#89: The Galaxy Overflows (Part 8)

Chang Zhao looked out the window with a somber expression. Fengle Tower was located in a busy market. If someone were to shoot an arrow, they would either be on a rooftop or at a high-up location far away. Before he entered the room, his view was obstructed, and he hadn’t noticed her ambush.

Su Shiyu clenched the teacup in his hand tightly, then suddenly let go.

“In the end, I am not the Empress’s family, and I could not earn her trust. It seems I have disappointed His Majesty and Minister Chang,” Su Shiyu said with a self-mocking laugh. “However, this place is bustling with people. Does the Empress have the guts to make a move against Minister Chang here?”

Luo Wei turned to look at Chang Zhao. “Of course I wouldn’t dare. I’m sure Minister Chang also doesn’t want the people of the capital to know that the Empress is currently in the city. Causing a commotion here would probably cause more trouble for Song Lan than capturing me would.”

Chang Zhao’s expression changed several times. He first glanced at Su Shiyu. Su Shiyu understood what he meant, pushed the door open, and sent the guards outside to a place where they couldn’t hear.

Luo Wei also stood by the window and gave a soft whistle.

She placed the candle holder on the table, lit it again, and sat down leisurely. “Minister Chang, let’s make a bet.”

Chang Zhao raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What kind of bet does the Empress want to make with me?”

“You’ve erased your background so cleanly that, to be honest, I still haven’t figured out what you want. But I do know that you are not sincerely working for him.”

Chang Zhao smiled. “How can you tell?”

“Ever since he promoted you, he has changed his way of doing things. When he shattered the jade at the Moshun grounds, he still knew to conceal it, enduring from summer to late autumn, but he ended up killing the cicada. I was ‘imprisoned’ on Mount Guyou, and coupled with the Remonstrance of Jinghe Autumn, he didn’t offer any comfort, completely ruining the good reputation I had ‘carefully’ built for him in just a month or two. Minister Chang, you are a truly clever person. I was acquainted with him for ten years and slept in the same bed with him for three years before I figured out his flaws. You, however, were just an indifferent observer in court for a few months, and you could see it. Not only could you see it, but you also dared to make a move. If you were just seeking an official position, why would you go to such lengths?”

She took a breath and continued without waiting for him to speak. “So I’m guessing that Minister Chang might have a past grievance with Song Lan. But you only came to the capital a few months ago. How many bargaining chips do you have in your hands?”

Chang Zhao chuckled. “During the grand court meeting and in front of Fengle Tower, I tried to persuade Minister Ye more than once, but he was unwilling to ‘join me in my wickedness.’ The Empress and he must be of the same ilk. So why are you trying to win me over today?”

He had guessed it after all.

Luo Wei’s expression didn’t change. “I’m not trying to win you over. I already said, I want to make a bet with Minister Chang.”

Chang Zhao said, “Then the Empress should stop being coy.”

“I will set a deadline of six months. I will change the ownership of the country, capture Song Lan, and help Minister Chang settle his old grievances,” Luo Wei said firmly. “Money, grain, soldiers, and power—even if you have these most important things, what are your chances of success? Even if you have a chance, how many years will it take to set up? Don’t you want to see his end sooner?”

Chang Zhao didn’t expect her bluntness. After thinking for a long time, he looked up at her face and scoffed.

“Six months... The Empress has a big mouth. If you want to make a bet with me, what do you need me to do?”

Luo Wei smiled with him, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s very simple. I just need you to do nothing. In the Remonstrance of Jinghe Autumn, Lu Hang died. Song Lan listened to your words and gradually began to harbor thoughts of indiscriminate killing. Now that the Assassin-Begonia case has been reopened, he will definitely use you as the chief judge. In the past, a single ‘Lament of the Golden Heaven’ cost the lives of half of the court’s trusted officials. I really don’t want to see that happen again.”

