Chapter 63: So That's How It Is

Hearing this, Little Anzi shed tears once again: "Your Majesty, it won't, it won't..."

"This servant has constantly been having people search for the antidote. We will surely find it, surely..."

Ning Chen offered another bitter smile and gazed deeply at Little Anzi.

He knew that Little Anzi was afraid he would lose hope and sink into despair, which was why he was comforting him this way.

So he slowly said, "Rest assured, as I have said before, I will bring down the Empress Dowager and fight her to the death!"

"I am not dead yet, naturally I will not give up..."

At this, Ning Chen suddenly sighed again and murmured, "As expected, as expected I still couldn't kill that Zhao Siwen today..."

Hearing this, Little Anzi frowned and said with an expression full of indignation, "Your Majesty, you truly couldn't have killed that old dog Zhao Siwen today!"

"Although this servant was not present, I heard from my subordinates' reports that that dog Cao Dahai actually drew his saber just as you were about to execute Zhao Siwen!"

"Your Majesty, you were right. We truly cannot completely trust or rely on that dog Cao Dahai!"

"Why did he draw his saber? Wasn't it simply to intervene in time and stop you from killing Zhao Siwen?"

"So even if your poison hadn't flared up today, you wouldn't have been able to kill Zhao Siwen."

"What's hateful is that Cao Dahai, clearly your man by now, actually chose to stop you!"

"Such a fickle and treacherous person must be eliminated..."

As Little Anzi spoke indignantly, Ning Chen suddenly smiled bitterly once more and said, "I saw it."

Little Anzi was suddenly startled: "Your Majesty, you saw it?"

Ning Chen nodded and said, "You have wronged him. He is a clever man, and what he did was right..."

Little Anzi froze in place, looking at the Emperor in utter disbelief: "Your Majesty, y-you are still speaking up for him?"

"Eliminating Zhao Siwen is something you have been plotting until now, yet he actually tried to stop you at such a crucial moment..."

Ning Chen smiled and interrupted again, "You truly misunderstood him. Speaking of which, I actually have to thank him. He was reminding me that I could not kill Zhao Siwen!"

This time, Little Anzi was completely bewildered: "Thank him?"

"Remind you?"

"Your Majesty, where is the logic in this?"

Ning Chen sighed softly and slowly said, "I was simply too impatient, thinking I could get rid of Zhao Siwen through this mere wager!"

"Zhao Siwen is the Empress Dowager's absolute confidant and her personal purse; how could he possibly be eliminated based simply on a wager?"

Saying this, he cast another glance at the still-perplexed Little Anzi, sighed once more, and continued with a hint of self-reproach:

"I believe that even if Cao Dahai hadn't made a move, someone else from the Empress Dowager's faction would have stepped in immediately to stop me from executing Zhao Siwen!"

"Furthermore, the Empress Dowager was right about one thing: in front of so many commoners, with everyone pleading for his life, if I had forcibly killed him based solely on that wager, the drawbacks to me would far outweigh the benefits!"

"That is also why, when I vomited blood and could easily have forced myself to keep going and strike down Zhao Siwen, I deliberately dropped the blade instead!"

Upon hearing this, Little Anzi trembled all over, his eyes widening in disbelief as he stared at the young Emperor Ning Chen.

He found it hard to imagine that the Emperor had not only noticed Cao Dahai secretly drawing his saber to prevent the execution, but had even intentionally dropped the sword himself!

Just how many stratagems and quick-witted contingencies were hidden within this mere nine-year-old mind...

"But Your Majesty, to get rid of Zhao Siwen, you plotted and schemed for so long, and even exposed the commercial firm and Hu Wanzan, practically handing them over to the Empress Dowager on a silver platter."

"Now that Zhao Siwen wasn't killed, wouldn't all our efforts have been in vain, leaving us with nothing to show for it..." Little Anzi said with deep vexation.

Ning Chen shook his head and said, "Not at all!"

"Although Zhao Siwen was not killed, my gains are by no means small!"

Little Anzi was dumbfounded once again. To him, all of this was a settled fact; why did the young Emperor keep overturning his understanding time and time again?

Unable to hold back, he asked urgently, "Why would Your Majesty say that, clearly..."

A confident smile, one that Little Anzi found immensely familiar, finally appeared on Ning Chen's face.

He said slowly, "In fact, before I decided to use this wager to get rid of Zhao Siwen, I already sensed that the matter might not succeed!"

"That is why I had you send that letter to Zhang Shi out of the palace last night!"

"I deliberately let the commercial firm be exposed so that the Empress Dowager would meet Hu Wanzan!"

Saying this, Ning Chen slowly propped up his upper body, but he was far too weak and could not even manage to sit up.

Seeing this, Little Anzi hurriedly stepped forward to support Ning Chen into a sitting position and draped a robe over his shoulders. "No wonder, no wonder you chose to bring those five million taels of silver out into the open in that manner..."

Ning Chen nodded and continued, "What the Empress Dowager lacks most right now is money!"

"Therefore, if my calculations are correct, the Imperial Commercial Bureau will soon be established, and Hu Wanzan will undoubtedly be appointed as its director!"

