69novels Chapter 1045 Yu Shu's plan has very harsh conditions!
Chapter 1045 Yu Shu's plan has very harsh conditions!
Her tone turned heavy: "This ongoing internal strife is not only depleting the King's foundation and betraying his years of hard work, but it is also pushing this giant ship of the empire into the abyss. Externally, we are surrounded by powerful enemies; internally, if the turmoil continues, the people's hearts will be scattered, and the court will collapse... Sister, at that time, all of us, including Lin'er and Zhe'er, will probably be swallowed up by this monstrous wave and completely plunged into an irrecoverable predicament!"
Lü Zhi listened in silence, each word Yu Shu spoke like a hammer blow to her heart. She shared these worries, didn't she? She had always held onto a sliver of hope, wishing to find the safest way, one that would cause Gao Lin the least harm.
“On the contrary,” Yu Shu’s tone shifted, her voice now laced with a seductive allure, “if we could set aside our past grievances and cooperate, with your established foundation and connections in court built over many years, plus the resources I can mobilize… we could stabilize the court, appease the people, and gain the support of most neutral or even wavering officials as quickly as possible. Only then could we seize the initiative in this succession crisis and smoothly complete the transition of power!”
Lü Zhi's pupils contracted slightly as she stared intently at Yu Shu: "Cooperation? You mean... you want me to support Gao Zhe?"
Her tone was filled with disbelief and absurdity. Within the harem, while she and Yu Shu weren't locked in a life-or-death struggle, they belonged to opposing camps, maintaining a delicate balance—a situation Gao Yao deliberately cultivated to prevent any single harem member from becoming too powerful and misleading the emperor. To abandon her own son, Gao Lin, and instead support Gao Zhe, Yu Shu's son? That was utterly absurd!
“Sister, everything can be viewed from different perspectives, can’t it?” Yu Shu seemed to have anticipated Lü Zhi’s reaction and was not in a hurry. She simply asked back slowly and deliberately.
"What do you mean?" Lü Zhi frowned.
Yu Shu took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision, and said, word by word, "If you, sister, are willing to do everything in your power to help Gao Zhe ascend the throne, then I, Yu Shu, hereby promise that once it is accomplished, Gao Zhe will honor you as his legal mother! You will remain the incomparably noble Queen, and in the future, you will be the rightful Empress Dowager. As for me..."
She paused, her tone calm yet firm, "You may request to leave the palace and move to a villa outside the palace, and you will not be allowed to enter the palace without an imperial edict. Furthermore, I will have Gao Zhe issue a public decree to announce to the world that you are honored as his mother! From then on, you will be his only mother in name only!"
A deathly silence fell over the warm pavilion.
Lü Zhi's expression froze, her eyes filled with extreme shock and scrutiny. She never expected Yu Shu to offer such conditions! This was practically gambling with her own and her son Gao Zhe's future!
By honoring her as his mother, Gao Zhe would legally and ethically become Lü Zhi's son, while Yu Shu, his biological mother, would be relegated to a marginal, almost invisible position. Lü Zhi would not only retain her status as Queen and Empress Dowager, but also gain a legitimate son as the future ruler. As for Gao Lin, Gao Zhe's nominal brother, as long as he behaved himself, his life and wealth would at least be safe.
This bargaining chip is incredibly heavy! It's using the "filial piety" and "face" that a monarch values most as shackles to gain her support and her confidence in Gao Lin's future safety. Once Gao Zhe publicly acknowledges her as his mother, if he dares to go back on his word or mistreat her and Gao Lin, he will be despised by the world and branded with the infamy of unfilial piety, a fatal blow to the foundation of his rule.
However, behind the immense temptation lay a deeper suspicion. Lü Zhi spoke slowly, her voice laced with cold sarcasm: "You would be so kind as to hand over the readily available honor of Empress Dowager, just so your son can sit on the throne? Yu Shu, do you take me for a three-year-old child?"
“It’s not that Yu Shu is kind,” Yu Shu met her gaze, her eyes frank, even tinged with bitterness, “but rather that you should know, sister, what Yu Shu seeks has never been the position of the empress dowager, much less the honor of being the empress dowager. I entered the palace, I struggled, everything I did… was only so that one day I could bring peace to my homeland and avenge my country!”
Her voice held a deep-seated hatred and resolve that had been suppressed for too long: "To me, power is nothing more than a tool to achieve my goals. If Gao Zhe can ascend the throne and, with the help of the great nation, destroy the Xiongnu and avenge the blood feud between Tu An and me, my wish will be fulfilled. Whether I enjoy honor and glory in the palace or spend the rest of my life outside, it makes no difference to me. This promise is not a temporary expedient, but my true desire."
"Heh," Lü Zhi sneered repeatedly, clearly not entirely believing this explanation, "So, I should thank you for your... generosity and sacrifice?"
Her sarcasm was palpable. Empty promises, no matter how appealing they may sound, are nothing but illusions without sufficient guarantees.
Yu Shu seemed to have anticipated that Lü Zhi wouldn't easily believe the first option. Undeterred, she changed the subject again, presenting another choice—one that sounded more aligned with Lü Zhi's core interests, but with even more astonishing conditions:
“If you, sister, do not believe the words of that revered mother and find them unrealistic, then we have a second way of cooperating.”
Lü Zhi's gaze sharpened: "The second one?"
“Yes,” Yu Shu said decisively, “the second method is—I will make Gao Zhe voluntarily withdraw from the struggle for the throne! And I will use all the power I can influence to fully support Gao Lin’s ascension to the throne!”
"Huh?!" Lü Zhi was genuinely stunned this time, even doubting whether she had misheard. Support Gao Lin? Yu Shu was actually willing to abandon the idea of her own son succeeding to the throne and instead support her Lin'er? This was even more unbelievable than the first option!
However, Yu Shu's next words immediately made her realize how high the price of this support was.
“Sister, you heard me right. We support Gao Lin’s ascension to the throne.” Yu Shu’s tone left no room for doubt, but she immediately laid out her conditions, “However, before Gao Lin officially ascends the throne, there are some key changes in positions that must be made. This is a guarantee we must obtain!”
"What position?" Lü Zhi's heart skipped a beat, sensing that the conditions would not be simple.
Yu Shu looked directly into Lü Zhi's eyes and clearly and slowly uttered her request: "My elder brother, Batu, must assume the position of Grand General and, concurrently, the position of Commander of the Fourth Army Group!"
"what!"
Lu Zhi gasped in shock, leaping to her feet, her face filled with astonishment and disbelief! She was shocked that Yu Shu was actually willing to give up letting Gao Zhe compete for the throne, and even more so by the extremely harsh conditions that left her trembling with fear!