Jianzhang Abandoned Son
If that's the case, why keep this unstable element in the deep palace, within the core political group of the Great Yan Dynasty?
In just a few rounds, A Qiu had figured everything out.
No wonder Rong Yuexian only summoned Shangguan Yuqi back with her, casually saying, "As for the Grand Music Master, the court has made other arrangements." Presumably, Rong Yuexian had already received the conclusion regarding her treatment at that time, but the Four Stars of Tianji, due to their personal relationship with her, did not dare to speak of it.
Zhongli Wuyan's account of the past dynasties seemed more like a farewell.
Among the four constellations of Tianji, Rong Yuexian and An Shihe were kind enough to give her the Tianji Token, Zhongli Wuyan was her senior in the sect, and Chu Yuanyi had a special and deep affection for her.
Zhongli Wuyan seemed to be using this opportunity to tell her about their past lives, their grudges and entanglements. Having met them, she needed to know who they really were, why they entered the palace, and why they had become who they are today.
A thousand thoughts raced through A Qiu's mind, and for some reason, his palms suddenly became sweaty.
This was a feeling she had never experienced before. It was a kind of fear.
It was the fear of facing the unknown. She could no longer grasp her current position in the current situation, nor her future fate or the road ahead.
Sikong Zhao looked at her in a daze and said gently, "I wonder if you still remember, Master, the last time you returned to the capital from the southwest, it was I who stopped you from returning to the palace outside the Grand Marshal's Gate."
She seemed to be mocking herself, saying, "It seems that the head of the hall and I are destined to be incompatible, our horoscopes clash."
At this point, Sikong Zhao no longer addressed her by the court's title "Grand Master of Music," but instead called her "Master of the Divine Weapons Hall" of Lanling Hall, which showed her firm stance and attitude: she must eliminate this Lanling rebel from the palace.
But when she mentioned the past, it seemed as if she wanted to comfort A Qiu. Last time, there was always a way out. This time, although she had to abandon her from the center of power in the Southern Dynasty again, who knew that there would be no way back?
But A-Qiu knew very well that this situation was completely different from the last one.
The only person who opposed her return to the court was Zhao Lingying. However, Zhao Lingying was not actually hostile to her. Rather, she wanted to seize this time before the successor of the Junior Tutor gained power to control Xie Lang and the court, and to find out the truth about the death of the former Empress Shangguan.
At that time, she returned to the court with the title of the successor of the Junior Tutor, and to continue Gu Yi's policies and ambitions. She also had the full support of Gongye Fusu, Gongyi Xiu, Lie Changkong, Bai Shi, and others. Although Gu Yi was not by her side, she was not alone.
But now, no one has the time to pay attention to her. And in this time of widespread panic, she is even less likely to go back to fight for her own power and status and demand an explanation.
She roused herself, looked back at Sikong Zhao, and said, "I want to see His Highness the Crown Prince!"
They couldn't just drive her out of the palace without a clear explanation. Among her peers, after much thought, only Crown Prince Xie Tiao, because of Gu Yi, was most closely associated with her.
The last time Sikong Zhao prevented her from returning to the palace, it was Xie Tiao who sent Xiao Chang'an to borrow a carriage from the Music Bureau to bring her back to the palace under the guise of a female official of the Music Bureau.
Sikong Zhao gave a wry smile and said succinctly, "His Highness the Crown Prince is currently busy with the matter of going north to accept the surrender, and I'm afraid he doesn't have the time to meet with you, Hall Master."
A Qiu's ears rang with a deafening roar, all his defenses crumbled, and he exclaimed in disbelief, "What?"
She finally understood why the military commander-in-chief, Sikong Zhao, had time to meet with her at this moment.
Due to repeated defeats reported from the front lines and the overwhelming disparity in strength, the imperial court has decided to surrender. With no need for further fighting, Sikong Zhao naturally has some free time.
If a surrender is to be accepted, the civil officials will inevitably be busy, as they will need to draft the surrender terms and the ceremony for accepting the surrender. Xie Lang is currently seriously ill and unable to handle affairs, so it is normal for Xie Tiao of the Eastern Palace to be so busy.
Sikong Zhao stared at her intently and said, "Shouldn't the hall master understand the situation by now?"
No, I don't understand.
She argued inwardly, but felt all her strength drain away.
Rong Yuexian's previous evasiveness and Zhongli Wuyan's intentional or unintentional interruptions were all clearly etched in her mind. They must have already known the outcome then, but she alone was excluded from it.
In fact, she could accept either surrender or war; Xie Lang had publicly discussed this issue in the palace.
The decision to demote her excluded her from the list.
She never imagined that after nearly twenty years of peace, the Southern Dynasty's army would be so easily defeated, giving the court no room or opportunity to make a decision, and could only surrender, quickly ending the Southern Dynasty's nearly century-long period of partial peace.
As her mind gradually cleared, she realized why the court wanted to exclude her.
That's because she is Gu Yi's successor, and Gu Yi has always been a key figure in the Southern Dynasty's advocacy of war. After all, it's a well-known fact that Gu Yi allied with Li Chongyu in the north, made an alliance with Fan Ying in the south, and vigorously supported the Pei family in building the Jianzhang Division, the central army of the Southern Dynasty. And Gu Yi's ambition to launch a northern expedition is also known to everyone.
