After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 974: Close Relatives and Brothers
While Haitang was helping the three elders Xie Wenzai, Lu Bainian and Cao Gengyun plan for the future of the school, Jin Jiashu in the palace finally got permission to leave the palace.

He had tried his best to persuade Queen Mother Xu, who had almost suffered the pain of losing her son.

Fortunately, Haijiao sent him the antidote pills made by Tianxin Haitang in time. Although it failed to eliminate all the remaining poison in his body, it was enough to greatly improve his physical condition. No matter which doctor in the Imperial Hospital, he did not think that his life was still in danger. In addition, with the persuasion of the Empress Dowager Zhou and the new emperor and King Kang, Empress Dowager Xu no longer had any reason to force him to stay in the palace, so she reluctantly released him.

When leaving the palace, Jin Jiashu kowtowed to Empress Dowager Xu and promised that he would often return to the palace to pay his respects to his "aunt" in the future. He also went to plead with the Grand Empress Dowager.

Jin Jiashu had lived in the palace for several months. The Empress Dowager had seen him and had long been impressed by this child. Seeing that his face was not as rosy as when he first entered the palace, and that he was not as agile as before when he walked, she could not help but feel pity for him: "Good child, you have suffered a lot in the past few months, but it is rare that you have no complaints and only care about the emperor and the empress dowager. I appreciate your kindness. If you encounter any difficult problems outside in the future, just go to the palace and tell your aunt and cousin. There is no need for family members to talk to outsiders. If your aunt forces you to do something you don't want to do, and the emperor cannot say much due to filial piety, just come to me and I will definitely make the decision for you!"

Jin Jiashu knew that the battle of wits and courage between him and his biological mother, Empress Dowager Xu, had been seen by the Grand Empress Dowager in the past few months. He was very grateful that this distinguished elder was so knowledgeable and sensible that he would not condone Empress Dowager Xu's behavior for the sake of his own comfortable retirement life and the interests of his mother's Zhou family.

He kowtowed to the Empress Dowager again very solemnly, asking her to take good care of her health and wish her a long life. With her elder around, Empress Dowager Xu would not act out of line, and the new emperor and King Kang would be even safer.

After saying goodbye at the Cining Palace, Jin Jiashu went to the Qianqing Palace to bid farewell to the new emperor and take his luggage away.

At the new monarch's place, he also met the seventh prince, Prince Kang, who was discussing with the new monarch the upbringing of his younger brother, Prince Qi.

The biological mother of Prince Qi, Lady Hu, died young, and his adoptive mother, Lady Lu, was imprisoned in the cold palace because she was suspected of murdering a concubine. Although Prince Qi was adopted by Empress Dowager Xu, his daily life and diet were actually taken care of by the wet nurses and palace maids around him. It was not that Empress Dowager Xu was not concerned, but most of the servants around Prince Qi were old people left by Lady Hu. After the disaster of Lady Lu, they were very vigilant and alert to all the emperor's father and concubines in the palace, and always suspected that others were going to harm their young master. Because of this, Concubine Zhang Gong had already suffered a setback, and Empress Dowager Xu could not escape either.

Concubine Zhang Gong has now become the imperial father's concubine. Both of her daughters are married. Her family, the Zhang family, is in decline. Her niece failed to be selected as the new emperor's empress. Her cousin's daughter from a branch of the family was also married to a member of the impoverished Wu family whom she knew. It seems that she has nothing to hope for. She originally wanted to use the young Prince Qi to add another political bargaining chip to her family, but she could not get the trust of the people around Prince Qi. She could force him to change, but that would be thankless. She is no longer in control of the palace, so why should she ask for trouble? It would be better for her to move into Shoukang Palace and flatter the newly promoted Queen Mother Xu. If she can be appreciated by her, she still has the hope of recommending her niece to the palace as a concubine for the new emperor in the future.

The two older nieces could not achieve anything, but she would have younger nieces in the future. As long as one of them could become an imperial concubine, or one of the nieces and grandnieces could become an empress, the prosperity and wealth of the Zhang family could continue! With this idea in mind, Concubine Zhang Gong gave up raising Prince Qi. The custody was transferred to Queen Mother Xu. However, even though Queen Mother Xu had always been gentle and kind, had a good reputation, and was popular, and was praised by the court and the public for funding the burial of innocent people who were implicated and killed by the Wu family more than ten years ago, she could not gain the trust of the attendants around Prince Qi. If it were in the past, Queen Mother Xu might have spent more time trying to persuade these attendants, but now that her own son has ascended the throne, she also has a good reputation and no longer needs to win a reputation for virtue or look at other people's faces. She can do what she wants, so why bother to raise someone else's son?
If Prince Qi Jiankang grew up, that was what she should do, and it might threaten the throne of her biological son; if Prince Qi died prematurely, she would be suspected of murdering the heir to the throne. Why bother? Anyway, with Prince Kang, she already had a reputation as a virtuous woman, and there was really no need to take on the trouble of Prince Qi. She simply used the excuse that she was not well and left the child completely to the care of the wet nurses and attendants around him. She only needed to allocate the daily expenses for the child and didn't care about anything else.

The Empress Dowager couldn't say anything. She was old and weak, and she was no longer able to raise another grandson. Anyway, the royal family was not short of heirs now. The new emperor was in good health and could get married and have children in a few years. By then, the royal family would be more lively. A younger brother who was born by accident was not that important.

But King Kang and the new king still had some expectations for this little brother.

King Kang came to find the new king because he wanted to take better care of his little brother, hoping that he could grow up healthily and become the new king's right-hand man in the future, instead of being easily fooled by outsiders and causing trouble for the new king.

He said: "I am born with a weak body and I am afraid I will not live long. Once I am gone, Your Majesty will have no brothers and sisters to rely on, and you can only rely on yourself when encountering problems. The princes of the royal family all have their own selfish desires, how can they compare with blood relatives? If you can raise me well, Your Majesty will not be alone when I am gone in the future..."

How could the new emperor listen to such words? He quickly interrupted his brother's words: "I have ordered the Imperial Hospital to check my brother's pulse the next day and collect rare medicinal materials from all over the world to treat my brother. My brother will live a long life and always accompany me. Why do you say such ominous words? Although I am also a brother, I can't compare to the affection between you and me who have depended on each other for many years. Moreover, blood relatives may not be reliable. Isn't Prince Ji our brother? But for many years, he has regarded you and me as enemies and wanted to kill us as soon as possible. In my mind, only my brother is a close relative, and no one else can compare to him. Even if I become well-behaved and sensible in the future, I can't compare with my brother! My brother only needs to take care of himself, and don't worry about my upbringing."

King Kang felt helpless when he heard this. Seeing Jin Jiashu coming, he pulled him along and said, "What do you think, Jiashu? I am also worried that your Majesty will be lonely, so I want to add another arm to him..."

Jin Jiashu blinked and asked hesitantly, "Does Prince Kang want to take Prince Qi to the palace to take care of him? But Prince Kang is not in good health, and he cannot live without the careful care of those around him. How can he take good care of the young Prince Qi? It would be better for you to wait for your own health to recover first, and in a few years, when Prince Qi grows up and needs to start studying, you can take the younger brother to teach him some principles of conduct. That would be more appropriate."

King Kang showed a helpless expression, but the new emperor smiled and clasped his hands together, saying: "Cousin Jin is right! That's the truth! As expected, close relatives and brothers are still very reliable. Brother Huang, you have to listen to me..."