Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 59 Brothers talk
Kunning Palace,
As the queen's bedroom, it is surrounded by the six palaces in the east and west, like the moon surrounded by stars.

Inside the vermilion gate, there are magnificent decorations. The glazed palace lights are dazzling, and the floor is paved with white marble with delicate patterns. There is a main room separated by a large pear wood floor-standing screen, and in the middle is an intricately carved phoenix couch.

There was the sound of a door opening, and the palace maids serving in the inner room came out one after another, lined up on both sides and saluted the King of Qin.

When the King of Qin entered, he smelled a strong aroma of incense. On the incense table under the couch, there was a clay pot with steam rising from it.

"Mother, I am here to visit you."

A weak response came from behind the Xiaoxiang-colored curtain.

"Is it Dalang or Erlang who is here?"

The King of Qin bowed and said, "It's Erlang."

"Erlang, my good Erlang, come and let mother take a look."

The lights were dim. The King of Qin was sitting at the edge of the bed. He saw his mother lying on the bed with a haggard face, her yellow face was tinged with gray and black. She opened her eyes weakly and slowly raised her hand.

"I usually visit you every morning and evening. Although I look annoyed, I just don't want to delay your official duties. But you don't come every day, which only makes me more worried. I also heard that you and your brother had a big fight, which makes me feel even more uncomfortable. You are all my flesh and blood, how could you come to the point where you are fighting with swords?"

Listening to Empress Sun's sobbing words, the King of Qin was as hard as iron, but was also slightly touched. He held Empress Sun's hand and explained, "My mother may have heard it wrong. When I went to Prince Kang's mansion, my brother was not in the mansion."

Empress Sun coughed lightly a few times, and the King of Qin hurriedly took out the medicine soup from the earthenware jar, poured it into a bowl, and fed her with a spoon.

After feeding him a few mouthfuls, Empress Sun regained some of her color and continued, "He is not as good as you to begin with. Wouldn't he be even more afraid of you? Wouldn't it be even more difficult to reconcile the relationship between you two brothers? He may not be able to govern the country, but he can do some housework for your father without making any mistakes. Wouldn't it be wonderful if he could become a wise king to assist you in the future? He can also be filial to your mother."

"You two are brothers, so what is there to be forgotten? Could it be that the saying 'the royal family has always been ruthless' really holds true? You grew up together."

After coughing heavily for a while, Empress Sun did not want to give up and continued, "He is your own brother. Is he less trustworthy than the outsiders in your palace?"

The King of Qin hurriedly helped his mother sit up and patted her back, "I am not a heartless person. I also remember our old friendship. Don't worry, mother. I will not take the initiative to embarrass my brother. I have my own difficulties."

Empress Sun frowned and said coldly, "What's your problem? Isn't it that there are too many meritorious officials around you, and their contributions are not enough to share. They are all waiting for you to sit on the throne and reward them one by one? Have they forgotten that Your Majesty is just sick now, and now he is almost recovered, isn't he in the prime of his life? They are instigating you behind your back every day, and the dirty words you hear are bound to make you have other thoughts."

"My dear Erlang, the fault is not mine. Erlang should drive them out of the Qin Palace."

The King of Qin sighed, withdrew his hand, and had an indescribable expression on his face.

At that moment, a maid came into the palace and reported, "Your Majesty, Prince Kang has arrived."

"Why is he here?" King Qin looked doubtful, slowly stood up and looked outside the door.

He had just been released from house arrest, and it had only been three months since the military case, while Prince Kang was required to observe vegetarianism and chant Buddhist scriptures for a month, so how could he enter the palace right away?
As the maid finished her words, a middle-aged man in a plain Confucian robe walked in hurriedly.

Seeing the King of Qin, he was also shocked. After nodding, King Kang came to the bedside and asked with concern: "Mother, are you okay? When you were seriously ill, I couldn't be by your side to fulfill my filial piety. It was really a great sin for me. If the gods have spirits, please share more of your pain with me, so that I can have a chance to atone for my sins."

If the King of Qin looked more like a military general, with a strong body and dignified appearance, then the King of Kang looked more like a Confucian scholar, like a pale-faced scholar with a handsome face. In addition, he was good at sweet talk, so he was more likable in the harem than the King of Qin.

Both of them had excellent looks, but Empress Sun slightly preferred Prince Kang. The reason for this was only this one.

Seeing Prince Kang kneeling beside the bed, sobbing softly, Empress Sun felt compassion again. She gently stroked Prince Kang's cheek and said softly, "You have suffered a lot during this period. Mother's illness is not serious. Just seeing you two has made me feel better."

"For an ordinary family, having two capable sons is a great blessing. But being born into a royal family is a disaster. I have seen you two grow up together, but now you have become brothers at odds with each other and are being criticized by the public. How can I not be worried?"

"You are all grown up now. Mom can't control you anymore. Sigh..."

Empress Sun sighed again. At the same time, Prince Kang slowly stood up and said to Prince Qin, "Royal brother, sooner or later you will change the word brother to 'Emperor'."

The King of Qin was shocked by the sudden remark and said hurriedly, "How dare you say that, my royal brother? Our father has a long-lived Chang'an, and I am not worthy of this title."

King Kang shook his head and sighed, "Brother has long known that I am not as capable as you, nor as popular as you, but I was pushed to this position and have to fight with you. In fact, brother, I have long been unwilling to fight with you."

With his hand on his waist, King Kang expressed his true feelings again, "Do you remember when you were little, you were only as tall as my waist and could not leave the palace. One day, I came back with a candied haws in my hand, and I saw you coming back from studying with the teacher. You had never seen this street snack before, so you tried one out of curiosity and thought it was delicious, so you took all of it away."

"I have been a fool for several years. I have never fought with you for anything since I was a child. But after so many years, I have to fight with you for the throne. Isn't it ridiculous? Fortunately, my father finally thought it through this time and told me not to fight anymore. In the future, I hope my brother will not hold a grudge. What I did was really out of helplessness."

As he spoke, two tear marks appeared on King Kang's face. "After this trip to the border, I realized how hard it has been for my brother. This time, I was the one leading the army and I lost the lives of many generals. If my brother had come, he would have prevented this tragedy from happening."

King Kang took a few steps forward and hugged King Qin tightly.

The King of Qin felt a warm current flowing through his shoulders, and heard King Kang say in his ear: "Royal brother, don't blame me. In the future, I hope our relationship can return to that of our childhood, when we ate and slept together, and flew kites together in the palace..."

After hearing these words, not only did Prince Kang burst into tears, but even Empress Sun on the couch began to sob, and she coughed again, as if the root of her illness had been aroused.

The King of Qin had no choice but to comfort him: "Brother, your words are too harsh. I am not a heartless person..."

　感谢Kiinn、书友20200911215409928、九月天111、橘猫烧鲦鱼、PAZ、重案组之虎曹达华c、西卡的成功粉丝、Kaysero018、大都督V的月票以及九月天111、风之刀9241的打赏，感谢大家的推荐票，感谢大家的支持
　　
　
(End of this chapter)