The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 655 A Loud Slap (Seeking Monthly Tickets at the Beginning of the Month!)
Why should I be the one to die?!

Inside the imperial study, Xu Jianwen sat slumped on the ground with a cold smile, his eyes like knives piercing the Empress's face.

Worse!

Zhao Du'an's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at Zhenbao with some worry, afraid of seeing any trace of sympathy on the Empress's face.

It must be admitted that Xu Jianwen's words were indeed moving.

If this were a stage play, Zhao Du'an believed that the audience would applaud and change their opinion of the prince who plotted to usurp the throne.

Zhao Du'an did not deny the truthfulness of Xu Jianwen's words.

Turning the pages of history, one finds that fratricide was an inevitable part of imperial families throughout history. Not all of these incidents were driven by ambition, but rather by unavoidable circumstances.

However, based on his understanding of Xu Jianwen, he knew that Xu Jianwen was by no means a tender person.

The two pursuits at Huting and Biancheng made Zhao Du'an realize that he was a ruthless and ruthless man who had no feelings for his subordinates and would fight to the death even in dire straits.

Therefore, he astutely judged that Xu Jianwen's words were a performance, a performance aimed at the Empress's character flaws!
The goal is to find a way to survive in dire circumstances.

If the Empress were to be swayed by his words and become soft-hearted... Just as he was secretly sweating bullets.

Xu Zhenguan spoke with a cold expression.

She was expressionless, like a statue on a shrine:

“I know what you’re saying, but I also know that you’re still trying to deceive me right now.”

She said calmly:
"Father has indeed promoted you, but do you really have no way out? You have been exceptionally intelligent since childhood, one of the earliest to develop wisdom among all the princes. Your birth mother has also taught you the methods and schemes to fight for power since you were young. I have seen all of this, remembered it in my heart, and have never forgotten it."

With your precocious intelligence, was it because you were chosen by your father that you were forced to stand on the opposite side of the crown prince?

Or did you see through Father's thoughts long ago, so you deliberately flaunted yourself, made friends, and competed for everything?

You worked hard to stand out from your many brothers and sisters, and were finally chosen by your father to support you.

You know this best in your heart.

Xu Jianwen remained silent.

Xu Zhenguan paused briefly, as if recalling that snowy winter of the Xuanmen coup:

"Even if you were forced to stage a coup to protect yourself, what would you have done?"
Actually, if I hadn't appeared and disrupted the situation that day, you would have already succeeded.

At that time, you could have forged an imperial edict to "exile" the crown prince to Lingnan and take his place. Fine, even if you killed the crown prince to eliminate future troubles, you also killed your other brothers and sisters in the palace.

How did they threaten you?
You didn't even spare two of the princesses... Such behavior, haha, shows absolutely no sign of being 'forced'!

The Empress paused again, as if snapping out of her reverie. The slight pain from witnessing the bloody scene of that day faded from her eyes. She said with a mocking tone:

"Even if the Xuanmen coup fails, you will still have a way out."

Because you didn't die, you were really smart. You even prepared for the possibility of your own failure. At this point, having faked your death and deceived everyone, you could have easily changed your name and escaped the cage of the royal family, but you didn't.

You are hiding behind Zhuang Xiaocheng, using the Kuangfu Society to constantly cause trouble, even at the cost of causing the deaths of many more people.

No, that's not all. Let me guess, you were also secretly instigating Prince Jing and his group's rebellion, weren't you?

Xu Zhenguan's eyes flashed with disdain as he said:
“You surely understand that the Kuangfu Society alone cannot cause too much trouble, so even though you are still alive, you continue to hide, distort the truth, and smear me…”

At first, I thought this smear campaign was just a simple attack, but later I realized that you were creating momentum and providing a way out for the Eight Princes' rebellion.

Only because my ascension to the throne was illegitimate could Xu Wen and Xu Jingtang harbor thoughts of seizing power. Your true purpose is to use one tiger to devour another, causing the court to fight the Eight Princes, while you hide in the shadows.

All that's left is for both sides to fight until blood flows like rivers, until both are severely weakened, and even after I'm overthrown, you, the prince, can stage a grand return, leading the Liao people's army like divine warriors descending from the heavens...

"Ha, back then, you had the military backing of the Liao people and the righteous right of a legitimate prince. What a brilliant scheme!"

Xu Jianwen opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the Empress:
"Unfortunately, you didn't expect that the State of Yu would produce a minister named Zhao."

Your grand plan was shattered. After Xu Jingtang's death, you could no longer hide, so you risked showing yourself, went to see Xu Wen, offered your surrender, and tried to kill Zhao Qing. However, you still miscalculated.

Xu Wen is dead; your plan has almost failed.

At this point, you already have a way out. You can hide in the remote southwest, protected by the Great Laba, and live a comfortable life for the rest of your days.

