54Chapter 54 The big drama begins, accompanied by castration?
AI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
"Dong—"
"Dong—"
"Dong—"
The deafening drumbeats opened the performance, with cheerful dances in the center. In the rear hall of Weiyang Palace, at this moment, there were only Empress Dowager Dou, Emperor Jing, Prince of Liang, First Imperial Prince Liu Rong, and Guandu Marquis Chen Yun, and Wen Marquis Chen Xi.
It neither resembled a family banquet nor a court banquet.
It truly made people find it absurd and ridiculous.
Chen Xi somewhat uninterestingly watched the dance performance before him, resting his chin in his hand, almost yawning, while Empress Dowager Dou, Emperor Jing, and Prince of Liang were still playing tai chi, pushing words back and forth.
They never got to the main topic.
Just as Chen Yun was starting to feel a bit bored, Empress Dowager Dou finally spoke slowly under Prince of Liang's constant subtle glances.
"Your Majesty."
Empress Dowager Dou's voice carried a hint of lament: "When The Late Emperor passed away back then, Wu'er never returned. Now he has finally returned, and it is good that we, mother and son, can reunite."
As she spoke, she looked at Prince of Liang, saying with a tone of reproach: "You, truly unfilial. The Late Emperor loved you the most during his lifetime, yet you weren't even willing to see The Late Emperor one last time!"
"And for all these years, you haven't even sent a single letter to this old woman. Have you forgotten me, your mother?"
These words seemed to be reprimanding Prince of Liang, but in reality, they were indirectly reprimanding Emperor Jing.
Why?
Because feudal princes were not allowed to enter the capital without an imperial edict. When The Late Emperor passed away, Emperor Jing did not issue an edict for the feudal princes to rush to the capital to mourn, so they could only mourn in their respective territories and fiefdoms.
And the lack of letters all these years was even more so Emperor Jing's problem—after all, Empress Dowager Dou resided in the inner palace. If Emperor Jing was unwilling, how could she communicate with the outside feudal princes?
Was she trying to plot rebellion?
And the last sentence was even more so a prelude to her objective: "The Late Emperor's most beloved child" was Prince of Liang? This was truly a joke, but when these words came from Empress Dowager Dou's mouth, could anyone refute them?
Could Emperor Jing refute them? Refute Empress Dowager Dou's words, saying that he was The Late Emperor's most favored child?
Firstly, that would be somewhat unfilial, and secondly, it wouldn't be as credible as Empress Dowager Dou's words, completely putting him at a disadvantage.
The situation seemed one-sided.
But...
Empress Dowager Dou forgot one thing: there was someone here who had the status and position to refute her words.
Only to hear Chen Yun chuckle. He looked at Empress Dowager Dou, his tone humble and respectful, yet his words left no room for courtesy: "Hahahahaha, is Empress Dowager Dou perhaps too old and mistaken?"
"This Marquis remembers that The Late Emperor's most favored child back then was His Majesty."
"Otherwise, how could he have made His Majesty the Crown Prince and appointed my father as His Majesty's teacher?"
He smiled at Empress Dowager Dou, practically rubbing his words in Empress Dowager Dou's face, almost directly saying that Empress Dowager Dou was old, had a bad memory, and was talking nonsense.
Empress Dowager Dou lightly coughed. She hadn't expected Chen Yun to take a stance at this moment.
After all, the Chen clan had always been neutral, never taking sides—but she had forgotten that the Chen clan's neutrality was only during power struggles, but... the Chen clan had always been loyal to the Emperor!
At this moment, Emperor Jing was already the Emperor!
She smiled faintly, saving some face for herself: "It was merely intimate words The Late Emperor spoke to me privately. It's understandable that Guandu Marquis wouldn't know about these things."
Empress Dowager Dou only said they were intimate words, even hinting that they were spoken privately in the bedchamber by The Late Emperor, so how could you possibly know?
But Chen Yun merely smiled: "Intimate words?"
"Indeed, this subject doesn't know about those."
He looked at Empress Dowager Dou, who wore a slight smile, seemingly confident of victory, and said with a teasing tone: "But this Marquis knows that in the past, The Late Emperor privately sighed to this subject multiple times, saying that having a successor like His Majesty was truly a great fortune for the Han Dynasty, and a great fortune for The Late Emperor."
"And he repeatedly said that His Majesty resembled him."
"Not only this Marquis, but everyone in the entire court knows these things."
Chen Yun was determined not to let Empress Dowager Dou make an issue out of "The Late Emperor's most favored child." Otherwise, if he tolerated this lie today, who knew if there wouldn't be even more absurd claims in the future, like "The Late Emperor originally intended to pass the throne to Prince of Liang"?
Empress Dowager Dou was already somewhat unable to back down, but she forced a smile.
"Is that so? This is something I didn't know. It's just that His Majesty did indeed say similar words back then."
She quickly took a step back: "Perhaps I remembered it incorrectly."
"Guandu Marquis, please don't quibble so much with an old woman like me."
As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately looked at Emperor Jing, smiling as she said: "However, it has indeed been a long time since I last saw Prince of Liang. How about letting Prince of Liang stay in the palace and spend more time with this old woman?"
She sighed, saying: "Your Majesty is busy with affairs every day, and I don't even have anyone to share intimate words with."
"Your Majesty wouldn't refuse even this small request from me, would he?"
Emperor Jing sat there in silence.
Was this a small matter?
Of course, it wasn't a small matter!
For an outside man to live in the Emperor's inner palace? What kind of situation was that!
Moreover, he was a prince?
His living in the inner palace would carry an overly strong "political implication," wouldn't it mean that the Emperor intended to treat him as a successor?
One must know that in the entire imperial palace, the only men who could reside were the Crown Prince and the Emperor!
Other officials could only stay for one night at most, which was already considered an immense imperial favor and a way for the Emperor to show affection to his subjects.
But at this moment, Empress Dowager Dou did not mention these political implications, only saying that she wanted her youngest son to accompany her.
Was this excessive?
For a moment, Emperor Jing didn't know what to say.
At this moment, Chen Yun spoke again. He looked at Empress Dowager Dou, frowning and sternly saying: "Outside men are not allowed in the inner palace, this is the rule! Does Empress Dowager Dou not even understand such rules of etiquette?"
He stood up directly, and the long sword at his waist gleamed under the moonlight.
Upon entering the palace this time, Chen Yun had brought The Late Emperor's Imperial Sword!
Although one was not allowed to wear a sword into the palace, this Imperial Sword of The Late Emperor was an exception—it was an imperial gift, and there was an imperial edict from The Late Emperor, which no one could refute—not even the current Emperor Jing.
And the conspicuous display of this sword at this moment was also a very clear signal.
Guandu Marquis was angry.
He looked at Empress Dowager Dou and said: "If Empress Dowager Dou wishes for Prince of Liang to remain in the inner palace, there is nothing wrong with that, however, he must undergo castration!"
"Clang—"
Chen Yun directly drew his sword and stood there, looking at Prince of Liang and Empress Dowager Dou, saying: "Although this subject does not have such a skill, I can assist Prince of Liang with the castration! After that, he can stay in the inner palace for a long time to accompany Empress Dowager Dou!"
He stepped forward directly.
"Does Prince of Liang require this subject's assistance?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room was stunned.
Empress Dowager Dou glared, Prince of Liang recoiled in terror, Emperor Jing wore a smile, and Chen Xi's brows showed a hint of speechlessness.
The play, in its climax.