Chapter 450: The Overall Outcome Had Been Decided
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The Emperor turned his head to look at Empress Jia and then turned to plead with Prince Huaiyin.
However, Prince Huaiyin continued at this point, “I am also thinking of Emperor Father’s interest in this arrangement.
“I believe that after Emperor Father leaves the palace, you will no longer think of becoming the Emperor again. But she…” At this juncture, Prince Huaiyin looked icily at Empress Jia.
“Empress Jia is extremely vengeful and has a strong desire for power. Can Emperor Father guarantee that after leaving the Palace, she will not think of revenge and reinstatement?”
The Emperor was astounded.
“Emperor Father, you dote on Empress Jia so much that you are willing to give up the kingdom for her.
“When the time is ripe and she wants to be reinstated, will Emperor Father help or not?”
It was not impossible to spare Empress Jia.
After all, no matter what Empress Jia had done, she was still his Empress Mother in name.
The Great Jin State ruled the world on the tenet of filial piety. If Prince Huaiyin forced Empress Jia to her death, the world would not think that Empress Jia deserved to die. They would only think that Prince Huaiyin was unfilial and unjust.
However, not killing her did not mean that he had to let her off. It was even more inadvisable for him to leave behind future trouble for himself.
Confining her to the Cold Palace was the best solution.
When the Emperor heard this, his eyes flickered but he did not refute his son’s words.
This was because he felt that what Prince Huaiyin said was actually reasonable.
The Emperor had given up the throne this time and was not prepared to return to it in the future.
He actually did not object to passing the throne to his second son.
In fact, he even felt somewhat relieved.
After retiring, he had originally thought of bringing the Empress to tour the mountains and rivers and living a carefree life as a perfectly compatible and harmonious couple.
However, the Empress most likely did not have the same thoughts as him.
Her Jia family was killed, and she was downgraded to a commoner from an empress.
She was such a proud person. She would not be content with being ordinary.
In this way, it was actually a good choice to let the Empress stay in the palace.
They would live together under the surveillance of their second son. Even if the Empress wanted to plot anything, she wouldn’t be able to.
With such an arrangement, the Emperor felt a little regretful that he could not bring the Empress to tour the beautiful rivers and mountains.
Nonetheless, he felt that it was not bad to be able to shed the heavy responsibility on his shoulders and accompany the Empress every day.
When Prince Huaiyin saw this, he lamented his Emperor Father’s deep affection in his heart once more.
Without waiting for the Emperor to reply, he looked directly at Empress Jia.
“What does Your Royal Highness think?”
Empress Jia frowned.
At this moment, the Emperor also turned to look at her.
His eyes had a pleading look.
Empress Jia felt moved.
She closed her eyes and finally nodded.
Forget it. Jia Kun and the Jia family had done such a treasonous thing this time that it was no longer worthwhile for her to help them.
Under such circumstances, even if Huangfu Wudi was ousted from the throne and she was reinstated, what could she possibly do?
In fact, in the past few years, she was no longer so obsessed with power.
This was mainly due to her declining health.
Today, since things had come to this, she would accompany the Emperor for the rest of her life. It would be considered repaying the Emperor for his lifelong affection.
When he saw Empress Jia’s reaction, a look of excitement flashed across the Emperor’s eyes.
Then, he turned his head and looked at Prince Huaiyin.
“The Empress has agreed!” he said excitedly.
Prince Huaiyin glanced at Empress Jia and then looked icily at his Emperor Father.
If she agreed, then so be it. Was there a need for him to be so excited?
When he saw his son’s look, the smile on the Emperor’s face disappeared. He finally realized that his actions were a little embarrassing.
A moment later, the Emperor looked at Prince Huaiyin again.
“Ahem, ahem…” the Emperor cleared his throat first.
Then, he spoke.
“As of today, I hereby pass the throne to Prince Huaiyin. Henceforth, all matters in the palace will also be decided by Prince Huaiyin.”
The moment he said that, the entire court was in an uproar once more.
