How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

Chapter 232: The sullen Emperor Jian and the sneer of the Empress

"I know how he would give up so easily."

The Second Prince was mediocre and incompetent in the past, so Emperor Jian would naturally not hand Jian'an over to him.

But now that Xie Chengze is back, Emperor Jian can't wait to make plans for him.

All the promises he made were a joke.

Fortunately, she never believed it.

How could she believe it?

The soul incense in his hand was broken in half, Cao Qingran turned around and said calmly, "Let's go to the Yangxin Palace."

Emperor Jian was now recuperating in the Yangxin Palace. Upon learning that the Queen wanted to see him, he hesitated for a moment before ordering Eunuch Zhao to let the person in.

Across the screen, Cao Qingran looked at Emperor Jian with a dull gaze, and heard Emperor Jian ask, "Why did you come here?"

Cao Qingran's lips twitched slightly downwards, "Your Majesty, why haven't you come to court yet? The country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Even if the regent can still maintain the court, it will not last long and will cause instability in the court."

Now that many ministers have decided to support Xie Chengze, how can Cao Qingran just sit back and watch?

Emperor Jian coughed and said, "My body is not feeling well."

"Then you should abdicate and become the emperor emeritus, and pass the throne to Jin Yu." Cao Qingran said calmly, "This will prevent me from mistakenly thinking that Your Majesty wants to leave the throne to the regent."

"Cao Qingran, you are so insolent!" Emperor Jian looked annoyed, "You are only the queen. It is not your turn to say whether I should become the emperor or not!"

"Heh." Cao Qingran chuckled, "When the Regent was still the Second Prince, he mentioned this matter. Your Majesty did not react like this at that time."

"He is my son, and also the prince of Jian'an. It is his duty to consider the court." Emperor Jian said coldly, "You are just a woman in the harem. Managing the harem is what you should do!"

Cao Qingran's expression changed slightly.

"You are just a woman! Marrying the prince and becoming the queen is what you should do! Don't dream of freedom, this is your fate!"

"You are a daughter of the Cao family! The Cao family gave birth to you and raised you. You should give back everything you have to the Cao family!"

"You are destined to be the queen! To give birth to a prince for my Cao family and to make my Cao family stay in the court forever is the purpose of your life!"

She had heard these words countless times.

In this world, everyone wants her to be the queen. Everyone thinks that she should marry into the royal family and give birth to a prince. She should wear a phoenix robe and enjoy a life looking down on everyone.

Never cared whether she was willing or not.

What she loves is the vast grassland, the falling snow, the withered but sad plum blossoms, and the eagle spreading its wings and flying in the sky.

She loves the carefree and carefree life of the children of the rivers and lakes, the mixed love and hatred in the world, and the heartfelt confessions under a glass of strong liquor, which are mutual and willing.

Instead of being slapped for playing a wrong note, being punished to kneel down for making a wrong move in chess, and being left in a cold inner room for making a wrong drawing, crying your heart out and gradually becoming numb, for a man you don't love.

But she couldn't escape this fate.

She was eventually locked in this cage called "harem" until Hua Ning appeared.

She is bright and generous, she is passionate and energetic, she is a true eagle raised in heaven and earth, living the life she imagined.

And Emperor Jian loved Hua Ning just like this.

How ridiculous, she suffered so much and was forced to sculpt herself into a perfect harem woman, but the man she married loved the person she once wanted to be.

She could not get the love of a man, nor could she get her own freedom.

She envied Hua Ning for not being bound by her parents' family, and was jealous of her happy life in the martial arts world. She was happy that she could see through her own misery and wishes, but she also resented that she easily took away the man's favor and made herself a laughing stock in the world.

Cao Qingran looked at the man behind the screen, the curve of his mouth becoming more and more sarcastic, "If Hua Ning were here, you would never say that women in the harem are not allowed to interfere in politics."

He is always very tolerant towards Hua Ning.

Even, because he loves the woman he loves, he indulges the child to the utmost.

