Chapter 122

【As your words fell, the entire scene fell into a brief silence.】

【Zhou Jinyu repeated those words softly:】

【"I was originally a commoner from Huainan; what does the world have to do with me!"】

【Her heart was filled with confusion and shock, because she knew deeply the meaning behind these words!】

【Only three words—abandon the world!】

【Zhou Jinyu, this Empress of Great Qing, could not remember her husband Zhou Zhen's birthday, but your birth date was etched into her heart as if by some strange fate.】

【She was even more familiar with the life of this Shaobao!】

【You were from Huainan County in the North, born in the late spring of the first year of Yongxiang!】

【"Commoner" refers to people wearing cloth clothes, later used to refer to ordinary civilians.】

【Whether your family counted as commoners or not—in the county town, they were considered a powerful clan, but later you exhausted your family wealth, and your mother had arranged a childhood marriage for you at a young age.】

【Later, you studied under the Three Teachings, and at twenty-one, out of pure filial piety, you went to Hulao Pass to save your father.】

【From then on, your name shook the world!】

【Huainan County also became famous throughout the world because of your birth; those with the surname Lu are now subconsciously considered people who can "lead armies and fight battles."】

【It's just that you resigned from office and returned home to cultivate the Dao at Mount Zhongnan, losing your official status and title, so calling yourself a commoner is not an exaggeration; it counts as a kind of self-humility.】

【What an honor it is to go from a mere commoner to the high and mighty Son of Heaven.】

【Not taking the world?】

【Zhou Jinyu could not believe that you would give up this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity to leave your name in history.】

【In her eyes, such an opportunity is what countless people dream of, yet you seem not to care at all.】

【She could not understand your state of mind, nor could she imagine that in this vortex of power struggle, you could actually maintain such indifference and calmness.】

【Then if you don't sit on the throne, what choice will you make?】

【A country cannot go a day without a ruler; who is the master of Great Qing now?】

【At this moment, Zhou Jinyu glanced at Prince Jing, Zhou Cheng, among the Feathered Forest Army, with disgust on her pretty face.】

【The Empress Dowager also seemed slightly stunned!】

【In their minds, they were born into the royal family and had spent their whole lives fighting for this position!】

【How could they abandon it!】

【Zhou Zhen's corpse was still warm; even in death, he was willing to die for the throne.】

【Zhou Cheng, standing to the side, although he had guessed this long ago, was still shocked in his heart despite his calm expression.】

【The Son of Heaven, only a step away—few people in the world are willing to give that up!】

【Hearing this, the Lu Family Army did not feel disappointed.】

【They had long understood your intentions and knew you were not the kind of person who pursued power.】

【Fifteen years ago, if you had truly intended this, you could have already struck directly at the Huang Long Prefecture and seized the throne; why wait until today?】

【Hearing this, Lu Lu keenly sensed that since you did not intend to touch the throne, the remaining competitors were probably...】

【His gaze involuntarily swept toward Prince Jing, who had come from the North of the River, and he calculated secretly in his heart.】

【In Lu Lu's view, if Prince Jing could sit securely on the throne and obtain the support of the land North of the River, then the current "three-legged standoff" situation would be completely broken, and a new power structure would be formed.】

【Lu Lu secretly had an idea!】

【The Empress Dowager heard your words and knew that this was the top priority.】

【Who should be established as the Son of Heaven?】

【She continued: "Does the Shaobao also want to interfere in the affairs of the Great Qing monarch?"】

【"Shaobao, what other conditions do you have? This Dowager will agree to them all."】

【She looked around; the Lu Family Army had already surrounded the city, and if she didn't take the opportunity to negotiate conditions now, there would probably be no chance in the future.】

【For the sake of the big picture, she was prepared to sacrifice some interests.】

【With such a big change, she was capable of abandoning some things.】

【The Empress Dowager looked at Zhou Cheng, who was standing with you, and said calmly: "Old Eight, this Dowager also approves of him sitting on the throne!"】

【This old woman looked at you again!】

【But you did not speak!】

【The old woman felt you were too arrogant and narrowed her eyes slightly:】

【"Could it be that the Shaobao thinks victory is already in his grasp?"】

【"There are still thirty thousand city gate captains in the palace. I have long since sent someone to take my Golden Arrow to the border defense troops; if they don't see my Golden Arrow tomorrow, they will attack the city."】

【"Moreover, if the Shaobao acts like this and the Son of Heaven dies, troops from all over Great Qing will advance to serve the King tomorrow."】

【Lu Lu was stunned after hearing this; he didn't know this news—when did the Empress Dowager notify the border defense troops?】

【The border defense troops totaled over one hundred thousand people, jointly commanded by the Empress Dowager and the Son of Heaven.】

【The Empress Dowager's words seemed to be a move of mutual destruction!】

【The situation in the field became tense again.】

【It involved power negotiations of the imperial court!】

【The Lu Family Army was strictly disciplined, and no one in the army dared to make a sound.】

【However!】

【The expressions in the eyes of the Lu Family Army were increasingly disdainful.】

【Jia Fu, the black-faced man in the Lu Family Army, shook his head, thinking to himself: Could it be that the people of this Jiangnan land have necks made of iron, not afraid of being slaughtered by a single blade?】

【Now that the troops were already at the city gates!】

【As long as the Shaobao gave the order, these people would have been hacked to death long ago.】

【They really didn't know the height of the sky and the depth of the earth, still trying to negotiate conditions with the Shaobao.】

【Dou Gu, the military advisor of the Lu Family Army, smiled and said:】

【"I'm afraid I have to disappoint the Empress Dowager; the border defense troops probably won't be waiting."】

【"Our army moved south so smoothly—did the border defense troops not contribute?"】

