TGCFNM -Chapter 359 I’m Ready

The room fell into silence for a moment.

Chu Ling slowly rose to her feet. “Let’s sort it out tomorrow during the day. Time for dinner.” With that, she headed for the door.

Wan Sanjin tugged at her sleeve. “My lord, if only one person in that scroll survived, does that mean he defected at the last moment?”

“How can you call it defecting? That’s called recognizing the times and choosing the wise course,” Chu Ling replied meaningfully, urging the two of them to hurry and eat.

Su He pulled Wan Sanjin along. “Uncle Hong was right—disaster comes from careless words.”

Wan Sanjin rolled his eyes. “Can’t I even talk nonsense in my own house?”

“Let’s go!” Su He dragged him off helplessly.

—

After dinner, Chu Ling told everyone to rest and leave the work for tomorrow.

Once she returned to her own room, she lit every oil lamp she could and sat back down before the stacks of books and records, casually picking one up.

“Master, look—Tianxia Zhi even investigated that this official spent the night at his mistress’s residence on the nineteenth of the sixth month. They’ve recorded everything in detail,” Chu Ling said.

Ghost Scholar paused. “The nineteenth of the sixth month was the late Empress’s death anniversary.”

Chu Ling’s eyes lit up. “Add that to his record!”

Bai Su looked at Ghost Scholar. “What are you planning to do?”

Ghost Scholar crouched down, his hand passing lightly over the books. After a brief pause, he withdrew it. “Since this court refuses to act, why let them maintain a façade of peace? We should tear off that outer layer of skin and let everyone see the rot and filth underneath.”

“If that happens, the capital will fall into chaos,” Bai Su said, glancing at Chu Ling, who was lowering her head and flipping through a volume.

Ghost Scholar slowly stood. “Once the capital is in chaos, someone will begin to make their move.”

Chu Ling looked up at him. “Actually, the capital is already chaotic. Every family is scrambling for advantage, and some are fishing in troubled waters, choosing sides everywhere. So it might as well become even more chaotic—accelerate the decay of this court. Without destruction, there can be no reconstruction.”

Ghost Scholar chuckled softly. “Exactly.”

“Master, are you planning to take advantage of the chaos to avenge yourself?” Chu Ling asked with a grin.

Ghost Scholar nodded. “That thought has crossed my mind.”

Chu Ling immediately grew excited. “Then how do you plan to begin?”

“The first step: solve the Huakui case at the Canghua Pavilion and drag the Xuanyuan family into it. Then, following the threads that extend from the Xuanyuan family, we’ll dig out the hidden lines one by one,” Ghost Scholar said.

Chu Ling sat cross-legged. “Only targeting the Xuanyuan family?”

Ghost Scholar nodded. “The Xuanyuan family… is the Empress Dowager’s maternal clan.”

Chu Ling’s eyes widened in shock.

“I remember Hong Shiyuan once said that the Empress Dowager and His Majesty are not biological mother and son,” Ghost Scholar continued.

Chu Ling nodded. Uncle Hong had indeed mentioned that.

Ghost Scholar sat down cross-legged as well, leaning against a chest of books, and began recounting old palace secrets to Chu Ling.

“What Hong Shiyuan said was already quite detailed. I’ll just add a little more.”

“After the late emperor passed fifty, his mind began to deteriorate. He grew violent and bloodthirsty. If anything displeased him, he would even order the extermination of an official’s entire household. People in both the court and the harem truly lived as if treading on thin ice.”

“There had been a Crown Prince in the previous dynasty. But because of an inappropriate birthday tribute, he was accused of plotting to usurp the throne. The emperor ruthlessly ordered him executed, and even the Empress was implicated. Later, the late emperor became obsessed with alchemy and eventually died from elixir poisoning.”

“At that time, in the harem, the Empress Dowager had been nothing more than a low-ranking Noble Consort, and the current emperor was merely the son of an unfavored concubine. No one paid the two of them any attention. Everyone was sharpening their blades, preparing to seize the throne.”

