Xiao Changqing gazed in the direction where Xiao Huayong had disappeared and said gravely, "I was careless."
A few days ago, he shouldn't have gone to see Gu Qingshu out of curiosity about whether Shen Xihe and Gu Qingzhi had any dealings. He was now under Xiao Huayong's close watch, and any slight movement would arouse his suspicion and investigation.
"What do you plan to do with the Gu family woman?" Xiao Changying was more concerned about this.
"Rest assured, I have a way to eliminate the threat permanently." Xiao Changqing's gaze hardened.
Xiao Changying was somewhat skeptical. Had Xiao Changqing come to his senses and decided to kill Gu Qingshu?
In reality, Xiao Changying was too naive. Gu Qingzhi had been secretly sent to the Prince Xin's Residence by Xiao Huayong's men. Early the next morning, Xiao Changqing brought Gu Qingshu to the palace and knelt before the Youning Emperor to confess: "I replaced the death row inmate, a crime that deserves no pardon. I beg Your Majesty to punish me severely."
The Youning Emperor glanced at them briefly before lowering his head to review memorials, continuing for a full hour.
"A year has passed, and only now do you think to confess to me?" The Youning Emperor took a sip of tea, his tone indifferent.
Xiao Changqing remained silent with his head bowed. The Youning Emperor was clever, and so was he. This question was clearly probing who had caught him in the act, forcing him to confess only when he could no longer conceal it.
Xiao Huayong had accompanied Shen Xihe out of the palace the previous day, and his movements were largely within the Youning Emperor's control. However, the person who returned to the palace in the carriage from the Princess Manor was not Xiao Huayong himself—he had gone to the Prince Xin's Residence, a fact known only to the Xiao Changqing brothers and the Chief Secretary of the Prince Xin's Estate.
Xiao Huayong was not afraid of Xiao Changqing exposing him because he had a way to make any accusation from Xiao Changqing appear as mere slander, an attempt to deceive the Emperor and worsen his own crime.
Xiao Changqing understood perfectly well that since Xiao Huayong dared to visit openly, he must have been confident he was untouchable. He could only say, "The Gu clan was executed, and I lost my wife. I harbored resentment."
Because he was filled with hatred, he had not wanted to bring the matter before the Emperor. Now that he was doing so, it was because he had come to his senses, not because he had been exposed and was making a tactical retreat.
Since the death of the Gu clan, Xiao Changqing had stubbornly held a grudge against the Youning Emperor, something the Emperor had long been aware of. Today's submission was a sign of yielding. The Youning Emperor looked at Gu Qingshu beside him—a girl of sixteen, lightly made-up, graceful and poised.
He thought of Gu Qingzhi. Though biological sisters, they shared only a slight resemblance in their features, yet they were as different as clouds and mud.
"The Gu family... I, too, bear some guilt. Since you risked your life to save her, I bestow her upon you as a concubine." A common-born daughter was not qualified to become the principal wife of a prince.
This meant he did not intend to pursue the crime of replacing the death row inmate. Xiao Changqing had actually anticipated this. The Emperor needed him alive to counterbalance the Eighth Prince, or perhaps now the Crown Prince. Had the Gu family not been exonerated, he would never have dared to do this. Since the Gu family had been cleared, the Emperor was consequently sparing Gu Qingshu as a form of consolation.
Gu Qingshu was overjoyed, never having imagined she could openly stand by his side.
"Your Majesty, A-Shu is my wife's sister. It has not yet been a year since I lost my wife, and I am unwilling to remarry or take a concubine." Xiao Changqing bowed respectfully and kowtowed.
Gu Qingshu's face instantly paled, tears welling in her eyes as she quickly lowered her head to hide her distress.
The Youning Emperor studied Xiao Changqing for a long moment, neither angered nor insistent. "Very well, I shall grant your wish."
