An hour later, Su Rong and Zhou Gu returned to the private room.
Upon seeing them return, Nangong Xin slowly stood up and asked with a smile, "What did you buy? Such big and small parcels?"
"It’s all food." Su Rong’s hands were full too, and he stuffed everything into Nangong Xin’s arms, "These are all for you, take them back to enjoy. It’s still early, and it’s not often you leave the palace; if you’d like to stroll the streets as well, I can have Lan Zhi and Bi Qing accompany you."
"No need, I don’t feel like wandering this year; let’s wait for next year! It’s too cold this year." Nangong Xin said.
"All right," Su Rong asked her, "Shall I have someone take you back to the palace?"
"Agreed." Nangong Xin nodded, then turned around to look at Nangong Zheng, "I’m going back to the palace. Don’t stay in Nanchu too long; after all, you have family back in Dawei."
Nangong Zheng nodded, "Great-aunt, rest assured."
Nangong Xin said no more, had the maid drape a cloak over her, and left for the Royal Palace with a pile of treats from Su Rong.
After she had left, Su Rong and Zhou Gu took their seats and together watched Nangong Zheng.
Nangong Zheng pursed his lips and said to Su Rong, "I’ll continue to stay in Dawei with my clansmen until the Princess launches an assault on Dawei."
Su Rong looked at him, "So, you’ve made up your mind? What are your plans?"
Nangong Zheng said, "The Princess has given herself ten years, but I think, if I were to cooperate with you from within Dawei, perhaps it wouldn’t take ten years."
Su Rong immediately sat up straight, "You’re willing to be my inside agent?"
"For my family and clan. I have no choice but to be willing." Nangong Zheng said, "My great-aunt was right about one thing; I’m not just Nangong Yin’s grandson, I am also the hope and support of the Nangong Clan. I must take responsibility for the future of all our clansmen."
Su Rong nodded, "Good, state your terms."
Nangong Zheng articulated each word, "If I act as an inside agent for the Princess and one day Nanchu annexes Dawei, all the Nangong clansmen who follow me will return en masse to their homeland."
"That’s simple."
Nangong Zheng added, "I want a king’s title of different gender."
Su Rong raised an eyebrow.
Nangong Zheng looked at him, "I cannot rewrite the label of traitor left by the Nangong family, but I can seek to be the first to claim credit for Nanchu’s annexation of Dawei. Doesn’t it merit me asking the Princess for a king’s title of different gender?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"Then I must ask, is it for yourself?" Su Rong fixed his gaze on him.
Nangong Zheng fell silent.
Su Rong understood, "If it’s not for yourself, then I cannot agree."
She spoke bluntly, "If my guess is correct, you might be planning to appease your grandfather in the Underworld after settling your clan members? If you have such a thought, I advise you to abandon it. Forgive my frankness, but as long as you live, the Nangong family has a future. Even if I agree to let the Nangong family return to their ancestral land and re-enter the Nanchu Imperial Court ten years from now, without you, do you think the Nangong family can get very far? Perhaps, three years after your death, they would continue to decline."
She said unapologetically, "With you, there’s hope for the Nangong family to return to its former glory. Without you, the Nangong family will not rise, no matter how well you pave the way for them. They won’t be able to carry on. It’s not that I underestimate the remaining members of the Nangong family; in truth, you should understand better than I do that none of them has the ability to support the family."
Nangong Zheng was silent, his expression somber.
Zhou Gu suddenly spoke up, "Why bother? One must know what to keep and what to let go. Since you have already let go, why not do it completely? A hundred years from now, you can go and apologize to your grandfather. But perhaps by that time, he would have already been reborn and would no longer remember any past grudges or ambitions. To live a lifetime, right and wrong, who is just and who is not, how important are these really? What matters is that your choice has saved many members of your family, the future of the next generation, and even the one after that. If you take up a responsibility, you should see it through to the end. Isn’t it a waste if you abandon it halfway?"
Nangong Zheng looked up at Zhou Gu and suddenly asked, "When Fourth Young Master Zhou followed the Princess to Nanchu, did you ever consider that you would not be the only one in her Imperial Harem?"
Zhou Gu paused, then answered him frankly, "I had not thought about it."
He chuckled, "At that time, how could I even think about her Imperial Harem? All I was concerned about was whether or not she would reject me. If I were to make a decision for myself in this life, it would definitely be for Su Rong. Even if I gave up the road my grandfather had paved for me, I would have no regrets."
"Back then, everyone thought it was unbelievable. Fourth Young Master Zhou, who had his name inscribed on the golden list, the most valued descendant of the Old Duke of Protectorate, the Auxiliary Minister specially cultivated by Crown Prince Yan Huisheng of Daliang. In the end, for a woman, willingly became a Nanchu King’s husband."
"But now, everyone envies me," Zhou Gu continued.
Nangong Zheng remained silent.
Indeed, many envied Zhou Gu now. As the Master of the Imperial, his status was even higher than the Princess’s. Originally, he came to Nanchu alone, but now, not only did he receive admiration from countless people, but he also had the support of the Duke Residence and the Qinghe Cui family backing him.
It could be said that no one criticized him or dared to look down upon him anymore.
He picked up his tea, brought it to his lips, then set it down again, and said to Su Rong, "The Master of the Imperial is right, if I have to live on like this, shouldn’t I be granted a royal title?"
"You should," Su Rong felt that if she could take over Great Wei sooner, Nangong Zheng would definitely be the main contributor. A royal title was a deserved reward for him. Moreover, she would gain a talent in the process.
"Then it’s settled," Nangong Zheng’s lips parted slightly, and he confirmed the decision slowly.
Su Rong and Zhou Gu stayed in the private room for another hour before they left.
As the two of them departed, Nangong Zheng also left the Nanchu capital quietly, without causing any disturbance, and left Nanchu.
Only Nangong Xin knew about their meeting; no one else was aware. Su Rong did not intend to disclose this matter to those around her, keeping even Xie Yuan and Ye Guixue in the dark. Zhou Gu had Ziye erase all traces of Nangong Zheng’s visit, keeping the matter tightly sealed, even from the Old Duke of Protectorate and Duke Cui.
Meanwhile, Crown Prince Yuan Zhao of Great Wei was unaware that Nangong Zheng and the entire main lineage of the Nangong family, who he thought had no way out, could only survive by clinging to Great Wei with no second thoughts. After all, with a feud so deep that it was impossible to coexist under the same sky, there could be no reconciliation, so he was very confident in both Nangong Zheng and all members of the Nangong family living in Great Wei.
Even though the members of the Nangong family faced exclusion by the noble clans in Great Wei, he turned a blind eye. Although he did not encourage it, he also did not protect them.
He did not know that there are no absolutes. For the benefit, even if there is an irreconcilable feud, people may compromise and turn back for the sake of the living members of the entire family.
Nangong Zheng silently appearing in Nanchu and then returning to Great Wei without stirring any ripples or waves. Yuan Zhao was overly confident and too trusting in him. And Prince Yuan Chen, along with the noble clans in Great Wei, did not take Nangong Zheng seriously. They did not believe that a youth, no matter how talented, burdened by his entire family, could make any significant waves.
But it was this one person who became the key to accelerating Great Wei’s destruction—a fact that even Crown Prince Yan Huisheng of Daliang could not have anticipated.
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