Hearing Xie Yanfang’s counter-question, Chu Zhao sighed helplessly.

Deng Yi—

Her falling out with Deng Yi was because of Stone Slope City’s fall, or perhaps earlier, because Deng Yi wanted to appoint Liang Qiang.

Everything about Liang Qiang was arranged by Xie Yanfang, so Deng Yi was naturally part of Xie Yanfang’s plan as well.

So that fire wasn’t set by Xiao Xun or Deng Yi.

At that time, when Deng Yi was imprisoned on her orders, it was indeed the most opportune moment for Xie Yanfang to take his life.

Originally, Deng Yi should have died like that, but he was rescued by Xiao Xun, who had been hiding in the shadows. She didn’t know if this was good luck or bad luck for Deng Yi.

Or was it the drive of fate? Chu Zhao pressed her hand against her forehead, almost wanting to laugh.

Xie Yanfang sat down, poured a cup of tea from the table, and pushed it toward Chu Zhao.

“I know Deng Yi appears to be Your Majesty’s adversary, but in reality, you two have walked together to this point,” he said. “In the end, when Your Majesty had to kill Deng Yi with your own hands, you must have felt very sad.”

Chu Zhao took the teacup in her hand and said, “Actually, it wasn’t so bad. I didn’t like him that much.”

Xie Yanfang said, “That’s the right way for Your Majesty to think. You and Deng Yi could not coexist in the court, so for Your Majesty’s benefit, Deng Yi had to disappear.”

Chu Zhao said, “Eliminating Deng Yi was for my sake—I can understand that. But you can’t say that targeting Zhong Changrong was also for my benefit, can you?”

This question seemed difficult to answer. Xie Yanfang sat upright on the felt mat and said, “It was.”

Chu Zhao laughed and drained the tea in her hand.

“I, Chu Zhao, fought desperately in Yun Zhong County, personally leading troops against Western Liang, tearing apart that facade of selflessness for country and people. What was my private motive?” she said. “Someone as intelligent as the Third Young Master must know.”

She placed the teacup on the table and looked at Xie Yanfang, emphasizing each word.

“It was to control military power.”

“Uncle Zhong was the person I trusted most. Killing him was like killing me.”

The mountain wind howled through the forest, carrying the noisy sounds of hunting from the hillside below, but they vanished in an instant, as if the hilltop were isolated by a barrier.

This barrier was formed by the visible Imperial Guards around them, as well as the invisible ones.

Xie Yanfang glanced at the maid standing behind Chu Zhao, who had raised her eyes to look over, with killing intent flashing in her eyes.

He picked up the teapot again and poured tea for Chu Zhao.

“Although it sounds absurd, I still have to say that what I did was indeed for the Empress,” he said, lowering his gaze to look at the clear tea. “The military power controlled through Zhong Changrong would only be power that Chu Zhao could wield, not the Empress. If the Empress wants to control real military power, she cannot entrust it to relatives.”

He raised his eyes to look at Chu Zhao.

“Especially not to relatives known to everyone.”

“The Empress must know this, which is why you sent your uncle’s family to Qiao Mountain Academy, far from the capital, giving them no official titles.”

That was because they would bring disaster upon her, would be used by others, would be bewitched—she had seen it with her own eyes in that lifetime, so of course she wanted to avoid it, but—

“Wouldn’t Zhong Changrong bring you disaster? Wouldn’t he be used by others? Wouldn’t he be bewitched?” Xie Yanfang’s voice drifted over faintly. “Zhong Changrong is different from the Chu Lan family, but even if he had no intention of harming you, he couldn’t withstand the scrutiny and schemes of countless people.”

Chu Zhao remained silent. She had seen this in that lifetime as well.

To swallow up the border troops left by his father, Xiao Xun had privately encouraged the defamation of Zhong Changrong. Zhong Changrong’s reputation was ruined; he was isolated and marginalized, gradually swallowed up. All these defamations were also attributed to her: evil empress, tyrant, using military power to coerce the Emperor.

