Ashes to Crown

Chapter 167: Chapter 121: Meaning

After spitting up a mouthful of blood, the Emperor stopped trying to hold on. The eunuchs and Imperial Physicians rushed forward to treat him.

Chu Zhao and the others all stepped back.

Xiao Yu moved back to Chu Zhao’s side, taking her hand.

”Don’t be afraid,” Chu Zhao said soothingly, looking down at him.

Xiao Yu nodded. He didn’t seem particularly afraid; perhaps he was already numb from the shock.

However, the eunuchs and Imperial Physicians were soon shooed away. The Emperor, looking far more listless than before, still managed to sit halfway up. He stared at Chu Zhao and demanded, ”You tell me, how could I *not* be angry!”

”Your Majesty,” Chu Zhao said, bowing to accept her punishment. ”I am guilty. When I said ’don’t be angry,’ it wasn’t to tell you that you shouldn’t be angry.”

The Emperor looked at her and sneered. ”Then what else could you have meant?”

”It was said out of concern for Your Majesty,” Chu Zhao replied.

’Concern for His Majesty?’ The Emperor was taken aback. Nearby, Deng Yi glanced at Chu Zhao, pressed his lips together, and looked down.

”So much has happened, and all of it involving Your Majesty’s closest kin. How could you possibly not be angry? But anger achieves nothing; it will only harm your own body,” Chu Zhao continued. ”There was nothing I could do, so all I could offer was the futile sentiment, ’Your Majesty, don’t be angry,’ in the hopes that you would take better care of yourself.”

’Powerless, hoping I would take care of myself... is that what she meant?’ The Emperor looked at the girl, his expression flickering for a moment before he suddenly laughed.

”If you don’t know how to talk, then you should talk less,” he said, having lost the energy to scold her. He glanced at Xiao Yu beside Chu Zhao, and seemed about to say something, but ultimately held his tongue.

’It was all meaningless.’

”You should take Yu and go.”

Chu Zhao froze. ”Go? Where would we go?”

The Emperor looked at her. ”Go to the Border County. Find your father. You know how formidable he is. So, take the young prince and go.”

’To think...’ Chu Zhao couldn’t help but look at Deng Yi.

Deng Yi met her gaze. ”Miss Chu, what I said on the gate tower was not meant with ill will toward the young prince. Urging you to leave with him was for his own good. It is not safe for him to remain here.”

Chu Zhao looked back to the Emperor. ”Your Majesty, the young prince is safest when he is with you.”

The Emperor let out a dry ”Oh.” ”I am about to die. Once I am dead, will he still be safe by my side?”

Chu Zhao was stunned. ’Dying?’

’She knew the Emperor would die, of course, but—’

”I am going to die very soon.” The Emperor watched the girl’s expression and pointed to the bloodstains on the floor. ”I have been poisoned. I will be dead soon.”

’So, it was poison.’ A sense of clarity washed over Chu Zhao, followed by a wave of melancholy. She stared blankly at the blood on the floor as the Emperor’s voice continued to ring in her ears.

”Once I am dead, if Yu is still here, will he be safe?”

Chu Zhao looked up. ”Your Majesty, after you die, if Yu is not in the Imperial City, he will be in even greater danger.”

’I knew she wouldn’t give up so easily.’ Deng Yi neither spoke nor rebuked her, simply remaining silent.

The Emperor watched Chu Zhao, his gaze clouded, an unreadable, mirthless smile on his lips.

”He is the Crown Prince’s son and your eldest grandson. If he leaves the Imperial City, he will be nobody. There will be no place for him under heaven,” Chu Zhao said.

The Emperor’s gaze shifted to Xiao Yu, his expression indifferent. ”He is the Crown Prince’s son, my eldest grandson. But with the Crown Prince dead and me about to die, he will indeed be nobody.”

The small child probably couldn’t comprehend what it meant to be ”nobody.” He simply held Chu Zhao’s hand without moving, waiting for others to decide his future.

’The doting gaze of his Grandfather was gone. He had only glanced at him for a second before looking away.’

It was as if the child had nothing to do with him.

The Emperor’s gaze shifted back to Chu Zhao.

”A person who is nobody should hide far away. Isn’t your father very formidable? Go to him.”

With that said, his strength seemed to desert him. He slowly lay back down, unwilling to speak another word.

