eurekapd Chapter 379 Meaning
Chapter 379 Meaning
After the Lantern Festival, the Censorate reported that Guaerjia Emin had colluded with his cronies, harbored evil, acted cruelly and inhumanely, and was involved in the false accusation that Zhen Yuandao had secretly kept Qian Mingshi's poetry collection. Emperor Yongzheng ordered that all adult men of the Guaerjia clan be beheaded, those under the age of fourteen be exiled to the western border, and his wives and daughters be enslaved by the government.
In the Yongshou Palace, the air was filled with fragrance. Yongzheng sat cross-legged on the soft couch. Although he held a book in his hands, his eyes drifted to the side from time to time.
Zhen Huan was holding the child gently, her eyes full of tenderness and love.
Yongzheng cleared his throat slightly, breaking the silence. "Your father's case was maliciously framed by Emin. Now that he has been executed, I intend to reinstate your father. What do you think?"
Zhen Huan gently handed the Seventh Prince to the wet nurse, then slowly put on her armor before saying, "Your Majesty, my father is old. He suffered a lot during his three years in Ningguta. His health is no longer as good as it used to be. I'm afraid he can no longer serve Your Majesty!"
Yongzheng's eyes were gentle as he consoled her: "Your father is upright and selfless, and a good candidate for the position of Censor. I will send the imperial physician to treat him carefully, so you can rest assured!"
Zhen Huan thought to herself, you sound nice, but the heart of an emperor is suspicious and fickle. Even the most upright person cannot withstand this suspicion. When she spoke again, she had a bit of coldness and hardness in her voice:
"Your Majesty, since I returned to the palace, I've been plagued by constant criticism from both the court and the harem. I originally didn't want to pay much attention to it, but look at how much trouble has arisen now. If my father were to hold a high position again, I'm afraid I'd never be able to clear myself of the charge of deceiving the emperor. How would I cope in the future?"
Yongzheng was a little embarrassed, frowning and thinking for a moment: "Since you insist so much, then I will do as you say and give him a nominal position of Fourth Rank Ceremony Official, so that he can spend his old age in peace!"
"On behalf of my father, I would like to thank the Emperor!"
Upon hearing this, Yongzheng smiled and said, "Of course you have to thank me, but there is more than one daughter of your father in this palace. She didn't thank me for my reward a while ago, and now I have given your father grace again. She can't run away!"
Hearing this, Zhen Huan picked up her handkerchief to cover the corners of her disgusted mouth and said, "Your Majesty, Yu Rao is not in Yongshou Palace today."
"Oh, where did she go?"
"Yu Rao was very interested in the oil paintings created by the Western painters at Ruyi Pavilion, so she asked them to teach her how to paint."
As she spoke, Zhen Huan stood up, picked up a painting from the desk and handed it to Yongzheng.
When Yongzheng opened it, he saw portraits of Zhen Huan, Shen Meizhuang, and An Lingrong.
In the painting, Shen Meizhuang is sitting in the center with a gentle smile on her face. She is holding a book and looking up at Zhen Huan, while An Lingrong on the left is slightly bent over and pulling Shen Meizhuang's sleeve, with eagerness in her eyes. Zhen Huan on the right is leaning sideways with a smile on her face, her eyes fixed on them, as if listening to Shen Meizhuang's words.
The entire painting is rich in details, from the characters' expressions and movements to the texture of their clothing, all are depicted vividly; the angle is also excellent, showing the close friendship between the three people to the fullest.
But Yongzheng's mind was completely distracted by the content of the painting. "Was this painted by Yurao?"
Looking at the people in the paintings, Zhen Huan smiled and said, "Yes! There are three paintings, one for me and one for Sister Mei Rong'er."
Yongzheng praised: "The painting is very good, she is worthy of being your sister!"
"Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. I would also like to thank Prince Shen. It is thanks to his teaching that Yu Rao has made rapid progress."
Yongzheng raised his eyebrows: "Yunxi?"
Zhen Huan smiled and said, "Yes, Shen Beile is good at painting. Yu Rao and he have similar interests. They are also of similar age, so they have a lot of common topics!"
"Is she familiar with Yunxi?"
