Chapter 654: I Am a Daqing Person
The Palace of Blessings and Longevity was unusually quiet. Hua Zhi casually tied her pouch at her waist and strode inside.
"Truly worthy of being the Wise Man's descendant. Your courage is commendable, Lady Hua."
In the main hall, a white-haired old man stood by the door watching her. His hands were clasped behind his back, his posture relaxed, and his eyes even held a hint of admiration.
"I have no choice, do I?"
The old man smiled slightly and stepped aside, making a gesture of invitation.
Hua Zhi saw the Empress Dowager sitting in her usual chair, tightly bound with a gag in her mouth. Her gaze was icy cold. Yu Xiang stood behind her, appearing just as she had during all those years when mistress and servant depended on each other.
Hua Zhi walked forward, paying no mind to how many people were in the room. She drew her dagger and began cutting the ropes. Yu Xiang instinctively moved to stop her, but the dagger changed direction and swept toward her instead.
Yu Xiang hastily retreated.
Without even glancing at her, Hua Zhi severed the ropes and removed the cloth from the Empress Dowager's mouth, restoring dignity to this elderly woman who had spent her entire life confined to the palace in this barely satisfactory manner.
The Empress Dowager patted Hua Zhi's hand and rubbed her wrists without speaking. That the palace faced such danger was due to her failure to recognize people's true nature - she bore undeniable responsibility. And now, because of her, Hua Zhi had been dragged into such peril. She wished she could slice Yu Xiang into a thousand pieces before taking her own life to atone.
Hua Zhi understood her fury and offered no comfort. She simply took the seat beside the Empress Dowager, placed the pouch on her lap, and scanned the room. There were fourteen people visible, with a few more apparently hidden in the shadows.
"Wise Man?"
"The Chao Li Tribe is but a small clan - no need for such honorifics. I am merely an elder of my people."
Hua Zhi nodded. "I'd forgotten. However, the Chao Li Tribe's ferocity surpasses even that of former years, while Daqing has fallen far short of its past glory."
"Daqing enjoys heaven's protection. Two hundred years ago, it produced a Hua Jingyan. Now, when Daqing is at its weakest, you still fight desperately for it. I once believed Daqing couldn't tolerate you, yet you shattered constraints to establish yourself in court as a woman and gained such widespread support."
"This shows Daqing's destiny isn't exhausted. That's why heaven sent me to be born into the Hua family, allowing me to contribute my modest efforts under my ancestors' blessings."
The old man laughed heartily. "Modest efforts? Had you not exposed Jin Yang's foundation and cut off our financial resources, had you not saved the Sixth Prince enabling his current position..."
Hua Zhi interrupted him. "Were you behind Little Six's earlier danger?"
"Naturally. Given the Sixth Prince's background, those other princes wouldn't have dared to actually take his life."
Hua Zhi's smile gradually faded. "Throughout history, dynastic changes have been commonplace. Yet only the Chao Li Tribe faced such fierce resistance. Moreover, the century when the Chao Li Kingdom was established is called the Darkest Century in historical records. Do you know why, Elder?"
"Simply because they consider our Chao Li Tribe to be outsiders.""The ones who truly implemented this philosophy to the extreme were your Chao Li Tribe. You treated the Central Plains people as livestock rather than subjects. You showed no kindness to the elderly and no mercy to the young. Killing was your customary method of solving problems. You forbade them from learning to read, from gaining wisdom, and from having their own thoughts. If they didn't resist, their descendants would indeed become nothing more than livestock in human form. That's why they banded together and fought back desperately. The Central Plains people may not be as strong as your Chao Li people, but Elder, you gravely underestimated their perseverance."
Hua Zhi patted her chest. "With pride in our hearts and dignity in our bones, we developed the splendid civilization you covet and achieved our current flourishing diversity. I fight with all my might because I don't want to become your livestock, I don't want my brothers and sisters to be humiliated, and I don't want to experience another century of such utter darkness. When you think about it, today's consequences are merely the result of past causes. Clearly, even after two hundred years, you haven't made any progress—you still resort to killing to solve problems. The existence of the Wise Man hasn't civilized the Chao Li Tribe; it has only made killing more methodical."
The Wise Man shed his aura of transcendent wisdom. "Great achievements demand no attention to minor details. How can we accomplish anything without killing? Didn't Hua Jingyan scheme extensively and kill his way into the capital back in the day? Without killing, would your Daqing have willingly surrendered the throne?"
"All I know is that our ancestors didn't exterminate you back then. Even after you retreated to your remote corner, they stationed heavy troops for defense without cutting off your means of survival." Hua Zhi lifted her chin slightly. "Even now, we haven't persecuted the Chao Li descendants and Daqing descendants who have surfaced, including your own grandson, who remains alive and well. I dare ask, Elder, could your people have done the same?"
The Chao Li Tribe would have left no one alive, eliminating any potential threat. The Elder knew this, so he could only smile wryly. "What a sharp tongue, worthy of the Crown Prince's tutor. But what does it matter? You're still here, the Empress Dowager is here—would the young Crown Prince dare to act?"
Hua Zhi leaned back, pulling down the edge of her hood to reveal the black powder inside. "Elder, do you know what this is?"
"Is this what you used to defeat our Chao Li warriors before?"
Hua Zhi then produced a fire starter and waved it near the fuse. "If I light this fuse, every single person here... won't escape."
The old man finally changed his expression. The other Chao Li tribesmen quickly gathered around him. Had they known she carried something so dangerous, they would never have allowed her to bring it in!
But now...
The Elder's eyes shifted repeatedly as he retreated under protection, raising his voice: "Hua Zhi, are you truly content to exhaust yourself for a royal family that turns on its own meritorious officials? The Gu family owed most of their success in conquering the realm to Hua Jingyan. Later, it was generations of the Hua family who cultivated pillars of talent to help the Gu family consolidate their rule. And how did the emperor repay the Hua family? He confiscated their property, exiled them, and nearly took their lives. Do you think they'll be grateful for your desperate efforts now? When they perceive your Hua family as a threat, they'll forget all this and strike against you once more. Are you truly content with that?""I am a citizen of Daqing," Hua Zhi sneered. "No matter how flawed Daqing may be, it allows its people to live and work in peace. When major disasters strike, it exempts taxes so the people can struggle to survive. It has institutions like the Seven Constellation Bureau to maintain stability, and generals like General Sun guarding the frontiers. What would we have under your Chao Li Tribe? Has the Elder run out of tricks, resorting to such tactics?"
"If that is the case, why is Lady Hua so enraged?"
"Because you spoke ill of my Daqing. No matter how many flaws this nation has, only I can criticize them. What right does your Chao Li Tribe have to judge? However flawed it may be, could it possibly compare to the century of misery under the Chao Li Kingdom? Yes, the late emperor did separate my Hua family, but your Chao Li Tribe could turn tens of millions of my Daqing compatriots into rootless duckweeds. May I ask, Elder, how do they compare?"
Hua Zhi stood up and approached the crowd. "Does the Elder believe that provoking me will create an opportunity to wound me and seize the artifact? Trust me, before your people can make a move, I will drag everyone here to the grave with me first."
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