Two Favors

In the third year of the late emperor's reign, Meng Songhan, who was born as a commoner, entered the Hanlin Academy. On the day of the palace examination, he knelt under the Danqi and raised his head to glance at the person on the dragon chair. He was eighteen that year and the late emperor was thirty. Later, he rose through the ranks, from serving as lecturer to prime minister. The late emperor treated him very well, and kept him to eat with two bowls of porridge and a few dishes of side dishes after discussing affairs until late at night. The late emperor said: "Meng Qing, I feel a lot less worried when I have you." He lowered his eyes and said what he was doing. He thought that was enough. The late emperor came to ask his opinion when he fell in love with the daughter of the Feng family. He smiled and said congratulations to His Majesty. On the wedding night, he was drinking alone in the house, and then he understood what it meant to be heartbroken. He was twenty-six that year. Later, he hugged the prince and the princess. The late emperor was worried about his marriage, and he rejected seven or eight proposals. When asked urgently, he said that the minister had a hidden illness that might ruin his life. The late emperor was stunned. The next day, everyone in the court knew that Meng Xiang had not proposed marriage, and no one proposed marriage again. In the winter when the late emperor was seriously ill, he held his hand and said, Meng Qing, I believe in you. When the hand dropped, he felt like he was half dead too. He was forty-eight that year, and his hair turned gray overnight. The queen also went. He helped the fifteen-year-old prince ascend the throne. The new emperor's eyes were red and he said, "Father, I only have you." He held on for five more years. On the night when the new emperor was crowned, he pressed him on the dragon bed, leaned over and asked him: "Have you ever been here to have sex with your father?" The candlelight flickered, and the white plum blossoms were falling outside the window. He kept the secret for thirty years, from the age of eighteen to forty-eight, from black hair to white hair. He thought he could take it into the coffin. But at this moment, the young emperor leaned over and looked at him: "Father, haven't you known a long time ago how I feel about you?" Intention: the relationship between king and minister, secret love, and desire for possession.