NCCnovel Chapter 290 Between Cen and Chen
Chapter 290 Between Cen and Chen
"How can I rest in peace now that Dean Cen is in danger?"
He walked to the window and looked out at the dark night sky, which seemed to cover the earth and his heart. The night sky was dotted with stars, but they could not dispel the worry and longing in his heart.
How he wanted to fly to Cen Jiexiao immediately, hug her tightly, and tell her that he would always protect her, prevent her from any harm, shelter her from the wind and rain, and be her most solid support.
But he couldn't. He knew he had a more important mission, and he couldn't let his personal feelings derail the country's affairs. The conflict between his own feelings and the interests of his country and family kept raging in his heart, leaving him in agony.
At this moment, a figure quietly appeared at the door of his study, and the light footsteps seemed particularly clear in the silent night.
"Who?" Chen Zigui asked vigilantly, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"It's me." A familiar voice came, like the sound of nature, instantly soothing his inner anxiety.
Chen Zigui turned around suddenly and saw the person coming. An expression of surprise appeared on his face and his tense nerves relaxed.
"Sister Cen! Why are you here? It's too dangerous for you to come here rashly, go back quickly!" His tone was full of worry and concern.
Cen Jiexiao walked quickly to Chen Zigui, tears glistening in her eyes, like stars twinkling in the night sky.
"Big Brother, there have been so many things happening recently that I'm a little worried about you, so I came to check on you."
"Hey, senior brother, it would be great if time could go back a few months to the carefree days at Zhaoyin Academy." Her voice was choked with helplessness and sadness.
Chen Zigui looked at her with heartache and gently stroked her hair as if she were a precious treasure.
His voice was low and gentle, full of pity and love.
"But now I have no choice and I have no choice." He sighed helplessly, his heart full of bitterness.
He wanted so badly to take her far away, to escape this chaotic world and live a peaceful and stable life. But he couldn't. He was burdened with too many responsibilities and missions, and he couldn't give up everything for his own happiness.
He held Cen Jiexiao's hand tightly, feeling the warmth of her palm, as if he was holding the whole world.
"Sister Cen, don't worry, I will protect you. No matter what happens, I will be by your side." His tone was firm and powerful, full of commitment and determination.
Cen Jiexiao felt his warmth and her heart was filled with a sense of security.
Time stands still at this moment, and only the sound of each other's heartbeats echoes in their ears.
"By the way, Senior Brother," Sister Cen Xiao paused, wanting to speak but stopping herself, tears glistening in her eyes, her voice choked and almost inaudible, "The Empress Dowager... The Empress Dowager..."
Chen Zigui noticed something was wrong with her and felt a tightness in his heart. He held her hand and asked softly, "Sister Cen, what's wrong? What happened? Talk slowly, don't be anxious."
Cen Jiexiao took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and spoke intermittently, "The Queen Mother...she wants me...to persuade you...to persuade you to join her..."
Chen Zigui's face darkened, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. He gently embraced Cen Jiexiao in his arms and whispered comfortingly, "Don't be afraid, Sister Cen, I'll take care of everything." He gently patted her back, feeling her trembling.
He held Cen Jiexiao's face in his hands, looked into her eyes tenderly, and said firmly, "The people from the Qiming Group have already told me about this. This Queen Mother is truly delusional! How could I, Chen Zigui, surrender to her?"
"Sister Cen, don't worry, I will never betray you, nor will I betray the emperor. I will protect you, the emperor, and the Great Zhou!" His voice was sonorous and powerful, full of determination and commitment.
Cen Jiexiao nodded with emotion, her eyes filled with trust and affection for him. She knew that no matter what happened, the eldest brother would always be her most solid support.
The two chatted for a while and then began to discuss countermeasures.
"Big Brother, what should we do?" Cen Jiexiao asked worriedly, "The Queen Mother is now extremely powerful. How should we respond?"
Chen Zigui pondered for a moment and analyzed, "Although the Queen Mother seems to be in control of the government, her foundation is unstable. There are many people in the court who are loyal to the Emperor and us. We cannot confront them head-on, we can only use our wits to defeat them."
Sister Cen Xiao thought for a moment and said, "Big Brother, what do you mean...?"
Chen Zigui continued, "Why not play along? On the surface, I agree to the Queen Mother's offer, but secretly continue to cooperate with Chai Zhen to fight against her. The Queen Mother's eagerness to win me over shows that she's uneasy, and we can take advantage of this."
Cen Jiexiao nodded in agreement and said, "Okay, let's do it! I'll act in front of the Queen Mother and make her believe that you've wavered. But how can I make this play convincing?"
Chen Zigui added, "To make the plan more realistic, you need to gradually demonstrate my 'transformation' in front of the Queen Mother, from initial resistance, to later hesitation, and finally wavering, so that she falls into our trap step by step. You have to make her believe that I was persuaded by you."
"I understand," Cen Jiexiao responded. "I'll strike a balance, Big Brother. I'll first express your dissatisfaction and resistance to the Queen Mother, letting her see your 'loyalty'. Then, I'll slowly reveal your concerns about the current situation and your uncertainty about the future. Finally, I'll hint that you've been moved by my 'persuasion'."
Chen Zigui nodded approvingly: "That's it, we need to make her feel that everything is under her control."
So, Cen Jiexiao began to skillfully weave lies in front of the Queen Mother. She first expressed Chen Zigui's dissatisfaction and resistance to the Queen Mother, and then hinted that deep down he also longed for power and status, and was worried about the safety of himself and his family.
As time went by, Cen Jiexiao gradually described Chen Zigui as a person with inner contradictions and indecision, who was quite moved by the empress dowager's olive branch.
Empress Dowager Li was deceived by Cen Jiexiao's acting skills and mistakenly believed that she had completely controlled the situation. She became a little proud and relaxed her vigilance against Chen Zigui a little.
Cen Jiexiao was well aware of the importance of sowing discord. She knew that to completely dismantle the Empress Dowager's power, she must first weaken her influence. And Concubine Shu was one of the Empress Dowager's most capable assistants. Though outwardly dependent on the Empress Dowager, Cen Jiexiao saw clearly her inner desires: she craved the Emperor's favor and supreme power. This was a weakness that Cen Jiexiao could exploit.
She began to carefully plan how to sow discord between them in front of the Queen Mother, making them suspicious of each other and eventually turning against each other. The first thing she had to do was to cleverly show the Queen Mother that Concubine Shu was in favor.