Chapter 704 Solving hidden dangers
Chapter 704 Solving hidden dangers
The next morning, Cui Yu and his sister Xiao Mei took a light carriage to the Empress Dowager's Palace. This was a temporary palace built by Xiao Xia specifically for Empress Dowager Xiao. It covered an area of 200 acres and was close to Jiangdu Palace. The carriage went directly through the palace passage and they arrived in just a cup of tea.
In addition to Empress Xiao, the eldest son Yang Zhao's family, the second son Yang Liang's wife Wei and son Yang Zhengdao also live here. Yang Liang died three years ago. Although Emperor Yang Guang spared him, Yang Liang eventually died of excessive indulgence.
Princess Yang Feiyan currently lives in the Xiao Mansion with her husband Xiao Zhurong. They live with their son and daughter and their father Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu can finally pamper his grandchildren.
Yang Zhao has a new hobby, cricket fighting. Every day he holds a cricket jar and teases the crickets to fight. In addition, he also likes to feed fish, but his biggest hobby is still sitting on the rockery to bask in the sun and daydream.
The two sons are very sensible. After school every day, they come to talk to their father, play cricket fighting with him, and feed fish together.
Princess Cui had long been disgusted with her husband and wished he would die immediately. She used to pretend to care about her husband, but now that her dream of power has been completely shattered, she simply stopped pretending and would never look at her husband again.
When the three sons grew up, they gradually learned about their own life experiences and that their biological mother had died in unclear circumstances. After understanding the truth, they gradually became estranged from Cui, showing more respect than love. Although they still showed the same courtesy, they spent more time with their father rather than their mother, Cui.
The three Cui sisters were sitting in the warm room drinking tea. From afar they could see Yang Zhao's broad body sitting on a rock basking in the sun.
"Sister, you're only thirty years old! Are you planning to live like this for the rest of your life?"
"Second sister, what do you mean by this?" Concubine Cui glanced at Cui Yu.
Cui Yu is no longer the shy Miss Cui of the past. She came here with her husband on a mission, not to chat about family matters.
"Prince Jin is very grateful to my elder sister for all the sacrifices she has made for my elder brother over the years. If my elder sister wants to dissolve this marriage and remarry, the prince of Jin can help you and is willing to give you a generous dowry."
Cui was not sure whether Prince Jin was testing her or really wanted to give her freedom.
"Does the King of Jin intend to let me return to Chang'an?"
Cui's father, Cui Hongsheng, is currently serving as the Minister of War in Chang'an.
"It's up to you, elder sister, to decide. If you want to go to Chang'an, the King of Jin will send troops to escort you back and give you a generous dowry. If you don't want to go to Chang'an, we will also help you find another good husband."
Cui was silent for a moment and then asked, "What if I don't want to dissolve the marriage?"
Cui Yu smiled and said, "Then everything will be as usual!"
"Let me think about it!"
After a pause, Cui asked again: "What is the Queen Mother's attitude?"
Cui Yu said calmly: "Of course the Queen Mother will listen to the King of Jin's opinion!"
The three sisters had a lot to talk about and parted on bad terms. Cui said she was not feeling well, so Cui Yu and her sister said goodbye.
The two sisters went to visit Empress Dowager Xiao again.
"Sister, it doesn't matter whether she gets divorced or not. If your husband is worried that she will affect the children, then let the children live in the Imperial College and come back to see their father when they have a break."
Cui Yu shook her head. "My husband is not only worried about the children, he is more worried about my eldest brother. My husband is worried that my eldest brother will die inexplicably like the two Liu Liangdi."
"You can use your own people to take care of Big Brother, just don't let her have any contact with Big Brother."
"They are husband and wife after all, how can we not let them have contact? Let's listen to the Queen Mother's opinion on this matter." After listening to Cui Yu's explanation, Queen Mother Xiao nodded gently and said, "Your worries are justified. The eldest brother took laxatives for no apparent reason two years ago, and it almost cost him his life. Although the cause was not found, I replaced all the imperial doctors, and Zhao'er's diet is also arranged by my people.
