Chapter 274 Who is the good guy and who is the bad guy?
The moment Li Yuanzhao appeared, Shen Churong could no longer hold back.
He was a general who commanded 50,000 imperial guards, and he was decisive and calm.
But at this moment, he was just an eighteen-year-old boy who had just lost his father.
The fear and anxiety of the past few days, and the shock of witnessing his father's tragic death, almost crushed him.
The moment he saw Li Yuanzhao, all his carefully constructed composure crumbled.
Like a child who has finally found someone to rely on, he almost couldn't help but throw himself into her arms and cry his heart out, pouring out all his grievances and pain.
But he couldn't.
He was the commander-in-chief of an army, with the eyes of countless soldiers and civilians watching over him.
After Li Yuanzhao dismounted, his gaze immediately fell on Shen Churong.
She could tell something was wrong with him at a glance.
He was kneeling on one knee, his usually bright eyes now bloodshot.
After meeting her gaze, he hurriedly looked away.
The surrounding people were still shouting "Long live the Emperor!" in a deafening roar, but Li Yuanzhao slowly walked through the crowd and stepped up to Shen Churong.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, a hand was slowly extended towards him.
Shen Churong stared blankly at the hand, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He hesitated for a moment before carefully raising his hand, his fingertips trembling slightly as he gently took hers.
The next second, Li Yuanzhao had firmly grasped his hand, and with a little force, pulled him up from the ground and straight into his arms.
This hug broke down Shen Churong's last line of defense.
His forehead pressed against her shoulder armor, his teeth clenched, yet he couldn't suppress the trembling in his shoulders.
The long-suppressed sobs finally burst forth: "Sister... Father... Father is dead..."
Li Yuanzhao could feel the suppressed sobs of the boy in his arms.
She slowly raised her hand and touched his hair. "Don't worry, I'm here."
The shouts around them gradually subsided, and everyone watched the scene in silence.
Tears welled up in the eyes of the imperial guards, the people whispered among themselves, deeply moved, and even the officials held hostage by the city wall forgot their fear.
At this moment, she was no longer a cold-blooded, aloof emperor, but seemed to be a flesh-and-blood patriarch whom people could rely on.
They are willing to wield their swords to slay treacherous officials, and also to wipe away the tears of the loyal and virtuous...
This is their emperor!
Liu Jinzhang stood in the crowd, gazing at that figure, his chest churning with indescribable emotions.
I hadn't seen her for six months, and she had completely changed.
He possessed both the majesty of an emperor and the tenderness of a human heart, making him a true monarch capable of ruling the country.
He recalled that he had once thought Chen Yanqing possessed the aura of a true dragon and was protected by the mandate of heaven.
In retrospect, how ridiculous that idea seems.
What is destiny?
The scene before us, where thousands kneel in worship, is the best answer.
Only Zheng Wenkai, who was on the city wall, found this scene extremely jarring.
"What is she putting on now?" he sneered through gritted teeth. "What a 'benevolent ruler and loyal subject' act!"
This woman really knows how to win people's hearts; she's got her hands on those foolish people who love this kind of behavior!
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanshu said sarcastically from the side, "Oh? Prime Minister Zheng, isn't this the good consort you chose for me? Why are you hugging Li Yuanzhao?"
Zheng Wenkai gave her a disapproving look.
After a while, Shen Churong's sobs gradually subsided.
He pulled away from Li Yuanzhao's embrace somewhat embarrassedly, wiped away his tears hastily, and his cheeks were flushed.
After Li Yuanzhao released him, he turned to look at Zheng Wenkai, whose face was pale on the city wall. The warmth in his eyes vanished instantly, leaving only a cold killing intent.
"Zheng Wenkai, you deserve to die!"
Zheng Wenkai trembled as he looked down at the dark mass of troops and the scene of the people submitting to him, finally recognizing the reality.
I have completely lost!
But when he was at his wit's end, a twisted madness arose within him.
Even if it means death, he will make sure Li Yuanzhao suffers!
"Bring them all up!"
The soldiers roughly pushed the trembling courtiers to the battlements, their sharp blades pressed against their necks.
