He just wanted to keep this person by his side, regardless of whether the person's heart was with him or whether the person wanted to leave.
Since she couldn't keep anything else, she decided to confine him in the palace and have him stay with her for the rest of his life.
"It's alright."
Chu Qing leaned on his shoulder and could sense that Wei Yutang was no longer as angry as he had been at the beginning.
It's just like a big dog; once you master the technique of petting it, it's very easy to coax.
"Your Majesty, all I want now is to stay by your side. Do you understand?"
For Wei Yutang, the fact that Chu Qing had taken the initiative to explain that issue to him was already a pleasant surprise.
When he brought up this topic with Chu Qing, he was almost prepared for Chu Qing to remain silent and let him speculate.
This person is taking advantage of his liking for him, so he acts recklessly in these matters.
It was probably because he knew very well that no matter what, he couldn't bear to make him too sad.
Chu Qing's words made Wei Yutang wonder if he was dreaming. Even if he was dreaming, he might not be as happy as he was now.
"Your Majesty, are you willing to forgive me for the mistakes I made when I was young and impetuous?"
"Um."
Wei Yutang didn't know if it was because Chu Qing seemed so good today that he became much bolder. He suddenly wanted to ask why Chu Qing's mood changed so quickly.
He had clearly seen his previous dislike for him and Xiaxia, otherwise he wouldn't have kept his distance from him.
Wei Yutang wanted to keep this person in the palace, in the place closest to him, and nothing else mattered.
Chu Qing sensed his unfinished thought and took the initiative to explain:
"Does Your Majesty remember the first time we met?"
"It's in the hunting grounds."
At that time, the late emperor was still alive. Wei Yutang shot and killed a bird with an arrow, which almost grazed Chu Qing's body.
Compared to Prince An's meeting, this first encounter was hardly amicable.
Even a normal person like Chu Qing would prefer a meeting where the hero saves the damsel in distress rather than someone nearly dying from an arrow.
It was also on the hunting grounds that Wei Yutang fell in love with Chu Qing at first sight.
He plotted to seize the throne, partly because he felt there was injustice in his past experiences, and partly because he had designs on the person in front of him and wanted to make him his own.
After so many years of obsession, I suddenly feel hopeful again. How could I possibly let go so easily?
Even though Chu Qing had previously expressed her disgust for him, and even though the evidence of his collusion with Prince An was now laid bare before him.
But as long as the person standing in front of me is willing to explain a few words to me.
He sadly discovered that he was still prone to being soft-hearted.
"You really scared me when we first met."
From God's perspective, he knew the arrow wasn't aimed at him, but for the person involved, it almost pierced his body.
"That's why you hated me before."
His Majesty's words sounded like a question, but he already had the answer in his heart.
For so many years, the two of them had never sat down and had a proper talk, and only today did they have the opportunity to resolve this doubt that had been hidden in his heart for a long time.
He had considered this many times before, going through each possibility in his mind, but he never thought the real reason would be so bizarre that it even seemed unbelievable to him.
"You almost killed me back then."
When Chu Qing said this, her face showed a hint of grievance.
His Majesty was at a loss for words to explain how he could have almost killed Chu Qing back then.
He fell in love with this man at first sight on the hunting grounds, and seeing that he was about to encounter danger, he almost immediately drew his bow and shot an arrow.
He grew up on the grasslands, and his archery skills were always precise. He had complete confidence in himself, but there was only one time when a simple archery action made him break out in a cold sweat.
"I was trying to save you."
Chu Qing gave a soft "hmm" and then frowned as she offered her explanation.
"But that almost killed me."
At this point, His Majesty no longer wanted to explain how amazing his archery skills were. He could shoot down even an eagle flying in mid-air on the grassland with a single arrow, not to mention that the distance at the time was not that far.
If he wasn't absolutely certain, how could he have dared to do that?
But he seemed to have forgotten all along that Chu Qing was not a boy who grew up on the grasslands like himself; he had lived in the water towns of Jiangnan since childhood.
He had thought for a long time about the inside story he thought he might have, but he never expected that it would be such a simple reason that he even found somewhat laughable.
"Your Majesty, now that this misunderstanding has been cleared up, shall we live happily as a family of three in the palace from now on?"
Before Chu Qing looked up to ask, His Majesty, who had always regarded this as something that only happened in a dream, naturally nodded in agreement without hesitation.
The letter that had been delivered to him earlier was burned by His Majesty in front of Chu Qing.
Regardless of whether the letter is real or fake, in His Majesty's eyes it is now fake.
Chapter 80
Chu Qing knew this very well, which is why he dared to say those words. Whether the letter was real or fake was not important at all. What mattered was whether it was true or false in His Majesty's heart.
As long as His Majesty believes that the existence of this letter is meaningless, even if the person involved stands in front of him to accuse him, it will not cause him any trouble.
His Majesty burned the letters, watching helplessly as the flames engulfed the paper, turning it to ashes until not a trace remained.
If these few letters alone could secure Chu Qing's stay in the palace and live a peaceful life, just as he said, it would be an incredibly worthwhile deal.
