Chapter 82: The Son of Heaven is Impotent

The starry sky was brilliant, and the cold moon was overhead. The white moonlight shone on the earth, as if covering the earth with a thin layer of frost and snow, carrying a trace of coldness that invaded the bones.

A Jiao stood on the pavilion of the Xuanshi Hall, watching the carriage carrying Tian Qian gradually go away, and finally disappeared after the palace gate. She let out a long breath, feeling that a matter had finally been settled.

"If you hadn't stopped me, I would never have let her leave alive." A familiar female voice came from behind. A Jiao didn't need to look back to know who the person speaking behind her was.

Liu Che stood still beside A Jiao, his gaze looking at the distant palace gate. "Just now those guards, I have already sealed their mouths."

"After Tian Qian goes home, she shouldn't come to Chang'an again. Don't worry, she won't talk nonsense either." A Jiao said slowly.

A Jiao didn't expect that she would finally drive Tian Qian away in such a way. Later, Tian Qian would definitely keep her mouth shut, otherwise the Marquis of Zhouyang's end would be the same as the former Prime Minister Tian Fen.

Liu Che sneered after listening, turned his head to look at the person beside him: "What am I worried about? Even if this matter spreads, the one who is embarrassed is you, my Son of Heaven."

A Jiao's lips twitched slightly, and for a while, she didn't know what to say.

She told Tian Qian before that she was impotent, just to get rid of Tian Qian's entanglement earlier. Who could have thought that such a thing would happen later?

"If I hadn't come today, would you have been happy on the bed long ago?" Liu Che's words were very direct.

A Jiao raised her hand and scratched her eyebrows: "People have already been sent away, what is the point of you saying these things now?" She went to the Changle Palace early this morning to send Jin E to marry, and then returned to the Xuanshi Hall to look at the memorials for most of the day. At night, there was such a scene, she was already very tired.

"I want to rest." After leaving a sentence, she turned and walked into the bedchamber.

Liu Che stood in place for a while, then turned and followed A Jiao into the bedchamber.

Because of what happened just now, there was not a single palace maid serving in the bedchamber. A Jiao took off her outer clothes directly and wanted to lie on the bed to rest. Seeing Liu Che also come in, she paused, and finally didn't open her mouth to drive him out.

A Jiao lay on the bed with her clothes on, closed her eyes and prepared to sleep. Liu Che sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the candle oil lamp in the hall, and said: "A Jiao, the matter that day, it was my fault, I apologize to you."

Hearing his words, A Jiao opened her eyes abruptly and looked at him, her eyes still carrying a trace of doubt: "What matter?" He suddenly came to apologize, which made her feel caught off guard.

Liu Che condensed his mind and looked at her: "The matter of Eldest Brother coming to Chang'an that day."

That was already more than half a month ago!

A Jiao had forgotten why she was angry at that time. Now Liu Che brought up the old matter again, she pursed her lips and responded vaguely: "Oh."

"It was my fault for questioning the sibling relationship between you and Eldest Brother." Liu Che took the initiative to admit his mistake, thinking that perhaps this was the jealousy A Li mentioned before.

Especially since A Jiao said before—if the person I married that year wasn't you, would my ending be different?

What he actually cared about was this.

The Father Emperor had thirteen sons in total, and he was ranked tenth. Above him were the gentle Eldest Brother Liu Rong and Liu De. Below him were three younger brothers who were favored by the Father Emperor.

At that time, the Empress was just an unfavored beauty. If it weren't for Aunt Guantao, how would the Father Emperor know his excellence?

The first husband Aunt Guantao chose for A Jiao was actually the then-Eldest Prince. It was precisely because of the engagement with A Jiao, and with the support of Aunt Guantao, that Liu Rong was established as the Crown Prince.

Who knew that after Liu Rong became the Crown Prince, that Li Ji began to dislike A Jiao's father's clan for having few food towns, which angered Aunt Guantao, and this gave Liu Che a chance.

If Liu De's biological mother wasn't also Li Ji, and was directly excluded by Aunt Guantao, maybe A Jiao would have really married Liu De at that time, where would there be Liu Che's chance?

