102: Past

Although Mo Yingqi had heard about her from Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning, now that he was actually meeting this Grand Empress Dowager, he still felt... it was truly somewhat different from what he had imagined.

"It is nothing, nothing at all. Then The Empress Dowager shall say it again." The Grand Empress Dowager smiled.

"As long as the three of you can live your lives well, that is more important than anything else. These things are lifeless objects; you cannot bring them with you when you are born, nor can you take them with you when you die. The Empress Dowager will sooner or later return to the heavens to accompany the late Emperor. I used to say that if one is to give these things away, they should be given to those who are dear to one's heart. Look at you—such a good granddaughter and grandson-in-law—if I do not give them to you, who should I give them to?"

"Grand Empress Dowager, please do not talk such nonsense." Luo Yongan hurriedly spoke up. "We are still counting on you to live for ten thousand generations and stay with your granddaughters forever!"

"Sigh, you silly girl, what 'ten thousand generations'? Wouldn't that turn me into an old monster?" The Grand Empress Dowager pointed to a chair nearby.

"Let the Imperial Son-in-law sit down and keep me company. Yongan, Yongning, you two go with Baiyu to check on the banquet arrangements. Since this is the first time meeting the Imperial Son-in-law, I do not know what he likes or dislikes to eat. You should see to it that things are added accordingly. The Temporary Palace is well-equipped, and the cooks have excellent skills."

Mo Yingqi was just about to speak, but Luo Yongning shook her head at him first, then nodded. Mo Yingqi immediately understood and simply sat down calmly.

"Sister, is the Grand Empress Dowager keeping Yingqi behind alone to tell him something?" After leaving the hall, Luo Yongning whispered to her sister. "I feel like there is something going on, so I told Yingqi not to mind it and just stay there to talk with the Grand Empress Dowager."

"I am afraid it has to do with that Old Scoundrel..." Luo Yongan thought for a moment. "Perhaps Yingqi's appearance is the key to breaking the deadlock; one never knows..."

Mo Yingqi could not hear what the two sisters were discussing. Now that only he and the Grand Empress Dowager were left in the hall, he instead became somewhat nervous again.

"Child, do not mind it. When people get old, they just want to talk to others more." The Grand Empress Dowager seemed to notice Mo Yingqi's nervousness, chuckled softly, and then comforted him gently. "Child, I have heard a bit about your affairs. So, for your next step, is it time for you to deal with Zhou Chutian?"

Mo Yingqi was stunned; he had not expected the Grand Empress Dowager to ask so bluntly. As the Grand Empress Dowager said this, a trace of sorrow appeared in her eyes: "Silly child, this is not hard to guess. There are many people in this world who hate him, and many who have been harmed by him; you are just one of them."

"Grand Empress Dowager, Your Humble Servant does not understand." Mo Yingqi hesitated for a moment, but still asked the question he most wanted to ask. "Your Humble Servant has heard that Grand Chancellor Zhou knew the late Emperor for a very long time and even had the merit of assisting him in ascending the throne. Why did he become like this later on?"

"Him? Heh, he wanted to be Jiang Ziya, but in the end, he turned himself into Cao Cao." The Grand Empress Dowager sighed helplessly. "Zhou Chutian is overflowing with talent, ambition, and drive, yet he never thought of becoming the master of this world. His virtue lies in this, but his flaw also lies in this."

"The late Emperor was made Crown Prince early on, so he naturally became a thorn in the side of others. The current Emperor experienced the Struggle for succession among the seven sons and faced life-threatening situations, but although the late Emperor back then was not openly usurped or rebelled against, which of his brothers did not set traps for him? Which of them did not want to see him reprimanded by Emperor Chengzhong, hoping he would lose his position as Crown Prince and have no chance of being named heir again?"

Mo Yingqi had heard a little about these matters. The late Emperor's talent was purely honed through these constant schemes; one moment they would call him 'Imperial Brother', and the next moment they would trip him up and play dirty tricks.

There were no real blades or spears, no bloodshed, but it was all the more impossible to guard against.

"Emperor Chengzhong was not unaware, but he once said to the late Emperor, 'If you cannot endure these trials, how will you rule the world after you ascend the throne?' " The Grand Empress Dowager smiled bitterly, her eyes filled with helplessness and even a hint of resentment. "Emperor Chengzhong also had the mentality of hoping his son would become a dragon, but for the late Emperor, those days were truly unbearable."

"The framing between the princes was one thing, but the court officials were also sitting on the sidelines watching the tigers fight. These high officials either only listened to Emperor Chengzhong and did not take the late Emperor, who was still the Crown Prince, seriously, or they had their own favored princes. Everyone had their own ulterior motives and their own agendas. Not to mention how hard it was for the late Emperor, as his wife, I also felt heartache yet was powerless to do anything."

"Fortunately, there was Zhou Chutian. Back then, Emperor Chengzhong valued his talent and knew he was not someone who would stay in a pond forever, and the late Emperor also relied on him heavily. It can be said that regarding those insidious hidden arrows and schemes back then, if it were not for Zhou Chutian's assistance from the sidelines, the late Emperor probably would have fallen at the hands of his own brothers at some point when he let his guard down."

"It was because of this that after the late Emperor ascended the throne, he listened to him and purged his own brothers, and even helped him to the position of Grand Secretary. However, although it is true that Zhou Chutian did not want to be Emperor, he was overly dictatorial."

Hearing this, Mo Yingqi felt a deep sense of lament. His own brothers were scheming against him, yet a friend with no blood relation was wholeheartedly helping him. Regardless of whether Zhou Chutian did it for future glory, wealth, and promotion, or whether he truly had deep feelings for the late Emperor back then, the fact remains that he did indeed do a lot and sacrificed a lot, escorting the late Emperor all the way and helping him secure the throne.

"To tell you the truth, many things he did, even the late Emperor could not figure out what he was really thinking." As the Grand Empress Dowager spoke, she picked up the teacup on the table and took a gentle sip. "At the beginning, the two of them were just like when they were in the prince's residence, discussing and consulting each other, and the state affairs were managed in an orderly fashion. But one day, for some reason, the two of them had a fierce quarrel."

"As to what it was about or what they argued about, The Empress Dowager does not know at all. I asked the late Emperor, but he refused to speak a word about it. From that day on, although the two of them remained monarch and subject, I could clearly feel that a rift had formed between them."

After hearing the Grand Empress Dowager finish, Mo Yingqi pondered for a moment and then asked: "Then why did the late Emperor not prepare some measures in advance to guard against him having disloyal intentions?"

"Silly child, it is not that the late Emperor did not have that thought." The Grand Empress Dowager put down the teacup. "But there was no way around it. In one's life, how many people are worth entrusting? Although Zhou Chutian's behavior was puzzling, to the late Emperor at that time, he was the only person he could trust. Although I was the late Emperor's wife, in the end, I was just a woman, and I could not help with many things."

"Originally, although the two had developed a rift, they had known each other for many years. At first, both the late Emperor and I just treated it as a minor dispute that would pass."

"But unexpectedly, later on, Zhou Chutian seemed to deliberately go against the late Emperor. It was also at that time that the Pacification Bureau discovered that ever since he became Grand Secretary, he had begun to secretly scheme, spending vast sums of money to buy the hearts of those Imperial Examination Candidates, and in terms of appointments, he prioritized his own Disciples and confidants."

Speaking of this, the Grand Empress Dowager paused for a moment, then said word by word: "After learning of this, very few people knew that the late Emperor personally ordered him to be given twenty strokes of the cane for this, and even almost... went so far as to kill him."