The Emperor was annoyed and said grumpily, “Speak.”
“Earlier, when this humble official was in a hurry to use the restroom, I seemed to see… see Director Rong of the Ministry of Rites at the racecourse.”
There was more than one Director in the Ministry of Rites. Rong Juan, who hadn’t yet accepted his official position, instinctively reacted: “Who is Rong Ye?”
Xie Yanzhou, standing in front of him, once again felt that some money shouldn’t be saved; maybe he should hire a tutor for him.
System: [Little Rong, he’s talking about you.]
Me?
As the Emperor’s gaze shifted, almost all eyes turned toward Rong Juan. Upon seeing him, the Wurong envoy shouted: “It’s you!”
Anger instantly climbed to the extreme. The envoy looked at Rong Juan as if seeing the murderer of his father, wishing he could tear him apart on the spot.
“You’ve been to the racecourse?”
The Emperor looked at Rong Juan darkly.
More than the Crown Prince’s life or death, the Emperor was angered by the method of the attack at the racecourse. If the killer could use it against the Crown Prince, they could use it against him. If he had ridden a crazy horse today, the consequences would be unimaginable.
System: [That dog official is tricking you.]
It was certain that no official passed by at that time.
The intentions of the official who spoke up were quite vicious.
With the groom dead, having been near the racecourse brought its own suspicion. Even if nothing was found in the end, it would be easy to incur the Emperor’s suspicion in the future.
However, since the System said no one was there, then no one passed by.
Denying it seemed like a once-and-for-all solution, good for both him and Hou Shen.
But Rong Juan didn’t immediately clear himself.
No matter how bold an official was, they wouldn’t dare frame someone without evidence.
Xie Yanzhou, who had been blocking him, suddenly stepped aside.
This was a normal move since he was now being questioned by the Emperor. But Xie Yanzhou hadn’t moved when the Emperor looked over earlier, yet he moved now…
Through the cleared field of vision, Rong Juan’s gaze moved imperceptibly, then froze slightly.
Footprints.
Where Xie Yanzhou had moved away, there were relatively clear shoe prints on the ground, even capturing some of the patterns.
It was windy today, and dust flew in the center of the racecourse. Anyone who had been there would inevitably leave traces. Careful comparison would always find the person involved.
Xie Yanzhou gave him an extra hinting look.
Unfortunately, Rong Juan missed it this time. He silently gave up the thought of lying to avoid trouble.
“Over an hour ago, I came here once.”
“Why didn’t you say so!”
This remark contained some displaced anger. The Crown Prince had just had an accident, and Rong Juan indicated he had left the place an hour ago. Being asked like this made it seem as if he had a guilty conscience.
Seeing the Emperor in a fit of anger, officials who wanted to speak for Rong Juan were helpless.
Some rejoiced, some worried.
Seeing Rong Juan being questioned, the Wurong envoys immediately crossed their arms, watching the show with delight.
Between social death and being executed, Rong Juan decisively chose the former. In a few seconds, he adjusted his expression to look like it was hard to speak.
A good appearance was still useful at critical moments; at least it made people willing to listen to him.
Rong Juan phrased it carefully: “Reporting to Your Majesty, this subject was not alone at the time. Director Hou of the Ministry of Rites was also there.”
Xie Yanzhou glanced at Rong Juan. He originally thought the other party would have no witnesses due to slacking off at work. So he hinted that he could use him as a cover, saying he had trained a horse here in advance. With a bit of cleverness, many reasons could be found, such as a return gift for the donated medicine.
But he didn’t expect there would be someone else at the scene.
Hou Shen.
Xie Yanzhou narrowed his eyes. He had no impression of this person, only remembering that when Rong Hengsong claimed illness and stayed idle, this person visited once, calling him “Virtuous Brother” repeatedly.
Earlier, Hou Shen helped carry the Crown Prince to the tent. Rushing over after the eunuch passed the message, he suddenly felt a gaze.
Seeing it was Xie Yanzhou, he breathed a sigh of relief.
General Xie looked at everyone like that; he thought he had offended someone again.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“Do you know your crime!”
The Emperor deliberately asked about the crime directly, intending to bluff him.
The eunuch had received many benefits from the Superintendent Bureau in the past and had already explained the general situation on the way.
Hou Shen acted terrified and confused: “I do not know what crime this subject has committed?”
“Asking knowingly! Did you come to the racecourse earlier?”
“I did.” Hou Shen answered without thinking, slightly dissipating the Emperor’s suspicion.
Hou Shen looked at Rong Juan: “This humble official was invited to help draw a picture.”
The previous drawings were all made in a small notebook used by the Ministry of Rites for daily notes. To prove himself, Hou Shen took it out and flipped through it. Because he was too hurried, he flipped through it all at once.
The rapidly simplified creations connected together looked like a black-and-white comic strip at first glance.
The aesthetic of sketching was quite different from the current times.
In the drawing, Rong Juan sat firmly on the horse, maintaining a mask-like smile while “posing pretentiously.” The whole process was like a butterfly pinned to a horse, never fluttering once.
Finally, it ended with Rong Juan looking back and smiling.
Everyone was stunned. Even the eunuch nearby was shocked.
