Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

The news of the Empress's encounter with assassins during her inspection of the Pagoda quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys, causing a huge sensation.

Naturally, this incident sparked much discussion among the public.

People simply can't understand why such heinous things would happen when life is getting better and better.

If something happens to the Empress, can everyone's good days continue? This is truly incomprehensible.

Upon learning of this, officials submitted numerous self-criticisms, fearing that if they were too late, they would be suspected of being accomplices.

They were well aware that the assassination at the Pagoda would inevitably lead to even more intense repercussions.

For a time, panic gripped the city of Jinling, and the public's discussion about the assassination of the empress far outweighed the already raging Liaodong War.

"Mr. Han, here to buy wine again?"

"Ah, two dice of wine, please."

Inside a winery, a familiar, long-lost figure appeared.

He was Han Chaozong, the one who shouted "Chu Kingdom is doomed!" in Wenxiang Tower and discussed state affairs with Shen Lang.

Compared to six years ago, Han Chaozong's hair is now much grayer.

However, he never made any further public statements, seemingly having seen through the fickle nature of human relationships.

Now Han Chaozong works as a teacher at a private school. With a monthly tuition fee of three taels of silver, he can make a living, though not rich.

The tavern waiter skillfully poured Han Chaozong two jiao of cloudy wine, sealed the bottle, and handed it back to him, unable to help but say:

“Mr. Han, these days hardly anyone drinks this cloudy wine anymore. Would you like to try something different? The price is about the same. We won’t be brewing cloudy wine here next month.”

Han Chaozong shook the wine bottle in his hand and replied with a smile, "No need. I'm not used to that new wine. Although the wine is cloudy, it can help me remember the bitterness and appreciate the sweetness."

After saying that, he dropped off half a string of coins and turned to hurry home.

When he returned to his neighborhood, the neighbors greeted him with great respect, calling him "Sir".

After responding to each of them, Han Chaozong pushed open the gate to his courtyard.

"I am back."

The small courtyard was kept very clean.

But when I returned today, no family members came out to greet me, and the courtyard was unusually quiet.

"He must be busy somewhere again."

Han Chaozong didn't pay any attention. After closing the courtyard gate behind him, he uncorked the wine bottle, took a sip, and then walked towards his room.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw his wife, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons around ten years old standing nervously in the living room, looking at him.

"Are you all home? Why didn't you respond when I called you earlier?"

Han Chaozong frowned and walked directly to the main seat.

Just as I bent down to sit down...

"Lord Han, it's been a long time."

A cold, clear voice made him freeze in place.

Han Chaozong looked up and saw Jiang Mengxuan coming out of the inner room with Qingwen beside her, holding a jade wine pot in both hands.

Jiang Shangxian and ten Jingwei officers also came out together.

The wine jug slipped from his hand and shattered on the spot.

The echo of the shattering porcelain made the atmosphere even more oppressive.

Jiang Mengxuan walked up to Han Chaozong and asked, "Lord Han, are you not welcoming me?"

Han Chaozong then steadied himself and bowed to Jiang Mengxuan, saying, "This humble subject greets Your Majesty."

Jiang Mengxuan waved her hand: "Imperial Uncle, I need to have a private talk with Lord Han. You all go and wait outside."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Jiang Shangxian immediately led Han Chaozong's family out of the room.

Qingwen placed the wine pot on the tea table, gave a curtsy to the Empress, and quietly left the room.

"Lord Han, please have a seat."

After Jiang Mengxuan finished speaking, she sat down directly on the side of the main seat.

Han Chaozong sighed and could only sit down.

A brief silence fell over the room.

Han Chaozong kept his head down and didn't look at Jiang Mengxuan, quietly waiting for the Empress to speak.

"Lord Han, can you tell me why you did this? What did I do wrong that makes you so determined to kill me?"

Han Chaozong gave a wry smile: "Since Your Majesty already knows, why ask such a question?"

