Chapter 46

Chapter 46

"Just spread the word that thirty million taels of silver are hidden in the Tianyi Pavilion, and people from all over the world will find ways to get inside," Zhu Qinghou said softly.

He hadn't mentioned it immediately because he had previously deceived Li Zhen with the silver story, claiming it was hidden in the Secretariat to secure his survival under Li Zhen's control.

Now that he had spoken, Li Zhen would soon realize that his earlier words were also lies.

Li Zhen said, "It's not a bad idea."

His expression was calm, giving no indication of whether he had realized the deception.

Zhu Qinghou didn't give him a chance to pursue the matter, quickly changing the subject. "Your eyes have only recently recovered and still need care. I'll lower the curtains a bit to keep the sunlight out."

He stood up, rising on his toes to pull the curtains down.

This was entirely unnecessary. The hall's doors were closed on all sides, and curtains were already drawn, making the interior dim. Zhu Qinghou busied himself lowering the already low curtains further.

Li Zhen sat quietly in an armchair, a white silk ribbon tied around his jade-like wrist. His upper robe was black, his hem snowy white, his entire person ethereal and detached as he silently watched Zhu Qinghou.

"Xiao Yu," Li Zhen called.

Zhu Qinghou didn't turn around, slightly raising the already impossibly low curtain instead. "Why are you calling me?"

"What are you worried about?" Li Zhen's voice grew even softer.

Xiao Yu was born into a powerful official's family, inherently intelligent and perceptive. How could he fail to realize something so obvious? He had initially deceived him, claiming that thirty million taels of silver embezzled by Zhu Qingping were hidden in the Secretariat. Now he was desperately trying to clear Zhu Qingping's name, clearly indicating that Zhu Qingping hadn't embezzled, and that the thirty million taels were fabricated.

From the moment he began overturning the embezzlement case, his previous lies fell apart on their own.

Such a simple matter. He hadn't pointed it out, wanting Xiao Yu to understand that deceiving him with the silver story was utterly unnecessary.

Zhu Qinghou froze for a moment.

Since Li Zhen's birthday, their relationship had visibly eased, making him increasingly concerned about this matter. Unlike before, when he feared Li Zhen only kept him alive for the silver, this time he was afraid Li Zhen would see through his deception.

His excessive tension had made him overlook these obvious details.

"Xian Pu, when did you know I was deceiving you?" Zhu Qinghou grasped the most crucial point. He always felt Li Zhen hadn't only realized it when he began working to clear the Zhu family's name.

Li Zhen's expression was faint. "From the beginning."

From the very start, he knew Zhu Qinghou was lying to him.

Zhu Qinghou asked, "You knew from the beginning I was deceiving you. You knew the thirty million taels of silver the Zhu family supposedly embezzled never existed. You knew..." He paused briefly, "...the Zhu family was framed."

Li Zhen calmly looked up at him. One standing, one sitting; one tall, one shorter. Li Zhen appeared to be in the lower position, but in reality, he had always been the one pulling the strings from behind the curtain.

"Xiao Yu," Li Zhen said softly, "I love you, but you can't expect me not to hate you."

He hated Zhu Qinghou. Hated him enough to coldly watch as the Zhu family was framed and exiled, then patiently wait for Zhu Qinghou to come to Yongzhou, to come to his side.

*Thud.*

Zhu Qinghou let go of the curtain, turned around, and stood beneath the dark drapery, his purple robes faintly visible. "Was the Zhu family's downfall related to you?"

Li Zhen sat in the darkness, his gaze clear as snow, gentle and calm. "What do you think," he asked Zhu Qinghou, "Xiao Yu?"

The Zhu family was his political enemy, supporters of his opponent. Was it only permissible for Zhu Qingping to ally with Li Jue against him, but not for him to retaliate against the Zhu family?

...Why?

Why would Xiao Yu take it for granted that he would stay put, quietly enduring schemes and plots without any resistance?

The hall was utterly silent, doors tightly shut, not even a breeze could enter. The curtains on all four sides hung motionless.

Zhu Qinghou walked towards Li Zhen. "Don't ask me. Just say it directly. Did you have a hand in the Zhu family's downfall?"

He seemed particularly stubborn, determined to get an answer from Li Zhen.

Li Zhen stood up, his figure suddenly towering, his shadow enveloping Zhu Qinghou.

He said lightly, "I merely added fuel to the fire, that's all."

Zhu Qinghou stopped, one step away from him. Compared to the methods the Zhu family and the Eastern Palace used against Li Zhen four years ago, Li Zhen had been exceedingly merciful.

"Xiao Yu," Li Zhen took a step towards him. The distance between them became impossibly close. If Zhu Qinghou just slightly raised his head, he could see the other's dark eyelashes.

"What do you want me to do?" Li Zhen's voice was unusually soft and low. "For these four years, I've been waiting for you in Yongzhou. One thousand four hundred and sixty days and nights. Did you ever think of coming to see me?"

He kept waiting, only to eventually see Li Jue ascend the throne and Zhu Qinghou completely forget him.

"When I left the capital back then, you sent someone with a letter saying our fate in this life was shallow, and we would be together in the next." Li Zhen spoke as calmly as if narrating someone else's story. "The next life is too far away."

He looked down at Zhu Qinghou, his gaze tender, yet also as if he wanted to devour him whole.

Zhu Qinghou looked up at Li Zhen, a tumult of emotions washing over him. "...Lower your head."

Li Zhen bowed his head.

