White Fence Dream

Chapter 210 Speculation
At noon, Zhang Ze arrived at Hanliang Palace. Many officials were already waiting outside the palace where the emperor was.

The emperor stopped attending court due to the empress's death, but he could not completely abandon state affairs, especially as spring ploughing was approaching and many urgent matters had piled up.

"Your Majesty, are you still not interested in state affairs?" Zhang Ze asked.

So everyone can’t see it?

"No, it's Princess Jin Yu and Li Yu who are inside." said an official. Then he turned around and found that it was Zhang Ze, with a slightly stiff expression.

Zhang Ze frowned: "Li Yu? Isn't he in the imperial mausoleum?" He smiled and said, "Why? After hearing that a prince was born, you can't sit still in the imperial mausoleum?"

These words were so vicious that the official froze up and couldn't reply at all.

Zhang Ze did not ask him to reply. He just turned away with a smile, leaving a group of officials with complicated expressions.

In fact, everyone had discussed privately that if the emperor really couldn't give birth to a prince, it would be reasonable for this former eldest grandson to inherit the throne...

This former eldest grandson of the emperor only showed up after Your Majesty had been on the throne for five years and had secured his place on the throne. He rehabilitated the former crown prince, so I'm afraid his mind is not that simple.

Of course, all these speculations and discussions disappeared when Concubine Bai gave birth to a prince.

The emperor already has his own biological son, so naturally he would not pass the throne to his nephew, and it would not be reasonable for his nephew to inherit the throne.

But why did Zhang Ze show no disguising his malice towards Li Yu?

Although Zhang Ze is the kind of person who will bite anyone he catches, he suddenly becomes so vicious to Li Yu. Could it be that His Majesty is instructing this?
Your Majesty, have you become suspicious of this nephew?
Although there is a prince, he is still young, and Li Yu has grown up...

The officials looked at each other and exchanged glances. It seemed that they had to stay away from Li Yu in the future to avoid giving His Majesty any misunderstanding.

……

……

"That Li Yu is trying to please His Majesty and cry for his good aunt, the Queen."

Bai Ying was lying on her side in the side hall, looking at the prince who was put on the bed by the palace maid and wet nurse. She reached out and poked the baby's face, while speaking to Zhang Ze.

"He cried his heart out, and said that he came back to pick up the queen, and that he would personally guard her for a hundred days."

"Princess Jin Yu also acted like an elder sister and reprimanded Your Majesty, saying that the Queen should not delay the affairs of state. The Yang family wanted to confuse Your Majesty. If Your Majesty was too sad, he would fall into their trap."

"These two people are pretending, but they have bad intentions."

Having said that, Bai Ying sat up from the bed, picked up the baby lying beside her, and sneered.

"Your Majesty is kindhearted and soft-hearted, and he is also attached to his family, so he cannot speak harshly. What you said just now is good, and it is also a warning to the court officials, so that they will not be confused and see clearly that Your Majesty has his own little prince."

She said rocking the baby.

But maybe it was because the baby was uncomfortable from being shaken or what, but he started crying loudly.

Bai Ying frowned.

Children cry all the time, which is really annoying.

But some children don’t like to cry, which makes them even scarier, like Bai Li.

When Bai Li was just born, his mother died, and the whole family cried their hearts out. However, the baby was silent for a long time, and everyone thought he was dead. He shook, opened his eyes and moved, and then closed his eyes again.

It’s inevitable that a newborn baby won’t cry. The elders said that since he looks different from normal babies, he probably won’t live long.

Later, she took the child with her, fearing that the child would die suddenly. But she also thought that death was a good thing, since since she had killed her mother, the child should die with her.

But, if I really die, all my life will be for nothing, it will be so unworthy.

She hates children.

Disgust appeared in Bai Ying's eyes.

Seeing her expression, Wang Degui hurried forward and said, "My queen, you are too weak to hold the baby."

He winked at the nanny while saying this.

The nurse came forward and said, "My queen, the little prince is hungry and it's time for him to eat."

Bai Ying handed the child over, and the wet nurse carried the child back to the cubicle to feed him. She did not linger over for even a second, and turned around to see Zhang Ze seemed to be in a trance.

