Chapter 44: He Wants to Kill Me

If this child were to seek justice for his mother, elder brother, and maternal uncle, daring to harbor resentment toward his Imperial Father because of it — even the slightest disrespect — then he would truly not be a sensible child; insensible children often bring trouble, and that would not be good at all.

But what if this child does not seek justice? — Even now, there are still a few people outside risking their lives to cry injustice for the Deposed Crown Prince and Marquis Changping; outsiders all cry out, yet he does not? Cold-blooded and ruthless, or disguise and concealment? Whichever it is, it inevitably makes one uneasy, and that is also very bad.

Guo Shi quietly watched this child in a difficult predicament.

The child took a brocade box from his sleeve, held it up with both hands, and knocked his head to the ground, each word clear and firm: "Elder brother, as a son, feared becoming a Fusu, so he had no choice but to draw his sword; Maternal Uncle, as a subject, feared giving rise to military chaos, so he severed his own arm; and Imperial Father, as a sovereign, all his words and deeds were for the stability of the state and the altars of soil and grain, and he too committed no fault! The fault lies with the treacherous villains who deliberately instigated and framed them! — I only pray Imperial Father preserves his Dragon Body; one day this Child Minister will surely find this scourge of the nation and make him redeem his crimes with a hundred deaths, clear the names of my mother, brother, and maternal uncle with justice, and restore a bright and clear Great Qian for Imperial Father!"

A very long sentence.

The speaker of this long sentence had not yet reached the age of voice-breaking; his voice still carried a child's innocence, echoing outside the palace gates, yet it held a few parts of heart-shaking power; the love and hate in his words were both so vivid.

His Imperial Father was still placed by him in the category of reverence and love; Imperial Father was the heartbroken one, the innocent one, deceived by treacherous men, forced to fulfill the responsibility of a sovereign.

Indeed, he was a child who grew up in abundant love; his Imperial Father, Huanghou, elder brother, and maternal uncle all doted on him so; not long ago they were still the closest family; he ought to pour his hatred only onto outsiders, while retaining sufficient trust for his Imperial Father.

So he hated that treacherous villain, the villain who deserved a hundred deaths; he would find that treacherous villain and prove to his Imperial Father that he was right.

Truly "just right" naivety and spirit.

Guo Shi accepted the brocade box with a faint smile; upon contact, he felt the child's fingers icy cold, as if his blood had stopped flowing.

On the palm-sized brocade box were specks of dark, dull stains — blood that had splattered on that snowy night.

The Emperor's equally icy fingers silently pressed down on those already darkened bloodstains.

Guo Shi repeated Liu Qi's words verbatim, without a single word off.

The little eunuch who had followed Guo Shi out just now was moved and lowered his head, adding in a low voice: "The Sixth Prince did not weep aloud, yet this servant still heard a couple of notes of sobbing in his voice..."

The Emperor's fingers opened the brocade box; several pills sat quietly, round and smooth, squeezed together, unexpectedly possessing a few parts of indescribable cuteness and endearment.

The palace interior was so quiet that only the incense mist exhaled by the censer still drifted slowly.

No one knew what the Emperor was thinking; when he spoke, his voice carried a hint of weary hoarseness: "Prepare brush and ink."

"Yes."

Liu Qi knelt until Guo Shi came out of the palace accompanied by the edict-bearing officials serving as Zhong Yezhe Ling.

The Zhong Yezhe Ling proclaimed the imperial edict; all the palace attendants guarding both sides of the hall doors and under the corridors lowered their heads and listened intently.

It was an edict ordering the Sixth Prince to leave the capital and go to the southern regions... were it not for the grant of a Commandery King title, it would seem no different from exile.

After the Former Emperor founded the nation, even those illiterate clansmen from the countryside were mostly enfeoffed as Kings; over the years those Kings of different surnames disappeared one after another, and the Liu family's Kings became even more numerous — Liang King, Dai King, Dongping King... this Sixth Prince was actually the first imperial son to be made only a Commandery King.

Just a few months ago he was still the Empress's own youngest son, the most favored.

No palace attendant dared reveal an expression of sighing pity.

"Child Minister Liu Qi, kowtows in thanks for Imperial Father's grace."

The edict was woven of silk brocade from silkworm thread, both ends adorned with soaring silver dragons; receiving it and holding it in hand, it was soft and icy cold.

Liu Qi rose, tears in his eyes, and took one last look at the great hall.

He descended the stone steps, walked a stretch of road, and Zhu Zhi came striding toward him.

Zhu Zhi merely raised his hand slightly as a salute, did not meet his eyes properly, and his feet did not even pause.

But after the two brushed past each other, this Brocade Guard Commander with keen perception stopped his steps and looked back.

That child indeed also stopped his steps; at this moment he slowly turned his head and looked toward him.

This one glance made Zhu Zhi remember it for thousands of days and nights.

The deep spring sunlight was overly bright, yet that face was gloomy and pale; in just a few short months, this child had grown much thinner, and seemed to have grown much taller; most of his childishness had vanished; a lock of forehead hair, perhaps loosened from kowtowing, hung by his ear; beneath those eyes with exceptionally clean, flowing eyelid curves, there was now a sickly, cold gloom, and they were filled with killing intent.

Zhu Zhi narrowed his eyes with interest, yet saw that child faintly curve the corners of his mouth, actually revealing a hint of a smile.

Not a trace remained of the naive appearance from just now before the hall, tearfully kowtowing while forcibly enduring grief and grievance.

And it seemed to say: I survived; I will kill you.

This smile was eerie and cold, like a sudden will-o'-the-wisp flashing in a freezing night, burning out a stretch of ghostly blue firelight, howling as it swept over.

