Chapter 20 Let's run away!
No matter how much people talked under the sky, the palace remained quiet.
The moment the word "traitor" appeared, it was like a cannonball, causing ripples to spread across the already calm water.
The air seemed thick with the smell of gunpowder; it could ignite instantly with just a spark.
Fortunately, Emperor Hong'an did not show strong emotions.
"As expected of a married couple." After a long silence, Emperor Hong'an said calmly, "They are both traitors."
Everyone present lowered their heads, and no one dared to speak.
Another deathly silence fell. Emperor Hong'an began to list the sins of his sons before him: "I truly do not understand. There are countless heroes in the world, and you are my sons. Why can you... be so foolish?"
The three adult princes were terrified and dared not utter a single word. They could only obediently prostrate themselves on the ground and let the emperor point his finger at them and scold them.
In his anger, Emperor Hong'an still remembered to find the culprit.
He suddenly stood up, his suppressed emotions finally bursting forth. Pointing at the Fourth Prince's nose, he roared, "How could I have raised such a fool like you? You've truly infuriated me!"
Judging from his appearance, he was truly furious, completely losing his composure.
The fourth prince dared not speak and was about to kowtow when he felt a chill beside him. It was the emperor walking over, his robe brushing against his shoulder.
"Fifth Prince." The emperor's anger subsided, replaced by exhaustion. "Is this how you've squandered my empire? Persecuting loyal ministers, doing whatever you please—do you really think you, cough cough—you really—"
Before Emperor Hong'an could finish speaking, he suddenly coughed violently. The eunuchs who were kneeling rushed forward and helped the emperor sit down.
Zhou She knelt at the back, staring blankly at his maternal grandfather's pained expression, until Emperor Hong'an finally caught his breath, at which point he suddenly came to his senses.
The eunuchs were busy, and Huai Leju was also running around doing errands. These officials, being from outside the capital, couldn't say anything and were quite restless, but the one who was having the hardest time was Zhou She.
The camera just showed a shot of that golden hairpin...
It looks so familiar!
It only appeared on his drawings yesterday; the unfinished product is still in his sleeve.
Was it a prop that the crew just grabbed randomly? Or...?
A terrible thought suddenly arose, and Zhou She felt dizzy and his heart was pounding like a drum.
No, no, no!
He should know his own limitations best. He's just a spoiled brat; a life of debauchery is his only pursuit. Rebellion is a distant dream for him!
"Young Master?" someone called to him. "His Majesty has ordered us to leave first. Let's go."
Zhou She snapped out of his daze, suppressed his unease, and upon recognizing Xiao Yichun, quickly smiled and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Prime Minister."
Zhou's father stood before him, hands behind his back, looking down at him: "What are you daydreaming about? Why aren't you going to take your leave of His Majesty?"
Emperor Hong'an's face was pale. Zhou She stepped forward, but before he could speak, he heard him say, "Ruochuan, you should go back first."
Zhou She nodded repeatedly, not remembering what he had said, and followed his father and the prime minister outside.
They all knew that His Majesty needed some peace and quiet.
The sky is still chattering:
Emperor Zhongzong and the Empress had a very good relationship. Some people see historical records saying that they undermined each other and think that they were fighting to the death.
When this drama aired, it was criticized for being a drastic alteration of the original story. However, artifacts unearthed from the tomb proved that the two were truly in love. Please see the video for evidence.
While listening to the sky, Xiao Yichun lectured Zhou She: "It's normal for the young master to be playful when he's young. But he'll be coming of age next year, and it's time for him to grow up."
Zhou She did not listen to him carefully and replied perfunctorily, "Thank you for your guidance, Prime Minister Xiao."
He was still thinking about the gold hairpin and couldn't calm down.
Xiao Yichun sighed: "Princess Zhaoping asked me to tutor the eldest son..."
Zhou She looked embarrassed and didn't want to bring up the ridiculous things that happened back then: "It's all the student's fault for being ridiculous and rude."
“That’s not the case.” Seeing Zhou’s father walking far ahead, talking to Principal Shen Mingzhe, seemingly not paying attention to this side, Xiao Yichun lowered her voice, “I think the eldest son is very intelligent.”
When Zhou She came to his senses, he almost wanted to give him a thumbs up.
The Prime Minister Xiao, who was so angry with him that he was dizzy, was truly a rare and good teacher!
Seemingly sensing his thoughts, Xiao Yichun said helplessly, "Your Majesty's four sons are all really too young."
Zhou She was speechless: "He's already in his mid-twenties, and he's still young??"
“Princess Zhaoping is brave and wise; if she weren’t a woman, she would surely be able to shoulder such a heavy responsibility. The eldest son of the princess…”
Zhou She understood.
As a relative of the imperial family, he couldn't escape it.
With a few traces of sincerity in his heart, Zhou She bowed to Prime Minister Xiao and said, "This humble one understands."
Tianmu was still rambling on, but Zhou She wasn't paying attention. It was mostly about the loving daily life of Emperor Zhongzong and Zhaoniang. At the moment, he was distracted and only wanted to find out who Emperor Zhongzong really was.
Fortunately, the focus of the sky quickly shifted back to the golden hairpin:
The final piece of evidence is the gold hairpin recently unearthed from the current imperial tombs. As shown in the drama, this hairpin was personally crafted by Emperor Jungjong. Its design and appearance differ from the popular styles of the time, and it even influenced later generations' tastes to some extent.
Wow.
The craftsmen immediately stood up straight.
What kind of crossover artisan could possibly outdo these professionals? Impossible, absolutely impossible!
