Chapter 260: The Emperor's Thoughts

At this moment, the Emperor was rather speechless.

He looked at his younger brother, who was right before his eyes and smiling in a flattering way, with a complicated expression—both angry and helpless. After a while, he let out a light sigh: "You, huh!"

Prince Qi still remembered the incident when Sui Sui fell ill before.

What he thought at the time was to resolutely prevent Chen Dalang and the Marquis of Jinyang from having a good time!

There was no longer any need to worry about Chen Dalang's side.

The coal mines in Qingzhou were about to be opened soon, and the corresponding news should soon reach the Qingzhou Residence.

The treacherous Chen family lot would soon have to honestly go mining.

Prince Qi thought, "I'll tire you out but not kill you!"

Now only the Marquis of Jinyang remained.

This damn thing, doing it himself, Prince Qi wasn't even pleased.

If later he gets entangled with him, blames him, and competes with him for Sui Sui, what then?

So, have someone else handle it!

Among the clan relatives there are some unscrupulous ones who will do evil deeds for money.

Prince Qi was asking the Emperor about this matter.

The Emperor, after listening, was completely speechless: "I don't know!"

Although brothers' talks are supposed not to be spread.

But the Emperor was accustomed to preserving his own face and authority.

Therefore, subconsciously he rejected Prince Qi.

Then, he saw Prince Qi, about to shatter right where he stood.

Emperor: ……!

What a mess!

The Emperor hesitated, then after a long pause let out a light sigh and said, "The Count of Anyang's Residence has seemed rather restless lately; I wonder how the few young masters there are causing trouble."

When he heard the imperial brother mention the Count of Anyang's Residence, Prince Qi's eyes lit up sharply.

Right!

How could he not have thought of it!

The Count of Anyang's Residence is in decline, and the young masters there have become very aware of danger, beginning to frantically seize the family assets.

The Count of Anyang is still alive, but the young masters are already causing a split of the family.

Because of their decline, the young masters are a bit unruly, so handling matters with money is very easy for them.

The problem is…

In that residence there are countless strong men; if not for fear of imperial authority, they could truly run rampant in Jing Cheng!

Although Prince Qi doesn't have a good impression of the Count of Anyang, it doesn't stop him from exploiting him.

Moreover, the other side is ideal: they handle affairs for money yet keep their mouths tight.

Prince Qi nodded satisfactorily: "My younger brother thanks you, imperial brother!"

Emperor: ……!

Even more frustrating.

Originally the Emperor thought Prince Qi would take the opportunity to bring up Lady Tang's affairs to him.

How could the Emperor not know about the commotion involving Lady Tang?

Although the Emperor's ears and eyes don't reach every corner of Jing Cheng, he is aware of most matters.

He only cares whether he wants others to know; he is in the know.

In the end, after chatting for a while, Prince Qi didn't utter a single word about the Tang family.

The Emperor thought, not mentioning it is fine.

The muddled handling of Lady Tang's matter didn't concern the Emperor; what he cared about were the Empress's and Crown Prince's reactions.

The Tang family already has an Empress in the Central Palace, so the Crown Prince's consort cannot be a Tang woman!

Moreover, since a Crown Princess already occupies the Eastern Palace, a Tang woman entering the Eastern Palace could only be a secondary consort or a concubine of similar rank.

Even if the Crown Prince later ascends the throne, a Tang woman could not become Empress.

At that time, with the Empress Dowager and Empress both being Tang women, the Crown Prince might fear being too constrained by maternal relatives and thus make things harder for himself, right?

The Crown Prince isn't foolish; he would understand a principle.

A Tang woman can be a consort or a favored concubine; after all, it's his maternal family, giving them favor and preserving the Tang clan's glory is a normal practice.

However, she cannot be the next Empress!

The Emperor understood this principle well.

In his Inner Palace, the Virtuous Consort is a woman of the Xie family; he dotes on her, and they have many children, naturally to uphold the Xie clan's glory.

But there is a limit; beyond that is not allowed.

Exceeding that boundary would imply someone intends to seize his imperial authority, which the Emperor cannot accept.

As for whether the Empress can grasp this principle…

The Emperor is also watching.

He and the Empress tied their hair in youth; even now in middle age, there's little feeling left.

Nevertheless, the Emperor has no intention of deposing the Empress.

The Crown Prince is still quite satisfied, and the Empress has no faults; her management of the Inner Palace over the years has been good, and arbitrarily deposing her would affect the Crown Prince's status.

Moreover, only a tyrant would carelessly depose an Empress.

The Emperor believes he is a wise ruler and even after death wants a pleasant posthumous title.

So, depose the Empress?

No need.

And after deposing, we have to install another.

Then there will be more things to consider, so it's better to keep the current one, stay honest, and not have to think any more.

But if the Empress is foolish, the Emperor wants…

He wouldn't mind giving her a beating.

Prince Qi didn't even think much about the Tang family's affairs.

In his view, having kicked Tang Ren a few times on the court, that matter is barely settled.

The two brothers quickly moved on to other topics.

Prince Qi, to flaunt his prized obedient Sui Sui, naturally mentions Sui Sui the most.

When Sui Sui returns to the mansion, the thriving production in Zhuangzi.

When Sui Sui heard that Mother Consort liked cherries, the cherry trees over at Zhuangzi turned completely red overnight.

…

The Emperor had always been curious about Sui Sui's fortune, and now that he heard, he was naturally very interested.

If he hadn't spoken too much, his younger brother would have pretended to crumble on the spot; the Emperor even considered borrowing Sui Sui for a use.

The horses of the Imperial Stable Temple, the latest batch, are about to breed…

If Sui Sui lends her aid, could they produce even more?

Those cows can have three, so why can't the horses?

Those are hard‑won warhorses, carefully bred and trained by the Imperial Stable Temple, yielding excellent offspring.

If a single horse could give birth to two fine colts…

Thinking of this, the Emperor's heart flared.

He tried to suggest keeping Sui Sui in the palace for two days.

At most two days, then send her back.

Then Prince Qi performed on the spot, instantly crumbling to dust.

Emperor: …!

So infuriating!

When you need help, I never hesitate at all!

When I need you, you blatantly act as if you're about to crumble?

Prince Qi looks foolish, yet he has his own little survival wisdom.

So, seeing the imperial brother's disdainful gaze, he immediately pursed his lips and whispered, "Imperial brother, that matter of fortune is unseen and intangible; we still don't know whether it affects the obedient one, so it can't be used casually."

That statement is indeed true.

The Emperor even wondered whether Sui Sui's past misery was all due to a backlash of fortune.

Considering this possibility, the Emperor's expression darkened, and in the end he didn't press the matter of keeping Sui Sui.

Sui Sui slept for almost an hour in one go.

When she woke, Mother Consort was sitting at the bedside watching her.

Hearing the commotion, Princess Consort of Qi smiled and extended her hand: "Sui Sui, you're awake; shall we go to the clean room?"

The second watch is at 19:00.