Ji Yao glanced at her and served her a piece of pan-fried tofu.
Lu Tang looked at the bowl of tofu soup in Zhe Qing’s hands with immense dissatisfaction. At that moment, Gu Siwai spoke up, saying, “Lady Lu must be eating very well at the Xiao residence.”
Lu Tang didn’t understand what she meant. Was there some hidden implication behind those words?
Puzzled, she took a bite of the pan-fried tofu. Ji Yao enlightened her, “Our Chancellor Zhe is plain and simple; she likes to eat vegetarian.”
“Vegetarian?” Lu Tang frowned. “Why eat vegetarian when you’re so young? Eating vegetarian makes you age faster. I’m definitely not eating vegetarian.”
Zhe Qing, who had been silent for a long time, abruptly raised her head. Her gaze landed on the young woman, her expression unreadable.
Gu Siwai smiled and said, “You two are truly interesting. It’s a good thing to be playful; A-zhe doesn’t seem to have ever been this close to anyone before.”
Ever since the fall of the Zhe family and Zhe Qing being branded a traitor, she had very few friends. Later on, when she entered officialdom, she learned to be cold and detached, scaring away anyone who tried to approach her on their own initiative.
Lu Tang seemed different.
Gu Siwai’s words dragged Zhe Qing into the spotlight. Zhe Qing had no choice but to speak up: “You flatter me, Teacher.”
Gu Siwai smiled and said no more.
Lu Tang finished a bowl of cabbage to be precise, she ate all the cabbage in the bowl. As soon as she finished, Ji Yao served her another helping with her chopsticks.
She kept serving and serving; no matter how much Lu Tang ate, there was always more.
By the end of the meal, she was entirely stuffed on cabbage.
Lu Tang decided she never wanted to come here to eat again. She was picky by nature and had never expected to encounter a purely vegetarian meal. She was so angry that she didn’t want to talk to Zhe Qing.
Feeling aggrieved, she turned to Zhe Qing and announced, “I want to eat meat.”
Zhe Qing looked at her. “You can send someone to buy it.”
“You have to provide the money. Carrying you around is hard physical labor.” Lu Tang let out a long sigh and curiously asked her, “I think Teacher Gu is a bit strange. Who is she?”
Teacher Gu?
Zhe Qing looked at her in confusion. “You don’t know who she is?”
Lu Tang didn’t understand. “Should I know?”
Zhe Qing fell silent. Lu Tang looked toward the kitchen. “I think this Aunt Ji is a bit strange, too.”
This pair of mistress and servant living in seclusion among commoners seemed to have a formidable background, especially Teacher Gu. For Zhe Qing to address her as “Teacher,” she must undoubtedly be a person of great learning.
An ordinary woman would not be addressed as “Teacher.”
Seeing that she was genuinely puzzled, Zhe Qing had no choice but to explain: “Teacher Gu, given name Gu Siwai, is the eldest daughter of the former Duke of Gu.”
“Gu Siwai?” Lu Tang repeated, “That sounds a bit familiar.”
She had seen the name “Gu Sitang” in her own family genealogy. Curious, she asked, “Who is Gu Sitang? The tang of family hall, not the tang of my name.”
Surprised that Lu Tang didn’t know Gu Siwai, but happened to know the name Gu Sitang, Zhe Qing answered candidly, “Teacher Gu’s younger brother is Gu Sitang. However, old Lord Gu resigned from his post years ago and left with all his descendants.”
Lu Tang: “…” Wait, did I just run into my own ancestors?
“Why didn’t she leave with them?” Lu Tang wondered. “Why did she resign? Logically speaking, when her father left, the daughter should have followed.”
Moreover, Teacher Gu had never married.
It all seemed very strange.
Zhe Qing narrowed her eyes, her expression troubled, as if harboring unspeakable hardships.
“Is something wrong?” Lu Tang pressed, Zhe Qing’s demeanor indicating the gravity of the situation.
