Fu Rou was shocked. Her eyes reflected disbelief. “Yang Bo, you…”
Yang Bo cut her off, “Do you still remember my good brother, Yang Hou? Because he helped the palace maid, Li Chun’er, bring arsenic to kill rats in the palace, he was beaten to death by Empress Zhangsun. A person’s life is not even worth rats. I swore to avenge him. The best revenge against Zhangsun is to help Prince Zhou ascend the throne and forever be above Zhangsun’s sons.”
Fu Rou’s eyes were filled with pain. “You are willing to throw away the citizens' future just for revenge?”
Yang Bo spoke, “No. It is like you said. I want to do something huge. I want to save Great Sui, which has been forgotten by people and become the hero of Great Sui.”
Fu Rou felt pathetic. “Do you know how the brutal Sui Court tyrannized the citizens? Do you know how many people have died far away from their homes because of the forced heavy labour? Because of your personal revenge, your personal gains, you caused hundreds of thousands of people to suffer what happened in the past all over again?”
Chief Cao turned to leave. “Why do you need to bother talking to her? Yang Bo, let’s go!”
Yang Bo paused for a while and ultimately forced himself to say, “The world is so big and has nothing to do with me. I am a practical person. I will be good to whoever treats me well. I will take revenge on anyone that has maltreated me. Court Lady Fu, you have always been good to me. This time, I have wronged you. When I succeed, I will repay you.”
Fu Rou’s eyes widened as she saw Yang Bo leave with Chief Cao. She slid down the wall in disappointment and hugged her knees. She thought that as long as she was true to others, she would be able to gain their sincerity in return. However, ultimately, she could not win over people’s desires. A human’s heart was hard to comprehend. She had overestimated herself.
She did not know how long she sat for. Bom bom bom! Someone was knocking on the window!
Fu Rou looked up. She never expected it to be Attendant Huang.
“Have you sided with Concubine Yan as well?” She was too foolish. This was Concubine Yan’s palace. How could Yang Bo have found a way in?
“Even if I want to, would Chief Cao let me? I have always been a thorn in his eye. If I gain power, won’t he come for my life? Now, I can only hang on this unreliable tree of yours. Fu Rou, you can’t quit now. Empress Wende looked upon you so highly. She was hoping for you to save everyone.”
She laughed bitterly when she heard this. “They have already taken the Emperor’s Seal away. What else can I do?”
“With effort, one can achieve anything. There is no battle that is guaranteed to fail.” Attendant Huang had been forced to be anxious.
This phrase echoed in Fu Rou’s heart. She suddenly remembered Chumu telling her something similar. When the battle was not in your favour, one had to make the best use of everything they got. In this palace, Concubine Yan and Prince Zhou’s true opposition was not her and Attendant Huang.
Chapter 97.1: Seizing the Palace
The river flowed continuously. Suddenly, numerous dots of lights appeared and two heads could be seen. One was Sheng Chumu and the other was Sheng Chuling. Sheng Chuling spat out a mouthful of water and was about to cough when his elder brother covered his mouth.
“Keep quiet!” Sheng Chumu looked at the forest in front of them. He could vaguely make out the tents of the Hundred Army. He was secretly rejoicing that the general that replaced him did not change the location.
Sheng Chuling grumbled, “It is so far, who would hear us? Moreover, my Xinnan is not a fish, why did you bring me underwater for?”
There were so many miracles that happened this year. His elder brother had resurrected for the second time and returned home in great spirits. Following that, Sheng Chumu told him that Xinnan did not die but only pretended to be dead and was currently hiding in the palace with Fu Rou’s help. She was still safe. As soon as he heard this, Chuling’s spirits raised greatly. He intended to follow his elder brother to sneak into the palace and save his wife. But, this place did not look like the palace.
“Chang’an’s commander has been changed and no one can be trusted. Minister Fang and the other ministers have all been summoned to the palace and this is the only place where we can get help.” Sheng Chumu did not wait for his younger brother to speak. “The Restricted Area has the Wei River in the north, Chang’an in the west, the Royal Palace in the South and the Chan River in the East. It is a crucial point in military affairs. Why do you think the Emperor would let me train the Hundred Army in the Restricted Area?”
Sheng Chuling thought about it and was astonished, “Could it be that the Emperor suspected that a day like this would come and decided to prepare first? But you only have a hundred men under you, can you really reverse things?”
Sheng Chumu laughed proudly, “Well, we will have to try to find out!” As he spoke, he pushed himself onto shore and silently ran into the forest.
Ye Qiulang and Zong Jianxiu led the Hundred Army through the forest. They managed not to alert the new commander. Very soon, they gathered by the river. Sheng Chumu walked out and Sheng Chuling followed him. Everyone was emotional as they cupped their fists and greeted him. They all lowered their voices and shouted, “General.”
Sheng Chumu smiled, revealing his white teeth. “Did you all miss me?”
Zong Jianxiu grinned, “Of course. Brother Ye missed you more than his Yan’er.”
Ye Qiulang elbowed Zong Jianxiu. “General, you are finally back. We have waited a long time for you.”
Sheng Chumu turned serious. “Skills are not learned in a day. Did you all degrade?”
Ye Qiulang and Zong Jianxiu replied simultaneously, “Of course not.”
“Very good.” Sheng Chumu nodded. “As you all know, when I went to Fu Shui’s Villa to rescue Sheng Chuling, I got ambushed. Fu Shui’s identity is extremely suspicious yet he entered the palace as an Imperial Physician and treated the Emperor. Until now, the Emperor has yet to awake and there have been huge changes and personnel movements in court. Today, Prince Zhou summoned all the ministers and officials to court and I have reason to suspect that there is a conspiracy going on.”
Zong Jianxiu spoke first, “Are they conspiring to take the throne?”
Ye Qiulang was very direct. “General, what do you want us to do?”
Sheng Chumu replied, “Take hold of the Royal Palace and get rid of the evil.”
“Take hold of the Royal Palace? You want to take hold of the Royal Palace with just a hundred of you? Don’t you know the Royal Palace has high walls and deep courtyards?! It has copper walls and barriers!” Sheng Chuling was once an imperial guard and proudly believed that the protection of the palace was invulnerable.
Sheng Chumu was composed. “This is the Restricted Area with Chang’an to our west and the Royal Palace to our south. Between us and the Royal Palace, there is only one Xuanwu Gate. The Hundred Army knows the Xuanwu Gate as well as the formations of the Imperial Guards very well. We have already practiced and gone through this many times, including how to deal with seizing the throne.”
Ye Qiulang had a sudden realisation. “No wonder the Emperor did not intervene when we did those practices that should have been tabooed. So the reason why he arranged General to be in the Restricted Area was because…”
Sheng Chumu continued, “For Great Tang.”
Sheng Chuling’s mouth fell open slightly, “I see.”
To think that back then, he grumbled that the Emperor could not recognise talent. His Elder Brother was so impressive, yet because of the Crown Prince’s words, he was made into the general controlling just a hundred men. Although he was stationed in the Restricted Area, they had seemed like a group to help chase animals for hunts. Who would have known that he was the true expert!