novelAbuy Chapter 1451 Chaos arises
Chapter 1451 Chaos arises
Chapter 1451 Chaos arises
With no one in front of her, Sun Luyu was anxious to save her husband and didn't get too entangled with Cen Hun. However, when she passed by Cen Hun, she couldn't help but spit angrily.
Cen Hun lowered his head, not daring to show the slightest change in expression.
But after Sun Luyu's figure disappeared from the bedchamber, a hint of hatred flashed in his eyes.
At this moment, after the commotion subsided, the Emperor of Wu's bedroom fell into a deathly silence.
Sun Quan lay slumped on the imperial couch like a dead man; only the rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was still alive.
The medicinal effects of the pills receded slowly like a tide, leaving behind waves of exhaustion and chills that invaded his limbs and bones.
His cloudy eyes still stared blankly at the dome, the terrifying crimson in them, which seemed to burn everything, was slowly fading away.
The evil fire that fueled his rage and burned his internal organs was gradually dying down.
Just then, he heard a series of hurried footsteps.
Before he could even turn around, Sun Luyu had already rushed into the bedchamber, which reeked of the strange smell of medicinal pills. She knelt down before the bed with a thud, tears streaming down her face before she could speak, and sobbed:
"Father! Father! Your daughter begs for your mercy!"
This lamentation was neither as jarring as the remonstrances of court officials, nor as superficial as Cen Hun's flattery.
However, it was able to penetrate the mental barrier created by the elixir and gently pierce Sun Quan's heart as a father.
Sun Quan's eyes moved slightly, his gaze focusing with difficulty on his daughter who was kneeling on the ground, trembling incessantly.
Her once pristine dress was now stained with dust, her hair was disheveled, and her face, which bore a resemblance to Bu Lianshi, was streaked with tears, her eyes filled with despair and pleading.
In her arms, she held a young child tightly—her grandson—who was staring at everything with innocent, terrified eyes.
The little girl may not know what happened, but she was clearly frightened, and her gaze toward Sun Quan was somewhat timid.
"Father...please look at your grandson...he can't live without a father..."
The fearful gaze of the innocent child, the face of the recollection of the stepsister, and the tear-streaked face before the bed gradually overlapped, evoking a trace of human emotion.
It stirred up complex emotions in him, typical of an elderly person's longing for family ties.
The crimson in Sun Quan's eyes finally faded completely, and his gaze became complex, yet also tinged with a hint of tenderness.
As Sun Luyu wept, he observed Sun Quan's expression. Seeing that his father seemed moved, he continued to kowtow, his forehead touching the cold ground.
"I dare not defend my husband too much. I only beg Father to spare his life, for he should remember our blood ties and Zhu Ju's past merits!"
"I'll accept being reduced to a commoner and exiled a thousand miles away! I only beg that he be spared, so that I... so that your granddaughter, Father, may not lose her father!"
"If Father insists on killing Zhu Ju, then I... I will kill myself by crashing into this pillar today, so that I may keep him company on the road to the Yellow Springs!"
This tearful, desperate plea, especially given the presence of his grandson, finally caused Sun Quan's guard to begin to loosen.
He saw the despair in his daughter's eyes and the innocence on his grandson's face.
She murdered her son-in-law, leaving her daughter a young widow and her grandson orphaned at a young age...
The bloody and cruel consequences of this reality were like a bucket of cold water poured over his fanatical mind, bringing him back to some sense of reason.
After a long while, Sun Quan slowly closed his eyes, and a sigh of utter exhaustion and hoarseness escaped his throat with great difficulty:
"...That's all."
That sigh seemed to have drained the last of his strength.
"Convey my will..."
His voice was low and slow, carrying a sense of exhausted compromise: "Zhu Ju... is demoted to Assistant Prefect of Xindu... take up the post immediately without delay."
The emperor's decisions cannot be wrong.
The divine punishment imposed by the "quasi-immortal" with "eyes like lightning and all-seeing insight" cannot be wrong.
But in front of his daughter, he is a father.
Now, as an elderly person who has not yet fully attained immortality, he can still make choices that leave room for maneuver, influenced by family ethics, political considerations, and a sliver of rationality.
By stripping Zhu Ju of his military power and eliminating the immediate "threat," he spared his life, thus giving his daughter and grandson, as well as the last vestiges of warmth in his heart, an explanation.
Upon hearing this, Sun Luyu felt a huge weight lifted from her heart. Knowing that it was not the right time to say more, she could only kowtow deeply to express her gratitude. Exhausted from surviving the ordeal, she left the palace that had almost become the burial place of her husband.
When the alchemy room fell silent again, leaving only Sun Quan, the endless emptiness and extreme physical exhaustion once more overwhelmed him.
The illusions brought by the elixir have dissipated, leaving behind an even heavier sense of gloom and loneliness.
Sun Quan subconsciously reached for the pillow, touched the pills in the jade plate, picked one up, and put it in his mouth again.
