Not Your Typical Villianess

Chapter 81: The move to Ningzhuo 1

Many years ago at Northern Wei

At a small noodles shop at the corner of the street racing the silk factory, the young Emperor Zhong and minister Zhu sat on one of the plain wooden tables at the side. Emperor Zhong had succeeded his father just eight years earlier following the death of his elder brother.

They ordered their usual dish, sat by the side and observed the other customers. Emperor Zhong wanted to be closer to the commoners, so he went out of the palace regularly and walked around the commoners to get a fresh input on the true conditions of the kingdom.

Emperor Zhong visited regular places such as tea houses and restaurants to listen to the common folks' opinions on policies and the rest. After their meals were delivered, they sat silently and listened to the conversations around them while drinking tasteless tea.

The men around them glossed over a few political topics, none of which were interesting. Emperor Zhong was about to leave for another hot spot when their conversation changed to a different angle. This was brought about by the arrival of a small group of soldiers putting up recruitment fliers on the notice board.

A male customer clicked his tongue "argh what is wrong with the Emperor and going on campaigns. This has to be the fifth time this year?"

Another male voice said "Is he determined to make our troupes live permanently on the war front. Didn't the Duke of Wu just return from battle a month ago, I understand that he is trying to get revenge for the past crown prince's death but it has been 8 years already. Isn't all the bloodshed enough"

The first male voice replied, "Obviously not!"

Another male voice from the table behind Emperor Zhong also joined in their conversations "I think that this young Emperor of ours is too bloodthirsty. All these wars should have been tiring by now"

Soon it became a six men conversation. 

"His has already gotten his revenge, There has been talk that all these other battles are all for his selfish dream of increasing his sovereign."

"I hear that this hunger if his will never be quenched"

"That is because there aren't many ministers willing to question him except the Duke of Wu. All other ministers are minions that support everything he does"

"Thanks to the gods that we have one honest official like the Duke of Wu to keep our power-hungry weak Emperor in check"

"Duke of Wu isn't known as the people's voice for nothing"

"I fear that Duke Wu may not be the People's voice for long, with the rate he is being sent out on wars" the man shook his head and continued "what if he goes to war one day and never return"

"Then we will be left seating docks because he is the only one guarding us. We can not depend on the weak Emperor, now can we?"

"No, Which is why I think that the gods won't let that happen. Don't you see how frequently he had come back in victory, even the gods love him. The weak Emperor can never compare to him, all that sickly Emperor does is seat and eat"

"I swear that he shouldn't have been allowed to take the throne, he is not good enough"

"Yes all he does is give orders, I bet he has never even lifted a sword. If he had ever experienced war, he would understand how we the common folks suffer every time he sends the soldiers on any Crusades".

Minister Zhu who ad off this time wasn't yet the powerful minister he was in the future but a mere vice-minister tried to calm the Emperor's temper. "Your_" he started saying when he was given a dirty look by Emperor Zhong and quickly corrected himself. "Don't take their words seriously, young master. They are illiterate and don't know what they are talking about.

Emperor Zhong just took out a small piece of silver and placed it on the table "let us go" he said as he stood and left the noodles shop.

*****

 There was a break the next day and court was suspended until a day later. During the court session that day, the previous Duke of Wu (*Lu Yaozhu and Lu Yingjei's father) led a few notable military and literary officials to challenge his next campaign.

They argued that the soldiers were weak from the recent war and needed a little more time to rests. They also pointed out that the commoners needed to recover from the tax and manpower used up during the recently ended war.

Emperor Zhong could not pay attention to anything they said because no matter the solid points they brought up, all he heard was the conversation he had overheard at the noodles shop.

When he couldn't take it anymore, he dismissed the court abruptly and went down to the Empress's Palace for lunch. While eating he brought up the petition submitted by her elder brother to the Empress. 

When the Empress supported the arguments brought up by them, the Emperor lost his anger and left her palace angrily. He didn't visit the Empress for months. He never intended to ignore her for longer than a few days but when Duke Wu's team won the support of State Duke Xia ( princess Ni'an's husband) and the campaign was moved forward. 

