Chapter 2, Chapter 82: After Ascending the Throne
Although the coronation ceremony has ended, there are still many things left to be done.
The late emperor's third son, the traitor Zhong Ming, was currently imprisoned in the imperial prison.
More than a month had passed since they last met, and Zhong Ming's previously subtle arrogance had become even more blatant.
He sat cross-legged on a pile of dry grass, smoothing his hair with his own hands, his deeply sunken eyes flashing with hatred.
Zhou She stood outside the iron bars, watching him quietly for a moment, and said, "Open the door."
Zhong Ming was clearly surprised, but his surprise was only momentary. He quickly laughed in a sarcastic tone: "It is truly rare for Your Majesty to deign to see a sinner like me."
Zhou She ignored him.
He slowly walked around the prison. Although several years had passed, he could still seem to recall how he felt when he was imprisoned here.
A servant immediately stepped forward and reprimanded, "How dare you! How dare you not kneel before His Majesty?!"
"A jackal wearing the skin of the Zhong family, does he really think he's the emperor?" Zhong Ming sneered, his chin held high, veins bulging on his neck.
He recalled that many years ago, when that old man Zhong Shize had just fallen ill, he woke up to select tutors for the princes.
After the initial selection, the list of candidates for the position of tutor was recorded. He looked it over once, and Zhou She's name was also on it. He was just an inconspicuous candidate waiting to be chosen by him.
With his status reversed overnight, how could he not hate it?
"Whether I am the Son of Heaven or not is not for you to decide," Zhou She said in a very calm tone.
He pulled an account book from his sleeve; the pages were slightly curled.
A chair was offered to him from behind, and Zhou She sat down casually: "I don't actually want to see you."
What use is it to see a man destined to die? Not to mention that the late emperor made no comment on Zhong Ming's fate before his death, even if he had spoken…
Zhou She would only verbally agree, but once Emperor Hong'an died, he would immediately kill him.
Keeping this kind of person around is just a disaster.
He just couldn't understand why anyone would be willing to gamble on someone as foolish as the third brother.
"I have already seen this ledger. You have a very deep relationship with Chuzhou."
Zhong Ming coldly replied, "Yes, His Majesty certainly knows, otherwise why would he have gone to Chuzhou on his own initiative? With such eagerness to make a move, he must have gained quite a bit, right?"
Zhou She recalled the vast wealth he had acquired after his home was confiscated.
It will be enough for him to use for a long time, if it goes into the national treasury.
"Yes," Zhou She said frankly, "I've gained a lot."
Zhong Ming looked at him coldly.
"Were the troops you used to force the emperor to abdicate Gao Zicong's side?"
“You can try to guess.” Zhong Ming smiled smugly this time.
He was pleased that it could sow discord between Zhou She and his ministers.
"No need to guess." Zhou She closed the ledger. "I know who is secretly helping you."
Zhou She's gaze swept carefully across Zhong Ming's face. Zhong Ming met his gaze without flinching or showing any fear.
After a long silence, Zhou She finally looked away, looking utterly bored: "You truly have no remorse. Do you know that before the late emperor passed away, he mentioned you to me, asking you to guard his tomb for the rest of your life?"
Zhong Ming's soft breathing suddenly stopped.
Zhou She waited a while before he finally laughed mockingly: "This old man, knowing he'll be Emperor Renzong after his death, still tries to show off his benevolence?"
Zhou She was speechless.
Although Zhong Ming tried his best to hide it, Zhou She could still hear the excitement and unease in Zhong Ming's trembling voice.
Zhou She rose with a flick of his sleeve, displeased, and said, "I think so too. If you repay evil with good, how will you repay good? Guards, drag this unfilial and disrespectful wretch away and execute him!"
Zhong Ming's roar rang out from behind.
Zhou She continued walking inside, the roar gradually fading into the distance, and he stopped outside another cell.
Inside were several officials he had brought back from Chuzhou, all of whom were now deathly pale and covered in cold sweat.
