Chapter 213 [VIP]
The Meridian Gate Square was eerily silent.
Let alone those who had never heard the imperial edict before, even those who had heard it at the Imperial Ancestral Temple were once again shocked by this fact.
Prince Li held the imperial edict, reading it carefully. After a pause, he said, "Xie Rong murdered his father with poison to usurp the throne, corrupted the court, and persecuted loyal officials, causing unrest throughout the land and widespread suffering. His crimes are heinous, arousing the wrath of both gods and men, and are intolerable to Heaven and Earth." (Note)
"Effective immediately, Xie Rong is hereby demoted to a commoner and stripped of his honorary title."
"The late emperor's dying wish was to appoint his grandson, Xie Yingchen, as the new emperor of Daqi and to ascend the throne!"
Prince Li was the first to kneel down, lifting his robes, and shouted, "Please, Grandson, ascend the throne!"
This resounding cry, like a thunderclap, ignited the Meridian Gate Square. Civil and military officials alike knelt down in unison: "Please, Grandson, ascend the throne!"
The sound was like a tidal wave, one wave higher than the next.
"Please, Grandson, ascend the throne!"
The people knelt down, gazing up at the tall, slender figure on the city wall.
"Please, Grandson, ascend the throne!"
Countless voices converged into a torrent, seemingly echoing between heaven and earth.
Xie Yingchen stood on the city wall, looking down at the dark mass of people.
Ever since he could remember, he knew that one day he would become a king, just like his grandfather.
My father said, "It's very difficult to be a wise ruler." — Yue Ge
When Xie Yingchen was young and arrogant, he thought he had the world at his fingertips and that nothing was difficult.
Standing here now, listening to these thunderous roars, Xie Yingchen understood the profound meaning behind his father's words.
To become a wise ruler, one must bear the expectations of the people and the weight of this vast land!
Once you sit on the throne, you will become a "lonely person," bearing everything alone.
My great-grandfather was, my grandfather was, my father was... and so were all the monarchs of every dynasty.
He was different!
He wasn't standing here alone; he had Yaoyao. Xie Yingchen turned to look at her, his eyes gentle as if they were overflowing with light.
Gu Zhizhuo: ?
She smiled at him and placed her hands over his slightly trembling hands.
The young master is omnipotent!
The young master is the best young master.
"Young Master," Gu Zhizhuo said softly, "I'm here."
Her voice was very soft, almost drowned out by the waves of shouts, but Xie Yingchen could still hear it clearly.
She's there!
Wherever he goes, wherever he stands, she will stand beside him.
He is not alone.
When Xie Yingchen faced the people again, the slight uncertainty and fear in his heart completely disappeared. He slowly raised his hand, and the noisy Meridian Gate Square immediately fell silent. Everyone's eyes followed him closely.
"Rise."
"I hereby instruct the Imperial Preceptor and the Ministry of Rites to select an auspicious day, as I am acting on the late Emperor's edict..."
He tightened his grip on her hand slightly and uttered the last two words: "Ascension to the throne!"
"Long live!"
The people rose to their feet and erupted in deafening cheers.
The ascension of a new emperor is usually accompanied by national mourning, with the whole country grieving. But this time was different. There was no weeping, no mourning clothes, no ban on dancing and music, and people could laugh as they pleased. It was a scene of jubilation, as if it were New Year's Day.
Xie Yingchen led Gu Zhizhuo down from the Meridian Gate, amidst the continuous commotion.
"The deposed emperor shows no remorse and even colludes with barbarians to plot a rebellion!"
"While the Imperial Preceptor was still performing the ritual, the imperial edict suddenly fell from the sky and landed on the altar. I saw it with my own eyes."
"The late emperor has appeared to us!"
"..."
Gu Zhizhuo found it interesting and skipped along with Xie Yingchen, chatting casually. Before long, they arrived at Wenyuan Pavilion.
From the Grand Secretary to the ministers of various departments, no one objected to Gu Zhizhuo's appearance, as if she was born to stand there.
They stayed there until sunset.
The official document deposing Xie Rong and the new emperor's ascension to the throne was drafted, stamped with the imperial seal, and sent to various parts of Daqi by express courier.