The Emperor threw a fit and ignored the Empress and instead favoured the newly conferred Concubine Shi. The Shi family became a notable ally for the Emperor in court, the Father and daughter were quite the pair.

Minister Shi supported the Emperor's bloodthirsty campaign during the day while Imperial Concubine egged him on in private. Soon the Emperor and Empress became estranged. They saw eye to eye lesser times than usual until they just stopped speaking. 

However, after the Emperor got injured while hunting, they reunited briefly for a few months. Which resulted in the Empress's pregnancy. However about six months into her pregnancy, Imperial concubine Shi was also discovered to be pregnant.

For the few remaining months of the Empress's pregnancy, the Emperor spent time together. A reunion was rumoured to be in the making, especially after the fourth prince was born. It was further cemented when the Fourth prince was conferred the Crown Prince four days after he was born.

It had caused quite the sensation in the capital, everyone congratulated the Lu family. The excitement caused the commoners to once again began calling Duke Wu, the people's voice. The Emperor caught wind of that at once again displaced himself from the Empress.

Especially when Imperial concubine Shi brought up the old rumours during one of his visits. Empress Lu noticed the Emperor's actions but choose to ignore that. She was more focused on her newborn son and didn't have time to pay attention to her husband's ever-changing attitude.

The Empress's joy was short-lived because she lost her child a few days later. The loss of her child destroyed the couple's relationship.

*******

Fast forward to years later

A teenager in blue ran through the courtyards leading from the small study room by the Empress's palace with his servant on his trail. The teenager was nine other than the crown Princes's young study partner Lu Yaozhu.

He jumped over the dead walls separating the eighth palace from the Emperor's study. As he did his servant a shorter teenager with some baby fat on his cheek called him back, "young master slow down don't do that it is very risky. You might get injured! If you get, her highness will have my hind!"

Lu Yaozhu made a perfect landing and stood back to watch jus servant come down. "Why so worried, Yu Tao. It is not like I am running away from home, I am only going to meet my father. According to Eunuch Li, father came in to greet uncle Emperor at the Palace before going off to war. Father and I can not perform our usual tradition because I am in the palace but if I am fast enough I can meet him before he leaves"

Yu Tao nodded and they continued on their way. They conversed along the way before finally arriving at the Emperor's study. Lu Yaozhu brought his hand to his lips and gestured to Yu Tao to be quiet as they tiptoed to stand by the door of the study.

Lu Yaozhu wanted to rush after his father as soon as he stepped out of the study and stood patiently by the door. Fearing that if they were caught, Yu Tao might end up getting punished, he sent Yu Tao to wait at a distance. 

Yu Tai stood at a distance from him but close enough that he could keep his eyes on him. Once Yu Tao was out of sight, Lu Yaozhu walked closer to the door. The conversations between the Emperor and her father filtered in from the open door.

He heard the Emperor's deep voice say "I don't care what you do just don't come back alive".

Lu Yaozhu was no longer a child, he somewhat understood the Emperor's word but even if he didn't under the first statement. The next one was rather obvious.

"I have been kind to give you a chance to meet your new daughter, you have been with her for a year and a half. Your time is up, go and win me Yi state but never come back to the capital. If you want your family, the Empress included safe end you retched life" 

Lu Yaozhu gasped and quickly clapped his hands on his mouth to keep him from making any noise that would attract their attention. Luckily none of them heard his little slip-up. He heard his father's gentle voice before running back to the dwarf wall, his eyes were filled with tears but he couldn't let them fall. If he did Yu Tai would try to find out why, which he couldn't reveal.

"This servant will abide, however since I am dying anyway. I would like to say a few words"

Lu Yaozhu never found out what his father said to the Emperor, he ran away when his father accepted the order to save his family. It had been too painful for him, he waited by the dwarf wall until his father got out of the Emperor's study before running to him.

That was the last time he saw his father, two months later news of his death reached the capital and his decapitated body was returned to the capital to be buried.