If Dayan decides to surrender now, in order to show sincerity to the Northern Qiang, the first person they must get rid of is her, the young master's successor who advocates war.
Logically, this is not unacceptable.
Before entering the palace, she herself was a powerful and influential figure, deeply aware that for the sake of the greater good, every pawn must be prepared to be sacrificed. Even she herself, every time she carried out a mission, was always prepared for a one-way trip.
But this time, it's very different.
A lingering pain spread through my heart.
Since entering the palace, perhaps she should only regard everything as a dream.
Her master, Wan Qiqing, sent her into the palace to seize the most crucial power and position in the Southern Dynasty. She succeeded.
Or rather, she once did it.
He helped her gain the trust of those people in the palace, and she succeeded.
Shangguan Yuqi, Xie Tiao, Fan Liancheng, Pei Yu, Chu Yuanyi, Consort Chen... Many people, even when recalling those moments of shared hardship, feel a pang of sadness in their eyes.
But that doesn't change the fact that she will be easily abandoned once the situation changes.
And this may be the true nature of the shifting of power and the saying "a new emperor, a new court."
A Qiu's lips moved, trembling as she uttered her last insistence: "I must enter the palace to meet the Emperor. I... we cannot just give up on Dayan like this. You haven't asked my master's opinion."
The land of Dayan to this day was pacified by Gu Yi wielding the Carved Moon Sword; he was the one who single-handedly created more than ten years of peace in the Southern Dynasty.
The court's hasty decision to surrender was made without consulting her, the successor of the young master, or even considering Gu Yi's opinion. Regardless of whether Gu Yi had retired, he should not have been treated with such disrespect.
Sikong Zhao also paused for a moment, and finally looked at her with a distant gaze. If she was not mistaken, there was a trace of pity in his eyes.
Sikong Zhao didn't utter these words aloud; he spoke them purely through lip reading, only his mouth moving. But A Qiu understood them perfectly:
"Going north to surrender is the opinion of the Junior Tutor. The Junior Tutor is now in the palace."
What? !
Gu Yi, he's back?
A Qiu's mind went completely blank in an instant, and he found that he could no longer utter any words.
If before, she could still think and weigh the various gains and losses;
Shocked and bewildered, she stood frozen in place, unable to move.
Seeing that she had stopped moving, Sikong Zhao reached out and pulled her. The pull wasn't very strong, just enough to turn her around and keep her walking forward.
And A-Qiu was led along by her in a daze, step by step, completely unaware of where she was.
Seeing that she could not get any more questions, Sikong Zhao decided to tell her everything.
She whispered, "The young master returned without much fanfare. And it was his idea to make you leave."
Yes. Ah Qiu thought blankly.
If Gu Yi returns, of course no one can disregard his wishes and simply throw her out like that. Even Xie Lang would have to ask for his opinion first.
Gu Yi is back, which makes sense now. Who has such power and courage to make such decisive decisions to surrender and ask her to leave in such a short time?
Even if everyone in the palace felt that surrendering was the best option and that it was appropriate to get rid of her, probably no one would have so decisively spoken out and carried it out immediately.
There's only one question: Why did Gu Yi want her to leave?
And this decision wasn't even announced to her personally by him.
Ah Qiu finally understood why it was Sikong Zhao, whom she was least familiar with, who had come to see her off.
It's likely that no one else could announce the decision to ask her to leave so formally and without any remorse.
A Qiu felt completely lost and just let Sikong Zhao lead her somewhere.
Sikong Zhao's voice still lingered in her ears:
"Is there anywhere you wish to go, or anyone you wish to find? People don't die just because they leave the palace, especially you, Master. You shouldn't be like this."
That means she already had connections in the martial arts world and wasn't born and raised in the palace, so she shouldn't continue to linger. Besides, Jianzhang Palace is really not a good place to stay right now.
"The Junior Master once instructed that from now on, the Southern Dynasty will be a vast and open land, where the Hall Master can roam freely without anyone causing trouble for him. The Junior Master's token that he once gave you will not be taken back. Wherever you go, you can still rely on it to get the help of the local Junior Master's charioteer."
The repeated calls of "Young Master" reminded her of the name she had kept hidden deep in her heart, a name she had never dared to touch—Gu Yi.
It turned out that what truly broke her was him all along.
The longing that had been suppressed in her heart for so long, as vast as mountains and seas, finally burst forth like a dam breaking, almost drowning her completely and making it impossible for her to breathe.
Gu Yi was in the Jianzhang Palace behind her, but she was being carried away by Sikong Zhao, getting further and further away.
It turns out that if he didn't want to see her, even if they were right next to each other, she wouldn't be able to see him.
Once you leave the palace, everything returns to square one.
He remained the high and mighty Junior Tutor; while she remained a wandering assassin, with no way to gain entry.
From beginning to end, she was neither him nor one of their own. She was merely a destined passerby.
They treated her kindly and were tolerant of her. That was already extremely good.
She followed Sikong Zhao aimlessly through the crowd until a chilling voice came from above, shouting:
"Who goes there? Where are you taking my disciple?"
Dressed in white, Wan Qiqing stood quietly five feet away from them, his handsome face expressionless.
People automatically avoided him, for everyone could tell he was no ordinary person.
After he shouted "Who goes there?", the people around him were so frightened that they fled for their lives and disappeared in an instant.
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