Hearing this, Chu Zhao finally understood completely. At this very moment, it was not just Deng Yi who had chosen Xiao Xun, but the Emperor as well.

’Why?’

’In her past life, it made sense. But in this life, the young prince is still alive.’

”Your Majesty,” she asked bluntly. ”The young prince is alive. With the Crown Prince gone and you gone, he isn’t a nobody. He is the master of the Imperial City, the master of the realm.”

The Emperor looked at the girl and laughed, pointing a finger at Xiao Yu.

”Miss Chu, with the Crown Prince gone and me gone, you think he can be the master of the Imperial City and the realm? Miss Chu, if he truly became that master, it would be a one-way path to his death.”

Deng Yi looked at Chu Zhao. ”Miss Chu, matters of the state cannot be dictated by emotion. His Majesty knows what he is doing. Take the young prince and go to your father. It is the best chance he has to live.”

Chu Zhao looked at them. She understood their decision. As things stood, the Heir of Zhongshan King was the most suitable successor—and the only viable one. Xiao Yu was just a six-year-old boy. Even with his direct bloodline, without the Crown Prince or the Emperor to protect him, the King of Zhongshan and his son could swallow him whole.

Rather than wait to be eliminated in a struggle for the throne, it was better to retreat early and be granted a chance to live.

’Indeed, for Xiao Yu, this was the best path.’

’In this life, she wouldn’t have to marry Xiao Xun. She could take Xiao Yu, leave the Capital City, escape to the remote Border County, and live freely ever after.’

’Hadn’t she always wanted to go back and see her father?’

The thought of her father made Chu Zhao feel both happy and heartbroken.

”Your Majesty,” she said. ”My father is dying, too.”

The hall fell silent.

On the dragon throne bed, the Emperor looked at her, his eyes momentarily vacant. ’That’s right,’ he thought, ’I remember now. Someone did say that Chu Ling was ill.’

’He even wrote a letter, didn’t he? Saying he was dying and bidding me farewell.’

’Where did that letter go? I probably tossed it in the incense burner.’

The Emperor lowered his gaze and said faintly, ”Even in death, General Chu will ensure you are well cared for.”

’Her father would certainly do that. The only reason she survived so long in her last life was because of him. Even in death, he had protected her for so many years.’

’No, that’s wrong.’

Chu Zhao looked up. ’My father is formidable, yes, but it is precisely *because* he is so formidable that Xiao Xun would never spare me.’

’Once the Emperor is dead and my father is dead, I’ll be in the Border County with Xiao Yu, with the Dragon Power Army at my side. It would be a miracle if the new emperor, Xiao Xun, spared me.’

’And it wouldn’t just be Xiao Xun. There’s the Xie family, and Xie Yanfang.’

’The Crown Prince’s sudden death, Xiao Xun’s ascension... how could Xie Yanfang possibly accept that? In the last life, he rebelled even when Xiao Yu wasn’t alive.’

’Now that Xiao Yu is here in this life, how could he possibly stand down?!’

’There’s no escape for me in this world.’

”Your Majesty.” She looked up at the Emperor. ”If you believe my father can keep the young prince safe in the Border County, why can’t you believe he can help the young prince secure the throne?”

Deng Yi glanced over. ’Her words weren’t surprising. Chu Zhao brought Xiao Yu to the palace with the clear intent of having the Chu Family protect the throne. Who would pass up the opportunity for such a great achievement?’

’That was why he had advised against her entering earlier. Because her goal was impossible.’

The Emperor looked at the girl, a laugh escaping him, amused by her words. ”Didn’t you just say he’s dying? How is he supposed to protect the throne?”

”His body may die, but as long as the world sees his will to protect the throne, it will be as if he is still alive,” Chu Zhao said.

The Emperor shook his head. ”And how will they see that?”

’No one pays him any mind while he’s alive. How are they supposed to see him when he’s dead?’

Chu Zhao looked down at Xiao Yu. The dazed child immediately sensed her gaze and looked up at her. He didn’t speak or ask any questions, but simply squeezed her hand tighter.

”Let me—” Chu Zhao looked up and said, ”become the young prince’s Empress.”

It was as if a bolt of lightning had flashed through the hall.

Deng Yi stared at the girl, a tingling numbness spreading through him for a moment.

’So, it could be done that way.’

...

(End of Volume)