Part 2
He knew very well that to destroy a person, one must first destroy what they care about.
And what his aunt cared about most was her son’s future. He wondered what she would think this time.
Jiang Jiayan was slightly startled. Among the group of people who were escorted back to the capital at the same time, Xiahou Jin’s mistake was the lightest. His Majesty had even given him a punishment, so what about the others?
On second thought, he remembered that the Grand Princess had been favored by the late Emperor for many years and was very active in the court, so she had cultivated many supporters. Although most of them were later eliminated by His Majesty, there were still some who were restless.
His Majesty’s move was probably to beat the grass to scare the snake, both to deter the Grand Princess and to deter the entire Hanoi.
After explaining the matter, Gu Zhen continued to read. Seeing that the content on the scroll was similar to what he had expected, his expression was very calm and indifferent.
Jiang Jiayan waited anxiously by the side. It was only after he had finished reading that he said, “Not bad. As for the remaining minor things, they can be distributed to the people below to do.”
After he finished his instructions, he saw that Jiang Jiayan was still standing there without moving, so he frowned and asked unhappily, “Still not leaving? Do you think there’s too little to do?”
Jiang Jiayan quickly apologized, then crossed his hands and leaned forward slightly, hesitating, “This subject dares to ask Your Majesty, has there been some conflict between you and Her Majesty the Empress recently?”
Gu Zhen’s expression froze slightly, and his scrutinizing gaze fell on Jiang Jiayan.
He was an outside official, yet he knew about his affair with the Empress?
Thinking of the Empress’s temperament, Gu Zhen frowned with a slight headache, “It’s not a big deal, it’s just that the Empress was in a pique with Us a while ago.”
It was just that the time she was in a pique was a little long.
“Today, many prime ministers have asked about this matter and are very concerned.” Jiang Jiayan reported in a deep voice and said earnestly, “Her Majesty is a woman after all, and needs to be coaxed. Since she is in a pique, Your Majesty can be more tolerant and coax Her Majesty more.”
Coax her, give in to her?
Gu Zhen thought for a moment, but then suddenly became a little annoyed. Jiang Jiayan himself had never married, yet he dared to try to advise him. It was ridiculous!
Hearing Jiang Jiayan ask a few more questions, he became a little impatient and nodded against his will, “It’s just a little pique. The matter has long since passed, why dwell on these things?”
The Emperor’s expression was as usual, and he had always been a cold person, as unattainable as the snow on a high mountain. He stood there with a cold and solemn expression, and no one would have thought that the Emperor, with such a cold and solemn appearance, was actually telling a lie with a straight face.
For Gu Zhen, this lie was also extremely difficult.
It was just that the Empress had been in a pique with him for so long. If he said it wasn’t over…
Jiang Jiayan bowed again, a look of relief on his face, “It is the great fortune of Chu that Your Majesty and Her Majesty are in harmony. In that case, we subjects can also be at ease.”
As soon as Jiang Jiayan left, Gu Zhen threw down the vermilion brush in his hand and ordered coldly, “Go and find out who leaked the matter of Jiaofang Palace that day.”
It was not for others to meddle in the affair between him and the Empress.
If it weren’t for the fact that Jiang Jiayan was sincere and that they had grown up together, he would have already exploded.
As he was thinking, Wu Mao came to him and reported, “Your Majesty, the group of palace attendants around the Seventh Prince has been dealt with. Does Your Majesty have any other arrangements for them?”
“Drag them all down. There’s no need to send them back to Shuicui Palace.” A fierce look suddenly appeared in Gu Zhen’s eyes, “This group of people who talk nonsense, don’t confuse Mother’s hearing.”
He really couldn’t understand. For someone as stupid as the Seventh Prince, whom the teacher had even hinted that he didn’t want to teach anymore, he actually dared to fabricate that his essay was praised by the teacher.
What was even more ridiculous was that Mother had believed it so easily.
Dark blue gradually covered the sky. The sky was as clear as a wash during the day, so the stars at night were particularly bright.
Gu Zhen casually threw on an outer robe and went out. He looked up at the starry sky under the long corridor.
Corresponding to it, a bright moon hung there, swaying, as if it was about to fall.
Suddenly, Gu Zhen remembered two years ago, when he was imprisoned in the Eastern Palace by his Imperial Father, he would often admire the moon and watch the stars with her like this at night.
At that time, Zhao Yiyi was shy. Just a few words with him would make her blush. If she was teased a little, she would stammer, “This consort… this consort doesn’t quite understand.”
He was very disgusted with the Crown Princess’s timid appearance and couldn’t help but compare her to before. It was a pity that in just a few years, the girl who had not given in to him in the Golden Throne Hall when they were competing in a pot-throwing game, whose back was as straight as a bamboo, had become so soft and gentle.
She had lost her former radiance and had become boring and ordinary.
She was no different from those other people.
These days, the Empress seemed to be a little different from before. But he felt a sense of panic for no reason. He couldn’t explain why, but he wanted to grasp something.
“Your Majesty, the wind is strong here. Don’t catch a cold,” Wu Mao reminded him respectfully from the side.
Gu Zhen’s expression was still very dark. Jiang Jiayan’s words kept echoing in his mind, and he couldn’t help but think, Should I coax her a little?
Zhao Yiyi had someone fetch two pieces of high-quality fir wood, planning to make a zither.