It seemed that he had not responded since she spoke.

"What's wrong?" Bai Ying asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Zhang Ze said: "Thinking of that child."

Which child? Bai Ying was stunned for a moment, then realized that it was her biological child.

That night Wang Degui fell into an illusion and his child was taken away by the remnants of Chiang Kai-shek's regime.

Zhang Ze searched all night but couldn't find it.

"Since the child was taken out of the palace by them and did not testify against me at the time, it is meaningless now," said Bai Ying.

Moreover, the imperial bell did not react at that time, which shows that God's will also obeyed man's will.

Zhang Ze shook his head: "I'm not worried about that. That child poses no threat. I'm just thinking..." His voice froze a little, "The remnant of Jiang."

Bai Ying even sneered, "Why worry about the remnants of Queen Jiang? They haven't caused any trouble for so many years." He frowned and said, "We should still worry about Princess Jin Yu and this Li Yu. Now that His Majesty has just recognized his relatives and lost the Queen, he will be close to them both in his heart and for the world to see. The former Crown Prince also had many followers back then, so that brat will definitely not be content..."

When she said this, she looked at Zhang Ze and found that Zhang Ze seemed to be distracted again.

"Zhang Ze!" She raised her voice, somewhat dissatisfied, "Did you listen to me?"

Zhang Ze looked at her and said, "That little brat is indeed restless and has hidden many people. It is indeed difficult to deal with him now. Even if we find an opportunity, I am afraid we cannot kill him with one blow. But don't worry, Madam. You can raise the little prince safely. These people are nothing to be afraid of at the moment."

Bai Ying nodded with a smile: "With Zhongcheng here, I'm not worried at all." Looking at him, she asked with concern, "Zhongcheng has been working hard these days. Didn't you get enough rest? I'm watching over the affairs of the palace. Zhongcheng should rest well."

He called Wang Degui again.

"Send the supplements that His Majesty gave yesterday to the Prime Minister's residence." Wang Degui leaned over and responded. Zhang Ze did not refuse and bowed to express his gratitude.

A young eunuch who had been eavesdropping on the conversation in the main hall came out from the compartment and whispered, "Princess Jin Yu and Li Yu have left. His Majesty said he was tired and would not see anyone else."

"Your Majesty should come to see the Queen." Zhang Ze said.

Bai Ying hurriedly ordered Wang Degui: "Hurry and bring the child to me."

Wang Degui responded by hurriedly picking up the child, while Zhang Ze took his leave and left through the side door.

When the emperor walked in, he saw Bai Ying changing the diaper of the little prince. He exclaimed, "Aying, why did you get out of bed?" Then he shouted at the palace maids and eunuchs, "What are you doing!"

The palace maids and eunuchs immediately knelt down.

"I want to take care of the child myself," Bai Ying said, glaring at the emperor. "Your Majesty knows that I can't sit still."

As he signaled the palace maids and eunuchs to stand up, Wang Degui waved his hand to signal everyone to leave.

"You are still in confinement after childbirth." The emperor said with concern, "Don't tire yourself out." He sighed and said, "You are not banished now. There are so many people in the palace. You don't need to come in person."

Bai Ying nodded, "I know, Your Majesty, I will take care of myself." Then she held the emperor's hand and looked at him, "We have endured so many hard times, and we must live to be a thousand years old, so Your Majesty, you must also take care of yourself. You have done your best for your sister, so please don't torture yourself."

The emperor held her in his arms and sighed, "I know, don't worry, I won't ruin my health."

Bai Ying did not stick to him obediently like she did in the past, but pushed him away: "Your Majesty, wait until I finish changing the child."

The emperor smiled, watching Bai Ying changing the diaper of the little prince on the bed. Seeing her skilled movements, he smiled and said, "How come you can do everything?"

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? My mother died while giving birth to my younger sister, and my elder sister got married, so I was the one who raised my younger sister." Bai Ying said, changing the diaper neatly and holding the child, "I started taking care of the child when she was ten years old."

As she spoke, her eyes turned red, she pressed her face against the child, and her voice became choked.

"I was able to give birth to a child safely, and the child has his mother by his side. I really have nothing else to ask for in my life."