Zhou She glanced at them a few times, and although he had originally wanted to say something, he was no longer in the mood.
Emperor Hong'an treated him with the care and concern one would show for an heir. But in terms of affection for his descendants, he certainly couldn't compare to Zhong Ming and others.
But it was Zhong Ming, whom he doted on, who dealt him a heavy blow.
Zhou She still finds it incredibly ironic when he thinks about it now.
Power, the power he wields, is what alienates a person. Even those who don't yet possess power, merely looking up to it, will gradually become distorted.
The new emperor, filled with melancholy, stepped through the gates of the Qianqing Palace.
The moment he stepped inside, his melancholy vanished.
A loud, impassioned cry pierced the eardrums; the boy cried with extreme anguish, as if he had suffered a fatal injury.
Zhou She: "...?"
A slightly older boy was standing in front of the boy, holding the boy's hand with one hand and the girl opposite him with the other, speaking to him earnestly.
The Empress sat far away, her shadow faintly visible behind the screen, as she bent over her desk reading, her pen moving swiftly.
Several palace maids tried to dissuade them to no avail, and stood not far away, on the verge of tears, only to receive the Empress's words: "Ignore them."
Zhou She felt even more troubled.
"His Majesty."
Zhou She: ...
The eldest boy was the sixth son of the late emperor, who was enfeoffed as the Prince of Kang after Zhou She ascended the throne.
His Highness Prince Kang is only eight years old this year, but his maturity far surpasses that of his peers. Zhou She doesn't know what Zhong Ming and the others looked like when they were young... but they are probably not even as good as Zhong Shuo now.
Zhong Shuo pretended not to see the accusing expressions on his two grandnephews' faces: "When Xin Ge was studying, he wasn't very serious and Yiniang beat him up. Later, when Xin Ge was studying seriously, Yiniang would come and make him laugh."
In short, both sides should be held accountable.
Two little brats, not very capable, but with big tempers.
Zhou She's forehead veins throbbed, and when he looked down, he saw the two children busily smiling at him.
"...Stop laughing." Zhou She said mercilessly, "You're losing your teeth, you look awful."
Zhong Huang immediately withdrew his bared teeth, and Zhong Cong thought for a moment before asking in a wronged tone, "Father, have you never lost a tooth?"
His condemning expression suggested that he had said something extremely offensive.
Zhou She ignored them, lifted his leg and walked inside, asking as he went, "Stop trying to be cute and charming. I want to ask you how much you read today, how many pages of calligraphy you wrote, whether you've learned everything the teacher taught, whether you can recite it, whether you previewed the material, whether you reviewed it, and if you've learned it, why can't you read a few more pages on your own?"
Zhong Cong, Zhong Huang, and Zhong Shuo: "..."
Dad is terrifying!!
Zhong Cong, unafraid of death, left behind the words: "But the teacher said that when you were studying, Father, you never sat at your desk for even a single incense stick's time. You missed 29 days a month, and your handwriting was even worse than mine."
Zhong Shuo waited until she finished speaking before suddenly reaching out and grabbing Zhong Cong. He then chuckled at Zhou She's multicolored face and said, "Your Majesty, children speak without thinking."
Zhou She glared at him and said coldly, "Father didn't study hard back then, and now it's too late to regret it. Yi Niang, you are the smartest. Remember to copy today's homework twice."
After saying that, he ignored the children running around in a panic behind him, walked around the screen, and went into the inner room.
Gu Xunhui had already entered a deserted area and hadn't heard his footsteps at all. It wasn't until almost half an hour later that she finished writing the last character, looked up, and saw Zhou She: "My lord, have you finished?"
She knew Zhou She was there to deal with Zhong Ming, and she also knew about the situation in Chuzhou. The powerful clans there were deeply entrenched, and Chuzhou, located in the heart of the Central Plains, was both wealthy and corrupt.
She understood these things. Zhou She casually picked up a book from the bookshelf and glanced at it, nodding as he spoke: "Actually, I didn't originally intend to ask him anything."
