Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, His Majesty summons you to the Zhenghe Hall for a visit,” the Grand Eunuch by the Emperor’s side said respectfully to Gu Yi.
Gu Qingcheng nodded at him and said, “Mm, Gu will go right away, thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Fu.”
Eunuch Fu bowed lower and hurriedly said, “This humble servant does not dare to accept such high praise from Your Royal Highness.”
Even though he was the Grand Eunuch, he still did not dare to offend this Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace.
At only eighteen years of age, he had made a name for himself in that court filled with abyssal depths, becoming thoroughly adept at clinking cups and putting on social facades.
He had even been to the battlefield; at the tender age of twelve, he followed the current grand general, Ye Zhenyan, onto the battlefield, and his first time killing someone was at age seven.
Among his peers, those who could contend with him could be counted on one’s fingers, but if one spoke of someone whose power and status could match him, it was only Regent Xu Yan.
Because of certain reasons, Gu Qingcheng had not yet met this Regent, but he had heard plenty of rumors about him.
Regent Xu Yan, style name Yanjin, was fourteen years older than the Crown Prince and was already thirty-one years old.
At age seventeen, he was made a prince by a special exception, yet no one in the court raised any objections.
This Regent was certainly not a soft-hearted character, plus His Majesty and the Empress regarded him with extreme indulgence.
Rumors had it that his father could be said to have been completely indifferent or even cruel toward his mother.
For the sake of an outside concubine, he ruthlessly broke both legs of his legal primary wife.
And at that time, he was only six or seven years old. A five-year-old toddler watching his own father cripple his mother with his own eyes, what kind of experience was that!
That was still not the end; his biological sister was sold to a brothel by their father, and the reason his father did this was purely to please his concubine! Just to please her, he sent his own daughter to a brothel!
In the end, unable to bear the humiliation, the sister hanged herself in the brothel, and upon hearing the news, the mother also died of grief and resentment.
The only reason he was fine was because his father had no other sons; having ruined his body in his youth, he had no sons or daughters in his old age, which was why he had no choice but to keep him. Otherwise, he would not be living in this world right now.
Having watched with his own eyes his mother’s legs get broken, his sister get sent to a brothel to be used to please a concubine and then hang herself, and subsequently losing his mother as she left him behind, how could he possibly grow up to be a filial son? No one would believe it even if it were told.
His kindness was obliterated by his own biological father when he was five years old, leaving not a single trace behind.
Step by step, he became the chess player, playing everyone in the palm of his hand. First, he gave them hope, hoisting them high into the air, and just when everyone was excited and relaxed, he would ruthlessly drop them down, dealing them the heaviest blow. At that time, he was only an eleven-year-old child, yet he had already experienced all the coldness and warmth of this world.
Later on, relying on ruthless methods, he secured the position of Regent, at which time he was only seventeen, an age when others were still being cradled in their parents’ palms.
The world viewed him as an evil ghost, and even the eminent monks of Zhenkong Temple once advised him to be kind, saying, “Your Highness, practice benevolence, practice benevolence!”
Yet Xu Yanqi (Yanjin) only laughed heartily for a while after hearing this, and then smiled as he looked at the eminent monk, though the smile did not reach his eyes, asking, “Does the eminent monk know a saying?”
The eminent monk asked, “What saying?”
Xu Yanqi replied, “Without experiencing another person’s suffering, do not urge others to be kind. If you had undergone my suffering, you might not necessarily be as kind as I am.”
The suffering I have endured is something you have never experienced, yet the moment you open your mouth, you demand that people be kind, which is utterly laughable…
After saying this, he turned around and left without the slightest hesitation.
It took him merely two years to firmly establish himself in the position of Regent.
Gu Qingcheng collected his thoughts, a trace of darkness flashing through his eyes. He must find a chance to properly meet this betrothed Crown Prince Consort of his, saying, “Trouble Eunuch to lead the way.”
Eunuch Fu said, “This way, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”