Ashes to Crown

Chapter 150: Chapter 104: Silence

The study fell silent.

Xiao Xun watched Chu Lan and set his teacup on the table.

”I know this is no small matter—something you’ve never imagined in your entire life,” he said. ”You must have many questions, Mr. Chu.”

Chu Lan stared at the flickering, dim lamplight. ’Yes, how could I have ever imagined something like this would happen? I still feel like I might be dreaming.’

”I could do this myself, without ever needing to sit here with you and say all this,” Xiao Xun said. ”That’s one of the things you’re wondering about, isn’t it, Mr. Chu?”

Chu Lan nodded subconsciously, then froze. ’Wait, doesn’t that mean I’m admitting it...?’

’But Xiao Xun is sitting right here. Clearly, he’s known everything all along.’

’That’s right. He knows everything. He could have just made his move without even showing his face. Why come here and talk so much?’

”Because I value you too highly, Mr. Chu.”

Hearing this, Chu Lan could no longer hold back and shot to his feet. ”Stop your nonsense! You—” He glared at the young Princely Heir. ”You just want to use me to do your dirty work so you can pretend to be pure and innocent!”

He was timid, not stupid. Why say something that not even a three-year-old would believe?

Xiao Xun smiled, his dimples deepening. ”I’m just teasing you, Mr. Chu. I didn’t want you to be so tense. See? Now that you’ve had a chance to vent, don’t you feel a little better?”

’Today, I, Chu Lan, am nothing but a mouse being toyed with. What can I do?’ Chu Lan felt dejected and powerless.

”Mr. Chu, I am asking you to do my dirty work, but it isn’t because I’m unable or unwilling to get my own hands bloody.” Xiao Xun’s smile vanished. ”It’s because of what comes next. I need you, Mr. Chu. Or, to be precise, I need Chu Ling. But Chu Ling doesn’t have long to live. Therefore, *you* are my indispensable ally.”

’I’m an indispensable ally?’ Chu Lan finally looked up at him.

”Mr. Chu, I’m sure by now you understand your brother’s true position,” Xiao Xun said.

Chu Lan averted his gaze, his silence a tacit answer.

”That man came to you today for this reason, and I am here for the same reason,” Xiao Xun’s voice continued. ”But when that man is done using you, he will only remember Chu Ling’s contributions. Once Chu Ling is dead, you’ll be nothing more than his brother in that man’s eyes—a negligible figure. But when I use you, I am truly using *you*. You will have helped me by your own merit. When this is all over, you will no longer be just Chu Ling’s brother to me. You will be a trusted, vital minister.”

A trusted, vital minister!

A minister!

That one word—minister—blatantly positioned him as a ruler.

That one word—minister—was also a promise.

Chu Lan stared at Xiao Xun. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what.

Xiao Xun didn’t wait for him to speak. ”Furthermore, after Chu Ling dies, you will still be alive. As his only brother, you will need to take over all his responsibilities.”

At this, he once again picked up the teacup and offered it to Chu Lan.

”Mr. Chu, when I said I value you, it wasn’t a joke. I came because of Chu Ling, it’s true, but the one I truly need is you.”

”In the future, I will be your Heavenly Ladder. But right now, you are mine.”

”Mr. Chu, please, step onto the Heavenly Ladder with me. Together, we will ascend to the Heaven Gate.”

He said these words once more.

Hearing those words again, Chu Lan’s heart still pounded. This time, however, he didn’t claim not to understand. Instead, he reached out and accepted the cup.

Xiao Xun smiled and rose to his feet. ”There have been too many surprises today, and your mind is in turmoil, Mr. Chu. I won’t disturb you any further.”

With that, he walked toward the door.

Chu Lan hesitated, then stood up, clutching the teacup, uncertain whether he should see him out.

Xiao Xun stopped and looked back. ”Mr. Chu, don’t worry about your safety. My men have secured your residence. They will ensure your protection.”

With that, he pulled his cloak over his head and face, walked out, and vanished into the night.

Whether Chu Lan understood what this meant or not, Chu Zhao, hidden in the small closet, did.

She didn’t just understand his words; she finally understood how unjustly she had died in her past life—and yet, how justly.

...

...

She had snuck into the study to see if Chu Lan was hiding someone.

A while back, Chu Tang had asked for this study of Chu Lan’s to be given to her. She was quite pleased with it. The Chu Mansion truly was a fine estate, boasting a garden like Chu Garden and an exquisite study. It was no wonder Chu Lan practically lived in here.

