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Chapter 52
"Yes, since you entered the palace, we have not seen each other again. Now that I see you are doing so well, I'm relieved," Zhou Qichen said with a gratified smile.
The person he could never let go of in this life was Gu Sang, who resided in the palace.
When he learned that Gu Sang had died deep within the palace, he nearly went insane!
If not for his rationality telling him to stay calm, he truly wished to wield his sword and charge into the palace, demanding of Pei Changying why he had failed to uphold his promise to treat Gu Sang as a treasure!
Seeming to think of something, Zhou Qichen urgently advised, "Sang Sang, please don't believe Pei Changying's words anymore, okay?"
"Initially, he promised you a lifelong companionship, but he failed to keep that promise. He also failed to grant you the concubine position he promised. You sacrificed so much for him......"
"Yet he treated you this way, forgetting grace and being disloyal."
"He seemed obsessively in love with you and seldom visited other women's chambers."
"But that's not love at all. That's just being possessive and unwilling to let go."
"So Sang Sang, you must not return!"
Gu Sang felt warmth in her heart and smiled naturally, "Do I look like a fool to you? This world is so good to me, why would I go back and suffer?"
"Besides, who would be foolish enough to give up their freedom for a man?"
"But you, now that the Zhou Family has lost its military power and you have a good relationship with me, Pei Changying must be giving you a hard time, right?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qichen shook his head with a bitter smile.
He told Gu Sang everything Pei Changying had done in secret over the years.
Sidelining loyal generals.
Being paranoid and suspicious.
Increasing taxes.
Only caring about his own power and not the life or death of the common people.
Even before Gu Sang entered the palace, he had secretly ordered that all women were forbidden from hiring tutors! They were only allowed to study the Three Obediences and Four Virtues!
He declared that reading books would make them wild-hearted, like Gu Sang, who did not know her place!
The more she heard, the colder Gu Sang's eyes became.
From Zhou Qichen's account, she could sense his great dissatisfaction with the Emperor.
After Zhou Qichen finished his accusatory words, Gu Sang took a deep breath and stared sternly at him, asking one sentence, "Brother Qichen, are you willing to trust me one more time?"
"What do you want me to do?" Zhou Qichen felt a thought flash through his mind, his heart racing.
Three seconds later.
Gu Sang uttered a soul-shaking sentence, "Back then, I had to help Pei Changying ascend the throne in order to return home."
"The Zhou Family originally did not support any prince."
"You helped me by standing behind Pei Changying without hesitation."
"But does he still deserve the throne now?"
"Qichen, let's replace him with someone else. I think the Elder Princess is more suitable for this position!"
The Elder Princess!!!
Even for the extremely bold Zhou Qichen, upon hearing these shocking words, he could not help but take a step back.
His family had been ministers for three dynasties, with a history of loyalty and righteousness.
Back then, they supported Pei Changying's ascension not only because he could not bear for Gu Sang to lose the bet, but also because Pei Changying was at least a prince!
But now—
Gu Sang wanted him to overthrow the Emperor his family had loyally served for generations?!
No!
Not only to overthrow the Emperor!
Gu Sang wanted to overturn the rule of male sovereignty!
If the Elder Princess ascended the throne, this world would be turned upside down!
The wind blew through Zhou Qichen's collar, causing his clothes to billow and his sleeves to flutter loudly, just as his heart was struggling violently between loyalty and conscience.
Zhou Qichen looked into Gu Sang's resolute and bright eyes, as radiant as the first time he saw them, making him unable to resist feeling admiration.
In the end, rationality temporarily prevailed. "I'm sorry, Sang Sang, I can't do it......"
"My family has been loyal for generations. I cannot agree to your request."
"Although this Emperor is incompetent and incapable, he is still legitimate. I know the Elder Princess is more suitable, but, but we Zhou Family cannot cross that line."
Gu Sang was not disappointed, as she had expected this.
Although Zhou Qichen often spoke disrespectfully of Pei Changying, if something truly happened, he would definitely be the first to support Pei Changying.
This was the very purpose of a family that had served as ministers for three dynasties and had a history of loyalty and righteousness!
Their existence was like a city wall, shielding this dynasty from all storms and blades!
"Don't make the decision in such a hurry," Gu Sang calmly said. "A family of loyalty and righteousness should not be loyal to a surname, but to the people under Heaven. If one day, Pei Changying accuses the Zhou Family of treason and orders your entire clan to be executed, will you waver in your decision then?"
Zhou Qichen struggled, shaking his head, "No, it won't happen. The Emperor may be selfish, but he won't be so outrageous."
"The Emperor can still distinguish......"
"Can he really distinguish?" Gu Sang interrupted. "Brother Qichen, take a look at the Emperor's attitude towards the people of the plague-stricken city and the execution of the Zhao Family and others afterward."
"He has disappointed me countless times, but in terms of being heartless and disloyal, Pei Changying has never disappointed me."
"I think he won't disappoint you either. I'll wait for you to change your mind!"
Gu Sang said no more and ended the connection.
But her final few words seemed like a spell, ensnaring Zhou Qichen.
Zhou Qichen tossed and turned all night, thinking about Gu Sang's words.
He didn't know what was wrong with him, why he doubted the Emperor's actions, why he felt the Zhou Family could truly be executed.
Soon, it was the next day.
Before dawn, Zhou Qichen had arrived at the palace hall in a carriage.
From afar, he saw the ministers standing in a group with worried expressions. Several elderly officials were sighing to express their disappointment.
Some younger officials were whispering, "I heard last evening, the Emperor ordered all private palace physicians and their families to be imprisoned."
"Now the dungeons are filled with cries of injustice."
"Alas, those physicians are innocent victims too. The Elder Princess arranged for them to go, so they couldn't refuse. But going meant offending the Emperor."
"Not to mention Consort Zhao. Was she truly unchaste or falsely accused of being unchaste? If she was sent to the cold palace for saving the entire city, what crime did she commit? What crime!"
"You want to die? How dare you say such things?"
The elderly official who shouted this hung his head, a hint of disappointment in the Emperor evident in his eyes.
They may be stubborn;
They may be greedy for power;
They may be selfish, with many flaws.
But...they could still distinguish right from wrong!
Standing aside, Zhou Qichen listened to these words, his brows twitching, suddenly feeling dizzy and disoriented.
He did not know how he entered the palace hall, but his head was buzzing.
He heard the highly esteemed Emperor berating the Zhao Family and the Imperial Physicians for their various crimes.
The Zhao Family servants bullied men and oppressed women!
Consort Zhao's father, Zhao Wenzhong, embezzled five hundred taels of silver, and behaved improperly in front of the palace!
The Zhao Family...
The Remonstrant Official listed more than ten charges against them, ranging from major to minor offenses.
The ministers knelt on the ground, trembling like walking on thin ice, drenched in cold sweat, not daring to utter a word, fearing that this Emperor would take offense and punish them.
Zhou Qichen's heart chilled as he listened to the punishment meted out to the Zhao Family, as if all his strength had been drained away.
On his way home after court, he suddenly recalled the words Gu Sang had spoken to him the previous night. As he pondered them, he suddenly burst into trembling laughter mingled with tears.
"Ha ha ha... Sang Sang, you were right, I looked up to him too highly."
"As for him, in this matter, he would never let you down. He saved an entire city, hundreds of thousands of people! How could he become a criminal?"
"How lamentable! What crime has he committed?"
"Is it possible that someday in the future, when my Zhou Family takes the field to slay the enemy and pacify the realm, we too will become eternal criminals? Will we end up with our entire clan imprisoned?"