Even though she had done nothing.

“I know the Empress doesn’t care about these things. I think when you persuaded the late Emperor, you used this point: you and your relatives would not hesitate to tarnish yourselves, would not hesitate to be tyrannical, would even willingly bear infamy and evil reputation, even the reputation of coercing the young Emperor with military power, all to ensure A-Yu, a child, could sit firmly on the throne.”

When she heard this, Chu Zhao visualized that night when she stood before the Emperor and proposed her suggestions and promises.

“Yes,” she smiled. “That’s exactly what I said to the late Emperor.”

“At that time, Miss A-Zhao wasn’t trying to become Empress; she just wanted to survive,” Xie Yanfang said softly. “She wanted many people to survive.”

Chu Zhao picked up the teacup he pushed it toward her, and took a small sip.

“Now there’s no need for that,” Xie Yanfang said. “Now that the Empress holds military power, a puppet is the best choice. The benefits of a puppet—I don’t need to explain, Miss A-Zhao already knows, right?”

A puppet like Liang Qiang, especially one who had previously had friction with the Empress, could not only showcase the Empress’s magnanimity but also shield against and divide the criticisms from officials at court. Such a puppet could gather a group of officials and generals who harbored different thoughts about the Empress, and could be discarded without hesitation when necessary—Chu Zhao nodded, her expression somewhat dejected: “I know. I know everything.”

She sighed lightly, with some self-mockery.

“I know how formidable you are, Third Young Master. I’ve known clearly from the beginning that without you, I couldn’t have secured my position as Empress, I couldn’t have had the final say in court debates, I couldn’t have wielded the Dragon Authority Army without restraint, and I certainly couldn’t have achieved such brilliant military feats—”

She had quelled Xiao Xun’s rebellion in less than two years. Less than two years! This wasn’t because she was formidable, and Xiao Xun wasn’t defeated by her hands.

In this lifetime, on the surface, Xiao Xun was confronting her, but in reality, he was still facing Xie Yanfang.

That day when she made Liang Qiang drink, Liang Qiang clearly showed an unusual expression, but in the end, he still didn’t reveal who the person was.

Standing before him, she was the Empress, the Emperor was still young, and she could be said to be the most powerful person in the world. But faced with her, Liang Qiang chose not to speak. Why?

What could be the reason? Because that person was the most formidable.

Compared to that person, she, the Empress, was nothing.

The Wei family of Hanjun was the same. Even after being told that the truth had been discovered, they still disdainfully asked her to think about it.

Why didn’t the Wei family take her seriously? Because in their eyes, someone else was more formidable.

Chu Zhao heaved a deep sigh and covered her face with her hand.

“But even if I know all this, what can I do? I can’t leave you, because without you, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“So I force myself not to think about what you’re doing; I just need to see the results.”

“I’m not a good person either, nor am I impartial and selfless.”

Seeing the girl leaning against the armrest, looking pained, Xie Yanfang felt somewhat helpless and said, “You’re overthinking. I said very early on, and repeatedly, that all of this is what you deserve. To put it simply, you came first, then me. It was Miss A-Zhao who stood before me, allowing me to see—”

He looked at Chu Zhao.

“I am willing to help wholeheartedly.”

Chu Zhao parted her fingers, looking at him through the gaps.

“I can see the purity in your eyes, Third Young Master. I believe what you say is true,” she said. “That’s why I’m confused.”

……

……

Confused—this wasn’t the first time Chu Zhao had said this to him. Xie Yanfang thought of how she had looked at him and said the same thing earlier when he was fishing in the Imperial Garden.

So she wasn’t confused about the Wei family of Hanjun.

“All these years, I’ve been watching. I’ve seen that you truly regard Xiao Yu as the Emperor, sincere and open, neither humble nor arrogant, without a trace of superiority.”

“But you also communicate with Western Liang, even manipulating their troops to attack Great Xia’s cities, plunder Great Xia’s lands, causing Great Xia’s soldiers and people to die.”