Gu Zhizhuo came out with Gu Yican. She stretched her body, which was a little tired from sitting, and leaned lazily against Gu Yican, letting him half-drag her along.
Before stepping onto the carriage, Gu Zhizhuo remembered something: "Cancan, Xie Jing is in the Dali Temple prison right now, isn't he?"
"right."
Is Princess Jiaye here as well?
"exist."
"Let's not go back yet, let's go to Dali Temple."
Gu Yican always listened to his younger sister, so he turned the carriage around and went to Dali Temple.
Gu Zhizhuo had Xie Yingchen's token, so they were immediately welcomed inside upon their arrival.
The Dali Temple's prison has three levels. In his previous life, Gu Zhizhuo spent two months there before being exiled.
"Your Highness, Miss Gu, this way please."
The jailer, carrying an oil lamp, diligently led the way.
The underground floor was used to imprison officials of the third rank and above, as well as nobles and relatives.
Gu Zhizhuo: "It's quite spacious."
The jailer chimed in with a few amused remarks.
At that time, the Gu family was imprisoned on the second basement level, which was dark, damp, and cold, with rats scurrying around in the cells...
Returning to the place wasn't too bad, after all, it was me who was out there now, and it was me who was watching them struggle and break down!
“Young lady, the... the deposed emperor is imprisoned in the room in front.”
Gu Zhizhuo had no interest in Xie Rong: "What about the princess of Liang?"
"The one on the left."
The jailer led her around a corner and moved the oil lamp forward a little.
These rooms are where the deposed emperor's sons and their wives and relatives are imprisoned.
When the dim light of the oil lamp shone on him, Xie Jing lifted his eyelids and exclaimed in surprise, "It's you..."
He initially wanted to ask if she was there to see him make a fool of himself, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that he himself was a big joke, so what was there that he couldn't let others see?
Xie Jing hurried over, grabbed the iron bars with both hands, and asked, "Miss Gu, where is Ke'er?"
There was a hint of hope in his voice: "Is she alright?"
Xie Jing thought that Ji Nanke hadn't been captured, perhaps because she wasn't yet married into the family and wasn't considered his concubine, so perhaps she could escape this calamity.
"she?"
Gu Zhizhu chuckled softly, a sound that gave Gu Jing a very bad feeling.
The next moment, she asked, "You want to know?"
Xie Jing tightened his grip on the iron bars and managed to squeeze out a voice: "You speak."
"She ran off with Duoleng, using the blueprints for the repeating crossbow as a bargaining chip, and got Duoleng to take her back to China so she could continue enjoying her wealth and luxury."
"You're talking nonsense!"
Gu Zhizhuo chuckled softly, "Otherwise what? Would she suffer in prison with you? Or would she work outside to support herself while waiting for you to get out?"
Xie Jing: "..." He understood Ke'er too well. She was like a delicate orchid, unable to endure even the slightest hardship. So, because he couldn't give her wealth and luxury, she ran away?
Xie Jing chuckled self-deprecatingly; he should have thought of it sooner.
Gu Zhizhuo ignored him and simply had the jailer unlock the door and bring Jia Ye out.
"Shall we take a walk?"
Jia Ye, unaware of his meaning, nodded in agreement.
The jailer led the way back to the ground floor, where it was finally less dark and the musty smell had faded considerably.
Jia Ye thought she was going to be taken for interrogation; were they about to be released from the imperial prison?
Where are you taking me?
"I'll let you go," Gu Zhizhuo asked with a smile. "How about it?"
"Miss Gu is joking."
"Big sister, save me!! Big brother!"
A toddler's heart-wrenching screams interrupted their conversation.
Gu Zhizhuo frowned.
Xie Yan, still wearing the prince's python robe, stumbled over. He was running so fast that he tripped over something and fell to the ground with a thud.
While he was at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, he took advantage of the chaos to sneak into the crowd of people watching the ceremony.
He had no title of prince, and Prince Li never acknowledged his status as a member of the imperial clan. When the soldiers were arresting people, they missed him for a time.
They brought him here as soon as they caught him.
Xie Yan didn't bother to get up; his dirty hands grabbed Gu Zhizhuo's skirt.