A Jiao was already sleepy, yawning while saying: "It's good that you know you are wrong, don't doubt Cousin again in the future."

Liu Che saw A Jiao dozing off, he reached out and shook her awake: "I admitted my mistake to you, shouldn't you also

admit your mistake to me?"

"Where am I wrong?" Being shaken awake by Liu Che, A Jiao frowned.

"Those words you asked in front of Eldest Brother at the Ming Tang that day made us both unable to come down from the stage, isn't that your fault?"

A Jiao was silent for a long time, recalling the situation that day, "Okay, I shouldn't have said those words in front of Cousin that day, I also apologize."

She said, closed her eyes sleepily, thinking that she could finally sleep. But she didn't want Liu Che to suddenly throw himself into her arms, and even pressed his entire weight on her.

A Jiao stared at him: "You..."

Liu Che raised his head slightly from her arms, a shallow smile in his phoenix eyes: "So, are we considered reconciled now?"

A Li said, after apologizing and getting forgiveness, it is considered shaking hands and making peace.

A Jiao was too sleepy, she only wanted to sleep now, so she nodded: "Hmm, reconciled."

Liu Che raised his eyebrows, the smile on his lips more obvious: "Since so, your scumbag behavior today, I also temporarily forgive you."

Actually, Liu Che was still angry in his heart, but he also knew that this matter could not be entangled, and he could not be unforgiving to A Jiao. Because he was currently completely passive!

If he continued to be angry with A Jiao, or lose his temper, the result would not change, A Jiao would continue to ignore him.

Just like at the beginning, he seemed to have ignored her like this too.

Liu Che gently pressed his face against A Jiao's chest, listening to her heavy and steady heartbeat, but his heart was not a taste.

They met when they were young. Although they couldn't say they grew up together, they were still together most of the time.

The spoiled personality cultivated since childhood made her the most unique existence in the entire Weiyang Palace. At least in his eyes at that time, Cousin A Jiao was unique.

At fourteen, the Father Emperor held the capping ceremony for him in advance. Not long after, he married sixteen-year-old A Jiao as his Crown Princess as he wished.

At sixteen, the Father Emperor passed away from illness, he ascended the throne as emperor, and conferred A Jiao as his Empress.

In the 'Classic of Poetry: Minor Odes', there is such a sentence: "Wife and children are in harmony, like playing the zither and harp." He once thought that he and A Jiao should be like this.

But the unsmoothness of governing, the grandmother's pressing step by step, and A Jiao's arrogance and willfulness all made him feel breathless. The uniqueness he once liked gradually became heavy.

He chose to use playfulness and indulgence in hunting to numb himself and his enemies.

In the second year of Jianyuan, when he returned from ancestor worship, he passed through Pingyang County, stayed at Eldest Sister Pingyang Princess's house for one night, and met Wei Zifu.

Zifu and A Jiao had completely opposite personalities; she was as gentle as water and sensible. Compared to A Jiao losing her temper at him at every turn, he seemed to like such a gentle beauty more.

So he favored Wei Zifu and brought her back to the Weiyang Palace.

At that time, there were no other concubines in the Weiyang Palace, and A Jiao was his only woman.

After A Jiao knew that he brought a woman from outside the palace, she naturally argued with him. Finally, the Empress Dowager advised him to be patient and not make A Jiao unhappy, so he chose to compromise.

This was Liu Che's first compromise to A Jiao. He arranged for Wei Zifu to go to the Yongxiang and reconciled with A Jiao. It was also from that time that his feelings for A Jiao changed.

Later, he established his prestige and power in the court. Even when Wei Zifu appeared in front of him again, it rekindled the desire in his heart.

So, he not only conferred Wei Zifu as a Beauty, but also took all the beauties gifted by Pingyang Princess into the Weiyang Palace.

He was the Son of Heaven, and having many beauties was his right, which even his grandmother could not stop.

That was when A Jiao argued with him the most fiercely. He favored a beauty the day before, and the next day that beauty was sent to the Jiaofang Hall. He came to the Jiaofang Hall to reason with her, and she dared to scold him as a heartless person in front of the palace servants.

