Chapter 51 The Betrayer
Zhou She slowly returned to the princess's residence.
His mother was sitting in the flower hall drinking tea, his father was attending to him attentively, and Zhou Ze was kneeling on the ground.
He almost laughed when he saw it, but he managed to hold it in. When he passed by Zhou Ze, he deliberately smeared dust all over his face.
Zhou Ze glared angrily.
Zhou She pretended not to see anything, sat down opposite his parents, and poured himself a cup of tea: "Father, you see, I told you not to get involved in the struggle for the throne, and sure enough, things turned out badly."
Zhou Xuyan didn't even look at him: "What do you know?"
Zhong Zhun chuckled, his smile utterly insincere: "I told you to mind your own business."
Zhou Xuyan remained silent, shutting his mouth and saying nothing more.
King Jungjong, after a routine inspection of Bing and Su prefectures, returned home after more than a month, only to hear that Yu Suisheng had escaped. Shocked, his first thought was: What were the garrison doing? How could a frail scholar like Yu Suisheng have escaped?
But clearly, his definition of a frail scholar is somewhat flawed; at least Yu Suisheng is not. In his youth, he went hunting in the mountains, and even in middle age, although he appeared frail and elegant, he was definitely not a scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken.
There was nothing he could do about being angry. As for the suggestions that he should execute the others who hadn't escaped, King Jungjong simply ignored them.
In the picture, a group of people are riding horses.
"The general has been too good to Yu Suisheng," a burly man said disdainfully. "He ran away on his own, and he even brought his men with him. He should have been killed along with them in the first place."
Emperor Jungjong, riding his horse at a slower pace, watched the bustling market and was in a fairly good mood.
“His heart isn’t here; you can’t stop him.” He said after they had passed the most crowded area. “Besides, his family is under Zhao Shuming’s command, so it’s normal for him to be homesick.”
"The adults are too lenient with him!"
King Jungjong didn't say anything more; he didn't think it was a big problem.
If all the world's talents were in his hands, there would be no need for war. Everyone would immediately surrender and bow down to him upon seeing him. That's what Fang Jingruo wrote in his novel.
After Yu Suisheng left, he did not regain Zhao Shuming's favor. Zhao Shuming was a very wary person, and even if he expressed his sincerity to the Zhao family, Zhao Shuming would find it hard to believe him.
After all, everyone else was locked up except you. Why should you be the only one who escaped? I definitely don't believe you if you say there's nothing wrong with it.
So Zhao Shuming kept quiet about it, but kept a close watch on him regarding important matters. This continued until news of Zhao Shuming's serious illness spread.
Yu Suisheng and Liang Xiao arrived at the entrance of the Princess's residence.
Yu Suisheng had originally come with a clear goal of going straight to Zhou She, but now he hesitated. Liang Xiao shook her head at his expression and took a few steps forward to knock on the door: "Excuse me, we've come to see Young Master Zhou."
When Zhou She heard the gatekeeper report, and then heard the name, he was stunned: "Who?"
The gatekeeper looked up at the sky, somewhat stunned: "They said it was Yu Suisheng and Liang Xiao."
Anyone who has seen Sky Screen knows that these two are big celebrities.
Especially Yu Suisheng, who is being broadcast live from the sky.
Zhou She: "..."
He wiped his hands, got up, and headed for the door.
The He-Zhao alliance was inherently fragile, and soon they all went their separate ways. The remaining remnants didn't even cause a ripple.
Zhao Shuming's official reason for his serious illness was a severe cold, but the real reason was more shameful: his father, Lao Deng, had gone to a brothel late at night, only to find that the prostitute was the enemy he had murdered and exterminated. Lao Deng stabbed him with a hairpin, leaving him bleeding profusely. He didn't die, but lay on the bed, barely alive, and looked like he was about to pass away.
Zhao Shuming: "..." Tianmu is always good at exposing people's shortcomings.
The two sons looked at their gray-haired father: "..."
