Chapter 71 explores why Eunuch An had such thoughts...
Anhe frowned and asked, "What, do you think our family is the bad guy now?"
What surprised Zhao Liangxu was not the matter itself, but the disappointment he had just shown. He had also thought Li Ying was incompetent.
He was also annoyed by Li Ying's incompetence?
Shouldn't a treacherous minister like him be even happier that his puppet emperor has no ambition and spends his days indulging in food and pleasure, so that he can spend some effort to make the emperor dizzy and confused, thus consolidating his own position?
"Does Eunuch An perhaps also want Li Ying to learn some real skills? But if he learns more, he'll understand more, and then how will you..."
Zhao Liangxu still didn't change how she addressed Li Ying, and An He didn't care. He just looked at Zhao Liangxu with a strange gaze.
"You understand these principles, how could I not? But the way you're saying it makes it sound like you're helping me to do something wicked. Do you really have such a bad intention? I saw that you were very kind-hearted in saving those guests, but now you're trying to trick me into doing something that would involve the extermination of nine generations of your family?"
Zhao Liangxu's words carried a hint of doubt about An He, and An He could sense Zhao Liangxu's subtle yet precise assessment of him.
He was a eunuch who relied on imperial power to gain his prominence. Whether it was the privileges granted to him by the emperor with real power, or the fact that he needed to support and manipulate the little prince to become the Ninth Prince, it all required him, as a eunuch, to curry favor with those above him, or simply to make Li Ying fear him yet obey him, as he was doing now.
There's nothing to clarify in the historical records.
It's no surprise that he earned countless curses from later generations.
There is nothing praiseworthy about eunuchs wielding power, let alone when they overstep their authority and wreak havoc on the court by hindering the emperor.
Zhao Liangxu naturally knew that An He's behavior was not that of a good person. Although An He was extremely powerful now, which made her rarely look into the likely tragic future, as a person from the modern era who was familiar with the fates of several famous eunuchs in history books, she would occasionally feel a faint unease.
She would sometimes wonder if Anhe truly had a peaceful end.
If a more harmonious approach could be taken, without creating a complete antagonism with Li Ying, it might be more conducive to peace and harmony.
After all, she knew that even though Li Ying was under An He's suppression and deception, she was still young but precocious, knew how to hide her abilities, and had a natural keenness.
Even though Zhao Liangxu had some advanced thinking, she ultimately lacked the skills for power struggles and scheming within the imperial court. However, she was at least worried about what might cause Li Ying to rebound from her lowest point in the future.
His ideas have hit rock bottom and rebounded. When oppression reaches its extreme, he will hate Anhe. His methods have hit rock bottom and rebounded. When he grows up, his innate orthodox bloodline will attract courtiers who are willing to support him. If he then conserves his strength and his wings grow stronger, history has already written many times about what will happen to Anhe.
So when she thought Anhe would exhaust all means to confine Li Ying's thinking to the status quo, so that she could only know how to eat, drink and enjoy herself, in order to consolidate Anhe's own position, he unexpectedly despised Li Ying's muddle-headed behavior.
"Does Eunuch An hope that Li Ying will be studious and learn the things that emperors should learn?" Zhao Liangxu asked.
An He narrowed his eyes and said calmly, "Otherwise what?"
"Even if he's stupid, he should at least learn something. Otherwise, does he want to remain a child in the court until he dies?"
“Uncle Ke’an, doing this seems very dangerous for you,” Zhao Liangxu said frankly.
An He then looked at Zhao Liangxu with a different eye, and he realized that Zhao Liangxu's question was because she was worried about him?
Anhe felt a little more comforted.
"You've really been corrupted by your surroundings. My family is such a person, and you still think about our future? Aren't you worried that if a eunuch holds the emperor hostage like this, the country will fall apart?"
Anhe felt relieved and happy, but still wanted to ask Zhao Liangxu.
"I also think Eunuch An is too wicked, but there's really nothing I can do. I like Eunuch An, so I can only try to think more about things for him."
Zhao Liangxu played with the calligraphy brush on the table, sometimes turning it in her hand, sometimes fiddling with the tip and bristles.
"Why should you worry about our family? Just stay out of it and don't get involved."
Anhe heard Zhao Liangxu say she liked him again. Zhao Liangxu had said it many times before, but hearing it still made him tremble all over.
Why did she get involved in these sordid affairs?
An He thought that Zhao Liangxu was already one of her own, but she still had some concerns. It would be better for her to remain innocent so that she would have a way out in the future.
“This isn’t just joining in the fun, Eunuch An!” Zhao Liangxu took the initiative, poking An He with the brush in her hand. He had just teased her, and she wanted to return the favor.
An He restrained Zhao Liangxu's wrist, snatched the brush away, and said unhappily, "You're really bold." He was referring to Zhao Liangxu's act of poking him with the brush.
An He smoothed out the messy brush hairs that Zhao Liangxu had been fiddling with, and said, "Do you know how much this brush is worth? The brush hairs are a rare find. You're not keeping your hands still."
Anhe casually tossed the brush into the bamboo tube, no longer letting Zhao Liangxu cause trouble.
If someone else were to damage his beloved calligraphy brush like that, he would probably weigh his fingers on a scale to see just how audacious they were.
But Zhao Liangxu was not a big deal.
