Unlike Gu Zhao, Shen Yueshan lacked the grand righteousness to repay the emperor with his death, even if he would eventually be vindicated.

He knew well that he needed to stay alive so his son and daughter could forever maintain their dignity, and the brothers who had fought alongside him through life and death could forever be respected, standing tall and proud in the world.

“So Lord Gu was actually…” Bu Shulin could hardly believe it. She had always thought the Gu family’s downfall was simply the outcome of a power struggle between ruler and minister.

She never imagined there was such complexity behind it!

“Human hearts are inherently complex,” Shen Xihe smiled faintly.

“Lord Gu was so… righteous.” Bu Shulin couldn’t find the right words to describe Gu Zhao.

As a commoner, she would certainly feel grateful, since when two tigers fight, it’s the innocent commoners who cannot control their fate that suffer.

But as a descendant of a noble family, she would surely curse Gu Zhao as a flatterer and traitor.

“Alin, do you know that if he hadn’t made this move, the Xue family wouldn’t have been able to withdraw unscathed today, nor would the Cui family maintain their glory? If he had led the noble families to fight with all their might, both sides would have been destroyed. At that time…”

At that time, more people would have died, and the Gu family might not have been preserved. During their struggle, the recently pacified foreign tribes would have seized the opportunity, creating both internal and external troubles. How many more families would have been torn apart?

Gu Zhao understood this. Power and desire didn’t weigh heavily in his heart. Due to the previous emperor’s decadence, he had witnessed the realm’s devastation in his childhood and saw widespread suffering in his youth. Born to nobility and supported by the common people, he only wanted to do what he could for the realm.

From the eighth to the nineteenth year of Youning’s reign, for eleven years he had pressured His Majesty until he could barely breathe. As much as His Majesty hated him then, he probably hates him even more now, though His Majesty must also feel grateful to him.

“My father always said reading too many books ruins the mind,” Bu Shulin shuddered. While she admired people like Gu Zhao, she didn’t want her father to become such a person. She didn’t want to be sacrificed for no reason. “It’s truly pitiful about Princess Xin, such a peerless beauty. You haven’t seen her, you don’t know how radiant she was…”

She coughed lightly and continued, “Though, in my heart, Youyou is the most radiant. Princess Xin was like a walking corpse… tsk, I shouldn’t disrespect the dead. But I truly felt that when she was alive, she seemed to look past everything – not out of arrogance,… but as if she had no attachment to this world. Thinking about it now, being such a wise person, she probably saw through Lord Gu’s intentions early on, which is why…”

Thinking this way, Bu Shulin felt somewhat guilty. In the past, these young nobles had often gossiped about the ladies of the capital. Before Gu Qingzhi broke off her engagement with Xie Yunhuai, they all rather pitied Xie Yunhuai for having such a seemingly miserable fiancée.

Later, when Xie Yunhuai broke the engagement and Gu Qingzhi married Xiao Changqing, they pitied poor Xiao Changqing. And wasn’t it proven true – after marriage, Xiao Changqing became increasingly irritable and gloomy, only recovering some of his former composure after losing his wife.

Now she understood that if she had been born into a family like Gu Qingzhi’s and understood her father’s schemes so early, she would have either gone mad or died young. How could she have managed like Gu Qingzhi, living without joy or sorrow, passing days calmly, waiting for death?

“It’s not that your father read too few books, but that his position was different,” Shen Xihe shook her head gently. “Lord Gu simply understood that the era of imperial power had arrived and that the noble families should withdraw from this political stage they had played on for thousands of years. He achieved others’ complete withdrawal at the cost of minimal sacrifice – this was how he, as head of a noble family, did not fail the support of his clan members and the gentry.

Lord Gu spent over ten years verifying that His Majesty was a diligent ruler who loved his people. His choice to step back also fulfilled the proper relationship between ruler and minister.”

“But what was the result? The noble families weren’t grateful to him, just thought him useless, unable to let them control the emperor’s power as in the previous dynasty,” Bu Shulin wasn’t so righteously principled – her perspective wouldn’t allow her to agree with Gu Zhao’s actions. “And what about His Majesty? If Princess Xin hadn’t set up her scheme before death, would His Majesty have taken the opportunity to clear the Gu family’s name?

He wouldn’t have. Even understanding his sacrifice, His Majesty wouldn’t have easily relented. He relented because he had some conscience, and this conscience was only moved by the ladder Princess Xin and her son provided with their lives.

And the common people? They know nothing. When the court said Lord Gu was a treasonous minister, they believed he was treasonous. When the court cleared his name, they just acknowledged it indifferently. Will they remember that their current peaceful lives came from his sacrifice?

As for the history books…”

Bu Shulin sneered without saying more. Hoping for justice in the history books was laughable – history is always written by the victors.

“Alin, everyone has different desires and pursuits. Like you, I am also extremely selfish. We would prefer to fight until the very end, even if we die, we want to die with clear understanding,” Shen Xihe smiled gently.

As for the innocent people caught up in this battle, she could only apologize. The times were such that while she could guarantee not to actively exploit or harm others, she couldn’t sacrifice her own life and those of her loved ones just to avoid involving them.

She wouldn’t judge Gu Zhao – she didn’t possess such character, so she had no right to judge.

“Right, that’s how it should be!” This was why Bu Shulin liked Shen Xihe – they were alike in fighting for themselves until their last breath. “This realm is His Majesty’s realm, if one side must yield, why couldn’t it be His Majesty?”

Why must they yield? What wrong had they done? Was it wrong that when the court was in chaos, they bravely fought enemies and stabilized the realm? Was it wrong that after being rewarded for their merits, they cared for the common people, sought prosperity for the people under their governance, and earned their love?

They had done nothing wrong, they had no reason not to fight for themselves.

The two shared a knowing smile. Hong Yu came over and said softly, “Princess, Lord Xue has arrived.”

After resigning from his official post, Xue Heng kept his doors closed. Now the Xue family members, while praising Xue Heng’s righteousness in resigning to protect Xue Yi, also hated Xue Yi for being useless. They focused all their attention on Xue Yi, making his life worse than death.

“His Highness advised me to do something for my wife. I plan to go to the Northwest first and take the Seventh Miss to get accustomed to it. Does the Princess have anything she needs me to take to the Northwest?” This was why Xue Heng had come.

First to inform of his itinerary, second to bid farewell, and third to carry things for Shen Xihe.

Shen Xihe had her guards, and items were usually sent to the Northwest through escort agencies, but since Xue Heng was so thoughtful, Shen Xihe gave him the prepared but not yet sent items.

“When you reach the Northwest, remember to write to me, and I’ll send you gifts,” Shen Xihe saw Xue Jinqiao looking dejected and remembered her previous agreement with her.

Xue Jinqiao immediately brightened up.

Shen Xihe added another instruction: “Help me take care of my brother.”

She hoped they would soon understand each other’s hearts.