The Grand Princess had heard about the uprisings in many places that Bai Qingyan mentioned. She had heard that… due to the conscription of children, various regions had become like living hells.
The Grand Princess closed her eyes. The dynasty’s fate was exhausted!
After a long moment, the Grand Princess finally moved, taking out a handkerchief from her sleeve to dab at the tears in the corners of her eyes. When she turned to look at Bai Qingyan again, her expression had changed. Gone was the earlier grief, her brows and eyes now clear and bright, her voice upright and resonant…
“If that is the case, you should not have come! Since you wish to become the Female Emperor of Great Zhou, you should know… an emperor must never put herself in danger. You… are the Female Emperor of Great Zhou, you are the foundation of Great Zhou! Not the slightest accident can befall you! The Great Zhou has just been established, everything needs to be rebuilt, and those surrendered generals and soldiers you brought back from Great Liang all submit to you, Bai Qingyan. If something happens to you… The Great Zhou will fall into chaos! To give one grandmother an explanation, you are risking the safety of an entire nation – this is not what an emperor should do!”
Hearing the Grand Princess’s words, the Emperor behind the screen suddenly stood up, murderous intent flashing in his eyes. Were these words a Grand Princess of a nation should speak to rebels?
He roared through gritted teeth: “Grand Princess!”
Quan Yu, already constrained, was so frightened he fell to his knees with a thud. The jade wine cup in the black lacquered gold-decorated square tray tilted… spilling wine all over the black lacquered tray. Quan Yu’s entire body trembled, his body rigid as he knelt there, staring fixedly at the oil-bright floor reflecting candlelight, not daring to breathe heavily.
He had been a servant his entire life, at most becoming a personal eunuch beside the Crown Prince. Even if he reached the pinnacle as a personal eunuch beside the Emperor, ranking first among servants, he was still just a servant. Fearing his master was innate – even a sideways glance from his master would make him anxious, let alone the Emperor’s current fury.
The Grand Princess turned a deaf ear to the Emperor’s roar, gazing steadily at her granddaughter, seeming heartbroken as she gripped her granddaughter’s hand tightly, leaning close to speak solemnly: “You are an emperor, not some reckless military general! You should not risk yourself for an old grandmother on death’s door! You carry the weight of an entire nation! From the moment you became emperor… You no longer belong to yourself! You belong to the myriad people of Great Zhou! You must prioritize the myriad people of the Great Zhou! Such a simple choice… don’t you understand?! The choice your father made when he drew his bow and shot… your five younger brothers – don’t you understand that either?!”
Speaking of painful matters, the Grand Princess could barely hold back her tears.
“Grand Princess!” the Emperor roared furiously.
But the Grand Princess acted as if completely unaware of the Emperor’s rage, her eyes holding only her granddaughter: “In the past, when Xiang Yu captured the father of Emperor Gaozu of Han and threatened to boil him alive, Emperor Gaozu said… ‘If you must boil my father, please share a cup of the broth with me!’ Only thus could he achieve great deeds… If Emperor Gaozu had been like you, how could he have achieved great accomplishments?!”
Seeing the Emperor about to stride out from behind the screen, the trembling Quan Yu threw himself forward and grabbed his leg: “Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”
The black lacquered tray holding the poisoned wine fell to the ground, soaking Quan Yu’s clothes. The broken jade cup fragments pierced into Quan Yu’s knees, which should have been excruciatingly painful, but Quan Yu was completely unaware. His heart held only fear, so frightened his voice trembled, yet he still embraced the resolve to die, gripping the Emperor’s leg tightly.
Gao Demao, who had been standing in Luohong Tower without leaving, also knelt: “Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”
“Lowly slave, get away!”
The Emperor’s eyes were about to split with rage. He had never expected that Quan Yu, this timid and cowardly little eunuch, would dare to step forward and grab his leg. The Emperor kicked Quan Yu’s shoulder with all his strength, but failed to kick him away.
Quan Yu took the Emperor’s kick full force, the pain making his scalp numb, yet he held the Emperor even tighter, shouting: “Princess Zhenguo, run quickly! Run!”
Hearing Quan Yu’s voice, Bai Qingyan turned to look toward the screen.
The Emperor, seeing he couldn’t kick away this clinging servant, forcibly dragged Quan Yu, who was kneeling and clinging to his leg, out from behind the screen, glaring fiercely at the Grand Princess and Bai Qingyan.
“Remember!” The Grand Princess gripped Bai Qingyan’s hand tightly, cupping her face to make her look at herself, speaking each word clearly and distinctly: “You are an emperor… what you should learn are the arts of controlling ministers and employing people! An emperor’s heart… embracing all under heaven requires sacrificing small righteousness for great righteousness, sacrificing small affections for great love. The realm and state are paramount; everything else is unimportant. Acting for personal feelings without regard for the nation, the slightest carelessness could destroy the Great Zhou. This should not be an emperor’s action.”
Hearing the Grand Princess speak thus, the Emperor went mad, his gaze searching around for something to throw. If he threw a cup as a signal… Luohong City’s soldiers would rush in and finish off Bai Qingyan.
“A’Bao, don’t worry about Grandmother! Kill the Emperor, and from now on… let Jin undergo a complete transformation!” the Grand Princess declared solemnly.
The Emperor had just spotted a porcelain vase with fresh flowers on a high table and grabbed it… But before he could smash it, the sound of fierce battle tearing through the heavens came from outside.
The Emperor turned toward the outside of Luohong Tower in panic.
“Grandmother, without certainty, your granddaughter would never come to take risks. At this moment… Jinxiu is attacking the city and may have already broken through the city gates.” Bai Qingyan looked toward the Emperor’s back. “And within the city… it should already be in chaos.”
The Emperor suddenly turned to look at Bai Qingyan, seeing her deep, calm gaze fixed on him: “Throw a cup as a signal? The cup is already broken – has anyone come in?”
She looked at the flower vase in the Emperor’s hand: “If you don’t believe it, you can certainly try. Even if you smash this vase, see if anyone comes in for your orders…”
Since Shen Tianzhi was outside Luohong Tower, it was impossible for the Emperor’s people to enter unless Bai Qingyan gave the order.
The Emperor looked again at the Grand Princess sitting calmly and steadily, immediately understanding…
The Grand Princess would risk her life for him and the Crown Prince, but that didn’t mean… the Grand Princess would do anything for him and the Crown Prince, including killing her granddaughter.
So the Grand Princess had been prepared all along!
Even the Grand Princess’s initial willingness to come to Luohong City together was… to serve as Bai Qingyan’s eyes and ears, gathering intelligence, making them think Bai Qingyan would have reservations, so they could eliminate the entire imperial family in one sweep, avoiding the situation that occurred when Yan destroyed Wei – with Wei’s Empress Dowager escaping with the young emperor.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” Gao Demao crawled on his knees to the Emperor’s side, one hand embracing the Emperor’s other leg, the other carefully reaching for the vase in the Emperor’s hand. “Your Majesty… the situation is lost, Your Majesty! Even if we fight to mutual destruction… Luohong City lacks the confidence and strength!”
Seeing even Gao Demao advising the Emperor, the thoroughly soaked Quan Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief. His grip on the Emperor’s leg loosened, and he collapsed to the ground. When his gaze fell upon the wine cup fragments embedded in his knees, his mind went completely blank.