Making a zither was a very laborious task. It took at least a year to make a zither from selecting the materials to finally stringing it.
The zither she had received for her tenth birthday was prepared by her grandfather since she was seven.
The family next to the Zhao family’s ancestral home in Chang’an had been making zithers for generations and was very famous in Chang’an and even the entire Great Chu. Her grandfather, Zhao Zhenji, would often go to them for advice. Later, when her grandfather was making a zither, Zhao Yiyi watched the whole process and still vaguely remembered some of it.
As she buried her head in drawing, the curve where her shoulders and neck met was extremely smooth. Yunzhu wanted to speak several times, but she didn’t know how to start.
“What’s wrong?” Zhao Yiyi finished her last stroke and raised her eyebrows, “Just say what you have to say.”
Yunzhu hesitated for a long time, then gritted her teeth and said, “Your Majesty, His Majesty…”
Before she could finish, Zhao Yiyi suddenly turned her head and glanced at her, her expression slightly cold.
From her angle, she could clearly see that the Empress’s face was tense, and her eyes were faintly dark.
Although the Empress did not speak, Yunzhu had been with her for so long that she naturally understood. This was the Empress’s way of telling her not to continue.
Zhao Yiyi put away the drawing and walked back to the inner hall with a cold face. It was only after she closed the door that the sharp pain in her heart eased a little. She said in a hoarse voice, “In the future, don’t talk about these things anymore.”
She had already made up her mind to pull out her love for him bit by bit and take back all the affection she had given over the years. Then she would not love him anymore.
As for the past, she would… just pretend that she had been bewitched.
She should have known long ago that he didn’t like her. For more than two years, his distant attitude and his aloof indifference, he had never tried to hide it. But the gentleness that the Emperor had cultivated since he was a child always gave her some unrealistic fantasies, making her mistakenly think that she was also in his heart.
In fact, thinking about it carefully, he had never treated her in any special way.
Even though she was the Empress, his wife.
“Since you don’t like me, why do you always give me hope?” Zhao Yiyi lowered her head and murmured, her expression slightly lost.
If he didn’t like her, why didn’t he tell her earlier? He had to wait until she was in deeper and deeper, unable to extricate herself, before he woke her up from that dream with such a rude awakening.
“Your Majesty.” Yunzhu knocked on the door from outside, wanting to come in, her voice a little anxious and worried, “This slave knows her mistake. This slave won’t say it anymore in the future, okay?”
Zhao Yiyi knew that Yunzhu had just wanted to persuade her to reconcile with the Emperor.
She was in the deep palace. If she angered the Emperor, in a place like this where people trampled on the lowly and fawned on the powerful, she would definitely not have a good life. What’s more, the Emperor’s recent actions had made everyone know that he was not as gentle as he appeared on the surface.
Occasionally, Zhao Yiyi also regretted it. It was too difficult to remove the person she had loved for so many years from her heart. She pulled at the strings with force, pulling out streams of blood.
But the moment such a thought appeared, she would recall his reprimand and order that day, and think of the palace attendants in the hall seeing her in such a sorry state.
Whenever she thought of it, she felt a sharp pain in her heart, a pain that made her almost faint.
She had always loved to be clean, tidy, and beautiful since she was a child. If she got a little dirty, she would change her clothes and wash her hands. Even her grandmother said, “All the people in the world combined are not as concerned about their appearance as you are.”
But that day, her face was completely disgraced.
After a long sigh, Zhao Yiyi said softly, “Go and get me some candied fruit. I want to be alone for a while.”
A moment later, the door was knocked again. She thought it was Yunzhu, so she said, “Just put it on the table outside. I’ll eat it later.”
Who knew it was Mancao, who called her warmly from outside, “Your Majesty, His Majesty has summoned Your Majesty to Zichen Palace to grind ink for His Majesty.”
Zhao Yiyi’s hand holding the zither string paused slightly. Her gaze followed the half-open window, pierced through the pear blossoms in the courtyard, and looked in the direction of Zichen Palace. That magnificent palace was the Emperor’s bedchamber, and also the place where they had met for the second time.
She was very happy that day. She had seen the person she had been thinking about and had even received a reward from the sage. After Gu Zhen ascended the throne, every time she went to Zichen Palace, she was full of joy.
But now, she had a little fear of Zichen Palace. Just thinking that that person was there, she felt the blood in her body freeze, and her limbs stiffened for a moment.
Grind ink?
When they were first married, she had also thought of grinding ink for him—when her grandfather was dealing with official business, her grandmother would often grind ink for him by his side.
After going a few times, he said politely, “Thank you for your trouble, Crown Princess, but this matter is handled by the palace attendants. The Crown Princess does not need to come.”
Zhao Yiyi thought he was feeling sorry for her and happily stopped doing it. It was only now that she realized that he probably found her an eyesore there.
But now, why did he want her to go?
Her lips moved a few times, and she asked softly, “Grind ink?”
Mancao outside the hall thought she had figured it out and was about to come in, “Yes, His Majesty personally sent Eunuch Wu over. This slave will help Your Majesty with your makeup before you go.”
Just as her hand touched the door, she heard her mistress say from inside, “Go and tell him, I don’t want to go.”
Author’s Note:
Gu Zhen: @ Why didn’t the Empress come?
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