Chapter 72: He Wants to Protect the Princess, Fight…
After the first month passed, the spring breeze of February awakened a hundred flowers. Amidst the lingering chill of early spring, there were already endless beautiful scenes to admire.
After hearing Ming Luo’s report, Zhao Rongzhang walked out of the garden, fastened her cloak, and concealed two hidden weapons on her person. She said to Guan Xuan, “Let’s go. We’ll attend the banquet at Su Wang Fu to celebrate his recent victory—a great defeat of the Rong Di. Truly, he is basking in glory.”
She smiled warmly at Ming Luo and said, “Bring Zhao Yu along as well. It’s been a long time since he last saw his imperial uncle.”
Guan Xuan understood the princess’s true purpose in attending the banquet and smiled gently.
He wanted to protect the princess and fight well in the upcoming battle that belonged to her.
Inside Su Wang Fu, it was already bustling with activity. Most of the court officials had already chosen sides, joining the camp urging Zhao Jue to abdicate and supporting Prince Su’s ascension to the throne. Today, they had all come to celebrate. It was said that nowadays, only a handful of ministers attended the daily morning court sessions. Faced with the empty Jin Luan Dian, Zhao Jue was both furious and sorrowful, yet he dared not vent his anger. Prince Su’s victory seemed all but assured.
The banquet was filled with clinking cups and lively toasts until a voice announced, “Princess Yingrong has arrived,” causing everyone to exchange glances and fall silent.
Prince Su snorted with a laugh but paid no heed, continuing to toast with others. The banquet soon resumed its lively atmosphere.
If he had once harbored some wariness toward Zhao Rongzhang, Prince Su now enjoyed the support and allegiance of most of the court’s generals and the common people. He no longer considered her worthy of his concern. What were her hundred thousand troops compared to his several hundred thousand-strong army? Moreover, he now had the will of the people behind him; folk songs even circulated among the populace proclaiming him as the chosen one by heaven. Who would support the ambitions of a mere young girl?
He had everything he needed. The time was ripe, and it was time to settle accounts with her.
Zhao Rongzhang entered, followed by Zhao Yu. Zhao Yu quickly walked up to Prince Su, his expression complicated as he bowed and addressed him as “Father.” Prince Su, however, showed no kindness toward this son of his—he was far too useless. But on such a joyous occasion, he chose not to make an issue of it and waved for them to take their seats.
Zhao Rongzhang did not stand on ceremony. She ate plenty of meat and even drank a little wine.
As cups were raised and exchanged, most of the guests grew flushed with wine and warmth. Someone began to jest at Zhao Rongzhang’s expense, saying it was fortunate she had escaped the marriage alliance back then. Otherwise, the Turkic Khan would surely have been very pleased with her, and he would never have raised an army to march south. Without that, there would have been no opportunity for Prince Su to win battles and force Zhao Jue to retreat.
Zhao Rongzhang merely smiled. Prince Su, feigning drunkenness, asked under the influence of wine, “Imperial niece, when your Emperor Father passed, I was deeply grieved. In the future, let the Zongrenfu record you under my name, so you may continue as the sole little princess of our Great Zhou. How does that sound? Wealth, honor, and immense power—whatever you desire, I will grant it to you just as your Emperor Father did in his time. What do you say?”
Someone exaggeratedly praised the brotherly bond between Prince Su and Xianhuang, lauding his virtuous and benevolent heart, and his sincere affection for his niece.
Zhao Rongzhang had eaten her fill. She tilted her neck slightly and said, “What I want, my Emperor Father could give, but Imperial Uncle might not be able to.”
Prince Su’s face immediately darkened. “Oh? Do tell.”
Zhao Rongzhang slowly rose to her feet and raised an eyebrow. “I want the throne. Can Imperial Uncle give me that?”
No one expected her to reveal such ambition in this setting, and their expressions changed. Those quick to adapt immediately began cursing her arrogance and disrespect.
Prince Su remained calm and composed, smiling as he said, “Could your Emperor Father even afford to give you that? If so, why wasn’t it passed to you in the first place?”
