Chapter 310 – Childhood Acquaintance (1)
When Huangfu Chen heard that Mo Rongzhan had invited him to the imperial study, he shook his head and smiled, not in the least surprised. He then followed the palace attendant.
When he saw the man enter, Mo Rongzhan, with gloom dripping from his face asked coldly, “When did you come back?”
“A couple of days ago.” Huangfu Chen bowed. Before Mo Rongzhan could speak, he had already sat down in the chair next to him. An onlooker could deem this as impertinence, but the two men knew this was absolutely called for. “Your Imperial Majesty wanted to see me so urgently. Is it possible that you wanted to reminisce with me?”
Mo Rongzhan shot him a faint glance. “Why didn’t you tell me you had returned?”
“I was afraid that you didn’t remember me anymore,” Huangfu Chen said with a smile.
“When I could see again, I had told you that I wouldn’t let Ye Yisong go,” Mo Rongzhan said in a low voice. The man who had cured his blindness had also once advised him to refrain from going on a killing spree after he took the throne. The ones he had killed the most had been the Ye Family, sparing no one in the end.
Huangfu Chen took the teacup next to him and used the lid to lightly stir the liquid inside. His gaze fell on the tea water, voice still soft and gentle, he asked, “Yes, Ye Yisong was deserving of death, but there were other innocent people. In so doing, what was the difference between you and a tyrant?”
Mo Rongzhan looked at Huangfu Chen sharply. He knew this man didn’t mince his words and wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. It was also something he admired in him. “With Ye Yisong’s power uncontested, none of his retainers were innocent of being tyrannical. They ran amuck, hara.s.sing everyone, everywhere. I want everyone in the world to know that treacherous officials will see a fitting end.”
“You know who I’m talking about, Your Imperial Majesty.” Huangfu Chen put down the cup and looked at Mo Rongzhan flatly. “I’m talking about your father-in-law, the father of your original wife, and your brother-in-law. You are completely aware of the fact that they were innocent. If it weren’t for your father-in-law who was secretly helping you, how could you have easily gotten the food and gra.s.s? Did they deserve to die as well?”
[Food and gra.s.s= military rations]
Mo Rongzhan’s thin lips pressed tightly. Looking at his childhood friend, he only said, “Ye Yiqing and Ye Chunnan are not dead. The entire kingdom wanted the Ye Family to be executed, and I did order this edict, but the two are not dead.”
“Where are Ye Yiqing and his son now?” Huangfu Chen looked at Mo Rongzhan with surprise. He hadn’t expected that he would let them go. His heart lept in joy at the unexpected information.
“I had originally planned to let people send them to Dongqing, but as of now, their whereabouts remain unknown,” Mo Rongzhan said lightly.
Huangfu Chen frowned. “How could they be missing? Where is Ye Yiqing?”
“How would I know?” Mo Rongzhan snorted coldly. He had sent people looking for them, but they had all returned empty handed. “How come you know Ye Yiqing and care about him so much?”
“He once helped me.” Huangfu Chen said, “One more thing —”
Mo Rongzhan angrily said, “Are you ever finished?”
“You know what I want to ask!” Huangfu Chen looked at him squarely. “If you could let Ye Yiqing go, why couldn’t you let Ye Zhen go? She was sincere to you.”
“I didn’t want her to die. I wanted to place her in the palace. She was unwilling.” When they spoke of Ye Zhen, Mo Rongzhan’s tone became colder.
Huangfu Chen said, “Ye Yiqing must have left because of his daughter’s death.”
“Ye Zhen and Ye Yiqing were not the same kind of people. She was Ye Yisong’s servant.” Mo Rongzhan said coldly, “Why did she marry me? To monitor me. She was already in an affair with the prince, I saw her meeting with him!”
He refused to believe that he had wronged her. He was clear on this matter, and he was adamantly sticking to it no matter what.
“Just meeting with the prince doesn’t prove anything.” Huangfu Chen retorted and turned silent for a moment, saying a word in his heart for Ye Zhen, who he had never known.
Mo Rongzhan said lightly, “It doesn’t matter anymore now.”
Huangfu Chen nodded lightly. Many things weren’t important now. After all, people couldn’t come back to life. Ye Yisong was indeed sinful. What Mo Rongzhan did to the Ye Family was an act for the people, as he should as an emperor. Truly, he couldn’t even say that he(MRZ) was at fault.
“Then I’ll leave now.” He stood up to say goodbye.
Mo Rongzhan called out coldly, “I haven’t finished talking yet, why are you in such a hurry to leave?”
“If you want to know what I said to Empress Dowager, then ask Her Imperial Highness yourself, what are you tossing around with me for?” Huangfu Chen looked back at Mo Rongzhan, amused.
“Lu Yaoyao cannot be a princess,” Mo Rongzhan said in a voice lowly.
Huangfu Chen quirked his eyebrows and looked at him. “What is the reason for upholding the Lu Family?”
“It has nothing to do with upholding the Lu Family.” Mo Rongzhan looked away, not wanting the other to see his emotions.
Only
“I only said what I should say,” Huangfu Chen said.
“How did you get to know Lu Yaoyao?” Mo Rongzhan did not forget the scene from yesterday, he still felt sour now when he thought about it.
A look of surprise flashed in Huangfu Chen’s eyes. “From tomorrow on, she will be my student.”
When Mo Rongzhan heard this, the jealousy in his heart immediately disappeared. “You’re going to the academy to teach?”
“Yes.” Huangfu Chen nodded.