Empress Lu was rendered speechless by Song Chuyi’s words. Her eyes reddened even more as she thought about how such a young girl could be so ruthless. She couldn’t help but recall Master Yuanhui’s words from back then. Now, thinking carefully about it, they seemed to have come true—wasn’t it indeed the fate of a calamitous lone star? Even the Crown Prince and Prince Gong, upon crossing paths with her, had ended up in such a state.
Song Chuyi seemed to read her mind like a tapeworm in her belly, knowing exactly what she was thinking. She neither defended herself nor protested her innocence, but simply smiled, revealing her two dimples, and asked: “Moreover, Your Majesty, ask yourself honestly—if this matter were smoothed over again, muddled through in confusion, what about the future? Last time when His Highness indulged Fan Liangdi, the Crown Princess came to seek your help, and you said the Crown Prince would restrain himself. But not only did he fail to show restraint, he became even worse. I know Your Majesty feels sorry for your sons and wants to preserve their lives, wants to turn major issues into minor ones and minor ones into nothing. But what if such things happen again in the future? His Highness doesn’t have a second life, and neither do I.” Song Chuyi met Empress Lu’s gaze and spoke frankly: “Not being favored by the Crown Prince isn’t His Highness’s fault. If he didn’t like him, he shouldn’t have married the Crown Princess in the first place, shouldn’t have brought His Highness into this world. To give birth but not raise, to give birth but not teach—what kind of father is that? Originally, if he had merely failed to raise or teach properly, if he had merely shown favoritism, everyone could have muddled through while saving face. But he has already gone mad enough to want to take his own biological son’s life. Forgive my bluntness, but I see no sign that such a person would restrain himself. Since we don’t know when he might bite again, we can only pull out his fangs.”
“Your Majesty, when one hesitates to act decisively, one will suffer from the resulting chaos. You’ve doted on the Crown Prince and Prince Gong for all these years, indulged them for all these years, and yielded for so long. But has either of them changed according to your wishes? Neither has. You cherish them so dearly, yet neither of them takes your love to heart—instead, they resent you. You are their mother, so naturally you don’t hold it against them and wish them well. But if they continue like this, even if they escape today, what about the future? You’ve cultivated their appetites to grow larger and larger—what do you plan to use to satisfy their ambitions in the future? Serious illnesses require strong medicine. Don’t you see how good things are now?”
Empress Lu wanted to speak, but Song Chuyi’s words were not wrong—she couldn’t refute a single sentence. After staring at her for a long while, the knot of resentment in her heart finally loosened. Like Emperor Jianzhang, she waved her hand dismissively to send her home. Yet she differed from Emperor Jianzhang—no matter how angry she was, she understood that circumstances were stronger than individuals. She had Xie Siyi assign the nannies who had been prepared to teach proper conduct, along with two palace maids, to accompany Song Chuyi home.
Crown Princess Lu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her emerge. She took Song Chuyi’s hand and looked her over carefully. Upon seeing the people Xie Siyi had assigned, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes. Then she gently adjusted the hairpin on Song Chuyi’s head and said: “Weizhao has awakened. Let me go in first to pay my respects to Mother Empress, and I’ll have Xiangling accompany you back first.”
But when she returned, she found Zhou Weizhao was not there. The eunuch Xiao Dongzi, who served Zhou Weizhao, told her: “His Highness insisted on going to see His Majesty as soon as he awoke. We couldn’t stop him.”
While Emperor Jianzhang still harbored some murderous intent and probing thoughts toward Song Chuyi, facing his grandson he felt only guilt. Looking at his pale complexion and lips, he sighed: “You’ve truly suffered.”
These words—even when Zhou Weizhao had spent seven or eight years at Longhu Mountain, Emperor Jianzhang had never said them. He hadn’t thought that cultivating immortality and practicing Daoism was suffering—that was a karmic connection one couldn’t obtain even if one sought it. But this ordeal had truly harmed both body and spirit.