Gu Zhizhuo liked the dress very much on the first day she wore it, and didn't try to pull it off.
"open."
She said expressionlessly.
"Big sister, I was wrong, I was wrong! Please take me out of here." Xie Yan cried and begged, her face streaked with tears and snot. "Big sister, I promise I will never lose my temper again."
"Big brother, I will learn martial arts with you."
"Don't leave me behind. I'll be good, I promise."
He clutched at Gu Zhizhuo's skirt, crying pitifully. The six-year-old boy even shrank his neck, trembling.
Gu Zhizhuo watched coldly, without a trace of sympathy.
"Big sister, take me with you. Don't leave me behind."
"Your surname is Xie. Your father and brothers are waiting for you in prison. Don't call me by the wrong name."
This child is beyond help.
In his previous life, the matriarch doted on him and spoiled him. As the youngest child, he received preferential treatment from the entire family.
And what happened? She brought the remains of the Grand Madam and the others back from the mortuary, wanting them to be laid to rest in the ancestral graveyard, to be buried with her grandfather and uncles, but he refused. Xie Yan, who at the time held the title of Duke of Zhenguo, spoke with absolute certainty, mocking the Gu family as criminals who did not deserve to receive incense offerings.
Oh.
Seeing his sister's face turn cold, Gu Yican bent down and pried open the hands that were gripping his sister's skirt one by one, straightened the hem of her skirt, and then pulled his sister away.
"Big sister, big brother, I was wrong. I was wrong!"
The two ignored him.
"Is this your brother?" Jia Ye glanced back. "He's being dragged away. Aren't you going to do anything about it?"
"Princess."
Gu Zhizhuo made a "please" gesture: "Does the princess not have any so-called 'brothers' that she finds repulsive and wants to get rid of?"
"have."
"For example?"
Jia Ye: "..."
Gu Zhizhuo didn't wait for her answer. He smiled and said to himself, "All of them, aren't they?"
"All of the Liang King's children. Is that correct?"
Jia Ye: "..."
“Your mother was a dancer. In Liang Kingdom, even at a banquet, if someone took a fancy to a dancer, they could just pull her into their tent. Your mother was sold and bought many times before finally catching the eye of the King of Liang, who then took her away.”
"The son of Liangguo was honored because of his mother."
"If a mother is of low social status, her children will also be of low social status, even if you are the daughter of the King of Liang."
Gu Zhizhuo stared at her lips as they gradually fell into a smile, and said as he walked out, "You've had to learn to dance since you were little, to please men, to win their favor, and to survive among your brothers and sisters."
"After your mother died, you were nominally raised by the Queen, but in reality, the Queen was just raising a tool for Duoleng to use in a marriage alliance."
"It's either the Great Qi or some other tribe."
Jia Ye tossed her long hair, her eyes sparkling with charm: "Miss Gu is right. Even if you let me go back now, I don't want to. I've heard that in this kind of situation, Xie Jing would at most be placed under house arrest or exiled."
"If I go back to Liang, I don't know who I'll be given to next. Xie Jing is at least good-looking, doesn't like to hit people, and is easy to fool. It's better to go and keep those dirty, greasy old men on the grasslands company."
Gu Zhizhuo stretched out his finger and shook it gently: "If your brother asks you to go through a marriage alliance, then trample your brother down. If the Prince of Liang asks you to go through a marriage alliance, then trample the Prince of Liang down. If you can't trample him down, then take his place."
After saying that, Gu Zhizhuo turned to her and smiled slightly.
Those phoenix eyes saw through the ambition and resentment buried deep in her heart, pinpointed her every thought, and rekindled the flame that had been forcibly suppressed within her.
"The leader of the remaining tribes, Naguya'er, was once just a shepherdess. But you are the daughter of the King of Liang, what are you afraid of?"
“Miss Gu is truly eloquent. However, in Liang Kingdom, women have no right to inheritance. My mother is a dancer and has no maternal clan to rely on.”
"You have."
"The Queen has only one son, Duo Leng, and one adopted daughter, you."
The glow of the red lanterns enveloped Gu Zhizhuo, making her features appear even more gentle, yet her words carried a sharp edge: "What if her only son dies?"