I also know that she is pretending to be in love with her husband. When I go to see Zhao'er, she pretends to be in love with her husband. As soon as I leave, she never looks at Zhao'er again. I know all this, but her father is a general and she has done nothing wrong, so it is not easy to divorce her. If she wants to divorce herself, I will be more than happy and will definitely agree!"
Cui Mei asked, "Does the Queen Mother know how the two Liu Liangdi died?"
Queen Mother Cui sighed and said, "They were both my personal maids. I was very sad when they died suddenly. But they did not die in the palace. They went home to visit their relatives. They suddenly fell ill and died despite medical treatment."
Cui Yu frowned, "Two sisters died at the same time, does the Queen Mother think it's normal?"
Queen Mother Cui shook her head. "Everyone knew there was something wrong, but the imperial physician could not find the cause of death. Besides, Zhao'er was also suffering from poison at that time, and she probably would not live long. So they did not take the deaths of the two Liu Liangdi seriously, and did not investigate them in detail. They were buried in peace, and the matter was left unresolved."
"Do the three brothers know about their biological mother?"
"Yes, I told them. They are very sad and even asked the emperor to re-investigate the case. Go back and tell the King of Jin not to worry about Cui's influence on their brothers. These days, I have been secretly observing them. The two brothers are as clear as a mirror. Every day they come to greet their mother, and then go to accompany their father. Later, they just say goodbye to their father and leave. They greet their mother just for the sake of formality and never tell their mother about what happened in school. On the contrary, they will tell their father. Although their father does not know what they are talking about, he loves his children very much and will listen to them. The three of them hold hands and smile happily."
Speaking of this, Empress Dowager Xiao burst into tears.
Cui Yu was silent for a moment and then asked, "King Jin wants to ask, are they still sleeping together?"
Empress Dowager Xiao shook her head. "Zhao'er completely lost the ability to have sex after being poisoned. Cui used to pretend to have sex with her husband, but after the two Liu Liangdi died, the emperor asked me to stop them from having sex. They haven't lived together for many years. It's my people who take care of Zhao'er at night."
Cui Yu felt relieved, stood up and said with a smile: "If that's the case, I'm relieved. It doesn't matter whether they get divorced or not."
Empress Dowager Xiao also smiled and said, "Tell Prince Jin not to worry. With me here, his elder brother will be fine."
The two sisters were sitting in a carriage returning home. In the carriage, Xiao Mei asked, "Sister, do you think Cui Lian will choose to divorce?"
Cui Yu was silent for a moment and said, "My husband told me that Cui Lian received a letter from Chang'an yesterday. It should be from her father. My husband also said that Li Yuan still has concerns about Cui Hongsheng because his daughter is the former crown princess. Her father wrote a letter, most likely asking her to divorce and return to Chang'an. So my husband asked us to come and make this clear to her today, and then persuade the queen mother not to stop her and create conditions for her to return to Chang'an."
"How much dowry does your husband plan to give her?"
"About fifty thousand guan!"
Xiao Mei muttered, "She was given so much money. It's really cheap for her!"
Cui Yu hugged his sister and smiled, "As long as this huge hidden danger is gone, this little money is really nothing."
Five days later, witnessed by Empress Dowager Xiao and Xiao Xia, Cui signed the divorce papers. Xiao Xia also gave her 50,000 strings of cash as divorce compensation, which was transferred directly to her from the Chang'an counter.
The next day, Cui took a dozen maids and left Jiangdu by boat, heading for her parents' home in Chang'an.
As for Yang Ling's wife Wei, although Xiao Xia had a bad relationship with her father Wei Chong, Wei was an honest person with a gentle personality. She abided by the code of conduct for women and devoted herself to raising her son.
Xiao Xia looked at her differently and asked his wife to invite her over often to play mahjong and chat, so that life was not so difficult anymore.
(End of this chapter)