“In such a harem, the Empress Dowager—a mere Noble Consort—forced her way through by allying with a branch of the Xuanyuan family. She supported the emperor’s ascension and claimed the seat of Empress Dowager for herself. Afterwards, to secure her rule, she directly executed a number of dissatisfied court officials. She even showed no scruples toward the Four Great Clans.”

“When she finally stabilized both the court and the harem, reinstated the imperial examinations, and replenished the court with new talent, she was only twenty-five. The emperor had just turned sixteen.”

Chu Ling couldn’t help but exclaim, “What a formidable woman.”

“She is indeed ruthless and capable. In order to secure her position, she has done many things I won’t recount one by one. In short, don’t mistake her for some ordinary old woman. Even in her old age, she remains the most powerful person in Great Zhou. I would even say that the emperor himself would not confront her head-on,” Ghost Scholar said gravely.

“Then why are you still planning to make a move against the Xuanyuan family first?” Chu Ling asked curiously.

Ghost Scholar nodded. “Not only because the Empress Dowager once deliberately lured an assassination attempt—but also because we suspect Bai Zhuoxing is her man. If that’s the case, then Bai Zhuoxing’s killing of Nangong Jue becomes questionable.”

“Nangong Rong was the one who betrayed the former Crown Prince back then. Now he is the Prime Minister, and the emperor greatly trusts the Nangong family…” Chu Ling murmured.

Bai Su was completely bewildered. “What does that mean?”

Chu Ling looked at Ghost Scholar in shock. “Master… could it be that a rift has formed between the Empress Dowager and the emperor? Why?”

Ghost Scholar looked at her steadily. “There are only eternal interests, never eternal allies. In Great Zhou, there is room for only one sovereign.”

There was no need for two decision-makers.

“But back then, the Empress Dowager handed over power. They lived in peace for decades. Now that they’re both old and near death, they start fighting?” Chu Ling couldn’t understand.

“When the Empress Dowager relinquished power, it seemed voluntary. In truth, it was more out of helplessness… And, Lord Chu, you have probably guessed the identities of Bai Su and me. I’ll tell you this: the affairs handled by the former Crown Prince were also overseen by the Empress Dowager.”

Chu Ling licked her dry lips, feeling a surge of unease. “They say women of the harem cannot interfere in politics. But in reality, the Empress Dowager has always been interfering—and even the emperor could do nothing about it.”

One Great Zhou. Two sovereigns.

The two had cooperated smoothly for years, maintaining a delicate balance—until someone shattered it.

“The former Crown Prince!”

Chu Ling suddenly spoke. “So the former Crown Prince broke the balance between them, making both realize that one day they would each lose power.”

“Those who have tasted power would never willingly relinquish it. When you stand at the top, all others are but ants,” Ghost Scholar said with a bitter smile as he gazed at the ceiling.

How utterly absurd.

“So on the surface, it looks like the four princes are fighting for the throne. But in reality, it’s the Empress Dowager and the emperor who are fighting… They’re both so old already—what’s the point of winning?” Chu Ling still couldn’t comprehend.

“That is why there must be chaos. They must be forced to bring their struggle into the open. Otherwise, this endless back-and-forth will only make the common people suffer,” Ghost Scholar said, frowning.

Chu Ling nodded. “I understand.”

So the first move would be against the Xuanyuan family. And since Xuanyuan was the Empress Dowager’s maternal clan, if this case were pursued, wouldn’t that mean the emperor was formally declaring war on her?

“I wonder what the emperor thought after I played him like that. Anyway, I’m quite pleased,” Chu Ling said.

Ghost Scholar looked at her. “We handle only the cases. We don’t get too deeply entangled. Keep watch on the shifting winds and act when the time is right. Only then can we withdraw unscathed.”

Chu Ling clenched her fist. “I’m ready!”