Zhou Gu was noncommittal as he speculated on Nangong Zheng’s intentions.
He couldn’t understand why, instead of seizing the opportunity to establish himself by Crown Prince Yuan Zhao of Great Wei’s side in the capital of Great Wei, Nangong Zheng had traveled thousands of miles to the Nanchu Capital during such a festive season. Could there really be something in Nanchu that warranted his presence? Was he not afraid that it might be a journey with no return?
Clearly, Nangong Zheng was not afraid; otherwise, he would not have appeared before them so boldly and openly.
Nangong Zheng stepped aside from the doorway, "Please, come in."
Su Rong took a longer look at Nangong Zheng and, together with Zhou Gu, entered the private room. She was also curious about the purpose of Nangong Zheng’s silent return to Nanchu.
After the door closed, Nangong Zheng looked at them, "It seems that my appearance has caught you both by surprise?"
Su Rong replied, "Of course, it’s surprising. I thought that unless Young Master Zheng led troops back to Nanchu to seize power, he would never return to Nanchu in his lifetime."
"The ancestral tomb of the Nangong family is in Nanchu. Thanks to the Princess’s grace, a place for the spirits of the Nangong family has been reserved. I have come back to pay respects to the tomb," Nangong Zheng said, sitting down opposite them once they had taken their seats.
Su Rong suddenly realized, "Oh, right, your family’s ancestral tomb is still in Nanchu."
She looked at Nangong Zheng, "But Young Master Zheng is quite capable. If you hadn’t shown yourself voluntarily, I would still be unaware of your return to Nanchu."
"Even if the Princess did not find out today, she would eventually come to know in the days to come. I might as well be proactive," Nangong Zheng commented, "I have yet to congratulate you both on your recent marriage."
Su Rong smiled, "Thank you."
She continued to look at Nangong Zheng, "Aside from paying respects at the tomb, you must have another purpose for showing yourself so openly, right?"
Nangong Zheng nodded, "The greatest trump card that the Nangong family had left in Nanchu was eliminated by the Fourth Young Master Zhou. When I learned of this, I was deeply grieved. I began to wonder whether the Nangong family had made one misstep after another. I wanted to come back and see for myself whether Nanchu, under the governance of the Princess and her husband, was truly flourishing as the rumors said. I also wanted to see if those collateral relatives of the Nangong family are indeed as esteemed by the Princess as the rumors claim."
Su Rong raised an eyebrow, "So, have you figured everything out?"
Nangong Zheng nodded affirmatively, "I think if my grandfather were aware in the Yellow Spring Road, he would greatly regret it, knowing the Princess is second to none among men, her skills and decisiveness in ruling are every inch the monarch’s. He probably would not have led the Nangong family to its current plight."
"So, does Young Master Zheng now intend to turn the Nangong family around?" Su Rong asked. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
Nangong Zheng shook his head, "I cannot turn back."
Su Rong looked at him.
Zhou Gu scoffed, "You can’t see the road ahead, lost and unsure of the future, yet you refuse to look back because it would affect the dignity of Nangong Zheng, wouldn’t it?"
Nangong Zheng’s gaze shifted towards Zhou Gu and he shook his head, "What is my dignity worth? My grandfather cannot simply die in vain. As his most cherished and pampered descendant, if I were to bow down to our enemies, wouldn’t that disturb his peace in the Yellow Spring Road?"
Zhou Gu countered, "So, are you prepared to drag the entire main lineage of the Nangong family down, to one day be buried beneath the iron cavalry united by Nanchu and Daliang? By then, within the borders of Great Wei, will there be a cluster of new graves erected?"
Nangong Zheng fell silent.
Zhou Gu clicked his tongue lightly, "Have you ever thought about it from the other perspective? Your grandfather, Nangong Yin, in his rest below the Yellow Spring Road, may he regret that his lone death was inconsequential, and instead dragged down the Nangong family’s centuries of foundation to ruin in an instant. He is the true criminal of the Nangong family. And you, clearly having a chance to turn back, choose not to because of him, resulting in the remaining less-than-one-tenth of your operations collapsing once again, leaving not a tile intact. Causing none from the main lineage of the Nangong family to survive, you two are the ones who have truly let down the ancestors of the Nangong family. You would have no face to even visit the ancestral tomb, the ancestors wouldn’t even want to see you."
Nangong Zheng lifted his eyes, "Do I have a way to turn back?"
"Don’t you? If you didn’t, why would we be sitting here, wasting our breath talking to you? And why would you come to Nanchu under the Crown Prince of Great Wei’s nose, and show yourself, wanting to meet us? Isn’t it because you are lost and unsure of what lies ahead, entangled and unclear about right and wrong, that you wanted to break away from Great Wei, return to Nanchu, and see the current state of Nanchu to make a proper choice?" Zhou Gu bluntly stated.
Nangong Zheng fell silent, and after a moment, he sighed and nodded, "Yes."
In Great Wei, he was held in high regard by Crown Prince Yuan Zhao, but even with such regard, he could not see a bright future for Great Wei. Great Wei had suffered too drastic a defeat in this battle, having lost everything, just as with the Nangong family, and with the added summer floods and natural calamities, it worsened the situation for Great Wei, stretching the national treasury thin, with countless floating corpses and Crown Prince Yuan Zhao, who had been untested until now, although talented, had lost his composure and was agitated every day, making it impossible for him to remain calm and help steer Great Wei through tumultuous times.
Such a mindset was ultimately fatal for a predetermined successor to the throne.
He had advised several times, but the Crown Prince remained unsettled, finding some relief only when hearing about Nanchu’s heavy snow. But such relief did not come from striving for his nation’s strength, but rather from the hope that his rivals would suffer from natural disasters and calamities.
Therefore, he wanted to return to Nanchu to see for himself. After the heavy snow, Nanchu, too, had been hit by natural disaster, and he wanted to observe its current state, to see how Princess managed Nanchu after the calamity, and whether the response was also in a state of panic.
When he arrived in Nanchu, he found that the whole country had already orderly completed disaster relief, and the court and country were celebrating the Princess’s Great Wedding. The disaster had not stopped Nanchu’s progress but instead made the nation unite even more closely to overcome adversity.
This disaster, although severe for Nanchu, had not caused catastrophic damage. Despite being affected, Nanchu still flourished anew, enjoying peace and prosperity the following year.
This was the sign of a golden age, an indication of flourishing times, a depiction of wise governance.
Contrast that with Great Wei’s situation after the heavy rain and Crown Prince’s governance, the difference was stark, and the superior and inferior were easily distinguishable.
Su Rong looked at Nangong Zheng, "Young Master Zheng, why not consider the road back? Since you’ve come back to Nanchu and met us, you do have a way to return. It’s true that Uncle Xie killed your grandfather, but from his position, it was justified—as your grandfather disturbed the rivers and mountains of our regime, it was right to kill him. But if you pity all of the main lineage of the Nangong family, then you shouldn’t cut off your own path to survival."
Nangong Zheng remained quiet.
Su Rong did not intend to persuade further, and after speaking his mind, he fell silent.
This man was clever; he was the descendant Nangong Yin was most proud of and entrusted with great responsibility, the one capable of bearing the Nangong family’s mantle. But exactly for this reason, at such a young and frail age, he ended up shouldering the entirety of the Nangong family’s burden.
Inside his heart was a scale, swinging back and forth. One side was the reality which he knew led to a dead end, but due to the bond between grandfather and grandson, he remained trapped and self-restrained by his loyalty. The other was the difficult road back, which, although not easy, might allow his family’s lineage to survive for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years, if only he could forsake the bond of blood.
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