Chapter 49: Three Support Dragons Throne, Remove Liang Ji to Stabilize the Court

The atmosphere inside the hall suddenly froze.

Liang Na had anticipated that Gu Xi would ask about this matter, but she hadn't expected him to be so direct.

She hesitated, then said seriously: "Grand Tutor, I won't hide it from you."

"As for this matter, I myself do not know."

She sighed deeply: "The Emperor passed away; the court has been thrown into chaos."

"I dared not act rashly, intending to investigate secretly—but I found no leads at all."

Liang Na's expression also turned grim.

Because she believed Liu Bao's death was connected to this matter.

Had he not suffered such a devastating blow, his body might have held out longer.

But the instability of the court outweighed everything else.

Could she possibly launch a massive investigation before the new monarch had even secured his position?

Never mind who the mastermind behind it was.

But the fact that he could strike within the palace alone proves his extraordinary nature.

Gu Xi had been watching Liang Na's expression all along; after a moment of silence, he nodded slightly: "I understand."

"Empress Dowager, rest assured—I will uncover this matter completely."

His expression never changed throughout, yet somehow it brought an inexplicable sense of calm.

Liang Na nodded slightly and said no more.

Afterwards, Gu Xi went to see another person.

——Cao Teng!

Cao Teng had once been placed by Gu Xi beside Liu Bao.

That was why Liu Bao had always held Cao Teng in high regard over the years.

And Cao Teng had never betrayed Liu Bao or Gu Xi.

He had committed no errors over these years.

Upon seeing Gu Xi, Cao Teng immediately knelt down, his voice trembling with emotion: "Your servant bows before the Grand Tutor."

"Rise."

Gu Xi regarded him calmly and asked: "Jixing, are you aware of the changes within the palace?"

"Grand Tutor!"

Cao Teng kept his head bowed, not daring to hesitate for a moment: "Your servant truly did not know!"

"By the time I learned of this matter, the former Crown Prince had already passed away."

"Later, I tried to investigate secretly."

"But all the palace eunuchs in the Eastern Palace claimed ignorance; those with any trace of involvement had vanished—I was utterly helpless."

His eyes reddened slightly, his tone turning suddenly self-reproachful: "Grand Tutor and the late Emperor showed your servant boundless grace."

"The Emperor perished because of this matter."

"I would gladly tear out the mastermind's heart and exterminate his entire family!"

Gu Xi studied him intently, then waved his hand: "Enough."

"Keep a close watch on everyone in the palace."

"This matter does not require haste."

With that, Gu Xi rose and walked straight out of the palace.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, in the days after arriving in Jingcheng, Gu Xi made no mention of the strange events within the palace.

He merely followed protocol to oversee Liu Bao's state funeral.

This was markedly different from his former decisive and forceful style.

Everyone was utterly astonished.

In fact, Gu Yi had initially failed to discern what Gu Xi intended.

But soon, he understood Gu Xi's purpose.

——Gu Xi was building momentum!

The times had changed.

The court had always been full of comings and goings; Gu Xi had long since left the halls of power.

Now that he had returned suddenly,

how could he immediately restore his former authority?

Times and circumstances had shifted; Gu Xi's prestige was bound to fade with time.

Under the current circumstances, the key lay in Gu Xi's political acumen.

If Gu Xi failed to demonstrate his political skill,

if others sensed he had truly grown old, his position would collapse instantly.

Status and rank are judged by ability.

Surface grandeur alone cannot sustain what Gu Xi plans to do next.

Clearly, Gu Xi understood this perfectly.

His political skill had never been lacking.

He simply no longer needed such tactics in the past—not because he couldn't use them.

Indeed, within a few days,

officials began gradually coming to pay their respects to Gu Xi.

Aside from a few of the most important ones, Gu Xi paid no attention to the other officials.

The most important among them were naturally those who held positions in the court.

First was the Grand Commandant Li Gu.

Li Gu was Li He's son; Li He had once served alongside Gu Xi in the same court, and later followed Gu Xi in governing the state.

He was deeply trusted by Gu Xi.

There was certainly a bond of longstanding loyalty here.

Next were Yuan Tang and others.

The connection between the Yuan clan and the Gu clan needed no elaboration.

Since Gu Kang had promoted Yuan An, the Yuan clan had been steadfast loyalists of the Gu clan.

Yuan Tang, now the most prominent figure of the Yuan clan, held the office of Minister over the Masses.

Gu Xi observed every official with meticulous care.

His mastery over human nature had long since reached the pinnacle.

He could analyze much from simple interactions.

Gu Yi had personally seen Gu Xi order records to be kept of officials who came privately to pay their respects.

He had assumed Gu Xi would first investigate those who had not come.

