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Chapter 209 – I Am the Empress Dowager, Who Am I Afraid Of (part 2)
“Does Your Majesty still know the Empress Dowager’s temperament She was spoiled by the late emperor and Your Majesty.
She is so old but is still like a child.
In this weather, she went fishing in Taiye Pond again.” Wet Nurse Xu smiled.
Emperor Long’an looked outside and instructed, “Servant, go and send some basins of ice to the Empress Dowager.
Send a few more people to fan the Empress Dowager, but don’t get caught in the heat.”
Madam Xu stood beside him.
She smiled and shook her head.
“You shouldn’t bother.
It’s not like you don’t know the Empress Dowager’s temperament.
How can she settle down and go fishing Maybe she will go somewhere else later.”
“It still has to be well taken care of.
We have been busy with state affairs for the past few days.
After We finish this work, We will accompany empress mother to the palace to escape the summer heat.” Emperor Long’an smiled.
It was good that empress mother was not angry.
After Wet Nurse Xu left, Emperor Long’an ate the snacks that Wet Nurse Xu brought while reviewing the memorials.
A while later, the eunuch who went to deliver ice to the empress dowager came back and reported, “If Your Majesty returns, the Empress Dowager and the Prince have caught a few fish and said they want to grill the fish so that Your Majesty can try it when Your Majesty has time.”
Emperor Long’an smiled and said, “Oh Does empress mother have such a keen interest in this We will go right away.” After speaking, he put down the red pen, washed his hands, and went.
By Taiye Pond, the breeze was gentle, the water was sparkling, and the scenery was picturesque.
There was just one thing that ruined it somewhat – the smoke from the food cooking.
“Empress mother, were you successful Why don’t you let the wet nurses come! Don’t burn the fish!” Zhao Defang, the 10-year-old Prince Bao, complained.
Empress mother was excitable in the early years.
She cooked, but it was a dark mass.
Neither he nor emperor father nor his emperor brother dared to have any.
In the end, it was emperor father who gained his courage and ate a bite.
Emperor father then got abdominal pain.
Fortunately, the imperial physician was very skilled in medicine, and after a few needles, emperor father was fine.
For this reason, empress mother also suffered under the eyes of imperial grandmother for a few days.
“You can come!” Li Su glared at him.
“You’re still my son, believe it or not.
No matter what I bake, your emperor brother will definitely say it’s delicious when he arrives.”
Zhao Defang rolled his eyes.
“When has emperor brother said that you aren’t good!”
Li Su patted him on the head.
“It’s good that you know.
You don’t have the filial piety of your emperor brother! Filial piety! Obedience is filial piety.
Do you understand”
“I don’t understand!” Zhao Defang laughed.
Emperor Long’an saw this from a distance.
He was smiling when he got off the carriage.
He then strode forward.
“Empress mother, Defang…” His next words changed into a dumbfounded expression after he saw Li Su’s face.
“Empress mother, your face… How did they serve you Fetch some water soon.”
Face What happened to her face Li Su subconsciously wiped her face, but her face turned even darker.
When Emperor Long’an and Zhao Defang’s gazes met, they couldn’t help but laugh.
Li Su was baffled.
When she saw her dark hands, she was startled.
“Quick, get some water.”
The palace maids were busy bringing hot water, while Wet Nurse Xu held back her laughter and waited on Li Su to wash her hands and clean her face.
Li Su looked in the mirror again.
Only after careful scrutinization did she then feel relieved.
Looking at the grill and the pitch-black fish, Li Su wasn’t in the mood.
“Get rid of it all!”
Seeing this, Emperor Long’an quickly said, “Empress mother, sit down for a while.
Your son will serve you grilled fish.”
“Emperor brother can grill fish” Zhao Defang came over.
“Younger brother also wants some.”
Emperor Long’an had already rolled up his sleeves and sat in front of the grill.
He was busy.
“Empress mother, wait a moment.
It will be ready soon.”
Li Su sat down next to him.
She drank tea and nibbled on melon seeds.
She occasionally instructed him blindly.
“Turn it over.
It’s burning.
Sprinkle some cumin on it.”
Zhao Defang looked at the imperial brother’s posture, which looked more skilled than empress mother’s.
He sniffed.
“Empress mother, don’t make any noise.
Emperor brother can grill fish.
You just have to wait and eat.”
Emperor Long’an glared at him.
“How can you talk to empress mother like that! You don’t understand!”
Zhao Defang touched his nose.
That’s how it was!
Soon, Emperor Long’an had grilled a fish.
Zhao Defang smelled the fragrance and was salivating, but he also knew that the first fish grilled by emperor brother must be for empress mother.
Sure enough, Emperor Long’an personally held the fish and presented it to Li Su.
Li Su ate it.
It tasted good.
“This taste is so familiar!”
“Father emperor taught me.
He said that you like to eat fish, especially grilled fish, but are rather particular.
If the grilling is not good, you will not eat it.” Emperor Long’an laughed.
Li Su recalled it carefully.
It was true that the late emperor really loved the original owner.
Since the original owner loved to eat grilled fish, and the late emperor was not good at cooking, the late emperor went to learn.
The late emperor not only learned himself, but also taught his eldest son.
The intent was for the original owner to be able to eat that familiar grilled fish when the late emperor was gone.
Seeing that Li Su’s expression was a little sad, Emperor Long’an quickly winked at Zhao Defang.
Zhao Defang understood and immediately leaned forward.
“Emperor brother, teach me too.
I will also grill fish for empress mother in the future!”
Li Su’s expression softened a lot when she heard Zhao Defang’s words.
“If you learn it, then grill it for someone you like in the future.”
Zhao Defang approached Li Su.
