"When I was still a nobody, I t my master, Hao Yi. Without his selfless help and guidance, without the Refining Divine Skills Seed he left in the end, I could never have co this far."
"My master was a man whose heart was set on all the common folk under heaven, a pure idealist. He wished for this country to beco better, and for that he did not hesitate to sacrifice his own Martial Arts future and even his life!"
"All along my path, I never lacked any cultivation resources or secret manuals. What I relied on was the late Emperor's constant promotion. It was the late Emperor who allowed to cultivate without worry, my future free of concern. In the end he even condensed a Divine Skill for . That I could attain Five-Proofs Peak—without the Jing'an Divine Skills I absolutely could not have done it."
"On his deathbed, the late Emperor did not hesitate to consu the National Fortune to condense the Jing'an Divine Skills for , so that I would beco the National Pillar of the Da Lan Dynasty."
"If I were to rebel, I would be betraying the late Emperor's kindness and trust—that would be disloyal!"
"If I were to rebel, Marshal Wenren would surely stake life and death against . Commander Zuo Jun, and the White Fla Army, the Green Frost Army, the Sky Blue Cavalry... all those who once fought shoulder to shoulder with and entrusted their lives to would stand opposite with drawn blades. If I killed them, that would be unrighteous!"
"Once the sword is raised, ten years of calamity for the common people! If I were to rebel, regardless of the final outco, the realm would inevitably fall into chaos once more. Who knows how many innocent people would be dragged into it. If my master were still alive, he would certainly not wish to see such a scene. If my foster father and mother were to see the country plunged into turmoil again, corpses strewn across the land, they would feel no joy. That would be—to lack benevolence! To lack filial piety!"
"If I were to rebel, even if I finally succeeded, I would only beco a solitary wretch who is disloyal, unrighteous, neither benevolent nor filial. Your Majesty thinks I would choose such a path?"
Emperor Ziheng sat across from Li Fei, looked into his eyes, and shook his head.
For soone else, if they had the chance to beco Emperor, there is no atrocity they would not dare to commit!
History has never lacked such people.
But Li Fei is different.
The choices he has made all the way here, the Tao he has walked, have dood him never to beco that sort of person.
On this point, the forr Qin Ziheng might have harbored doubts. But now, standing at a new height, having undergone real tempests, he increasingly understands the contents of that letter Emperor Hong Guang left him.
"What Li Fei seeks is a life of unrestrained delight! How could he still be unrestrained after becoming Emperor?"
Li Fei laughed as he spoke.
Qin Ziheng also laughed.
Indeed, the Emperor appears to be the least constrained person under heaven, yet in truth he is the most constrained of all.
One Dragon Chair, one realm—how many heroes' lives has it imprisoned?
In the Imperial Garden, Qin Ziheng said to Sui Zihua:
"You need not worry about Duke Jing'an. So long as the Da Lan Dynasty does not fail him, he will never fail the Da Lan Dynasty!"
Sui Zihua gradually cald down, yet still could not help but ask:
"But Your Majesty, this ti... the losses to the Imperial Family..."
Ye Ze'an's main target was the Ten Gate Valves, but how many families have been implicated beyond those ten?
There are many royal family mbers like Duke Zhongguo and Prince Qing who were dragged in.
The Xiao Family, and the Sui Family of Duke Zhongguo—these can all be counted as the Emperor's staunchest supporters!
So for Li Fei and Ye Ze'an to weaken the Gate Valve clans, they inevitably also weaken the strength of the Imperial Family, dealing blows to the Emperor's "own people."
Just in the Central Cabinet alone, more than thirty cabinet officials have been thrown into prison. Across the twenty-three Provinces, how many officials will be implicated?
Among them are people who had followed the Emperor since he was the Crown Prince, those who have already transford from the forr "Crown Prince's Faction" into the "Emperor's Disciples."
Now these "Emperor's Disciples" have likewise been arrested!
No matter how one looks at it, this sowhat carries the flavor of changing dynasties!
No wonder Sui Zihua feels panic and fear because of it.
Qin Ziheng said with a smile:
"Before the operation began, Li Fei asked a question of on Ye Ze'an's behalf."
"What question?"
"Ye Ze'an wanted to ask this: Do I regard the Imperial Family as just another Gate Valve? Or do I regard the whole realm as one family?"
"..."
"If my vision reaches only as far as the rise and fall of my own house and surna, then the Imperial Family is but another Gate Valve. If my vision can encompass the entire realm, then all under heaven is my ho!"
Qin Ziheng tightly clasped the Empress's hand, brimming with unprecedented high spirits:
"If the Great Blue Dynasty's National Power flourishes, then the prosperity of my clan is secured. How could the rise and fall of a single house or surna shake my foundations?"
"Zihua, a person who can sacrifice nothing is destined to obtain nothing. To accomplish a feat never before accomplished, one must do what has never yet been done!"
"Without the fetters of the Gate Valves, the Great Blue Dynasty's National Power will keep rising, and an utterly unprecedented situation will erge!"
"Next we will mount an expedition to the Western Continent, truly unify the world. Under my hand the Great Blue Dynasty will reach a height never before attained!"
"Hundreds and thousands of years from now, whatever the situation then may be, my na will surely be rembered!"
Sui Zihua stared at him in a daze. From him she saw a kind of exultant, fanatical obsession, like that of a martyr.
This sort of obsession often appears in those inclined to extres—such as Hao Yi, such as Qing Xu, such as Li Fei, such as Ye Ze'an.
Now, Qin Ziheng seems to have beco such a person as well.
This Qin Ziheng felt unfamiliar to Sui Zihua.
"Perhaps... this is the innate disposition of the Qin Family imperial bloodline?"
Sui Zihua could not help thinking so.
That is why the late Emperor laid out his plans with his life, not hesitating to die for them.
That is why the forr Third Prince, knowing full well it was 'inviting a wolf into the house,' still strove to win one sliver of hope for himself.
That is why the forr Eldest Prince, knowing he would take the bla for another, still volunteered to beco King of the West Pole Country.
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