How to Deal with Having the Villainous Tyrant’s Child Chapter 131

Chapter 131

Lu Hanzhi still tried to act playful. He stepped forward, looped his arm around the Empress Dowager’s, and said, “Empress Dowager, look—your grandson came back safely, didn’t he? The child is fine too, staying obediently in my belly.”

When facing Lu Hanzhi, the Empress Dowager truly felt helpless. She had never encountered such a difficult junior.

Yet it was precisely because he was so difficult that she grew even fonder of him.

She sighed helplessly and said, “You—quickly lie down and stop moving around.”

Lu Hanzhi obediently followed her words and lay down on the bed in the side hall. The moment his head touched the pillow, he fell asleep.

Over the past few days, he had rushed back day and night without a single good night’s rest.

Vomiting again and again in the carriage, he finally had a stable bed to lie on.

The Empress Dowager looked at him and sighed softly again. She said to Er Ya, “Go back and tell your mistress that Han’er fell asleep here, so she doesn’t need to wait.”

Er Ya acknowledged, then heard the Empress Dowager continue, “This child truly makes one’s heart ache. At my age, I have never seen a child so deeply emotional, loyal, intelligent, and wise.”

It was unclear whether those words were praise or criticism.

Er Ya withdrew helplessly and returned to report truthfully to Imperial Concubine Rong.

Imperial Concubine Rong also sighed helplessly and only said, “Thank heaven and thank the Buddha for their protection.”

For days, her heart had been hanging in her throat. Hearing that he had returned safely, she finally felt at ease.

Er Ya said, “Young Lady, the Empress Dowager holds our Prince An’s Wang Fei in very high regard.”

Imperial Concubine Rong nodded and said, “That is a good thing. To gain the Empress Dowager’s favor is Han’er’s own ability. If he did not possess great talent, how could the Empress Dowager have taken notice of him?”

Er Ya nodded as well and said, “The Empress Dowager kept him in the palace to sleep. Young Lady, should rest too.”

Imperial Concubine Rong shook her head. “How could I possibly sleep? I’ll wait for him instead. I don’t know how things are going on Ah Min and Xu Zhi’s side. Hanzhi’s return this time likely brought major news.”

Er Ya said, “But Wang Fei rushed all the way back and must have been completely exhausted. He should sleep for a while. Young Lady should go rest first. When Wang Fei wakes up tomorrow, Er Ya will come and wake you.”

Imperial Concubine Rong thought it over, then nodded.

Just as Aunt Er Ya had said, Lu Hanzhi slept all the way until noon the next day.

The Empress Dowager had prepared a vegetarian meal, and he woke up only after smelling its fragrance.

Lu Hanzhi yawned, and palace maids immediately stepped forward to prepare his toiletries for washing up.

When Lu Hanzhi saw the dental set the Empress Dowager had prepared for him, he found that it was a full top-tier Han Ji set. The Empress Dowager truly was a person of refined taste.

After washing up, Lu Hanzhi drank the honey water handed to him by a palace maid before going to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager.

At that moment, the Empress Dowager had just finished her Buddhist devotions and had prepared an entire table of vegetarian dishes for him.

Coincidentally, Lu Hanzhi had recently grown averse to greasy food, so the vegetarian dishes were just right.

The Empress Dowager asked, “How did you sleep last night?”

Lu Hanzhi’s little mouth seemed as if it had been coated with honey as he replied, “I don’t know why, but I slept especially well here with you, Empress Dowager. I slept straight through until this hour. I really feel embarrassed.”

The Empress Dowager’s face was full of disdain, yet the corners of her lips lifted slightly as she said, “Put away your embarrassment and eat first!”

Lu Hanzhi said, “Thank you, Empress Dowager!”

After that, he sat down at the dining table without ceremony and began eating heartily.

Perhaps because he had slept enough and recovered his strength, his appetite improved as well.

The small cold dishes prepared by the Empress Dowager’s private kitchen were exceptionally delicious. Lu Hanzhi ate two large bowls of rice along with the vegetables.

The Empress Dowager was startled and said, “It seems your body truly isn’t seriously affected.”

Lu Hanzhi smiled and said, “It’s nothing serious. Your grandson has always been mischievous since childhood. My parents never restricted me much.”

After saying this, Lu Hanzhi felt a moment of confusion.