Did the court official lose his mind?
The officials had strange expressions one by one. Even the Chief Superintendent’s brow twitched faintly.
The official who initially threw dirt on Rong Juan couldn’t find words and questioned: “Were you performing a shaman dance on the horse?”
Rong Juan: “…”
Brewing some emotions, Rong Juan closed his eyes and started acting.
“Your Majesty, this subject loved riding horses in the past. Now my body is weak, so I can only brazenly ask someone to draw pictures to satisfy the craving… Because it is truly embarrassing to mention, I hope Your Majesty forgives me.”
The Emperor scolded: “What is there to be embarrassed about?!”
As he spoke, his suspicious gaze swept over Hou Shen again.
Scared, Hou Shen subconsciously flipped through the notebook in his hand again. The comic strip of the “dead butterfly” pinned to the horse played again.
The Emperor fell silent.
The officials were silent.
It was indeed somewhat improper.
There was a basic tacit understanding for self-preservation.
Rong Juan and Hou Shen automatically hid a detail: while Hou Shen was drawing, Rong Juan left halfway alone.
Subconsciously, everyone assumed they were together throughout the drawing process and could be each other’s witnesses.
Plus, their relationship had always been poor before, and it was no secret that Hou Shen once led the isolation of Rong Juan.
After the Emperor calmed down, his suspicion largely dissipated. Plotting against the Crown Prince was a major event. Even a fool was unlikely to choose a colleague he hadn’t known long as a partner.
Grand Tutor Su stepped forward at the right time: “Your Majesty, why not hand the case over to the Superintendent Bureau for investigation? The urgent task is to send someone to check all the horses first, in case someone else gets hurt or collides with Your Majesty…”
The Emperor’s focus shifted: “My beloved subject is right.”
The latter was the real national affair.
Rong Juan silently stood back in his original position. The Grand Tutor is reliable.
The questioning came to an end. Painful howls came from the Crown Prince’s tent in the distance from time to time. Accompanied by a large number of guards, the Emperor went to visit the Crown Prince.
Rong Juan watched the group leave, his gaze freezing briefly.
The young man with the Right Prime Minister’s faction seemed to sense the gaze. Looking back, he actually smiled and nodded proactively.
Rong Juan narrowed his eyes.
The next moment, a burly figure blocked the space between them.
As soon as the Emperor left, the Wurong envoy unceremoniously made a throat-slitting threat gesture at him.
“When I cut off Luandi’s head, he was just as arrogant.”
Seeing Xie Yanzhou, the envoy’s gesturing arm stiffened significantly.
In Wurong, the name Xie Yanzhou truly had the effect of stopping children from crying at night.
Wurong tortured prisoners of war, and Xie Yanzhou was no less ruthless. He had done plenty of tribe massacres. Not to mention people, he wouldn’t even leave a single cow or sheep wherever he passed.
The envoy didn’t even leave harsh words this time, leaving with an unnatural expression.
Rong Juan watched him retreat at light speed and raised an eyebrow: “So cowardly today?”
Hou Shen walked over with weak legs and said, “Virtuous Brother doesn’t know. His Majesty has released news that the Princess will marry into Baixu. The Wurong people are afraid of General Xie to begin with, so it’s normal to be cowardly.”
The mission needed to send the news of the marriage back and cherish their lives very much right now.
Having just survived a disaster, Hou Shen wanted to pull Rong Juan aside for a long talk. Just as he reached out, his arm felt like it was being pricked by needles.
Xie Yanzhou’s gaze, cold to everyone, made him feel suffocated instantly.
Leaving Rong Juan a look of “good luck getting along with the god of malice,” Hou Shen found an excuse and slipped away.
As soon as he left, many key officials from the Superintendent Bureau arrived to continue inspecting the scene.
Bu San, leading them, saw Rong Juan and teased, “Heard you almost became a suspect again.”
Gada gada gada.
What noise?
Bu San frowned.
Xie Yanzhou glanced at Rong Juan, who was cursing with his belly, and didn’t expose him.
Acting as if nothing had happened, Rong Juan asked Xie Yanzhou, “Who was that young man not wearing official robes following my dad earlier?”
Xie Yanzhou didn’t correct his wording and said indifferently, “Making up the numbers.”
Today’s polo match couldn’t be played by a bunch of greedy sacks. If only soldiers were used to play against Wurong, it could easily lead to bloodshed.
Many high officials preemptively brought their own nephews or disciples. The person Rong Juan inquired about was one of them.
Too vague. Rong Juan looked at Bu San again and described the person’s appearance in detail.
The Superintendent Bureau was best at opening and closing accounts (investigating people); there was nothing they didn’t know.
He thought Bu San would have to think about it, but the other party said directly, “You mean Gu Wen, right? Your dad’s student, you don’t know?”
Rong Juan shook his head righteously.
Bu San smiled strangely.
“This person has great learning. Among all the Right Prime Minister’s students, he is considered quite outstanding. He is good at dancing with long sleeves and is extremely skilled in social interactions.”
