Chapter 54 Do Not Disappoint Me

Now that things have come to this, neither the He nor the Zhao families have any power to stop it.

After Emperor Zhongzong conquered the Central Plains, only Chushan, located in the southeast, still held sway over a region. How would he react to Chushan?

Okay, that's all for today. To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next episode!

After Tianmu finished speaking with a grin, a coin swiped across the screen, and a row of bold characters that read "One-click triple combo" popped up.

Emperor Hong'an stretched out a finger, about to tap the coin, when the sky darkened and fell silent impatiently.

The enthusiastic comments once again replaced the sky.

[He and Zhao join hands; whoever rises first is a dog...]

The women in these two families are much more capable than the men. If someone else were to do the beating, it might have taken two more years.

Thank goodness, if we fought for a few more years everyone would be dead, and everyone could just focus on making babies.

[Yu Suisheng and Xie Chaoxian were the two most adept at switching sides in Emperor Zhongzong's camp. One of them started the chaos and somehow survived, while the other fled but returned to surrender. That's what you call strategic vision. Thumbs up.jpg]

Yu Suisheng is purely driven by self-interest; he certainly has foresight, but he's also quite opportunistic.

[In fact, the later emperors all quite liked him...]

I used to think the sixth son was a bit simple-minded, but that was a huge misunderstanding. If he had been born twenty years earlier, things might not have turned out this way.

[ls clearly underestimated Hong An. Before he sees firsthand how crazy Lao Wu really is, he will still use Lao Wu first.]

[The person above is just guessing. If he only wanted the Empress's sons, he wouldn't have chosen the fourth prince at all!!]

[But the sixth prince has never actually been an emperor, so how do you know if he could do a good job? He's clearly obsessed with metaphysics. *scratching head in confusion*]

The problem is that even the sixth prince didn't really want to be emperor. Has anyone not read the records of Emperor Zhongzong's madness in his later years? I think he was practically vomiting blood during court sessions; his mental state was truly abnormal.

[After all, I conquered this empire myself, so I have to govern it properly, even if it means kneeling down, lolkuku]

[Thank Emperor Zhongzong, if he hadn't fought, there would have been at least ten years of chaos...]

He Jingcheng is dead; we don't know how he would feel if he saw these comments.

At least Zhao Shuming felt like he was having a heart attack. He was shackled and shoved into the carriage, which wasn't too humiliating.

In the poorly furnished carriage, he could only sit upright, the hard wooden planks digging painfully into his skin.

However, none of this could compare to the sullen feeling he felt from Tianmu's mocking remarks.

Being mocked for being inferior to women was worse than death for Zhao Shuming.

Xie Chaoxian was somewhat astonished to hear that he was still alive. He had thought that after shouting "The Ning Dynasty should be renamed the Unpeaceful Dynasty" in the court, he would be dragged out and beheaded.

It has to be the kind of torture, like being torn to pieces.

And changing jobs... He lowered his head and smiled helplessly.

I wonder if the future Emperor Zhongzong understood his hint and guessed who was behind the leak of the exam questions?

Throughout his life, he changed jobs even faster.

The sixth prince lay in his bedding and popped a bubble. Emperor Hong'an sat by his small bed, staring at his son's face, and shook his head after a long while: "I didn't know you were so obsessed with Taoist magic."

I used to hate Buddhism and Taoism the most, but now I feel they're alright.

Who knows if this canopy was sent by gods or Buddhas?

As for Zhou She, he had become accustomed to the discussions about him by Tianmu and by later generations of idle people.

What kind of crazy quotes come from old age... If you were to take a job that required working year-round without rest, constant overtime, and no retirement, you would go crazy too.

How rare!

...

Early the next morning, Zhou She brought Liang Xiao into the palace.

The emperor looked to be in good spirits. The court session ended early, and he changed into casual clothes. When he saw Liang Xiao walk in, he smiled and said, "Jichuan, it's been a long time. You've aged too."

Liang Jichuan is 64 years old this year, which is indeed no longer young.

The emperor recalled that when Liang Jichuan resigned from his official post and traveled far away, he was only about the same age as the emperor now.

But Liang Jichuan remained energetic: "I heard that a noble lady in the palace is unwell, so even if she's old, I have to come."

As soon as he finished speaking, Physician Lin, carrying the little "noble person," walked out from behind, perfectly fitting the occasion.

The Sixth Prince was still asleep, and he looked even thinner than before. After a few brief pleasantries, Liang Xiao quickly took out her medicine box and gently placed her fingers on the Sixth Prince's wrist.

The touch was clearly very gentle, yet the sixth prince seemed to be awakened by it. His eyes were still closed, his lips trembled, and he looked as if he was about to cry.

Zhou She was terrified by his crying, so he rushed forward, picked up the sixth prince, and tried to put him into Physician Lin's arms.

Huh? Can't it be stuffed in?

The sixth prince's eyes were wide open like copper bells, his hands were tightly gripping his clothes, and his mouth was open, with saliva dripping down uncontrollably.

Zhou She: "..." He had just changed his clothes.

The sixth prince reacted quickly, reaching out to support his chin. The old nanny rushed forward, wiping his chin repeatedly with a handkerchief, narrowly avoiding spilling it on Zhou She.

The sixth prince seemed to have a lot to say.

He mumbled something, but Zhou She couldn't understand a single word.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liang Xiao grabbed the Sixth Prince's wrist. As time passed, his expression grew increasingly solemn.

