Free Web NovelChapter 1229: Chapter 192: Never to Meet Again_2
"You slaughtered the entire Li Family, and you won’t let me live long; it’s all for the sake of our tenth brother, isn’t it?"
Prince Wei candidly admitted, "Yes. The Li Family held too high a position in the hearts of scholars across the land, with disciples spread throughout the regions and officialdom, so they had to die." He sharply eyed Prince Chu, "And as long as you’re alive, there will always be people who won’t give up, clinging to support you, so you can’t be allowed to remain either."
Prince Chu listened to these words, his expression unmoved.
"I had guessed it."
"If you must hate, hate me, don’t hate our tenth brother." Prince Wei didn’t mind being hated a little more by Prince Chu.
Prince Chu lightly shook his head, "I don’t hate you, nor do I hate our tenth brother."
Prince Wei found it hard to believe Prince Chu, looking full of doubt.
"You did it for our tenth brother and for the Great Zhou." Prince Chu truly didn’t hate anymore. Besides, he wouldn’t live for many more years, so what was the point of harboring resentment? "If I hadn’t known that our tenth brother would ascend the throne, I would have died long ago. The only reason I’ve held on to life was to see our tenth brother ascend, to see him bring prosperity to Great Zhou in the future."
Suddenly, Prince Wei asked, "Do you know why our father didn’t choose you?"
"I didn’t understand before, but now I do. Father was right not to choose me; I’m not as good as our tenth brother." Over the years at Swamp Prefecture, being by Zhao Yao’s side made him realize that whether in governance, abilities, or methods, he fell far short of their tenth brother. "I always thought I was the one who cared the most about the people, but compared to our tenth brother, I still have a long way to go." During his time in Swamp Prefecture, he witnessed firsthand their tenth brother doing tangible things for the citizens. "In our hearts, the people were never the priority, but in our tenth brother’s heart, they always come first."
"It’s good that you understand." Prince Wei, while not regretting the slaughter of the Li Family or the death of Princess Consort Chu and her children, still felt... "In our next lives, let’s not be reborn into the Imperial Family, and may we never meet again."
Prince Chu gazed deeply at Prince Wei, nodded, and said, "Agreed, never to meet again." With that, he stood up and left the Prince Wei Mansion.
For the first time, Prince Wei watched the departing figure of Prince Chu, then lightly sighed, "Ah..." If they hadn’t been born into the Imperial Family, perhaps they could have been friends.
Tong Xi approached Prince Wei from behind, speaking respectfully, "Your Highness, the weather is getting cooler; shall I push you back indoors?"
"Alright."
Yu Hai was no longer around; it was Prince Wei who had him take his own life. Prince Wei knew Yu Hai had been very dissatisfied with Zhao Yao over the years, and if left, who knew what trouble he might have stirred.
With no one close by to serve him, Zhao Yao appointed Tong Xi to care for Prince Wei. Prince Wei did not refuse.
During these days, Tong Xi diligently served Prince Wei while speaking of Zhao Yao’s deeds in Swamp Prefecture.
"Lord Wei, His Highness said he would come over tonight to have hotpot with you." Although Zhao Yao was now Emperor, he hadn’t officially ascended the throne, so he considered himself still Prince Han. Each morning, he attended court at Zichen Hall and in the evenings returned to Prince Han’s or Wei’s mansion.
"Our tenth brother eats so heartily, we must prepare more food."
Meanwhile, in Cining Palace, Princess Consort Ying knelt on the ground, pleading with the Empress Dowager and Zhao Yao to allow her to guard the Imperial Mausoleum.
Zhao Yao watched with a headache as Princess Consort Ying refused to rise, "Princess Consort Ying, it’s not that I won’t agree with you, it’s that our eighth brother disagrees."
The Empress Dowager, full of resignation, said, "Princess Consort Ying, this is not in line with protocol. There has never been a concubine to guard the tomb of a stepson. What you are doing will ruin the eighth’s reputation."
"Empress Dowager, Your Highness, I can feign death, no longer being Princess Consort Ying, and go as a servant to guard the tomb."
Seeing that Princess Consort Ying still wouldn’t relent, Zhao Yao had no choice but to speak the truth.
"Eighth brother said he didn’t want you to tarnish his..." These were Prince Wei’s exact words, too harsh to continue.
Zhao Yao didn’t finish, but Princess Consort Ying could guess the rest, and her complexion immediately turned ashen.
Seeing Princess Consort Ying’s grief-stricken demeanor, Zhao Yao felt a twinge of compassion but knew these words had to be said clearly.
"Eighth brother said he has no ties to you, so don’t be wishful. If you wish to continue as Princess Consort, then remain in the palace. If you don’t wish to remain, then the world is yours to explore."
Princess Consort Ying’s eyes reddened, brimming with tears.
"Eighth brother also said not to disturb his peace in death." Zhao Yao said gently, "Princess Consort Ying, eighth brother once said that if he were an ordinary person, he’d want to travel the world. I think you could help fulfill that wish."
Upon hearing this, Princess Consort Ying’s eyes lit up, "Really?"
"Really."
"Alright, then I’ll travel the world."
After Princess Consort Ying left, Zhao Yao sighed, "Eighth brother didn’t like her."
"To her, it doesn’t matter if he liked her or not. What matters is she liked him."
"No wonder she did so much for him."
The Empress Dowager thought of the Princess Consort Wei, asking, "What about your eighth sister-in-law?" After Emperor Yong’an regained his princely status, the Empress naturally reverted to being Princess Consort Wei and no longer resided in the palace.
"Eighth brother let her go, telling her to find a suitable husband in the future, and she agreed."
The Empress Dowager nodded, saying, "That too is good."
"Mother, once father recovers, you should travel with him too; don’t stay in the palace any longer." He was destined never to escape the Imperial Palace, so he’d stay and be a good emperor.
"And what about you?"
"I’ll be the emperor." Zhao Yao said seriously, "Father has been stuck in the palace for decades. Now that he’s retired with honor, let him go out and enjoy himself. You’ve been trapped in the palace for most of your life, with only a little left; live it freely with my share." He once thought that once his father left, he’d bring his mother out of the palace to give her freedom. Though now there was no need to bring her out, he could still let her out.
The Empress Dowager understood her son’s filial piety, "Alright, once your father is better, I’ll take him to see the world."
Zhao Yao stood up and walked to the door, a complex expression on his face, "From childhood, I always wanted to escape here, to stay away forever. For that, I schemed and plotted throughout my youth. Yet in the end, I’ve come back here, and I’ll never be able to leave."
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager’s heart ached for him.
"The old ginger is spicier; I still couldn’t outmaneuver father and ended up played by him."
"Yao Yao, don’t blame your father. He had no choice either."
Zhao Yao said, "I know." He turned to the Empress Dowager, bowing, "Mother, eighth brother is still waiting for me, so I’ll head back."
"Go."
