Chapter 100 She clearly cherished him like the apple of her eye…
Zhou Chuanxing was right; Tang Xinuan had entered the palace with the determination to kill the Empress.
Since entering the palace, she had been observing where it would be most convenient to kill the Empress.
After entering the palace, the two first went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to pay their respects to the Emperor.
Zhou Chuan knelt down to perform the grand ceremony, but Tang Xinuan was angry that the emperor wouldn't exonerate her family, so she refused to kneel no matter what.
The Emperor was quite magnanimous and did not pursue the matter with the new sister-in-law.
He took his anger out on Zhou Chuanxing, giving him a severe scolding.
"I heard you opened an academy in the Prince's mansion?"
When the imperial eunuch returned, he complained to him at length that everyone in the Prince's mansion, from top to bottom, had started studying.
Although the two were brothers, they hadn't seen each other much in over a decade, and their understanding of each other came entirely from memorials to the emperor.
Zhou Chuan's calligraphy and literary talent are average, but he is very good at strategizing and deploying troops.
He was brave and skilled in battle, and invincible. He began leading troops at the age of fifteen and never suffered a defeat.
How fortunate I am that he is my own brother.
Rumors are circulating that he is the King of Qin's patron.
In fact, the King of Qin was the true protector of the Zhou Dynasty.
The emperor stared at his younger brother, his expression grim, but his heart was filled with genuine affection.
If President Zhou Chuan were in Beijing, his intelligence and talent would far surpass those students who were oblivious to the world around them and devoted themselves to studying the classics.
After all, before the age of thirteen, his academic performance in all aspects was outstanding among his peers.
Unfortunately, he was born into royalty and from a young age bore the heavy responsibility of protecting the country.
I thought that at his age, he would have already married and had children, and even if not his legal wife, he would have taken several concubines.
He's not young anymore and still a bachelor, so they arranged a marriage for him because he's a bedridden patient.
That's really impressive!
Zhou Chuanxing frankly said, "I have nothing to do, so I lead the whole family to read the classics, which can be considered as making up for the regrets of my childhood."
The Emperor waved his hand at him, "Come closer."
Zhou Chuanxing pulled Tang Xinuan along and stopped a step away from the Emperor.
The emperor sized them both up.
How did you meet?
Zhou Chuanxing replied truthfully, "When my younger sister held the Spring Banquet, she and Miss Chu San entered the palace and met by chance."
Tang Xinuan has made rapid progress in her studies with Zhou Chuanxing these past few days.
Now I do everything openly and honestly.
Plus, she's beautiful.
After looking him over, the Emperor was truly pleased.
"She's a smart girl, more than good enough for you. Have a child soon, so your parents can have peace of mind in heaven."
Zhou Chuanxing had no plans to have children and didn't want to disobey his elder brother during the Lunar New Year.
He replied casually, "I understand, but Your Majesty, you should urge your third brother more."
The emperor gave him a cool glance.
He turned to look at Tang Xinuan, and his voice unconsciously softened as he faced such a gentle, quiet, and beautiful girl.
"Tell me, why aren't you kneeling?"
Tang Xinuan, neither humble nor arrogant, retorted, "Are you a tyrant?"
Disrespecting the Emperor is a serious crime, so Zhou Chuanxing had to make a show of it and reprimanded him in a low voice, "You are not allowed to be disrespectful to your elder brother!"
Tang Xinuan pretended not to hear and stared intently at the Emperor.
The Emperor, however, was tolerant and smiled magnanimously, "Ask your husband, am I a foolish ruler?"
Zhou Chuanxing sincerely admired his elder brother, the Emperor. “Your Majesty is benevolent, pragmatic, diligent in his duties, and loves the people like his own children. Since ascending the throne, he has reduced taxes, rectified officialdom, and paid attention to people’s livelihood and agriculture. During his fourteen years on the throne, the government was clean and efficient, the economy was prosperous, and the borders were stable. He is a rare benevolent ruler. Nuannuan, don’t talk nonsense and upset your elder brother.”
Most of what Zhou Chuanxing said is true.
However, the continuous wars in the Great Zhou Dynasty left this emperor powerless to do anything about many things.
Especially in recent years, his health has been poor, and he has neglected many state affairs; otherwise, so many corrupt officials would not have been able to infiltrate the court.
