should rest.”
“Old thing, Heng’er is coming back soon. How can I rest?”
Zhou Zhao did not even look up.
Eunuch Chen smiled and remained silent.
Zhou Zhao frowned and said, “Old thing, do you think Zhi’er really doesn’t want to be the emperor? Is he really not envious of this position?”
Eunuch Chen smiled and said, “I don’t know if the Second Prince wants it or not, but I believe that Your Majesty is right. If you think he doesn’t want to, then he probably really doesn’t want to.”
“True.”
Zhou Zhao chuckled and relaxed his body.
Eunuch Chen immediately massaged Zhou Zhao’s arms and shoulders.
Zhou Zhao felt more comfortable and his tightly furrowed brows relaxed. He said slowly, “But to be honest, Zhi’er makes my heart ache. His legs are gone and his body is disabled. He’s destined to have no fate with the throne. He’s suffered for so many years. His thoughts are getting deeper and deeper. Even I, his father, can’t see what he wants.”
Eunuch Chen smiled gently and did not interrupt. He only massaged the emperor sincerely and made him feel comfortable.
Zhou Zhao did not need Eunuch Chen to interrupt. He was just telling him.
“I hate that detestable bald donkey, Zhiming. If not for his bullsh*t prophecy, the empress wouldn’t be like this!”
Zhou Zhao’s anger was aroused by the mention of the past.
Eunuch Chen comforted him. “Your Majesty, please calm down. It’s not worth it to be angry. If you’re really angry, just find an excuse and ban the Zhenshan Monastery from operations for two months to vent your anger.”
Zhou Zhao grunted. He was indeed angry. After so many years, he could only vent his anger in this way.
Whenever he thought of it, he would find a reason to ban Zhenshan Temple. After so many years, that temple was no longer a royal temple. There were very few people now, and there were not many monks in the temple. Even so, when he thought of the past, he still had to punish the temple in anger.
“If I hadn’t gone to resolve my dream back then, I wouldn’t have heard the so-called prophecy from that old bald donkey’s mouth and caused my sons to suffer. If it weren’t for the fact that I couldn’t kill him, his head would have fallen to the ground when he spat out the prophecy back then.”
Zhou Zhao’s tone was melancholic and full of regret.
Back then, on the night before the empress, Wei Ling, gave birth to twins, the emperor, Zhou Zhao, had a dream. He dreamed that two divine dragons descended from the Nine Heavens, one black and one gold, and landed in the palace. The next day, the empress gave birth to twins.
Zhou Zhao found it strange, so he went to the royal temple, Zhenshan Monastery, to explain his dream. He thought it was a good dream. Two True Dragons. He felt that it was a hint that his two sons were extraordinary and that it would be an honor for the Great Zhou Dynasty in the future.
However, Zhiming said that the two dragons, one black and one gold, represented good and evil. The more righteous the good, the more vicious the evil.
The two princes were the reincarnations of True Dragons. One of them was upright and could be a wise ruler that would be praised for thousands of years. The other was evil and could be a god of death that could destroy a country. He loved chaos and killing. One day, he would lose his humanity and start a massacre.
With such a prophecy spread, the two princes of the empress’s direct line of descent were questioned.
Now that the Eldest Prince had gone out to see a doctor, there was no trace of him. The Second Prince had always been cold and aloof.
Everyone was certain that Zhou Zhi was evil, but how could they know that Zhou Zhi was personally taught by the emperor? Zhou Heng had not been heard from for so many years, and the emperor also had the intention to pass the throne to Zhou Zhi, but Zhou Zhi rejected it.
He did not want the throne.
Thinking of this, Zhou Zhao frowned and instructed, “Find a reason to ban Zhenshan Monastery from traveling for two months. Not a single bird is allowed to be released.”
“Yes.”
Eunuch Chen nodded. He knew that Zhou Zhao was really angry.
This was the pain in the emperor’s heart. Even if he could not change the outcome, as long as he thought about it, Zhenshan Monastery would still have to bear the wrath.
“Heng’er is a good child. Luck always favors him. Even in such a small place, he could meet the former number three in the national examinations and be taught by him. Zhi’er’s luck is a little bad, but he knows right from wrong and differentiates good and evil in his heart. He has never hated his brother with good luck. After he returns to the palace, as his father, I have to make the relationship between the two brothers right. It’s fine as long as some misunderstandings are resolved.”
“By the way, go to the treasury and find two pieces of good jade to send to him. Didn’t the country offer a piece of warm jade not long ago? Send it to Zhi’er. He’s weak, so carrying warm jade is good for his health.”
Zhou Zhao opened his eyes and instructed Eunuch Chen.
Eunuch Chen bowed and replied respectfully, “Yes, I will do it now.”
Zhou Zhao waved his hand. “Go. I also want to study Heng’er’s article and see if his talent is worthy of being the current top scholar in this imperial examination. I hope that he will be the top scholar, but this Su Hua’s talent and insight… makes me very troubled.”
Zhou Zhao also sat down and read the articles on the table again. These were all sent from the exam. He picked out those that were well-written.
He was very satisfied with Zhou Heng’s article, but Su Hua’s article made him even more satisfied.
On one side was his son, and on the other was a talented scholar. It was indeed a little difficult.
Who would be the top scorer and who would be the second?
He picked up the article and compared it carefully. In the end, it was difficult to come to a conclusion.
In the end, Zhou Zhao gave up. He would choose after the palace examination results were out.
Perhaps Su Hua had performed badly during the palace examination.
Zhou Zhao chuckled and shook his head. He was amused by his joke. In his heart, he was already looking forward to meeting Zhou Heng in the palace examination. He also wanted to see this genius who had grown up with the Eldest Prince. He also wanted to know why he still tried his best in the examination even though he clearly knew Zhou Heng’s identity. He wanted to understand Zhou Heng’s life for the past ten years.