Qi Yan was holding his sword and watching this drama of brothers suspecting each other, while vaguely trying to figure out what mystery the Mingyue Pavilion actually held, when he heard this command and subconsciously grasped the hilt of his sword.
Chen Ping, the round-faced guard who insisted on striking up an immediate affinity with him, pulled him back once more.
“Brother Qi, His Majesty gave orders, we don’t need to do it ourselves.”
Qi Yan gave a cold snort. Who said he was going to do anything? He wasn’t even necessarily willing to obey Nan Rongchen’s orders anyway.
“Is this how you normally follow Nan, His Majesty?” Qi Yan corrected himself just in time to avoid another nagging lecture from Chen Ping, suspecting that Nan Rongchen had deliberately sent this motor-mouthed mushroom Chen Ping to torture him. “Freeloading by his side?”
Chen Ping scratched his head with an embarrassed smile. “Ah, I suppose so. I’ve been on duty by His Majesty’s side for five or six years, and even during those years on the frontier battlefield, His Majesty never once made me draw a sword to kill anyone.”
What kind of imperial guard turned out looking like this? Qi Yan looked Chen Ping up and down, his expression growing darker the more he looked. So this Chen Ping was actually the one kept by Nan Rongchen’s side as his personal favorite. No wonder those palace maids and eunuchs in the Zichen Palace gossiped about him the way they did.
Having stayed by the side of someone as dissolute as Nan Rongchen for too long, their eyes were murky and their hearts stained, making everything they saw look filthy!
Though he didn’t know where Qi Yan came from or why he was so disrespectful to the Emperor, the person brought back by His Majesty naturally had his reasons, so Chen Ping took the opportunity to continue persuading him. “Anyway, His Majesty is very good. He has never punished me, and he must be the most benevolent person in the entire world.”
The word benevolent had barely left his mouth when the imperial guards, clad in armor and armed with swords, charged into the Hanyuan Palace.
The Western Xia envoys had not anticipated that Nan Rongchen would tear off the pretense so directly, and thus had not brought many guards with them.
At present, the disparity in numbers between the two sides was vast. The green-robed envoy in the lead remained unfazed, speaking with the calm composure of a national envoy, “His Majesty’s actions will likely harm the goodwill between our two nations.”
Noisy. As the alcohol grew stronger, Nan Rongchen nodded directly at the leading imperial guard in signal.
With the flash of blades, a mere moment later, three heads rolled clumsily onto the floor. The head of the green-robed envoy rolled all the way to the third display set up by Western Xia, right in front of the cage of a fierce-eyed white tiger, provoking the beast to open its jaws wide and drip saliva.
The blood splashing onto the gold bricks and jade stones blurred Qi Yan’s vision. Compared to the towering, roaring river waters of the Nanliang borderlands back in the day, this was merely a minor spectacle. He cast a sarcastic look at Chen Ping. “Nan Rongchen is truly benevolent to the extreme.”
A tyrant who stopped at nothing to capture cities, did he really deserve the word benevolent?
Noticing the hostility in Qi Yan’s eyes, Chen Ping reached out to cover Qi Yan’s vision, flashing two tiger teeth. “It was those Western Xia envoys who provoked His Majesty first, they deserved to die.”
Other things aside, he couldn’t let Qi Yan ruin His Majesty’s mood.
Qi Yan batted the hand away from his eyes, muttered a curse about self-deception, and cast an impatient glance at Chen Ping’s utterly sincere gaze. Chen Ping was completely beyond saving.
The three blood-soaked, headless corpses drained the remaining color from the faces of the other Western Xia attendants. The envoys and attendants, who had harbored ulterior motives just moments before, were forced to their knees under the blades of the imperial guards. “King of Lin Yue, what is the meaning of this?! Our sovereign sent us here for a sincere dialogue, how can you slaughter our nation’s envoys?”
Now that Nanliang had fallen and the world was divided into two, what sincerity was left between Lin Yue and Western Xia?
Nan Rongchen swept his sleeves and cut straight to the point. “On the third day after the envoys entered Shangjing, they sent people to the Mingyue Pavilion. The background of the Mingyue Pavilion requires no elaboration from Us. In the days following, where you went and which officials you met, you yourselves know best.”
The Western Xia envoys had reentered Shangjing and reestablished the spy network he had previously broken without a shred of hesitation, simply because they saw him preparing to dispatch troops to Yuezhi and believed he could not afford to openly break ties with Western Xia.
