Chapter 149 Yes, she softened her heart.
Looking at Shi Zhu's reddened eyes and the faded white clothes he was wearing, Li Yuanzhao's coldness gradually faded, and his tone softened.
"You did a good job, get up."
Shi Zhu froze, momentarily forgetting to move.
He had expected a reprimand or even punishment, but he was taken aback by such a firm response.
Xue Nanzhi also secretly glanced at Li Yuanzhao, only to find that the princess's thoughts were truly unfathomable.
Li Yuanzhao walked to the wooden table in the center of the tent and slowly sat down.
A month ago, Ru Mo had already sent a message informing him that Shi Zhu had actually raised a group of refugees in the chaos of the world and even intercepted the imperial court's disaster relief grain.
She then realized that this servant of the Grand Tutor was actually quite capable.
It was also she who got Ru Mo to secretly help her.
She originally intended to use Shizhu's hands to turn this group of oppressed disaster victims into the sharpest knife.
First, they wiped out the Cui family, then took advantage of the chaos to kill Li Yuanyou.
She then led troops to quell the uprising, winning praise from both the court and the public.
Such a flawless plan should have been a natural outcome for her.
But along the way, she saw too much.
Along the way, refugees dragged their sick and weak bodies to beg, starving corpses lay unburied by the roadside, and children hid in dilapidated temples, their eyes filled with fear...
She suddenly began to question her own plans.
If Shi Zhu were to lead thousands of refugees into Weizhou City, wouldn't those irrational people indiscriminately slaughter everyone? Wouldn't the city's innocent inhabitants also shed blood?
Will these disaster victims, whom she regards as pawns, be wiped out by a large army ordered by her enraged father and die a violent death?
Getting rid of Li Yuanyou would not be difficult for her.
She has plenty of ways to kill him.
But is she really willing to sacrifice the lives of an entire city's population for him alone?
Yes, she softened.
This is the first time in years that she has questioned her own decision.
Over the years, every step she has taken has been meticulously planned, with careful consideration and deliberation at every step.
Tax reductions, crackdowns on powerful families, reforms to the imperial examination system...
She knew better than anyone that these things, ostensibly for the benefit of the people, were actually for her own benefit.
She knew how to win the hearts of the people and accumulate support; every "achievement" was a bargaining chip for her to ascend to the throne.
Even his efforts to fight for women's rights and interests, promote women's education, and allow women to enter officialdom were all aimed at cultivating forces loyal to him and consolidating his rule after ascending to the throne.
She has always been as cold-blooded as if she were playing a game of chess without any emotion, never regretting her moves.
She thought she would continue down this path, single-minded, until she reached the pinnacle of power.
But... the closer she got to that supreme position, the more lost she felt.
She used to think that power was everything, and that ascending to the throne was the end.
Now, she has begun to care about whether the disaster victims can have food, whether the people of Weizhou City will suffer, and even whether all the people in the world can truly live a good life.
This feeling was unfamiliar, as if countless "others" had taken up residence in her heart, making it impossible for her to focus solely on the "imperial throne" as she used to.
She couldn't explain what it was.
Is it weakness? Is it wavering?
Is it the one thing that the Grand Tutor said she lacked back then—benevolence?
She hasn't figured it out yet.
But she knew clearly that she could never be the same as before...
Shi Zhu slowly stood up, standing there somewhat awkwardly, unsure of how to react.
Li Yuanzhao then spoke calmly, "Have your men withdraw."
Shi Zhu was startled, almost thinking she had misheard.
The princess suddenly ordered him to "withdraw his troops." Could it be that he had been wrong all along?
She didn't come to help me kill the Second Prince; instead, she came to save him?
He knew that if the young master were still alive today, he would definitely make him obey the princess in everything.
But now, the opportunity for revenge is right in front of him. The Second Prince is in Weizhou City, and the culprits who killed countless refugees are within reach. He is really unwilling to give up just like that.
"Your Highness!" Shi Zhu finally spoke, her voice tinged with urgency, "We're only one step away from Weizhou City. If we can break through, we can kill the Second Prince and avenge our young master..."
Li Yuanzhao saw through the struggle and resentment in his eyes and interrupted him directly.
"It is true that the people rebelled because the officials forced them to. But have you ever thought that you led thousands of people to besiege the city and cut off its food supplies? The people in the city have been without food for many days. If you forcefully attack the city, how many innocent people will die by the sword in the chaos of battle? Do you want more people to die in war and famine like the refugees outside the tents?"
Shi Zhu was taken aback upon hearing this, opened her mouth, but was speechless for a moment.
He had never thought about this question.
He was only thinking about revenge, about storming the city and killing the second prince, but he forgot that there were countless ordinary people in Weizhou City, just like the refugees outside the tents, waiting for food to survive.
Once they breach the city walls, these people will inevitably be caught up in the chaos and die under the hail of blades.
What alarmed him even more was another overlooked consequence.
Even if he really killed the second prince, the group of refugees who followed him would be directly labeled as "rebels" by the court.
At that time, they will be surrounded and annihilated by a large force sent by the imperial court.
His death alone is insignificant, but those who died were the disaster victims who followed him wholeheartedly and trusted him...
Is he really going to sacrifice the lives of thousands of people for his own selfish desires?
But as he thought about it, the resentment in his heart surged up like a tide, his eyes reddened, and his voice was choked with sobs.
"Your Highness, if we just withdraw our troops like this, the Second Prince and those corrupt officials will still live well. They won't remember the people who starved to death, and they certainly won't pay for the dead! Our brothers and sisters outside are not reconciled!"
Before he could finish speaking, Li Yuanzhao's cold voice rang out, "Who said they'd live well?"
Shi Zhu stared blankly at Li Yuanzhao, her eyes filled with confusion.
Li Yuanzhao met his gaze, "I promise you, I will not let any of those who deserve to die go."
The wind outside the tent blew in through the gaps in the curtains, carrying a slight chill, but it couldn't dispel the tremor in Shizhu's heart.
He looked at Li Yuanzhao and suddenly remembered what his young master had said years ago: "The appearance of the Princess is a blessing for the world and a boon for all people."
He took a deep breath, kowtowed heavily to Li Yuanzhao, and his voice was filled with excitement.
"This humble subject... This humble subject believes in Your Highness! This humble subject will immediately go and tell the brothers to withdraw their troops!"
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