The emperor hurriedly held her and the child in his arms and comforted her: "Don't cry, you can't cry during the confinement period, be careful not to hurt your eyes. We just said that we must take good care of ourselves."

Bai Ying smiled again, and playfully handed the child to the emperor: "Then Your Majesty should come and take care of the child yourself."

The emperor smiled and said, "You can't faze me. I have taken care of children before."

When he was young, his concubine gave birth to a daughter early, and he held the child himself. However, Yang Yuan was not happy and made a fuss many times. In addition, the late emperor was moody, and life was difficult and he was in fear. Later, he was demoted and did not let the two children stay with him, but entrusted them to the care of the Yang family.

"No wonder the princesses are so close to His Majesty even though they didn't grow up in front of him." Bai Ying said, "It's all because His Majesty took care of them personally when they were young."

She leaned against the emperor, looked at the prince in his arms, and sighed with tears in her eyes.

"This child is blessed to be taken care of by His Majesty all the time, without having to worry about the pain of separation."

The emperor smiled and urged Bai Ying to lie down: "I'll show you that I can take care of children better than you do."

Bai Ying lay down as she was told and watched the emperor pacing around the room holding the child, occasionally talking to the baby in babbling voices.

The smile on her face became more and more intense. The closer His Majesty is to this child, the more likely it is that even if someone accuses the prince of being a fake in the future, the first person who will not believe it will be His Majesty.

She understood the emperor. He was timid, sentimental and sensitive. He had personally looked after the son he had raised and had invested a lot of emotion in him. If anyone dared to say anything about him, the emperor would be furious and make the person die miserably.

"Your Majesty, it's time to drink the medicine." Wang Degui brought a bowl of medicine.

Although the prince was fake, she was giving birth for real and was exhausted. Bai Ying took the medicine bowl and whispered to Wang Degui, "Look at what Zhang Ze is doing."

Wang Degui was stunned. Didn't Zhang Ze just leave? Was the Queen going to keep an eye on Zhang Ze? This had never happened before. Did the Queen not believe in Zhang Ze...

Wang Degui was having wild thoughts for a while.

"What are you thinking about?" Bai Ying glared at him and whispered, "I saw that he was absent-minded. Is there something wrong?"

Wang Degui suddenly realized and nodded again: "Zhongcheng looks different from before, I will go and find out."

After saying that, he left.

When Wang Degui returned, the emperor had already taken the baby to sleep next door.

"When the Zhongcheng returned to the Supervisory Council, he had people bring all the files related to the remnants of Jiang's empress over the years. He closed the door and did not allow anyone to disturb him, and then carefully examined them." He whispered, "The guards of the Supervisory Council said that the Zhongcheng has been doing this for the past two days, without rest day or night."

So I was in a bad mood and lost my mind.

Bai Ying breathed a sigh of relief. That was good. In the past, he always listened carefully to what she said, but now he seemed to be indifferent. She thought he had some ideas.

The queen had been killed by her with a fatal blow, and she also had a prince, so her position was more stable. Would he abandon her and join someone else?

Bai Ying laughed.

This is so funny, who is more worthy of refuge than her now?

Princess Jinyu, that stupid woman?
……

……

As dusk fell, the servants began to light the lamps, the light and shadows flickered, Zhang Ze withdrew his gaze from the files, closed his eyes and rubbed them gently.

In fact, not many of Chiang Kai-shek's followers were captured in recent years, and those who were captured either died under torture or committed suicide before being captured, so not much useful information was obtained. However, they had one thing in common: these people seemed to really believe that Chiang Kai-shek would come back.

If it were before, he would have thought that those people were just crazy because of the crazy words spoken by Queen Chiang before her death.

But now, especially that night, he saw it with his own eyes...

No, Zhang Ze took a deep breath and opened his eyes, clenching his hands tightly on the table. It was an illusion, an hallucination.

But, the sorcerer said that in order to present such a realistic illusion, someone needs to be the carrier. Of course, that person is definitely not Empress Jiang, but is made to look very similar...
Zhang Ze loosened his clenched hands and looked toward the outside which was gradually shrouded in darkness.

So, where is that person who was made to look like him?

The new plot is in progress, so please write slowly.