“Whether he can afford it or not, first you should see if you have it yourself,” Zhao Rongzhang said, pulling a retractable long sword from her sleeve and thrusting it into the table with a sharp shua.
The crowd was furious and about to curse when they heard Prince Su gasp in panic, exclaiming, “You—what are you—”
Before he could finish his sentence, a spray of blood erupted. A Black Robe youth who had appeared behind him at some point expressionlessly drew a dagger and slit his throat.
“Father—!” Prince Su’s sons at the banquet, both shocked and enraged, shouted for guards to rush forward and fight the youth, while more people surged from all sides, attempting to subdue Princess Yingrong.
The guests, terrified by the sudden turn of events, wailed and fled in panic, scrambling to escape. However, a female official with a crane-like posture was already on horseback in front of the mansion, leading troops to surround Su Wang Fu completely. Most of Prince Su’s elite troops were still stranded on the northern battlefield, and among his household soldiers, few could match Zhao Rongzhang’s elite forces.
Prince Su’s head was too large and his neck too thick to cut cleanly. Guan Xuan seized a blade from someone’s hand and cleanly severed it with a single strike.
Seeing their father, whom they had revered all their lives, die so miserably and brutally before their eyes, some of the sons panicked even more than the guests. The remaining two or three, who still had some courage, were no match for Guan Xuan.
In the end, only Zhao Yu could exchange a few blows with him. But as Zhao Rongzhang’s applause rang out, his chest was pierced by Guan Xuan’s sword.
Guan Xuan handed the heads to Zhao Rongzhang, who wrinkled her nose in disgust but still took them, fanning away the smell as she displayed them to the crowd. Those who had dared to shout at her earlier were now the most cowardly, too afraid to even open their eyes. Zhao Rongzhang ordered someone to force their faces forward, lift their eyelids, and examine each dripping, grotesque head in detail: “Do you all recognize whose heads these are? Hmm?”
“Prince… Prince Su…”
“He is a traitor to Great Zhou, a criminal who conspired with the enemy and betrayed the nation!” Zhao Rongzhang tossed the filthy heads aside, took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands, and her voice echoed through the silent hall. “Bring them forward!”
Ming Luo strode forward, handing stacks of letters to Zhao Rongzhang. She unfolded them one by one, displaying them to the officials attending the banquet. “These are his handwritten letters to the Turkic Khan! Some of you must recognize his handwriting, right? I know many of you have had dealings with him.”
The crowd trembled, wanting to shake their heads but too afraid to do so.
Zhao Rongzhang slowly gathered the letters, her tone softening considerably. “Don’t be afraid. He was a criminal who plotted rebellion, but you are not. I know you were deceived. Who could have imagined that Prince Su, whom my imperial brother regarded as a pillar of the state, would secretly trade with the Rong Di under the guise of resisting them? He even dared to defy his superiors, attempting to force my imperial brother to abdicate under the pretext of purging the emperor’s side. Now, I have uncovered everything and will immediately enter the palace to inform my imperial brother of your grievances.”
Immediately, the hall filled with the sound of people kneeling in unison, all weeping as they cried out, “Thank you, Eldest Princess, for your discernment!”
Prince Su and his sons were all beheaded, their bodies separated from their heads. Even if there were thousands or tens of thousands of guards in this princely estate, and even if there were tens or hundreds of thousands of their troops across the land, no one could mobilize them anymore, and thus no one could do anything to Zhao Rongzhang.
Zhao Rongzhang took away all of Prince Su’s military tallies. Without even washing her hands, she tied up the five or six heads and rode leisurely into the palace on horseback.
A year had passed since their last meeting, and Zhao Jue had lost his former arrogance. Faced with Zhao Rongzhang’s unrestrained audacity, he could only lower his head and pretend not to see.
Zhao Rongzhang had fulfilled the promise she made to him earlier, resolving both the northern war and the turmoil brought by Prince Su. The price was for him to write an edict designating Zhao Zhu as his successor after his death… Zhao Jue showed Zhao Rongzhang the edict he had already written.