As he thought about it now—was he Lu Hanzhi, or was he still Lu Hanzhi?

Even he himself could no longer tell the difference.

The Empress Dowager set down her bowl, and eunuchs and palace maids immediately stepped forward to clear the table.

After Xiao Bingzi finished tidying up, he led the palace servants away.

The Empress Dowager said to Lu Hanzhi, “After you fell asleep, I had Chief Physician Lin come take a look. He said you were simply exhausted, that your pregnancy was not disturbed, and that you hadn’t harmed yourself.”

Lu Hanzhi was quite surprised. He had not expected the Empress Dowager to be so attentive toward him.

He stood up and bowed to the Empress Dowager, saying, “For the Empress Dowager’s great kindness, Hanzhi will remember it in his heart.”

The Empress Dowager waved her hand and, after pondering for a moment, finally said, “Last year, in the first month… I went to Hanshou Temple and asked the abbots of the four directions to draw a divination for Great Zhao.”

Lu Hanzhi knew that the Empress Dowager was about to speak of serious matters.

Sure enough, the Empress Dowager continued, “Those abbots are the most virtuous and respected masters in Great Zhao. Unless there is karmic affinity, they do not easily divine. I have met the abbot of Hanshou Temple a few times before and discussed some Buddhist teachings.”

Lu Hanzhi raised an eyebrow. This abbot… could it be the one who had secretly been helping Yuwen Min?

The Empress Dowager continued, “The abbots only said that if Great Zhao lacked destiny, it might not last more than ten years before changing hands.” After saying this, the Empress Dowager smiled and shook her head. “At the time, I didn’t believe it. But over the past two years, I’ve seen Great Zhao riddled with ant holes everywhere, already showing signs of a collapsing dam.”

A Great Zhao where more than half of the court officials were suspected of colluding with enemies truly did face the danger of collapsing from tiny cracks.

The Empress Dowager looked at Lu Hanzhi, and Lu Hanzhi asked, “Did the master foresee something specific?”

The Empress Dowager sighed and said, “Even without the master saying it, I can see a thing or two myself. The Emperor… is indecisive, yet overly contemplative. He doubts those he employs, creating endless complications. Since the late emperor’s time, Great Zhao had not suffered foreign invasions. Yet under the current emperor, it has repeatedly faced both external aggression and internal turmoil. Favoring civil officials is not wrong, but he should not restrain military generals at every turn, chilling the hearts of the soldiers. The Yin clan is not of one heart with His Majesty. Because the Yin clan fears the Emperor—and the reason for this, I need not explain for you to understand. He fears the Yin clan growing too powerful and monopolizing the court, just as the Xiao clan once did. As for the Rong clan, he suppresses them in every possible way.”

Lu Hanzhi deeply admired the Empress Dowager. In just a few sentences, she had neatly summarized the Emperor.

Regarding the Emperor, he did not dare say much. After all, he was a junior and part of the inner household, and it was improper to rashly comment on court affairs.

Seeing his tightly sealed lips, the Empress Dowager said, “There’s no need to put on an act in front of me. Say whatever you want to say.”

Lu Hanzhi smiled and said, “If your grandson speaks poorly, Empress Dowager, please don’t laugh at me.”

The Empress Dowager gestured for him to continue.

Lu Hanzhi said, “Actually, what His Majesty worries about is not unfounded. But… the method is wrong. Since ministers are useful to the nation, they naturally must be employed. Once employed, one must indeed guard against rebellion. But some matters—if you suppress them too hard, you end up chilling the hearts of loyal ministers and falling into the schemes of treacherous ones. Loyal ministers will feel that serving the country is pointless, while treacherous ministers will exploit His Majesty’s worries to stir up trouble.”

“Your grandson believes that if one is to use people, one must apply both grace and authority. Balancing the court does not rely solely on suppression. If His Majesty were a fierce ruler like Emperor Shengzu*, he could naturally intimidate all under heaven. But His Majesty governs through civil means, and this approach is truly unsuitable. In the court, whether loyal and righteous officials or greedy and crafty ones—are all, in fact, usable.”

Note: Emperor Shengzu, second Qing emperor of ancient China.

The Empress Dowager did not understand this and asked, “How could greedy and crafty officials be considered usable?”

Lu Hanzhi smiled and said, “Empress Dowager, when water is too clear, there are no fish. As long as their general direction is not wrong, they can be indulged.”