They didn’t expect the Emperor to compromise so easily.
Prince Huaiyin raised his eyebrows and looked at the Emperor.
The Emperor immediately understood.
Then, he announced that the Empress would be deposed and banished to the Cold Palace and placed under confinement.
Although it was called the Cold Palace, it was actually just a relatively more remote palace in the palatial complex.
With him around, the Emperor was confident that his days with the Empress would not be too bad.
After saying all this, the Emperor left with the Empress on the grounds that he was not feeling well.
Of course, Prince Huaiyin’s men followed closely behind them.
Thereafter, the proceedings in the Imperial Garden came under Prince Huaiyin’s control.
The Great Jin State was now completely in the hands of Prince Huaiyin.
After Qin Xiaoyao and Song Que helped Prince Huaiyin stabilize the situation, they separately returned home late at night.
That was right. Song Que returned to Marquis Xiaoyao’s residence.
Song Que finally walked into his wife’s residence as the master of the household.
As soon as he entered, he saw Qin Xiaoyao, who was dressed in beautiful clothes, waiting for him in the courtyard.
The silver hairpin in her hair was the one he had given her back in Mountain Spring Town.
“Hubby, welcome home.” Qin Xiaoyao spread out her arms and smiled at Song Que.
The corners of Song Que’s mouth could not resist curling up.
He quickly stepped forward and pulled his wife into his arms.
He held her tightly and didn’t want to let her go for a long time.
This was his wife, the greatest gift from the heavens…
When Qin Xiaoyao was hugged by Song Que, she was a little shy at first and felt that it was extremely sweet.
However, after waiting for a long time, her husband did not let go of her.
Then, she felt a little uncomfortable.
Thus, she struggled to move.
To her surprise, just as she began twisting her body, she heard Song Que say, “Don’t move…”
Qin Xiaoyao immediately stopped struggling.
She thought that Song Que would let go of her. Instead, he held her tightly once more without moving.
After waiting for a while, Qin Xiaoyao could not take it any longer.
“It’s… it’s a bit hot,” she said.
In this era, women’s clothing had more layers than men’s.
She was already used to wearing men’s clothes. If it weren’t for the fact that she was welcoming her husband today, she wouldn’t want to change into this outfit at all.
The main thing was that these clothes were really hot.
When he heard her, Song Que was surprised.
He snapped out of his quiet reverie and also felt the heat.
Only then did he let go of Qin Xiaoyao.
“Do you have ice at home?” he asked.
Qin Xiaoyao smiled.
“Of course!” After saying that, she held Song Que’s hand and pulled him towards her courtyard.
That night, the courtyard was filled with yelling and murmuring. The two of them were no longer holding back.
For the next three days, the couple did not go anywhere. They holed themselves up in Marquis Xiaoyao’s residence and acted all lovey-dovey.
It was as if they wanted to make up for all the lost time when they could not be together.
On the fourth day, Prince Huaiyin sent someone to summon Song Que again. Only then did Song Que step out of Marquis Xiaoyao’s residence.
In the palace, Prince Huaiyin was staying temporarily in the Tai Kun Palace.
Song Que entered looking as pleased as punch. When he saw Prince Huaiyin, he went forward and bowed to him.
“Greetings, Your Highness!”
Prince Huaiyin raised his head and saw Song Que’s face which was so radiant that he felt it was somewhat glaring to his eyes.
“Please rise,” he replied not very happily.
After that big matter was settled that day, these two had slipped away one after another.
After that, they hid at home and did not come out at all.
Prince Huaiyin did not have a break at all when all his subordinates came to ask him for instructions on all matters big and small.
How could Prince Huaiyin be in a good mood?
Song Que straightened up as if he didn’t notice that Prince Huaiyin was in a bad mood. He was still smiling brightly.
After that, Prince Huaiyin’s expression turned even more unpleasant.
Then, he asked Song Que, “Marquis Xiaoyao didn’t come?”
He had asked his men to summon them both, but only one came.
Well, fine. One was still considered good..