“Hahahaha...” Chang Zhao clapped his hands and laughed. “You risked coming here just for this? Empress, Empress, I thought you were a clever person. Since you’ve realized that our goals are the same... you should have just let me lead His Majesty towards his downfall, causing chaos and darkness in the court. Then you could appear, and your efforts would be twice as effective. Your reputation is so good. At that time, the ministers and people of the capital would welcome you with open arms. I would be nothing more than meat on your chopping board. Why did you have to risk so much to do something so redundant?”

He laughed for a while, then suddenly stiffened, and became unusually agitated. “Ye He came from the northern border. The Prince of Yan is your close friend. When you descended Mount Guyou, you should have just gone north and led your troops back to court. Stupid, so stupid! If I had your bargaining chips, the capital would be in my hands by now.”

“Minister Chang, wake up,” Luo Wei interrupted him coldly. “Song Lan is not a stupid person. Why would he fall into our trap? The art of power has blinded his eyes completely. You must be careful not to become a blind man like him.”

Chang Zhao retorted mockingly, “Is the Empress not also playing with this trick? Why was Yu Qiushi so disheartened? What is the truth behind the murder in the Western Garden? How did the Lin clan perish? Who orchestrated the shattering of the jade and the killing of the cicada? Although I don’t know everything thoroughly, I can guess a little. You are also walking a path of ‘stepping on the crimson clouds.’ What’s the point of being so secretive? Since ancient times, there has never been a path that doesn’t require sacrifice!”

Luo Wei picked up the tea that Su Shiyu had left behind and took a sip.

“The mixture of a king’s ways and a tyrant’s ways, with an inner core of Confucianism and an outer core of legalism, is a saying from the ancients. But in all matters, there should be a hierarchy, and there should be things you choose to keep and things you choose to discard. I will advise Minister Chang today: those who play with fire will be burned. Those who play with power will inevitably be consumed by it.”

“Are the things I mentioned not your doing?” Chang Zhao countered. “You call it ‘of the same ilk,’ but you will still fall into the trap. I’m just more honest than you.”

“They are our doing, but I realized a long time ago that I use these tricks to uphold the principles of life and goodness.”

Luo Wei put down the teacup, stood up, and looked him straight in the eye without flinching. “The art of power, for us, is for self-preservation and protection! The prerequisite for upholding principles is not to harm any innocent person with it. In this world, the only generous sacrifice is oneself. Heaven gave the common people flesh and blood, not to pave the way for those in power!”

Chang Zhao said, “Go and read the history books from all ages. Look at those rulers—the cunning ones, the treacherous ones, the heartless ones. They are the winners! You want to win, and you also want to win gracefully. How can there be such a good thing?”

Luo Wei closed her eyes, remembering a certain late night not long ago. She remembered the dream Ye Tingyan had described to her in her arms. He said, “The winner waves from the sharp edge of the historical record,” and he asked, “Is this our shattered path?”

She suddenly understood why, from a long time ago, the person who would walk that long mountain path in Xuzhou with her would definitely be Song Ling.

Countless people in this world passed through the fragrant spring. They stopped and saw the blood beneath the petals, and when they looked up, they found that only the other person had stopped walking.

“They are the winners, but does that make them right?”

She took a breath and calmly sat back down. “I am greedy and insatiable. I want to win gracefully. Since Minister Chang doesn’t believe such a thing exists, then bet with me.”

Chang Zhao stood where he was, not speaking for a long time.

Finally, he spoke. “Alright, Empress, I will take that bet with you. Within six months, I will not let the capital repeat the tragedy of ‘Lament of the Golden Heaven.’ But my abilities are limited. I will not risk saving those I cannot.”

This one sentence was enough. Luo Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief. “That is enough.”

Chang Zhao said, “The Empress is doing her own thing, and at the same time, selling me a favor, and you want me to do my best. That’s a good business deal. But you haven’t said what will happen if you lose.”