"Yes! I have to take care of Hongzhou and Lingxi, so I don't have time to accompany her. Fortunately, Prince Shen is here, otherwise she would be suffocated in this palace!"
Yongzheng put down the book in his hand and looked straight at Zhen Huan, his eyes seemed to be full of meaning: "What do you mean?"
Zhen Huan bowed slightly, her expression calm, and she slowly said, "Your Majesty, it doesn't matter what I mean. What matters is Yu Rao's intention!"
Hearing her words, Yongzheng frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes, "You have always been smart, how could you not know what I mean!"
I know what you mean, of course, but it's quite uninteresting.
Zhen Huan raised her eyes, met Yongzheng's gaze calmly, and said softly but forcefully, "I know what Your Majesty means, but I also know what Yu Rao means!"
"I have my own way!"
"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, rich and powerful. But Prince Xiang is interested, and the goddess has no dream. What's the point of forcing her? And Prince Shen is your brother!"
How can you, Old Deng, have the nerve to compete with your own brother for a wife?
Looking at Yongzheng's back as he left angrily, a trace of anger flashed in Zhen Huan's eyes.
Jin Xi handed a cup of tea to Zhen Huan and said, "Your Majesty, it seems that the Emperor is angry!"
Zhen Huan took it, opened the lid and took a sip: "I'm angry!"
After saying that, he handed the tea back to Jinxi, wiped his fingers with a handkerchief, took the painting on the small table, gently stroked the person in the painting, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then he carefully rolled it up and handed it to Jinxi, "Keep it well."
Jin Xi took it with both hands, put it in a brocade box, wiped the non-existent dust on the box with a handkerchief, and then placed it on the desk.
Since the matter had been made clear, Zhen Huan arranged for Yu Rao and Yong Zheng to meet the next day.
An Lingrong and Shen Meizhuang got the news and came to Yongshou Palace together.
In the side hall, Yu Rao and Yong Zheng were talking, and the three of them stood outside and listened openly:
"The Emperor can have many queens, but only one wife."
"You are very smart!"
"What about sister?"
"Your sister is the most important woman by my side!"
"I envy the Emperor's wife very much. Although she died young, the Emperor only recognized her as his wife in his heart and thought of her often. Since I was a child, I have had a wish, which is to become the wife of the man I love, not a concubine, not the most important person, but the only and most beloved wife. It's a pity that the Emperor already has his own wife and cannot fulfill my wish. So I hope that one day I can realize my wish, instead of always envying the Emperor's wife."
It's not that I don't want to choose you, but you already have a wife in your heart, and now you have the most important woman in your life. You can't satisfy the lofty ideals of love that I've cultivated since childhood. We met at the wrong time, and this life is destined to be unrequited. You can't deny the place of Bai Yueguang Chunyuan in your heart, can you? And since my sister is the most important woman in your heart, how can you bear to see her sad? A gentleman's words are not meant to be jokes, and you can't deny what you just said.
"This isn't cleverness, it's the truth. If Your Majesty likes me, what can keeping me in the palace bring me? Or should you depose the Empress and let me live in Jingren Palace? The Empress is only the Empress, not the Emperor's wife. Forgive me for being so nosy, but Your Majesty and your wife both like each other very much, right?"
You only recognized Bai Yueguang as your wife. Even though Bai Yueguang has long passed away, you still think about her every day. How could such a loyal and devoted husband fall in love with someone else and engage in surrogate literature? This would be a desecration of your own Bai Yueguang. If you collected surrogate, how could you honestly say you deeply loved Bai Yueguang Chunyuan? If you truly loved your wife, why would you collect surrogate?
"I know that Your Majesty likes me. Since you like me, I should fulfill his wishes. Your Majesty's love is precious, and I dare not let you down. However, love in this world is not limited to love between men and women. Please love me as much as you love me!"
Since you like me, you should fulfill my wish. If you don't want to fulfill my wish, then weren't you lying when you said you liked me? The emperor's words are as good as gold. How can you go back on your word?
An Lingrong, who was listening outside, covered her mouth with a handkerchief and tried hard to hold back her laughter.
Clear organization, strong logic, and perfect closed loop.
Yu Rao's "wife theory" has already burned out Yongzheng's CPU.
Yongzheng: I can’t win the argument, so I’ll just leave!