In his past life, that had indeed been the case. But now, with the protagonist halo of the future ruler of the world, Nanrong Chengyu, he didn’t need to worry much about Yuezhi, and thus saw no reason to let the Western Xia people act so presumptuously.
That attendant had been putting up a bold front when asking his questions, but under the interrogation of the enemy nation’s Son of Heaven, his face turned deathly pale, and he could speak no further.
Nan Rongchen gave the cold command, “The Hanyuan Palace is dirtied and unfit for hosting guests. You are all invited to take a seat at the Dali Temple and have a chat with the Chief Minister of Dali Temple.”
The leading imperial guard raised his sword, cupped his hands in acknowledgment, and led several guards to escort the Western Xia attendants out of the main hall.
Anyone with eyes could see that the banquet had reached its conclusion. Nan Rongchen spoke considerately, “Since some disruptions occurred in the Hanyuan Palace today, my lords, you may all withdraw if you have no other matters.”
The protocol officials present were witnessing such a scene for the first time and wished nothing more than to grease the soles of their feet and ride the wind away. Hearing these words, they bowed repeatedly and requested leave to withdraw.
365: The protagonist’s gratifying point is detected as missing, please make up for it promptly, Host.
With the hall finally quieted down, Nan Rongchen raised his phoenix eyes and smiled softly. Flushing with a rosy tint from the excess alcohol and the injuries that drained his face of natural color, he swept his gaze across the three men remaining in the seating area and lazily beckoned toward them.
The bloody spectacle that had just stained the Hanyuan Palace had completely exceeded Nanrong Chengyu’s expectations, yet now, swept by Nan Rongchen’s gaze, a chill shot straight up his spine, while simultaneously being bewitched into wanting to submit, to draw closer, until his very bones and blood merged with the other.
For a moment, he had no spare attention to ponder why the plot was shifting like this; his mind and eyes were entirely consumed by Nan Rongchen’s persona.
According to the description in the book, the villainous tyrant possessed a mind close to that of a demon and was born a doomed ruler. The late emperor had long known this, playing a long game to forge this monstrous entity into a territorial blade in his own hands.
Yet in the less than a year since Nan Rongchen ascended the throne, no matter how he looked at it, Nan Rongchen appeared merely as an ordinary, mediocre sovereign. No matter how fiercely the ministers argued in court, he never truly lost his temper on the surface, instead balancing benevolence and severity to manage state affairs in an orderly fashion.
His temperament and operational capability completely crushed those brainless, water-brained various CEOs from modern society.
The sole flaw was that Nan Rongchen had never looked at him properly. Calculated properly, this was the first time he had witnessed Nan Rongchen give an order to execute someone.
The Son of Heaven upon the imperial throne did not resemble the usual sturdy, thick-waisted military generals; with a slender waist and narrow back, having rolled through the battlefields, he still retained the poetic description of skin like congealed lard, eyes like spotted lacquer. Yet rather than looking like an immortal being, the shifting light in his eyes made him look more like a soul-snatching ghost.
The blood of the Western Xia people had clearly splashed meters away in the main hall, but at some point, it seemed to ride the gold and jade to surge onto the imperial dais, heightening the intoxicating and bewitching aura of the Son of Heaven.
Nanrong Chengyu firmly believed that among the few people left in the Hanyuan Palace, Nan Rongchen could only be referring to him. “This subject obeys.”
The Western Xia envoys had pointed fingers at him, Nan Rongchen suspected him, and the person Nan Rongchen should keep in his heart and view as his formidable rival could only be him.
“Prince Xiang, take your seat first,” Nan Rongchen cast a displeased glance at the obstructing protagonist. “Helian Yi, come here.”
System: Please make up for the gratifying point promptly, Host.
The alcohol made his head swim with dizziness, and Nan Rongchen propped his head against his hand, leaning against the imperial throne. “His turn will come in due time.”
Helian Yi had learned his lesson this time and knelt beneath the imperial throne without waiting to be told.
The accumulation of hatred value for today was already sufficient; technically, he shouldn’t have gone through this trouble. It was just that the scheming between Helian Yi, Nanrong Chengyu, and Western Xia genuinely displeased him.
In his past life, he knew his plotting against Western Xia was a dangerous gamble, guarding against every possibility, never expecting that all of this amounted to nothing more than a few strokes of plot points in a book for Nanrong Chengyu.
