Rebirth of the Merchant Woman's Revenge

"Hao'er, there's no need to do this. It can't be considered a punishment. You just need to not hold a grudge against Concubine Yu and the others. After all, the matter of your mother..." The Empress Dowager suddenly changed direction.

Fortunately, the emperor discovered something was wrong in time and quickly interrupted the queen mother, "It seems that the queen mother is tired. Hao'er, you should go back to the imperial study with me. I haven't seen you for a long time. I have something to say to you."

Li Junhao and the Queen Mother turned to look at the Emperor, and saw that the smile on his face became unnatural, as if he was trying to hide something.

Li Junhao's heart suddenly became chillingly cold. It seemed that his father and the Empress Dowager knew about his mother's death and the matters related to Concubine Yu.

However, they had concealed this from him for so many years, and had never punished Yu Fei and the others for this matter. This really opened his eyes.

After bidding farewell to the Queen Mother, the father and son became quiet for a while in the imperial study.

Finally, it was the emperor who spoke and broke the silence.

"Prince, after all, you are still the crown prince. It is really inappropriate for you to live outside the palace all day. I heard that you have set up a "Li Mansion". Are you planning to live there permanently?" The emperor's tone was a little stiff, and there was a hint of anger in his reproachful tone.

Li Junhao was still as calm and composed as usual. He said in a calm tone, "Father, I have something to deal with outside the palace. Didn't I tell you about it before?"

"What, is there anything that needs you to deal with outside the palace? Haven't enough happened recently? How much have you done behind the scenes in Jian Liangce's matter?" The emperor finally expressed his guess.

Although he had no direct evidence to prove it, he still felt that Li Junze's current situation must have been caused by Li Junhao's behind-the-scenes manipulation, which left him with almost no foothold.

Although he had always known in his heart that Li Junze was a scheming person, he could not allow him to be framed to this extent, especially since they were all his sons.

Li Junhao didn't explain much after hearing this, he just stared at the emperor as usual, "Father, do you think that the matter of Jian Liangce was a trap set by me?"

The emperor did not answer him because he could not answer, not only because there was no evidence, but also because even if Li Junhao really did it, he would not be considered to have directly murdered Li Junze.

It can only be considered a setup, and Li Junze jumped into it on his own initiative.

So, if anyone is to blame, it's Li Junze being too careless.

"That's not what I meant. What I meant was that you are still the crown prince and you shouldn't live outside the palace for such a long time. People who don't know the truth would think that there is a quarrel between us father and son."

The emperor had to give up what he had just said and went back to talking about living outside the palace.

"Your Majesty, you worry too much. Even if the ministers knew about this, they could only say that I was assigned more important tasks and was personally supervising them." Li Junhao was not annoyed at all and continued to deal with his father.

Just now, when he saw his father hurriedly interrupting his grandmother, he knew that his father also played a very important role in his mother's passing.

So at this time, it is definitely impossible for me to just come back like this.

"Hao'er, don't be angry anymore. It's better for us to talk things out face to face. Didn't we agree on this at the beginning? We still have two years, so we should both think about it carefully."

When the emperor saw his calm look, he couldn't help but think of the queen's appearance back then, and his tone softened a little.

"Father, I have already found some clues about what happened to my mother. Maybe she did not die of illness, so please give me some time."

Li Junhao's tone remained calm, but his words made the emperor's heart skip a beat.

"What? What have you found out?" he asked nervously.

Li Junhao stood up from his chair, bowed to the emperor, and then said,

"Before there is solid evidence, I can't say anything. Even though I still remember what my father said to me, it's a pity that my father still has many speculations about me.

Therefore, regarding this matter of the Queen Mother, unless I have definite evidence, I cannot say anything. I beg the Emperor to forgive me."

He was alluding to the fact that the emperor had just accused him of being behind the incident involving Jian Liangce.

The emperor was speechless. He was really worried that Li Junhao was investigating this matter, and now it seems to be true.

After Li Junhao left the imperial study, the emperor called Cheng Ping in.

"Alas, the prince is becoming more and more willful. He has been the most sensible one for so many years, but now it seems that it was all pretended." The emperor sighed and said with his head down.

Eunuch Chengping bent over, waiting for the emperor to continue, but the other party seemed to just ask him to come over and chat, and did not give him any similar orders or decrees.

Therefore, he could only continue the emperor's words and said carefully,

"Your Highness lost his brother and mother at such a young age. I'm sure the blow he suffered was too great. Please, Your Majesty, please don't be angry with the Crown Prince for the sake of his past behavior."

"Ha, I am angry with him? Now he is making me angry. I have just said so much, but he still refuses to return to the palace and insists on investigating the Queen's death. What do you think..."

The emperor frowned, spread his hands, and felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart.

It was really strange. The Queen Mother's condition had been getting better and better in the past few days. Who would have thought that she would suddenly say such words to the Crown Prince today.

Concubine Yu, Queen, Li Junhao only needed to think about it for a moment before he understood what she meant.

Eunuch Chengping also frowned at this time, pretending not to understand and asked, "Several imperial doctors have confirmed that the queen died of illness that year. I guess His Royal Highness the Crown Prince just wants to be at ease."

The emperor opened his mouth but said nothing in the end. He looked down at the memorial at hand and was in no mood at all.

So he had no choice but to say to Eunuch Chengping, "Let's go to Zhaoyang Palace. I haven't seen Concubine Shu for a few days."

"Yes." Eunuch Chengping agreed and went out in advance to arrange the sedan chair.

Perhaps at this time, only Concubine Shu can persuade Li Junhao.

The emperor thought so.

Although Li Junhao had just parted ways with the emperor on bad terms, since he had entered the palace, he still made a symbolic trip to the East Palace.

By the way, I also asked Xiao Fuzi to help me pick out some nice gifts from the warehouse.

"Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, so I just need to find some items that are suitable for the occasion."