Chapter 30: The Empress Dowager Instructs Her Son! Striving to Become Emperor!

The night was thick and heavy, like a vast black silk curtain draped tightly over the Crown Prince's residence. Inside the room, the candlelight flickered, casting mottled shadows on the walls that looked like grotesque, grimacing faces, adding a sense of stifling oppression to the quiet space.

Zhu Yunwen stood still, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, the veins on the back of his hands bulging. His chest heaved violently, his eyes filled with resentment and a deep sense of injustice.

Neither the legitimate heir nor the eldest born—that was his failing!

This thought pierced his heart like a sharp dagger.

Zhu Xiongying could command all the favor, the focal point of everyone's attention wherever he went, as if he were bathed in a golden glow. Yet he, Zhu Yunwen, could only hide in the shadows like a ghost, watching longingly, filled with envy and helplessness.

Zhu Xiongying could enter the Grand Academy to study and cultivate his character without any obstruction—what a glorious opportunity, a vital stepping stone toward the future. But for him, Zhu Yunwen, his mother had to plead countlessly, humbling herself time and again just to secure the same chance. Every act of subservience during those pleas felt like a slap across his own self-respect.

Zhu Xiongying could indulge in idle pleasures, and even if he made minor mistakes, he was met with nothing more than a gentle rebuke, quickly forgiven. But he, Zhu Yunwen, had to be constantly cautious, studying and writing with total diligence, fearing that even a single poorly written stroke might offend his tutor and lead to his expulsion from the Academy, costing him this hard-won opportunity.

Why?

By what right?

Just because he was "neither the legitimate heir nor the eldest"?

The question swirled in his mind like a tangled knot, tightening until he could barely breathe.

A wave of bitterness surged within him. Finally, unable to suppress his emotions any longer, Zhu Yunwen smashed the cup in his hand against the floor. The sound of porcelain shattering was piercing in the silent room, the scattered shards mirroring his own fractured heart.

Weeping, Zhu Yunwen threw himself into Lady Lu’s arms, his shoulders trembling, his hands gripping her sleeves as if they were his only support in this world. "Mother, I am so unwilling to accept this! I am truly unwilling!" His voice, choked with sobs, was filled with despair and helplessness.

Lady Lu looked at her beloved son with tear-filled eyes, the tears sliding down her cheeks to dampen her collar. She stroked his hair gently, though she could not hide her own inner sorrow. "Do you think I am willing?" she asked, her voice choked with profound helplessness. "When your Sister Chang was still alive, I never had any designs; I only wanted to live a simple life. But she passed away suddenly, and your father elevated me—that made you the legitimate son! From that moment on, I realized you deserved your own opportunities and the respect you are owed."

After a pause, Lady Lu wiped away her tears and took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She held Zhu Yunwen by the shoulders, forcing a smile. "My son, have you understood what happened today?"

A sharp glint flashed in Lady Lu’s eyes as she stared intensely at him.

"From the very beginning, your 'good' elder brother was setting a trap—a trap for you!" Lady Lu’s voice was cold, each word seemingly coated in frost.

Hearing this, Zhu Yunwen’s face darkened, his already gloomy eyes deepening. He was no fool; Lady Lu’s words were like a key, instantly unlocking the door to his doubts, and he understood the implication at once.

"That 'good' brother of yours deliberately performed the spectacle of the magnifying glass and the 'heavenly fire' in front of you, claiming it was a 'gift from the heavens' to show that he, Zhu Xiongying, was destined by fate, all to test you!" Lady Lu’s pace quickened, her emotions rising. "He saw through your resentment and knew you wouldn't be able to resist. You failed to see through his scheme and fell right into the trap, choosing to report him to Li Xiyan. I, too, failed to see it and rushed to tell your father that he was neglecting his studies for idle toys... The situation seems favorable to us on the surface, but in reality, we have both fallen into his snare."

Lady Lu sneered, her laughter filled with self-mockery and rage. "When your Imperial Grandfather and your father were enraged and summoned him for questioning, he had already calculated everything. He had told Lan Yu beforehand to present the magnifying glass to win your grandfather’s favor, and then had Lan Yu appear with the telescope, completely reversing the situation! He wasn't neglecting his studies; he was proving his loyalty and filial piety, achieving great merit for the court!"

