Chapter 12, Chapter 92: If there is no sky curtain (1)
Autumn, the twenty-seventh year of Hong'an.
"I do not understand."
Zhou She stood opposite his father, his brows furrowed: "Father, why did you have to..."
He entered the palace as a companion to the third prince, contributing to the Zhou family's rise to power. However, as the struggle intensified, his mood grew increasingly heavy.
Zhou's father sat quietly behind his desk, his gaze sweeping over Zhou She. He ignored Zhou She's questions and said, "Judging from the current situation, His Majesty favors the Third Prince as the heir apparent. Once he returns to the capital, he will naturally rise to a higher position."
Zhou She almost couldn't catch his breath.
He paused for a moment, then organized his thoughts: "Father, although His Majesty's health is not good, he has reigned for decades. There are some things that are not our responsibility."
Mr. Zhou ignored him and said, "You can go out now."
Zhou She's expression changed drastically. He took two steps forward and said urgently, "Father! Doesn't His Majesty know what you've done? Protecting yourself is the right thing to do!"
"Bang!"
Mr. Zhou immediately turned hostile, slammed his hand on the table, and said coldly, "What do you know? You don't need to worry about these things. Just do what you're supposed to do."
Zhou She looked up. He was a few inches shorter than his father, but he stared intently into his father's eyes without yielding an inch: "I saw it."
As the Minister of Personnel, Zhou Xuyan held a position of immense importance, and the emperor's trust in him was equally profound.
He could never understand why, for the sake of the vague and uncertain future of becoming a successor to the throne, his father dared to challenge the emperor's authority and use the power of appointment and dismissal as an exchange for personal desires.
Zhou Xuyan was speechless when asked this question.
He was silent for a moment, then finally said, "It's none of your business."
A heated argument erupted from the study, growing increasingly intense.
Zhou Ze tiptoed past the study, carefully pressing his ear against the door. Suddenly, the door was yanked open, startling him. He looked up and saw two people standing inside.
Zhou She, standing high above, his chest heaving, saw his younger brother standing before him, foolishly eavesdropping. He was instantly enraged and immediately shouted without hesitation, "Get out!"
Zhou Ze's face turned pale, and he instinctively wanted to complain to his father, but his father sat sideways, seemingly unconcerned.
The lights were on in the side courtyard.
Zhou She stormed back to his bedroom. Gu Xunhui was reading by candlelight when he saw Zhou She's displeased expression. He closed his book and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
In truth, she knew that there were only a handful of people in the Zhou household who could anger him to such an extent.
Zhou She leaned against the tea table and sat down weakly. He finished the tea in one gulp, but still felt parched. He propped his forehead with one hand and said weakly, "Some things..."
He stopped there and didn't continue.
Her gaze shifted, then hesitantly landed on Gu Xunhui.
The dim candlelight illuminated her gentle face, and a soft light shone deep within her eyes.
“I want to leave, from here.” Zhou She closed his eyes, recalling every word he had spoken to his father.
He couldn't persuade his father, and could only watch him walk further and further away.
The path he took, completely opposite to that of his family, was something he found hard to accept. Perhaps leaving would be an option, but…
Gu Xunhui understood. She nodded and said calmly, "Then I'll go with you."
The hesitation in Zhou She's eyes gradually subsided, and his gaze, which had been flickering slightly, transformed into a firm conviction: "Thank you."
Thank you for believing in me, thank you... for keeping me from being all alone.
*
During this short period of time, he entered and exited the palace, delving into the royal court countless times, and glimpsed its secrets.
Even with his limited understanding, he knew that the Third Prince was no good. Did his father really not know?
His advice was clearly never heeded.
Zhou She implemented the entire matter at the fastest speed he had ever achieved in his life.
Within a month, the gentleman filed a complaint before the emperor.
Zhou She was summoned before the emperor, and he gave a polite yet obsequious smile: "Your Majesty."
The emperor flipped through the recent assignments and asked seemingly casually, "I remember that not long ago, your studies were quite good. How come they have become so poor lately?"
Zhou She then feigned a hesitant, embarrassed expression. Under the emperor's gaze, he smoothly knelt down: "Your Majesty, I am incompetent. There are some things that truly keep me awake at night..."
The implication is that it's not that I'm not studying hard, but rather that I have things on my mind that are keeping me from studying.
Emperor Hong'an narrowed his eyes slightly.
As for this unfortunate minister, he had done a lot of dirty work, and Zhou She had long disliked him, so it wasn't exactly a lie, and he felt no guilt about it.
He kept his head bowed deeply, and the emperor could not see his expression, but he could see his body trembling slightly with nervousness.
"Get up."
Emperor Hong'an leaned back in his chair. His gaze remained inquisitive, but Zhou She wasn't afraid of his stare: "I just don't want to do it anymore, is that alright?"
After a long silence, Emperor Hong'an finally said, "If you want to leave, then leave."
He even gave his grandson a suggestion: "Perfect timing, since you're leaving the capital, go to Jiangzhou for me."
Zhou She was slightly startled, his gaze shifting upwards, but he ultimately dared not look directly at the emperor's face, only managing to see half of the emperor's face.
The emperor's lips parted slightly, accompanied by a faint smile: "You should know what I mean."
"..." Zhou She stood up, lowered his eyes and brows, "Your subject understands."
He walked out of the palace with seemingly steady steps, but his heart was filled with worry. His feet felt like they were walking on cotton, and his legs felt weak with every step.
Jiangzhou?
