This oral edict was like a bolt from the blue to King An.
He is doing a good job as a laid-back prince. He is doing nothing, eating, drinking and having fun, comfortably and at ease. Now that he is married, it is the time for you and me to have a tender relationship with your newlywed wife...
He doesn't want to go to any clan mansion at all, let alone get involved in the imperial court's plan to reduce vassal status!
King An asked with a bitter face: "Eunuch Wei, do you think it's too late for me to claim to be sick now?"
Eunuch Wei responded with a sincere face: "I'm afraid it's too late."
As soon as the emperor gave the order, King An fell ill, which was extremely embarrassing.
Prince An was in a gloomy mood and did not dare to complain about his brother, so he scolded Prince Fenyang to vent his anger: "This Prince Fenyang is really abominable!"
"It is such an important matter to settle the descendants of the vassal prince and his descendants. Even if we don't have enough manpower, we should ask the emperor to send smart and capable people there. What's the use of people like me who are indolent and useless and are gone!"
Eunuch Wei: "..."
With such a clear and precise positioning of himself, His Highness Prince An is truly extraordinary!
"No, I will go into the palace now and resign from this job to the emperor."
King An quickly made up his mind, and a rare look of firmness appeared on his pale and fat face: "You must not let such important matters be ruined in my hands."
Eunuch Wei: "..."
…
King An immediately entered the palace as if his butt was burned by fire.
After King An left, it took about a while for Princess An to know that King An had entered the palace. When she asked what happened, Princess An suddenly became anxious.
The holy will cannot be violated!
The emperor has already issued an oral edict, but King An refused to accept the order. He must have entered the palace to push back on this errand. If the emperor is angered, he will probably suffer a lot...
Princess An gritted her teeth and immediately ordered someone to prepare a carriage to enter the palace.
Princess An first went to Princess Duan's palace and told Princess Duan about the matter. Princess Duan was shocked and angry. She suddenly stood up and gritted her teeth and said angrily: "This bastard! He is definitely going to get into trouble today!"
"
Princess An's eyes were red and watery, and she choked and said, "I beg you, concubine, to think of a way to save your highness."
What can Princess Duan do?
The harem is not allowed to interfere in politics. This is a rule set by our ancestors when they established the dynasty. As a concubine, she is not even qualified to approach the Yiqing Palace. Even if she wants to cry and plead, it is impossible.
For now, we can only go to Jiaofang Palace to thank the Queen!
For the sake of my son's life and safety, I can put everything aside for the time being.
Concubine Duan calmed down and said quickly: "You will follow me to Jiaofang Hall now. When you arrive at Jiaofang Hall, you must not talk randomly and look at me to indicate what to say or do."
Princess An responded and wiped her tears with her sleeves.
At this time, the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law were so anxious that they no longer cared about their appearance and posture, so they went to Jiaofang Hall to ask for an audience.
…
It's nearly noon.
Aluo and Gu Shanzhang all went to the academy, while Sheng Hong was busy in Yiqing Hall and did not come back.
Xie Mingxi was alone and was about to order the food to be passed around when she saw Cong Yu walking in and reported softly: "Your Majesty, Princess Duan and Princess An are outside the palace asking for an audience."
The two of them arrived very quickly!
Xie Mingxi was well-informed and already knew about King An's entry into the palace. She didn't need to think deeply about the purpose of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law's visit.
"Let them come in!" Xie Mingxi ordered with a smile and stepped back from Yu Ling. After a while, Princess Duan and Princess An entered the hall together.
Concubine Duan looked panicked and tried to remain calm. The young Concubine An was even worse, with slightly red eyes and a look of panic and sadness on her face.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law saluted together, and Xie Mingxi said with a smile: "There are no outsiders here, so there is no need to pay attention to these false etiquettes, just sit down and talk."
Concubine Duan forced a smile and said, "Thank you, Queen."
When Princess Duan was favored when she was young, she was strong-willed, vain and competitive. Unfortunately, within a few years of her good life, she lost the favor of the late emperor and was no different from being relegated to the cold palace.
It has been ten years since the death of Emperor Jianwen. During these ten years, Princess Duan has been trembling and keeping low, fearing that she and her son will hurt people's eyes and people's hearts. She would rather raise her son to waste than do anything wrong with him.
At this time, she opened her mouth to plead for mercy, and Princess Duan lost all face: "I came here shamelessly to ask the queen to intercede in front of the emperor. King An refused to accept the order and wanted to go to the palace to resign the errand assigned to him by the emperor.
He is young and illiterate, has a mediocre education, likes to have fun, and has never done anything serious. Even if he accepts the order, I am afraid he will be disgraced by the emperor..."
Princess An was confused and uneasy. She couldn't help it and knelt down with a plop: "I beg the Queen to lend a helping hand."
Concubine Duan's heart tightened, and the corners of her eyes twitched.
This Mrs. Xu, in a hurry, spoke too inappropriately. She had to be more tactful and skillful when asking for mercy. What does it mean to give a helping hand? Doesn't this imply that the emperor is deliberately making things difficult?
Princess Duan winked at Princess An repeatedly.
Only then did Princess An realize that she had said the wrong thing. She was frightened and frightened for a moment, and quickly changed her words: "Queen, please don't get me wrong, I did not mean to accuse or imply the emperor, I..."
Xie Mingxi smiled slightly and calmly interrupted the flustered Princess An: "Brothers and sisters, please stand up first. We, sisters-in-law, don't need to be formal when talking. It doesn't matter if you say something directly. Even if there are occasional deficiencies, I won't do it.
I will take it to heart.”
After Princess An stood up, Xie Mingxi said again: "The emperor has his own opinions on matters in the court. Since the emperor intends to send some errands to Prince An, he wants to do it for his own purposes. Don't worry, wait until Prince An comes out of Yiqing Palace.
.”
Princess Duan and Princess An had no choice but to obey.
Xie Mingxi ordered the meal to be passed on, leaving the two of them to eat together in Jiaofang Hall.
Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are full of worries, just like chewing wax.
…
Move to the Qing Palace.
Sheng Hong, who was busy dealing with political affairs, finally put down his business and ordered people to pass on the meal.
Eunuch Wei smiled and came to report: "Your Majesty, Your Highness Prince An has been waiting outside for more than half an hour."
Sheng Hong hummed casually: "Let him come in and have lunch with me."
After a while, King An walked in.
After waiting for more than half an hour, King An went from being anxious at the beginning to being confused and uncertain later, but now he is much calmer.
"Brother Emperor, I..."
Sheng Hong interrupted Prince An without any explanation: "If you have anything else, let's talk about it after lunch."
King An had no choice but to swallow back the words that came to his lips.
King An didn't know how to taste the food, so he ate haphazardly. Sheng Hong didn't put down his chopsticks, so he had to accompany him and continue to eat together. He accidentally ate three bowls of rice.
Eunuch Wei, who was waiting on the side: "..."
Fortunately, His Highness Prince An is in a confused mood today, otherwise, he might have eaten five bowls.
After filling his stomach, Sheng Hong waved his hand to signal the servants to leave. The two brothers were finally alone and could talk about what was on their mind.
King An did not mince words and said in one breath: "Brother Emperor, I am not capable of doing this job. Please take back my life, Brother Emperor!"
