Chapter 148: The Person Beside Prince Duan Has Arrived

Emperor Yongzheng was suddenly stunned.

He had always believed that power and status came first.

He had also always taught his children this way.

But what about Xiao Youlan? He actually said he could give up being the Crown Prince, or even being a prince, and would even sever his father-son relationship with him for the sake of a female Assassin?

Xiao Youlan walked outward, his face dark and his gaze like tempered ice; the group of personal guards did not dare to block him and parted on both sides.

Watching his back, Emperor Yongzheng refused to give up and followed him for two steps, trying to call him back: "Born into the imperial family and named Crown Prince, it is your good fortune! How many people in this world dream of becoming imperial relatives?"

"Once you inherit the throne in the future, what beautiful woman in the world will not be yours to choose? Why must you fixate on this one female Assassin!"

"If you fail to become the Crown Prince, you will surely regret it in the future!"

"Without the protection of the Crown Prince status, you will be killed by your brothers!"

But Xiao Youlan did not look back even once; instead, his pace grew faster and faster, as if he were fleeing from something terrifying.

Emperor Yongzheng stopped at the palace gate, one step away from the outside.

The sun was excellent today, and the sunlight outside was so bright it scorched the eyes.

Emperor Yongzheng did not chase after him again; standing there, his complexion turned pale bit by bit.

When he was still a prince, he was not favored, and while in the palace, he would be bullied by other brothers.

In fact, his mother, the Consort, was very capable, but sometimes when he was bullied, she would choose to turn a blind eye and let things take their course.

His mother often said, only when you are bullied will your Imperial Father feel heartache, and only then will he have more guilt toward you and me.

Yes, his mother had nothing in her heart but vying for favor, vying for favor with the other women in the inner palace.

As for this son, she seemed not to care much.

However, Emperor Yongzheng possessed a handsome and outstanding face.

It was also because of this that he attracted the Dou family's daughter, Lingyao.

At that time, the Dou family's power was at its zenith, and Dou Lingyao was raised delicately; if the food was not prepared beautifully, she would not eat, and her clothing and jewelry all had to be the most exquisite.

Back then, when Emperor Yongzheng stood with her, it made her look more like a princess or noblewoman, while he was merely a youth from an ordinary family.

But Emperor Yongzheng was good-looking, and his stature was tall and upright; even if he was not dressed in finery, he stood out like a crane in a flock of chickens among a crowd.

Dou Lingyao spotted him at a glance.

Later on, she looked at him frequently.

At that time, Emperor Yongzheng had never thought he would marry her.

It was only later that he was bullied by other brothers in the palace, and Dou Lingyao passed by and happened to intervene to save him.

Dou Lingyao helped him up and patiently wiped his wounds for him.

She used her own handkerchief, which was very soft and carried a scent of jasmine.

She muttered softly: "Such a good-looking face, what a pity if it were beaten up."

That year, Emperor Yongzheng was eighteen; the night after he met Dou Lingyao, he had many amorous and lingering dreams, and in his dreams, there was only Dou Lingyao's fragrance, as well as her light and soft moans.

Later on, Emperor Yongzheng and Dou Lingyao gradually became familiar with each other.

Because of the Dou family, Emperor Yongzheng's days in the palace gradually became easier.

It was also during this time that he tasted the sweet flavor of power.

So he thought, why must he be subservient to others, why could he not be the Crown Prince, why could he not be the Emperor?

Harboring this intention, he treated Dou Lingyao even better.

He knew what she liked, so he racked his brains to find all kinds of good things for her, doing everything to cater to her wishes.

Sure enough, Dou Lingyao clung to him more and more.

Later on, Dou Lingyao said she wanted to marry him.

It was not as if the two of them had not had a period of deep affection; in the days just after they were married, he would always toss and turn until the second half of the night before he would let her go, and when he woke up the next day, he would still catch her for some intimacy before getting up.

When he was away, he also always thought of her, always wanting to finish the work at hand as quickly as possible to go back and be with her.

Dou Lingyao soon became pregnant; that was their first child.

It was also at this time that the Crown Prince committed an offense and was removed, the position of the Eastern Palace was left vacant, and the opportunity for all the princes arrived.

He exhausted all his efforts for this.

The Dou family gave him great assistance; this point could not be denied.

But this was not enough.

To become the Crown Prince, how could just a Dou family be enough?

Thus, Emperor Yongzheng had other women.

He knew Dou Lingyao would not be happy, so he did not tell her about this matter.

Unexpectedly, this matter still reached her ears.

She held her pregnant belly, came to the study, and asked him with tears in her eyes: "Is it true?"

Emperor Yongzheng did not dare to look at her and only said: "I have no choice."

Dou Lingyao choked with sobs and said: "But, you promised me, you promised me."