This is a deadly place.
Jiangzhou was a wealthy city with numerous ports and a thriving commerce. Coincidentally, it was also the place where Zhou Xuyan, a confidant of the emperor, had embezzled a considerable amount of money and grain.
The emperor already knows? He knows about his father's secret dealings with officials in Jiangzhou?
How many of her little tricks have been caught?
The face of the emperor's informant flashed through Zhou She's mind.
Huai Leju.
Although both were in the palace, Huai Leju had far more seniority than him, and his face, as cold as ice, revealed nothing.
Gu Xunhui was waiting for him at home. Zhou She didn't have time to say much to her, only offering a few words of comfort before going to say goodbye to his parents.
Zhou's father was completely taken aback by his son's presumptuous actions. His refined face nearly crumbled again, and he almost slapped him across the face: "What do you think you're doing?! How can you do these things without my permission?"
Zhou She thought to himself, "If you give me permission, I'll have to wait until the end of time."
Zhou's mother remained calm and said quietly, "The child has grown up and his wings have hardened."
Zhou She stood ramrod straight; he had no intention of arguing with both of them at the same time.
Zhou Ze sat to the left of his parents, looking bewildered, yet with a hint of eagerness in his expression: "Dad, Mom, I can..."
"Shut up!"
You can't!
He had barely finished speaking when his parents interrupted him.
The two voices were equally swift and decisive. Zhou She watched calmly, a hint of mockery even showing on his face.
Under the watchful eyes of two pairs of people, he calmly said, "It's not that I've grown too big for my britches, it's that my father's true colors have been revealed."
Didn't he try to persuade her? Whether from a personal perspective or from the perspective of the greater good, he did try to persuade her, more than once.
I'm exhausted, but I'll still give you one last reminder.
Zhou Xuyan stared at him, then suddenly deflated and waved his hand: "If you're going to leave, then leave. Get lost!"
Zhou She gazed intently at his parents. Zhong Zhun didn't look at him, sipping his tea as if deep in thought.
Zhou She had been to Jiangzhou before, but that was for sightseeing.
This time, he brought his wife, Zhou Yi, who had just turned one year old, and she was sleeping peacefully in his arms, which immediately softened his heart.
Even though he didn't have a good relationship with his parents, he wasn't without relatives.
Zhou Yi and Gu Xunhui were his relatives.
The two boarded the carriage, looked back without a second glance, whipped it, and set off, with no intention of going home to get involved in this mess.
This was Zhou She's initial idea.
More than a month after the two arrived in Jiangzhou, news came from the border that the Third Prince had died bravely in battle. Fortunately, the war went smoothly, and the Northern Di retreated with resentment.
When Zhou She heard about this, he almost doubted his own eyes.
Third Prince, fighting bravely?
Does he seem like that kind of person?
Even so, this incident was bound to cause turmoil throughout the palace. His father's words to him more than two months ago, "Wait for the Third Prince to return to the capital," now seemed especially ironic.
He quickly folded the letter and stood there, lost in thought.
How chaotic will the capital be now? The letter didn't mention it, but he could already vaguely guess.
The letter took quite a while to arrive in Jiangzhou from the capital, and by now it has probably been through a lot of trouble.
Before he knew it, Gu Xunhui appeared before him. She remained composed, observing Zhou She's expression, and suddenly asked, "Does my lord wish to return to the capital?"
Zhou She was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "What would I do if I went back?"
Zhou Xuyan is much more capable than him. Does he still expect to go back and save his father?
If he uses even a fraction of the skill he used to deal with the Second Prince, he should be able to protect himself.
Gu Xunhui nodded and then asked, "Has the matter that you were doing for His Majesty been completed, young master?"
Zhou She had told Gu Xunhui about this, but he didn't go to see any local officials at all. The emperor hadn't given him any tokens, and he had resigned from his post and gone far away, becoming a commoner, so he couldn't be bothered to create trouble for himself.
However, the emperor's message had already been conveyed to the true mastermind: his own father.
Then, he casually sent a letter to the prefectural government of Jiangzhou, subtly reminding them of his position, and then dropped the matter.
If the emperor really wanted to investigate the case, he wouldn't have sent himself.
Of course, Zhou She was well-versed in the art of speaking, so he replied, "It has been taken care of."
Having received the answer, Gu Xunhui was about to turn and leave when he heard a strange noise outside the door. A moment later, a calm-looking man stood in front of the two of them.
The man was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, his hair neatly combed back. Although he wasn't wearing official robes and wasn't carrying a knife, his expression was exactly the same as when he went to the yamen.
Zhou She recognized him, and his expression changed slightly: "What are you doing here?"
The man held Zhou Yi's hand and slowly squatted down, carefully examining the girl's features. He then pulled a dessert from his sleeve and brought it to Zhou Yi's lips.
Zhou Yi pursed her lips tightly, kept moving back, and cast pleading glances at her parents.
It wasn't until Gu Xunhui spoke up: "What is Lord Huai doing? Why don't you go have a cup of tea?"
Huai Leju then obediently stood up and casually said, "She looks a lot like you."
Upon hearing this, Zhou She's face lit up with excitement: "Of course, my daughter!"
Huai Leju: "..."
He glanced at Zhou She with disdain, then looked at Gu Xunhui with a touch of emotion, released the little girl's hand, and followed Gu Xunhui into the main hall, saying, "By order of His Majesty, I have come to take you back to the capital."
Upon hearing this, Zhou She's face turned green on the spot.
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