Shengshichun

Chapter 393 Alone
When Yang Yi arrived at Tongzi River, the soldiers under the palace wall had already pointed their guns at him.

Yang Yi looked at them and didn't say anything for a while.

He had the token given to him by the Queen, and he also had the guards sent by the Queen behind him. Even without the Emperor's order, it would be easy for him to enter.

But at this moment, he was feeling very confused. On the other side of the high wall, his father and mother lived. Logically, this was his home, and he should be happy. However, once he stepped through the city gate, he could not turn back.

The road that he had never considered in the past few decades was now right in front of him. Standing at his feet, he couldn't help but feel a little cautious, and at the same time... a little inexplicably timid.

It was a feeling of "homesickness" as if returning home after leaving for many years, but not daring to face everything that was once familiar.

"Your Highness, I have already greeted the soldiers guarding the city. They have quickly gone to the Qianqing Palace to report."

At this moment when he was silent and absent-minded, the guard following behind him reported from his horse.

Yang Yi subconsciously felt that they were moving too fast, but seeing how far he had come, he had no reason to blame him.

He got off the horse, raised his hand to stroke the horse's neck, and stroked down the horse's mane.

Soon there was a noise coming from the city gate, and suddenly a light shone from the opposite bank. Then, the suspension bridge was lowered, and two groups of palace servants came trotting over with lanterns in their hands. When they arrived, they looked around and then knelt down in front of Yang Yi.

"I am late to welcome you, Your Highness, please forgive me!"

Yang Yi turned around and saw that the open space in front of him, extending all the way to the other end of the suspension bridge, was filled with dozens of eunuchs and guards kneeling. They were holding lanterns and whisks. The two elderly eunuchs in the front were holding a tray with a jade ruyi over a foot long on top.

Yang Yi looked at them and slowly walked onto the suspension bridge.

The old eunuch hurriedly followed with a tray in his hand: "Your Highness, please hold the Ruyi in your hand and cross the bridge, and wish our Great Zhou a long life!"

Yang Yi felt a little impatient.

He came to talk to the emperor about the Yi family matter, not to become the crown prince immediately after returning.

He felt that this whole thing was a bit redundant.

He walked forward.

The old eunuch pleaded again in a long voice behind him: "Your Highness! You are a child of destiny, a prince of our Great Zhou, you must think about the Great Zhou!"

After he finished speaking, there was another thud behind him and he knelt down again.

Yang Yi took a deep breath, grabbed the Ruyi with his backhand, and walked towards the palace gate on the other side of the bridge with it.

The old eunuch behind him shouted excitedly: "Open the Meridian Gate! Open the Meridian Gate!"

The voice was heard at the gate, and the vermilion palace gate slowly opened. In an instant, the palace gate was brightly lit, and the ceremonial guards were majestic. A gorgeous sedan chair decorated with a five-clawed dragon pattern stopped quietly five feet inside the threshold.

On both sides of the sedan chair stood several mighty guards and two eunuchs.

As soon as Yang Yi stepped through the door, everyone came forward and knelt down in unison: "Your Highness, please get on the sedan chair."

Yang Yi glanced at them, raised his head and looked around, then walked towards the palace in the north.

A group of palace servants quickly caught up with him: "Your Highness..."

But how could these people catch up with Yang Yi's pace?
The Qianqing Palace is easy to find. Just follow the central axis all the way north. Even if you have never been there, you will be able to find the place.

The palace servants followed him, not daring to stop him nor knowing how to persuade him, so they just followed him all the way. Later on, they gave up trying to persuade him and simply led the way in front.

In just a moment, the lights along the way became brighter and brighter, the number of palace servants increased, and the guards became more and more strict.

A very solemn palace stood before him. Yang Yi stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looked up at the three words "Qianqing Palace" on the plaque, and then stepped steadily onto the stairs.

The eunuchs under the door had already had the foresight to enter the palace gate to report. When Yang Yi reached the threshold, the person who reported just came out, knelt on the ground and said:

"Your Highness is welcome to return to the palace! May Your Highness live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years!"