The study even had a small, hidden closet. Though it could only fit one person, a high window provided ventilation. It was set flush against a bookshelf, allowing one to easily pull out books, and you could peer into the study through the gaps between the shelves.

The servants in this part of the mansion were all distraught, hiding in any dark corner they could find. This allowed Chu Zhao to slip in through an outer latticed window and into the closet without being seen.

Inside the study, Chu Lan paced back and forth, completely distraught and oblivious to his surroundings.

But there was no one else in the room. Chu Zhao took a look around, and just as she was about to leave, Xiao Xun arrived. And so, sitting in the closet, she finally came to understand her entire life.

The curses from Princess Consort Liang, from Chu Tang, from Yan Lang—she understood them all now.

She finally saw everything with absolute clarity.

Her becoming the Empress had indeed been a transaction.

The young prince had indeed been entrusted to the Chu Family, and he had truly died at their hands.

’But what did any of that have to do with her? What did it have to do with her father? They hadn’t done anything. They hadn’t known anything!’

Chu Zhao peered through the gap in the bookshelf. Her gaze was both focused and vacant, seeming to fix on Chu Lan, yet also looking past him, into the depths of the night.

So this was how she and her father had been played like puppets.

....

....

In the deep of night, the Imperial City’s layers of high walls and rows of palaces seemed to seal it off from the world.

In a hall in the very depths of the Inner Palace, it was so still that even the candle flames ceased to flicker. The man on the wide dragon bed was as motionless as a stone statue.

Not until he let out a long sigh did the air in the hall seem to stir. The candle flames leaped to life, the bed curtains swayed gently, and the eunuchs began to move about softly.

”Your Majesty,” a eunuch said cautiously, ”would you care for some refreshments?”

The Emperor grunted. ”Some Crispy Golden Solitude, perhaps.”

The eunuch was about to speak, but the Emperor chuckled to himself.

”I forgot. That was something the Imperial Concubine often made,” he said. ”And now, the Imperial Concubine is dead.”

Just an hour ago, the gentle and lovely Imperial Concubine, who had been the Emperor’s companion for many years, had attempted to murder him. He had strangled her to death himself, and her body was still hanging from a beam in the room.

No one in the Imperial Concubine’s palace was spared.

The eunuch recalled the recent scene and couldn’t help but shudder. As a eunuch in the Imperial City, he prided himself on having seen all manner of wickedness, but no matter how many stories one heard, the shock of witnessing such a bloody massacre firsthand was something else entirely.

”Your Majesty,” he said quickly, ”our Imperial Chef can also prepare it.”

Only then did the Emperor grunt in acknowledgement. ”Then have some made. The night is still long.”

While instructing someone to carry out the order, the eunuch stepped forward to help the Emperor sit up. He wasn’t sure if it was his own fright-induced weakness, but the Emperor felt exceptionally heavy.

’Alas,’ he thought. ’The woman who was his constant companion tried to kill him, and his own two sons are fighting to the death. Even if the Emperor doesn’t speak of it, the shock and blow he has suffered must be immense.’

’He is, after all, a frail and sickly old man.’

”What is the situation?” the Emperor asked. ”The Crown Prince is dead. Hasn’t it ended yet?”

The eunuch lowered his head. ”Not yet. The Capital City is still in chaos. There’s arson and slaughter everywhere.”

”The Imperial City hasn’t been spared either, has it?” the Emperor asked again.

The eunuch didn’t dare to lie and answered in the affirmative. He quickly added, ”Your Majesty, while the outer city is a chaotic mix of friend and foe, the Inner Palace Guards have all been carefully selected and are unfailingly loyal to you.”

The Emperor let out a strange, unsettling laugh.

”I don’t trust them,” he said, then glanced at the eunuch. ”Any of you.”

The eunuch’s scalp prickled. He dropped to his knees with a THUD. ”Your Majesty, this old servant—”

But before he could profess his loyalty, the Emperor cut him off impatiently.

”Go and summon Deng Yi,” he said.

’Deng Yi?’ The eunuch froze. ’Who in the world is Deng Yi?’

The eunuch didn’t dare admit he didn’t know. It was his job to find out, not to question His Majesty. He turned to leave but was stopped by the Emperor.

The Emperor tore the sash from his waist and threw it to him.

”Take this. In case he refuses to listen.”