"Li Yuanzhao!" Zheng Wenkai leaned out halfway, his voice maniacal, "Didn't you claim to be the greatest emperor of all time, to save the people from suffering? Look at these people! If you dare to take a step forward, I'll immediately tear them apart!"
He wanted to see what choice Li Yuanzhao would make today.
If she dared to disregard the lives of everyone in the palace and order a forceful attack, she would surely earn the reputation of "treating the lives of her subjects like dirt" and "cold-blooded and ruthless" in the hearts of the people, and her throne would be destined to be unstable in the future.
If she hesitates and retreats for fear of inadvertently causing harm, she will be a cowardly and indecisive woman. Let's see how she answers these enraged soldiers and civilians!
Shen Churong was furious that this person could still cause trouble, and shouted, "Zheng Wenkai, how dare you!"
Seeing this, Zheng Wenkai became even more smug: "What do I have to be afraid of? I'm going to die anyway! With so many people going to die with me, it's all worth it!"
"Li Yuanzhao, you choose! Either withdraw your troops and let me leave, or let them go to hell with me!"
The people also became nervous, whispering among themselves with worry.
"Your Majesty, please do not retreat! Letting such a traitor go unpunished will bring endless trouble!"
"But those ministers and palace servants... they were ultimately innocent; those were lives lost..."
A murmur of discussion arose, and all eyes were focused on Li Yuanzhao.
Li Yuanzhao coldly watched the officials on the city wall who were being used as bargaining chips by Zheng Wenkai, a barely perceptible sneer flashing across his lips.
Is this the alliance of interests that these men built together?
In the face of life and death, they were so utterly vulnerable.
But in order to buy time, she slowly raised her hand.
Amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Su Qingci slowly emerged with several women.
They were all dressed in fine clothes, but some of them looked haggard.
The onlookers didn't recognize him and were confused.
Only Zheng Wenkai on the city wall had his pupils shrink.
These are his daughters.
He was obsessed with having a son to inherit the family business, but fate played a cruel joke on him, and he had five daughters in a row.
Believing that there was no hope of having a successor, he placed his hopes for the future of the Zheng family on his nephew, Zheng Xinglang.
To him, these daughters were nothing more than canaries kept in his backyard. He sent them to school and taught them skills only so that they could marry for a good price in the future.
When he decided to start the uprising, he never even considered properly settling them down.
So he wasn't surprised that Li Yuanzhao brought them here today.
"Li Yuanzhao, you're far too naive!" Zheng Wenkai sneered. "You think you can blackmail me by threatening the lives of a few daughters?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than the eldest daughter of the Zheng family stepped forward: "Father! You are wrong! His Majesty never intended to threaten you with our lives; we came here of our own accord!"
Her voice was filled with long-suppressed grief and indignation: "You always say that daughters are useless, but even though we are women, we know the greater good of our country! For your own selfish desires, you forged an imperial edict to usurp power, murdered loyal officials, and caused countless families to be destroyed and lives lost."
The second daughter echoed her sobbing, "Father, though we are confined to our chambers, we have heard of your actions! You keep saying it's for the sake of the Great Qi and the Zheng family, but your treasonous deeds are clearly aimed at destroying the stability of the Great Qi and ruining the Zheng family's century-old foundation! How can you face our ancestors with your actions?"
"You always complain and blame others, saying that the lack of a son will cause the family line to die out. But now, it is clearly you who are bringing ruin to the Zheng family!"
Zheng Wenkai never expected that after teaching them "Rules for Women" and "Precepts for Women" since childhood, these rebellious daughters would now publicly criticize their own father.
"Shut up! What do you know!" he shouted angrily. "I've raised you for over a decade, and you're helping outsiders insult me?!"
The eldest daughter of the Zheng family retorted without fear, "We're not helping outsiders, we're helping justice! We're helping fairness! Wake up! You've already lost!"
At this moment, in the eyes of all the people, he is a traitor who is desperate and uses the lives of the entire palace as a threat, and who even despises his own flesh and blood.
One is an emperor who remains calm in the face of danger, wipes away the tears of her soldiers, enjoys the support of the people, and even has the daughter of her political enemies on her side.
Isn't it obvious who is good and who is bad?
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