After standing at the door for a while, the emperor entered the room, looked up at the stairs, and slowly climbed the stairs holding on to them.
The house had been empty for a year and was covered with dust. The handrails left marks wherever his hands touched, but the emperor seemed not to notice. He walked up the stairs slowly, looked at the equally empty second floor, then walked to the railing and leaned down. Lai Fu hurried over to support him, but he waved him away.
Looking down from here, he could see most of the first floor. He seemed to see Hua Yi standing here and talking, while a group of students were standing or standing, they were in high spirits and talking a lot. Here, there were no conflicts of interest, no mutual attacks, and no flashy things. Here, they drank tea to quench their thirst, and then became more fully involved. Even if they argued, it was because of different ideas and opinions, and then they could turn around and clap their hands to celebrate because they agreed on a certain topic.
Therefore, Hua Zhi would be angry at the Wei family for turning the Qingtan Society into a mess. She was angry that the students saw the benefits of power before their minds were stable. She was probably also annoyed that he let the Wei family organize the Qingtan Society, leaving those students who had studied hard for many years at a loss as to where to go.
Thinking of Hua Zhi's angry and powerful words, the emperor twitched the corner of his mouth. If the Qingtanhui was really like this, he could understand where her anger came from.
"Exiling the Hua family, Yan Xi, do you think I was wrong?"
Gu Yanxi was a little surprised that the emperor would ask this, but he knew the emperor. He would not say this because he really felt that he was wrong, so he just replied calmly, "Thunder and rain are all grace from the emperor. I think Mr. Hua thinks so too."
How could the emperor not hear his perfunctory response? He chuckled and wiped his already dirty fingers on the fence, making them even dirtier. "The He family was once powerful. When they fell, all the civil and military officials in the court pleaded for them to save their women. But what is left of the He family now? It hasn't been long since the Tong family fell, and everything has been divided up. The Fang family, the Wu family, all of them are like this, except for the Hua family."
The emperor turned around and looked at the pile of futons in the corner. "The Hua family has been exiled for a year, but since the incident, apart from a few in-laws who wanted to take advantage, and the Feng and Wei families who have always been at odds with each other, have other people made any moves? They didn't help because they were afraid that I would prove their guilt of forming a clique. Look at all the students. When Qin passed away, they sent her off all over the city. When they took the autumn examination, they handed in their name cards to the Hua family as in previous years. This is their attitude. Don't say it's because the Hua family has Hua Zhi. Even without her, the Hua family can still settle down in this capital and wait for the day of a comeback."
The emperor laughed at himself, "I cannot tolerate the Hua family. How can I tolerate them? If the Hua family rebels one day, the country will be in the hands of the Hua family. Can you trust me?"
Gu Yanxi had always thought that the emperor was just afraid of the Hua family's reputation among the literati, but she didn't know there was such a far-reaching reason. Was it to prevent trouble before it happens? To put it bluntly, he was still afraid.
"What would have happened to the Hua family's women if the Queen Mother hadn't saved them?"
"All exiled."
Gu Yanxi was not surprised at all. He pulled the corner of his mouth and smiled, "When I went to Yinshan Pass, I heard Master Hua say something."
The Emperor turned and looked at him.
"When Taizu was about to pass away, Hua Jingyan promised Taizu that the Hua family would live and die with Daqing. This was passed down from generation to generation in the Hua family as a will."
The emperor's pupils shrank, and then he smiled again, "If the Hua family takes control of Daqing, as long as they don't change the country's name, they can live and die with Daqing."
In the final analysis, he just didn't believe that the Hua family didn't have that ambition, but Gu Yanxi had no way to blame them. If someone else had the same reputation as the Hua family, he would also be on guard. So when the emperor sent a letter to the Hua family, he didn't say a word. But now he believes in Azhi, and through Azhi, he believes in the entire Hua family.
The emperor looked downstairs again. He originally wanted to use the Wei family to weaken the reputation of the Hua family, but instead it made him more aware of the importance of the Hua family. It was ridiculous!
Daqing will be in trouble without the Hua family!
At this moment, the emperor wished he could skin Wei Jing alive. He spoke so eloquently on a daily basis, but was so bad at doing things that he couldn't even control a woman from the Hua family. With such little ability, he dared to get involved in the Qingtan Club
Lai Fu stepped forward with his head lowered and reminded, "Your Majesty, it's getting late."
The emperor slowly walked down the stairs, walked to the door and looked back at Qingtan Building before leaving. If time could go back, he would still favor the Luohua family. Daqing could not have a family with such a great reputation. What would happen if one day one of them became stronger while the other declined
It would be better to use this to protect each other.
Gu Yanxi did not tell Azhi that the emperor went to the Hua family's old house, nor did she say where the problems of the Hua family lay. Even if she wanted to say it, it was not the right time.
It was only after seeing the library that he remembered the Hua family's current simple study room. The next day, he packed all his books and sent them to Azhi.
Hua Zhi accepted it happily, and hurriedly asked housekeeper Xu to have someone make a few large bookshelves. She also took Yan Xi, who was very strong and could be easily ordered around, to help tidy up the study. She thought that it might be a bit crowded after the bookshelves were finished, but that was also a good thing. How could the study feel empty if it was too empty
Gu Yanxi was infected by her happiness and his mood gradually improved. Why bother about the past now that it had come to this? He could just grasp the future. With him and Azhi, the Hua family would never make the same mistake again.
Xiaoliu appeared in front of Hua Zhi at noon on the fifth day, exhausted and terrified. He did not sit down on the ground until he saw Hua Zhi standing in front of him alive. All his fear was released and his body was shaking like a sieve.
The moment he got the news, he felt dizzy and even forgot to say goodbye to Berlin. He didn't want anything anymore and immediately returned with the person who came. It took several days to go back and forth. He was afraid that something unexpected would happen during these days, that Sister Hua would be punished by his father, and that the warmth he had received during these days was just a passing cloud and would be gone when he turned around.
Even the short breaks along the way were filled with nightmares. In the end, he didn't even dare to sleep. Some things, just thinking about them, would turn into nightmares, and if they really happened in his dreams, they would be mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Fortunately, fortunately, Sister Hua is fine and the Hua family is still there.
Hua Zhi walked forward and touched the child's head, wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, and tried her best to help the child stand up. Gu Yanxi saw that she was struggling and stepped forward to help her.
Liu Xiang poured some hot tea over and Hua Zhi asked her to urge Lan Qiao to prepare the meal quickly.
After drinking several sips of tea, Xiao Liu finally recovered a little and said in a hoarse voice: "The messenger was vague about what he said. What is going on? Why did my father suddenly..."
"I asked the Emperor to let you come back and follow me." Hua Zhi briefly explained the situation. "That is to say, you will have to stand out in the open from now on. Are you afraid?"