No Heart for Rebellion, but the Power to Rebel

Chen Du didn't reply, he just looked at him.

Zhao Zheng didn't need him to respond.

He continued speaking to himself, as if he were challenging himself. "In my life, Zhao Zheng has been loyal to the Divine Dynasty. When the late emperor was alive, I guarded the Northern Border for twenty years and never returned to the Capital. When Wei Changgeng caused chaos in the government, I raised an army to purge the court of corrupt officials, not for that chair, but for the Zhao family's empire."

As regent, I toiled day and night, reforming the bureaucracy, quelling rebellions, and pulling the Divine Dynasty back from the brink of collapse. What did I do wrong? In what way did I offend the ancestors of the Zhao family?

His voice gradually rose, carrying the resentment that had been suppressed for too long.

But in the end, her voice sank again, replaced by exhaustion. "But why doesn't he believe me? He's my nephew, when he was little..."

He didn't finish speaking; he simply shook his head.

Chen Du remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Although you have no intention of rebelling, you have the ability to do so."

Zhao Zheng was stunned.

Chen Du continued, "Back then, Wei Changgeng, an outsider, was able to assassinate the emperor and seize the throne. How much more so you? You are his uncle, you hold military power, and your word is law in the court."

He sits on the dragon throne, looking at you standing before him. What do you think he'll think? He won't worry about whether you might rebel. He'll think, "If you wanted to rebel, you could do so anytime. That's why he's afraid of you."

After listening, Zhao Zheng remained silent for a long time.

Then, he suddenly laughed.

The laughter rolled out of his throat, first low, then growing louder and louder, finally turning into a roaring laugh.

He laughed so hard his whole body was shaking, and tears were almost streaming down his face.

He slammed his hand on the table, causing the wine cups to bounce and roll to the ground. "Good! What a talent for treason!"

He laughed loudly, his voice full of self-mockery, "I, Zhao Zheng, have lived my whole life thinking I'm shrewd, but I never expected to be defeated by these four words: treasonous ability. Yes, yes, I misunderstood."

He laughed until he stopped, leaned against the table, and took a few breaths.

Then he looked up at Chen Du, his eyes no longer filled with confusion, only calm. "Senior, thank you."

"I need to end this."

Chen Du understood the implication in his words and frowned. "You want to find a way out of this impasse by sacrificing yourself?"

Zhao Zheng did not answer directly.

He lowered his head, picked up the broken pieces of the wine cup from the ground, and slowly twirled them in his hand. "Right and wrong, let posterity judge."

He said in a calm tone, as if he had thought about it countless times before, "I have a clear conscience. Now that things have come to this, why must they escalate to the point of chaos? Wouldn't it be worth it to exchange my death for world peace?"

And my wife and children..." He paused, "... if I die, they won't be watching them anymore."

Chen Du looked at him without saying a word.

He was thinking about something else entirely.

The Regent was still too naive. To exchange the death of one person for the stability of the world? The world will never be at peace because of the death of one person. But he didn't say it aloud.

Zhao Zheng has made up his mind. It's a decision he couldn't make.

Chen Du stood up and poured the last bit of wine from the wine pot into the cup in front of Zhao Zheng.

Zhao Zheng picked up his wine cup, nodded slightly to him, and then drank the inferior wine in one gulp.

The liquor was very spicy, so spicy that his eyes stung.

But in his heart, he felt much more relaxed than before.

Chen Du put down his wine cup and looked at Zhao Zheng.

This man, who had served as regent for so many years, sat before a low table, his hair disheveled and his eyes sunken. Yet, when he uttered the words, "I will sacrifice myself to bring peace to the world," his tone was as calm as if he were speaking of something he had already planned.

"Are you sure?" Chen Du asked.

Zhao Zheng nodded. "The young emperor is my own nephew. I watched him grow up, taught him to read, and taught him riding and archery. When he was little, he was afraid of the dark and dared not sleep alone. I stayed with him in the imperial study by lamplight until dawn."

But as he grew older, the way he looked at me grew colder and colder. At first, I thought I was just imagining things, but later I realized that it wasn't that he didn't trust me, it was that he didn't trust the position.

He paused, picked up his wine cup, but it was empty. "He was afraid of me, afraid that I would sit in the chair he was sitting in. Even though I never intended to sit there."

"So you want to die," Chen Du said.

"Once I'm dead, he won't be afraid anymore." Zhao Zheng smiled. "After I die, he will give me a posthumous title, build a mausoleum, and write a monument to my merits. He will cry in the court and say that his uncle was loyal and was deceived by treacherous people."

He'll put on a good show, and then he'll take care of those who plotted against me, one by one. A new emperor needs to kill a few people to establish his authority.

With my death, he easily regained power, and those opportunists in the court dared not make a move again, thus stabilizing the country."

Chen Du was silent for a moment, then said, "Have you thought about something?"

"What?"

"What will happen to your wife and children after you die?" Chen Du looked at him. "You said they wouldn't get involved, but you offended so many people while you were in power."

If you die, will those people spare your wife and children? Will the young emperor protect them? No, he'd rather they were dead. He wants to eliminate them completely to prevent future troubles.

"While you're alive, they still have to scheme against you; now that you're dead, they don't even need to pretend anymore."

Zhao Zheng's fingers stopped on the rim of the cup. He lowered his head, stared at the empty cup, and remained silent for a long time.

Chen Du continued, "You say you have a clear conscience, but living with a clear conscience is more useful than dying with a clear conscience. If you die, the world may not be at peace, but if you live, at least your wife and children won't be at the mercy of others."

He stood up and poured the last bit of wine from the flask into Zhao Zheng's cup. "I've finished speaking. Think about it yourself."

Zhao Zheng raised his head and watched the hunched old jailer walk towards the door.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he simply picked up his wine cup and drank the cheap wine in one gulp.

The liquor was very spicy, so spicy that his eyes stung.

When Chen Du walked out of the side hall, he did not look back.

Regent Zhao Zheng was more naive than he had imagined.

Or rather, he was more stubborn than he had anticipated.

They were wholeheartedly devoted to the Heavenly Dragon Divine Dynasty, but the Heavenly Dragon Divine Dynasty was rotten to the core.

He vanished into the night in a flash.

Behind them, the lights in the side hall were still on.

But how long can that lamp stay lit?

The following day, Regent Zhao Zheng entered the palace alone.

He brought no attendants or guards, and wore only plain-colored everyday clothes as he walked through the palace gate.

Upon seeing this, the imperial guards along the way all bowed their heads in salute, and no one dared to stop them.

He walked to the front of the imperial study, stood there for a while, and then pushed the door open and went in.

The young emperor sat on the dragon throne, waiting for him. What the uncle and nephew discussed, no one knows.

The door to the imperial study remained closed for the entire afternoon. The eunuchs and maids guarding outside could only vaguely hear occasional hushed conversations coming from inside, but they couldn't make it out clearly.

As evening fell, Zhao Zheng emerged from the imperial study, his expression calm.

He returned to the Regent's Palace, called only his wife and children in, and then dismissed them.