The Third Prince had been quiet and well-behaved in recent years, and Emperor Hong'an gradually lowered his guard against him, appointing his father-in-law and old friends to important positions.
Zhou She saw this and knew it was the emperor's compensation to his third son. He knew it was a hidden danger, but some things he said were never very effective.
However, the late emperor made the same mistake as the one seen in the sky.
The Third Prince's ambition will only grow bigger as a result.
Zhou She privately believed that the late emperor did not die unjustly.
"When you look at Zhong Ming, you think of my two sons?" Gu Xunhui understands him too well.
Perhaps because he received too little love from his family during his youth, Zhou She was indeed more indecisive when dealing with his family.
“Yi Niang and Xin Ge are only five years old now.” Gu Xun Hui put the brush back in its place and tidied up the items on his desk one by one. “Who can say what the future holds?”
These two children are rare twins.
A child's character can be judged by his age; Zhong Cong was indeed more resolute and daring than Zhong Huang.
“Actually, I went there for revenge.” Zhou She suddenly laughed. “You told me that when Zhong Ming forced the emperor to abdicate, he also imprisoned Yiniang in the palace, which terrified me.”
Gu Xunhui said, "Yes, but she's brave. She just accidentally pinched her wrist until it turned purple, but everything else is fine."
As for her initial panic, Gu Xunhui didn't mention a word about it.
Gu Xunhui secretly wanted his daughter to inherit the throne, but... it all depends on fate.
Both are her children, which is better than having only one child who is spoiled and pampered.
The mother calmly thought this to herself, and stuffed a few pages of paper in her hand in front of Zhou She: "Look at this."
This is a planning document, signed by the empress herself who is standing before him.
Zhou She read down a few more lines and saw another name: "Sheng Lianlian?"
“She contacted me through Huai Ziyou and said she was willing to be a lecturer, and I agreed.”
Zhou She: "Huai Ziyou? He..." He's willing?
He looked at the address; it was Dingzhou, a thousand miles away from the capital.
“They are kindred spirits,” Gu Xunhui said with absolute certainty.
Zhou She felt there was more to it than met the eye, and too lazy to concern himself with Huai Leju's matter. After reading it, he pondered for a moment and said, "Everything else is fine, but how about changing the location?"
Gu Xunhui asked, "Where?"
Dingzhou and Chuzhou are very close to each other, and the internal power struggles are a long-standing problem for these kinds of prefectures that have been stable for many years.
However, Gu's father was from Dingzhou, which made him relatively easier to deal with.
Zhou She: "Yongzhou".
Unlike his previous life, Yongzhou is not under his direct control. The current highest military and political officials in Yongzhou are Cheng Rong and Fang Jingruo, respectively.
He could be certain of the absolute loyalty of these two men.
Gu Xunhui looked into his eyes, knowing that Zhou She was full of wicked schemes and turbulent thoughts: "Can I refuse?"
“I guess you don’t want to refuse,” Zhou She said. “Yongzhou will definitely listen to you more than Dingzhou, and Cheng Rong and Fang Jingruo will cooperate. Besides, although it is located on the border, the Northern Di’s position retreated more than a thousand miles two years ago.”
Zhou She was absolutely right.
Gu Xunhui did not choose Yongzhou at first because Yongzhou was Zhou She's territory. She thought that although the two were husband and wife, they should still be sensitive at certain times.
"I need to ask Sheng Lianlian." Although Gu Xunhui said this, she had obviously already agreed.
“Alright, then when you get there, do me a favor.” Zhou She paused, “Kill some people.”
"...Is it related to Zhong Ming?"
Gu Xunhui was indeed skeptical at first. After all, although Gao Zicong was Zhong Ming’s father-in-law, why would he be so arrogant as to think he could succeed?
Zhou She replied affirmatively, "That's right."
These parasites couldn't resist any longer. In fact, even his knife couldn't resist.
"Okay." Gu Xunhui stood up. "I understand."
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