Jiang Mengxuan: "Because I wanted to give you some dignity. To be honest, when the Jingwei Division presented me with the evidence of your collusion with the rebels,

I truly cannot believe this is real. After all, Lord Han is an upright and incorruptible official, a renowned scholar I have admired since childhood.

Anyone could rebel against me, even the Ye family, the Shangguan family, or even the entire aristocratic clan, but none of them could have the same impact on me as you, Lord Han.

"Can you tell me why this is?"

Han Chaozong replied, "Your Majesty, although I was framed by Ye Mo and dismissed from office but retained in my post, I have never blamed the late Emperor. Even though I am no longer in court, I still care about the country and its people."

"Originally, I was overjoyed that Your Majesty held great power and was no longer subject to anyone's constraints. I thought that my Great Chu had finally welcomed a wise ruler. But I was wrong, terribly wrong."

Jiang Mengxuan: "What wrong have I done?"

Upon hearing this, Han Chaozong became agitated: "Your Majesty is terribly wrong. Your mistake was in choosing Shen Lang as your son-in-law."

We should not have listened to their slander and allowed them to create such chaos throughout our Great Chu!

"Your Majesty holds immense power; you should reinstate this humble official to his former position immediately. Only then will our Great Chu not have fallen to such a state."

Jiang Mengxuan raised her eyebrows slightly: "Since my marriage to my husband, the nation's strength has improved day by day. Externally, our Great Chu has expanded its territory by tens of thousands of miles, and our royal way has even reached the South Seas."

Domestically, the government prioritizes people's well-being, establishing factories, building farms, and focusing on scientific research, resulting in increasingly better health for the population.

Since my husband's assistance, the chaotic scene of starvation and corpses littering the fields has disappeared from the Great Chu.

"Without my husband's strategic planning behind the scenes, could Great Chu have achieved what it has today?"

Han Chaozong shook his head and said, "No, Your Majesty! Go and see for yourself what the people are like now."

The states and counties only focus on political achievements, and the people are driven by profit, while no one practices the teachings of benevolent rule anymore. Is this truly the Great Chu you desire?

"A strong nation and prosperous people—isn't this the ideal that Lord Han pursued throughout his life?"

Now, I am walking on this ideal path, step by step, to achieve this goal. Is that wrong?

"Of course you're wrong!" Han Chaozong stood up excitedly. "The national strength and prosperity that I envision is not just about wealth."

Rather, it is a state of mind; wealth that disregards the way of the king will ultimately lead our Great Chu into an abyss of no return.

Jiang Mengxuan stared blankly at Han Chaozong's face, which was almost distorted.

After a long silence, she shook her head: "Then, according to Lord Han's meaning, the material wealth of the people is not important, nor is whether they have enough to eat."

"Is it most important to keep the people ignorant and obedient, so they won't have any other thoughts?"

Han Chaozong: "Yes, this is my ideal world, this is the Great Harmony..."

"enough."

He was about to launch into a long speech when Jiang Mengxuan, unable to bear it any longer, gently interrupted him.

"Lord Han, you have truly disappointed me. I had thought you had been blinded by wicked people."

In retrospect, you are no different from people like Zheng Bisheng. Father Emperor was right to expel you from the court back then.

"In your hearts, the only image you want to see is that of someone who has retired from the imperial court and returned to their hometown, seeing the people busy with farming in the fields in the afterglow of the setting sun."

Then you can express your feelings and write a few poems to show how patriotic and loving you are—that's your ideal world.

Instead of seeing ordinary people dressed in fine clothes, able to control their own lives as they pleased, no longer living like pigs and dogs.

You fame-seeking scoundrels have once again made me realize that people's hearts have grown cold and indifferent.

The illusory beauty of poetry and literature cannot replace the real needs of ordinary people for food and clothing.

Anyone who tries to stop the wheels of history from turning will be met with the utmost leniency from me.

Han Chaozong blushed instantly, wanting to argue, but the Empress's words silenced him.

"Do you know why I haven't summoned you back to court, and haven't even given you the title of scholar?"

"Because of you, Han Chaozong has never cared about the country; all he cares about is his own reputation."