The emperor's desire for immortality, after a brief period of madness and a moment of clarity, seemed to have slid a little further into the endless abyss.
-
The next day, news of Zhu Ju's demotion to Assistant Prefect of Xindu County spread throughout Jianye City.
The entire court was shaken.
But it only gave a slight tremor.
Since the Nanlu conflict, even the Prime Minister and Grand Commander have died, and countless others have been implicated and exiled to barbarian tribes.
At this point, it wouldn't be surprising to demote another General of the Cavalry.
At this time, there were fewer and fewer outspoken and virtuous ministers in the court of the Great Wu.
No one dared to stand up and plead for Zhu Ju; they could only sigh in private.
"Oh, what a pity..."
In a secluded, unknown room, a long sigh echoed:
"I never expected that he could actually break through such a deadly situation."
Hearing Cen Hun's sigh, Lü Yi didn't seem too regretful. She merely smiled, took a sip of tea, and then said:
"It is indeed a pity, but what can you do when someone marries a princess?"
The Great Wei had the "Three Dogs of Taichung" wreaking havoc on the court, and the Great Wu was not to be outdone, with the "Two Vipers of the School Officials" wielding power and influence.
Of course, there were also rumors in Shu Han that a certain ghost king was "the only demon of the Han dynasty," who held absolute power and whose influence overshadowed the emperor—but that's another story.
It would have been better if Lü Yi hadn't mentioned the princess, because the mere mention of her filled Cen Hun with anger, and he couldn't help but let out a furious snort.
Even though I didn't mean to stop them, they still spat at me. It's really infuriating!
Hearing the snort, Lü Yi didn't even lift his eyelids, and continued speaking to himself:
"I never expected that our seemingly well-behaved Princess Zhu would have such courage."
In fact, this meticulously designed trap was indeed a deadly trap set for Zhu Ju.
The guards who went to inform Zhu Ju last night were actually sent by them.
If Zhu Ju had actually listened to the advice and fled beforehand, then he would have been unable to defend himself and would have had no chance of clearing his name.
If he is unwilling to escape, it doesn't matter. In any case, His Majesty's decree is to arrest him and immediately drag him to the marketplace for execution.
Once Zhu Ju is captured by the Tiger Warriors, his life will be entirely in their hands.
The only thing I didn't expect was that Princess Zhu, who usually kept a low profile, could be so impressive.
Now that things have come to this, Cen Hun could only say somewhat resentfully, "He's lucky this time!"
Upon hearing this, Lü Yi gave a strange smile, looked up at Cen Hun, and said quietly, "That's not necessarily true..."
"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Cen Hun quickly leaned closer and asked, "Does the Secretariat have any other tricks up its sleeve?"
Lü Yi shook his head and said:
"His Majesty's decree has been clearly issued. You and I are nothing more than servants by His Majesty's side. Even if Zhu Ju comes to power and criticizes you and me, at most he will only tell us to be more careful and restrained in our actions."
"Only His Majesty can decide our life and death; no one else is qualified."
"But for some people, if Zhu Ju were to become prime minister, it would be a matter of life and death, so some people are even more anxious than we are."
Upon hearing this, Cen Hun's anger vanished instantly, and his eyes lit up: "The Grand Secretary?"
Lü Yi smiled but remained silent.
Cen Hun sighed in admiration: "When it comes to being shrewd and experienced, it has to be Elder Lü."
Compared to Lü Yi, Cen Hun can be considered a junior.
At this moment, he had to admit that compared to Lü Yi, who had been in charge of the School Affairs Office for twenty years, he was still too young and somewhat impatient.
Besides Lü Cen and the other person involved in plotting Zhu Ju's death, there was another person involved: Sun Hong, the Grand Secretary.
Only with the cooperation of Sun Hong, the Grand Secretary who could forge imperial edicts, could Zhu Ju believe that these were all the Emperor's orders.
Whether it was Lü Yi or Cen Hun, they were merely favored courtiers of Sun Quan. No matter how much they swaggered around, they could never stand in the court and control the government.
But Sun Hongke is different.
He was the Grand Secretary.
His Majesty neglects state affairs, entrusting some matters to Zhu Ju and others to Sun Hong.
However, if Zhu Ju is allowed to become prime minister, then Sun Hong will essentially have an extra person in charge.
Those who hold power have never liked being controlled, not even by supervision.
To put it bluntly, after Your Majesty passes away, the Grand Secretary will be a strong candidate to serve as regent.
However, if Zhu Ju were to become the prime minister, then the position of regent might not necessarily go to Sun Hong.
The struggle for power has always been like this.
Lü Yi fiddled with the exquisite porcelain cup, a rare find even in the Han Kingdom, and said softly:
"Not to mention, the Grand Chancellor has drafted quite a few forged edicts this time in order to deal with Zhu Ju. Once Zhu Ju realizes what's going on, our Grand Chancellor will be in big trouble!"
Cen Hun slapped his leg: "Wow!"
He then cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Lü Yi, saying, "Old Lü is indeed very thoughtful."
