Chapter 329: Confession (I)
Sima Jun walked into the hall and sat down when he suddenly found a pair of hands holding tea and placing it in front of him.
Looking up, Sun Wei had a flattering look on his face.
"What I just said was just a joke, please don't be angry, my lord." She said gently, "Father got into such a big trouble, and it was thanks to your intervention. I should thank you, my lord."
Sima Jun didn't touch the cup of tea and said, "Don't worry, Madam. If anything goes wrong, you will have a way out."
Sun Wei looked at him and asked, "Hasn't the prince already dealt with everything? What else could go wrong?"
At this moment, there was a noise coming from the gatehouse.
Cao Song walked over quickly, and then met an angry figure who came in.
"Master, go slower and be careful with your steps..."
Zhou Chang ignored him and limped towards the hall with his cane.
Sun Wei was quite surprised. Zhou Chang was in poor health and rarely left the house. He had now barged into the palace in person, so something serious must have happened.
Looking at Sima Jun again, he saw him stand up calmly, as if he had expected it.
He stepped forward, bowed to Zhou Chang, and called him "Master".
"Don't call me master, I don't have a disciple like you!" Zhou Chang said, and sat down in the hall.
Sima Jun gave Cao Song a look, and Cao Song immediately sent away all the people who followed him.
Sun Wei stepped forward and asked Zhou Chang, "What happened? Why is the Grand Tutor so angry?"
When Zhou Chang saw her, he was even more furious: "You can still laugh!"
Sun Wei looked at Sima Jun in confusion.
"It has nothing to do with Madam," Sima Jun said, "Madam, please go back and rest."
Zhou Chang shouted, "What do you mean it's irrelevant? If it wasn't her father's business, why would there be so many things going on later?"
Sun Wei understood.
It’s Lu Ming after all.
Sima Jun stepped forward and said, "I said it has nothing to do with Madam. The Crown Prince has always wanted military power in the Northern Palace, and Madam's matter is just an excuse. Even if nothing happened yesterday, the Crown Prince would have found another reason."
"Is that what I'm asking?" Zhou Chang said sternly, "I'm asking why you gave up the military power of the Northern Palace in order to protect the Lu family!"
Sun Wei was stunned.
As expected. She was already suspicious, so why did the prince believe it so easily? It turned out that Sima Jun had made a deal with him.
"Is it true?" She looked at Sima Jun.
Sima Jun did not hide it and looked at her: "Exactly."
"Why?"
Sima Jun was not in a hurry. He just looked at Zhou Chang and said, "Master, do you remember that when I returned from Lingnan last year, there were rumors that my ability was superior to that of the Crown Prince and that I should replace him."
Zhou Chang snorted coldly: "Of course I remember. I reminded you to be careful of these rumors at that time."
"I've certainly spoken to the Crown Prince, and he's been quite generous, saying he never took the rumors to heart," Sima Jun said. "But the Crown Prince wasn't telling the truth. He actually does care. He's been brooding over those rumors, not just since last year, but since I took command of the army."
Zhou Chang didn't say anything, just stroked his beard.
Sima Jun said, "Ever since the Seventh Lieutenant's Department filed a complaint against me, the Crown Prince, citing the censor's accusation of abuse of power, urged me to transfer 20,000 troops from the Northern Palace to the Imperial Guards to appease public anger. I refused at the time. Later, the Crown Prince got married, and the matter was put on hold. I certainly didn't think the matter was over. I just wanted to see who wanted those 20,000 troops. Now it seems the Crown Prince is the one who wants control of the Northern Palace."
He then looked at Zhou Chang and said, "Master, I certainly resisted and refused to surrender my military power. But the Crown Prince accused me of not handing over a single soldier in order to replace him. He's already said that. Master, if I hadn't surrendered my military power, would I have been able to leave the Eastern Palace, let alone rescue Madam?"
The more Zhou Chang listened, the worse his face became. After a while, he covered his chest and started coughing.
Sima Jun hurried forward to support Zhou Chang.
Sun Wei also became nervous and went out to ask Cao Song to invite Doctor Lin.
Zhou Chang coughed and pushed Sima Jun away.
After a pause, he slowly said, "Remember, when I returned from Mount Lu, I told you that you were the only one who could save the Sima family? You didn't believe me, but now you see the consequences. If you don't fight for it, your power will only dwindle, and you'll end up dead. In the end, you won't be able to save yourself, let alone her."
Zhou Chang stretched out his hand and pointed at Sun Wei.
Sun Wei was stunned.
Sima Jun was silent for a moment, then asked, "Master, do you want me to be a traitor?"
"The victor is the king, the loser the bandit. If all you cared about was your reputation, you'd just win. But you care about your friendship with the Crown Prince," Zhou Chang sneered. "He's already resorting to all means to trample on your loyalty. How much is your friendship worth?"
Sima Jun remained silent.
Zhou Chang started coughing again.
Not long after, Doctor Lin came hurriedly with his medical kit and gave Zhou Chang a few injections before he recovered.
He said angrily, "Taifu doesn't have much time left, why are you tormenting yourself?"
Zhou Chang frowned and did not answer, as if he was heartbroken.
Divine Doctor Lin sighed to Sima Juan, "As the younger generation, you should at least not provoke him."
After he said that, he picked up his medicine box and left.
After a while, Zhou Chang opened his eyes and sat up.
"Please think about this matter more." He said to Sima Jun, and then looked at Sun Wei, "Princess, please escort me out of the palace."
Sun Wei knew that Zhou Chang had something to say to her alone, so she asked Sima Jun to stay and sent Zhou Chang out of the house alone.
"In my opinion, you are more clear-headed than Ajun about many things. Do you know your current situation?" Zhou Chang said.
Sun Wei was puzzled: "Taifu is referring to..."
"Although the key to yesterday's incident lies with the Crown Prince, you should have heard that you have become the Crown Prince's lifeline to threaten Ah Jun. How will you deal with yourself in the future?"
A chill ran up my back.
Sun Wei recalled that in his previous life, Sun Zhi kidnapped him and lured Sima Jun.
She suppressed her heartbeat and asked, "What do you think, Master?"
Zhou Chang looked back at her, looking quite tired.
"I'm old and can't figure it out. I'm just reminding you to make a decision when necessary."
After he said that, he waved his hand and asked her to stay.
Sun Weiding stayed where he was.
——
Sima Jun waited for a long time for Sun Wei to return, so he went out to look for her.
When he reached the palace gate, he saw Sun Wei still standing there in a daze.
"Madam." Sima Jun called out, and Sun Wei came back to her senses.
"The tutor has gone back." she said.
"I know," Sima Jun said, "it's going to rain. I'll take Madam to Wufengyuan."
Sun Wei looked up at the sky and followed him woodenly.
All this was different from the previous life. In the previous life, the Crown Prince and Sima Jun had never had any grudges against each other. Sima Jun even fought to the bitter end to protect the poisoned Crown Prince.
In this life, Sun Wei made preparations in advance and urged Sima Jun to take control of the Northern Palace. However, his achievements were so great that he frightened the emperor and aroused the prince's fear.
Reality is like a wild horse running away from its reins, rushing towards the unknown.
——"When it's time to make a decision, make it."
"What are you thinking about, Madam?" Sima Jun asked when he saw that she was silent.
"My lord, do you still remember that a few days ago, you mentioned to me that I should go to Xunyang Palace to live." Sun Wei said, "I am thinking now that it is a good idea. I want to leave Jiankang and go to Xunyang."
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