The response was a sharp, stinging pain in his shoulder. Zhu Qinghou opened his mouth and bit down hard on his firm shoulder, viciously, with the intent to shatter Li Zhen.

Li Zhen remained silent, not even pushing him away. Only when Zhu Qinghou bit down with force did he let out a low, muffled groan.

Zhu Qinghou released his bite, looking at the wrinkled fabric and clear teeth marks on Li Zhen's clothes, then at his submissive, resigned expression. Anger surged within him, yet he felt somewhat powerless.

"I wronged you," Zhu Qinghou said.

Who owed whom in this relationship, he knew clearly in his heart.

His father harmed Li Zhen; Li Zhen harmed his father in return. That was a matter between the two of them.

Politicians fighting each other, life-and-death struggles, were common. He wouldn't help either side, wouldn't interfere.

Moreover, the one who truly plotted against his father was someone else.

His eyes had recovered. The past was in the past. Apart from the four years that stood between them, everything was as it used to be.

Zhu Qinghou fell silent, then reached out his hand, waving it in front of Li Zhen's face. "Are they really completely healed?"

Li Zhen grasped his fingertips. "Yes, completely healed."

He had used many potent medicinal pills to force the toxins out, indirectly neutralizing the poison.

Whether there would be lasting effects in the future remained unknown.

He very naturally changed the subject: "I'll have people spread the message. We must get the Tianyi Pavilion opened."

"Thirty million taels of silver, all hidden in the Tianyi Pavilion?"

In Ye Capital, the common folk whispered among themselves in the marketplaces.

“The Tianyi Pavilion was personally supervised by him during its construction. It makes sense he’d use the chance to hide the silver within.”

“The court has sealed the pavilion for several months now. Even if there were any issues, they should have been repaired long ago. Could it be that someone wants to secretly hoard this immense fortune, deliberately sealing the pavilion to keep us from noticing?”

For a time, rumors spread like wildfire through the streets, all centered on the Tianyi Pavilion and the silver. People across the land clamored to ascend the tower in search of wealth, while the purist faction seized the chance to advocate for reopening the pavilion to allow the common people to read. The situation had nearly descended into chaos.

In the Secretariat.

Officials were seated together, their expressions grave. Those present were all high-ranking officials of the Secretariat, and most knew something of the inside story behind the Zhu family’s embezzlement case—three million taels of silver embezzled by the Zhu family? That’s just the number they made public to square the books.

The national treasury was already struggling to make ends meet; merely supplying the needs of the one up in the palace had left the Ministry of Revenue stretched thin. Where would they even get three million taels for Zhu Qingping to steal? They’d be lucky to have three hundred.

“Has anyone managed to trace the source of these rumors?”

“Nothing. It all seems to be public speculation.”

The officials’ expressions darkened, and they turned their gaze toward the current pillar of the Secretariat, the Secretariat Director, Lin Hanyi.

Lin Hanyi sat upright in the main seat, his crimson round-collared robe starched and perfectly straight, without a crease.

“If they want the pavilion opened, then let it be opened,” he said, his face wearing its usual unctuous and mild smile.

Accustomed to his perpetually smiling, fox-like demeanor, the others were somewhat taken aback that he would comply. “Director Lin, this is not permissible…”

The man’s words died in his throat under Lin Hanyi’s smiling stare.

“Allowing those destitute commoners to ascend the tower to read—isn’t this move no different from what Zhu Qingping did?”

Speaking of this, the man grew indignant. Zhu Qingping came from a humble background, and by sheer luck, his looks and literary talent caught the eye of a daughter of the Wei family. Marrying a noblewoman earned him a recommendation from the Rectifier, granting him the privilege of standing in the Golden Hall alongside them.

Instead of being grateful and cautious, he had been single-mindedly focused on how to promote those common-born people. A corrupt official playing the saint? He’d have to get through us first.

Lin Hanyi looked at him with a smile, his exceptionally graceful brows and eyes holding a frosty amusement.

The man shivered under that gaze, remembering that this young Secretariat Director was also of humble birth—even more so than Zhu Qingping. He was merely an infant abandoned by the roadside, fortunate enough to be picked up by Zhu Qinghou.

Lin Hanyi had grown up in the Zhu household. Young, exceptionally handsome, and skilled at composing ceremonial prayers and official documents, he had managed to charm the aging emperor into considering him a confidant.

Step by step, aside from not marrying a noblewoman, his early life had almost mirrored Zhu Qingping’s.

“Since none of you have any objections,” Lin Hanyi said with a smile, sweeping his gaze around the room, “let the pavilion be opened—”

With a rumble—

The towering gate at the base of the pavilion slowly swung open. Outside, the eagerly awaiting crowd craned their necks, impatient to peer inside.

Most had come with the hope of finding the three million taels of silver, but among them were also genuine scholars. Since the fall of the Zhu family, they had been unable to ascend the tower to read for several months. Now, finally seeing the Tianyi Pavilion reopened, their faces were filled with joy.

While queuing to ascend, they couldn’t help but whisper among themselves. “I heard that when Zhu Qingping first built the Tianyi Pavilion, he schemed to embezzle millions of taels from it. Who knows if it’s true or not.”

“It’s rather amusing. I still remember the scene when the Tianyi Pavilion first opened all those years ago. That great treacherous minister stood before the tower, saying the emperor’s profound grace allowed every common person in the land to have books to read.”

“That was many years ago. Hearts and minds change so easily.”