After they finished speaking, the two looked at each other and smiled.
Lü Yi picked up the teacup again and blew on the tea leaves:
"Zhu Ju has already gone to Xindu to take up his post, so we don't need to worry about him. But there are two people who are more of a concern for me than Zhu Ju."
After a moment's thought, Cen Hun understood what Lü Yi was saying:
"Is Elder Lü referring to the Crown Prince and the Prince of Lu?"
“Attendant Cen, you serve His Majesty day and night and know his heart best. In your opinion, in this struggle between Nanlu, who will His Majesty ultimately favor?”
With Zhu Ju's fall from power, the ministers of the Great Wu who had a voice in the struggle between Nanlu and Lu were either killed or exiled.
It seems that the rivalry between the Southern and Northern regions is nearing its end.
Of course, the main reason Lü Yi asked such a question was because he knew that His Majesty's illness was serious this time, and the hope of recovery might be somewhat slim.
If His Majesty truly intends to depart this world on the dragon throne, and we cannot gain the new emperor's trust, we will most likely become sacrifices in the new emperor's attempt to establish his authority.
To survive, one must place the right bet before the new emperor ascends the throne.
This is the most important thing for the two of them right now.
Although it was a secret room with only the two of them, Cen Hun couldn't help but sit up straight when he heard Lü Yi ask about it.
But after blinking several times, he spoke slowly and solemnly:
"I dare not hide it from Elder Lü, His Majesty has indeed been considering the matter of establishing a new crown prince recently."
At this point, he carefully observed Lü Yi's expression.
To Cen Hun's surprise, Lü Yi remained completely unfazed, not even blinking, which secretly alarmed him.
Judging from Elder Lü's expression, could it be that he already knew, or perhaps he had anticipated it?
Unable to discern Lü Yi's thoughts at this moment, Cen Hun pondered for a moment and then dropped a bombshell: "Moreover, His Majesty intends to establish an Empress."
Lü Yi then looked up at Cen Hun and asked, "Is it Consort Pan?"
Cen Hun was startled and quickly replied, "That's right."
Lu Yi slowly said, "So, His Majesty intends to appoint the Seventh Prince as the Crown Prince?"
Cen Hun did not answer.
This answer is unnecessary.
Lü Yi let out a long sigh of relief:
"That's good news... Madam Pan has always had a good relationship with the School Affairs Office. Her sister also received a lot of help from the School Affairs Office when she was in the weaving workshop."
Did Elder Lü really foresee this all along?
Upon realizing this, Cen Hun's tone became somewhat respectful:
"So Elder Lü had made preparations all along. In that case, we have nothing to worry about!"
Lü Yi smiled noncommittally and offered no further explanation.
Cen Hun asked cautiously, "Then may I ask Elder Lü, what should we do next?"
Lü Yi shook his head: "There's nothing you need to do, just carefully serve His Majesty."
The phrase "serve with care" was emphasized.
Cen Hun understood and nodded repeatedly: "I understand."
Lü Yi took a small box from under the table, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Cen Hun:
"This is the share of the Central Attendant's profits for this month."
As he spoke, he gently patted the box and said meaningfully, "Keep it safe and don't lose it."
Upon seeing the box, Cen Hun's gaze was glued to it, and he kept saying, "Understood, understood!"
If you cut off those two ounces of flesh from your crotch, what else is there to gain in life?
Isn't that all you're after?
As soon as Lü Yi removed his hand from the box, Cen Hun hurriedly took the box, slightly lifted the lid, and saw a thick stack of bills inside, which made him grin.
This is much better than large sums of money, and it's more convenient to collect and carry than gold and silver. It's truly something to like!
After seeing Cen Hun off, Lü Yi, who had been appearing calm throughout, immediately changed his expression!
Without daring to delay for a moment, she changed her clothes as quickly as possible, quietly came out through the back door, and after making sure no one noticed her, she hurried off in one direction.
After making several turns and confirming once again that no one was following him, Lü Yi arrived at the back door of a small courtyard and gently knocked on the door.
The small door was opened, and following the servants into the courtyard, they met the owner of the courtyard.
Mi Shiyi Lang was sitting at the table, the copper hot pot steaming, filling the whole room with a fragrant aroma.
Taking a sip of wine and then a slice of mutton is an unparalleled pleasure in this chilly season.
Seeing Lü Yi enter, he quickly stood up and said with a smile:
“Lu Zhongshu has a good nose. I just started to get angry and you came over. Perfect timing. Come, come, have a few drinks with me.”
Seeing Mi Shiyilang's relaxed appearance, Lü Yi felt as if she had found a pillar of support, and her previously uneasy mood also relaxed.
"It seems I've been an unwelcome guest; I should have brought some wine and meat."
"Why must we be like this? Sit, sit down! Someone, bring another table!"
Lü Yi, however, did not sit down as instructed. Instead, he straightened his clothes and bowed respectfully to Mi Shiyi Lang.
"I have come here for no other reason than to express my gratitude for your guidance."