Ashes to Crown

Chapter 131: Chapter 87: A Pointer

In her previous life, Liang Siqing had also fallen from power around this time, but she never knew why.

She hadn’t cared about such things back then; she and the other girls were simply terrified by the Liang Family’s tragic fate.

Someone had described how the Liang Family’s household was driven out of the Capital City like a herd of cattle.

Her face had gone pale with fright at the thought. Just a few days earlier, Miss Liang had been with them, brightly dressed as she showed off her new gowns. In the blink of an eye, she had been reduced to a prisoner.

”For high officials and powerful nobles, the slightest misstep can lead to utter ruin,” Chu Tang said with a sigh, turning to look at her. ”Now do you see how much danger your father has brought upon our family?”

Back then, she had nearly burst into tears, as if she could already see her own family being taken away as prisoners. She had grown more resentful of her father and felt even more guilty toward her uncle’s family.

’Thinking about it now, how could that have been seen as a disaster brought by Father? Father committed such a publicly known act of defiance, yet the Chu Family remained safe and sound. This clearly meant that Father was formidable, that Father was extraordinary, that only Father could protect the Chu Family’s standing.’

’I must have been out of my mind.’

Chu Zhao looked at Chu Tang.

Chu Tang was startled by her gaze.

”I didn’t believe those rumors, I swear,” she said hurriedly. Feeling that wasn’t quite right, she added, ”Even if they were true, I don’t think you did anything wrong. See? I didn’t just stand by and watch this time. I did speak up for you a bit.”

Chu Zhao let out a chuckle.

’True, Chu Tang’s behavior at the restaurant this time was indeed commendable. She hadn’t shied away from trouble like she used to.’

’Although it felt somewhat ironic to praise a family member for such a thing, given their family’s dynamics and Chu Tang’s selfish nature, it was still a huge change.’

”Yes, thank you, Sister,” she said with a smile.

Chu Tang didn’t care whether the thanks were genuine or not. She thought for a moment and asked, ”So for this whole affair, who was more impressive—Uncle, or you?”

’It was obviously Xie Yanfang who was impressive,’ Chu Zhao thought, but she knew what Chu Tang was really asking.

’Third Young Master Xie is formidable, but who was it that convinced him to do something so formidable? Was it Chu Ling? Or was it her?’

Chu Zhao glanced at Chu Tang. ’I only hinted that Father, Chu Ling, was formidable. For Chu Tang to have broadened her horizons enough to see my part in it—’

’Still, it was undeniable that while Xie Yanfang looked at her in a new light because of her father, she herself had also been impressive, daring to do things she had never even considered before.’

”This time, I think I was a bit more impressive,” she said with a smile.

Hearing this, Chu Tang’s almond-shaped eyes darted about as she studied Chu Zhao’s face with an ambiguous smile.

”It wasn’t because of my face,” Chu Zhao said, knowing instantly what she was thinking. ’These young girls...’ ”Though I am, admittedly, very beautiful.”

Chu Tang let out a chuckle.

”But to a man, beauty is just that—beauty,” Chu Zhao said. ”It’s not some omnipotent power.”

Chu Tang laughed. ”I’ve heard that before, but it’s always the plain-looking women who like to say it.”

’Because they don’t have beauty, they have to convince themselves and others that they possess other virtues.’

’A beautiful girl might say the same thing, but her goal is to convince others that she deserves even more.’

Chu Zhao shook her head. ’Such is the petty cleverness of a young girl.’

’In the Inner Palace, she had seen her fill of beauties. In the eyes of power, beauty was nothing. It was merely a plaything.’

....

....

Although plenty of officials had been condemned at court over the years, the sudden case against Liang Siqing caused quite a commotion.

What made it especially different from the past was the Xie family’s involvement.

Early in the morning, officials gathered at the palace gate, buzzing with discussion.

”This is definitely the Xie family flexing their power.”

”To condemn the Liang Family over something as trivial as their children’s marriage engagement... how could anyone say the Xie family isn’t overbearing?”

Amid the buzzing discussions, the urgent beat of hooves echoed, so forceful the ground itself seemed to tremble. The officials didn’t even need to look to know who was arriving. No one but the Crown Prince carried themselves with such an imposing presence within the Imperial City. They all scattered and made way in an instant.

The Crown Prince approached on his horse, as imposing as a mountain, flanked by eunuchs and Mounted Archery Officers, all of whom were powerfully built.

”With so many matters pressing at court, how can you all be gathered here for idle chatter?” the Crown Prince bellowed from his horse. ”This afternoon, I want to see the proposals regarding land taxes and military affairs. If I don’t see them—”

His gaze swept across everyone present.

”You can all go keep Liang Siqing company!”

The officials hastily answered in unison, feeling the Crown Prince’s whirlwind-like presence sweep past them as he headed for the Inner Palace.

Once inside the Imperial City, the Crown Prince could no longer ride his horse. He strode forward on foot. The Imperial Guards patrolling in front of the Inner Palace halted to greet him with reverence. Eunuch Zhu looked ahead and his eyes immediately fell upon a man standing by the palace gate—

His eyes flickered. He squeezed closer to the Crown Prince’s side and said in a low voice, ”Your Highness, there’s a man named Deng Yi. I’m not sure if Mr. Yang has mentioned him to you—”

The Crown Prince, lost in thought, refocused and asked, ”What is it?”

Just as he spoke, a eunuch emerged from within, walking toward them with a beaming smile.

”Eunuch Qi!” The Crown Prince abandoned Eunuch Zhu and strode forward with a booming laugh. ”Why have you come yourself? Did Father Emperor send you on another errand? It’s been so many years, and you still haven’t learned to slack off. You have so many people under you; you could have just sent any one of them.”