His Majesty did not want to delve too much into the past, even though he could vaguely guess that there were some inside stories. But as long as the person in front of him was willing to live a good life with him as he said, those inside stories were no longer important.
How could Chu Qing be wrong? The only one who could be wrong is that Prince An.
Even though she knew that Chu Qing was her queen, she still continued to correspond with him.
So many years have passed and I've already let go of his past status, but now he dares to be so arrogant as to deliver a letter to me.
Wei Yutang was only relatively mild-mannered in front of the two of them. In reality, he was known for his ruthless and decisive methods in handling various political affairs in the previous dynasty.
Chu Qing felt sleepy again and was too lazy to walk back to his palace. Besides, he had already explained things to His Majesty, so he made do with sleeping in his palace.
While processing the memorials, Wei Yutang couldn't help but look in the direction behind him. The place where Chu Qing was sleeping today was where he usually took a short rest when he got tired of reviewing the memorials.
The number of memorials was as high as usual, but it always gave him a strange feeling that made him feel much more relaxed.
The young prince was then led to a side hall, where the teacher took out a book and began to test his recent studies, making the young prince extremely nervous.
Lately, he has been staying in his father's palace, playing with his father all day long, and hasn't looked at his homework for a long time.
If it were in front of the Emperor, he could say a few nice words to plead for mercy, but in front of his teacher, even if he was the Crown Prince, he could only obediently admit his mistake.
The gentleman took out some things he had taught the prince and asked about them, but he was not satisfied with the answers he received.
Not long after that, the young prince seemed to have returned all the knowledge that had been taught to him not long ago to him exactly as it was.
The young prince could see the disappointment in his father and son. He put his hands behind his back and dared not utter a sound, only thinking that he would read those books several times after returning home today.
I promise that if you ever ask me these questions again, I will not be clueless and will only be able to answer with a few words.
The teacher is already quite old, and at such an advanced age he still has to work so hard to teach me. The young prince is also too diligent in his studies, and he can only try his best not to upset the teacher too much.
The more the gentleman went on, the more headaches he felt. Seeing the little prince standing there with such an obedient look on his face, he didn't know how to say anything to scold him. In the end, he could only wave his hand to signal him to leave.
When the young prince heard these words, he felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly ran away from there.
Besides not being able to answer the questions his teacher asked him, the young prince was also worried that if his father were alone with the emperor and the emperor suddenly decided to do something to him, his father would be powerless to retaliate.
The more the young prince thought about it, the more conflicted he became, and he ran even faster. A little eunuch following behind him had to jog to keep up with the prince's pace.
When the crown prince arrived at the study, he deliberately peeked out furtively, intending to sneak in, but the eunuch had already spotted him.
His Highness the Crown Prince came over, and the eunuch went over and informed His Majesty.
When His Majesty heard about this, he put down what he was doing and waited for the young prince to come in. Just by looking at his face, he knew that the prince must have not answered the teacher's questions very well.
Where is Father?
Before his father could speak, the young prince asked a question, successfully diverting the emperor's attention. He pointed to the area behind him where he was resting and answered in a low voice:
"He's resting in the back. When you bring the medicine over later, remember to coax your father to drink it."
Ever since the young prince learned that if his father didn't take his medicine properly, he probably wouldn't be able to stay with him for much longer, he has been supervising his father's medicine intake with even more seriousness than when he was in school reciting what his teacher taught him.
His Majesty did not bring up the words he had not said before, probably because Chu Qing had brought up the topic with him twice before, and always felt that he should not put all the pressure on the young crown prince too early.
The young prince stood there for a long time, but did not hear his father scold him.
His dark eyes darted around, and he couldn't help but wonder why his father didn't blame him for his neglect of his studies.
"It's okay this year, but it can't be like this next year."
After saying this, His Majesty picked up a memorial and continued reading.
He turned his head and gestured to the eunuch serving beside him to take the young prince to the other side.
Normally, the young crown prince would never be so obedient. The more his father tried to stop him from staying, the more he would insist on staying by his father's side. But today was clearly an exception.
He couldn't answer any of the many questions asked of him first. Now that his father's attitude towards him was quite good, it was possible that his teacher hadn't come to tell his father yet.
So, just to be on the safe side, it's best to stay a little further away from my father before he takes his medicine.
His Majesty is not unaware of what the young prince is thinking; he simply chooses to ignore it.
A child this young might have a few tricks up his sleeve, but it doesn't make him seem offensive. Especially when you see that the little prince and your sweetheart have some similarities, even the strongest anger will gradually subside.
I personally promised not to let the young prince study his lessons so early.
When Your Majesty agreed to this, you had already prepared yourself for the future, for your son to focus all his attention on playing.
Besides all these reasons, the most important reason is that His Majesty is in a good mood today. No matter how difficult the matter is, he is not as averse to it as he usually is.
Not to mention that for the young prince, this was not even a troublesome matter.
It's fine if Gong Te doesn't do well there now, since there's no father and son continuing like before, urging each other every day.