He paused, his tone indistinguishable between praise and criticism: “Even the Superintendent once said, ‘Sinister intentions hidden like a flood dragon.’ Unfortunately, his ancestors were exiled, so he cannot participate in the imperial examination. However…”
Rong Juan found the Chief Superintendent’s temper was really good. If the System spoke like this daily, he would have flattened it from 3D to a 2D plan long ago.
He would let the other party know what “life thinner than paper” meant.
Having kept them in suspense enough, Bu San continued with satisfaction:
“This Gu Wen is not only the Right Prime Minister’s student but also privately your big brother’s retainer. Moreover, this person currently seems to have no intention of entering officialdom. Since the trend of buying offices has become prevalent, the requirements for taking the exam have been relaxed considerably. Since Gu Wen is under the Right Prime Minister, it’s actually not difficult for him to take the exam if he wants.”
“Gu Wen,” Rong Juan repeated the name, saying, “Truly lives up to his name (meaning Advisor/Ask).”
At the Chief Superintendent’s level, he wouldn’t casually evaluate people.
Jiao (Flood Dragon) is also called Hidden Jiao. It has no divine rank in the heavenly court, which directly reflects Gu Wen’s current state. It was almost explicitly indicating that this was an evil species.
It seemed Gu Wen had a track record.
Bu San couldn’t help asking suspiciously, “Why are you asking about him?”
Rong Juan smiled without speaking.
Gulu.
Bu San: “…”
The familiar noise came again. He looked all over the ground for the source.
Xie Yanzhou was close, his gaze moving downward.
Rong Juan’s eyes were slightly green: “Hungry.”
Not cursing this time.
There was still some time before lunch. The accompanying imperial chefs had prepared snacks specially.
The morning polo match and investigation consumed a lot of energy. Mentioned by his stomach, everyone indeed felt a bit hungry. Bu San sent his subordinates to get some snacks directly, and they sat in a nearby tea pavilion.
Bu San had an advantage: he wasn’t too restrained in front of either the Chief Superintendent or Xie Yanzhou.
With him around, the atmosphere naturally had a relaxed boost.
“If we had gone a bit later, we wouldn’t have been able to eat.”
Rong Juan puffed out his cheeks and looked over.
Bu San pointed sinisterly at one of the dishes: “Do you know what this is?”
Rong Juan shook his head, his cheeks still moving, with some pastry crumbs on his face.
Xie Yanzhou looked at him sideways for a few seconds, his fingers moving subconsciously.
Rong Juan suddenly looked up: “Do you know?”
Xie Yanzhou curled his fingers back imperceptibly and said calmly, “Live roasted duck feet. Similar to boiling a frog in warm water. Place the live duck on an iron plate and heat it gradually. When it is completely cooked while jumping, chop them off and plate them.”
Rong Juan: “…”
Fortunately, I haven’t had time to eat this dish yet.
Not far away came the Crown Prince’s angry wails: “Quacks, a bunch of quacks! If you can’t cure my leg, you all go die!”
Thinking of the bloodstained leg when the Crown Prince was carried away, this roasted duck feet dish naturally couldn’t be served.
Mixed with his wails were the miserable neighs of horses. The Emperor ordered that any horse with even a slight problem be killed. The wind blew in one direction, and the smell of blood from killing horses drifted over constantly.
The pastry’s sweet, greasy taste suppressed the fishy smell in the air. Rong Juan swallowed the pastry bit by bit expressionlessly.
—I ask you one last time, are you returning to the manor?
Rong Chenglin’s words from the morning surfaced in his mind.
“He didn’t say returning to the underworld.”
The Crown Prince passing there to smile at Wurong was accidental, but his own passing there was inevitable.
His workplace was very close to the racecourse, and the original host loved riding horses, acted impulsively, and wouldn’t consider his physical condition at all. Seeing such a beautiful foal, it would be strange not to ride it.
After a long while, Rong Juan looked calmly in the direction of the Right Prime Minister’s tent, his gaze devoid of any warmth.
[Little Rong.]
Koukou popped up: [Patricide is a grave crime. Even the Gold Medal of Immunity from Death can’t save you if you kill the Prime Minister directly.]
A few random heavy beatings could indirectly take his life.
Rong Juan said indifferently, “I know.”
To move against Rong Chenglin, he would have to expend a lot of brainpower continuously. Yet he really didn’t like using his brain.
What method could solve it once and for all?
He thought very seriously for three seconds.
Otherwise, just kill him directly.
System: […]
Xie Yanzhou seemed to sense something and looked up at him.
Rong Juan revealed a harmless smile, as if the fleeting hostility just now was merely an illusion.
Author’s Note:
Unofficial History:
How to use the Gold Medal of Immunity from Death correctly?
The Emperor says: Keep the goodies within the family.
Rong Juan’s view of himself: Peaceful years, generous to others, considers consequences, won’t fight to the death even with disagreements.
Xie Yanzhou’s view of Rong Juan: Greedy foal, beautiful and proud wild cat, sweet-talking dolphin, shrinking chipmunk.
The Emperor’s view of Rong Juan: Troublemaker.
Colleagues’ view of Rong Juan: Loyal and courageous.
The Right Prime Minister’s view of Rong Juan: Reincarnation of a sinful child. [Okay]