Chapter 237 The Cruelest Thing Was the Time
Heading for the Imperial Palace over here, Qi Muyuan and Qi Liange kept silent all the way. At this moment, in fact, they both knew in their hearts that this meeting might be the last one.
After that, they would be separated forever.
“Brother, is he really going to die?” Qi Muyuan looked at Qi Liange and asked hesitantly.
Qi Liange naturally knew what Qi Muyuan was talking about, and he suddenly thought of something in his mind.
He still remembered that when her queen mother was still alive, he always came to visit her as soon as he left the imperial court and then held him like a father of a common family without any dignity of an emperor.
He still remembered what he said, “Liange, you must protect your sister well in the future.”
“Liange, you are the pride of me and your mother.”
“Liange, you will eventually grow up and become a responsible man.”
However, when his queen mother died, he did not say anything, and he did not even have simple condolences, let alone dripping a drop of tears. How could he not hate him in his heart?
He conferred the title of the current empress on that woman not long after the death of his queen mother.
By doing so, did he live up to his deceased queen mother?
Since then, he had abandoned his admiration for him who was the hero and the example he had always believed in since his childhood.
Because he didn’t deserve it at all! He didn’t deserve to be a good husband, not to mention a good father!
From then on, he vowed that he would never forgive him in this life. Even if he had a reason which he could not tell anyone else, he would not forgive the man, the husband of his queen mother, his father, who completely abandoned his wife only for his benefit.
Now he would really run out of his time and die. There was still some depression and sadness in his heart anyway.
Although over the years he had never treated him well and never called him father, he was still sad.
Once the man was a high mountain for him to look up at when he was young. He was so admirable, dignified, and tall.
The man was also his protection from the wind and rain.
“Brother.” Qi Muyuan’s gentle shout interrupted Qi Liange’s memories.
“Hum? What’s wrong?” Qi Liange tightened his fist and gave Qi Muyuan a look without showing any trace.
“Nothing.” Qi Muyuan said lightly.
Yes, it was meaningless to ask these questions now. The death of their queen mother had always been the most painful thing in their hearts.
The wrong thing was just wrong. It was meaningless to say more about it now.
“Crown prince and Princess. We are in the Imperial Palace.” The voice coming from the outside of the carriage also drew back these two people from their own thoughts.
“Let’s go.” Qi Liange rose slowly and said lightly, with no such a feeling of suddenly thinking of something as before but the determined clearness in his eyes.
At this point, there was no way to turn back. Then he would keep moving on like this, and at least, he would not live like him and would never follow in his footsteps.
After getting out of the carriage, Qi Muyuan followed Qi Liange and hurried towards the resting place of the emperor.
Along the way, they both did not speak much.
When they came to the resting place, the old eunuch who had served the emperor for years was waiting for them outside.
As soon as the old eunuch saw Qi Liange, he hurried forward and said, “Crown prince and Princess, please go in and see the emperor quickly. The emperor stopped the imperial physician from treating him and is waiting to meet you at this moment!”
Qi Liange and Qi Muyuan looked at each other. Then they stopped staying and walked quickly into the emperor’s bedroom.
At this moment, there was only silence in the bedroom, and it was full of the strong smell of the traditional medicine of Celestial Empire.
Just as he approached, Qi Liange stopped his pace and looked at the emperor with his eyes gently closed. His heart was still unavoidably full of bitterness and soreness.
He didn’t take a good look at him until now, and he found today that the man was old. The white hair on his temples could not be covered up, and the wrinkles around his eyes also showed his old age.
It seemed that in a blink of an eye, he was still his father who once held him up on his shoulders and was looked up at by him.
But why could his young and mighty father be so old just within a blink of his eye?
How long had he not taken a good look at him? Probably, it had been so many years. Since his queen mother died, he had never said a word to him kindly, let alone taking a good look at him.
But he never complained because he still regarded him as his pride, and every time as long as those ministers praised him, he could always see a faint smile at the corners of his mouth.
The hands exposed outside the quilt were like withered branches, wrinkled, but showing the passing of life.
This was the hero he once believed in, but how could the time be so cruel? He was just too fond of playing for a short time. Why did the time take away his father like this?
Qi Liange suddenly realized in his mind that his father would really leave him.
While on the side, Qi Muyuan’s eyes were already red.
As if having heard Qi Muyuan’s gentle sobs, the emperor on the bed opened his eyes with difficulty. His eyes had suffered from the disease and were already turbid. After seeing Qi Liange and Qi Muyuan, they seemed to be much clearer.
“Liange… Muyuan… Here you are.” The husky voice was no longer so smooth as yesterday, and he gently lifted his withered hand as if he wanted to grasp something.
Qi Liange looked at the emperor like this and wanted to come forward and hold his hand, but he still could not take such a step.
Fortunately, Qi Muyuan stepped forward quickly and held the emperor’s hand in her hands.