But he had not expected Gu Xi to suddenly turn back on them.

He directly turned his focus toward the officials who had come to pay their respects.

According to his own words:

"Among them must be those filled with fear; those who did not come likely felt no fear—they did not care whether I turned my gaze upon them."

This was the habitual thinking of the clever.

Gu Yi could not truly say this reasoning was wrong.

Because Liang Ji had indeed come to pay his respects to Gu Xi.

And he had shown himself the most eager of all, constantly affirming his loyalty to Gu Xi.

After making this judgment, Gu Xi immediately launched a full investigation in court.

No one could possibly refuse such a move.

——Then, Gu Xi revealed all his sharpness.

He ordered the eunuchs and palace maids who had interacted with Liu Suan that day to be arrested, and swiftly restricted all powerful eunuchs, including the Palace Secretaries.

And all officials, both in court and beyond!

The moment this happened, the entire court and realm were shaken!

No one had anticipated Gu Xi would employ such direct methods.

Soon followed a chorus of objections.

They argued, "Gu Xi has no concrete evidence; he should not act thus."

In truth, this was not because they harbored disloyalty.

They were merely too rigid, insisting everything must follow precedent.

But Gu Xi understood clearly:

This matter demanded swift and decisive action; if he failed now, his prestige in court would plummet.

And how could such a matter not be treated with seriousness?

At this moment, Gu Xi's allies proved their worth.

Whether Yuan Tang or Li Gu, both held considerable power in court.

Naturally, they organized forces to counter these objections.

Moreover, Gu Xi's interrogations fully leveraged his insight into human nature.

He separated all eunuchs and palace maids into individual confinement.

He forbade them from meeting one another.

He even barred Palace Secretaries from contacting each other.

He stirred up every hidden fear within their hearts.

And Gu Xi did not rely solely on intimidation.

He also offered incentives.

One must admit, Liu Zhi was indeed quite clever.

He clearly understood the crux of the matter.

If Liu Suan could die within the palace, why not him?

Compared to Liu Suan,

he was even younger and had even less foundation; naturally, he strongly supported this move.

Under these circumstances,

someone finally cracked under pressure and implicated a junior eunuch.

Upon learning of this, the junior eunuch confessed.

He gave his reason:

He claimed Liu Suan disliked eunuchs, and if he ascended the throne, their lives would become unbearable, and so on.

This reason was plausible.

Everyone believed the matter might end here.

But Gu Xi did not stop.

For him, a mere minor eunuch—no matter how resentful—could never have been so bold without someone's backing.

And even if he killed Liu Suan, what was to stop another monarch who disliked eunuchs from rising in the future?

Liang Ji had not expected things to develop this way either.

In truth, he had already handled things quite well.

He had executed everyone involved in poisoning Liu Suan, then taken in the minor eunuchs of the palace and let them willingly take the blame.

And he had shown no hostility whatsoever toward Gu Xi.

He knew that if it came to open conflict, he could not match Gu Xi.

He could only keep playing weak.

He planned to ride out this affair, and once Gu Xi was dead, he could use the Empress Dowager's status to seize power directly!

It could be said he had made every preparation.

But he truly had not expected Gu Xi to take the matter so seriously.

Liang Ji was genuinely starting to panic.

He very much wanted to send someone to kill Meng Ben, but Gu Xi's tight watch over these people left him no opening.

One must remember, the Liang Ji of today was not the all-powerful Grand General of the original history!

And the outcome, naturally, was just as one would expect.

Gu Xi had the minor eunuch's entire family brought into the capital, forcing the eunuch to speak and name Meng Ben.

And Meng Ben, unable to bear the pressure, directly implicated Liang Ji behind it all.

Once this came out, the court and the countryside alike were shaken!

Liang Ji was Liang Na's elder brother.

Learning of this outcome, it was hard not to stir other thoughts in their minds.

And when they recalled that Liang Na had directly set up Liu Zhi as emperor—

It was as if every thread of speculation suddenly fell into place at that moment.

At once, the storm within the court and beyond grew even fiercer.

Yet Gu Xi pressed this storm back down.

The Northern Palace.

Liang Na stared at Gu Xi in utter disbelief, tears sliding ceaselessly from her eyes.

"Impossible!"

"How could it be my brother?"

"How could my brother have done such a thing?"

She stared fixedly at Gu Xi, struggling to accept any of it.

"Meng Ben has already confessed. Fearing that the late Crown Prince, once he ascended the throne, would dislike eunuchs, he went to see Liang Ji."

"And Liang Ji harbored ambitions of monopolizing power."

"Believing the late Crown Prince was already of age and would be hard to control, he sent men to poison him."

Gu Xi spoke calmly, laying out the details for Liang Na.