"Instead, we mother and son, by whispering slander, have ended up despised by all, branded as ambitious, and have invited the suspicion and wariness of your grandfather and father!" Lady Lu grew increasingly agitated, waving her hands as if to vent her fury.

Hearing her analysis, Zhu Yunwen gasped, a chill running down his back.

Was this truly a poisonous scheme devised by that brother who usually seemed so kind? He found it hard to believe, yet the facts were laid out before him, and he could not deny them.

Suddenly, a chubby figure appeared in his mind.

"Mother, it wasn't my brother—it must have been Zhu Gaochi!" Zhu Yunwen said firmly, his eyes flashing with fire. "My brother would never plot against me like this. It’s that Zhu Gaochi who has always looked at me with disdain! He must be the one behind this, inciting my brother to do it!"

"Zhu Gaochi?" A look of disgust flashed in Lady Lu’s eyes, as if she had heard something repulsive. "So it was him. I wondered why your 'good' brother suddenly changed his nature; the problem lay with that little fatty!"

For a time, both mother and son hated Zhu Gaochi to the core.

To think of such a vicious scheme to frame them—it was truly despicable and shameless! Yet they could not easily retaliate; after all, that little fatty was currently the apple of the Emperor’s eye, having achieved merit after merit. They dared not touch him.

Zhu Yunwen felt a sense of despair, his shoulders sagging as if his very spine had been removed. Seeing this, a mysterious smile appeared on Lady Lu’s face.

"My son, do you know of Emperor Jing of Western Han, Liu Qi?"

Zhu Yunwen wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded.

"Then do you know if Liu Qi was the legitimate eldest son of Emperor Wen, Liu Heng?" A strange light flickered in Lady Lu’s eyes.

Hearing this, a gleam of realization sparked in Zhu Yunwen’s eyes, and he subconsciously shook his head.

Lady Lu was pleased, her voice growing more intense as if she had found a glimmer of hope. "Exactly! Liu Qi was not the legitimate eldest son! Before Liu Heng entered the capital to ascend the throne, he had a principal wife and four sons!"

"Yet, just before he entered the capital, the Princess of Dai died suddenly, and all four sons fell ill and perished one after another. How could there be such a coincidence in this world?" A sinister look appeared on Lady Lu’s face.

Zhu Yunwen listened, confused, and asked, "Mother, what is the truth hidden in this?"

"Because the Princess of Dai was of the Lu clan. If Liu Heng wanted to ascend the throne, he had to kill his wife and children. Otherwise, would officials like Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, who purged the Lu clan, have welcomed him as Emperor?!" Lady Lu’s voice trembled, her expression becoming savage.

Zhu Yunwen’s eyes widened, looking at his mother in disbelief. "He... he... how could he..."

"Why could he not?" Lady Lu demanded, her demeanor bordering on madness. "Even if he hadn't killed his wife and children, once someone else sat on the dragon throne, his wife and children would have become a liability, eventually bringing disaster upon the House of Dai. Instead of that, it was better to do it himself and secure the throne!"

"My son, do you understand now? One does not need to be the legitimate heir or the eldest to become Emperor! Sister Chang is gone, I am now the Crown Princess, and you are the legitimate eldest son of the Crown Prince!" Her eyes were filled with fanatical fervor.

"The death of the Princess of Dai and her children was because they belonged to the Empress Dowager Lu’s clan. Although the Chang family is at the height of its power now, anyone with eyes can see that the Emperor is already dissatisfied with meritocratic nobles like Lan Yu and Chang Mao. Sooner or later, he will raise the butcher's knife against them. How similar is that to the Princess of Dai's situation?!"

"As for Zhu Xiongying..." At this point, Lady Lu smiled with a chilling, sinister intensity. "He is the only stumbling block on your path to the throne!"

Zhu Yunwen felt a tingling sensation on his scalp; he felt his mother was a stranger, a stranger who frightened him. However, although he wanted to say something, the words would not come.

Because, from the very beginning, he had never been willing to accept his lot!

Because, within those vast seas of classics and histories, he had only seen one thing, only four words—fight to be the Emperor!