“I’ve also seen your assistance to me. No matter how I look at it, I can see your sincerity. I can’t find a hint of falsehood.”

“But you also incite conflicts between me and those around me, plant people to seize the military power, and even the lives of those I trust.”

Chu Zhao looked at the young master before her and shook her head.

“I’m very confused, Third Young Master. What exactly are you doing? What do you want to do?”

Xie Yanfang looked at her and said, “From beginning to end, I’ve only had one wish, only one thing to do: to make A-Yu a renowned emperor. But, Miss A-Zhao, an emperor is not equivalent to Great Xia.”

An emperor is not equivalent to the Great Xia? Chu Zhao was taken aback.

“An emperor is the world, or as the saying goes, ‘a solitary person,'” Xie Yanfang said. “What an emperor wants is the world, everything, all things under heaven, all to be at his disposal.”

Chu Zhao pondered: “So you’re protecting A-Yu as an emperor, not the people of Great Xia. So—”

“So there’s no need to be constrained by whether it’s our side or the opposing side,” Xie Yanfang said. “As long as it can be useful to me, why not use it? Whether it’s Western Liang people or Great Xia people, as long as they can be used, they should all be used.”

Chu Zhao looked at him, her expression complex: “Third Young Master, this idea of yours—”

She seemed unable to express herself.

“My idea might sound unacceptable, but that’s the reality,” Xie Yanfang said softly. “I don’t mean to offend, but if it weren’t for the Western Liang people, if it weren’t for the casualties among Great Xia’s people, your father couldn’t have been used by the late Emperor, and perhaps would have lived his entire life as an ordinary, mediocre soldier.”

Chu Zhao’s expression changed slightly, but before she could speak, Xie Yanfang continued.

“I know General Chu believes in ‘I would rather see people free from illness, even if the medicine on the shelves gathers dust.'”

He looked at Chu Zhao.

“But we’re not discussing beliefs; we’re discussing reality.”

Chu Zhao remained silent.

Xie Yanfang looked down the hillside. The deer hunt had ended, and from not far away came the sound of geese—they had released the wild geese, and the Emperor was about to hunt them.

“I understand the good and evil of the world, the principles, but A-Yu was born at such a time, and I encountered A-Yu in such circumstances,” he said. “It’s the time, it’s fate.”

Fate—Chu Zhao sighed lightly: “Then my encountering the Third Young Master is also fate.”

In that lifetime, encountering Xie Yanfang was Xiao Xun and Deng Yi’s fate, and her fate was to encounter Xiao Xun. In this lifetime, she had changed Xiao Xun’s fate, so she had to face Xie Yanfang herself.

Hearing this, Xie Yanfang smiled.

“I know that although I’ve repeatedly said that I’m doing this for you, the pain caused by these actions is borne by Miss A-Zhao.” he paused here and shook his head. “And I can’t say it’s for you; this is just my affair. Even if I explained the reasoning clearly to Miss A-Zhao and analyzed the pros and cons, Miss A-Zhao would never do things this way.”

Chu Zhao looked at him and laughed: “The Third Young Master knows everything, understands everything.”

“And I’ve said everything, right?” Xie Yanfang added with a smile.

Chu Zhao didn’t respond.

Xie Yanfang said, “Saying all this, I’m not trying to defend myself. I don’t need to defend myself.”

He looked at Chu Zhao.

“I just hope to resolve one confusion for Miss A-Zhao: you and A-Yu are the Emperor and Empress I want to protect. This point is beyond doubt.”

Chu Zhao stared at him steadily, as if trying to see through to his flesh, spirit, and heart, and said, “I believe you.”

With that, she drained the tea Xie Yanfang had handed her earlier and poured two more cups.

“Please, Sir Xie,” she said.

Xie Yanfang reached for the teacup, looked at the clear tea, and said, “But the Empress still wants to give me a cup of poisoned tea.”