However, the invasion of the Western Regions gave you new hope. So even though it defied the world, you still chose to send troops at this critical juncture, hoping to take advantage of the situation. For this, you did not hesitate to point your blade at the people of Yu.

No... it's not that you didn't care. From beginning to end, you never cared how many families this war sweeping across the Yu Kingdom would destroy or how many innocent people it would kill. You never cared.

Just like you never cared about those loyal to you within the organization, treating them only as tools.

Ren Kun, Qi Yuchun, Zhuang Xiaocheng… you abandoned them all one by one… and yet you have the audacity to claim you were forced to do so?

Xu Zhenguan laughed, a chilling laugh, a wistful laugh, a sorrowful laugh:
“Xu Jianwen, you had countless ways out, but you never chose any of them. Now you tell me you had no choice. Isn’t that laughable?”

it is good!
Zhao Du'an wanted to clap his hands as he listened, and his worries dissipated. After two years of the War of the Eight Princes, the Empress had already undergone earth-shattering changes.

Now she is more like a qualified emperor.

……

silence.

Silence filled the study.

Xu Jianwen seemed speechless for a long time before he finally laughed. His smile was calm, but also... complicated.

Xu Jianwen looked up at the Empress, trying to connect the woman before him with his memory of his third sister, who was exceptionally talented but overly attached to family ties...

But it failed.

He laughed and said, "It seems that the girl who used to follow me and the Crown Prince around crying has grown up."

He paused, then exhaled deeply. The "anger" and "grievance" he had just forced into his eyes vanished completely, and Xu Jianwen finally lowered his head.
"I lost."

At this moment, facing the ruthless empress, he finally gave up the last shred of hope in his heart.

then……

He looked up again and asked very seriously:
"Your guesses are good, but I'm still curious, how did you come to the conclusion that I'm lying to you? Is it just because of these guesses? Or perhaps..."

He turned and glanced at Zhao Du'an, then said quietly:
"Was it this pretty boy's influence?"

Zhao Du'an was displeased and waved his fist, after which Xu Jianwen fell silent.

Xu Zhenguan shook his head and said calmly:
"Because it bewitches the real person."

Although the sorcerer is called 'bewitching', the evil methods he cultivates never bewitch people out of thin air. He only sees the desires in people's hearts before pouncing on them and offering slanderous words.

So the fact that Gu Huo has followed you means he's seen through your lust for power.

After a brief pause, the Empress suddenly said:
"In fact, you are the one who is most like your father among his many descendants: cold, selfish, and power-hungry."

Xu Jianwen did not refute, but simply closed his eyes:
"I see... I understand now. Do you have any other questions? Please ask them now."

So cooperative?

Zhao Du'an was surprised, then he understood a little:
Xu Jianwen is the kind of person who won't give up until the very end, but if he realizes that he has truly failed miserably, he will be exceptionally relieved.

The Empress thought for a moment and asked:

"I'm wondering, if I kill you, will you be resurrected?"

Zhao Du'an glanced at her in surprise, thinking to himself, "Has Zhenbao become smarter?"

He himself almost overlooked this.

The Gu Huo Zhenren has been resurrected several times already, so if Xu Jianwen dies... wouldn't that be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains?
Xu Jianwen smiled and shook his head:

"My resurrection was accomplished by Gu Huo, who invited the Underworld Cult and paid a heavy price to do it once, and only once. Not only me, but Gu Huo and his lineage of followers of the Chaos God Cult have almost exhausted the wealth accumulated over generations. He should only have one life left. However, you are free to disbelieve me."

The Empress declined to comment and asked again:
"There's another question: how did you learn so many royal secrets? Who told you?"

Xu Jianwen smiled:

“You have a gigolo who helps you, and I have a woman who helps me.”

Princess Wen?
No, that's not right... But besides her, which other woman does Xu Jianwen have?
Zhao Du'an paused for a moment, then pricked up his ears, eager for gossip.

Then, he and the Empress heard a name.

……

……

Jizhao nunnery.

As the only nunnery in the capital, this place has always been quiet. Even when Shenlong Temple was at its peak, few vehicles or people passed by this side.

Whether they are high-ranking officials or nuns in a nunnery, they habitually avoid any controversy or gossip.

Even though the former owner of this place was a rather undisciplined Bodhisattva Prajna who advocated "indulgence".

After the destruction of Shenlong Temple, the surrounding area became increasingly deserted. People from the city would occasionally pass by and keep their distance, fearing that they would be misunderstood by the "Yama Kings of the Imperial Court" hiding in the shadows as having come to summon the soul of Shenlong Temple.

But today, the Jizhao Nunnery was unusually noisy.

Inside the tightly closed gate, outside the meditation room, a group of nuns chattered incessantly, most of them pacing around like ants on a hot plate.