"Once the Empress Dowager realizes the immense benefits commerce can bring, not only will she stop digging into my connection with the firm, but she will also heavily support the commercial bureau and heavily employ Hu Wanzan!"

At this, a confident smile surfaced on Ning Chen's face once more. Though his complexion was deathly pale and devoid of color, his gaze was resolute: "This was the most crucial objective of my entire plan!"

Little Anzi understood only half of it, feeling that these schemes were far too complex, entirely beyond the scope of ordinary human thought.

Unreconciled, he said, "Even if you make the Empress Dowager support the commercial bureau and employ Hu Wanzan, the Empress Dowager's greatest pillar, Zhao Siwen, is still safely sitting in his position as the Minister of Revenue!"

"The money earned by the commercial firm will likely still be managed by Zhao Siwen..."

Ning Chen smiled and interrupted, "Rest assured, using the wager to kill Zhao Siwen today was merely an attempt on my part!"

"The result proved that this attempt failed. The Empress Dowager not only mobilized all civil and military officials to plead for Zhao Siwen, but she even stepped forward personally to plead for him herself!"

"When I saw Cao Dahai quietly draw his saber, I realized I could not kill Zhao Siwen today, but since the atmosphere had been built up to that point, I simply had to play out the act!"

Saying this, Ning Chen laboriously reached out his small hand and patted Little Anzi's shoulder out of habit: "But you must remember, I never leave myself with only a single path!"

"For me, under any circumstance, there must always be a backup plan!"

Little Anzi instantly grew excited, looking at Ning Chen with burning curiosity: "Your Majesty, do you mean you still have a contingency plan?"

Ning Chen nodded and smiled meaningfully, "Naturally!"

"Having the Empress Dowager heavily employ Hu Wanzan—that is the backup plan I prepared!"

Puzzled, Little Anzi asked, "But this servant truly doesn't understand, what does Hu Wanzan have to do with getting rid of Zhao Siwen?"

Ning Chen smiled and explained, "Just think, if Hu Wanzan manages the commercial bureau well and earns enough money for the Empress Dowager, won't Zhao Siwen, who serves as the Empress Dowager's purse, lose some of his importance?"

Mid-sentence, sudden understanding dawned upon Little Anzi, and he said excitedly, "I understand, Your Majesty!"

"Once Hu Wanzan wins the Empress Dowager's heavy favor, he will gradually replace Zhao Siwen's function as her purse!"

"In the future, when you find a way to get rid of Zhao Siwen, the Empress Dowager will no longer protect him with all her might the way she did today!"

"Brilliant, Your Majesty, this move of yours is simply brilliant..."

At this, Little Anzi couldn't help but ask, "Then how should we go about eliminating that old dog Zhao Siwen next?"

Ning Chen smiled and spoke softly, "Little Anzi, tonight you will send someone in secret to the Miaoyin Pavilion."

"Tell the Eldest Cousin that the time has come and she can begin acting according to my instructions!"

Little Anzi was stunned: "Begin acting?"

"Your Majesty, could it be that you had already arranged all of this..."

A confident smile reappeared on Ning Chen's face: "Obviously!"

"I planned this backup plan right from the very beginning, and now it is time to put it into motion!"

Seeing this, Little Anzi stopped asking further questions and turned to leave.

Suddenly thinking of something, Ning Chen called out, "Wait!"

"The Eldest Cousin must already know about me vomiting blood and fainting today!"

"Tell her that I am entirely safe and sound, with no serious ailments, so she can carry out her tasks with peace of mind. I will definitely bring down the Empress Dowager and avenge my grandfather's family..."

Little Anzi started, and looking at the pale, bloodless face of Ning Chen, a sharp pang of heartache gripped his chest.

He was merely a nine-year-old boy!

A boy of this age ought to be living amidst the care of his parents, carefree and happy!

Yet now, his young master was shouldering all of this entirely on his own...

At this thought, tears fell from his eyes once more!

With a face full of heartache, he said, "Master, you are still thinking of your Eldest Cousin, while the poison in your own body..."

Ning Chen smiled and said, "Rest assured, I won't die that easily!"

"Besides, the flare-up of this poison is actually a very good thing for me!"

Little Anzi was frozen in place once more, asking in utter bewilderment, "A very good thing?"

"Master, what nonsense are you talking about? You've already vomited blood and fainted, yet you—you actually call it a good thing..."

Ning Chen smiled. Having spoken so much, he was exhausted and truly lacked the strength to explain further. He slowly lay back down on the bed and waved a hand: "Stop chattering, go and return quickly..."

With that, whether he had fainted once more or simply fallen asleep, he slipped into silence...

Meanwhile.

Inside the Fengyi Palace.

The elderly nanny looked anxiously toward the Empress Dowager:

"Your Majesty, if this servant may be so bold, I always felt that today's events were not that simple!"

"Why would the little Emperor harbor such intense murderous intent toward Zhao Siwen?"

"Moreover, the relationship between him and that Hu Wanzan is likely far from as simple as Hu Wanzan claimed..."

The Empress Dowager frowned, a cold glint flashing in her eyes: "What are you trying to say?"