Chapter 17: The Eternal Sovereign
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Ning Chen could not help glancing at Song Guozhong, whose face remained as expressionless as ever.
It had been Song Guozhong who, with a single sentence, had turned the tide in court when they had previously sought to depose him, forcing Ning Chen to threaten them with his own death.
And now it was him again!
With that old dog aiding the Empress Dowager, no wonder she had been able to hold the court entirely in her grasp for so many years!
Ning Chen swore inwardly that sooner or later, he would eliminate the old dog.
But for now, he had to survive this birthday banquet. Otherwise, once he was deposed, he would not even be able to preserve his own life, let alone accomplish anything else!
The sudden reversal of the situation also filled Little Anzi with intense unease.
He knew very well that everything the young emperor had planned before this had been for today's birthday banquet, and that the Old Master was the absolute trump card in the play the young emperor had arranged.
Everything depended on this one move!
If the Old Master failed to help the young emperor turn the tables, then all the young emperor's previous efforts and schemes would be wasted.
Therefore, Little Anzi had to be ready at any moment to activate the contingency plan.
Yet when he looked toward the young emperor and sent him the signal asking whether they should launch the backup plan, Ning Chen firmly replied with a signal meaning, “No!”
Little Anzi was baffled, for he did not know that the countless struggles between life and death and the endless intrigues Ning Chen had endured in his previous life had long taught him one truth:
At all times, one must keep a trump card in reserve.
But until the very last moment, one must never reveal it lightly.
Ning Chen gazed deeply at the Old Master. Although he did not know the man very well, instinct told him that since the Old Master had appeared here, he must have made every possible preparation.
Even with the situation turning against them, Ning Chen still chose to trust him.
“Master, then it is settled. You need not trouble yourself over it. Come, someone—grant my master a seat. The chief seat!”
A smile returned to the Empress Dowager's face. Though she had already drunk enough to become slightly tipsy while celebrating her birthday, she now felt extraordinarily clear-headed. If not for Chancellor Song Guozhong, perhaps she really would have been intimidated by the Old Master's words.
She had found what the Old Master said unpleasant to hear, but she could sense that he truly cared about her.
Thus, she had not suspected anything. She merely felt that perhaps the Old Master had genuinely grown old and was no longer as wise as he once had been, which was why he had uttered such muddled words.
Yet the moment she finished speaking, the Old Master suddenly let out a cold laugh. He shook his head, looking as though he could not bear to see his disciple remain so foolish.
“Blind! Utterly blind!”
“You have all lived these past decades in vain!”
With that, he once again fixed his gaze upon the Empress Dowager and earnestly instructed her, “Zhixi, do you truly think this matter can be resolved simply by issuing an imperial decree and announcing it to the world?”
“If you do that, you will only plunge yourself even deeper into a place from which there is no escape!”
The moment these words were spoken, everyone present was once again stunned.
The Empress Dowager widened her eyes and looked at the Old Master in confusion. “Master, what do you mean by that?”
The Old Master stroked his beard and said gravely, “Do you think the common people will believe the decree you issue, or what they have witnessed with their own eyes?”
“Though the young emperor's accidental stroke of luck has blinded the people to the truth, his filial devotion has been seen by the entire realm!”
“Especially that poem!”
“It may soon spread throughout the whole of Great Ning!”
“In such circumstances, if you suddenly order him to issue a repentance edict and then depose him, the people will only believe that some conspiracy must lie behind it!”
“The opinions of ignorant commoners may not seem capable of influencing much, but do you know that the more ignorant the people are, the easier they are to incite and manipulate?”
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“Zhixi, I know all that you have done for Great Ning over the years. Although I would rather not say this, the reality is exactly as I have described!”
“You are a woman, after all. Even as Empress Dowager, you cannot change the way the people of this world view you.”
At this, the Empress Dowager frowned.
Those words pierced her heart like a dagger.
Prejudice was a mountain. Having lived within the imperial palace for so many years, she understood that better than anyone. That was why she had sworn to climb step by step to the highest peak, to stand at the summit as a woman and remain there unshaken.
She had already devised a long-term plan a year ago, and the first step of that plan was to depose Ning Chen.
The Old Master continued, “Three years ago, the late emperor passed away. One year ago, the young emperor's maternal grandfather was executed for treason.”
“And now you intend to depose a nine-year-old sovereign who, though incompetent, has shown admirable filial devotion.”
“Do you think the people of the realm will not conclude that you are the greatest conspirator behind all this?”
“I understand you, of course, and I know that you are not.”
At that, the Old Master turned and swept his gaze across everyone present, deliberately ignoring the young emperor Ning Chen standing nearby.
Then he raised his voice. “But those lurking in the shadows with ulterior motives will certainly use this deposition as an excuse to incite the people and stir up rebellion!”
“Zhixi, think carefully. What else could this be but a road that will lead you into a place from which there is no escape?”
Boom!
