Chapter 29: The Emperor Accepts Mingzhu as His Righteous Daughter
Hearing the exclamations from outside, Mingzhu was very surprised because she could not think of anyone who was so bold and dared to break into the emperor's Luan Jia and his guards. She looked at Princess Anle and found that Anle's face was tense.
Under the candlelight, it looked a little green and red. She looked at the emperor again, but found that the emperor was calm and natural. He picked up a green vegetable leaf with chopsticks and put it into his mouth slowly.
Chewing, as if concentrating all his energy on appreciating the deliciousness of the food.
Somehow, seeing the emperor so relaxed, Mingzhu felt more at ease. But just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she heard the emperor calling her name:
"Pearl."
"Ah, yes." Mingzhu responded quickly.
"You seem a little scared because you don't know what's happening outside the door, right?" The emperor's attitude was really as kind as that of an elder.
Mingzhu smiled:
"Well, Your Majesty is really aware of everything. That's true."
"Then why are you not afraid now?" the emperor asked again.
"I see that Your Majesty is not worried at all. Of course he is not afraid. This is the palace, and there are His Majesty's guards inside and outside. If Your Majesty is not worried, it means there is nothing to be afraid of." Mingzhu said.
Tell the truth.
The emperor smiled lightly:
"You trust me?"
Mingzhu thought for a while and smiled:
"Indeed."
"Mingzhu, let me ask you a question. I will pardon you and answer it boldly, okay?"
After hearing the emperor's words, Mingzhu panicked and looked at Princess Anle. Anle's face also turned white. Obviously, she was also afraid that the emperor would ask Mingzhu some important questions. She saw Anle frown and said sternly:
"Father, please ignore this girl. What kind of things does she know? Even if I ask her, I don't think she can answer her."
The emperor shook his head slightly:
"No, she will definitely be able to answer my question. Mingzhu, tell me honestly, do you trust me because you regard me as your husband in your heart, or do you regard me as your father?"
Mingzhu and Anle were stunned, because they didn't expect that the emperor would ask such a question. Isn't this too abnormal? Mingzhu looked at Anle, and Anle turned his face to the side. Apparently, regarding this question,
She couldn't give any instructions to Mingzhu. The expressions of Mingzhu and Anle had been seen clearly by the emperor, so the emperor smiled again:
"Just say it boldly. I have already said that you are not guilty."
"Yes." Mingzhu responded and decided to tell the truth, "To be honest, I regard His Majesty as an elder." Mingzhu thought for a while and added, "I have two elders from my father's generation. One is my stepfather.
, one is Uncle Zhong, as long as I am with them, I will not be afraid, and the feeling of being with His Majesty is very similar to the feeling of being with the two of them."
Mingzhu didn't know if she would make the emperor angry if she said this, but she did have a good impression of the emperor now, and it was the kind of affection a girl had for her father's relatives, so if she had to bite the bullet and say that she regarded the emperor as his
If she lost her husband, she really couldn't tell.
After listening to Mingzhu's words, the emperor smiled, and his smile was unusually warm:
"Good boy, thank you. When a person gets old, what he wants to hear most may be words like this. Hearing the younger generation say that the person they trust the most is themselves. Just now you mentioned your stepfather and an uncle.
What about your father?"
The emperor's gentle voice seemed to have some magic power. It melted the ice in Mingzhu's heart in an instant. Mingzhu whispered:
"I didn't have a father when I was very young." In fact, Mingzhu never knew who her biological father was, but this was the Tang Dynasty after all, and saying such a thing was tantamount to admitting that her mother was unruly.
, Mingzhu cannot let anyone misunderstand her mother.
"That's it, poor child." The emperor sighed, "Mingzhu, do you think this is okay? The fact that you and I have been able to talk for so long today is considered destined. You don't want to be a palace attendant. I will accept you as a palace attendant."
Daughter, from now on I will be your father, are you willing?"
"Ah!" Mingzhu's eyes widened and she looked at the emperor dumbfounded. Isn't this change too dramatic? She looked at Anle again, and Anle was also full of shock and confusion:
"Father, what are you doing?"
"I just pity this child for her filial piety, so I want to adopt her as my adopted daughter. Is that okay?" the emperor asked calmly.
"But, this..."
"What? I, the king of a country, the most respected person in the world, can't even make the decision on this little thing?"
Anle was speechless by the emperor's words. He was angry but there was nothing he could do about it, so he could only wave his hands irritably:
"Okay, do whatever you want."
"Well," the emperor took off a jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Mingzhu, "son, this is a meeting gift from your father. It's time for you to kowtow to your father, right?"