My dad's already in his forties or fifties, and Tianmu is talking about more than ten years from now. My dad is really...
Zhao Shuming felt deeply embarrassed and coughed lightly: "Tianmu, this woman, is not good at reading history books; she loves reading unofficial histories."
They turned around and shifted the blame onto Tianmu.
As if hearing the voice of someone taking the blame, Tianmu added:
Don't think this is just unofficial history; the uploader is usually quite reliable! Official history records this event in detail, down to which gate Old Deng entered through, which girl he met, and when he was stabbed—there's a complete chain of evidence.
Although it sounds unbelievable, you have to understand that the world is full of wonders. Some emperors in certain dynasties were nearly strangled to death by palace maids. Compared to that, this is actually quite plausible!
Zhao Shuming's face cracked.
Emperor Hong'an was also stunned, not because Zhao Shuming had been assassinated while visiting a brothel, but because he heard the second half of Tianmu's sentence.
The emperor was almost killed?
What kind of waste is this?
Zhou She, the only one who knew who she was talking about: Ah...this.
Zhao Shuming is seriously ill in bed, and his two sons are not exactly well-behaved either. When it comes to domestic turmoil and dull-witted offspring, he's on par with Emperor Hong'an... But I digress.
The old man wasn't even dead yet, and his sons had already started vying for power, engaging in all sorts of fratricidal strife. It was chaos and confusion, with the overall situation still uncertain. They had learned the art of seizing the throne perfectly, and their actions were no less effective than those of the Fifth Prince.
As the old saying goes, strike while the iron is hot. With chaos erupting here, He Jingcheng seized the golden opportunity. Now was the perfect time to strike! He Jingcheng immediately launched his attack, not only successfully reclaiming the previously seized Xia Prefecture, but also conveniently swallowing up two prefectures belonging to the Zhao family.
Ren Heng scratched his head, with only one thought in his mind.
This guy surnamed He may not be good at hitting others, but he's quite skilled at fighting amongst himself.
Hearing the jokes about Emperor Hong'an's descendants again, he really wanted to laugh, but he barely managed to hold it in.
Alas, Your Majesty, it's not that I want to mock you.
Ren Heng murmured to himself: It is true that the princes are indeed... He thought for a moment and remembered an ancient word that he felt was very fitting.
It began to take on a human form.
[He Jingcheng dispatched troops, and Emperor Zhongzong followed suit, capturing several cities along the way. Before they even reached the capital, they heard that Zhao Shuming had died.]
Everyone wanted to hear more about the Zhao family's troubles, but unexpectedly, they first heard the news of Zhao Shuming's death.
Most people are completely unfamiliar with this person, but what do they care about the life and death of those powerful and influential figures above them?
It's no different from listening to gossip about the neighbors in the village.
So, he's dead, so be it. Besides, Tianmu said before that this person liked to confiscate property and wipe out entire families, which made it even more incomprehensible to the simple people. Even the shop assistants changed jobs. Zhao Shuming was just too domineering.
Zhou She had similar thoughts. Since Zhao Shuming had been targeted by his enemies, he could only blame himself. Everything he had done in the past would have an impact.
It's just a matter of time.
As he thought about it, he opened the door. There stood an old man and a young man. The younger one was dressed particularly simply, his face weathered, his cheekbones prominent, and he was very thin.
The older one was probably Liang Xiao. He had a rosy complexion, rough fingers, but a tall and straight posture and a radiant spirit.
Liang Xiao smiled and said, "The old man wants to find a place to stay."
Yu Suisheng cupped his hands and said, "I have come here specifically to seek refuge with you, sir."
An old man and a young man, both with their eyes fixed on Zhou She.
How did Zhao Shuming die? It wasn't a natural death. According to records at the time, he could have lived for at least another month or so.
Historical records state that before Zhao Shuming's death, Yu Suisheng was summoned to the palace and spoke privately with him for a long time. About half an hour later, he left the palace with a smile on his face and chatted with the palace guards and others for a while.