Later, he simply ignored her. Anyway, there were many beauties in the world, and he could favor new beauties every day. After being ignored like this, A Jiao indeed stopped making trouble.

She even took the initiative to find him to soften her attitude.

Recalling now

, Liu Che realized that the feeling of being ignored was actually so uncomfortable.

His heart felt like it was blocked by something. Liu Che rolled his throat, slowly propped up his body, gently kissed her lips, sucked gently, and entangled.

"A Jiao, I'm sorry, before..." He wanted to apologize for his former self, but just as he said half of it, he heard a very slight snoring sound from her throat.

The full apology instantly faded away. Liu Che stared at A Jiao who had already fallen asleep in front of him, a breath blocked in his heart.

How could she fall asleep at such a tender moment?

The movement of Tian Qian being sent out of the Weiyang Palace in the middle of the night was not small, and it was impossible to be silent. However, the version circulating in the palace changed to the Empress being jealous and unable to look at Tian Qian, and finally sending her away very strongly.

The Empress regained favor.

Liu Che was satisfied with this version of the rumor; after all, it was better than everyone saying that the Son of Heaven was impotent.

Because the Empress regained favor, Liu Che could go to the Xuanshi Hall to accompany A Jiao to handle government affairs again.

Having experienced the government affairs handled without Liu Che's help for more than half a month before, A Jiao obviously felt that she was a bit powerless. Now that Liu Che came to help again, she felt a bit relaxed.

Seeing that they were reconciled, Liu Li was also happy in her heart. While Liu Che was busy, Liu Li quietly pulled A Jiao aside, intending to discuss Chu Fu with her.

A Jiao already knew that Chu Fu had been sent to Liu Che by Liu Ling, but she had been busy handling government affairs before, so she didn't ask about this matter for the time being.

"I have already asked Chu Fu clearly, the main purpose of Liu Ling leaving her here is to assassinate the Son of Heaven."

A Jiao nodded, not surprised by this result. After all, she had already experienced such a thing in her previous life.

"That is to say, the Chu Fu of the previous life was also ordered by Liu Ling to use witchcraft to harm Liu Che?" The only thing A Jiao couldn't understand was why Chu Fu had to start from her.

Liu Li nodded: "It shouldn't be wrong."

A Jiao lowered her eyes: "I have always regarded A Ling as the simple and cute little sister at that time, but I didn't expect that ten years would make her like this. Why does she want to harm me?"

Liu Li held A Jiao's hand: "Maybe Liu Ling didn't expect that after her envisioned witchcraft plan failed, the Father Emperor of the previous life would choose to depose the Empress."

A Jiao sneered, deciding not to dwell on Liu Ling's thoughts, but asked: "Then what should we do now? Liu Ling let Chu Fu stay to perform witchcraft on the Son of Heaven, can we arrest Chu Fu and then take down the Huainan Kingdom in one fell swoop?"

"Chu Fu's clansmen are all in the Huainan Kingdom, I promised her that I would help her save all her clansmen." Liu Li said slowly: "And... don't you want the Father Emperor to experience what you experienced at that time?"

Hearing Liu Li's words, A Jiao slowed down her breathing. She rolled her throat and said hoarsely: "Let him experience witchcraft?"

Liu Li nodded.

Although this idea was a little bit sorry for Liu Che, Liu Li wanted to help A Jiao truly let go of the nightmare of her previous life. Only by truly letting go would rebirth become meaningful.

"Witchcraft, this way of harming people with curses, is inherently a very subtle existence. As long as you don't believe in this thing, then the so-called curse does not exist at all." Liu Li decided to convey some scientific concepts to A Jiao.

A Jiao listened to her words, nodded understandingly: "Actually, I don't quite believe that a small wooden man carved with a birth date will hurt people."

Liu Li smiled: "If you are not afraid, then follow my plan. If you are afraid, then we won't do it."

A Jiao held her daughter's little hand tightly, her heart struggling a bit. On one hand, she wanted Liu Che to experience what she had experienced before. On the other hand, she was indeed a bit afraid, would this witchcraft come true?

After all, in her previous life, Liu Che's body seemed to have changed because of this witchcraft.