From his expression, everyone understood something and couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances.

Finally, Emperor Hong'an broke the silence: "How is it?"

Liang Xiao raised her head and took a deep breath: "The Sixth Prince's pulse is weak, so he is indeed susceptible to colds. But this pulse is not right... it's not just a cold."

Upon hearing this, all the eunuchs present lowered their heads, wishing they had never been there at all.

The same applies to Zhou She and Imperial Physician Lin.

Unfortunately, standing before the emperor, they found it difficult to conceal their figures and had no choice but to remain silent.

Zhou She was even slightly confused, as the coincidence was simply too much: the Sixth Prince was not familiar with him before, and they had only spent a few days together when he noticed that the Sixth Prince was always sick. It was only after meeting Liang Xiao that he invited him to the palace to treat him.

To my utter surprise, it wasn't an illness after all.

Amidst the sixth prince's muffled childish voice, Emperor Hong'an asked in a deep voice, "Is it not just a cold, but poisoning?"

“A chronic poison.” Liang Xiao looked at the Sixth Prince’s eyes again, examined him carefully for a moment, and nodded seriously. “He should have been poisoned not long ago. I’ll prescribe a few doses of medicine, simmer them over a low flame for His Highness, and he should be fine in about six months.”

Emperor Hong'an's face turned ashen. He reached out and hugged the sixth prince, staring at his son for a long time, but couldn't see anything.

I just noticed that she has indeed lost some weight.

This is his only good son! His only son with a sound mind!

Zhou She watched as the emperor fell silent.

In that brief period of time, the old emperor may have thought a lot.

If someone really did poison him, then who would it be? This doesn't seem like a difficult question.

However, in a moment, Emperor Hong'an came to his senses again, and this time he suddenly raised his head and stared straight at him: "Ruochuan, I have something to say to you."

His eyes looked tired.

The attendants on either side quickly withdrew. Only the two of them remained in the spacious inner hall.

The emperor sat in his chair, lost in thought for a moment, and then suddenly said, "You do remember your uncle."

Zhou She noticed that the emperor was in a bad mood.

Come to think of it, the sixth prince was just a one-year-old baby who lived deep in the palace. Who could poison him silently?

He only has a few competitors.

Zhou She remained silent on the matter, only saying, "Doctor Liang is a divine physician of our time, and I cannot bear to see His Highness the Sixth Prince always ill."

The emperor heard it clearly and naturally understood the reluctance he expressed.

He stood up, turned and walked into the bedchamber, his steps unusually slow. After a moment, he came out again, holding two scrolls of imperial edicts in his hands.

He did not avoid Zhou She, but opened both scrolls at the same time.

Zhou She was called forward. Looking down for a closer look, he saw that the handwriting was equally neat, and the content was almost identical, except for the name.

One is his name, and the other is the Third Prince.

The scroll was already stamped with the imperial seal, and everything was ready. Once it was taken out, it would be an imperial edict.

It is evident that the emperor had been hesitating for quite some time.

At this moment, he took out the two imperial edicts...

Zhou She's heart suddenly raced, his hands and feet immediately became burning hot, and he trembled slightly from the sudden excitement.

He knew that today's events would affect the emperor's mind, but seeing his own name written on it made him feel it even more deeply.

"These past few days, I have been pondering this over and over, but I still cannot make up my mind." The emperor looked at the imperial edict and smiled, but his smile was full of sarcasm. "I cannot rest easy entrusting Xiao Liu to any of you."

Zhou She understood perfectly.

After all, Tianmu said that he took pleasure in confiscating property. The emperor originally thought that the third prince was at least his elder brother, but it turned out that he was also unreliable.

The old emperor stared at the imperial edict bearing the name of the third prince, grabbed it, and strode to the nearby stove. The flames licked at it, and it went silent in an instant.

Not even a speck of ash can be seen.

After doing all this, he said, "I want to send you to the northern frontier."

Zhou She pondered for a moment, then asked, "When shall I depart?"

"tomorrow."

*

As the morning light shone, golden light bathed the treetops on the mountaintop.

After bidding farewell to their parents, Zhou She, along with Yu Suisheng, embarked on their journey away from the capital.

Yu Suisheng was determined to leave the capital with Zhou She. He had a trust in Zhou She that was even stronger than Zhou She himself. Although everything was unknown, he was still extremely confident: "Sir, how long will it take us to return?"

"Perhaps...it won't be too soon."

Zhou She was still somewhat dazed; his conversation with the emperor yesterday was still echoing in his mind.

The emperor stuffed the imperial edict into his arms and said heavily, "Do not disappoint me."

"I can live for another twelve years."

These words struck Zhou She like a heavy blow.

Almost simultaneously, the sound of the celestial curtain rang out again:

Hello everyone, let's continue from yesterday's topic. Yesterday we talked about how the four opposing forces have now been reduced to just Chu Shan and Zhong Zong. In addition, there is the Fifth Prince, who is hiding in Zhengzhou, who is just an extra and doesn't need much explanation.

On Chu Shan's side, he learned that Zhongzong had conquered the entire Central Plains and also saw the proclamation he issued, the one we mentioned before, which used various methods to insult the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince.

After reading it, he said to those around him: I already know that things are impossible, but I will not give up until I reach the Yellow River. I will still grit my teeth and try.

But he wanted to take the plunge, and the situation no longer allowed him to. The proclamation spread throughout the land, causing widespread unrest.