The Old Master's words were like a meteor crashing down, instantly erupting into thunderous discussion throughout the court. Everyone realized the immense danger concealed within them.
The relatives of the various vassal princes, who had been watching from the sidelines all this while, now fell utterly silent.
Yet while everyone was absorbed in contemplating Master Kong's earth-shaking speech, Ning Chen's eyes filled with admiration. His hands, hidden within his wide sleeves, clenched into fists despite himself, trembling with excitement.
It was done!
Once these words had been spoken, everything he had planned was bound to succeed!
As expected of a two-time imperial tutor, a great master of letters, and the pillar of Great Ning!
That speech had been an absolute trump card!
It had stoked the flames in the furnace Ning Chen had built for the Empress Dowager until they were raging at full force.
At this very moment, the Empress Dowager must have been burning in agony.
Ning Chen naturally understood her ambitions, but he understood even better what she feared most: precisely those hidden figures with their own schemes, whom the Old Master had just mentioned.
These words could not have come from the young emperor himself. Only a man of the Old Master's immense prestige could utter them and shake everyone present—especially the Empress Dowager.
And what Ning Chen admired most was not merely that the Old Master had been able to speak those words. It was that, while saying them, he had both protected the young emperor and deceived the Empress Dowager into believing that he was trying to save her.
As expected!
As expected, one really did need to read more books...
What Ning Chen did not know was that Little Anzi's eyes were filled with even greater admiration. Though he tried desperately to restrain himself, his entire body still trembled with excitement.
Ning Chen was excited because of the Old Master.
Little Anzi was excited because of Ning Chen.
For only Little Anzi knew that, from the moment the young emperor had forced Fan Dayou to invite Master Kong, Ning Chen had already anticipated that the Old Master would say precisely these things.
Everything was unfolding exactly according to the young emperor's plan!
More importantly, the nine-year-old young emperor had managed to arrange all of this under the watchful eyes of the suspicious and ruthless Empress Dowager!
Incredible!
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He could scarcely imagine what this young emperor would grow into in the future.
At the same time, he felt even more fortunate that he had once become the loyal dead warrior left behind by the young emperor's maternal grandfather, and that he had chosen to follow Ning Chen and become the young emperor's right-hand man.
No one present was a fool. In fact, every one of them was exceptionally shrewd.
This was especially true of Empress Dowager Yu Zhixi, who had clawed her way from the ranks of palace maidens to the position of Empress Dowager.
The Old Master's words had struck directly at the heart of the matter. How could she fail to awaken to the implications?
It was true. The late emperor's death three years ago and the execution of Ning Chen's maternal grandfather one year ago had both been inseparable from her.
And now she intended to publicly depose the young emperor, even after he had convinced the entire realm that he was a deeply filial son.
If those vassal princes harboring ulterior motives truly took advantage of this opportunity to make a move, would she not have personally pushed herself into an abyss from which there was no escape?
Damn it!
How could she have agreed to the foolish idea of publicly deposing the emperor?
But... if Ning Chen was not eliminated, how could she carry out her plan?
The Empress Dowager's expression darkened to an extreme degree, and her headache grew worse by the moment.
She had never imagined that what had begun as a joyous birthday banquet would devolve into such a situation.
At last, her head throbbing as though it might split apart, she lost all reason and suddenly shouted in fury and anguish, “Silence! All of you, silence!”
The moment she spoke, the entire hall, which had been filled with clamorous discussion, fell quiet.
The Empress Dowager stared deeply at Master Kong and asked almost pleadingly, “Master, then tell me—what am I supposed to do? What, exactly, am I supposed to do?”
Seeing this, Ning Chen laughed inwardly.
“My dear Mother Empress, you have finally taken the bait.”
Master Kong stroked his beard, looking every inch the sorrowful teacher concerned for his beloved disciple.
“There is naturally a solution.”
“That is never to depose the emperor!”
The moment he said this, noisy discussion erupted throughout the hall once more. Everyone stared in astonishment at Master Kong, at the Empress Dowager, and at the still bewildered young emperor Ning Chen.
No one noticed that Little Anzi had opened his mouth slightly and was silently repeating to himself:
“As expected. His Majesty predicted it once again. The Old Master really did say those words!”
“Never depose the emperor?”
The Empress Dowager stood frozen in place.
Master Kong stroked his beard once more. “That is correct. What you must do is seize this opportunity to issue an imperial decree.”
“Although the young emperor never intended to use his birthday to launch a public-works relief program, Your Majesty must attribute the entire matter to him.”
“Not only that—you must publicly commend the young emperor for his filial devotion and make him a model of filial piety for the entire realm.”
“Then declare your resolve, pardon him for all his previous offenses, and present him as a future enlightened ruler—one who knows how to correct his mistakes and possesses extraordinary talent.”
The moment these words were spoken, everyone present was left completely dumbfounded.
The Empress Dowager was even more stunned, stammering, “Wh-why? Why would I do that...?”
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