Chapter 334: The Lonely Monarch
"Think carefully about who around you might be suspicious."
Given the gravity of the matter, Gu Cheng'an dared not be careless. In the case of Zeng Xian, it was Fang Hongzhi who had put him forward. The silver he had obtained that time far exceeded what was pinned on Zeng Xian, which was precisely why silencing him became necessary.
Fang Hongzhi's weaknesses were too obvious—he was greedy but cowardly. For every hundred taels he embezzled, he would only keep forty, distributing the remaining sixty to ensure his safety. Such a person couldn't possibly be from the Chao Li Tribe and could be ruled out.
It was Zeng Xian's idea to exile military officers there. Yinshan Pass had seen no battles for years, and items officially banned were highly sought after in the shadows. The black market there often yielded rare treasures, such as beautiful furs and rhinoceros horns seldom seen in the Central Plains, while Central Plains porcelain, silk, and tea fetched astronomical prices there. If one could control this trade, even skimming a percentage would yield immense wealth.
But Wu Yong was stationed there. The moment Gu Cheng'an reached out, Wu Yong drew his blade, resulting in no gains and the loss of several men.
Later, Zeng Xian suggested replacing Wu Yong with one of their own. The allure of the place was too great, and eventually, Gu Cheng'an acted. Indeed, all these matters were instigated by Zeng Xian. Could it be...?
Gu Cheng'an suddenly sprang up. "It's Zeng Xian!"
"Not him," Gu Yanxi dismissed without hesitation.
"How do you know it's not him?"
"He's dead, leaving behind a four-year-old child."
Gu Cheng'an was puzzled. "What does that have to do with whether he was from the Chao Li Tribe? Can't Chao Li tribesmen have children?"
"His child was born to his wife. She was pregnant when he fell from grace and was exiled along with him."
The emperor turned around upon hearing this.
Gu Yanxi pulled over a chair and sat casually, his gaze fixed steadily through his mask on the second prince of the Daqing Dynasty. "Fang Hongzhi knew his wife was pregnant. His goal was to eliminate the root, so he naturally wouldn't leave her in the capital. Do you know why Zeng Xian went mad? The guards violated his wife right before his eyes. They used this method to force a miscarriage. To preserve his lineage, his wife slit herself to fake a miscarriage and deceive them. She died after giving birth. Zeng Xian's legs were also ruined by their torment. If it were you, wouldn't you hate?"
Gu Cheng'an wanted to say he didn't know, but he did—he just never cared about such trivial matters.
"He hated, so he went mad. He discovered it was you who destroyed his family, so he aligned with you, advising you to kill Wu Yong, annihilate the Hua family, and negotiate with outsiders on your behalf. You thought him useful but never realized he was dragging you into hell. He wanted a chaotic Daqing to bury his wife and the injustices he suffered."
Gu Yanxi spoke calmly, envisioning Zeng Xian's gaunt figure. As a scholar, that was the utmost he could exploit himself.
"Because of your selfish desires, you destroyed his family. Gu Cheng'an, how can your conscience be at peace?"
"I..."
"Think again." Gu Yanxi suddenly felt suffocated. Cutting him off, he rose and left the bedchamber. He missed A Zhi. Only in her presence, even amid the scent of medicine, did he find peace.He had always known that the royal family had no clean individuals. Born and raised in this mire, maintaining one's integrity like Consort Zhen was the absolute limit. The vast majority, however, had been assimilated into the filth of the murky waters, tainted beyond cleansing.
The emperor approached and stood beside him, gazing out at the panicked and uneasy palace maids in the courtyard. Consort Hui stood under the eaves, watching them nervously. When she seemed about to approach, she was stopped by members of the Seven Constellation Bureau.
Even from such a distance, he could feel her resentful gaze. But who among them was truly innocent?
The emperor averted his eyes and looked at Yan Xi. This one, at least, was genuinely innocent.
Patting his shoulder, the emperor sighed. "I've grown old. With age comes soft-heartedness. Please bear with me."
Gu Yanxi remained silent, his demeanor tinged with defiance.
"Do you know why I refuse to look at the evidence you painstakingly gathered?" The emperor thumped his chest. "I don't dare. I don't want to know what he has done, how ruthless he has been. I don't want to know any of it. If Zeng Xian was wronged, I will restore his honor. If Wu Yong suffered injustice, I will grant him whatever compensation he desires. The Hua family, though frightened, emerged unscathed. As for colluding with the enemy and treason—has it not, after all, caused no irreparable consequences? As the ruler of this nation, can I not afford him this one indulgence? But if I were to see those documents, I might not be able to tolerate it. My eldest already seeks my life; I don't want to discover that another son possesses the same cruelty. In any case, I have no intention of passing the throne to him."
Gu Yanxi glanced toward the entrance of the bedchamber, where Gu Cheng'an stood, his face deathly pale.
The emperor seemed oblivious and continued, "A ruler must never be weak-willed. Look at him—controlled by Consort Hui, manipulated by the Tong family, even a mere Zeng Xian can sway him. He is nothing more than a puppet, moving left or right as others pull his strings, yet he deludes himself into believing he is capable. How could I entrust the empire to such a man?"
"Yet you have not extinguished his ambitions."
"Why should I? With a goal in sight, if he strives and improves, even if he never becomes sovereign, he could still serve as a capable minister, guarding the Gu family's empire alongside his brothers. What harm is there in that?"
The emperor turned to his second son, who stood in a daze. "You always claim I don't value you, but have I ever treated you unfairly over the years? You and your brothers were educated by the same tutors, and every gift bestowed was distributed equally among you. If the eldest received slightly more, it was only due to his status as the firstborn. Yet, precisely because he is the eldest, his punishments for wrongdoing were harsher than any of yours. To maintain balance, I even had to calculate which consort I allowed into my bed. Why do you think I treated Tong Yi differently? Because since my accession, I dared not show any favoritism toward the consorts I loved, fearing that such partiality would cost them their lives. Now, as I near death, I wanted to experience what it feels like to dote exclusively on one person!"
Gu Cheng'an leaned against the doorframe and slowly knelt to the ground. He knew that from this day forward, he had lost all opportunity. His father's frankness was a clear sign that he had been completely cast aside.
"All of you," the emperor murmured, "always believe this position is desirable." If time could be reversed, he would stay far away—away from decades of isolation as a solitary ruler. Truly, it was too cold. How much better it would have been to be like Ling Wang, free to marry whomever he pleased, causing such uproars yet always having someone to clean up his mess.However, since his son had grown up before his own eyes and remained close to him, the emperor felt somewhat balanced again, suppressing the thought of causing trouble for Ling Wang to make him suffer as well.
Letting the son he acknowledged in his heart help him sit down, the emperor felt utterly weak all over. "I'll leave the matters that follow to you. This time, I will examine carefully whatever you uncover."
Swallowing down all the mixed emotions in his heart, Gu Yanxi responded hoarsely in acknowledgment.
PS: These chapters follow the main plotline and are a bit heavy, but ladies, please don’t skip them, or you won’t be able to follow later. Also, if there’s only one update, Kongkong will definitely mention it at the end of the chapter. If nothing is said, it means there are two updates. Don’t just take it and forget about it, ladies!
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