frightfiction Chapter 665 Similarity
Chapter 665 Similarity
Emperor Shenwu frowned slightly and looked at the Crown Prince. The "worry-free dream" in the calming incense had already burned silently. He turned his head and stared at the incense for a while, suddenly regaining consciousness and immediately said, "Li Xiang, change the incense. This one is giving me a headache!"
He can do whatever he wants, but he cannot let the prince follow him into the illusion. He is the crown prince and successor of the Dasheng Dynasty, and the son that Emperor Shenwu values and cares about the most.
After Emperor Shenwu gave his orders, he lay down to rest, while the prince also lay down on the low couch in silence.
In the dead of night, Emperor Shenwu was awakened by a sudden, sharp pain in his heart. His painful cry startled the Crown Prince, who leaped off the low couch. Li Xiang also trotted to the bedside. The Crown Prince helped Emperor Shenwu up and, looking at the dense beads of sweat on his forehead, hurriedly said, "Eunuch Li, go get the imperial physician!"
Suddenly, the prince's gaze fixed on the palm of Emperor Shenwu. He saw a bright red coral bracelet tightly held in the hand of Emperor Shenwu. The peach blossom and butterfly coral bracelet had been worn by Lan Qingwu for more than 20 years. Over time, it had been soaked with Lan Qingwu's body fragrance of Jiuzhi flower dew. At this time, the prince smelled the faint fragrance and grief rose in his heart again.
"Don't go...don't go..."
Emperor Shenwu was muttering in pain.
Emperor Shenwu released Lan Qingwu and sent him to the border under a large peach tree. He left nothing behind except the coral bracelet he took from Lan Qingwu's wrist. These days, he kept the bracelet hidden in his arms, and when no one was around, he would take it out, examining it carefully and remembering it painfully.
Emperor Shenwu's heart disease recurred, and the next morning, before dawn, the outer hall of Qianzheng Hall was already filled with a crowd of distinguished figures kneeling. The emperor's renewed illness reminded the princes, princesses, concubines, and civil and military officials that the emperor had not yet recovered from the loss of Empress Zhaoyi. The second prince, even at one point, was consumed by self-blame and guilt. He refused to leave Qianzheng Hall, wanting to remain and fulfill his filial duty to the emperor. However, the emperor genuinely did not want to see the second prince, so he simply handed the matter over to the crown prince, leaving him to handle the matter.
The prince sent the imperial physician away with a slightly gloomy face, and arranged a group of people in the outer hall to serve Emperor Shenwu personally. Every day he personally fed medicine to Emperor Shenwu. The seventh princess also stayed in the palace, and together with the prince, she guarded Emperor Shenwu. After several days of this, Emperor Shenwu's condition stabilized a lot.
That day, the prince ordered a lot of meals, hoping that Emperor Shenwu would eat more, but Emperor Shenwu waved his hand, showing no appetite at all. His fingers gently stroked the red and clear bracelet in his hand, and he closed his eyes slightly.
The prince was silent for a while. Li Xiang had no choice but to take the palace servants away to remove the food. When there were no outsiders in the bedroom, the prince knelt on his knees in front of the Shenwu Emperor and pleaded, "Father, you are in too much pain. I really can't bear to see you trapped in the despair of missing Queen Mother. Since you are so miserable, why don't you call someone to pass the time? Concubine Jiang, or someone new? I just want you to stay with me for a few more years. Yueyue and I don't want to lose Father again. If you can divert some of your attention, I believe Queen Mother won't blame you!"
When Lan Qingwu was still alive, he had repeatedly instructed Concubine Jiang to comfort and accompany the emperor after his death. At that time, Lan Qingwu was afraid that the Emperor Shenwu would be exhausted and die of despair, just like in his dream.
However, Emperor Shenwu did not follow Lan Qingwu's last words. He looked at the coral bracelet in his hand and said lightly, "You don't understand! Your mother is very stingy. When she was alive, she made me follow her rules just like her. Your mother was very happy! She remembers all the concubines I had when I was young. She thinks I broke her rules and I couldn't fulfill her wishes during my lifetime. If I continue to have relationships with concubines after your mother passes away, I'm afraid your mother will not want to see me again in the underworld after I die!"
"Your father is very scared and doesn't want to anger your mother again! We also agreed that if there is a next life, we will stay together for the rest of our lives! There will be no one else!"
The Crown Prince looked up at his father, who had taught him the principles of imperial love. "Father, I don't quite understand, but I also seem to understand. Since I was young, I've watched you and Mother enjoy a harmonious and loving relationship, so I should understand your feelings and the relationship between you and Mother. But you also taught me that there are three palaces and six courtyards, and that I shouldn't favor any one concubine over the other, and I shouldn't entrust my true feelings to anyone. So, I seem to understand, but I don't quite understand!"
"I can imagine you and Mother staying together forever, but I can't imagine myself loving and staying with another woman so openly! Father, I only beg you to stay a little longer!"
The prince took two steps on his knees to approach the bed and slowly fell on the knees of the Emperor Shenwu: "Father, please stay a little longer! I don't want to stay at the top alone, high and mighty, cold and lonely! For me, for Yueyue, Father, please... please be patient! I will always be with you! Yueyue will be with you too! Father, we can't lose you again!"
Emperor Shenwu closed his eyes slightly. "I know, I know. I have been resisting and trying hard. Although it is very painful, very painful, I cannot break my promise to your mother. She is always watching over me! My son, I don't want you to become a lonely person! Although that is the fate of an emperor! You take that box of "Worry-Free Dream" away!"
Emperor Shenwu was so helpless that he let the crown prince take away the "Worry-Free Dream". After some time, the crown prince and several princes and princesses served Emperor Shenwu in the imperial garden to relax. A group of people followed Emperor Shenwu, admiring the beautiful scenery of the imperial garden.
When the palace maid who looked so much like Lan Qingwu appeared before the Emperor, the Crown Prince knew things were about to get bad. The woman knelt before the Emperor, her head slightly raised. The aura between her eyebrows and eyes was exactly the same as Lan Qingwu's.
The prince couldn't help but frown. He turned his head to look at his father, and indeed saw a subtle flash of hostility in the depths of Emperor Shenwu's phoenix eyes!
The prince quickly stepped forward and said, "Who is stopping us? Come, take this woman down!"
Emperor Shenwu looked at the woman intently and said, "Step back!"
The prince felt a little moved by the woman's unscathed escape. However, the next day, her body was found. She had been beaten to death in a side hall, and her thin back had been broken into several pieces by the emperor's men.
Emperor Shenwu would never allow anyone to take advantage of Lan Qingwu or blaspheme Lan Qingwu. Outsiders might think that the woman's eyebrows and eyes resembled Lan Qingwu, but he, who could only see in black and white, could see clearly how inferior and ridiculous that person who imitated Lan Qingwu was.