Playing bad and eating melons: The whole court is laughing? No, no

As the morning court came to an end, Emperor Yuan and the civil and military officials argued, and in the end the civil and military officials won.

Not only can the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet not be held in a grand manner, but Prince Rong and his son cannot return to the capital.

Selfishly, Emperor Yuan wanted to agree to the Empress Dowager's request.

On the one hand, he wanted to fulfill his filial duty, but he also felt that Prince Rong would not be able to achieve anything. On the other hand, the Queen Mother's health was deteriorating, and she only had a year or two left.

Why can’t the wishes of a dying person be fulfilled?

Civil and military officials said that even a lion would use all its strength to fight a rabbit, and advised Emperor Yuan not to underestimate anyone.

It is also said that a tiger father will have a dog son, so we should take precautions before trouble happens.

Finally, the civil and military officials said that in less than a year, Daxia had sent troops to Chishui and Eastern Turkestan, spending a large amount of silver and money, and the treasury was empty.

At this time, they should use the money to reward the three armies instead of the annual birthday banquet.

In addition, a group of officials from the Ministry of Revenue also said that the imperial palace should reduce expenses and Emperor Yuan should set an example.

Emperor Yuan was unable to convince the civil and military officials, so he could only face the Empress Dowager's sword and temper alone.

Shoukang Palace.

Emperor Yuan paced back and forth at the door, hesitating for a long time before going in.

As soon as he entered the inner hall, he saw the Empress Dowager lying on the bed with her hair loose, and the head aunt of Shoukang Palace was feeding her medicine.

Hearing footsteps, the Queen Mother looked up.

Seeing that it was Emperor Yuan, she was happy at first, but then she saw the expression on Emperor Yuan's face and suddenly felt lost.

She guessed the result.

Emperor Yuan sat beside the Empress Dowager's bed, took the medicine from the head aunt, and fed her the medicine himself.

The Empress Dowager silently drank the medicine that was fed to her mouth and waited quietly for Emperor Yuan to speak.

After feeding her the medicine and putting down the medicine bowl, Emperor Yuan slowly said, "Mother, there is good news from the front line: the Eastern Turks have surrendered.

We have won this battle. Soon, the army will return victorious, and my son has already ordered a reward for the troops."

The Queen Mother understood his implication, but she said nothing.

"The two military expeditions cost a huge amount of money. My son has decided to reduce the expenses of everyone in the palace by 30%, starting with me.

"This year's birthday banquet for your mother must be simple. Next year, I will definitely hold a grand birthday banquet for you!" Emperor Yuan continued.

"Next year?" The Queen Mother forced a pale smile. "Is there still a next year for me?"

Emperor Yuan felt a pang of pain in his heart and quickly grasped the Empress Dowager's hand, "Mother, please don't say that. You will definitely get better. I want you to see more of this prosperous world."

The Empress Dowager withdrew her hand and turned her head away, not looking at Emperor Yuan. "I just want to see that child again..."

"Mother, when you feel better, I will take you to see them."

Emperor Yuan thought of a compromise. Since the civil and military officials did not agree with Prince Rong and the Crown Prince returning to the capital, he would take the Queen Mother to see them.

The Empress Dowager was not happy to hear this, because she knew that given her physical condition, she could not go out.

"Mother..." Emperor Yuan's eyes were red. "How about your son summon Jiang Yueyang to treat you? She is a good doctor and will definitely make you better."

Since the Empress Dowager became seriously ill, Emperor Yuan had repeatedly suggested to her that Jiang Yueyang come to treat her, but because of Prince Rong's incident, the Empress Dowager harbored resentment towards Jiang Yueyang and would rather die than let Jiang Yueyang treat her.

This time was the same. She looked at Emperor Yuan with hatred and said, "Even if I am terminally ill, I don't want her to treat me!"

"Mother! Prince Rong's affairs have nothing to do with her!"

"It doesn't matter?" The Queen Mother laughed and cried, "If it weren't for her, how could my son die?"

Emperor Yuan's face darkened instantly. "Mother, Prince Rong's death was all his own fault! He wanted to rebel and usurp the throne!"

The Empress Dowager was speechless. She stared at Emperor Yuan with her eyes twisted and her breathing rapid, still blaming Jiang Yueyang for Prince Rong's death.

After a moment of silence...

"Mother, please don't be angry about your health, okay?" Emperor Yuan spoke again, his tone a little softer.

The Empress Dowager raised her hand and pointed outside. "Go away. I don't want to see you anymore. You don't have to come to Shoukang Palace again in the future."

This sentence completely chilled Emperor Yuan's heart. He slowly stood up and said calmly, "My mother has ordered me to do this, and I dare not disobey. From now on, I will not set foot in Shoukang Palace again."

Hearing this, the aunt in charge beside her hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the Queen was just angry. Please don't take it seriously."

Before he finished speaking, Emperor Yuan turned around.

The aunt in charge anxiously chased after him, but was stopped by the Empress Dowager after only two steps.

"Let him go!"

Emperor Yuan stopped and the aunt in charge looked happy, thinking that the relationship between mother and son had taken a turn for the better.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Yuan said coldly, "The Empress Dowager is not feeling well. She should rest and recuperate. The birthday banquet...is cancelled!"

Emperor Yuan gave an order to cancel the empress dowager's birthday banquet.

At that time, on the other side, Jiang Yueyang was taking Gu Ruo's pulse in the main hall of the East Palace.

When she left the court, she wanted to go to the Supervisory Office to take a look and then go home to rest.

Unexpectedly, Gu Ruo's maidservant Su Ye was waiting for her on the way out of the palace.

"Yangyang, how is it?"

Jiang Yueyang withdrew her hand from taking the patient's pulse and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Crown Princess, you are already one month pregnant."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the palace maids and eunuchs in the hall showed happy expressions.

Very good!

Gu Ruo was also very happy. She raised her hand and gently stroked her flat belly, where a little life was being nurtured.

Although His Highness treated her very well on weekdays, they had been married for over a month and had only been affectionate with each other twice.

The arrival of the child made her feel much more at ease.

Gu Ruo's eyes became moist as she thought about it, "Yangyang, do you think he is a boy or a girl?"

"It's a boy." The system automatically gave the answer, "But normally, you can't tell the gender of a baby after one month of pregnancy."

Jiang Yueyang understood what he meant. To avoid trouble, she could only say, "Princess Consort, it's still impossible to tell the sex of the fetus after one month of pregnancy. It will take at least three months."

"Then I'll wait a little longer." Gu Ruo couldn't hide the smile in her eyes, "Yangyang, there's no need to be so distant between you and me. Just call me as you did before."

Jiang Yueyang smiled and nodded, "Aruo, congratulations."

At this moment, a young eunuch walked in, bowed, and said respectfully, "Crown Princess, His Highness learned that Master Xiao Jiang was coming, so he ordered the Food Bureau to prepare some food and send it over."

Gu Ruo's expression changed slightly, but she soon smiled again, "Your Highness is thoughtful. Hurry up and serve the food. Yangyang and I are hungry too."

The young eunuch waved his hand outside, and people from the food bureau came in one after another with food and filled the table.

Gu Ruo pulled Jiang Yueyang to sit at the table and personally picked up some food for her. "Yangyang, I remember you like chicken wings. Eat more. And these garlic ribs, you also like them."

"You eat too." Jiang Yueyang picked up her favorite lotus root slices and stewed lamb, "I remember you like lotus root very much."

Only then did Gu Ruo realize that on the table were not only Jiang Yueyang's favorite dishes, but also her favorite dishes.

Her eyes were filled with tears. Your Highness...