Chapter 317 Younger Brother
In the end, Wang Yanzhi won his bet.
With his morbid yet stubborn love, he managed to keep Li Yuanzhao with him once again.
However, Li Yuanzhao did not show leniency to the Wang family of Taiyuan because of his relationship with them.
The Wang family, one of the five great families, ultimately could not escape the fate of gradual decline and fading popularity, and eventually fell into ruin.
Wang Yanzhi remained indifferent to the gradual decline of his family.
Perhaps, from the moment his father married him into the royal family, he was no longer a member of the royal family.
His thoughts and worries were solely focused on the emperor.
On the other hand, Li Yuanyou restored the title of "King Cheng".
Li Yuanzhao provided a generous dowry, far exceeding the standards of previous marriage alliances.
On the eve of her wedding, Li Yuanzhao unusually summoned him.
This was the first time Li Yuanyou had met with Li Yuanzhao privately since returning to the capital.
But his former feelings were no longer the same. He stood respectfully at the lower end, not daring to look up at her.
Looking at his cautious demeanor, Li Yuanzhao felt a faint sense of emotion.
Before she learned that he was the heir favored by her father, she had genuinely treated Yuan You as a younger brother and had given him some of her heart.
However, there can only be one throne.
When the "younger brother" suddenly becomes a potential, or even a "competitor," that meager kinship vanishes instantly, leaving only cold calculation and defensiveness.
She could have eliminated Li Yuanyou after securing her throne to prevent future troubles.
The path to becoming an emperor is never without bloodshed and sacrifice; one more of him makes no difference.
In the end, however, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Perhaps it is because, deep in some corner of her heart, a trace of the old "sibling" affection still remains.
Perhaps it's because, over the years, regardless of what Li Yuanyou thought in his heart, he was indeed incredibly docile and harmless in front of her.
Or perhaps... it's because too many people around her have already died.
Amidst the shifting of power and territorial expansion, countless vibrant lives perished, and she was not entirely unaffected.
The emptiness that occasionally struck in the dead of night, the loneliness of being all alone in the empty hall, made her occasionally taste the chill of being at the top of power.
So she kept this "younger brother" who no longer posed a threat to her.
Even so, she still couldn't help but be suspicious and uneasy.
Therefore, when the Xianbei envoy mentioned marriage alliances at the victory banquet, even though the Great Qi was now at its peak and no longer needed to rely on women or men marrying far away to exchange for peace.
But she pushed Li Yuanyou out almost without thinking.
This resolved the dispute among the court officials and prevented future troubles, making it the most rational and prudent choice she could make as an emperor.
The matter has come to this; the imperial edict has been issued, the wedding date has been set, and nothing can be changed.
On the eve of their parting, her heart softened a little.
"Yuanyou, how have you been these past few years?" she finally asked, her tone carrying a hint of reminiscing.
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanyou's body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment, as if he hadn't expected her to ask such a question.
After a moment of silence, he replied in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I... am grateful for Your Majesty's grace, which has allowed me to preserve my life and live without worry about food and clothing."
"When I was at Kaiyuan Temple in Weizhou, I faced the ancient Buddha and the dim lamp every day, which allowed me to calmly reflect on the past. Later... I was exiled to the northern frontier. Although the wind, snow and cold were bitter, I also understood that survival was not easy, and I knew that Your Majesty... sparing my life was already a great act of mercy."
"Now, thanks to His Majesty's kindness in summoning me back to the capital and granting me a residence and allowance, I am deeply grateful and feel as if I have been given a second life."
He didn't complain, didn't whine, and didn't hypocritically say "I'm doing very well."
He simply recounted his experiences of imprisonment, exile, and being "cared for" in a straightforward manner, downplaying all the hardships and ultimately expressing gratitude for the "divine grace."
Li Yuanzhao listened quietly, his gaze falling on the man's lowered eyelashes and his profile, which was much thinner than he remembered.
"Yuanyou, have you ever resented your elder sister's ruthlessness in your heart?"
Not only did they imprison and exile him, but now they are going to "marry" him off like an object to a distant, unfamiliar foreign land.
Upon hearing this, a flicker of panic crossed Li Yuanyou's eyes. He then knelt down with a thud, his voice urgent: "Your subject dares not!"
"Your Majesty is wise; I have no such intention! Thunder and rain are all acts of imperial favor. To share Your Majesty's burdens is my duty as a subject. I... feel only gratitude, and hold no resentment!"
Looking at his trembling figure lying on the ground, Li Yuanzhao felt an even stronger mix of emotions in his heart.
She rose, stepped down from the throne, came to him, reached out and took his arm, pulling him up from the ground.
"Stand up and speak."
Li Yuanyou was pulled up by her, his body stiffened slightly, and he still kept his head down, not daring to look directly at her.
Li Yuanzhao looked at him and said slowly, "Yuanyou, no matter what happened in the past, I still regard you as my younger brother in my heart."
These words, though spoken softly, made Li Yuanyou raise his head in disbelief and look at her.
younger brother?
This word was too unfamiliar and too much to hope for for him.
Li Yuanzhao pulled him to sit down on a chair nearby, his voice tinged with nostalgia.
"When I first ascended the throne, many ministers strongly advised me to kill you to prevent future troubles."
Li Yuanyou's heart jumped into his throat.
“But I…” Li Yuanzhao’s voice lowered, as if he were talking to himself, “In the end, I still can’t bear to kill you.”
“I always think back to the old days. Back then, you always liked to run to my Xihe Palace, complaining that the lessons your father assigned you were too heavy, pestering me to take you hunting in the West Garden, or sneaking out of the palace to play.”
As she said this, a relaxed smile appeared in the corners of her eyes and brows.
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