“Father, why did you stop the imperial physician from treating you? If you do not cooperate with him, the disease will not be cured.” Qi Muyuan gently wiped off the tears from her eyes and looked at the emperor, saying.
“No need. I know my physical condition. So, you don’t need to worry about me.” The emperor was relieved and looked at Qi Muyuan, saying.
“I know that you have been blaming me. The death of your queen mother resulted from my weakness. You can blame me or hate me…, and I won’t blame you. But for the fact that you were too young to let me relieved, I would have gone with your queen mother already. Now that you both have grown up, I can leave in peace. That’s the best result.” The emperor smiled gently, with relief in his words.
“Father…” Qi Muyuan did not expect that her father would take it so easy. Her heart was full of bitterness and soreness.
“Liange, over the years, I’d like to hear you call me father again very much. I want to hold you high as I did when you were a child, but now I can’t do it anymore…” The emperor looked at his son who had been his pride all the time and said regretfully.
Hearing the emperor’s words, Qi Liange’s feeling of forbearance seemed to collapse instantly.
Over the years, he had learned to hide his emotions. No matter who was in front of him, he always looked calm and indifferent as if caring about nothing. However, no one knew how many difficult days and months he had got through to be like this.
When he was young, he studied hard and wanted to get his father’s recognition. Later, when his queen mother died, he studied hard in order to revenge. There was no father in his eyes anymore.
Was he wrong?
“You have always been my pride. Even if I leave, I can still tell your mother that our son who we take pride in finally grows up when I see her.” The emperor said with relief, whose eyes were also relieved.
“Chang Gui.” The emperor said hoarsely to the old eunuch who was waiting beside him.
“I am here.” Chang Gui wiped off the tears from his eyes and crawled on the ground.
“When I pass away, you can leave the Imperial Palace. Having followed me for so many years, you should also have a good rest and live a peaceful life in your old age. You should give all the things to Liange after my death.” The emperor said and gasped softly.
Qi Muyuan was in a hurry to appease the emperor.
“I know.” Chang Gui severely knocked his head to the ground three times, crying and sobbing.
“Liange and Muyuan, you should be happy for me…, because I’m going to meet your queen mother, and finally, I don’t have to let her wait alone. Call me father again… Call me again…” The emperor narrowed his eyes, smiling with relief, but his eyes were flashing with tears.
“Father. Don’t…, don’t leave!” Qi Muyuan held the emperor’s falling hand tightly and cried out in sorrow.
Qi Liange, who originally stood straight up, knelt down heavily on the ground and said blankly, “Father.”
A drop of glittering and translucent tears slipped down his peerless face, leaving a flower on the marble floor.
While the emperor had already closed his eyes.
For a while, in the bedroom which was originally quiet, only the crying sound of Chang Gui and Qi Muyuan reverberated at this moment.
Qi Liange looked at his father with a blank look, having depressed and painful emotions in his heart.
After his mother left, he finally lost his father. And this time… he lost his father forever.
“You let me go! I am the empress. Do I need the approval of you, a group of damn flunkeys, to see the emperor?” The noise outside the bedroom broke the silence of this moment.
“The emperor ordered that no idlers should enter the bedroom.” The guards outside the door said meticulously. It was obvious that they looked down upon the empress.
“You are so bold! I am the empress. Are you all courting death?” The empress was ashamed into anger. She had a hard time finding a chance to escape. She just wanted to complain to the emperor.
“Let her in.” Qi Liange’s indifferent voice came into the empress’s ears, which made her fear for a moment.
She had never heard Qi Liange speak in such a voice before.
And the guards voluntarily gave way on hearing Qi Liange’s words.
The empress saw that no one stopped her and then did not care about Qi Liange’s voice just now. She swaggered in.
“Kneel down.” As soon as she entered the bedroom, Qi Liange’s cold voice came over.
The empress looked around and finally confirmed that Qi Liange was talking to her. Then she said implausibly, “Why?”
“Get her down on the knees and shut up.” Qi Liange’s cold voice was indifferent and different from the past.
When Qi Liange finished his words, two men in black coming from nowhere directly broke the empress’s leg bones and disjointed her chin.
“Chang Gui, give me the things.” Qi Liange said lightly but did not even look at the empress.
When Chang Gui heard Qi Liange’s words, he stood up while trembling and handed the things over to Qi Liange.
“The emperor said that when he passed away, the throne would be given to the crown prince who would immediately ascend the throne. Besides, because Prime Minister Liu planned to conspire against the imperial court, he should be punished for his crime, the evidence of which had been collected by the emperor. Now I, the old slave, will hand over all the things to you, the crown prince. It’s up to you on how to handle these things.” Chang Gui handed the imperial seal and some scrolls over to Qi Liange and said slowly.
When the empress on the ground heard what Chang Gui said just now, she felt dizzy, but she was kicked in the back by the man in black, so she couldn’t faint even though she wanted.