He had lost two loyal subordinates because of it, while Nanrong Chengyu stepped on their blood to maximize his gratifying points, reaping the spoils without effort and even earning the reputation of being benevolent yet resolute.
The private gunpowder workshop in Mingyue Pavilion should not have been exposed so early; it was simply sacrificed to satisfy Nanrong Chengyu’s gratifying points among the common folk.
What if he chose not to make up for this so-called gratifying point right now?
As for Helian Yi, since he had already used force against him, he might as well teach him thoroughly to the end. Otherwise, if this group of people truly believed anyone could come and trick him, he would have infinitely more trouble on his hands.
Nan Rongchen reached out and pinched Helian Yi’s chin. The well-defined joints of his fingers curved pleasingly, an action that appeared both hateful and seductive in Nanrong Chengyu’s eyes.
Alcohol was at work, coupled with the fact that Nan Rongchen had long since lowered his guard against vigilance, he failed to detect the two brooding, dark gazes coming from the protagonist. He unhurriedly addressed Helian Yi, “Did Western Xia treat you better than Us?”
The distance abruptly closed. Knowing he had already been exposed, Helian Yi lowered his brow, clenched his teeth, and locked eyes with Nan Rongchen. A cool, nameless Central Plains fragrance mixed with mellow wild alcohol swirled around his tip of the nose, unexpectedly conjuring an intoxicating vibrancy amid the sword-drawn tension.
Nan Rongchen let out a scoff, gently tapping his palm against the side face of the person at his feet. “True, whose hound isn’t a hound after all?”
“It’s just a pity that only Us can raise you.”
Helian Yi remained silent, awaiting what came next. Success or failure, he had to endure this humiliation. The Son of Heaven possessed vermillion lips and pearly teeth, every movement of opening and closing carrying imperial majesty, yet inadvertently suffused with a hint of allure by the palace wine, tightening his throat.
Nan Rongchen perceived the endurance and forbearance hidden within his attempt to bear humiliation to bide his time, but he had no intention of doing the work himself. Training a beast pet was not something one should constantly do personally, or he would die of exhaustion. “However, We are tired, Qi Yan.”
Before he could finish his sentence, his wrist was caught within a thick, thin-callused palm. Helian Yi suppressed his hatred and spoke in a deep voice, “Nan Rongchen, you were the one who wanted to tame me like a wolfhound. If you want to punish me, do it yourself, why bother using someone else’s hands?”
Nan Rongchen curled his fingers resting against Helian Yi’s cheek. He hadn’t managed to become an enlightened monarch, so he couldn’t afford to be utterly unqualified as a tyrant either.
He withdrew his hand and cleanly slapped Helian Yi across the face. “Tell Us, what all did you discuss with the Western Xia envoys?”
Being humiliated in front of his beloved Nanrong Chengyu, Helian Yi’s hatred value had plenty of room to rise further. He didn’t care about the protagonist’s gratifying points; either way, this trip had been thoroughly worthwhile.
Helian Yi turned his face slightly to the side, the corner of his lips curling into a provocative smile. “Naturally, taking your life.”
Perhaps the alcohol had ignited the tyrannical streak deep within the bones of this tyrant, Nan Rongchen did not suppress it in the slightest, raising his palm to strike a few more times before once more pinching Helian Yi’s jaw. “Did you really think Western Xia wanted to help you reclaim Shule? What a brainless, ungrateful wretch.”
Setting other things aside, Helian Yi possessed a fine skull, quite suitable for being sliced open, skinned, and stripped of flesh to turn into a rare collectible ornament inside a romance novel.
Helian Yi raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, letting out a low chuckle beneath his half-reddened face. “Your Majesty, Helian Yi has learned his lesson.”
Rule-breaking comment: Did that satisfy him?
This one looks painful, I don’t want this one, Wife, please give Nanrong Chengyu a share instead, he likes it.
Nan Rongchen hadn’t counted on extracting anything useful from Helian Yi’s mouth anyway; Helian Yi probably knew even less than he did. “Grow smarter before you try to kill Us next time, and do not let Us find a next time.”
“Someone come, escort the heir to his seat.”
Taking advantage of the moment Helian Yi pushed away the eunuch attempting to support him and stepped down the jade stairs, Nan Rongchen pulled out a silk handkerchief to wipe his reddened palm, sighing inwardly that being a tyrant was truly exhausting work.
