Chapter 24: CH 24

Learning that Wei Zhao refused to return to the palace and took his son to live in Wang Changning’s residence, Wei Su was expressionless, not as furious as Wei Ming anticipated, but remaining silent for a long time.

After a while, Wei Su finally spoke indifferently. He asked Wei Ming to give Wei Zhao a message that he could return to the palace whenever he wanted to, without having to ask for a decree, but that he could never bring Yi Yin.

Wei Zhao naturally refused, and the situation became deadlocked. Empress Ji knew that her youngest son had returned to the capital, but she couldn’t see him and was suffering. She was so anxious that she sent someone to Wang Changning’s residence every two days, either to deliver things or to deliver a message.

Wei Ming knew that he couldn’t persuade his younger brother, so he refused to do useless work anymore. However, Princess Yuankang didn’t give up and personally made two trips to Wang Changning’s residence, trying to persuade Wei Zhao not to go head-to-head with the emperor. Wei Su’s character was such that a soft approach would work better than a hard one.

It was a pity that Wei Zhao didn’t listen, letting Princess Yuankang talk until her mouth was dry and saying only one sentence in reply: “Imperial Sister doesn’t need to say anything, I have my own ideas on how to handle this matter, please forgive me.”

Princess Yuankang was the eldest daughter of Wei Su. She was nineteen years older than Wei Zhao. The two were called sister and brother, but Princess Yuankang had always regarded her younger brother the same as her own children, and her eldest daughter was no more than two years younger than Wei Zhao. The two played together when they were children.

Seeing that Wei Zhao couldn’t be persuaded and made up his mind to fight with Wei Su to the end, Princess Yuankang couldn’t help sighing: “Ah Zhao, Father Emperor, he is both your father and the emperor, no matter how much he loves you, there is a limit.”

The Wei imperial family had always paid attention to bloodlines and ranks. Empresses and high-ranking male and female concubines were all children of noble families. If the birth mother of the emperor’s son or grandson was too low-born, it was not uncommon for a mother to be recorded as “unknown” on the jade plate.

If Yi Yin was an illegitimate child in the usual sense, born to Wei Zhao and a commoner woman, Wei Su would never deny him. The imperial family could afford raising him. In the future, he would be given a low-level title and be done with.

It was just that everyone knew Yi Yin’s origin. It was not Wei Zhao’s fault that he was captured. Except for Jun Lin, who could be undefeated his whole life, even Ji Qing had his low moments. Wei Su wasn’t unreasonable to the extent that his son’s defeat caused by subjective reasons would be unacceptable. What really made Wei Su angry was that Wei Zhao actually gave birth to a son for Helian Zhuo. Regardless of whether Wei Zhao was forced or not, Wei Su felt that this matter was intolerable.

If Wei Zhao had left the child in Fuyu, Wei Su could still pretend that he didn’t know anything. No matter how realistic the story was, there would be no evidence to support the rumours. Who knew that Wei Zhao was so bold that he dared to bring the child back with him, confirming a rumour that circulated for many years.

Knowing that Princess Yuankang really cared for him, Wei Zhao said: “Imperial Sister always loved me, how can I be ungrateful! But Ah Yin, he is really important to me. I don’t want him to grow up quietly where I can’t see him, and then have nothing to do with me.”

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Princess Yuankang was silent when she heard this. Indeed, Yi Yin was too young. He was only four years old now. If he left Wei Zhao now and was placed in another home, he would definitely not remember Wei Zhao when he grew up, let alone the family relationship between father and son that would disappear long ago.

Seeing that his sister was silent, Wei Zhao seemed to be thinking, and continued to insist: “Imperial Sister, leave this matter alone, and Imperial Brother should leave it too. Father Emperor will not listen to you. If it makes him angry with you, wouldn’t it be my fault?”

Princess Yuankang smiled softly and said, “You are our youngest brother. If the Crown Prince and I don’t love you, who else can we love?”

“Isn’t there still Wei Shi?” After Wei Zhao, there was also the Fifth Prince Wei Shi, who was fourteen years younger than him.