Eunuch Qi chuckled. ”It was not His Majesty who sent this old servant on an errand. I’ve come to see the Crown Prince on behalf of the young prince.”

The young prince was, of course, the Crown Prince’s son, who was currently studying under the Emperor’s tutelage.

Hearing his son mentioned, the Crown Prince’s smile softened. ”What about Yu? Is something the matter?”

”Nothing is wrong. The young prince misses you. This old servant came specifically to remind Your Highness to go see him after your audience with His Majesty,” Eunuch Qi said.

The Crown Prince laughed heartily. ”Well, that’s what he gets for only wanting to study. If he came to the training grounds, he could see me every day.”

Eunuch Qi quickly interjected, ”You are forbidden from taking the young prince to the training grounds. Have you forgotten how His Majesty punished you last time, when he fell and injured his arm?”

”I must have injured my arms countless times when I was little, but I never saw my Grandfather punish my father for it,” the Crown Prince said with a laugh.

Eunuch Qi feigned annoyance. ”Why are you speaking ill of His Majesty again? If you say another word, this old servant will go and tattle to him.”

The Crown Prince paid him no mind, striding inside with a hearty laugh, completely ignoring the officials and Imperial Guards lining the palace gate.

He strode in, and the others rushed to follow. Eunuch Zhu swallowed the rest of his words, shot a glance at Deng Yi, and also hurried on.

Deng Yi seemed completely oblivious, bowing low as the procession passed. But as another gaze fell upon him, he raised his head, meeting Eunuch Qi’s, who had turned back to look—

Deng Yi averted his gaze and bowed even lower in a solemn salute, as if once again respectfully seeing off the Crown Prince.

Eunuch Qi smiled, looked away, and said to the Crown Prince, ”His Majesty has just taken his medicine, so please don’t upset him. This old servant will go to the young prince’s residence now. You must remember not to rush off in a hurry again.”

The Crown Prince waved a hand without looking back. ”I know, I know. Ai, Old Qi, you really are getting more long-winded in your old age.”

”That’s what being old is all about,” Eunuch Qi said with a laugh, bowing to take his leave.

.....

......

When Eunuch Qi returned to the Emperor’s bedchamber, the Crown Prince had already left. The Emperor was reclining on a soft couch with his eyes closed, resting, while a beautiful Palace Maid fed him sweet soup.

He ate listlessly, taking a bite here and there.

Eunuch Qi stepped forward and took the bowl from her. The Palace Maid bowed her head and withdrew.

”Did the Crown Prince rush off again?” he asked with a note of resignation. ”It’s a good thing this old servant didn’t tell the young prince he was coming.”

The Emperor snorted. ”He seized an opportunity. He’s arrested a hundred or so scholars, claiming they’re bandits and rebels. He’s in a hurry to go make Old Third furious.”

Eunuch Qi asked, ”Are they really bandits and rebels? Did they infiltrate the Third Prince’s literary gathering?”

”Does it matter if it’s true or not?” the Emperor said, opening his eyes. ”Who told Old Third to host a literary gathering where even a little girl could steal the show? The people who attend are just a bunch of random riff-raff anyway.”

Eunuch Qi shook his head in resignation. ”Your Majesty, aren’t you going to intervene? Are you just going to let them cause such a ruckus?”

The Emperor sat up straight. His face, which had grown even thinner, looked more listless than ever, but his eyes were deep and profound, flashing with a glint of madness. ”If he can’t even bring a single brother to heel, how can he be the Crown Prince? And if he wants to be Crown Prince, he expects his old man to help him? I can’t help him forever.”

Eunuch Qi knew exactly what this sentence meant. The two different uses of ”he” in that single statement did not refer to the same person.

And the ”training” His Majesty spoke of concealed a certain cruelty.

To toy with one’s sons like playthings, as if watching small beasts tear each other apart in a hunting ground—for an old man in his twilight years, it was an obscure and unspoken pleasure.

Eunuch Qi dared not speak further on matters between father and son, or between the Emperor and his subjects. He only said, ”Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine has said that you shouldn’t eat too much of this.”

The Emperor was displeased. ”Getting old... just to be managed by others.”

Eunuch Qi laughed and took the bowl away.

”Why did you go to the palace gate to receive the Crown Prince yourself?” the Emperor suddenly asked.

Although he had already explained that he was there to greet the father on his son’s behalf, the Emperor asking this now was no sign of senility—

Eunuch Qi said in a low voice, ”This old servant went to protect someone.”

The Emperor lifted his eyelids. ”And who might that be?”

Eunuch Qi replied, ”A Palace Gate Guard named Deng Yi.”

The Emperor let out an ”Oh,” and lowered his eyelids, asking no more questions, as if it had only been a casual inquiry.

Though His Majesty asked no more, Eunuch Qi continued, ”This Deng Yi is new and has a rather rash temper. He actually dared to block the Crown Prince’s men. Of course, the Crown Prince himself doesn’t care, but petty underlings can be troublesome. I was afraid they might deliberately cause problems for the man and, in doing so, tarnish the Crown Prince’s reputation.”

The Emperor chuckled. ”You’re an old man yourself, yet you still have the energy to worry about such trivial things.”

Eunuch Qi chuckled. ”This old servant is old. Idle concern is all I have left. There’s not much else for me to do, is there?”

The Emperor shot him a glance. ”It’s one thing to slack off and do nothing here with me, but you had better not be lazy when it comes to Yu’er’s studies and well-being.”

Eunuch Qi smilingly agreed. Seeing the Emperor say no more, he bowed his head and retreated.