Xiao Changqing took the Gu family woman to see the Emperor, confessed his crime, and not only was he not held accountable, but the Emperor also returned some of the Gu family's properties to Gu Qingshu, enfeoffed her as a County Lord, and allowed her to return to the Gu family.When this news broke, many in the capital were bewildered, unable to discern the Emperor's intentions.
Upon hearing the news, Shen Xihe was uncharacteristically distracted. Bu Shulin spoke several sentences without receiving a response, and when she turned, she saw Shen Xihe staring fixedly into the distance.
She waved her hand in front of Shen Xihe's eyes, snapping her out of her reverie, and said, "Were you listening to what I said?"
"You were speaking about Prince Xin rescuing the Young Lady of the Gu Family," Shen Xihe responded.
"Yes, Prince Xin is incredibly bold. He actually dared to replace a death row inmate. I've heard that some are already using this to petition His Majesty to thoroughly reinvestigate last year's Gu case. Perhaps Lord Gu isn't dead either," Bu Shulin said mysteriously.
"He won't be," Shen Xihe stated with certainty.
Bu Shulin momentarily didn't understand what the words "won't be" referred to.
Did it mean the Emperor wouldn't approve these petitions? Or that Lord Gu couldn't possibly be alive?
"Neither will happen," Shen Xihe added. "His Majesty knows that Lord Gu... is dead."
"Gu Qingshu has already appeared. Doesn't His Majesty harbor even the slightest doubt?" Bu Shulin felt that if it were her, she would be suspicious.
"His Majesty... actually understands Lord Gu better than most," Shen Xihe turned her head, gazing at the lush grassland. "If they had a choice, they wouldn't have wanted to be enemies."
His Majesty knew that without Gu Zhao, he couldn't have become emperor, overthrown the eunuchs, or stabilized the situation.
Gu Zhao also understood that without His Majesty, the dynasty wouldn't have been revitalized, nor would prosperity have returned.
However, they could only join forces when there were external threats.
For centuries before the previous dynasty, noble families had held power above the emperor. The imperial examination system introduced during the previous dynasty began to challenge the nobility, and it was only through the current dynasty that noble families gradually declined, their privileges slowly fading away.
Gu Zhao couldn't withdraw from the political stage—he couldn't allow the Gu clan to become traitors. He was pushed step by step by the noble families into opposing imperial authority, with no possibility of leading the nobility to submit to the throne.
As emperor, Youning Emperor couldn't possibly become a puppet. To be an effective ruler, he had to curtail the power of noble families. The Gu family and the imperial house were destined to clash, and in this conflict, the Gu family was bound to lose because Gu Zhao had said that His Majesty was a capable ruler.
He couldn't betray the family that raised him, nor let the Gu name be tarnished for generations to come. So he chose to resist to the end, yet always left room for Youning Emperor. He chose to become the defeated party.
This was why Gu Qingzhi had seen the Gu family's fate from the very beginning and never used her position as Consort of the Prince Xin to stir up the political situation.
Gu Zhao and Youning Emperor's relationship was a game between ruler and subject, a mutual fulfillment between sworn friends. Without this, even the scheme Gu Qingzhi set before her death wouldn't have moved Youning Emperor to generously rehabilitate the Gu family.
Had Gu Zhao been born into a humble family, he and Youning Emperor might have complemented each other as ruler and minister, jointly governing the empire.
Therefore, even if Xiao Changqing truly intended to swap Gu Zhao out, Gu Zhao wouldn't have agreed.
He was too tired and wanted to rest forever.
This was also why Gu Qingzhi observed the world with cold detachment. She had known early on that her beloved father, who cherished her, held the state, the monarch, and the people in his heart—with his family coming last. He was willing to sacrifice the clan's survival for the sake of the realm, delivering the most powerful blow to shatter the noble families for Youning Emperor.Fortunately, her father was not like that. Shen Yueshan was a man of true courage, who cherished the peace of the people but valued his own family even more. Your Majesty would never allow him to retreat to the mountains and forests. As long as he lived and raised his voice in call, he could disrupt the morale of the army.
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