“Did Prince Xiang say he was testing Western Xia on Our behalf just now?”
Hearing this, Nanrong Chengyu cupped his hands and stood up, smoothing away the residual emotions in his eyes completely. “Reporting to Imperial Elder Brother, it was this subject’s incompetence.”
Exposing the private gunpowder workshop had originally followed the script, serving as foreshadowing for him to later expose Nan Rongchen’s unprincipled use of any means necessary to unify the world.
According to the plot, those double-dealing people from Western Xia were supposed to hand the booklet over to Nan Rongchen after the banquet, but this matter was supposed to be resolved by him later on. Yet now, because of Nan Rongchen’s verbal provocation, the envoy had exposed him right there in the main hall, and Nan Rongchen had turned around to interrogate him on the spot.
Where exactly had things gone wrong?
Nan Rongchen discarded the silk handkerchief and followed up, “Prince Xiang was indeed incompetent this time around.”
Nanrong Chengyu lowered his cupped hands even further. “Please punish me, Imperial Elder Brother.”
“Punish you?” Nan Rongchen spoke with feigned difficulty. “You heard it too, the Chief Astrologer once said We must either heavily employ you or kill you.”
“We naturally are unwilling to engage in fratricide, yet Prince Xiang persists in hiding his capabilities and refuses to serve Us wholeheartedly, which truly places Us in a difficult position.”
To hell with hiding his capabilities, Nanrong Chengyu finally found the ultimate culprit and added another strike against the Chief Astrologer in his mind: if not for the Chief Astrologer, how could Nan Rongchen have known these things, and how could he have developed the intent to kill him?
“Imperial Elder Brother knows that this subject grew up among the common folk, luckily picking up a bit of poetry, chess, and strategy, but remaining utterly clueless regarding affairs of state.”
“That is also true,” Nan Rongchen rose from the imperial throne, and as he passed by Chen Ping, he reached out and pinched the soft flesh of Chen Ping’s cheek, finding it just as soft as in his past life. “I’ll reward you when we return.”
Watching Chen Ping turn into a red-headed mushroom, Qi Yan mentally cursed him as a shameless piece of trash, performing such obscene acts in broad daylight as if genuinely terrified others wouldn’t notice his cut-sleeve tendencies.
Nanrong Chengyu originally thought the protagonist halo had taken effect, but instead watched Nan Rongchen twirl a dagger and walk toward him, leaving him with no choice but to respond to changes by remaining unchanged.
“We very much wish to trust you.” Seeing the Son of Heaven walking with unsteady steps due to excess wine, Nanrong Chengyu reached out to support him, only to hear Nan Rongchen say. “Yet the Wu God’s prophecy is something We cannot ignore. Why not let the Chief Astrologer cast another divination.”
The Chief Astrologer sat in the lower seating area, his entire body draped in silver astrological patterns rendered luminescent by the incoming light, as he performed the ritual of serving the Wu God of the Bureau of Astronomy toward Nan Rongchen. “This subject naturally obeys.”
At least he knew how to read the room. Nan Rongchen drew the dagger right before the protagonist’s eyes. “We hear that if this divination is to be accurate, it must be consecrated with blood.”
He wasn’t making things up; he only learned after his death from the past life’s plot that before he entered the East Palace, the late emperor had already had people draw his blood and send it to the Bureau of Astronomy.
And the reason Nanrong Chengyu had gone to such great lengths to save him in his past life was none other than wanting to use him as a sacrifice to heaven to fulfill the Wu God’s prophecy.
Reflecting on this, he shook off the arm Nanrong Chengyu was using to grip him and slowly dragged the sharp blade across the skin of Nanrong Chengyu’s neck.
He lacked the leisure for a long-drawn-out revenge, but he was quite happy to handle a task that took only a flick of the finger.
It was admittedly a bit base, but he had already drunk the alcohol today, making it a rare occasion to get drunk. So long as he was happy, it didn’t matter.
The lingering, thread-like pain on his neck was quite torturous, accompanied by the warm breath mixed with alcohol blowing against his skin in irregular gusts. Nanrong Chengyu instinctively tried to push him away, yet his extended hand ended up wrapping loosely around Nan Rongchen’s waist. “Is Imperial Elder Brother going to kill me?”