Gold and Jade on the outside [Rebirth]

Chapter 18 The Heart of the Emperor

After the banquet was over, the Empress Dowager was already tired. She had long passed the age of enjoying the excitement. She was holding on until now just to show the civil and military ministers the drama of the deep love between the royal mother and her son.

The Emperor wanted to send her back to the palace in person but the Empress Dowager stopped him: "How can a state banquet be without a host? The Emperor will stay and take charge of the overall situation and let the Empress send aijia back to the palace."

Empress Mu agreed and stood up to help her. The relationship between the royal mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was actually average. Back then, the Empress Dowager became fond of the dignified and virtuous daughter of the Mu family and acted as a matchmaker herself. She did not expect that this girl was a good girl but did not know how to please a man causing the Emperor to alienate her. First, there was Imperial Concubine Li, followed by Concubine Lan. The Emperor's sweetheart changed one after another but Mu Xianya never had the slightest bit of position.

The Empress Dowager also knew that a man's heart was not decided by a woman, not to mention that this man was not an ordinary man; he was the True Dragon Emperor but she was still angry with her. If Empress Mu hadn't been so fortunate and gave birth to a legitimate son early, she was afraid that the two of them would have no longer been able to maintain their apparent mother-in-law and daughter-in-law harmony.

The two most noble women in Daegu left and the most comfortable person was Emperor Qingzong. He had long been tired of facing the Empress's cold face all night. He glanced at the people below and called Concubine Lan forward to serve.

Concubine Lan was the woman next to him. She had been extremely favoured when Emperor Qingzong was still the Crown Prince. Although she was the daughter of a fifth-rank official, she was directly made a Concubine. Now, under the Empress, Concubine Lan is the one with the most power. She is nearly thirty years old and is still pretty and charming.

Concubine Lan was dressed in a smoky purple brocade dress with peony patterns, a high bun with a five-bat longevity hairpin inserted sideways. She raised her sleeves and twisted a pot of imperial osmanthus brew with her slender fingers and elegantly poured a cup of wine.

Emperor Qingzong looked at her side profile and was silent for a moment. He suddenly raised his eyes and said, "Why does zhen not see the Fifth Prince?"

Gu Xian was shocked. He caused the Fifth Prince to fall into the water today. That fool's health was not good to begin with. Even if he does not suffer from serious illness, he would need to drink a bowl of ginseng soup and lay in bed all night. Naturally, he will not come to the banquet to suffer. Besides, old Fifth has always had no sense of existence. No matter how important the occasion is, no one will care if he is missing.

But...why did Imperial Father suddenly ask about him?

He quickly said: "Imperial Father..."

"Imperial Father, little Fifth accidentally fell into the water in the Imperial Garden today. He is currently recuperating in the palace and cannot spend the holiday with his Imperial Father. I hope Imperial Father will forgive him." Gu Chen replied calmly from the side.

Emperor Qingzong frowned and slapped the table: "How did he fall into the water? Are all the guards in the palace just decorations? There are so many people and they can't take care of a seven-year-old child!"

When he got angry, all the officials present were afraid to speak out, for fear of being affected by the Emperor's wrath.

However, the one who fears the most is Gu Xian. He was the one who initiated that incident. If Gu Chen tells the truth, Imperial Father must seek justice for old Fifth in front of all the civil and military officials. Otherwise it will spread tomorrow that the Emperor will have the reputation of treating the Fifth Prince harshly. He secretly clenched his fists and hated the two Ye brothers. If they hadn't been so talkative, how would Gu Chen know about this? It must have been them.