Chapter 76: It’s Too Late to Regret Now
One by one, they watched the faction leaders being summoned inside. When they came out, they were tight-lipped, immediately taking all the members of their factions and leaving.
Eventually, only the officials associated with the Lu family remained. They waited for a long time, but no summons came from the Emperor. They could only exchange bewildered glances, completely clueless as to what was happening.
"Mr. Lu, what’s going on now?"
"Why has everyone else been inside, but Your Majesty is ignoring us?"
"Is Your Majesty still angry with us?"
"This... Even if Your Majesty is furious, he can’t refuse to see even Mr. Lu, can he?"
While the group outside the hall muttered amongst themselves, inside, Dong Changrui was frantic with anxiety.
"Your Majesty, shouldn’t we summon the Grand Secretary now?"
The Emperor waved a hand. "I do not wish to see them today. Tell them to leave."
"Your Majesty..." Dong Changrui gasped, so shocked that he dropped to his knees. His tone was imploring. "Your Majesty, I urge you to reconsider!"
"Mr. Lu is a veteran official of three reigns, the very Grand Secretary the late Emperor personally chose for you. If Your Majesty alienates him, I fear it will destabilize the entire empire."
"The others were all willing to pay silver to atone for their sins, and I’m sure they are as well. I beg Your Majesty not to act out of spite. Let this matter rest."
At first glance, he sounded like a servant who had worried himself sick over the fate of the empire.
But between the lines, every word was spoken in defense of Lu Cang, positioning the Emperor as a junior.
Xiao Jingyun was indeed not a good Emperor, and he certainly needed capable ministers. But being capable didn’t mean they could do as they pleased.
’Could Lu Cang truly have been completely unaware of what the Gao Family was doing?’
’Even if he didn’t know before, he knew now. So why was he still trying to brush this incident aside?’
He just wanted to stop the Emperor from investigating further, completely disregarding how vile and cruel the whole affair was, or how deep the resentment of the common people ran.
Was he protecting the empire? No, he was protecting the dignity and power of the aristocratic families.
In his eyes, there was no distinction between right and wrong, good and evil.
However, Dong Changrui knew exactly how to manipulate the Emperor. With his desperate pleas and earnest admonitions, despite Xiao Li repeatedly shaking her head, the Emperor was swayed.
Perhaps he wasn’t swayed, but rather, he was afraid.
He remembered how the stability of the court these past years had relied entirely on Lu Cang’s steady hand. He imagined truly angering Lu Cang and the court descending into chaos—a situation he likely couldn’t handle.
’It’s better to just take the money. I’ll have them give a little more, and then I can use a portion of it to compensate the victims’ families. That would be the best of both worlds.’
"Then... let him in..."
The Emperor spoke, his voice lacking conviction. He didn’t dare to look at Xiao Li.
Dong Changrui excitedly hurried out to call for him, but unfortunately, it was too late.
Lu Cang had already realized what the Emperor was up to. After waiting a short while, he had left with a flick of his sleeve, and the others had followed him.
When Dong Changrui couldn’t find them, he stomped his foot in panic. "Your Majesty, Mr. Lu has left with his men!"
After speaking, he brandished his horsetail whisk. "This servant will go after them at once! Right away!"
Dong Changrui hastily chased after them with two other eunuchs. Xiao Li also put down her memorial and stood up. "It’s been a while since I’ve visited the Empress Dowager. I’ll go see her."
The Emperor gave a dry laugh. "Heh, yes. Mother has missed you as well. You should go."
Right now, he just wanted to get rid of Xiao Li as quickly as possible.
Xiao Li said nothing more and left.
Xiao Li wasn’t surprised at all that the Emperor had backed out halfway through. That was just his nature. It wasn’t that he was a completely lost cause, but he was born a revered Prince, protected by the Empress Dowager and the late Emperor. He had never endured any real hardship in his life, nor could he.
