Chapter 482 It’s My Fault
Sitting on the ancient golden dragon throne, Gu Mengzhen looked indifferent, solemn and thoughtful.
Xiao Shenzi reported that the new Concubine Qiao, who had just entered the palace, relied on her aristocratic status to slander Concubine Rong: She was a commoner, but she did not think about keeping to her lot and only knew how to stir up trouble. She seduced the emperor in the hope of clinging to the powerful and rising to the top.
Mrs. Qiao's heart is with Prince Li; Concubine Rong is Prince Chen's aunt.
The dispute between the two is not as simple as it seems on the surface. If you think about it, you will know that this is the power of Prince Li, who is testing the king's heart in various ways.
Gu Mengzhen was too lazy to think about useless things, so he just followed his heart and issued the imperial decree.
"According to the law, punish Miss Qiao."
Xiao Shenzi took the order and left.
Such a simple thing once again aroused the memories that Gu Mengzhen had buried deep in his heart for a long time.
I remember that in his early years, people in the Gu family also commented on his mother in this way.
That year, my mother's emotional injury was still not healed, and she had not yet met Uncle Zhuang. As she was a commoner, even if they met, he could only respectfully address her as mother, and could not address her as mother. Just the respectful address was lower than that of the people in the Gu Mansion; the difference in status was self-evident.
They always said that his mother was shameless and seduced his father just to get close to the rich and powerful, and took the money saved by the Gu family to support the family in poverty. They also said that if his mother was like this, how could his son be an exception?
With this excuse, they naturally treated Gu Mengzhen harshly. Even his father said that he had to go along with the family and treat him with contempt, and it was difficult to show his love for him, so he hoped that he would understand.
Oh, the words sounded high-sounding, as if she was in a dilemma, but in fact, she just looked down on him and was unwilling to care for him. At least, that's what Gu Mengzhen thought.
Later, my mother fell in love with Uncle Zhuang and got married, and my father became even more aggressive and revealed his true nature. He even said in a nice way that it was your mother who wronged me first.
In order to make his wife look decent, Uncle Zhuang held a grand wedding banquet. Since then, Gu Mengzhen has been completely isolated by everyone in the Gu family. Both the elders and the younger generations will comment on his character, saying that he is like his mother's meanness, that he is ambitious, and that he has evil intentions.
He admitted that he was not a good person, but he wanted to ask, since he was a child, has anyone ever guided him to be good? His mother, the only one who advised him to walk the right path, was regarded as despicable by them. He was evil, but he just listened to his family's advice, did not learn his mother's "despicable" behavior, and obeyed his family's wishes. Was there anything wrong with that?
The source of all evil has never been him, but the cold-bloodedness of everyone in the Gu family.
All along, only Uncle Zhuang and his mother cared about him and loved him. His mother was strict with him, while Uncle Zhuang was lenient with him.
Later, he had a virtuous younger brother, Zhuang Shao.
My brother is innocent and lovable, and people will take him as a role model, learn from him, and emulate him. It seems that in my brother's eyes, everything he does is right, and his love and care are just like Uncle Zhuang.
The people of the Zhuang clan are full of love, and Gu Mengzhen is also affectionate.
He knew Uncle Zhuang very well, and knew his mother's wishes, so he taught his younger brother the way of loyalty and righteousness. After all this, he could no longer be loyal and righteous, so he only hoped that his younger brother would be upright and sincere on his behalf.
But if the world changes, he doesn't want his brother to remain unchanged.
There is an old saying that goes, "Habits formed in childhood have no bearing on one's life." He originally thought that it would not be too late to explain the pros and cons to his brother when he grew up and became sensible.
Unexpectedly, the situation took a sudden turn during the Five Kings Rebellion, catching him off guard.
Uncle Zhuang had just joined the political struggle when something bad happened. Gu Mengzhen couldn't help but think that the reason behind this might be that the German Emperor had discovered that Uncle Zhuang's character had changed, so he took advantage of the Five Kings Rebellion to eliminate those who were dissidents.
