Chapter 99 (Choose one)

After the palace coup, Liang Yuanyi was imprisoned in the Censorate prison. Officials who supported his rebellion were arrested one after another, and their families were exterminated.

More than half a month has passed, and the air in Chang'an still reeks of blood. The bricks and stones of Taiji Palace have been washed several times by the palace servants and are so clean that not a trace of blood can be seen.

Yu Mingshu entered the palace with the report on the closed case. After climbing many steps, he saw an unexpected figure in front of the hall.

Twenty days had passed, and Zhang Zhuoyan looked as if she had aged ten years. Her figure was as thin as a willow, and her temples were streaked with white. Her face was full of fatigue, and she no longer had the tranquility and leisure she once had when she lived in seclusion in Yongningfang.

Yu Mingshu hesitated for a moment, then bowed to her according to etiquette, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness."

Hearing that familiar voice, Zhang Zhuoyan's dull eyes lit up again.

"Master Yu!" She stepped forward, anxiously taking Yu Mingshu's wrist. "Miss Yu, for the sake of our neighborly relationship, could you please put in a good word for me with the Crown Prince..."

Yu Mingshu lowered his eyes and avoided her gaze, speaking with difficulty, "A country has its laws."

The lady-in-waiting came to her rescue at the right moment, saying, "Your Highness invites you in, Grand Tutor Yu."

As Yu Mingshu fled into the hall, Zhang Zhuoyan's gaze lingered on her.

"Have you found out where the rebels supporting the King of Qin came from?" Liang Yuanjun cut to the chase without exchanging pleasantries.

"Your Majesty and I interrogated the Prince of Qin's close confidants. Fu Chongyang refused to say a word, but Zhang Jinghua confessed everything. Thirty percent of the rebel army led by the Prince of Qin consisted of the former Imperial Guard General Wang Han's old troops, twoty percent were the Tiger Army led by Cheng Changde, the heir apparent of the Duke of Ying, and the remaining fifty percent... were private soldiers recruited and raised by the Xie family. The weapons and equipment used by the Prince of Qin's rebel army were all supplied by the Xie family."

Yang Leyi frowned as she listened. "Xie Cheng has been in the Censorate prison for half a year now. Who is helping him make connections?"

Without hesitation, Liang Yuanjun uttered a name, "Fu Chongyang".

Yu Mingshu nodded, "Your Highness is wise."

"Xie Cheng had gathered a group of the most loyal followers in his early years. As long as he is alive, the Xie family's influence will remain, and there will always be people stirring up trouble in the court on his behalf. His Majesty is wary of his position among scholars and has hesitated to kill him, which has led to today's disaster."

At this point, Liang Yuanjun gave a cold laugh, rolled up his sleeves, picked up a vermilion brush and added two strokes to the memorial on the table, saying, "If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they will grow back in the spring breeze. Since Your Majesty dares not kill them, let me do it for you."

Historically, the side that loses a coup never ends well; this is to be expected.

Suddenly remembering the pitiful mother standing outside the palace, Yu Mingshu's eyelashes trembled slightly. After hesitating several times, he looked up and asked, "What does Your Highness intend to do with the Prince of Qin?"

Liang Yuanjun raised an eyebrow. "You're going to plead for him?"

Yu Mingshu smiled wryly, "I don't think I have that much influence."

Liang Yuanjun smiled, then remained silent for a moment.

"I haven't decided how to deal with the King of Qin yet. If I keep him alive, I'm afraid some people will still harbor treacherous intentions and cause endless trouble. But if I kill him, I won't feel at ease either." She put down her vermilion brush and raised her hand to rub her temples.

"I began my studies at the age of three, learning the classics and history of a hundred dynasties. At the age of twelve, I entered the Taiji Hall to listen to government affairs and learn about court politics and military affairs. At the age of fifteen, I assisted in government affairs and served as regent on many occasions without ever making a mistake. Even though I am the legitimate son of the Empress and my talents are recognized by all officials, in his eyes I am still not righteously appointed."

"The King of Qin has only been back to his ancestral home for a few days, yet he thinks he can rightfully replace me just because he has a man's body..."

Since the rumors of a false crown prince surfaced in the capital, Liang Yuanjun had never clarified or admitted anything to anyone. Realizing she had just spoken out of turn, her gaze swept over the people in the hall. Yu Mingshu and Yang Leyi showed no reaction, while the female officials and eunuchs lowered their heads and pretended not to hear.

She looked into the distance and thought, "They underestimate me."

Yang Leyi instantly guessed the Crown Prince's thoughts, "Does Your Highness want him to see with his own eyes the empire you have ruled?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Mingshu also looked at the Crown Prince.

Liang Yuanjun's brow twitched; her mood changed in an instant.

"It's just a thought. Twenty years have passed, and His Majesty is still resentful that he failed to kill the Prince of Qi back then. Taozhou Port has almost become his obsession. I do not want to follow in his footsteps."

Even so, the next day at noon, Yang Congen, despite his advanced age, braved the sweltering summer heat to enter the palace and plead for the student he had raised. In the end, Lady Liang Yuanjun gave him face and agreed to spare Yuan Yi's life.

What she promised was to spare Yuan Yi's life.

Yu Mingshu and the Imperial Censor both looked at the two imperial edicts in their hands, their faces showing a hint of confusion.

The Imperial Censor paced back and forth in the corridor with a bitter expression, then turned around and asked, "Master Yu, what do you think His Highness means by this?"

“Your Highness means that there are two paths for the Prince of Qin to choose from,” Yu Mingshu said. “If he wants to be Prince Liang Yuanyi, then he should be given poison. If he wants to live, then he should return to being the commoner Yuanyi, and pretend that His Majesty never conferred the title of Consort Zhang, nor recognized any prince.”

