LRAB Chapter 453 Extra: Dongjun
Chapter 453 Extra: Dongjun
Dongjun still remembers that when he was a child, he always thought that his home consisted of two houses, Qianyuan Palace and Zhaoyang Palace, and that the other palaces in the harem were his neighbors.
He was shocked to learn that the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince, who had always seemed to be his enemies, were actually his father's sons, and that their mothers were his father's concubines.
Dongjun was terrified. What if they were all his father's sons, and his father liked them?
He observed for a long time that his father never went to other palaces. Even when he went to Zhaoyang Palace, it was only when his mother went that his father would follow.
He also discovered that wherever his mother lived, his father would follow.
The Empress Dowager is the mother of him and his sister, not the mother of his older brothers and sisters. They call their mother "Empress Dowager," but they cannot call their mother "Mother."
Then he wouldn't be afraid anymore.
Although Father is the emperor, he listens to Mother.
Of all the princes in the harem, only he and Xihe called their father "Daddy." It was their mother who taught them to call him that. From a young age, their mother would say "your father," and they got used to calling him that.
After his mother gave birth to two younger brothers, the eighth brother said that his father liked Wangshu and wanted to depose him.
He wasn't afraid if his father deposed him as crown prince and made his younger brothers crown prince instead, but he was terrified that his father would give the crown prince position to his older brothers.
But his mother said not to be afraid, that the position of crown prince would always be his. Dongjun believed his mother's words, and from then on he was never afraid again.
With his mother around, no one can take his position as crown prince away, unless he decides he no longer wants to be crown prince.
How could he not become the crown prince? His mother had taught him so much, and he had so many things he wanted to do. He wanted the people of the world to be prosperous and healthy, just like the world his mother had described, where no one would starve or freeze, and every child could go to school.
His mother had also said that before becoming the crown prince, he was first himself, the son of his father and mother, and only lastly the crown prince.
He wanted to travel the world and experience different lives, and his mother supported him.
As he grew older, he realized just how lucky he was. He had a mother who was knowledgeable and insightful, he didn't have to worry about being deposed as crown prince, and he didn't have to dodge open or covert attacks. He could do whatever he wanted.
He was once a beggar, an ordinary student at Yongxi Academy, experienced the lives of ordinary people, traveled far and wide, competed with merchants, rescued people during floods, supervised officials in disaster relief, and led people to establish a new industry to help them become rich.
Finally, he also went to the battlefield, led troops into battle, walked the path his father had walked, and built achievements that his brothers had never accomplished.
He became the crown prince, praised by both the court and the public, and he also came to understand what his mother had said: just be yourself, don't be swayed by rumors, and don't be bound by any rules.
In the future, he wants to be the one who sets the rules.
But then Mom suddenly passed away. For half a year, Dad tried everything he could to save her life, but he couldn't. At first, he was very scared. With Mom around, the sky would never fall. She gave them the greatest sense of security.
But seeing his father's helpless state, he realized that perhaps he had been wrong from the beginning.
He has a different mother, so naturally he will have a different father.
My father was different from all the emperors throughout history. It wasn't, as outsiders say, that my mother was capable and had the ability to control the court. It was my father who made all of this possible.
Father never cared about the dragon throne; he cared about the world and the people, but what he cared about most was Mother.
Later, he often heard other people tell stories about his father and mother. One person would tell a little, another person would tell a little, enough for him to piece together a complete version.
Later, Cen Yin and Yun Yue also told him the story of his father and mother.
My mother met my father when she was three years old. If it weren't for my mother, I wouldn't have had any help or guidance at that time. My father was aware that if my grandfather was gone, he would not live long, but since no one pointed it out to him, he always had to hold onto a sliver of hope.
The main problem was that my father didn't have any help at that time.
Who would associate with a prince who has the blood of the previous dynasty? If they are not careful, they will be accused of overthrowing the new dynasty and not forgetting the previous one.
It was his mother who helped him win over the Shen family and the support of half the court officials.
It was also through her mother's use of weapons that her father achieved military merits and gained the support of the generals.
Mother was like a master chess player; with each move she made, the opponent's strength was weakened. In just five years, the court was in turmoil, and the situation that was originally favorable to the three legitimate princes was overturned.
And the Holy Heart is no longer biased.
When the Emperor began to view the princes with an equal eye, the Emperor had already become the most prominent one. At a crucial moment, the Emperor went to the border, far away from the center of the vortex.
Yun Yue said that although her father had left, he had not actually left. Her mother was still in the capital, and the one who left was remembered by her grandfather.
That's how my father was gradually pushed onto the throne. He never coveted power, nor did he ever suspect my mother. For a true emperor, the empire cannot be shared.
Dongjun felt that perhaps his father had achieved something: he was first a person, then a husband, and only lastly an emperor.
When the day his mother passed away arrived, Dongjun saw his father, who was no longer an emperor, but a lone goose who had lost his mate. He was so pitiful that they couldn't even care less about their own grief; they only felt sorry for their father.
After returning from Changling, the emperor sent his mother's memorial tablet to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, where it was worshipped alongside those of past ancestors.
After that, his father moved out of Qianyuan Palace and lived in Zhaoyang Palace until the 18th day of the first month of the 34th year of Yongxi when his father passed away. Except for visiting his mother at Changling every year and staying there for a few days, he lived there.
The affairs of state were all handed over to Dongjun. If there were any unresolved matters, Dongjun would ask his father, the emperor. However, his father was clearly not interested in politics. His knees had become injured, and he spent most of his days sitting in a rocking chair with a purse in his hand, gazing at the distant horizon from morning till night, or sometimes from night till morning. No one knew what he was thinking.
He would also walk alone under the eaves with his cane. On sunny spring days, when the peach blossoms in the peach orchard were in bloom, he would go and take a look. Those peach blossoms had been blooming beautifully ever since his mother passed away.
Every summer, we could eat a lot of peaches. The emperor would order people to make peach preserves, and when we went to the sacrifice, we would take some with us and place them in front of the empress's coffin.
After the three-year mourning period ended, the Emperor urged Fuguang and Wangshu to get married. Dongjun and the others were very worried and sad.
While parents are alive, a person still has a place to come from; when parents are gone, all that remains is a place to return to.
Fu Guang insisted on not getting married. He even disliked the selection of concubines. He believed that as long as he and Wang Shu did not get married, his father would not leave and would definitely stay.
Wang Shu originally thought so too, but in the end she gave up, because her father was just too pitiful.
He was still alive, but his heart was filled with loneliness, a desolate wasteland. In the vast Zhaoyang Palace, there was his mother everywhere, yet there was no mother anywhere.
He stayed here as if he were guarding a lonely grave.
His father ultimately did not stay. In less than five years, it felt like he had lived most of his life, and every day was so long for him.
After his father passed away, Dongjun was tidying up the study in Qianyuan Palace when he found a jade bottle containing nearly half a pill. He called Li Fude over and asked him what it was.
This must have been left behind by his father, so he dared not ask the imperial physician rashly.
Li Fude stayed at Changling after Emperor Yongxi's death, guarding the emperor and empress. When he returned to the palace and saw the pills, tears streamed down his face.
Dongjun then realized that his father had used aphrodisiacs.