Zhao Liangxu realized that An He was trying to change the subject, but she wasn't about to follow his train of thought. She insisted on bringing the conversation back on track: "Don't try to evade the question. So what exactly is Eunuch An thinking? Why does Eunuch An still want... Li Ying to study properly with the Grand Tutor?"
Li Ying is easy to talk to now. If she were to guide Li Ying, perhaps Li Ying wouldn't suddenly harbor hatred, and at least one day after realizing her mistake, she wouldn't want to devour An Hesheng.
Zhao Liangxu now truly felt that she had been influenced by bad company.
An He hesitated for a moment, still unwilling to tell Zhao Liangxu his true thoughts. His ideas might seem far-fetched to ordinary people, so he spoke coldly, indicating that he did not want to answer the question: "I haven't thought about it much."
"I'm supposed to act based on my own understanding without any explanation from Eunuch An?"
Seeing that An He was still keeping his mouth shut, Zhao Liangxu spoke her own thoughts.
Anhe frowned more and more as she listened, and slammed her hand on the table: "Nonsense! I told you not to get involved in this, but you're getting more and more excited? Are you really trying to drive me crazy?"
The table was slammed loudly, silencing Zhao Liangxu's voice.
Zhao Liangxu remained silent for a long time, just staring at An He without saying a word, which made An He regret his actions.
He shouldn't have spoken so loudly to Zhao Liangxu. She hadn't done anything wrong, and she was even kindly thinking of him.
Anhe secretly regretted his impulsiveness and temper.
She suddenly fell silent. Was she frightened?
I've only been with her for a few days, and I've already taken advantage of her good temper a bit too much. Will she also realize that I have a bad temper and see me for who I am?
After all, he had been seeing Zhao Liangxu almost every day these past few days and had talked a lot. What if Zhao Liangxu suddenly discovered something about him that made her uncomfortable and disgusted, and then realized how repulsive he was as a eunuch?
But he couldn't back down immediately, so he could only try to smooth things over: "I'm not scolding you, but you should at least think about it. How can things involving the Emperor be as simple as you say? If you have even this thought, it could become someone else's leverage. No matter how well you think it is, what others say is still up to them."
"Why don't you just stay put and behave yourself? Why take unnecessary risks? It's not like our family can't do without your help."
An He tried to persuade her gently, but it was clear that Zhao Liangxu was talking nonsense, and in the end, he had to explain.
Zhao Liangxu simply observed An He silently, but she didn't seem angry.
"I've said so much, did you even listen to a word I said?"
Anhe was really unsure.
Zhao Liangxu suddenly smiled, but her voice came out through clenched teeth as she said, "Anhe."
She then called herself by her own name.
Anhe's fingers twitched involuntarily as she asked, "What are you doing? Did you even listen to me?"
"Anhe, do you think I can extricate myself from this situation after you first brought me to the palace?"
"..."
An He felt as if he had lost his mind; he had completely forgotten that Zhao Liangxu was the one he brought to the palace and had interacted with Li Ying.
At the time, he only regarded Zhao Liangxu as an ordinary person, no different from anyone else in his eyes. Zhao Liangxu's most prominent identity was the title of Princess of Northern Zhou, which was like bait.
To outsiders, she would probably have been seen as colluding with Anhe to deceive the young and pitiful Emperor.
Anhe was speechless.
But it's okay, Anhe said: "As long as you don't really get involved in this, our family has plenty of ways to help you get out of this mess and shut those people up."
Zhao Liangxu raised an eyebrow and said, "Eunuch An, I haven't even actually implemented it yet, and you've already presupposed the worst-case scenario?"
"Didn't Eunuch An initially want to ask me what I had said to Li Ying? Perhaps it just so happens that my considerations coincide with Eunuch An's. I also discussed with Li Ying that we shouldn't sell him off so easily."
Anhe said, "You keep your promises?"
Zhao Liangxu nodded.
“Then you clearly wouldn’t tell us about this,” Anhe continued with a straight face, “but I’ve told you the whole story in detail. Let’s not discuss this anymore, and I won’t pursue it further with you.”
An He didn't say anything, but Zhao Liangxu could guess.
She tried to take An He's hand again, but An He, who was feeling frustrated, slapped her hand away. Zhao Liangxu smiled and said, "Eunuch An wants Li Ying to learn something. He doesn't see him as a complete puppet. Eunuch An also hopes that Li Ying can have some skills."
Anhe gave a heavy snort but did not answer.
Zhao Liangxu continued, "If it weren't for Eunuch An deliberately tripping me up and adding some excitement to my life..."
These words drew an angry glare from Anhe.
"Just like you were urging Li Ying on, do you hope he can become a wise ruler?"
An He glanced at Zhao Liangxu, but remained silent.
Her guess was correct; Anhe did indeed hope that Li Ying wasn't a good-for-nothing.
"With his character, can he be a wise ruler? He'd be hard-pressed to even be an emperor with no merits or demerits, let alone the way he is now?"
Anhe couldn't help but mock him.
"But I can guess that Eunuch An has the idea of making him a qualified emperor, but I can't find the source of this idea. Eunuch An can't have become a benevolent ruler just because he is in a high position, can he?"
Anhe scoffed, "Zhang Sheng is enough for our family as our godson."
"Love the people like your own children? How laughable."
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Author's note: I'm trying to keep the plot moving at a good pace. It's time for some real action; let's stop with the tedious pacing (pointing fingers).
Thank you all for your support and love. I'm so touched to see the free tickets and nutrient solution every day. [shrug]
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