Who has ever issued such an imperial edict? And who would allow the recipient to choose between two options?

The Imperial Censor pressed his forehead, his face contorted with pain, and waved his hand at Yu Mingshu, saying, "The Prince of Qin keeps insisting on seeing you, so you should deliver this imperial edict yourself."

Yu Mingshu choked up, and after a long while, she turned her back and said, "I can't see him."

The Imperial Censor said, "I know you and the Prince of Qin are old acquaintances, but so what? Who in the court doesn't have some grudges against whom? How many classmates and old friends have been imprisoned in the Censorate prison? His Highness didn't ask you to avoid suspicion, so you can go with peace of mind."

This is not a matter of avoiding suspicion.

Yu Mingshu didn't know how to face this special old friend, but she couldn't go against the Imperial Censor's wishes, so she gritted her teeth and went to the prison where the Prince of Qin was.

The prison environment was cleaner than I had imagined. Each prisoner was in a single cell with no neighbors around. There were also many books in the cell, which showed that the guards were trying their best to meet the needs of the prisoners.

Liang Yuanyi, dressed in white with impeccable manners, sat on a cushion in the corner with a book in his hand and his back to the railing.

Hearing her footsteps, Liang Yuanyi turned around, his eyes filled with suppressed emotions, as if they were about to burst forth at this moment.

Yu Mingshu spoke first, presenting him with a multiple-choice question.

What do you want me to choose?

Yu Mingshu remained silent for a long time before saying, "As Mr. Yuan's student and friend, I hope that he lives well and carries on the legacy of the sages. As a close advisor to His Highness the Crown Prince, I hope that His Highness's court will be free of hidden dangers."

Liang Yuanyi stared intently at her. "In your eyes, I am a potential threat."

Yu Mingshu shook her head. "I hope you will choose the former."

Liang Yuanyi smiled bitterly and threw the book on the ground. "We are both of imperial blood, yet you know that her identity is fake and that she is holding the emperor hostage, but you still side with her. Yet you want me to give up the fight and be a commoner who teaches forever?"

"Anyone can have ambition, and anyone has the right to fight for their ideals. But what are your ideals, sir? Do you enjoy the art of currying favor with emperors?"

Yu Mingshu calmly looked at him and said, "When a fishing net is set, the swan will fly away. When a woman seeks a relationship, she will be met with this kind of helplessness. On the day we first met, you gave me this poem to test me, and now I return the favor with this poem. What you want, is it simply an upright and honorable identity, or an unparalleled position obtained by stepping on the blood and tears of your closest relatives?"

“I don’t care about power or position!” Liang Yuanyi stared intently at her. “But only by obtaining supreme power can I possibly have you.”

Yu Mingshu's voice trailed off, and he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

After being enfeoffed as the Prince of Qin, Liang Yuanyi was the epitome of an emperor, with the same excessive self-awareness and disregard for the wishes of others.

If Liang Yuanyi really breaks through the imperial city and takes over the Taiji Palace, how similar will her situation be to Zhang Zhuoyan's back then?

She suppressed her turbulent emotions and looked at him, saying, "When you did these things, did you ever think of Madam Zhang?"

"How do you know I haven't considered her feelings? If I conquer the capital, she will be the most honored woman in the world, and no one will dare to talk about her past."

Yu Mingshu couldn't reason with him, and an eerie silence fell over the cell.

After a long while, the jailer reluctantly came in to urge them on.

Liang Yuanyi lowered his gaze, took one last look at the two imperial edicts on the table, and reached for the wine pot on his left.

Yu Mingshu pressed his hand down, stared into his eyes and said, "This second imperial edict was obtained by Lord Yang after much pleading."

Liang Yuanyi's hand froze in mid-air, a sharp pain shooting through his heart.

Over the years, he had seen clearly that the Zhang family had never treated him as family. When they were useless, they kept their distance; when they were useful, they curried favor and clung to him. The emperor didn't treat him as a son either. In the emperor's heart, he was nothing more than the only hope for succession, a handle used to blackmail his mother. Only his teacher genuinely taught and cared for him.

Even so, he could not bear to return to that dark and hopeless life he once knew.

Please apologize to the teacher for me.

After saying this, Liang Yuanyi resolutely broke free from Yu Mingshu's hand, picked up the wine pot, and filled a cup with wine.

Yu Mingshu covered the cup with the imperial edict and said urgently, "You're just going to do this... how is Zhang Niangzi supposed to live?"

Will she be implicated because of me?

"Neither the Empress nor the Crown Prince intended to harm her."

Ignoring the imperial edict, Liang Yuanyi steadily picked up his wine cup and drank it all under Yu Mingshu's watchful gaze.

"From now on, she is free."

Yu Mingshu gripped her cuffs tightly, her wrists trembling involuntarily. Her gaze remained fixed on Liang Yuanyi's face, her lips pressed tightly together, remaining silent for a long time.

The person in front of me was also clenching their teeth, seemingly trying their best to endure the pain.

The wine pot contained poisoned wine, and the person in front of her would be poisoned in less than fifteen minutes. This meant that her former teachers, neighbors, and friends would die as she walked away, and from then on, there would be no more Yuan Yi or Liang Yuanyi in the world.

Yu Mingshu's reaction was numb.

She realized early on that Yuan Yi had many differing views from her, so she never became close to him, but always regarded him as a friend with whom she had some old acquaintances.

Watching her deceased friend take poison right before her eyes, she should have felt panic, tension, or a touch of sorrow, but she shouldn't be as numb and bewildered as she is now.

Before the first drop of blood seeped out, she hurriedly got up to leave.

Behind him, Liang Yuanyi said in a trembling voice, "I, Liang Yuanyi, am of noble birth. I can afford to lose."