Princess Yuankang snorted coldly, obviously not taking the youngest imperial half-brother to heart. Li Kang died, Concubine Yun died, and Wei Shi had nothing to rely on, and that was it.

It was getting late, and the two siblings chatted a little about family matters, and Princess Yuankang left, saying that she would come to see him another day.

Seeing Princess Yuankang leave the courtyard, Yi Yin opened Wei Zhao’s door and ran in lightly.

“Daddy, are we going to separate in the future?” To be honest, before arriving in Yujing, Yi Yin never thought that this might be possible.

But after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it wasn’t a bad outcome. If he stayed in Yujing, he could imagine how embarrassing his status would be, so it would be better to remain anonymous and live an ordinary life, and if he had the chance, he could also visit Wei Zhao in the capital.

Unexpectedly, before he finished talking, he heard Wei Zhao say anxiously: “Ah Yin, who did you listen to, and who said we were going to separate?”

Yi Yin blinked and said blankly: “Crown Prince Uncle and Princess Aunt both said that…” You guys never avoid me when you talk, so it’s not strange that I will know, right?

Wei Zhao hugged Yi Yin, looked directly into his eyes and said sharply: “Don’t listen to their nonsense! No one can take you away from me, no one!”

Seeing Wei Zhao’s cold expression, Yi Yin felt remorseful in his heart. He tilted his head and buried his face in Wei Zhao’s shoulder. He was thinking that he would be free if he left the capital, but he never thought that Wei Zhao would be so reluctant to part with him. He felt a little guilty.

Wei Zhao thought that his tone was too harsh and scared Ah Yin, so he patted him on the back and said softly: “Ah Yin, don’t be afraid, we will always be together.”

If it was any other matter, he could be soft in front of his father, but not in this case. If he took a step back, Wei Su would be able to hide his son and it would depend on Heaven’s will whether he would see him again.

That day, the weather was gloomy; the sky was heavy with dark clouds, and the rain was gaining momentum, about to sweep in.

Yi Yin sat by the flower bed, watching the low-flying dragonflies and the ants moving around in a daze when Wei Zhao walked up to him and said: “Ah Yin, Daddy has something to do at the palace. Stay obediently in the residence. Remember to eat and sleep on time, you know?”

Yi Yin turned around and nodded subconsciously: “Oh. I know.” It didn’t matter if he remembered or not as long as the maids of the residence remembered. But why did Wei Zhao have to go to the palace? Didn’t he want him anymore? Impossible. To intercede for him? No chance.

After receiving Yi Yin’s reply, Wei Zhao instructed the maids in the courtyard again and then went out. He didn’t tell Yi Yin what he was going to do when he entered the palace.

Wei Zhao wasn’t stopped from entering the palace, but the palace people were surprised when they saw the Fourth Prince who had been missing for many years. Wei Zhao arrived at Zichen Palace and asked to see the emperor. Wei Su ordered someone to take him to the front of the Xuanshi Hall to wait for the summons. The Xuanshi Hall was one of the first six halls of Zichen Palace. It was located on the left side of the Zhengyi Hall and behind the Yanming Hall. Wei Su’s study room was set here. When he was not in the court, he often reviewed the memorials here.

Wei Su ordered someone to ask Wei Zhao if he had made the decision. He was too busy now and had no time to see him. If he made the decision, he could go back to Yongfu Palace directly, the palace was reserved for him and cleaned every day. If he didn’t make the decision, he should leave the palace.

Wei Zhao couldn’t see Wei Su, but he was unwilling to leave, so he knelt down in front of the Xuanshi Hall. Wei Su heard the news and didn’t say a word.

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The empress’s Weiyang Palace was just behind Zichen Palace. The news that Wei Zhao entered the palace and knelt in front of the palace because he couldn’t see the emperor quickly reached the empress.

Ji Wan hadn’t seen her son for six years. How could she not feel distressed? She personally went to the Xuanshi Hall to intercede for Wei Zhao, but was scolded by Wei Su, who said that there was no reason for the harem to step into the important places of the court.