His body is powerless to help.
They could only place their hopes on the next monarch.
Tang Xinuan didn't believe it. "If he's such a benevolent ruler, why doesn't he clear my family's name?"
The Emperor was not angry at such treasonous words, saying, "You certainly have a lot of nerve!"
Tang Xinuan retorted, "What's the use of being bold? It won't clear my parents' names."
The Emperor looked at Tang Xinuan with great patience. "I'm giving you a chance now. Besides clearing your family's name, you can ask me to grant you one thing. What do you most want to do?"
Tang Xinuan had no time to hesitate, "Of course, it's about restoring my Erlang's job."
The Emperor laughed: "You're not stupid. The first thing your second son did after being reinstated was to clear the name of your Tang family."
Tang Xinuan wasn't thinking about that.
So many talented people were selected in this year's provincial examination, and now some have been imprisoned and others suspended from their posts—and those were all her students.
She certainly hoped they would have a chance to use their talents.
However, she couldn't explain it to the Emperor.
"Erlang is capable, but Prince Rui is a fool. He's not even as good as me. I swindled him out of 500,000 taels of silver, and he still doesn't know who I am."
If he can rule as regent, then so can I.
Such a smart and pure-hearted girl is a rare sight.
The emperor was delighted after only a few words, saying, "No wonder Erlang likes you; it's his good fortune to marry you."
Tang Xinuan replied without hesitation, "Erlang is wonderful. It is my blessing to marry him."
Today is New Year's Eve, and the Emperor doesn't have much time, so he promptly ended his chat with Tang Xinuan.
Holding Zhou Chuanxing's hand, she said with some sadness, "Your Majesty's health is not good, and he won't last much longer. Let's talk about some things after Your Majesty passes away, so that Your Majesty can enjoy a few days of peace."
Zhou Chuanxing was deeply moved and knelt before the Emperor, unable to hold back his tears.
"Brother..."
Physician Yang predicted that the emperor would have no more than three to five months to live.
A month has passed.
Before long, they would be separated forever, and Zhou Chuanxing felt as if his heart had been ripped open.
The Emperor patted his shoulder and sighed, "That's all for now. Let's have a few more drinks together tonight, Your Majesty."
The banquet was about to begin, and Zhou Chuanxing helped the Emperor to the main hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
All civil and military officials, as well as princes and ministers, were in place.
The Empress, dressed in a phoenix robe, arrived with the little princess by her hand.
Zhou Chuanxing helped the Emperor sit down, and then he and Tang Xinuan sat at the head of the table below the Emperor.
The Emperor and Empress took their seats one after the other.
All the civil and military officials kowtowed to the Emperor and Empress.
With the arrival of the new year, the Hall of Mental Cultivation is bustling with activity and prosperity.
The emperor looked around and saw that the civil and military officials were plentiful and well-equipped, which made him feel very gratified.
Princess Chaoyang sat next to the Emperor, her sweet tongue uttering a string of auspicious words.
The Emperor was pleased. Holding his daughter's small hand, he pointed to Tang Xinuan and said, "Chaoyang, that's your second aunt. You haven't greeted her yet. Get closer to her in the future. Go on."
Chaoyang readily agreed and skipped over to Tang Xinuan's side.
"Second Aunt, Chaoyang greets you."
Tang Xinuan had been staring at the Empress, and the Empress was also staring at her.
Both of them had murderous intent in their eyes.
Because there were many people around, no one made a move.
However, they are all looking for opportunities.
Suddenly, a cute and pretty little girl ran over, and Tang Xinuan withdrew her murderous aura.
He pulled the little girl to sit next to him.
"Your name is Chaoyang, are you from the same dynasty as Princess Chaoli?"
Chaoyang replied crisply, "Yes, my father said I am like the morning sun, so he bestowed upon me the title Chaoyang (meaning 'rising sun')."
Tang Xinuan handed her a pastry.
While eating, Chaoyang asked her, "Second Aunt, what's your name? Why did you marry my second uncle? My second uncle looks so fierce, will he be fierce to you?"
Tang Xinuan answered her questions one by one, "...Your second aunt likes your second uncle. Your second uncle is only fierce to outsiders, but very gentle to his own family..."
The two had a lively and engaging conversation when they first met.
Zhou Chuanxing was inevitably saddened.
