Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne-Chapter 206 - 171 The Self-Smart Empress Xie

Duke Zhen spoke calmly, "I know you are my own sister."

"Since you know, what have you done?" Empress Xie could no longer control the anger and resentment in her heart, "You knew perfectly well why I sent Xie Shi to Yangzhou to quell the rebellion, yet what have you done?"

Facing his younger sister’s fury, Duke Zhen remained calm and said, "If I told you, would you still send Xie Shi to Yangzhou?"

"Of course, I would!" Empress Xie said with great conviction, "I won’t let Xie Shi ruin the emperor’s plans!"

"And then?" Duke Zhen countered.

Empress Xie was taken aback by Duke Zhen’s retort, "What then?"

Duke Zhen looked at Empress Xie without speaking.

Empress Xie was momentarily stunned and then realized the implication of Duke Zhen’s words, her expression turning even more unsightly.

"Brother, I am your biological sister from the same mother!" she gritted her teeth, "I am the legitimate daughter of the Xie family, Xie Wan is merely a concubine’s daughter!"

Duke Zhen, who was being shouted at, remained indifferent: "She is your elder sister."

"She is not, she doesn’t deserve it!" Empress Xie’s expression twisted as she said, "What right does a concubine’s daughter have to be my sister?"

In front of Duke Zhen, Empress Xie never concealed her jealousy towards the former Empress.

"She is a concubine’s daughter of the Xie family, but she is also your eldest sister."

"She is not." Empress Xie sneered, "What right does she, a lowly concubine’s daughter, have to be my sister?"

"No matter how much you deny it, it doesn’t change the fact that she is your elder sister." Duke Zhen slightly frowned, showing a hint of dissatisfaction, "Furthermore, she is not of low status; she was the Empress of the Great Zhou, the Empress respected by the emperor." Duke Zhen always knew what his younger sister’s sore spot was, and his last sentence was said deliberately.

Sure enough, Duke Zhen’s last words struck a nerve with Empress Xie, and her expression instantly became hideous.

"If it weren’t for my youth, how could Xie Wan, a lowly concubine’s daughter, have the qualification to marry the emperor and become the Empress presiding over the land?"

"If not for her, our Xie family couldn’t have allied with the Zhao family." Duke Zhen said indifferently, "Then our Xie family wouldn’t have produced an Empress, and you would not be Empress now."

"Without the elder sister, the Wang family would have allied with the Zhao family, and the current Empress would be the sister of the Noble Consort, not you." Duke Zhen said, "It was the elder sister who, before she passed, asked the emperor to marry you as his successor. Without the elder sister, you would not have your current position as Empress."

Empress Xie hated hearing that her position as Empress came thanks to Xie Wan, and she said sinisterly, "Are you saying I should thank her?"

"You should thank her, without her, the emperor might not have married you as his successor..."

"Impossible." Empress Xie interrupted Duke Zhen, "Even without Xie Wan, the emperor would have married me as Empress. I am the legitimate daughter of the Xie family, without the help of the Xie family, their Zhao family..." she trailed off.

"You want to say that without the help of our Xie family, the Zhao family could not have established the Great Zhou, right?" Duke Zhen completed the sentence Empress Xie left unfinished.

Empress Xie said coldly, "Isn’t that the case?"

Duke Zhen laughed, "I am here to formally tell you that without the help of our Xie family, the Zhao family would eventually succeed in establishing the Great Zhou; it was just a matter of time."

"Impossible, without the help of our Xie family, how could the Zhao family possibly..."

Duke Zhen interrupted Empress Xie and said, "Back then, it was our Xie family who sought to cooperate with the Zhao family, not the Zhao family begging to cooperate with us, understand?"

Empress Xie couldn’t accept this, and she said in disbelief, "How could that be..."

"Father recognized the capability of the former emperor, and took the initiative to collaborate with the Zhao family before the Wang family, otherwise the Wang family would have cooperated with the Zhao family, and then the Empress would belong to the Wang family." Duke Zhen said, "Whether with or without our Xie family, or the Wang family, the Zhao family would succeed! Collaborating with our Xie family merely hastened their success!"

"You underestimate the Zhao family and overestimate our Xie family!"

"This... how could this be..." Empress Xie had always believed it was due to their Xie family’s help that the Zhao family succeeded in establishing the Great Zhou.

"You were too young at that time to know anything." Duke Zhen cast a deep look at Empress Xie and said, "The Zhao family owes nothing to our Xie family!"

Empress Xie sat in the chair, dazed.

"You were young then and it’s understandable that you didn’t know, but you’ve been Empress for several years now and surprisingly, you still know nothing." Duke Zhen shook his head and said, "The elder sister understood this early on, so after marrying the emperor, she devoted herself fully to being a good daughter-in-law of the Zhao family."

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