Jia Ye paused in her steps.
Gu Zhizhuo: "What if her son died at the hands of her husband?"
What will happen to her?
Jia Ye stood frozen in place, motionless for a long time. A slow, sharp smile played on her lips, then faded, her eyes gleaming with barely suppressed ambition. After a moment, she swallowed hard and said, "If I'm discovered, I'll surely die."
Gu Zhizhuo had already reached the carriage. She took Gu Yican's outstretched hand and smiled slightly: "Of course."
"To be torn apart by five horses would be too lenient a punishment."
“However,” Gu Zhizhuo changed the subject and laughed, “as a woman, if you don’t even have the courage to fight to the death to sit in that position, even if Daqi forcibly helps you up, you won’t be able to sit still. Rather than wasting my time and energy, I can simply find someone else to help you.”
“Princess Jiaye, you are not my only choice, and you have no right to negotiate with me.”
Jia Ye: "..." Her thoughts were seen through at a glance.
Gu Zhizhu stepped onto the carriage, and this time she learned her lesson and casually lifted the hem of her skirt.
“Princess Jiaye may return to Prince Rui’s residence to rest for the time being. As a princess sent for a political marriage, no matter what crime Xie Jing has convicted you of, as long as you do not commit any crimes in Daqi, I can guarantee your safety for the rest of your life. If you wish to return to Liang, come to the Duke of Zhenguo’s residence at noon tomorrow. We will not wait for you if you are late.”
"Let's go."
Gu Zhizhuo sat down, lowered the carriage curtain, and the carriage rumbled away.
Jia Ye stood still, her eyes flashing, her ambition burning like fire in her pupils.
Gu Yican sat down next to her casually and asked, "Little sister, do you want to support this princess as the King of Liang?"
“This princess,” Gu Zhizhuo tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table, “is ambitious, but lacks courage. She has strategy, but not enough action. She needs the backing of Daqi to rise to power. She has no maternal family to support her, so she still needs Daqi to secure her position. Helping her to the throne will at least bring ten years of peace to the border.”
Ten years is enough time for western Xinjiang to recover and rebuild.
"If she's scared, so be it. Anyway, once Duoleng dies, sowing discord between the Queen and the King of Liang will cause chaos in Liang."
Gu Yican: "I'll go with you..."
"Don't go, Can Can, wait for me to bring back the wolf tooth necklace from Duo Leng's neck."
"Oh, my sister is so capable, I feel a lot of pressure."
Gu Yican pretended to lean on her shoulder.
"Let's go, Grandma is waiting for us to eat."
The carriage changed course, first visiting the Wang family's residence, and then returning to the mansion.
The banquet had ended, and the guests who had come to witness the ceremony had all gone home. The master had also gone to stay temporarily at the Imperial Preceptor's residence.
Gu Zhizhuo was starving and too lazy to have the meal set out again, so he and Gu Yican each ordered a bowl of chicken noodle soup.
Chicken soup simmers on the stove in the small kitchen all the time, making it the quickest way to cook a bowl of noodles.
The old lady pulled Gu Yican over and looked him over, making sure he was alright and hadn't lost a single skin, and finally felt relieved.
"Danling said she's going back to the Wang family home, and that Consort Shu has left the palace?"
"My aunt is no longer Consort Shu."
Gu Zhizhuo, holding a bowl of chicken soup noodles, ate several mouthfuls in one go and said, "Since the emperor has been deposed, I plan to arrange a formal severance of ties for my aunt and have her return to the capital."
The old lady exclaimed in surprise, "What?!"
"You, you two..." The old lady's hand trembled as she pointed at the brother and sister, "Is this what you two have been busy with today?"
She looked around and whispered in a low, hoarse voice, "Have you gone to plot a rebellion?"
"Did it work?"
Fearing that they were under too much pressure, the old lady quickly added, "It's alright if it doesn't work out, as long as they can come back."
"It's the same if we come back when we're better prepared next time."
Judging from her appearance, it seems that whether or not she plots a rebellion is not important; it is enough that the brother and sister return safely.
Pfft. Gu Zhizhuo burst out laughing, laughing so hard he almost fell over.
A note from the author:
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