He was already accustomed to this mode of being an Emperor—a puppet, but not entirely. He had the power to make decisions, but that power was limited.
Perhaps he felt a flicker of unwillingness, a desire to break free from his constraints and become an Emperor whose every word was law. But his defiance was like an impotent roar, not nearly enough to support him through a slaughter of all the aristocratic families, let alone a cataclysmic reform of the court.
An Emperor of the people? That was just a hot-blooded delusion, all of it false.
He had only gotten this far because of Xiao Li’s prodding and encouragement. Now, after a bit of persuasion from Dong Changrui, he suddenly realized he was standing at the edge of a bottomless abyss. One step down and there would be no turning back. His courage vanished in an instant.
He had only lost his courage; he didn’t blame Xiao Li for pushing him here. In that, he still had a shred of conscience left.
Unfortunately for him, he didn’t know that it wasn’t just Xiao Li pushing him from behind toward this abyss. Lu Cang and his faction were also trying to drag him into the depths.
This was true not only in the previous life within the plot but also in this one.
Regretting it now... was too late.
Xiao Li avoided the main road as she left, but from a distance, she saw Dong Changrui catch up to Lu Cang and the others. He was bowed over, persuading them with painstaking earnestness, and in the end, he actually managed to convince Lu Cang to turn back.
’When an angry man suddenly bows his head, it’s not because he has realized his mistake and is ready to apologize. It’s because... he is preparing to attack.’
***
Xiao Li’s objective was simple. Since the Lu family was destined to rebel with Prince Chen eventually, she would just give them a helping hand and make them rebel sooner. It would save everyone the trouble.
Her accidental discovery of the Chang Chun Building incident served as the perfect fuse. She could use it to kill a pile of scum as a sacrifice to consecrate the flag.
Xiao Li had calculated everything, staking it all to set this trap.
Everything had gone smoothly, except for the Emperor’s sudden change of heart and retreat. But that didn’t matter. The moment the Lu family used the old matriarch’s poor health as an excuse to summon Lu Yanzhi back, Xiao Li knew her plan had succeeded.
"Lu Ye went to see Prince Chen, and the Minister of War left the city overnight."
Lou Yan’s figure emerged from the darkness. The dark patterns on his deep purple brocade robes seemed to float in the flickering lamplight, shimmering with an enchanting glow, just like his own scorching gaze.
Xiao Li looked up at him. "You should be reporting this news to His Majesty. What’s the use in telling me?"
Xiao Li had indeed made use of Lou Yan, but she had only factored him into her plans, letting him do what he was supposed to do as the Emperor’s blade. She had not bent him to her personal service.
Although she would have learned of the Lu family’s movements anyway, the news should not have come from Lou Yan.
Lou Yan walked toward her step by step, his gaze never leaving her for a second. "Is your target the Lu family or Prince Chen? Or, is it Lu Yanzhi or Liu Xueyin?"
’How perceptive.’
"You want to know?"
Lou Yan shook his head. "None of it is important."
He stared at her, his eyes burning with countless churning emotions. Slowly, he raised a hand to touch her cheek. His gaze followed his hand’s movement, finally coming to rest gently on the corner of her lips.
He exuded an overwhelming aura of aggression, yet he kept it tightly reined in, right at the edge.
"Before the late Emperor passed away, he gave command of his personal guards, the Dark Scale Guards, to Dong Changrui. Every member of the Dark Scale Guards is a master of martial arts, an elite assassin. That unit now answers only to his orders. Normally, even I rarely catch a glimpse of them."
"Logically, Dong Changrui should not betray the Emperor. But tonight, he mobilized more than half of the Dark Scale Guards to replace the Imperial Army. I’m afraid he has developed other loyalties."
"Tonight will likely not be peaceful. Princess, you must be careful."
"I will take Dong Changrui’s life. Princess, do not forget your promise."
The warmth lingered on her cheek, but the figure had long since vanished without a trace.
Xiao Li was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. ’To think she’d actually been charmed by a eunuch.’