The legitimate daughter was reborn, and the emperor’s little Jiaojiao went crazy.

Chapter 983: Noble Lady is worse than Marrying Daughter

The news of Tang Chujun's disappearance was still under wraps. Apart from a few relatives and friends who could not hide it, not many people knew about it. People only vaguely remembered that Mr. Chu Sheng had not written anything to be published in Yijing Weekly for a long time.

The Qingshou Palace was deserted, as if no one was there.

Eunuch Qi, who used to be such a noisy person, now became like a quail with its voice sealed. He even walked carefully, fearing that his heavy steps would startle someone.

He hunched his back and took small steps down the corridor, glancing into the hall from time to time but not daring to really look inside.

The copper bells on the eaves jingled in the wind, sounding particularly harsh in the empty courtyard.

What a sin! His master refused to eat properly and has become skinny! Eunuch Qi shuddered violently and almost dropped the whisk in his hand.

He caught it in a hurry and quickly covered his mouth, fearing that he would make any sound.

The candlelight in the hall flickered, casting a single shadow on the window paper. The shadow was motionless, as if it was frozen there.

Xiao Yunde remained silent, took a smiling little fat man mask and sat in front of the window in a daze.

"Father," Emperor Zhaowu sat opposite him and whispered to comfort him, "Go eat first. Even if you want to find someone, you have to take care of your body first so that you can have the strength, right?"

Xiao Yunde rubbed his forehead with his hands several times, his knuckles turning white. The candlelight made the dark circles under his eyes more obvious, "I can't eat."

Emperor Zhaowu couldn't stand the depressing atmosphere and called out to Eunuch Qi who was pacing outside.

Eunuch Qi was shocked and trotted into the hall.

Emperor Zhaowu ordered, "Put the meal here. I will eat a few bites with my father." He added, "Just a few simple dishes will do."

Eunuch Qi quickly agreed and walked out with his back bent.

It would only be useful if the emperor came in person. With his own son looking after him, the emperor would have to eat a few bites, right?

Xiao Yunde finally raised his eyes solemnly and put on the fat man's mask on his face. When his voice came out, it was separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. "Since you have returned to the capital, the court will be returned to you tomorrow."

Emperor Zhaowu did not respond immediately, but felt a little scared when he looked at the smiling mask.

He lowered his gaze to look at his father's slightly trembling knuckles, which were the thin calluses left from years of reviewing memorials.

After a long while, he said, "On this trip to Lingzhou, my son realized that he still has many shortcomings. Father, please cheer up. The North Wing needs you, and your son... needs you too."

Xiao Yunde looked through the mask and cast a gloomy gaze at the new emperor's face.

The father and son's eyes met in the candlelight, and the dull sound of a drum happened to be heard outside the hall.

Eunuch Qi led the palace servants in and spread the food on the small round table. Seeing that there was no room for more, Emperor Zhaowu raised his hand and ordered a few dishes, and asked people to take away the rest.

After the palace servants who tested the poison left, Emperor Zhaowu personally served a bowl of lean meat porridge and gently pushed it in front of Xiao Yunde, "Father, please eat a little. I feel bad watching you."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunde finally raised his hand and solemnly took off the fat man's mask from his face.

His fingertips trembled slightly as he used a flannel cloth to carefully wipe away the non-existent dust on the mask, and then put it into the cabinet. His movements were so gentle as if he was placing some fragile treasure.

After sitting down again, Xiao Yunde lowered his head to drink the porridge. At first he just swallowed it mechanically, but later he drank it one spoonful after another, one bowl after another.

Emperor Zhaowu also served himself a bowl, but he had no taste for it. He only ate a few bites and then put it down.

On the contrary, Xiao Yunde seemed to have taken the words "Even if you want to find someone, you have to take good care of your body first so that you have the strength" to heart. One bowl, two bowls, three bowls...

It was not until the fourth bowl that Emperor Zhaowu could no longer hold back and gently pressed the golden jade bowl with his hand, "Father..."

Xiao Yunde's hand paused in mid-air for a long time before he slowly withdrew it.

He put down the bowl, looked up at the inky sky outside the window, and said, "I wonder if Chu Jun is eating well? She doesn't take care of herself. She forgets to eat and sleep when she is writing."

He looked away, as if asking himself, and also asking Emperor Zhaowu, "You said, someone took the King of Chu away, what was their purpose?"

Emperor Zhaowu looked at the back of his father's hand with slightly protruding veins, thought for a moment, and said softly, "Father, there are some things I say that might make you angry."

"You say." Xiao Yunde waved his hand. "At this point, what right do I have to be angry with anyone?"

Emperor Zhaowu considered his words and said, "My son thinks that Madam Tang's disappearance may be related to your dismissal of the harem. How many noble families were upset by your dismissal of the harem? Those women left the harem like fish out of water. How did you expect them to live?"

"Go on." Xiao Yunde listened, his brows furrowed so tightly that they could kill a fly.

"No matter how generous the compensation you give them, and how you tacitly allow these women to remarry, it cannot offset the loss of face for the family. You have an iron fist, and you dared to take down even the Empress Dowager. Naturally, the noble families dare not compete with you on this matter."

At this point, the answer was obvious. "Now that you are going to marry Madam Tang, in the eyes of those noble families, it is tantamount to telling the world that the noblewoman they carefully nurtured is not as good as a remarried woman."

This is like stomping hard on the faces of the powerful and wealthy families!

It is normal for the powerful and wealthy families to be so angry that they take risks and ruin the marriage.

Xiao Yunde's face was as gloomy as iron.

Throughout his life, he recovered lost territories, rectified administration, quelled border troubles, and restored national prestige; each of these achievements were real.

But when it came to the matter of disbanding the harem, the unofficial historians were as sharp as knives and the censors' memorials were as sharp as arrows, and every word and sentence accused him of "destroying the ancestral system and disrupting social order."

Xiao Yunde sneered.

How could he not know that there were undercurrents? He just didn't expect that those people would dare to target Tang Chujun.

"Father," Emperor Zhaowu whispered, "If this was really done by a noble family, they must have a backup plan. Madam Tang's safety..."

"They dare not." Xiao Yunde slowly stood up, his hands clenched in his sleeves until his knuckles turned white, "If Lord Chu loses even a hair, I will let all those so-called century-old families be buried with him."

There was a coldness in his eyes, which frightened Emperor Zhaowu.

Emperor Zhaowu remembered that the last time he saw his father's eyes like this was during the Qingchen Project, when his father was confronting Empress Dowager Jiqing in the court.

The father and son chatted for a while before Emperor Zhaowu said, "We must be careful about this matter. This concerns Madam Tang's safety, so don't provoke these noble families. As long as the person is alive, everything else can be discussed."

Xiao Yunde nodded.

Outside, Xiao Shuzi stood on the left side of the door, and Eunuch Qi stood on the right side of the door.

The two of them just stared at each other, not daring to exchange any information. Now each of them had a master, and even if the masters were very close, they were not allowed to exchange any information.

It was not until they saw Emperor Zhaowu walking slowly out of the hall that the two of them went up to greet him.

Xiao Shuzi followed Emperor Zhaowu away, and Eunuch Qi asked someone to go in and pick up the leftovers.

He looked at the empty bowl in front of his master and finally breathed a sigh of relief.