Yang Yi glanced at them, wondering how he, an ordinary citizen, could be called a "thousand-year-old".
Even if they have to kneel, shouldn't they wait until he formally accepts the title before performing the ceremony?

But he has never been a talkative person, so why would he nitpick on their manners now?

Moreover, he knew very well that these people would never dare to do so without permission.

As he walked through the door, a faint scent of ambergris immediately filled his nose.

In the past, he was summoned to the palace by Dayue King Duan Ruo for questioning. At that time, similar incense was also lit in the Dayue Palace, so he recognized it.

The hall was brightly lit with lights on everywhere, not at all like a place to sleep.

There was a five-colored beaded curtain hanging under the curtain cage to the east, and a figure was vague inside. At this moment, facing Yang Yi's gaze, a slow and steady voice came: "Are you here?"

Yang Yi turned his body around, looked at the figure slowly walking out from behind the beaded curtain, and gradually pursed his lips.

The emperor lifted the curtain and walked out with his hands behind his back.

"You really know how to pick the time. If you come a little later, I will have to go to bed. The Imperial Hospital does not allow me to stay up late. Even if you want to come in, you can't."

Yang Yi glanced over calmly, raised his hands and bowed: "Sorry to bother you."

The emperor walked slowly to the brocade couch under the window and sat down. He didn't raise his head until he was fully settled. "What do you want from me? Can't you talk about it tomorrow?"

Since he was so direct, Yang Yi didn't intend to beat around the bush. He said, "You were the one who spread the story of the third brother, right? You were also the one who pushed up public opinion in the capital, right?"

The emperor asked, "Why do you think so?"

"I have come this far today. Isn't this your goal?"

The emperor raised his eyebrows, looked him over, and then said, "I didn't force you to enter the palace. You chose to come in."

"Okay. Since I'm here, you should know why I came in?"

"How should I know that?" The emperor picked up the tea on the table and glanced at him. "I'm not a worm in your stomach."

Yang Yi paused for a moment, frowned and said: "I don't want to beat around the bush with you. I came to the palace this time to talk to you about the Yi family." Because of the disturbance you caused, Yi Yun, who works in the Imperial Household Department, has found two young men from your hometown, hoping to take advantage of the situation and stir up trouble.

“Whether you are aware of it or not, things have come to this point. As the ruler of a country, shouldn’t you step in to stop it instead of letting it go?
"If this continues, the situation will definitely get worse. By then, who knows how many complications will arise!"

The emperor looked at him and sipped the tea in the bowl slowly.

Yang Yi waited for a while but he didn't speak, so he said, "If you think I have no right to say these things, you can punish me and make me shut up."

The emperor said, "I don't think so, but if you are so nervous, why don't you come forward to stop it?"

Yang Yi was speechless.

The emperor put the cup down and continued, "If you don't want to say it, then I'll say it for you. Because you know you have no power to stop it."

Yang Yi glanced at him and pursed her lips even tighter.

The emperor raised his eyebrows and continued, "Now you have hidden yourself very well, and you look like a person with no desires or requests.

"But you have been very ambitious since you were young. As a father, I have always been proud of you and have been consciously guiding you to understand the righteousness of our country.

"Over the years, you hated me on the one hand, but you didn't abandon justice on the other. You hated my ruthlessness, but you also implicitly recognized the guidance I once gave you.

"Because you have been through so many things, you must know that if you want to realize your ambitions, you also need a step. It is just a foolish dream for you to help the people alone.

"As a commoner, you can only do so much to change things. Your actions are not even as useful as those of a village headman.

"So you actually want to have power, right?"

Yang Yi gritted his teeth, and his eyes unconsciously turned red.

The emperor rested his elbows on the table, looked at him, and said, "You have always been conflicted. On the one hand, you hate me, and on the other hand, you want to have the power of a prince as a tool.

"Because once you have power, there are so many things you can do.

"On a smaller scale, you can help the people around you live a good life, and let He Zhao and his wife and children reunite and enjoy family happiness. You can also let the disfigured Chen Song get married and start a family, and have a happy family and a stable life like a normal person.