Hearing Hua Ning's name unexpectedly, Emperor Jian's eyes flickered, "She... never doubted my decision."

Yes.

Cao Qingran sneered.

Of course she won't doubt it because she has all your love.

And what about her?

From the moment she became a daughter of the Cao family, she had already stood on the opposite side of Emperor Jian. The Cao family was behind her, and she was destined to make profits for the Cao family, and even to help the Cao family push her former selves into this cold harem.

If she had not already extended her hand into the court, Xie Jinyu would have had to face countless court officials petitioning him to marry and have children.

Taking a deep breath, Cao Qingran's eyes moved slightly, "In this case, your majesty should take good care of your body. I have found a famous doctor in the martial arts world who may be able to cure your majesty's illness. At the very least, it can alleviate a lot of the pain."

"No need." Emperor Jian waved his hand tiredly, "If there is nothing else, please leave."

"Your Majesty, it is a taboo to hide your illness and avoid medical treatment." Cao Qingran stepped forward and stared at Emperor Jian closely. "Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about the people of the world. Your Majesty, you must recover soon, and Jian'an can regain stability."

"I told you not to! Ahem—" Emperor Jian started to cough. He raised his eyes to look at Cao Qingran outside the screen, "Eunuch Zhao!"

"Empress..." Eunuch Zhao hurried in and made a gesture of invitation.

Cao Qingran glanced at him indifferently, and instead of retreating, walked towards Emperor Jian behind the screen.

"Ouch! Your Majesty!" Eunuch Zhao hurriedly stepped forward to stop Cao Qingran, but Cao Qingran raised his hand and chopped at Eunuch Zhao's neck. The knife was extremely sharp and it was obvious that he was a martial artist.

Eunuch Zhao's eyes were slightly sharp, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty!"

Eunuch Zhao raised his sleeves and blocked Cao Qingran's attack with his arms, blocking her path. "Your Majesty's cold has not been cured for a long time, and it may even be contagious. For the sake of your body, it is best for you not to get close to him."

"Eunuch Zhao, I invited this famous doctor because of Hua Ning's reputation." Cao Qingran looked at him coldly, "Do you really want to stop me?"

"This..." Eunuch Zhao couldn't help but hesitate, and behind the screen, Emperor Jian's voice returned to normal, "No need, Queen, you should go back."

Cao Qingran's eyebrows moved slightly.

She stared at the screen for a long time before she smiled leisurely, let go of her hands and swung her sleeves as she walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Her wide golden phoenix robe dragged on the ground and spread out, like wings that had broken free from the golden cage that bound them and were finally able to stretch out completely.

His Majesty.

You won't live long.

As early as the time when Emperor Jian came to stay overnight in Kunning Palace, she stood in front of the bed and stared at it for such a long time, but Emperor Jian did not react and was sleeping soundly, so she realized that something was wrong.

Emperor Jian has always been a very light sleeper, especially in the morning. The slightest noise can wake him up. He can only sleep more peacefully when he is with Hua Ning.

When she went to Liaozhou to celebrate the New Year, she also keenly noticed that Emperor Jian often coughed and looked tired. Eunuch Zhao's occasional worried expression also showed that Emperor Jian was in poor health and might even have reached an irreversible point.

Although Emperor Jian was rebellious at heart, the forced education he received in his childhood prevented him from easily revealing his frivolous and irrational side. Even if he wanted to have fun with the people, he would not take half of the officials out of the palace and put the palace in a dangerous situation.

He even now doesn't attend court and leaves all matters to the regent.

Only when people are about to die will they indulge themselves and reveal their true colors.

Thinking that Emperor Jian was about to die, Cao Qingran couldn't help but bend over and laugh. She laughed extremely unbridled, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. At the end of her laugh, she clenched her fists so hard that her sharp nails almost pierced through her flesh.

"No wonder you're so anxious to plan for him."

Unfortunately, I will never let you get what you want.