He didn’t speak on behalf of the Crown Prince either. In the first few days, his heart had still ached. Seeing the Crown Prince desperately trying to move and speak but utterly helpless had stirred anger in his heart. But as the intelligence reports from the Imperial Guard were submitted one after another, even the most compassionate fatherly heart had been worn away. The blood ties and familial affection of the imperial family, in the end, counted for nothing in the face of power.
The family fortune he had obtained through countless brushes with death—the Crown Prince hadn’t even taken charge yet and was already trying his hardest to squander it all. Even with the best temper, he couldn’t tolerate it. Having finished that sigh, he looked at Zhou Weizhao again: “He has truly been utterly disgraceful all these years.”
The corruption case in Yangzhou and the matter of Jiangxi Provincial Governor Yang Yunyong could be overlooked with one eye closed, but harboring private armed forces was absolutely intolerable. The more Emperor Jianzhang thought about it, the angrier he became: “Fortunately, your future wife is clear-headed and ruthless enough, having Lai Chenglong follow the trail to uncover so much evidence. Otherwise, I would have no face to meet the ancestors.”
Zhou Weizhao’s vital energy was still somewhat deficient. Covering his mouth, he forcibly suppressed his cough and called out: “Grandfather, I heard from Mother about Father’s situation. Please don’t blame Xiaoyi—she did it for my sake.”
Emperor Jianzhang looked at him closely. The young man was handsome and distinguished, his gaze clear and open. Even after being ill for all these days, the haggardness only added a few more touches of refinement to his appearance, not making him look wretched in the slightest. This noble and upright bearing—the Crown Prince had never possessed it. He spoke of Song Chuyi so openly and without concealment, saying she had acted for his sake, taking all responsibility upon himself. He didn’t seem the least bit worried about being suspected of seizing power or competing for authority.
Before Emperor Jianzhang could say anything, Zhou Weizhao’s voice rang out: “Grandfather is in the prime of your years. Father, in his current condition, no longer has the ability to secure his position as Crown Prince.”
Emperor Jianzhang raised his eyebrows, his expression remaining steady while his ears perked up to hear Zhou Weizhao continue—the Crown Prince had suffered a stroke and could not even care for himself. How could he continue to fulfill the duties of Crown Prince? As for Prince Gong, after this incident came to light, it was impossible for him to occupy that position either—he, the Emperor, was still alive, and Prince Gong had already dared to poison his nephew and kill his brother. What would become of things in the future?
But Zhou Weizhao had already knelt properly on the ground and kowtowed three times, each one more earnest than the last.
“Your grandson has heard that Hubei Province suffered severe flooding and frequent epidemics. I request permission to go manage the flood control.” Zhou Weizhao straightened his body and looked at Emperor Jianzhang: “I beseech Grandfather to grant this request.”
Emperor Jianzhang had no intention of deposing the Crown Prince—he only had two legitimate sons. If he deposed the Crown Prince, it would be Prince Gong, but Prince Gong was equally unsuitable. The remaining two adult sons who had been enfeoffed as princes were born of concubines. Zhou Weizhao, however, had grown to maturity, conducted himself with proper measure, and was about to be married. If the Crown Prince proved unfit, he would be the most suitable choice as heir.
It was precisely because of this point that Emperor Jianzhang had hesitated initially, always feeling that Zhou Weizhao and Song Chuyi had the suspicion of using the situation to eliminate both the Crown Prince and Prince Gong in one stroke.
But by now, he felt he had been overly suspicious. If Zhou Weizhao were truly such a person, the matter of Fan Liangdi should have been brought to light long ago. Yet he had never uttered a word about it, and now he was even requesting to go to Hubei of his own accord.
What was the current situation in Hubei? Memorial reports of deaths were being sent to the capital one after another. Silver had been allocated, imperial commissioners had been dispatched, but nothing had any effect. With this flood and epidemic, the number of deaths reported from Hubei had already reached over four thousand, and even the imperial commissioner who had been sent earlier had contracted the epidemic disease.