"To put it in a broader sense, you can turn around and punish those who have treated you unfairly. You can punish the wicked and comfort those who have helped you.

“You’ve been out there for more than 20 years, and you’ve seen enough of the sufferings of the people. Even if the second brother is still alive, you’re already much better than him just because of this.

“As a prince, these twenty years of experience are a huge advantage for you.

"Even if you are just a prince, you can still seek benefits for the people within the scope of your power and change the fate of many people.

“After more than 20 years of witnessing and hearing from the people, you know clearly what they need and what kind of decisions can really help them.

“I believe you know how to appease our people in the shortest possible time, so that the Great Zhou will flourish at a faster pace in the years to come.

"So how could you not crave power? You crave it very much!"

The emperor raised his finger and gently tapped his forehead.

Every word he said echoed in the empty temple. The sonorous voice was completely unlike that of the frail old man. He had regained his strength, and the aura of a mighty king had returned to him.

Yang Yi's breath was turbid: "Don't talk nonsense!"

"How could I be talking nonsense?" The emperor said in a leisurely voice, he put his hands behind his back and slowly paced in the center of the palace, "If you really don't want it, then you won't enter the palace at all.

“You won’t lose your temper because of the Yi family’s actions.

“You’ve been shaken up over this past period of time, and maybe without even knowing it, you’re ready to take over.

"You are my son. You are not a rabbit, you are an eagle! You are ambitious, and you will not allow others to covet something you have set your sights on.

"The second brother occupied the position of crown prince for so many years, and you never felt bad for him. At that time, you really didn't want to.

“But once you think about it, how can you allow others to touch it?

"So a small Yi family, an action that you know very well in your heart will never succeed, can easily bring you to the palace.

"Tell me, how can you not want to? How can you not have a desire for power?"

The emperor stopped in front of him. His eyes were as bright as a fox's.

Yang Yi turned sideways to avoid his gaze, clenched his fists and said, "I don't want to discuss this with you. I came here just to make you understand that you can't let the Yi family bring irrelevant people into the palace tomorrow.

"I don't care what you want, but I don't want these people to come and ruin my mother's birthday party!"

"You are still avoiding it." The emperor sneered. "You have been struggling for more than 20 years. Aren't you still struggling enough? Are you still a real man if you are so twisted? If you want it, why don't you say it out loud? Why don't you show your ambition?
"There have never been any cowards among the descendants of our Yang family, including the second oldest brother!"

"That's enough!" Yang Yi glared at him, "Is it fun to mock me?!"

The emperor's eyes were as sharp as thorns: "Do you admit that what I just said was right? Tell me, do you really want to be the emperor of the Great Zhou?"

Yang Yi's eyes have turned red.

He gritted his teeth and said word by word: "Yes, I want it! I have indeed changed my mind. I want your power. I want to be the new ruler of the Great Zhou!

"I'm not a nagging mother, and I'm not fussing about anything else. I just want you to taste the consequences of your own actions!
“No matter how benevolent you are as an emperor, since the battle in Huzhou, you are no longer a benevolent father!
"If you hadn't treated me like that back then, the second brother wouldn't have felt any taboo against me. He wouldn't have needed to feel taboo against me! Because he would have known from birth that he had an elder brother, and that the imperial power was not his alone. He would have accepted it all from birth!
"In this way, you won't have to face the fate of being forced out by your own son. If everything is arranged from birth, who would be willing to risk their life so easily?

“Twenty-four years ago you turned your weapon against your eldest son, and twenty-four years later you stabbed your second son to death with a sword!

“No matter how hateful Old Two is, you are the one who started it!

“This is the consequence you should bear!

"You are destined to be alone! I also hope that you will become alone!

"I know if you need me, and I also know that the Great Zhou needs a legitimate person to sit on the throne. I can do anything for the Great Zhou and take on any responsibility. But if it's you - I won't accept it! I want to see you experience all the loneliness in the world! This is my revenge as a victim, as a son who was ruthlessly abandoned by you, on you as my biological father!"