After struggling in her heart for a long time, A Jiao finally raised her head and decided: "Just follow your plan." She also wanted to step over this

hurdle in her heart.

Liu Li leaned into A Jiao's ear and whispered: "We do this, then this, and finally this."

After listening, A Jiao gasped: "Will this... be dangerous?"

"If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't catch the tiger's cub." Liu Li raised an eyebrow: "If you don't do this, the Father Emperor will never know your importance."

"Good." A Jiao nodded: "Just do it."

After confirming the next pit-father plan, Liu Li contacted Chu Fu and asked her to prepare. Although Chu Fu didn't know what the Jianling Princess was planning to do, thinking that the Princess could save her clansmen, she had to cooperate.

The first thing to do was to make Liu Che believe that Chu Fu was not only a female doctor but also a witch. After all, Liu Che had privately looked for many sorcerers and witches before, and none of them were useful, which led to him losing confidence in witchcraft.

And the fact that the Son of Heaven and the Empress switched bodies could not be revealed to anyone. Even if Chu Fu could see the abnormal phase of the Emperor and Empress's bodies being out of Yinyang harmony, she hadn't associated it with switching bodies.

So she couldn't tell Chu Fu about this.

Then how could she make Liu Che believe that Chu Fu's "witchcraft" was very powerful and effective? Liu Li thought for a long time, but had no clue.

Seeing Liu Li so distressed, Chu Fu reminded her in a low voice: "The reason I was sent to the Empress was that the Wengzhu told the Empress that I had a secret method that could help people get pregnant and have children."

Liu Li: "Ha? You have this function?"

Chu Fu: "Of course not, I can only judge whether the child in the pregnant woman's belly is a boy or a girl through the pulse, I cannot help people get pregnant, after all, I am not a man."

"So pulse diagnosis can also see the gender of the child?" Liu Li doubted: "Did you learn Chinese medicine?"

"What is Chinese medicine?" Chu Fu didn't understand.

In fact, what Liu Li didn't know was that the thinking of ancient Chinese medicine was really evolved from the theory of Yinyang and Five Elements, so Chu Fu would be left as a female doctor.

Liu Li waved her hand: "This is not important, but I can tell you clearly that using the method of having children is not very feasible."

Perhaps the A Jiao of the previous life, because she was eager to get pregnant and have children, believed that Chu Fu had this ability. But the Empress now was Liu Che, he was not willing to get pregnant and have children, if Chu Fu said so, Liu Che would definitely not be interested.

"Forget it, I'll think about it carefully, I'll come to find you when I think of it." Liu Li left Chu Fu's room.

However, before Liu Li could think of a good way to prove that Chu Fu was "very capable", a rumor in the Weiyang Palace spread: The Son of Heaven is impotent.

Although A Jiao and Liu Che had separately gone to warn the guards and Tian Qian last time, they forgot that there were many palace maids and attendants there at that time. It was just that these people were not in the room, they were outside the bedchamber, and they all heard it.

After this rumor spread in the Weiyang Palace, everyone suddenly thought of Tian Qian, who was sent out of the palace by the Son of Heaven overnight, and things became interesting.

As a result, even the Empress Dowager in the Changle Palace knew about it.

Although because of the previous things, the Empress Dowager and her son had a gap. But after all, it was her son, and when Jin E was sent to marry before, the Son of Heaven also gave enough face.

So the resentment the Empress Dowager had for her son in her heart also dissipated more than half. Now that she suddenly heard the rumor that the Son of Heaven was impotent, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but think of what her niece Tian Qian said before.

Before, her son lived in the Shanglin Park with Tian Qian for a few days and did not favor Tian Qian.

The Empress Dowager understood her son. He could not favor Tian Qian for a few days, which made her feel very strange. Now combined with the rumors in the palace, everything seemed to be clear.

Taste it, taste it carefully!

Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager punished the palace servants who talked nonsense, and sent people to summon the Son of Heaven, the Empress, and the only concubine in the harem, Wei Zifu, to the Changle Palace separately.

The first one to come was Wei Zifu.

