vrcanaries Chapter 17 Gu Xiaoxiao said, "Prince Su is not important!"
Chapter 17 Gu Xiaoxiao said, "Prince Su is not important!"
Faced with Grand Tutor Zhao Wuji's question, which was full of worry and probing, Gu Xiaoxiao slowly turned around.
Her face, which was usually meticulously made up, was now filled with undisguised fatigue and bitterness.
She sighed softly, her voice low and hoarse, as if bearing an immense burden:
"Should we let them through? That's a question... Of course we should let them through!"
"After all, he's my own younger brother, who returned to the capital on the Empress Dowager's orders!"
"How can I refuse him entry and be branded as an unfilial son who disobeys my mother?"
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Upon hearing this, Grand Tutor Zhao Wuji's white brows furrowed deeply, and the worry in his old eyes, which had seen so much of life's vicissitudes, not only did not dissipate but became even more intense.
He stepped forward, lowered his voice, and spoke with a hint of urgency:
"Your Majesty is wise and righteous, as this old minister naturally knows. But what this old minister asks is not whether to grant permission, but rather, Your Majesty... what exactly is your intention?"
Before Emperor Gu Xiaoxiao could answer, Grand Tutor Zhao Wuji continued speaking on his own:
"Prince Su, Gu Suyue, is the pillar of our Great Liang, guarding the western frontier, and also the Empress Dowager's most beloved youngest son. His return to the capital will surely stir up trouble... Does Your Majesty have any countermeasures?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiaoxiao's lips curled into a helpless smile.
After a long silence, she finally spoke softly:
"Grand Tutor, I know that Prince Su's return to the capital this time is not well-intentioned!"
"The Empress Dowager's summons of him back to the capital must be part of a conspiracy!"
"After much deliberation, I've decided that the best course of action is to strike first!"
"I'm thinking... I'll issue my decree, ordering the commander of the Capital Garrison to immediately lead troops outside the city, ostensibly to 'welcome' Prince Su, but in reality to first take control of his three thousand elite cavalry from the Western Frontier and strip him of his military power!"
"Then... I used the pretext of 'recuperation' to place Prince Su under house arrest in his residence, keeping him under strict surveillance and cutting off all contact with the outside world. Once the situation stabilizes, we will make further plans..."
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"Household confinement?"
Grand Tutor Zhao Wuji seemed to have heard some unbelievable and absurd statement. He trembled violently and stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
"Your Majesty! Are you...are you serious? Do you really think that the Imperial Guards in the capital, who are used to peace and prosperity and have not seen war for a long time, can hold the Western Frontier War God who fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood and returned to the capital with three thousand elite troops? That is Prince Su, who commands a large army and is awe-inspiring in the region!"
At this moment, even Grand Tutor Zhao Wuji's voice became sharp and distorted.
Gu Xiaoxiao was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then frowned slightly, a hint of confusion and displeasure flashing in her eyes:
"So what?"
"Grand Tutor, what do you mean by that?"
"No matter how much of a war god he is in the Western Frontier, wielding immense military power, in the end, he is still just my subject, a prince of the Great Liang!"
"As the old saying goes, 'When the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die,' and 'Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are the king's subjects!' Not to mention, he has now come to the capital, this very place of mine!"
"The capital...this is my territory!"
"Besides, I didn't take his life or strip him of his title; I merely allowed him to 'recuperate' in his residence... Isn't that already an immense favor?"
"He should be thanking Heaven for its grace and being filled with gratitude, so how could he dare to rebel and openly defy the imperial edict?"
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Grand Tutor Zhao Wuji looked at the young emperor before him, whose logic was incoherent and whose confidence was full of mystery, and felt a rush of blood to his head, almost causing him to faint on the spot.
He took several deep breaths before he could barely suppress the turmoil in his heart.
Then, involuntarily, Zhao Wuji stared intently at Gu Xiaoxiao with an almost speechless look—was this guy using these words to cover up his true intentions, or was he really so naive as to be outrageous?
"His Majesty!"
Having calmed himself down, Zhao Wuji assumed that His Majesty truly thought so, and immediately began to earnestly advise him.
"This old minister dares to humbly request Your Majesty to reconsider!"
"Prince Su is the Empress Dowager's own son, born of the same mother as Your Majesty. Now, he also holds sway over the western frontier. Your Majesty should be on good terms with him, not antagonize him!"
"Moreover, he is accompanied by three thousand elite cavalry on his return to the capital. If a real battle breaks out, the imperial guards of the capital might..."
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"Grand Tutor!"
Grand Tutor Zhao Wuji was interrupted by Gu Xiaoxiao, who suddenly raised her voice. At that moment, a near-obsessive light shone in Gu Xiaoxiao's eyes.
"Don't you understand the key point yet?"
"With Prince Su returning to the capital, what's truly important has never been Prince Su. Prince Su... is simply not important!"
"The one person who has truly been important from beginning to end has only been one person, and that is... the Empress Dowager!"
"The Empress Dowager issued an imperial edict regarding Prince Su's return to the capital. Anyone with discerning eyes can see that the Empress Dowager intends for Prince Su to succeed me in this position!"
"Therefore, although Prince Su is powerful, he is merely a pawn and not worth worrying about. The only one to worry about is the Empress Dowager, who holds the chess pieces!"
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After a slight pause, Gu Xiaoxiao continued, "Therefore, I thought of placing Prince Su under house arrest to sever his connection with the Empress Dowager, preventing her from using Prince Su to replace me! And as long as Prince Su is gone, the Empress Dowager will be unable to find someone to replace me, and her scheme will come to nothing!"
Grand Tutor Zhao Wuji: "???"
He stared wide-eyed at Gu Xiaoxiao's "wise" face, and for a moment felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
What on earth are you talking about?!
With the entire Western Frontier as his backing, and with three thousand elite cavalrymen returning to the capital, Prince Su, who had the opportunity to storm the palace, was not important.
On the contrary, the Empress Dowager, who has nominally relinquished all power and can only enjoy her old age in the deep palace, and who is also somewhat presumptuous, is more important.
Admittedly, the Empress Dowager, who holds many trump cards and has cultivated her influence in the court for many years, is indeed very important, but please don't make one mistake!
That is... the Empress Dowager is important not because she has the "status" of "Empress Dowager," but because...
Her nephew is a powerful general who commands a large army!
The extremely filial war god of the Western Frontier was her youngest son!
The current emperor is also her son!
Moreover, many mid- to high-ranking officers in the military are the husbands of her goddaughter!
It is precisely because of all these reasons that she is so noble as an empress dowager, not because she sits in the position of "empress dowager"!
Grand Tutor Zhao Wuji is very worried. If His Majesty really forcibly imprisons Prince Su and angers that god of war, Prince Su in a rage might be able to flatten the palace and drag you, the "naive" His Majesty, off the throne!
Although he himself might very well die afterward...
Zhao Wuji opened his mouth, wanting to offer one last word of persuasion, but seeing Gu Xiaoxiao's "my mind is made up" expression, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.