Yes, he had promised.

When he proposed, Dou Lingyao said to him: "However, my requirements for my husband are very high; I only want one person for a lifetime."

At that time, Emperor Yongzheng did not even think and said: "In this life and this world, I only love you."

Emperor Yongzheng gritted his teeth and told her: "The times are different now; if I do not fight, both you and I will die."

Dou Lingyao cried bitterly, and Emperor Yongzheng called for people to take her back.

Later that evening, a servant came over in a panic and said that the Imperial Consort had met with an accident.

She was overcome with grief and had a miscarriage.

They lost their first child.

After that, Dou Lingyao became less fond of smiling.

Later on, the Yongzheng Emperor became the Crown Prince.

Dou Lingyao naturally became his Crown Princess.

The Yongzheng Emperor felt guilty in his heart and coaxed her patiently: "Look, no matter what, you are the Crown Princess, and you are my only legitimate wife."

Dou Lingyao, however, suddenly smiled: "You are using the royal 'I' to refer to yourself when speaking to me now?"

The Yongzheng Emperor was stunned.

Later on, the Yongzheng Emperor successfully ascended the throne and became the Emperor.

Even though Dou Lingyao had no offspring, she still became the Empress.

The Yongzheng Emperor said to her in a soft, gentle voice: "In this life, I will only have you as my Empress."

Dou Lingyao did not say she believed him, nor did she say she did not.

After this night, Dou Lingyao became pregnant again.

This child was Xiao Youlan.

As soon as Xiao Youlan was born, the Yongzheng Emperor made him the Crown Prince.

He thought that in this way, Dou Lingyao would finally be happy, but she was not; she was still unhappy.

A woman who had once loved beauty so much gradually stopped dressing up and stopped smiling.

The Dou family, however, because of Dou Lingyao and Xiao Youlan, actually developed ulterior motives.

The Yongzheng Emperor could not allow the relatives of the Empress to cause trouble, so he began to suppress the power of the Dou family.

While doing these things, he did not dare to see Dou Lingyao, nor did he dare to see Xiao Youlan much.

The Yongzheng Emperor always remembered his own childhood experiences, so he gave strict instructions that no one was allowed to bully the Empress and the Crown Prince.

Whether it was because she was moved by this gesture or not, Dou Lingyao actually began to take the initiative to find him and show goodwill.

What satisfied the Yongzheng Emperor even more was that Dou Lingyao never made excuses for the Dou family, and even refused to say a word about the Dou family's affairs.

The Yongzheng Emperor thought that she had finally come to her senses.

It was not until later that the Yongzheng Emperor realized that Dou Lingyao had not come to her senses; she was simply making plans for the future.

The so-called future was that her health was deteriorating day by day, and she would not live long.

She taught her son to be well-read and sensible, a humble gentleman.

She was kind-hearted and would always help the Concubines in the inner palace who were not favored.

She also adopted a young prince who had lost his birth mother.

She found a way out for the Dou family, telling them to be careful and cautious, and not to be ostentatious.

As for herself?

She was only in her early thirties when she passed away.

It was just after nightfall at that time.

The Yongzheng Emperor was in the palace of the Virtuous Consort, and the two had just taken off their clothes on the bed.

Jin Fu reported urgently from outside the door that the Empress was critically ill and was not going to make it.

The Yongzheng Emperor almost fell off the bed.

Jin Fu added that Imperial Physician Zhang had administered acupuncture there and would definitely be able to sustain her for a while.

The Yongzheng Emperor hurriedly put on his clothes and rushed to see her one last time.

When he arrived, he only heard the sound of crying throughout the palace.

In that instant, the Yongzheng Emperor thought that perhaps she had never wanted to see him for this last time.

They had been husband and wife, from mutual affection to eventually becoming like strangers.

She had long been extremely disappointed in him.

So later, the Yongzheng Emperor devoted himself to cultivating their only son, hoping that she would know from beyond the grave and understand his painstaking efforts.

But only then did he suddenly realize that Xiao Youlan was not like him, being full of deep feeling and sincerity, but was more like his mother, the Empress.

The Yongzheng Emperor thought despondently, could it be that he had done something wrong?

But what was wrong with wanting to be the Emperor?

On the other side.

When Xiao Youlan rushed back to the Eastern Palace, he only saw a mess in the garden.

Nan Xueyin had disappeared, and some shiny things were scattered on the ground; Xiao Youlan stepped forward to look, and they were the pair of jade bracelets she had always worn on her wrists.

The pair that the Empress Dowager, his grandmother, had given her.

Xiao Youlan squatted down, his hands gripping the bracelets, his heart feeling as if it were being tightly gripped by something, and even breathing became difficult.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Wei Nian hurried over, "!"