In the winter of the twenty-fourth year of the Hong'an era, Emperor Zhongzong married. Besides the betrothal gifts prepared by his family, he also sent his wife a gift—a gold hairpin he had personally crafted, which took several months to complete.
As the celestial curtain unfolded, the complete design of the golden hairpin was revealed.
Zhou She stared wide-eyed, intently scanning the images on the sky.
The more he looked, the more desperate he felt.
This looks so familiar!
He originally intended to create a "classic design for later generations - a plagiarized version", so he had a preconceived notion. Now, looking at it, the technique is truly excellent; he managed to polish it out in just a few months!
Tianmu, of course, had no idea what he was thinking, and said smugly, "[The saying 'a beautiful beginning but a tragic end' doesn't apply. The year before Emperor Zhongzong died, he was still writing eulogies for his wife, filling an entire trunk, all of which went to his coffin with him. A couple together in life and in death, isn't that sweet?]"
Judging from this, he's a fan of the pairing.
Zhou She stared blankly at the sky, his mind racing. His first thought was: Let's run away!
As soon as I lifted my leg, I suddenly felt a chill on my back.
He involuntarily stopped in his tracks, thinking desperately: If he really was Emperor Zhongzong, then what about Zhaoniang...?
Miss Gu the Second?
He was immediately hesitant. If Tianmu blurted out something in the future, what would happen if he ran away? Judging from the way Gu Er-guniang spoke, it seemed His Majesty couldn't help but resent her.
[Alright, that's all for today. I worked on this video all night yesterday, so if you could give it a like, comment, and share... I'll be updating again tomorrow!]
Zhou She had completely lost interest in having any fun this time. He was overjoyed; the palace wasn't safe, so he had to slip away as quickly as possible!
Halfway there, the comments section of Tianmu opened again. I don't know if His Majesty caught his breath or if someone else clicked on Tianmu.
He was panting heavily, both mentally and physically exhausted, so he simply went into a teahouse and sat down to gaze intently at the sky.
This time, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory.
[This is completely off-topic and contains too much rambling; I'll deduct a chicken leg from the uploader's score!]
[I skipped ahead in disbelief. Such a long video, and you're only talking about Fang Jingruo??]
[I knew the top lane couple was real, I'm totally shipping them!]
[Fang Hou is indeed quite narcissistic. I even misunderstood Zhuang Yuan Chu before, so embarrassing...]
Wait a minute, I'm not good at history. Wasn't Emperor Zhongzong a tyrant? Why was Fang Jingruo trembling like that??
[Upstairs, you need to know our Lord Fang's identity! He's the tutor of two emperors, a veteran of three dynasties, the head of the logistics department, Emperor Jinghua's number one fan, the designated principal of the Jinghua Dynasty... there's too much to list.]
In short, Fang Jingruo and Emperor Zhongzong are actually on the same side, and Fang Jingruo only occasionally annoys Emperor Zhongzong; it's nothing serious... Emperor Zhongzong's pettiness only extends to his younger brother!
[I'd really like to see Emperor Zhongzong pacify the Northern Barbarians and conquer the Western Regions. He was one of the most skilled military commanders of our Ning Dynasty (in parentheses), so we can't just leave out these stories, right? Up, when will you ever get to that point?!]
[Probably in my next life... Sorry, but I love gossip, and I kept getting off-topic...]
Honestly, Empress Injo is quite capable; I still think they were political allies.
[Get out of here, upstairs!]
[Does anyone understand? Every time I see Lao Wu's plays, I get a heart attack. How could he squander such a good hand? I'm really confused.]
[An operation that even normal people can't understand]
[This blame still falls on Hong An; he's the one who drove Lao Wu crazy...]
[Hong An is watching you, really don't go too far. Spreading rumors about him being scheming every day is bad enough, but blaming him for Lao Wu's madness is also unacceptable. Aren't you afraid people will come to chat with you in the middle of the night?!]
Zhou She didn't finish reading it; he found it was all nonsense, a common practice in later generations for people to go off-topic in conversation.
He sat by the window, resting his chin on his hand, until the night sky gradually darkened and the last ray of light in the sky disappeared, leaving only the twinkling stars.
The waiters jostled each other for a moment, then a young man stepped forward and said, "We're closing up now, sir..."
Zhou She suddenly realized: "I'll leave now."
Before I knew it, I was lost in thought.
He couldn't possibly go see Miss Gu at this time; it wouldn't be appropriate. Thinking this, he hurried home. This time, he wasn't going to the garden in the suburbs, but back to the Princess's residence: things were serious, and he needed to find out where his parents were.
On the other side, at the Gu residence.
Gu Xunhui sat under the pavilion in the courtyard, slowly playing the zither.
She was proficient in all four classics and five arts, so playing the zither was naturally a given. As the zither music flowed, a figure quietly appeared by the door without anyone noticing.
Gu Xunhui stopped what he was doing and pressed down on the strings: "Why isn't Mother asleep?"
Madam Gu, who had been leaning against the bamboo door, walked step by step to her upon hearing this and gently plucked the strings of her zither: "I can hear your music; you seem unsettled."
Gu Xunhui was not surprised.
She sighed, not knowing why she felt uneasy.
She pretended nothing had happened and stood up: "Young Master Zhou said he was coming yesterday, but it's already late at night..."
Madam Gu suddenly realized, and felt a pang of pity: "I heard that His Majesty summoned him to the palace. It's rare that you would care about him, my son..."
Gu Xunhui could guess what was left unsaid: she was finally showing some "humanity."
Gu Xunhui felt a little embarrassed, but thanked Zhou She in his heart: Thank you for lending me your raft.
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