Dong Danyu answered truthfully, “General Pei was the first to follow him. He is the Chancellor’s favorite.”
Xie Shaoling’s eyes lingered on the earring on Pei Jingyi’s lobe. One look was enough to know it was Gu Huaiyu’s handiwork.
He had thought he was the only “favorite” beneath Gu Huaiyu’s robes. He hadn’t expected there to be another—and one who had been there much longer.
As if sensing something, Gu Huaiyu looked up and met Xie Shaoling’s resentful gaze.
?
What is he looking at me for?
The scene was becoming too unsightly, forcing Grand Preceptor Dong to step in and end it. He folded his hands in a deep bow, looking aged yet dignified.
“To hear the Late Emperor’s legacy today brings a tide of emotions to my heart. Chancellor Gu’s loyalty is a testament to his character, putting us all to shame—”
As he spoke, his voice began to choke up. When it came to acting, the old veterans of the court were all masters. “If the Late Emperor’s soul is watching from the heavens and sees such a loyal minister, he would surely smile with relief.”
Gu Huaiyu knew the old man was up to no good, but he couldn’t interrupt such a “decent” performance.
Grand Preceptor Dong let out a long sigh. “I am old and useless, knowing I can no longer gallop across the battlefield. Yet at this moment, I wish I could take up a spear and march to the borders of Eastern Liao to reclaim every inch of our mountains and rivers for the Late Emperor!”
Having pushed the room to a peak of righteous fervor, he suddenly shifted gears. “However, there is still one thing I do not understand. I beg the Chancellor to enlighten me.”
Gu Huaiyu lifted his chin slightly. “Pray tell, Grand Preceptor.”
Dong’s gaze swept over the hall before landing on the ashen-faced Qin Zijin. He patted Qin’s shoulder as if comforting a junior, but it was actually a signal to bring the focus back.
“Minister Qin has an old friend from a branch of the Gu family in Jiangnan, the same clan as the Chancellor. This friend once mentioned a past event during a casual chat.”
“It is said that during the wars of the 13th Year of Longping, the Chancellor’s parents died in the chaos. The Chancellor and the Empress Dowager were left to wander the streets, begging their way back to their hometown. Amidst the snow and wind, they nearly died multiple times before finally pulling through.”
“Such trials are truly tragic and heart-wrenching… however, I have one question.”
Grand Preceptor Dong’s eyes sharpened with a piercing light. He stared directly at Gu Huaiyu, his voice booming with forced strength: “In wanting to invade Eastern Liao today, is the Chancellor doing so for the Late Emperor’s wish and the common people?”
“Or is it to settle a personal vendetta?!”
The hall fell into a deathly silence.
The Pure Stream Faction members were secretly gloating. This move was aimed straight at Gu Huaiyu’s jugular. If it was proven that he was using national affairs to seek personal revenge, he would not only fail to go to war, but his position as Chancellor would be at risk!
You claim to stand neither with the civil nor the military officials, but only for Great Chen. If the source of this “grand righteousness” is nothing more than a blood feud…
Then wouldn’t the tower of faith you built with your own hands become a laughingstock?
In that case, no matter how great your reputation, who would dare entrust their lives to you?
Gu Huaiyu slowly narrowed his eyes, the smile vanishing from his lips. His expression became terrifyingly cold. “I have read the chronicles of the 13th Year of Longping. That year, the harvests failed, corpses piled up like mountains, and the casualties among the soldiers and civilians exceeded a million.”
“Among them, were there any of the Grand Preceptor’s relatives?”
Dong was taken aback by the question. He coughed and replied, “I had a student…”
Gu Huaiyu had no intention of listening to his grievances. He turned his gaze to Qin Zijin and flicked his chin.
Qin Zijin’s face paled. After a long pause, he answered, “A grand-uncle of mine died a tragic death at the hands of rebel soldiers.”
Gu Huaiyu didn’t need to ask anyone else. After a few breaths of silence, someone else spoke in a low voice:
“My elder brother died on the battlefield. His body was never found.”
“My son was conscripted that year. There has been no word from him since.”
“My father was traveling the Northwest grain route that year and encountered bandits…”
“My wife and I were separated during the chaos. We have never reunited; I still do not know if she is alive or dead…”
The voices broke out like a dam bursting, one after another, as if the suppressed sorrow and bloodied tears of many years were finally surging forth.
Elderly ministers bowed their heads to wipe away tears; young scholars in green robes knelt and wept. The sounds of mourning rose and fell throughout the hall.
The twenty-year-old scars were ruthlessly torn open. The high-ranking officials in their purple and crimson robes were no longer divided between the Pure Stream and Gu Factions; they were all just people who had drifted through a chaotic era.
Those who died that year might have fallen under the hooves of the Eastern Liao Iron Cavalry, or died at the hands of deserters and bandits, but most had starved or frozen to death on the road of flight.