When the imperial physicians went to examine him again, they found that "the emperor had been dead for some time, his bedding and pillow were all red, his left ear was missing, and his condition was extremely alarming." Subsequently, the entire city was placed under martial law, but it was discovered that Yu Suisheng had already disappeared. A search of his residence revealed that not a single person could be found, and of course, his family and servants were nowhere to be found.
Some people say that Yu Suisheng is a jinx; wherever he goes, his superior dies. Is he bringing misfortune to his superiors?
The sky didn't say it outright, but the murderer was already clearly revealed.
Needless to say, it must be Yu Suisheng.
Emperor Hong'an recalled Tianmu's words about "an emperor who was almost strangled by palace maids," and then he thought of Zhao Shuming, who was killed by his close advisors.
It is said that those who do many unrighteous deeds will surely perish, but no matter what, those who betray their master...
I really dare not use it.
If you do the math, you can imagine that his former superior when he was a minor official probably didn't have a good ending either. After he joined Zhao Shuming's side, Zhao Shuming was the one who killed him.
Zhou She and Yu Suisheng looked at each other in bewilderment.
Yu Suisheng: "..." No way.
Zhou She: "..." Is that so?
[This is of course a complete rumor! Our Xiao Yu simply betrayed us! If she betrayed us, how can she be considered a nemesis?]
As the sound from the sky fades, the scene shifts. Under the vast horizon, a man and a horse are galloping at full speed.
The man on horseback was Yu Suisheng. He steered the horse with one hand, his robes stained with deep red.
That wasn't his blood, but the blood of his former master, Zhao Shuming.
He galloped all the way to the city gate, dismounted, and shouted, "Is General Zhou here? I am Yu Suisheng, and I have something to ask of you!"
Emperor Zhongzong was standing on the city wall, leaning against it. When he saw Yu Suisheng's face, he was somewhat surprised: "Why are you back?"
Yu Suisheng looked up and said, "I have something important to report to the general."
No sooner had he finished speaking than someone behind Emperor Zhongzong sneered, "My lord, this guy ran away quietly and now he wants to come back. Be careful, he might be a spy!"
"I think so. I might as well just shoot him through with an arrow!"
With a few words exchanged, some even held bows and arrows in their hands, waiting only for the order to pierce Yu Suisheng's heart.
We are all witnesses to the deception that opened the city gates. We were defrauding others back then, and now we are worried about being defrauded ourselves.
Emperor Zhongzong coldly looked at Yu Suisheng, who was covered in sweat outside the city gate, and said, "Hang him up."
Yu Suisheng, sitting in his cradle, swayed and climbed onto the city wall. Without the slightest hesitation, he took out half an ear from his robes: "Sir, may we move aside and discuss this further?"
Emperor Zhongzong took the ear and shifted his gaze to Yu Suisheng. He immediately realized something and exchanged a glance with Yu Suisheng.
Heavy breathing filled the air. Yu Suisheng stepped forward gently and called out in a low voice, "My lord!"
The last sliver of doubt vanished.
[Only members of the Zhao family and a few close officials knew about this; even the imperial physician was killed on the spot. Besides them, Emperor Zhongzong was the first to know of Zhao Shuming's death.]
Yu Suisheng looked at Zhou She with some nervousness.
Yu Suisheng always felt that Tianmu was completely trying to harm him.
They even brought up scenes of betraying one's master for personal gain, forcing him to swallow his prepared lines and carefully observe Zhou She's expression.
Zhou She's feelings were complicated.
The Yu Suisheng in front of me and the Yu Suisheng in the sky are two completely different people.
Yu Suisheng, standing on the sky, remained calm. Emperor Zhongzong summoned him for a private conversation; the door was tightly closed, and Yu's gaunt face was deathly pale. He spoke slowly and deliberately, "My lord, you must not miss this opportunity!"
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