Otherwise, Uncle Zhuang was about to inherit the family business; outside, he was favored by the Emperor and appreciated by Lord Tang. He was on the rise, so how could he fall from grace and bring disaster to the entire family?
Gu Mengzhen felt deeply remorseful.
It was my fault that he lost the king's favor.
It was me who killed Uncle Zhuang, it was me who was unfilial to my mother, it was me who neglected my brothers, it was me who was sorry to everyone in the Zhuang clan, and I was ashamed of all the ancestors of the Zhuang clan.
If you don't think about repaying the kindness of your stepfather, the love of your mother, and the loyalty of your brothers, you are not worthy of being a human being.
From then on, Gu Mengzhen recruited talented strategists from all over the world, arranged the affairs of the court, grasped the overall situation, and became invincible step by step.
Finally, he barely sat on the dragon throne.
On the eve of his ascension to the throne, Gu Mengzhen received a letter from his younger brother, sincerely congratulating him on inheriting the throne.
The Zhuang people still favored him, but the Gu people were full of rebellion.
They privately announced to the world that they had distanced themselves from him, and threatened him to give up the throne and assist the Yan clan with the lives of his entire clan.
Oh, they treat their families without caring about anything else. When it comes to loyalty and courage, each and every one of them is of noble character.
Who are you pretending to be? Only the people of the world.
Gu Mengzhen was clear in his mind. They were not acting out of loyalty at all, but just out of concern for the reputation of the Gu family.
how?
With him around, will the Gu family lose all face? This is ridiculous.
However, due to kinship, Gu Mengzhen had to go to Gu's house in person to deal with his subjects, put on an act, and give them good advice to avoid any irresponsible criticism, blaming him for being unloyal and filial, or suspecting that he really had the intention of competing for power.
Late that night, he went to Gu's house in person, only to see a group of relatives waiting quietly in the front hall, as if they were certain that he would come.
Gu Mengzhen sneered.
This feeling of being seen through is not a pleasant one.
"If it weren't for you, my dear brother, the Gu family would have been wiped out long ago, and all of you would have died."
"Now, I am doing these things to save him, to save your clan's savior. What's wrong with that?"
"How can you be so ungrateful and ignore his great kindness?"
"It's you who are disloyal and unfaithful, not me who is dishonest and unfilial!"
Father Gu Jicai held a dagger, filled with righteous indignation.
"You have said this many times, and we all understand it."
"Indeed, without his kindness, the Gu clan would have long since disappeared. But this is not an excuse for you to be unkind and unjust."
"We have already agreed that I am willing to repay justice with my life. Please think of it as the time when I exterminated the Gu clan and the family, and never showed any favor to your brother. Come to your senses and stop now!"
When facing them, Gu Mengzhen always looked indifferent.
"The reputation you want is simple."
"If you obey, everything will go your way; if you disobey, you will be in disgrace."
"How to choose, please consider it for yourself."
Gu Jicai laughed at him wantonly and used very bad words.
"You are so naive. Do you think all the people in the world are stupid?"
"Even if I am the emperor and give you a good name, it is still deceiving yourself. If you don't repent, you will be infamous forever!"
Gu Mengzhen raised his eyes with a frivolous look, but a bitterness unconsciously rose in his heart.
It seems that this face is what my father really looks like.
After thinking like this, he smiled sadly and said goodbye to his relatives.
"Well, let's wait and see what happens in the world of heaven and earth."
"Everyone, take care."
Gu Mengzhen waved his sleeves, turned around and left, and at the same time, he felt something in his heart.
It’s not that I don’t deserve the love of my family; it’s just that I was born in the wrong place.
My surname shouldn't be Gu, it should be Zhuang.
The Gu Mansion has never been my home; the Zhuang Mansion is where I feel safe.
Recalling this, I listened to Xiao Fuzi’s report.
"Your Majesty, the Secret Service is in power. Lord Su and Lord Du request to see you."
They were seeking to see him at a time when they were plotting to seize the throne, and it must be something important, so Gu Mengzhen immediately granted their request.
"Send it to me quickly."