Zhao Rongzhang glanced down and read it through, then asked him, “Do you prefer the Spring Breeze or Grain Rain?”
Zhao Jue was puzzled and stammered, “The Spring Breeze brings life, and Grain Rain nourishes all things. Both are rhythms of heaven and earth, the foundation for the people’s farming. I, a mere mortal… dare not judge them with personal likes or dislikes.”
He actually referred to himself as a mere mortal. Zhao Rongzhang smiled, her eyes curving with pleasure. “So much nonsense. I just remembered there’s also Qingming in between. You can like Qingming then.”
Zhao Rongzhang tossed the heads to him, tugged on the reins, and headed toward Renshou Palace.
Inside Renshou Palace, the Grand Empress Dowager still sat with her eyes closed by the window, her fingers moving over a string of smooth prayer beads. The gray in her temples had grown noticeably. Zhao Zhu could now speak fluently and was running and playing with the palace maids.
Zhao Rongzhang glanced over, took a silk handkerchief soaked in warm water offered by Nanny Rui’an, and wiped away the blood that had not yet dried on her hands.
“Grandmother, it’s been a long time. I heard you missed me.”
The Grand Empress Dowager opened her eyes, looking at her with a weary gaze. After a long while, she sighed softly, “You’ve grown thinner and taller.”
“Do I look more like my mother now?”
The Grand Empress Dowager remained silent.
Zhao Rongzhang took the tea offered by Rui An but did not drink it, merely holding it in her hands. She sat down opposite the Grand Empress Dowager, propping her chin on her hand. “I have always respected you, Grandmother. You showed kindness to my mother and me, and I remember it all. If you hadn’t deliberately spared me time and again, it would have been difficult for me to return alive.”
It was she who had disrupted her marriage alliance procession, upsetting her original plans, and it was also she who had sent people to pursue her all along. But without these events, she might not have been able to connect with Shuang An and Su Tan, and the course of events might not have unfolded as smoothly as it did today.
Ming Luo’s speculation that the Grand Empress Dowager might have been intentionally tempering her was not without reason.
“You are too clever.”
“Indeed,” Zhao Rongzhang boasted. “I am not only clever but also kind and grateful. I have seen Zhao Jue’s edict—he intends to pass the throne to Zhao Zhu after his death. Grandmother, how about you and I rule from behind the curtain together?”
“You cannot tolerate Zhao Jue’s life, nor can you tolerate Zhao Zhu. How long do you intend to tolerate him?”
Zhao Rongzhang tapped her cheek thoughtfully. “I haven’t decided yet. After all, Great Zhou has suffered greatly these past two years. We’ve barely managed to repel the Rong Di and quell the rebellion. If the emperors we support die one after another too quickly, it won’t be good either. Since you care for him so deeply, Grandmother, surely you wouldn’t want him to pass before you.”
The Grand Empress Dowager opened her eyes. “He will not outlive me.”
Zhao Rongzhang looked down at Zhao Zhu on the ground with a cold, mocking smile. “Being so plump and free of heat toxin, you won’t die so easily.”
“Your mother was even wiser than you. She knew you were kind-hearted. Or perhaps she didn’t want you to face such a difficult choice, to spare you the agony of making a cruel decision. She wanted your hands and conscience to remain clean, unburdened by the weight of injustice.” The Grand Empress Dowager gazed at her, lips slightly parted, unable to utter the rest of her words.
Zhao Rongzhang didn’t understand what she meant and frowned, waiting for her to continue.
The Grand Empress Dowager’s eyes fell upon Zhao Zhu, who was happily playing. Following Rui An’s pointing finger, Zhao Zhu looked at Zhao Rongzhang and called out, “Sister.” The Grand Empress Dowager sighed. “Your mother discovered a solution to the heat toxin—a complete and permanent cure. Among siblings born of the same mother, there will always be one who is healthy and free of the toxin. That child’s heart’s blood is the most potent medicinal catalyst.”
“What she drank during her ten months of pregnancy was not medicine to protect the fetus. It was a death sentence for Zhao Zhu—a poison destined to ensure he would not live past the age of five.”