The two women locked eyes. Zhe Qing saw her own reflection in the young woman’s calm, limpid eyes. She hesitated slightly before a commotion arose at the entrance.
“A-Tang, come get the food.” It was Ji Yao calling out to Lu Tang.
Lu Tang didn’t want to go; it certainly wouldn’t be anything delicious.
Seeing her reluctance, Zhe Qing couldn’t help but smile and said, “Go get it. When you come back, I’ll tell you about the past.”
Ji Yao called out a second time. Lu Tang dragged her feet over and, sure enough, saw a pile of “little piglets” on the plate.
Considering her culinary skills, she had actually sculpted them with lifelike precision.
Lu Tang resisted fiercely: “What are you trying to do? Who is supposed to eat these little pigs?”
“Naturally, they aren’t for you; they’re for Chancellor Zhe.” Ji Yao shoved the plate forward. “Don’t delay me washing the dishes and pots, hurry up.”
Lu Tang carried the plate of “little piglets” back into the room and slammed it down in front of Zhe Qing with a huff.
Zhe Qing couldn’t help pressing a hand to her forehead. Lu Tang’s face was flushed with anger. “You’re the Chancellor! How does she dare treat you like this?”
“Mm.” Zhe Qing covered her mouth and chuckled, her brows curving into crescents, her eyes filled with smiles. She had no choice but to say, “Indeed. She’s very bold. Anyone who walked out of that palace coup has long since put life and death behind them.”
Lu Tang shuddered all over, looking at Zhe Qing with a hint of probing in her eyes: “What kind of coup?”
“Eighteen years ago, during the reign of the former emperor, foreign tribes came to ask for the hand of our dynasty’s princess in marriage.” Zhe Qing sighed. “At that time, the Emperor and Empress had a deeply cherished Princess Yuncheng. Upon receiving the news, the Empress sent the princess to a Daoist temple to avoid the disaster.”
“Back then, our relations with the foreign tribes were strained. Just as relations were finally easing somewhat, the tribes bullied us too much, and some in the court suggested fighting back.”
“The civil officials advocated for peace, while the military generals advocated for war. The argument was endless. In the end, the Empress chose a daughter of the Gu family namely Gu Siwai bestowed upon her the title of princess, and married her far away to the foreign tribes.”
Lu Tang caught a whiff of danger. Teacher Gu was clearly right here, which meant that in the end, a war must have broken out.
Zhe Qing glanced at her. Seeing that she remained calm, she couldn’t help but hold the young woman in higher regard. She continued: “Right at that moment, the Empress suddenly changed her mind and ordered the Zhe family to march against the foreign tribes.”
“Was it the Zhe family behind you?” Lu Tang wondered. Clearly, this was a story of interlocking layers with a massive background.
Zhe Qing revealed a trace of pain, her gaze losing focus. “I was eight years old that year. The moment my mother received the decree to set out on the campaign, she immediately mobilized the troops. My grandmother felt something was amiss. Ordinarily, when something so major happened, Her Majesty the Empress should have summoned them to court, but she didn’t. Only a single imperial eunuch came bearing the imperial edict.”
Lu Tang’s heart skipped a beat, and her entire body went numb. Was that a forged imperial edict?
She swallowed hard. Her ancestors were certainly bold; the Gu family had actually managed to walk away unscathed.
Zhe Qing paused for a fleeting moment and continued, “My grandmother felt the edict was wrong, but the imperial jade seal on it was genuine. ‘A general on campaign can disobey imperial orders,’ but they were right here in the capital. To accept the edict and go to war meant they might never return; to refuse it meant resisting an imperial order.”
“So, your mother and your grandmother went together, right?” Lu Tang took a deep breath, goosebumps covering her entire body.
That single edict was practically roasting the Zhe family over a charcoal fire; no matter what choice they made, it was wrong.
Lu Tang could well imagine the predicament faced by the Zhe mother and daughter.