If his little girl can get pregnant, she will definitely be a good mother.
The banquet lasted until late into the night, when the emperor could no longer stay up and finally announced its end.
The Empress wanted to kill Tang Xinuan, but she never found an opportunity.
Poisoning was involved; Tang Xinu had someone responsible for checking every dish she prepared.
The ambush was impossible because Tang Xinuan and Zhou Chuanxing were inseparable; she simply couldn't bring herself to do it.
There was no other way but to order her men to ambush and kill them on the way after the banquet.
Zhou Chuanxing was highly skilled in martial arts, and Tang Xinuan was also very clever. In addition, they were surrounded by guards. The assassins that the Empress had hired were wiped out before they could even get close to Zhou Chuanxing and Tang Xinuan.
The Empress was unwilling to accept this, so she consulted with Prince Rui.
Prince Rui has tried many ways to persuade the Emperor to take back military power, but the Emperor has consistently refused.
By now, is there anything Prince Rui doesn't understand? The Emperor still intends to pass the throne to Zhou Chuanxing.
He could not sit idly by and wait for his death, so he joined forces with several military generals who held military power and planned to force the emperor to abdicate at the right time.
Wei Minzhao was one of them.
He loved Princess Chaoli, but Zhou Chuanxing actually married her off to Li Zhengyan. How could he possibly be willing to accept that?
Before Chao Li got married, he had approached her several times, asking her to go to Zhou Chuanxing to change her mind.
Unfortunately, Chao Li rejected him.
Firstly, Chao Li genuinely likes Li Zhengyan.
Furthermore, Wei Minzhao was selfish. When he helped Tang Xinuan set up the school, he was aware of many things, but he never took the initiative to solve them.
When students stayed at inns and found it inconvenient to study, he asked him to stay in the school to continue their studies, but he refused without hesitation.
As these kinds of things piled up, Chao Li naturally became disappointed in him.
Wei Minzhao watched helplessly as Chao Li married into the Li family, and boundless hatred welled up inside her.
He initially feigned allegiance to Prince Rui, but eventually became a true ally.
Once Prince Rui ascends the throne and orders the execution of the entire Li family, Princess Chaoli will be his alone.
Wei Minzhao not only sought refuge with Prince Rui himself, but also dragged in the Duke of Wei.
Duke Wei and Zhou Chuanxing were not on good terms, but after considering it for a few days, he agreed.
Prince Rui then persuaded Wei Minzhao to contact Chu Yannuo.
The Chu family had saved Zhou Chuanxing and his two siblings' lives, and Chu Yanqing was also the Princess Consort of Duan. With his involvement, things would be much easier.
Wei Minzhao hesitated, "Ever since my sister was injured, he has been thinking about retiring and I'm afraid he won't come out to do anything again."
How could Prince Rui possibly believe that, "Now that Miss Tang has been made Princess Consort of Qin, I don't believe that the Crown Prince of Chu doesn't want to take her back?"
Wei Minzhao was displeased. "What good will it do my sister if he takes it back?"
Prince Rui patted Wei Minzhao and said earnestly, "He's just a fool, what are you afraid of? Those who achieve great things don't concern themselves with trifles."
Wei Minzhao was persuaded by Prince Rui and went to the Marquis's residence that very night to make contact.
After Wei Minxian woke up, Chu Yannuo stayed by her side, serving her morning and night with even more care than the servants.
Although his behavior was somewhat numb, and sometimes he didn't even know what he was doing.
But with his cousin getting married, he was like a walking corpse, not taking care of Wei Minxian, and really didn't know what else he could do.
His initial reason for marrying Wei Minxian was that he wanted a healthy child.
Although his cousin got married, he and Wei Minxian are doing well now and will continue to pursue their original intentions.
As for my cousin...
On a cold night, he stood under a plum tree, wearing a heavy cloak, gazing at the distant stars.
My heart is calm and undisturbed, my eyes show neither sorrow nor joy.
I cherished her like the apple of my eye, how could I have lost her!
"Fifth brother-in-law, I know you still like Miss Tang. Helping Prince Rui is your only chance to win her back. Don't miss it."
In the darkness, Chu Yannuo's desolate voice slowly rang out.
"What about your sister?"
Wei Minzhao clenched her fists: "Which man doesn't have three wives and four concubines?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
