On the other side, Gu Yanxi returned to the imperial study, put a package on the ground, threw his clothes on the ground, knelt straight down, and spread out the package. On the top was the mask of the leader of the Seven Stars Division.
Lai Fu secretly raised his eyelids to glance at the emperor, then bowed and walked out of the house and closed the door.
Gu Yanxi raised his hand and tore off the human skin mask on his face. He used so much force that a hissing sound could be heard. His face turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye, but he seemed unaware of it. He threw the mask into the package and knelt on the ground. "I am disrespectful to the emperor. Please demote me to a commoner."
"Gu Yanxi, are you threatening me? Just for Hua Zhi?"
"I dare not take myself so seriously." Gu Yanxi raised his head. "I have been following you since I was ten years old. I have received your teachings and protection. I have never forgotten these. Since I entered the Seventh Mansion at the age of seventeen, from the moment I opened my eyes in the morning to the moment I closed my eyes at night, I have been thinking about how to share your worries. I have tried my best to protect my Daqing and you. You wanted a relative who could make you feel at ease, so I scratched my face and didn't even dare to get too close to my own sister. You wanted a capable minister, so I ran all over the country."
Seeing the increasingly gloomy face of his uncle, Gu Yanxi smiled, "I don't want anything. I only want Hua Zhi in my life. If you can't tolerate her, then I don't want anything. I'll just be a commoner and stay by her side. She won't despise me. Please help me because I haven't slacked off for a moment in all these years."
The emperor was shocked and angry. He had expected Yan Xi to have a quarrel with him, and he had thought about how to appease him, but he didn't expect that he would just quit. He could see that this boy was not threatening him, but really intended to give up everything just to be with Hua Zhi!
He picked up the paperweight and threw it at Gu Yanxi. The jade paperweight hit Gu Yanxi's face. He took it without dodging. Soon his cheek became visibly swollen.
"I don't believe you can't see that I never intended to kill her from the beginning!" The emperor was so angry that he stood up and leaned forward with his hands on the table. "Letting her enter the palace was just a test. If she really nodded, such a woman would not be worthy of your true love. Her choice proves that you didn't make a mistake. Didn't I not touch her? What are you making a fuss about?"
"You put the whole country's efforts on her alone to accomplish something that would take many years to accomplish, and threatened her with all the people in the Hua family. Do you say you didn't touch her? How is this different from beheading her on the spot?" Gu Yanxi raised his head, "What's wrong with what she said? Internal troubles are constant, external troubles are imminent, and the treasury is empty. Are you trying to drag the Daqing Dynasty to death by repairing the water conservancy at this time? If the people are hurt, where will the soldiers be replenished? Without soldiers, how can we fight at the border? It's easy for you to talk, but you turn a blind eye to these problems. Isn't the stability of the country more important than a false reputation?"
"To me, that is not an empty reputation. It is proof that I have been in this world once in my lifetime!"
“Is this more important than the stability of Daqing?”
"To me, it is." The emperor's tone and expression were extremely cold. "I have gone through many trials and tribulations to get to this position. I don't want to be laughed at by them in the underworld one day for being incompetent and occupying this position but accomplishing nothing. This is more important to me than anything else!"
Gu Yanxi was speechless, he knew what his uncle wanted, but he didn't expect that he had been so obsessed. However, a false reputation could be more important than the country, so why should he work so hard to protect it
Gu Yanxi slumped down, looking dejected, and said in a deep voice, "Gu Yanxi, I ask to be demoted to a commoner."
The emperor's breathing became heavier. He dragged his heavy steps to the front of him and looked down at the nephew who had made him feel extremely relieved. "Are you so impatient to live and die with Hua Zhi?"
"yes."
"You're willing to lose me and your grandmother?"
"My grandmother loves me and will help me achieve my goal."
"I don't love you? Who in the whole court doesn't know that I treat the prince more kindly than the prince? Is it so difficult to fulfill my wish?"
Gu Yanxi smiled bitterly, "How can I accomplish something that I can't do? Teach me, how can I accomplish it?"
"How do you know you can't do it if you don't try?" Seeing that he was a little reluctant, the emperor's face became even more sad. "Yan Xi, I don't have many years left to live. Can't you fulfill your uncle's wish?"
"If there is any possibility, I will try my best, but this matter... is impossible. I can't conjure up millions of manpower, or mountains of gold and silver. Tell me, how can I accomplish anything without money and people wanting it?"
Gu Yanxi looked up and asked for an answer. How could the emperor answer him? Just as he said, if someone had money, why would he go through such a big detour and bring Hua Zhi into the relationship even at the cost of hurting the relationship between him and Yanxi. Wasn't it because he saw her ability to turn stone into gold
As long as Hua Zhi supported him, he would have money and manpower, and they would just have to perform corvée labor for a few years. It seemed that the Chaoli tribe wanted to make a comeback, but from the tricks they used, it was obvious that they did not have the capital to attack by force, otherwise why would they resort to these tricks that they once looked down upon? He really didn't believe it was such a coincidence that they broke in when he was digging the canal.
The emperor felt that this could be done. He was slightly excited. He threw his sleeves and said, "Don't scare me. Even if you and Hua Zhi are willing to sacrifice your lives, she can't bear to sacrifice those people in the Hua family who hold her back. You wait and see what she can come up with. By the way, go to the storehouse and grab some good things for Hua Zhi. This is my compensation to her."
Gu Yanxi wanted to laugh, and he actually laughed out loud. He supported himself on the ground and stood up. Looking at his uncle, whose figure was no longer as tall and majestic as it was in the past, and who was no longer as high-spirited as when he saved him, he said softly, "You often say that you treat me like a son, and no other prince can be as close to us. However, no father would be willing to force his son to die, and no father would say that it's okay for you to sacrifice your life. You are the king, and I am the minister. It has always been like this, and it's all I can ask for."
After bowing his head three times, Gu Yanxi severed this family relationship that could not withstand any storm. From then on, the king was the king and the minister was the minister.
"I'll take my leave."
Picking up the package he had brought in and putting on the mask of the leader of the Qishu Division, Gu Yanxi retreated politely.
The emperor looked at his nephew, who had dared to kick his door, control his meals, and force him to take medicine, with a sullen face, "Yan Xi, are you trying to draw a line between you and me?"
"I overstepped my bounds before, but now I am 25 years old and it is time for me to be sensible." After bowing deeply again, Gu Yanxi opened the door and strode away.
The emperor felt upset, and the more he thought about it, the more upset he felt. He smashed the imperial study room, but still couldn't quench the anger in his heart. He just wanted to do something, so why was it so unforgivable? !