Duke Suguo cast a scrutinizing gaze upon the two of them, but when he saw their appearance clearly, he was stunned, his eyes wide open, looking at them in disbelief.
A face that was 50% similar to the late emperor, and a face that was old but very familiar to him. The two familiar faces suddenly came into his eyes. For a moment, he thought he saw the late emperor and Empress Chen sitting side by side. This scene silently evoked his long-forgotten memories.
Duke Su was not a fool. After seeing the faces of Empress Chen and Su Xiaozhong, he had some guesses in his mind.
A guess that shocked everyone.
Duke Su walked forward, knelt on one leg, and saluted Empress Chen, "I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Queen."
Empress Chen said calmly, "Duke Su, please stand up. I thought Duke Su would not recognize you."
Duke Su stood up and said, "How could I not recognize the Queen?"
Empress Chen motioned for him to take a seat, and Duke Su sat opposite them.
Queen Chen asked, "How long has it been since we last met?"
Duke Su thought about it carefully and said, "Twenty-five years."
She was the queen and he was a subject. Even if she was in the Fahua Temple, they could not meet easily as that would be extremely disrespectful.
Before the death of the late emperor, Duke Su went to the Fahua Temple with the late emperor to meet the empress, and he never saw her again since then.
"Twenty-five years." Empress Chen murmured, "It's been a long time. The people I used to know have grown old or left. It's really like nothing has changed."
Duke Su couldn't help but reminisce, with a hint of nostalgia and loneliness in his expression, "Yes! Time flies, and years are ruthless."
"Time is ruthless, but people are affectionate. I wonder if the Duke still remembers what the late emperor said."
Duke Suguo recalled briefly and immediately understood what she was saying.
The late emperor had clearly stated that once Concubine Chen gave birth to a prince, he would be made the crown prince and the heir to the Yong Dynasty.
At that time, Concubine Chen was first made queen, and the next step was to make the child she gave birth to the crown prince. In this way, he would be the legitimate eldest son, both the legitimate and the eldest, and the only candidate to inherit the throne.
Unfortunately, before the eldest prince could be made the crown prince, the remnants of the previous dynasty attacked and killed people in the hunting grounds, and the eldest prince disappeared.
Now that she mentioned this matter again, it meant that she wanted to take back the throne, and she came to him to make him stand on their side.
After seeing the two of them, Duke Su was already prepared in his heart. Now when he heard these words, it was a clear request for him to express his position.
Duke Su was shocked at their means and strength. They were able to come up with so much money to supply the Northwest Army without anyone noticing, and made the Northwest Army and their generals owed them a favor.
If I don't want to, I'm afraid...
But if he followed the late emperor, wouldn't that be a rebellion? After all, the Rongxian Emperor who sat on the throne now legitimately inherited the throne from the late emperor.
Even if the late emperor had said that before, it was only in the past.
Duke Su's silence actually gave the answer.
The mother and son were not surprised by this. Su Xiaozhong, who had been silent the whole time, said calmly, "Duke Su, what do you think of Dayong under the governance of Emperor Rongxian in the past twenty years?"
Duke Su shook his head, "I dare not comment."
"To be honest with you, Duke Su, I grew up among the common people. My hometown is in Meizhou, which is adjacent to Yuzhou. I think Duke Su is familiar with the riots in Yunzhou and other places. Do you know what I have seen along the way?"
"Officials and bandits colluded to massacre civilians. They set up checkpoints on the roads and forced the fleeing civilians to death... Some even took pleasure in killing and eating people."
"I don't think Duke Su is unaware of all these things, right?"
"Anyone who has a little power in Dayong is thinking about how to exploit the people. When these people are forced to the point where they have no way to survive, what do you think they will do, Duke Su?"
Duke Su was silent.
"I admire you for always protecting the northwest and resisting foreign invaders."
"I want to ask you a question. Why are all the members of your Xie family dying or getting injured?"
If it was the Xie Zhen of the past, he would have said without hesitation, "protect the people and guard the territory of Dayong", but after listening to what he said today, answering this question again was difficult for him to say.
He could not say the words "protect the people" no matter what.
These four short words seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, pressing down on the root of his tongue and preventing him from uttering them.
"This is Dayong under the rule of the Emperor Rongxian, to whom you are loyal!"
"How long do you think Dayong can survive like this, Duke?"
To sum up, the emperor you are loyal to is a tyrant.
Is a tyrant who can bring Dayong to its doom worthy of your loyalty?
Have you really done what you said about protecting the people and safeguarding the territory of Dayong?
These two silent questions kept echoing in Duke Su's mind.
For a moment, Duke Suguo's thoughts wavered, but he soon came to his senses.
"Your Highness, if you were in that position, would you be able to turn the tide? Could you truly love the people like your own children?"
"The entire court is controlled by aristocratic families, and the relationships among the officials in the court are complicated. You have never lived in Shangjing City, let alone come into contact with the powerful people in Shangjing City. Do you know how deep the waters in Shangjing City are?"
"You barge in rashly, can you guarantee that you won't become the second Emperor Rong Xian?"
"Or is he even worse than Emperor Rong Xian, and has completely become a puppet of those powerful officials?"
How to prove whether you have this ability.
This question is difficult to answer.
But who is Su Xiaozhong? After all, he has been emperor for more than ten years.
After making it clear that he needed the support of Duke Su, his family made full preparations to let him know that he had the ability to do so.
How to prove this strength?
Naturally, we have to start with the biggest cancer of the Yong Dynasty, the officials in the court.
Su Xiaozhong did not say anything, but took out a thick stack of things from a cloth bag beside him and handed it to Duke Su.
This data is a combination of the essence of the memories of Su Xiaozhong, Su Xinyang, and Su Xinguang in their previous lives. These essences summarize the relationship network of the officials in the court and the aristocratic families, as well as various secrets.
Of course, this is only part of it. As for more secrets about them, the Su family father and son naturally could not let Xie Zhen know all of them at once.
That is the capital for their future survival.
The Su family, father and son, based on the secrets they knew in their previous lives, asked the people in the Dark Chamber to investigate, and every time they investigated, they were accurate. So when Xie Zhen saw such detailed secrets, he was completely stunned.
These secrets are simply explosive.
Those ministers in the court who claimed to be honest and incorruptible and loyal to the country and the people were stripped of their shameful inner clothes in the face of this secret information.
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