Indeed, the Great Yan’s palace rules had such a rule. Unless it was the Empress Dowager who was the regent, no one in the harem, including the empress, could enter the main hall of the dynasty except on the day of becoming the empress.

In theory, the first six halls of Zichen Palace were considered the main halls, but in practise, only the Yuanyi Hall where the great court sessions were held strictly abided by this palace rule, and even the Zhengyi Hall where the small court sessions were held was officially entered by many concubines for various reasons.

As for the four side halls of Yanming Hall, Zhining Hall, Xuanshi Hall and Wenshi Hall, no one paid attention to them; like Emperor Xuanzong and Emperor Xianzong, who had their empresses accompany them in the imperial study whenever they dealt with political affairs, and no one dared to come forward and say that Empress Xiao and Empress Xie had done something wrong.

Therefore, Ji Wan’s entry into the Xuanshi Hall was really not a big deal. Even though she had never been involved in political affairs, she couldn’t say that she hadn’t been here once before. Wei Su said that she violated palace rules, but in fact he didn’t want anyone to speak for Wei Zhao.

Seeing Ji Wan’s face pale and sorrow lingering between her eyebrows, Wei Su said indifferently: “If the Son of Heaven breaks the law, he is as guilty as the common people. Although you’re the empress, you must be punished for breaking the rules of the palace. Considering that you are a first-time offender, I will punish you with three days of meditation behind closed doors.”

Ji Wan looked at Wei Su quietly, and said after a long time: “This concubine thanks His Majesty for his grace.” Her eyes were as calm as an ancient well.

The empress came in a hurry, and then hurried away. Wei Zhao wasn’t unaware, but he kept his head down, without looking at her, let alone saying a word to her.

Later in the evening, Wei Ming got the news and hurried to the Xuanshi Hall. He first looked at Wei Zhao, who was kneeling upright in front of the hall, and then at the cloudy, stormy sky. He couldn’t help but stomped his feet and went directly in without waiting for the summons.

It was said that the emperor and the Crown Prince didn’t get along, but in matters outside of politics, Wei Su had always been very tolerant of Wei Ming. It could almost be said that the Crown Prince did whatever he wanted, and the emperor never said a heavy word to him.

But today, it was a rare occasion that Wei Ming was scolded by Wei Su. Needless to say, the reason was that the emperor was naturally angry.

Any other day was not good enough for Wei Zhao to enter the palace, but today, when Wei Su didn’t see him, he kept kneeling and wouldn’t get up. Wei Su hated being threatened the most, and it was no wonder that he was furious.

Wei Su knew in his heart that as long as he didn’t see Wei Zhao, he could be as ruthless as he wanted to be. But if he saw him, if he saw the face that resembled that person so much, all his persistence would be meaningless.

Yi Yin was not an ordinary child. His existence was a shame for the entire dynasty of the Great Yan. He couldn’t recognise him, absolutely not.

The emperor was tired of scolding and sat in a chair panting for breath. He asked the Crown Prince to leave, saying that he didn’t want to see him for the time being. Wei Ming had no choice but to retire.

The sky was getting more and more cloudy, and the air was so humid that you could wring water out of it, but the rain just didn’t fall, making people feel even more suffocated.

The Xuanshi Hall was a side hall. In addition to the imperial study room, there was also a place for the emperor to rest, but it was usually used for lunch breaks and naps, not for overnight stay. If the emperor didn’t go to the palaces of concubines, he would often choose to spend the night in Chengqian Palace, Changhe Palace and Yongxing Palace.

Wei Zhao was kneeling in front of the Xuanshi Hall. If Wei Su wanted to go out, it would be impossible not to see him. Of course, the Xuanshi Hall has a back door for palace people to enter and exit, but no one dared to suggest to the emperor to go through the back door.

Wei Su stood up and sat down several times, and finally flung his sleeves and said, “It’s just that, let’s rest here tonight.” He seemed to have forgotten that he had another choice, which was to have Wei Zhao forcibly pulled away.