This head-on sensation was exceptionally dangerous, and full of disgusting provocation; Zhu Zhi almost couldn't restrain himself from drawing his blade when a shout interrupted him: "Commander Zhu!"

It was Guo Shi walking over.

Guo Shi knew better than anyone that Zhu Zhi was nothing but a mad dog inside; he sometimes truly feared this mad dog would bite indiscriminately regardless of the occasion.

Zhu Zhi watched that figure leaving with a slight limp in one leg, gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: "He wants to kill me."

Guo Shi gathered his wide sleeves: "He has no evidence."

Zhu Zhi sneered: "Exactly; he has no evidence yet wants to kill me."

"If you make a move, no evidence becomes evidence." Guo Shi asked with a smile: "Commander Zhu was originally innocent and clean; do you want to fall for the scheme and soil yourself because of a child's provocation?"

Hearing the words "fall for the scheme," Zhu Zhi's gaze deepened further; he looked at Guo Shi: "How does His Majesty intend to deal with him?"

Guo Shi seemed to find it pitiful: "Sent to the southern regions, two thousand li from the capital."

Great Qian's eastern side is the most prosperous, densely populated, with advanced agriculture. The northern side, bordering the Xiongnu, has many military strongholds, abundant troops and horses. The western side has many small foreign states, complex population movement, and borders the north as well.

Only the southern side is desolate and bleak; often only those who committed faults are thrown to the southern lands — one can see the Emperor's estrangement.

Zhu Zhi was still dissatisfied: "He should be uprooted completely."

His voice was low and cold: "Pity that night fell just short by a hair; just a hair more and he would have become an accomplice."

"Indeed." Guo Shi sighed: "Pity he is not an accomplice; he never participated in plotting rebellion; he is merely a pitiful child who sought medicine for his Imperial Father... uproot completely? The root, however, also sprouted from His Majesty this great tree."

The Son of Heaven's rage when threatened can burn all things, but after this rage dissipates, to personally uproot an innocent child connected by blood is a very difficult thing.

More importantly, the Son of Heaven benefited too much from this turmoil, and at the smallest cost gained the greatest profit; the Son of Heaven now wrapped in power and safety has no reason to be stingy with a bit of pity... this bit of pity can soothe the Son of Heaven's humanity; humanity cannot keep boiling and burning, or it will thoroughly descend into madness.

Holding tight to a bit of humanity prevents becoming a madman without an anchor.

The world's humanity also needs soothing; the beloved Empress Ling died, the lenient Crown Prince Liu Gu died, the militarily accomplished Marquis Changping died... if the sovereign won't even spare his own flesh and blood child, then how guilty a conscience is that? How chilling to the heart? When fear exceeds awe, whether it is worth giving wholehearted loyalty becomes a question requiring hesitation.

The various vassal states of different surnames have only just been pacified, and the National Preceptor's twelve-character prophecy has appeared in the world... we cannot stir up more cold winds that make people's hearts flutter.

Moreover, the Emperor believes in spirits... others don't know, but Guo Shi knows very well that the Emperor has frequent nightmares because of the mountain collapse and bell tolling; the Son of Heaven won't openly acknowledge that the Nan Commandery mountain collapse was due to Marquis Changping's death, but how could there not be the slightest hesitation in his heart?

If he insists on indiscriminately killing his own child, violating heavenly principle and human relations, I fear further calamitous omens will arise.

So this Sixth Prince could keep his life; besides his words and conduct being sharp and perceptive, there were also the Emperor's emotional weighing, political situation considerations, and even apprehensions about the feng shui and cause-and-effect of the realm and throne... as for the relative weight of each, outsiders cannot know.

Perhaps there was still a trace of guilt she could not allow herself to face directly... Guo Shi thought to himself.

He couldn't help but think of the three dead again, gazing at the quiet, bright spring scenery, and said in a low voice, as if in soliloquy: "It feels rather suspicious... the Ling Family Army is far too well-behaved..."

The Ling Family Army's performance was unexpectedly calm and silent, like a fierce beast suppressed by a Dao Talisman, and this Talisman, by rights, could only be Ling Ke's military order... but, how could that be possible? The Xian Tai Gong incident broke out suddenly; Ling Ke fundamentally had no time to arrange matters in the army.

Guo Shi even speculated: "Although it seems impossible... could it be that he noticed something in advance?"

Good morning, everyone!

(Liu Qi's survival is the result of multiple factors, and it is reasonable. Not to mention he didn't participate in the rebellion and is a filial child. Just looking at history, there are even Crown Princes who rebelled and seized power but weren't executed. Li Chengqian was demoted to commoner (though many of his brothers who rebelled were executed), Yinreng rebelled twice and was imprisoned for life, yet could be said to have lived out his old age without worries about food and clothing. In short, the Emperor's tolerance for a Crown Prince's rebellion is closely related to the need for regime stability, and there is also the weighing of father-son affection; it cannot be generalized.

Moreover, Liu Qi is a young prince who didn't rebel but was merely implicated? At an age still in elementary school, he had just returned home after seeking medicine for his father. He truly isn't someone who must die to be reasonable.

History's development has its laws, yet it is not a straight line; in between, there will always be explosive upheavals and vivid colors appearing from time to time.

Correspondingly, writing a story definitely cannot be a flat straight line; those explosions and vivid colors are what become the protagonists of the story.

This book won't be too long; my current health isn't enough to support writing a super long novel. I'll write seriously, everyone just relax and read~ Hope everyone can immerse themselves in this story and have a good reading experience.

(Chapter End)