"This..." Mingzhu didn't know what to do for a moment. This change was too dramatic. She didn't know whether she should accept or reject it. While Mingzhu was hesitating, she suddenly met the emperor's eyes. Here.
For a moment, Mingzhu was shocked by the emperor's eyes full of sorrow and helplessness. She suddenly felt that she was not facing the emperor, but an old man who had entered his twilight years and longed for family affection.
Mingzhu could no longer go against the emperor's wishes. She stood up, knelt respectfully in front of the emperor, took the jade pendant with both hands, and said solemnly:
"The daughter has met her father."
"Good boy, get up." A smile of relief finally appeared on the emperor's face.
After seeing Mingzhu rise, he looked at Princess Anle again:
"Your Majesty, please go and issue a decree for me now, and announce it to all the royal residences in Chang'an City, saying that I have adopted Fang Mingzhu as my adopted daughter, and everyone in the future will treat her like a princess. Okay?"
Mingzhu was frightened when she heard the emperor's words. She knew how jealous Princess Anle was. Now that the emperor accepted her as his daughter in such a big way, she would not be happy, so Mingzhu said quickly:
"No need, we just need to know..."
The emperor smiled and shook his head, his smile still so gentle:
"How can royal affairs be so simple? Your Majesty, go ahead."
Anle's face became even more ugly. It looked like she didn't want to go at all, but she didn't want to anger the emperor, so she finally stood up and walked out while holding back her anger.
After a while, Anle came back and said coldly:
"The imperial edict has been passed down."
The emperor smiled sincerely:
"That's good."
At this time, Linzi Palace was plunged into boundless suspicion. Li Longji and Li Chengqi were anxiously waiting for news from the palace. Suddenly, someone came late at night to deliver the imperial edict. At first, they thought Anle had already taken action.
However, after hearing the content of the decree, Li Longji and Li Chengqi were stunned. They even forgot to stand up after receiving the decree. Finally, they stood up after being reminded by the eunuch.
After sending the eunuch away, the two looked at each other in shock - the emperor adopted Mingzhu as his daughter? What on earth is going on!
Princess Anle has been back for a while. Seeing that the emperor was still staring blankly at the glass of wine she poured for him, she couldn't help but urge:
"Father, hurry up and have a taste of this drink I brought specially for you."
The emperor still looked at the wine glass and said quietly after a long time:
"Your Majesty, my father wants to discuss something with you."
"What's up?"
"Mingzhu has become my daughter, and she is your sister. From now on, you must treat her well."
"Father!" Anle shouted.
"promise me."
Anle didn't want to cause trouble now, and just wanted the emperor to drink the wine quickly, so he said reluctantly:
"Okay, I agree."
"It's not enough to just promise, you have to make an oath!"
"You," An Lesheng swallowed the bad breath, "Okay, I swear, I will treat Fang Mingzhu kindly, otherwise the sky will strike like lightning!"
"Okay." The emperor nodded, "I've finished the last thing," and as he spoke, he raised his glass and drank. He agreed so quickly that even Mingzhu and Anle didn't react, because the emperor just kept talking.
They used various excuses to delay drinking the glass of wine, so both of them thought that the emperor was already suspicious.
But at this moment, Mingzhu couldn't hold it in anymore. She suddenly stood up and pressed the back of the emperor's hand to prevent him from picking up the wine. At the same time, she shouted:
"His Majesty!"
The emperor didn't break away from her hand, didn't look at her, wasn't even surprised by her sudden action, he just said lightly:
"You forgot again, you should no longer call me Your Majesty, you should call me Father."
"Yes, Father, you have drunk a lot tonight, please stop drinking, okay?" Mingzhu stopped her. She didn't know why she wanted to stop her. Since she returned to the Tang Dynasty, she poisoned Zhongzong.
It has always been her ultimate goal to support Li Longji to become the prince, and then get the colorful clothes and feathers, but at this moment, she no longer wants to poison the emperor, because she now knows that although he is not a good emperor, he is a good person.
He doesn't deserve to die!
Seeing Mingzhu stopping the emperor from drinking, Anle became furious:
"Fang Mingzhu, you are so bold that you dare to stop the emperor from drinking!"
Mingzhu wanted to say something else, but the emperor pressed her hand in return:
"Your Majesty, don't worry, I will definitely drink this glass of wine. I just said a few words to Mingzhu first, and then I drank it."
"Your Majesty, please don't drink this glass of wine..." Mingzhu wanted to stop her, but the emperor interrupted her:
"Child, I know that you don't let me drink because this glass of wine is poisonous."
Mingzhu's heart trembled, and Princess Anle also changed her expression, raising her hand to raise a wine glass on the table!