“Your son has no one he likes, but your son likes empress mother! Your son will only grill it for you in the future.”
Li Su glanced at him.
“Beautiful words!” Then, she slowly finished eating the fish.
Seeing this, Emperor Long’an said, “Empress mother, grilled fish is good, but if you eat too much, it’s easy to get excessive internal heat1.
If you like it, your son will grill it for you next time.”
Li Su wiped her hands clean.
In addition to the grilled fish, she also ate a lot of pastries.
Now she was full.
Emperor Long’an cleaned his hands.
“Your son will help you to go to the imperial garden to relax and eat!”
Li Su nodded.
Zhao Defang’s eyes widened.
“After struggling for a long time, where’s my grilled fish”
Li Su turned her head and glanced at him.
“You want to eat it Grill it yourself!”
Zhao Defang reddened.
Wasn’t it just grilled fish He would be going to school tomorrow.
Emperor Long’an couldn’t help but laugh.
“Little Anzi, stay and grill fish for the Prince!”
Emperor Long’an helped Li Su to walk towards the imperial garden.
Before he could take a few steps, Li Su motioned for him to let go.
“I’m still able to walk, so I don’t need you to support me.”
Emperor Long An glanced at Li Su.
“But, isn’t empress mother still angry with her son It’s because your son is not good.
Your son didn’t understand empress mother’s meaning, which made empress mother angry.”
Li Su glanced at him.
“There is no lingering enmity between mother and son.
If We are angry with you, then We would not eat your grilled fish.
You are right in this matter, it is Us who were wrong.”
Emperor Long’an looked at Li Su’s face again.
He determined that she was really not angry, so he was relieved.
“Xin Ningguo sent some natural jade beads.
All of them are the size of a longan.
Your son figured that your son might as well make some bead curtains for empress mother and hang them in the bedroom.
What does empress mother think”
Li Su smiled.
“We are old.
What use are these Why don’t you keep them for those concubines in your harem Otherwise, it would be good to reward them to the empress.”
Emperor Long’an said with a smile, “Empress mother can think about what to do with them.
Empress mother raised this son, and this son should be filial to empress mother.”
Li Su smiled.
“We know that you are filial.
Although We did not give birth to you, you were brought to Us as soon as you were born, and were raised by Us.
In fact, We also feel sorry for you.
When you came to Us, We were still a child and didn’t know how to take care of you.
The people in the palace were sinister, and We didn’t trust others to take care of you.
You were hungry and freezing during those times.
You suffered.”
Emperor Long’an recalled his childhood, and his eyes were a little wet.
“If empress mother says this, then your son has no place to stand.
If it were not for empress mother, your son would not be where he is today.
Your son should be filial to empress mother.”
“Okay.
We are mother and son, so let’s not talk about this.
You are very good.
You do not need to worry about Us.
It is Defang’s side that you need to pay more attention to.
He is still young, so people are more likely to take advantage of him.
We don’t want to see a rift between you two,” Li Su said.
Emperor Long’an was a little surprised.
Although people around him had suggested it many times, he had never interfered in Zhao Defang’s affairs because he was afraid that empress mother would worry.
Now that empress mother took the initiative to let go, Emperor Long’an was at a loss.
“Empress mother.”
“Okay, We are handing Defang over to you.
You must be careful.
Don’t let someone with bad intentions get to him.
We only have you two children in this life, and We just want you two to be well,” Li Su said.
Emperor Long’an nodded solemnly.
“Don’t worry, empress mother.
Your son understands.”
In the evening, Emperor Long’an rested with Empress Jiang in the central palace.
Empress Jiang saw that Emperor Long’an was in a good mood today and smiled.
“Why is the emperor so happy today Has empress mother forgiven the emperor”
Emperor Long’an glanced at her and said indifferently, “What nonsense! How could empress mother ever be angry with me!”
Empress Jiang immediately noticed that Emperor Long’an was unhappy and a little uneasy.
“Your Majesty.”
“Okay, rest!” Emperor Long’an threw the book in his hand, got into bed, and fell asleep with his eyes closed.
Empress Jiang was inwardly annoyed.
She knew that the emperor was benevolent and filial.
It was just that she knew that the current empress dowager was not the emperor’s biological mother.
How could the emperor be so filial!
Empress Jiang lay down beside Emperor Long’an and rubbed her stomach.
In any case, she still had to have a child of her own.
On the second day, Empress Jiang sent Emperor Long’an away and hurried to Peaceful Age Palace to give her greetings.
But she went too early, and the empress dowager was still asleep.
Even when the emperor came, he didn’t dare to disturb the empress dowager, let alone her.
Empress Jiang had to wait patiently.
After waiting for an hour, the other concubines came.
Li Su was long overdue.
“This subject pays her respects to empress mother.”
“These concubines pay their respects to empress mother.”
“Rise!” Li Su yawned while covering her mouth with a veil.
“Why did you come so early today Did I get up late”
Empress Jiang accompanied her with a smile.
“What’s the matter It’s this subject who is thinking about empress mother and wanted to come over early to pay respects to empress mother.”
But Li Su didn’t want to accompany them to act, and she didn’t want them to use themselves as a pretense.
“In the future, you don’t have to come here every day to pay your respects.
On the fifteenth day of of each month you can come to Peaceful Age Palace to pay your respects.”
“How can this be Isn’t this breaking the rules” Empress Jiang was a little uneasy.
Could it be that someone had offended the empress dowager again If they didn’t come to greet the empress dowager, then what would they do if the emperor blamed them
“We want to sleep, and We can’t let you wait here every day.
Besides, this is not the only way to show filial piety,” Li Su said.
Empress Jiang felt helpless and had to answer.
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Novel Bin 