As the male protagonist, the regent initially had no intention of usurping the throne and establishing himself as emperor. It was the emperor who always felt that he wanted to be emperor and had long controlled the government, so he was determined to get rid of him, forcing Li Xiao to rebel. In addition, Li Xiao later fell in love with the female protagonist, Chu Susu, and wanted to make Chu Susu, the empress, his wife. Li Xiao had no choice but to rebel completely.
Therefore, Li Xiao had never intended to kill the emperor, so he would never have tampered with his food. However, Li Xiao also knew that if he lost power, he would probably be killed by this ungrateful emperor. That's why he kept a firm grip on the government, refused to relinquish power, and kept a close eye on things in the palace.
However, if Li Xiao had retired from the military and returned to his hometown earlier, the emperor might not have hated him, much less wanted to kill the regent who had assisted him in his childhood.
But then again, Li Xiao has put in a lot of effort to stabilize the country, so why should he be expected to retire early?
Therefore, it all comes down to timing and luck! Many things are not as simple as who is right and who is wrong. Upon closer analysis, everyone has a point, and no one is completely wrong or completely right. In the end, it can only be explained by the saying, "The winner takes all and the loser is condemned."
Just as Chu Nian was sighing, she noticed that Regent Li Xiao was coming from the imperial kitchen. He probably heard that the wine given to him had gone missing, and Liu Quan was anxiously coming to the Empress to discuss countermeasures, so he followed along.
Nowadays, this wine is no longer just a simple drink. Whether you give it to the emperor or the regent shows which side you're on. Giving it to the wrong side could mean utter ruin.
Chu Nian suddenly felt that everyone here was so pitiful.
Fortunately, the original owner of this body, Lian Nian, didn't have any desire to seek revenge for herself, which greatly reduced the restrictions on Chu Nian's actions. Speaking of which, Lian Nian's recklessness is truly remarkable; she's a woman of unparalleled talent throughout history, and whatever consequences she might cause are possible, so no one can really be blamed.
In one's life, one has to make many choices.
But for people, the hardest thing is probably making a choice.
Often, the choices you make will affect your entire life: some will lead to a smooth and carefree life; others will turn what could have been a carefree life into a life full of hardships.
In this world, among all living beings, a single wrong choice can ruin a lifetime—what kind of suffering is that!
Chu Nian was suddenly filled with emotion. She got up, went to the window, looked at the bright moon outside, and sighed deeply.
Worried that she might fall while drunk, Chu Susu quickly got up and followed her, asking curiously, "Niannian, weren't you enjoying your drink just now? Why are you suddenly sighing?"
Chu Nian was also puzzled: What was she sighing about? All living beings are indeed adrift in a sea of suffering, and so is she. Whether others are suffering or fortunate, does it matter to her? She herself doesn't even know whether she's suffering or fortunate; she should just cherish her own life!
Her inner turmoil vanished instantly, but she feigned sorrow and said, "Why must we drift apart? Why are reunions so rare? Why are we separated for so long? Why can't we find peace?"
Unexpectedly, as soon as she uttered those few lines of copied poetry, Chu Susu, who had lived two lives, was immediately filled with emotion, her eyes reddening, and she murmured, "Yes, why must we drift apart? Why are there so few reunions? Why are we separated for so long? Why can't we find peace?"
The emperor sat at the table, quietly watching the two women facing each other, deeply moved. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow, thinking, "When will my harem be peaceful and free from bloodshed?!"
He also let out a long, helpless sigh, thinking that if the regent hadn't been in control of the court, perhaps he wouldn't have allowed the fire in the court to spread to the inner palace.
Chu Nian turned around and saw a pipa hanging on the wall. She pointed at it and giggled, saying, "Pipa! I know it, I can play it, I'll play it for you!" As she spoke, she swayed over and picked up the pipa.
Chu Susu was afraid she would fall, so she hurriedly followed beside her.
Liu Quan knelt there and was puzzled by the scene: At this time and place, this empress really didn't seem like an empress. Why did she look so much like a palace maid who usually served Consort Lian? Wasn't it said that the empress and Consort Lian belonged to two different factions? Was he mistaken?
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Regent Li Xiao was waiting at his palace for Liu Quan to send someone to deliver plum wine that had been brewed early that morning. He loved this plum wine the most, and he had been waiting for three years to taste it at its best.
However, after waiting for a long time, no one sent by Liu Quan appeared. When he sent someone to the palace to inquire, he learned that the wine was missing. He went to the palace to ask what had happened, but when he arrived at the imperial kitchen, he heard that Liu Quan had gone to Kunning Palace and was planning to report the missing wine to the Empress.
Although the wine he had been eagerly anticipating was lost, Li Xiao didn't intend to make a big fuss, since he had plenty of wine in his household. Moreover, the servants knew his preferences, and they had prepared a considerable amount of plum wine, which, while not as good as the one brewed by Liu Quan in the imperial kitchen, was still quite to his liking.
Therefore, he rushed to Kunning Palace, intending to tell Zhao Susu that the matter should be investigated secretly. However, as soon as he arrived at the entrance of Kunning Palace, he smelled the aroma of plum wine. That aroma indicated that it was brewed by Liu Quan and was quite good, and the wine should have been aged for about three years.
Su Su secretly drank his wine? Thinking of this, Li Xiao felt not anger, but rather a strange joy. This showed that he was now, if not deeply in love with Zhao Su Su, practically so.
The palace servants all recognized him and knew that Chu Susu was his confidante. No one ever stopped him when he came, and this time was no different. Suhe, who was at the door, saw him and quickly stepped forward to greet him, whispering, "Your Highness, the Emperor and Consort Lian are both here."
Li Xiao was a little surprised. He knew that the Emperor's opinion of the Empress had changed recently because of Chu Susu's transformation, and it seemed that the Emperor also wanted to favor the Empress. Ha!
But why is Consort Lian here too?
Given the heroine Chu Susu's prowess, surprisingly no one in the palace told Li Xiao about Chu Nian's afternoon of eating and drinking at Kunning Palace and her lingering there until evening.
Li Xiao, remembering that the Emperor was also present, said to Suhe, "Go and report my arrival to the Emperor and Empress according to the rules!" so as not to make things difficult for Chu Susu.
Suhe was bowing and about to reply "Yes" when a clear, resounding voice came from inside the hall.
Li Xiao's lips twitched slightly, and he asked, "What's that sound coming from inside?"
Suhe hesitated and said, "It sounds like... Consort Lian playing the pipa." But... it really doesn't sound like the sound of a pipa!
Li Xiao recalled his childhood when he joined the army and camped near the countryside. Back then, he also met Zhao Shu, a capable assistant who would become a pillar of his family. The so-called zither music sounded quite similar to the sound he had heard back then.
He then asked, "Are you sure she's playing the pipa and not fluffing cotton?"
Suhe was stunned.
Unexpectedly, as if echoing Li Xiao's words, the woman's singing voice rang out again in the hall.
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