"You awakened me, looking back at all the past moments now, I realized all regrets are due to struggles, the so-called Heavenly Mandate is merely man-made. Indeed, in the eyes of the royal family, I, the Emperor, am nothing but a puppet."
Ji Zichang laughed heartily, finally silent for a long time, and said:
"The Emperor's suffering, the people's suffering."
"But in the end, I'm much better off than the common people."
"I feel waves of suffering and pain, but can still drink to drown my sorrows, talk to you, but the common people can only struggle to live with their heads down. In this sense, my so-called suffering seems to be somewhat of a groundless lament."
"But looking back over these past thirty-plus years, each step felt heavy, everything seemed to be led by someone, the more I think about it, the worse I feel, unable to sleep all night, and when I think about the pain, I even can't help but shed tears."