The Empress Dowager first cared about the Imperial Grandson, and after learning that little Liu Ju was healthy now, she entered the topic and asked very obscurely: "Lady Wei, I don't know if you have heard about the rumors in the Weiyang Palace recently?"

Wei Zifu looked at the Empress Dowager's expression and guessed

what she was asking about. But she pretended to be stupid and said: "I don't know what the Empress Dowager is talking about? Zifu doesn't know any rumors."

The Empress Dowager's expression stiffened and she whispered: "It's about my son being impotent."

Wei Zifu immediately pretended to be surprised: "How is this possible? The Son of Heaven he..."

The Empress Dowager waited expectantly for Wei Zifu to continue. As long as Wei Zifu proved that the Son of Heaven was capable, all rumors could be broken.

But Wei Zifu said: "Mother Empress, since Zifu became pregnant with Ju'er, I have never received holy favor again, so... Zifu doesn't know what the Son of Heaven is like now."

The Empress Dowager: "..." Her heart was a bit cold.

Not long after letting Wei Zifu go back, the Son of Heaven was also summoned.

"Is there anything to discuss when Mother Empress called me to the Changle Palace at this time?" Although she didn't like the Empress Dowager in her heart, A Jiao could still show the respect she should have for the Empress Dowager.

Such respect and distance, unlike before, made the Empress Dowager feel a bit sad in her heart. She thought everything was caused by the previous matter.

The Empress Dowager waved away all the palace servants in the palace. When only their "mother and son" were in the hall, the Empress Dowager said: "A Che, Mother Empress heard something in the palace recently."

A Jiao raised her eyebrows: "What matter?"

"There are only mother and son here, tell me, are you really... impotent?" The Empress Dowager was solemn.

A Jiao: "..."

Regarding this matter, A Jiao actually heard some wind, she didn't expect it to spread to the Empress Dowager so quickly, and she was asked.

How was she supposed to answer this?

Seeing her son's tangled look, the Empress Dowager's heart went cold for half: "So this matter is true?"

A Jiao hurriedly said: "Of course it's not true." Although it was Liu Che's face that was lost, this face belonged to her now.

"Mother Empress, how can you listen to the rumors of the palace servants?" A Jiao decided to die and not admit that she was impotent.

"Then why have you only stayed in the Jiaofang Hall for the past year and never looked for anyone else?" The Empress Dowager thought the more she felt her son was lying. After all, A Jiao was the Empress, if she knew the Son of Heaven was impotent, she would definitely help hide it.

"Because... because..." A Jiao was completely stumped.

The Empress Dowager: "!!!"

"Because the Son of Heaven is mine." A crisp and domineering voice came from the door. Liu Che pushed the door open and walked in, then closed the door very carefully, and walked to the Empress Dowager and A Jiao.

"Mother Empress." Liu Che bent his knees and saluted, then said: "Why does Mother Empress also believe those nonsense rumors?"

The Empress Dowager looked at "A Jiao" in front of her, didn't care that he broke in suddenly, and asked hesitantly: "Are you really not lying to me?"

Liu Che leaned gently against A Jiao, a sweet smile on his face: "Mother Empress, please rest assured, the Son of Heaven is very brave."

A Jiao heard the word "brave", and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.

"Since so, the Son of Heaven has favored you alone for more than a year, why don't you see joy?" The Empress Dowager hit the nail on the head with her question.

Liu Che: "..."

A Jiao took Liu Che into her arms and said with pity: "Mother Empress, A Jiao had a miscarriage before, and now her body needs to be well-adjusted. Besides, there are already two imperial sons in the palace, so it doesn't matter if there is one in A Jiao's belly."

"How can it not matter?" The Empress Dowager said bluntly: "That is after all a concubine's son, it is still necessary for A Jiao to give birth to a legitimate imperial son early."

A Jiao nodded repeatedly and echoed: "Mother Empress's teaching is right."

The Empress Dowager took a deep breath and said: "Now the only thing that can prove my son is for the Empress or other beauties or ladies to be pregnant." Given that there were no beauties in the Weiyang Palace now, this heavy responsibility fell on the Empress.

Liu Che was silent.

The current matter seemed to have brought him back to the Jianyuan period. ===== CHAPTER 83 =====