The more Liang Na listened, the paler her face grew.

She suddenly recalled what Liang Ji had said to her that day when he came to see her.

Set up Liu Zhi.

He is still young, with no foundation of his own—easy to control in the future.

Liang Na's body suddenly staggered.

She understood!

All of this had been calculated long in advance—even she, the Empress Dowager, had been factored into the scheme!

A nameless sense of desolation welled up in Liang Na's heart.

She stared blankly at Gu Xi, silent for a long while, before asking softly, "What does the Grand Tutor want of me?"

"Empress Dowager."

Gu Xi bowed properly to Liang Na, then said slowly, "This minister believes you had no part in this matter."

"But Liang Ji's actions constitute the crime of regicide."

"Absolutely unpardonable."

"To silence the tongues of the realm, this minister would also ask that the Empress Dowager refrain from concerning herself with state affairs henceforth."

He meant to strip the Empress Dowager of her power!

Gu Xi did not know how much longer he himself had to live.

But such a thing absolutely could not be allowed to happen again.

Moreover, this move would also set the ministers' minds at ease—after all, quite a few of them within the court had taken part in investigating this affair.

Who could help fearing that Liang Na might one day seek revenge?

Although he did know Liang Na's character fairly well—otherwise he would not have chosen to trust her—

Human nature was not something one could gamble on!

Gu Xi had to prepare for every contingency.

At his words, Liang Na's body gave a sudden shudder, tears spilling ceaselessly from her eyes.

She naturally understood the meaning behind Gu Xi's words.

But what could she possibly say?

Her own brother had committed a grave crime—how could she possibly escape the fallout?

After a moment of silence, Liang Na finally gave a slight nod.

"Agreed!"

Gu Xi swiftly proclaimed this decision to the realm.

He decided to execute only the Liang Ji lineage, yet did not completely eradicate the entire Liang clan.

The same applied to the eunuchs within the palace.

All those involved were executed, and restrictions were imposed upon other eunuchs.

Unless granted special imperial favor, eunuchs' descendants could not inherit noble titles, thereby greatly weakening the eunuchs.

This matter firmly established Gu Xi's foundation for his return to court.

The old Gu Xi seemed to have returned once more.

No, he was even sharper than before.

Gu Yi could understand Gu Xi.

He truly feared he might die suddenly.

Gu Xi wanted to use every moment to lay a solid foundation for the Han.

Of course, some privately suggested Gu Xi depose the Emperor.

After all, Liu Zhi was the emperor installed by Liang Na.

But Gu Xi refused.

This matter followed all proper rites; if he truly deposed the Emperor, it would bring nothing but harm to the Gu clan.

Moreover, in Gu Xi's view, Liu Zhi was indeed quite intelligent.

Under these circumstances,

after the imperial mourning period ended,

Gu Xi held a grand coronation ceremony for Liu Zhi, who proclaimed a new era name: "Yanxi."

The entire court seemed to have returned to its proper course.

Just as it had been in the old days.

The young Son of Heaven sat upon the dragon throne, while Gu Xi stood beside him, sword in hand.

Yet there was a difference.

Gu Xi was indeed very old.

He did not believe he had time to train another emperor like Liu Bao.

Precisely because of this,

Gu Xi's methods this time were more direct.

He would still let Liu Zhi make his own choices.

But when Liu Zhi erred, he would point it out directly, rather than offering subtle guidance as he had with Liu Bao, leaving Liu Bao to discern the meaning himself.

This approach had both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage was that Gu Xi's presence greatly increased administrative efficiency.

The Han had just passed through Liu Bao's reign.

A series of reforms had ensured clean governance.

Gu Xi's return minimized the damage caused by Liu Bao's death.

Precisely because of this,

the entire Han Empire remained prosperous, with no errors emerging.

Liu Bao had originally learned his statecraft from Gu Xi.

Now that Gu Xi had returned, it came naturally to him.

The disadvantage was that Liu Zhi was still young and sometimes could not grasp the essence of Gu Xi's methods.

But this was unavoidable.

Gu Xi had to seize every moment to allow Liu Zhi to gradually grow his own wings, thereby firmly stabilizing the Han court.

Yet within this stability, Gu Yi sensed danger.

That was: court ministers and Han scholars had grown too bold.

Their attitude toward Liu Zhi carried the tone of "Mr."

This was undoubtedly a grave threat.

They were not Gu Xi.

Gu Xi had been entrusted with the imperial succession by Liu Zhao and had propped up the Han throne three times; he had become the true Imperial Tutor.

This status was unmatched by any other.

It was acceptable while Liu Zhi was still young.

But if he grew up and they still treated him this way, it would inevitably become a catastrophic disaster!

(End of Chapter)