A small number of them carried copper basins filled with hot water, scissors, blood-stained silk cloths, and other items in and out...

Inside the meditation room, the occasional screams of pain from a woman could be heard.

"If all else fails, we should find a midwife," a young nun couldn't help but say.

The nun next to her immediately interrupted:

"What are you thinking? I dare to invite them, but would they dare to come? Besides, a nunnery giving birth, and it's even the eldest princess... If this gets out, do you all want to die?!"

The young nuns were too frightened to utter a sound.

"But..." The young nun clenched her fists, staring panickedly at the increasingly weak cries coming from the meditation room, her face contorted with grief.
"But if people die... we won't survive either, will we?"

Princess Yunyang gave birth today after several months of pregnancy.

But where would a group of nuns find experience in midwifery?
In a panic, they frantically pulled out the medical books in the temple, recited the instructions from the books, and sent a few of the bravest children to deliver the babies.

But more than an hour passed in the blink of an eye, and the baby still hadn't been born.

"Ah-"

Suddenly, accompanied by Princess Yunyang's high-pitched and shrill scream, the sound of a child crying suddenly came from the meditation room!

An elderly nun ran out excitedly, her face glowing:

"Born! Born!"

The group of nuns all breathed a sigh of relief, some even collapsing to the ground as if they were the ones who had given birth.

Russian qing.

After some processing, the nuns who were waiting outside were allowed to enter the meditation room.

Although the room had been cleaned and tidied, it was still messy and dirty. Princess Yunyang was lying on the couch.

She wore a loose monk's robe, her long, black hair was disheveled, her face was weak and pale, and the strands of hair on her forehead were wet and stuck to her skin. She seemed to have all her strength drained away.

She was wrapped in blankets, and beside her was a small swaddled baby with its eyes closed and wrinkled.

The newborn baby, who was not yet old enough to nurse, seemed to have exhausted a lot of energy struggling to break free from the mother's body, and was now fast asleep.

Yunyang stared blankly at the beams of the meditation room, lost in thought.

A group of nuns stood cautiously at the doorway, holding their breath; the scene was quite strange.

"Dangdang!"

Suddenly, there was a knocking sound at the gate of Jizhao Nunnery.

Breaking the tranquility.

A moment later, a group of imperial guards rushed in, shouting:
"Summon Princess Yunyang to the palace!"

The eldest nun at the head of the group was startled, thinking to herself, "Has the news of the childbirth spread? Is His Majesty so shrewd and insightful?"

Wait...didn't His Majesty go on a western expedition?
The nun, without thinking, hurriedly waved her hand and said:
"No, no, the Princess has just given birth and is still weak..."

The Imperial Guards were also taken aback for a moment, exchanging glances, then expressionlessly drew their swords with a "whoosh."
"Lord Zhao has ordered that even if it rains knives from the sky, you must take him away!"

The nuns were trembling with fear.

At this moment, Yunyang weakly walked out of the meditation room, leaning against the doorframe, his gaze calm:
"I'll go with you."

……

Ultimately, the Imperial Guards took into account that Yunyang was a member of the royal family, so they went to great lengths to bring over a sedan chair.

After giving birth, Yunyang was carried into the palace.

Inside the sedan.

Wearing a monk's robe and holding an infant in his arms, Yunyang gazed expressionlessly through the "window" of the sedan chair at the capital city at midday in spring.

Having been confined for over a year, she had expected to be overjoyed like a bird released from its cage when she was released, but to her surprise, she felt no emotion whatsoever.

After passing through Zhuque Avenue, we entered the Imperial City Gate and then the Palace Gate.

When Yunyang, carrying the child, was led by several female officials to the outside of the Imperial Study, her forehead was already covered in sweat.

Already exhausted from childbirth, she had forced herself to walk here, and was finally completely worn out.

However, Yunyang still bit her lip tightly and pushed open the study door with a cold look in her eyes.

"Squeak-"

Sunlight streamed into the room from behind her, and she saw the Empress, dressed in white, sitting behind her desk.

She saw her enemy, Zhao Du'an, sitting casually next to the Empress, flipping through a memorial.

then……

Yunyang saw Xu Jianwen slumped helplessly on the ground, sitting cross-legged like a monk, facing the door.

Yunyang was terrified, as if he had seen a ghost!
I gasped in surprise!

Xu Jianwen opened his eyes, glanced at the swaddled baby in her arms with surprise, and then smiled without any change in his expression:
"aunt."

The next moment, the stunned Grand Princess Yunyang suddenly rushed in, stood in front of Xu Jianwen, and stared intently at that familiar face.

"Snapped!"

Suddenly, Yunyang slapped Xu Jianwen hard across the face, and two lines of clear tears welled up in his eyes.

-

P.S.: This storyline has finally been brought back together...

(End of this chapter)