【The Empress Dowager was strange; it was true that the Lu Family Army's move south was too sudden, and it had passed through the Jiangnan Circuit, which was the defense zone of the border defense troops.】

【Was there a reason for this?】

【Dou Gu smiled and said: "The border defense troops of the Jiangnan Circuit have already been incorporated by the Lu Family Army."】

【"They surrendered as soon as they saw the Lu Family flag."】

【The Empress Dowager shook her head violently, unwilling to believe it.】

【Dou Gu took a golden, glittering Golden Arrow from his sleeve and said: "This is a congratulatory gift sent to the Shaobao by General Wu of the border defense troops, and this Golden Arrow is among them."】

【As the Golden Arrow was taken out, the Empress Dowager's eyes froze, her body trembled, and she leaned powerlessly against the frame of the phoenix carriage.】

【The Empress Dowager said fiercely: "Without the border defense troops, I still have thirty thousand captains; Shaobao, don't go too far."】

【Lu Lu, however, reacted and realized he couldn't wait any longer; the Empress Dowager had already lost for sure.】

【He hated it deeply in his heart; he had originally thought the situation had eased, but he didn't expect the Empress Dowager's words to push the atmosphere to the edge of tension again.】

【What he feared most at this moment was you, the Shaobao, giving an order without a word to let the Lu Family Army solve everyone at once; that would be a disaster they couldn't bear.】

【Lu Lu didn't want to die; he was born into a famous family, and he still had endless status, wealth, and beautiful wives and concubines to enjoy.】

【There was no need to be buried with the Empress Dowager.】

【And so!】

【Lu Lu stood out, performed a grand bow, and said respectfully:】

【"I, Lu Lu, pay my respects to the Shaobao and Prince Jing."】

【Lu Lu naturally knew in his heart that by paying respects to the Shaobao first and then Prince Jing, Prince Jing would very likely be the master of the capital.】

【The Empress Dowager was stunned, looking at Lu Lu's actions with muddy eyes, unable to believe it.】

【She had never experienced such a defection in the face of battle.】

【Seeing that the soldiers of the city gate captains didn't move, Lu Lu was extremely anxious. He quickly gave a wink to a trusted general in the army, who immediately understood and hurriedly shouted loudly:】

【"Pay respects to the Shaobao and Prince Jing!"】

【This shout was like an invisible force, instantly driving the surrounding soldiers; they followed suit one after another, shouting in unison to submit, and the scene became spectacular for a moment.】

【You looked at the group of people bowing their heads; the eunuchs beside you were also driven by the surrounding soldiers, their faces full of hesitation, but after someone took the lead, they all followed suit.】

【"Pay respects to the Shaobao and Prince Jing."】

【In the field, except for Zhou Jinyu and the Empress Dowager, everyone else was already kneeling on the ground.】

【The Empress Dowager's voice trembled with emotion, and she shouted angrily:】

【"All of you get up, what are you doing!"】

【She turned to Lu Lu, her eyes full of disbelief and heartache:】

【"Lu Lu, how could you do this? Have you forgotten that the Lu family has been loyal for generations and has received the grace of Great Qing, yet now you easily bow your head to others!"】

【The Empress Dowager's anger and disappointment were intertwined, and her body coughed violently due to excitement.】

【Usually, there would always be a thoughtful little eunuch to pat her back and soothe her, but at this moment, everyone was worried about their own life and death—who still cared about her?】

【"Cough! Cough—"】

【The old woman gasped for breath.】

【Zhou Jinyu stood to one side, motionless; usually, she would also obediently pat the Empress Dowager's back, fulfilling her duty as a granddaughter-in-law.】

【The Empress Dowager's face was livid, but she couldn't change the facts.】

【She felt like a joke.】

【The "mutual destruction" and "don't go too far!" she had just said.】

【Thinking about it now, how jarring it was!】

【By now!】

【The Empress Dowager looked at the group of people in the field, Lu Lu's servility, the little eunuch's terror, and the fear on the faces of the soldiers.】

【"You cowards who fear death, are you worthy of Great Qing?"】

【The Empress Dowager scolded from the phoenix carriage; she now had no eunuch to support her and was unable to stand up.】

【The crowd did not wait for your response and did not dare to stand up.】

【Fortunately!】

【The Empress Dowager noticed Zhou Jinyu, this Empress of Great Qing, her daughter-in-law, who also had not knelt on the ground.】

【A glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes, as if she had found some kind of support: "Jinyu, help this Dowager up!"】

【Zhou Jinyu didn't seem to hear her, staring blankly at you; it seemed that since arriving at Fengtian Hall, you had only said that one sentence.】

【Your face was as calm as water from beginning to end; he suddenly returned to the time at Mount Zhongnan.】

【At that time, you were on the steps welcoming guests, smiling lightly, completely different from today.】

【At that time, you were in a Daoist robe, a pure-cultivating Daoist with your hands tucked into your sleeves.】

【Zhou Jinyu looked at the present, you with ten thousand people bowing, and the Lu Family Army around you all showing heartfelt submission.】

【Your face was calm, as if it should be so!】

【Holding the power of the world in your palm, without majesty or anger.】

【He finally completely overlapped with the Lu Shaobao who had beaten the Northern Wind into a state of losing their armor and throwing away their helmets in the North fifteen years ago, and who had been stagnant for fifteen years.】

【Zhou Jinyu exhaled slowly and knelt down slowly.】

【"Zhou Jinyu, pays respects to the Shaobao!"】

【The Empress Dowager was stunned, gasping for air.】

【Only one person remained standing in the field.】

【At this moment!】

【You said lightly: "Now we can talk."】

(End of this chapter)