“My mother and grandmother left. The moment they left, trouble happened behind them. That edict was issued by the Empress, but it was issued with a knife at her throat.” Zhe Qing paused, her heart tightening abruptly as if pressed down by a massive boulder.
She said, “It was Princess Yuncheng. She held the Son of Heaven to command the nobles, taking advantage of an excursion to an imperial villa to trap the Emperor and Empress and issue decrees in the Empress’s name.”
Lu Tang: “…” History didn’t write it this way. Official history records that the Empress deeply hated the foreign tribes and ordered the Zhe army on the expedition.
Such a huge secret was hidden behind the scenes.
She swallowed again and rubbed her stiff face. Placed in history, this event was absolute blockbuster-level truth.
“And then?” She brazenly pressed for answers.
Zhe Qing’s face turned pale, her hands hidden within her sleeves trembling slightly. She offered the young woman a faint smile: “Princess Yuncheng was no ordinary princess. Ever since she was a little girl following her mother, she had entered court politics early. Her power surpassed that of her brothers. Once the Zhe army had marched far away, she personally escorted her mother the Empress back into the palace.”
“At that time, her political aides advised her not to return to the palace, but instead to coerce His Majesty into abdicating and enthrone herself as Empress Regnant.”
“She refused. Instead, she escorted the Emperor and Empress back to the palace.”
“Once inside the palace walls, she lost her wings. She was sent to a Daoist temple no, imprisoned in a Daoist temple.”
“Ever since then, Teacher Gu has never seen her again. Not just her; no one else has ever seen Princess Yuncheng either.”
Lu Tang rested her chin in her hands, her heart leaping into her throat. “What happened next?”
“Duke Gu knew nothing of this. He was summoned into the palace. The next day, he resigned from his office, took his entire household, and left. On the road, it was rumored they were killed by mountain bandits, and the whole family died,” Zhe Qing lamented.
Lu Tang, however, stated firmly, “Fake, they surely didn’t die.” If they died, where did I come from?
Zhe Qing didn’t understand, but she didn’t probe further, continuing, “They all left, leaving Teacher Gu behind alone. Old Lord Gu knew that the Empress would not let them go. Therefore, the abandoned daughter took the whole family and fled.”
Lu Tang also found it incredible, hardly daring to believe these were things her ancestors had done.
“In that battle, my mother won. Civil unrest broke out in Lingnan, and by imperial decree, the Zhe army was ordered to suppress it. Shortly after, the news came that my mother and grandmother had defected to the enemy.” Zhe Qing was taut all over. Speaking of that cruel truth, she still refused to believe her mother would do such a thing.
At this moment, Lu Tang asserted with certainty, “I’m guessing it was the work of the Empress. The Zhe army couldn’t be allowed to return alive. For them to return would be a disgrace to the Empress. For them to live would be a constant reminder to the Empress of being imprisoned and coerced.”
Zhe Qing had no choice but to look at the young woman once more. Her eyes stung with acid, her lips quivered as she asked, “You believe they didn’t defect?”
“Why would they defect?” Lu Tang scoffed, telling Zhe Qing, “They won their battles. And given what happened before, they simply couldn’t afford to return alive. If I were them, I would have faked my death on the way back, seized an opportunity to slip away, and bided my time staying alive is what matters most.”
Zhe Qing inexplicably felt her eyes redden. She nodded continuously, growing emotional as she covered her face and wept.
For the very first time, someone had told her: Your mother didn’t defect; your mother was framed.
She cried out in pain, sounding aggrieved yet unwilling to surrender.
Lu Tang sighed, comforting her: “Did those restaurants have clues about them that day? Is that why you went even though you knew it was dangerous?”
Zhe Qing nodded through her tears. “I am alive simply to prove their innocence.”
She suppressed her sobs, covering her mouth with her hand. She looked utterly fragile, as if enveloped by a layer of gloomy haze, trying desperately to break free yet ending up bruised all over.