Luo Wei said jokingly, “Minister Chang has the ability to make Song Lan believe him. The swords in the hands of all the executioners in the capital are your bargaining chips. Why would you ask for anything else?”

Chang Zhao laughed loudly. “The Empress is making a huge profit with no capital.”

After he had laughed enough, he said unhurriedly, his tone very gentle, “But you still underestimated me. Just six months. After six months, if Song Lan is still on the throne, I will first kill him, then kill you, then kill Ye He, and then slaughter the entire capital. Empress, do you think I can do it?”

He said it so casually, but his tone was so certain that Luo Wei couldn’t fathom his true intentions. His words instantly sent a bone-chilling shiver down her spine.

This didn’t sound like the tone of a civil official. It was more like the nonchalance that could only be honed by being steeped in the smell of blood.

After being cornered by her and threatened all night, seeing her frozen in place, Chang Zhao finally relaxed a little. He flicked his sleeves and took the initiative to open the door for her. “Fengle Tower is bustling, and a mutually destructive outcome is naturally not good. But the Empress should be careful when you leave. Don’t let anyone find out where you are hiding in the capital. If Ye He is exposed, it will be difficult for you to act in the future.”

Luo Wei composed herself, put her bamboo hat back on, and left quickly.

Chang Zhao stood in front of the door and muttered to himself, “I forgot to ask you one thing. Are your actions for him...?”

He lowered his eyes, and his expression finally relaxed a little. “He’s already dead. What’s the point of you upholding his principles?”

After Luo Wei had left, Su Shiyu returned to the room and asked with some unease, “What did she say to you?”

“My good brother, you don’t need to worry,” Chang Zhao said after looking at him a few more times and not seeing anything amiss. “The people outside the door are my family retainers. They won’t say anything.”

Su Shiyu said, “It was my oversight that you were trapped by her scheme.”

Chang Zhao patted him on the shoulder. “Forget it. Even His Majesty has no way to deal with her, let alone you and me?”

“Should we inform His Majesty about this? Since she is in the city, His Majesty can rest a little easier.”

“If His Majesty finds out that we schemed for two months, met her, but didn’t catch her, what do you think he would think?” Chang Zhao said with a wry smile. “Let’s forget it. His Majesty has a lot on his mind these days. Let’s design another plan and then ask for credit from His Majesty.”

He paused. “Shiyu, you don’t have to worry. There are still two months until the Noble Consort gives birth. Before that, His Majesty will definitely not make a move. After this incident, I will find a way to protect her life.”

Su Shiyu’s Adam’s apple bobbed. After a long time, he said with difficulty, “Thank you.”

Chang Zhao said, “The Noble Consort also asked me to bring you a message last time. She’s doing well and told you not to worry.”

Their relationship being exposed was an accident. When Song Lan was interrogating Su Shiyu about the Empress’s whereabouts, he remained silent and distant. Afterward, Chang Zhao and he left the palace together. Chang Zhao went to his house to ask for drinks. When Su Shiyu was very drunk, Chang Zhao discovered a cloud-patterned sachet hidden in his collar.

The next day, when Song Lan mentioned Yu Suiyun, he suddenly remembered that the one and only time he had seen Yu Suiyun at a grand ceremony, he knelt down to pay his respects and looked up to see a very peculiar reversed floral cloud pattern embroidered on the hem of her robe.

It was exactly the same as the one on the sachet.

He investigated and found some not-so-secret old stories, such as how Yu Suiyun had repeatedly pursued Su Shiyu before she entered the palace. Many people knew about it. Later, she gave up and married into the palace, probably because she had feelings for him, but he didn’t reciprocate.

Song Lan did not allow anyone to enter the Pifang Pavilion. Chang Zhao found a way to bribe the imperial physician who was treating Yu Suiyun, gained her trust, and managed to build some connection between the two of them. Su Shiyu had been so indifferent back then, but who knew that today he would be so deeply in love that he was willing to betray the Empress for just a few words from her.

In the end, he regretted it.