The Empress Dowager felt the more she listened, the more outrageous it sounded, and she said, “This is simply absurd!”

Lu Hanzhi said, “Empress Dowager, listen to your grandson first! In unofficial histories and storybooks, there was once a dynasty called Qing. During the Qianlong era, there was a great villainous official named Heshen. Heshen’s strength lay in obeying imperial commands in all matters and keeping the Emperor pleased. But he was greedy—selling offices and taking bribes without restraint. He was a genuine, major villain. Did Emperor Qianlong not know this? No—he knew, and he even tacitly permitted it.”

The Empress Dowager was puzzled and asked, “Why was that?”

Lu Hanzhi said, “Throughout all dynasties, there has never been a lack of treacherous officials, nor a lack of loyal ones. At that time, Qianlong’s court had loyal ministers and capable generals such as Liu Yong, Ji Xiaolan, and Ah Gui. These loyal officials constantly advised the Emperor, admonished him face-to-face, and knelt to remonstrate, as if roasting the Emperor over a fire. The Emperor had to listen, because those were loyal words. If he didn’t listen, wouldn’t he become a foolish ruler? But could the Emperor listen to everything? Of course not. If he listened to everything, wouldn’t he end up obeying only the so-called loyal ministers? Wouldn’t that mean losing the Emperor’s own initiative and authority?”

When the Empress Dowager heard this, she suddenly seemed to understand something.

Lu Hanzhi knew that the Empress Dowager was someone who could grasp things the moment a point was made, yet he still finished telling the story in full:

“However, as the supreme ruler of the realm, could an emperor really lower himself to argue head-on with loyal ministers? Naturally, that would not do. Would that not damage the dignity of the emperor? And so, that was how a great treacherous minister like Heshen came to be. He was not a loyal minister, but he was the emperor’s loyal hound. Whenever the emperor made decisions that ran contrary to the loyal ministers, and whenever he wanted to quarrel with them, he would simply shut the doors and release Lord He. Thus, through Lord He’s hands, the emperor carried out many willful and reckless acts.”

“You say that Lord He was a parasite of the nation—there is no denying that, and it is indeed true. But can you say that he was entirely useless? Of course not. Because he was loyal to the emperor, he played a balancing role in the court. Moreover, because of the emperor’s willfulness, Lord He also endured a great deal of abuse. After all, many of the emperor’s inappropriate words and actions were carried out under Lord He’s instigation, so one could say that he was the ultimate scapegoat.”

“But Your Majesty, consider this: is it better to be roasted alive by loyal ministers and upright generals, or to push out a Lord He to take the blade for you—wouldn’t the latter be more suitable for the court? Let me give another example. Qianlong’s son disregarded his father’s final wishes and killed Heshen. In the end, he found himself with no one left to use. At that moment, where were those loyal ministers and capable generals? The main reason lay in Lord He himself. He was not merely a corrupt official—he was also a capable minister in governing the state. Otherwise, how could an emperor as wise as Qianlong have favored him so deeply? He understood the art of balance, but his son failed to grasp its essence. Of course, the pros and cons of such matters also depended on the times, and one must always beware of being devoured in return by treacherous ministers.”

After all this was said, the Empress Dowager remained silent the entire time.

Only after Lu Hanzhi finished his story did the Empress Dowager finally nod her head slightly.

The historical trajectory of Great Zhao had only developed to the stage of a semi-slave, semi-feudal society, so naturally it did not possess as many historical examples as Lu Hanzhi knew.

He had won precisely because he stood upon the shoulders of giants to view the world, and thus his perspective was naturally far more far-reaching.

The way the Empress Dowager looked at Lu Hanzhi changed once again.

Lu Hanzhi smiled and said, “This grandson merely borrowed an anecdote from an unofficial historical tale to use as an example, allowing Your Majesty to laugh at me.”

But the Empress Dowager shook her head and said, “Yet your anecdote was used exceedingly well. Even the late emperor did not possess such ingenious thinking.”

At that moment, Xiao Bingzi’s voice came from outside the door: “Reporting to Your Majesty, news has come from Imperial Concubine Rong’s residence. It is… it is…”

The Empress Dowager frowned and asked, “What is it? Speak plainly!”

Xiao Bingzi replied, “They say that Prince An and General Lu… have died in battle!”

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