Finished speaking, Nan Rongchen plucked a grape from the golden dish, leaning back as if he had no bones in his body. His gaze lingered lazily on Xiao Yuanqing, and sure enough, he saw the man’s pupils remain calm with only a slight twitch of his eyelids.
The Imperial Preceptor was noble, aloof, and unyielding yet possessed a gentle warmth. He never raised his voice or spoke in harsh tones, and even when extremely furious, his brows would not furrow. The only involuntary tell was that his eyelids would lift slightly.
In his past life, he had been idle enough to observe and ponder this for many days before finally catching this single flaw of Xiao Yuanqing’s, feeling quite pleased with himself afterward for a long time, practically acting like he had a screw loose.
By now, he had already negotiated with Xiao Yuanqing to this extent according to the system’s requirements. Xiao Yuanqing was as annoyed as he ought to be, and it would hardly do to quit halfway through. He rolled the grape between his fingers a few times. “As an exchange, Teacher must step forward and take over the task that the Regent King disdains.”
There was a streak of pride deep within Xiao Yuanqing’s bones, and this arrogance was no less than Nan Rong Xian’s. A single grape could harvest two portions of hatred value, an unexpected bonus.
Every palace maid and eunuch in the entire hall did not even dare to draw a full breath. Diverting their thoughts elsewhere, they silently squeezed out a cold sweat for Xiao Yuanqing. None of them could figure out why Lord Xiao had fallen out of the Emperor’s favor, just as they could never truly fathom the Sovereign’s mind; after all, their ruler was still addressing Lord Xiao as Teacher at this very moment.
Those with a mind for it silently memorized everything that transpired in this hall so they could report it to those higher up later.
Amidst the complete silence of the hall, the standoff lasting only a few breaths, Xiao Yuanqing stepped forward toward the center of the hall. Within a few strides, he ultimately failed to restrain himself, partitioning a fraction of his gaze to fall upon the Son of Heaven seated upon the throne. His thoughts drifted away of their own accord, calculating precisely how many times Nan Rongchen had called him Teacher over the past few years.
A shred of unbefitting relief welled up within his heart. Fortunately, Nan Rongchen was alive and breathing right before his eyes.
Before speaking, he maintained a supreme composure as he found a reason for this relief: Nan Rongchen must remain alive and firmly secure upon the imperial throne.
“Your Majesty, it is this subject’s dereliction of duty and lax governance over his subordinates.”
The subordinate who had failed to be properly managed referred to Wang Wen, then serving as Palace Attendant Imperial Censor. According to his official rank, he fell under Xiao Yuanqing’s administrative purview. He had a grievance with Xue Xuan, a grievance neither large nor small. A few years prior, Xue Xuan had overturned a case, executing a young scion of a noble family who had committed crimes leveraging his brother-in-law’s influence, and that scion happened to be Wang Wen’s brother-in-law.
The Minister of Justice, Xue Xuan, was undeniably a pillar under Regent King Nan Rong Xian’s banner. Even his temperament and operational style were cut from the exact same cloth as Nan Rong Xian’s, making the cultivation of enemies within the court as effortless as turning the palm of one’s hand.
Leaving aside those ministers, even Nan Rongchen, the sovereign of the realm, had failed to filter out those unpleasant truths to recognize the straight-laced, upright nature of his integrity in handling cases.
At this thought, Nan Rongchen re-confirmed that he indeed possessed the latent qualities of a tyrant. Unable to maintain his own impartiality, he treated everyone under Nan Rong Xian’s command as opposing forces.
When the clean-stream faction led by Zhou Yanzhi offered a few stern remonstrances, he accepted them well and regarded them as upright officials, whereas figures under the Regent King’s faction like Xue Xuan bickered with him a few times, leading him to conclude that Nan Rong Xian was once again sending people to pick a fight with him.
Tinged with a puzzled cadence, he asked knowingly, “What does this have to do with Teacher? The hour is still early; join Gu in eating a few grapes before discussing other matters.”
Xiao Yuanqing paused in astonishment. Back in the day, out of a host of civil officials, Nan Rongchen had chosen him, someone who had just entered officialdom, to serve as Crown Prince Preceptor. Afterward, he had frequently invited him to share various types of refreshments, but never quite like this.
Regardless of the reason behind such a change, he could not even articulate precisely when Nan Rongchen had started changing.
Nan Rongchen rolled the perfectly round fruit between his fingers, flicking his wrist to toss it out before addressing Nan Rong Xian, “Is Royal Brother remaining here to be an eyesore?”
An eyesore my foot. Nan Rong Xian reached out and pressed down upon that fair wrist, snatching the grape into his own palm. With a dark expression, he peeled off a corner of the pale purple skin. “Since Lord Xiao knows he was wrong, he should show some sense and get the hell out.”
He had only discovered that Wang Wen harbored a grudge against Xue Xuan and thus colluded with the Secretariat to withhold the memorial; he had yet to uncover Xiao Yuanqing’s connection to this affair.
It was one thing that Xiao Yuanqing hadn’t bothered to distance himself from the mess, but he had actively thrust himself into it instead, relying on nothing more than having served as Nan Rongchen’s preceptor for a few years.
In Nan Rongchen’s eyes, that shred of sentimentality was worth less than nothing.
It appeared Nan Rong Xian was enduring humiliation for the sake of bailing Xue Xuan out, actually stooping to peel grapes with clean hands. Nan Rongchen remarked equivocally, “Whether Xue Xuan is truly innocent remains open to debate. Gu can hardly render a rash judgment based solely on the Regent King’s biased word.”
The pressure in Nan Rong Xian’s hand intensified, purely out of irritation. His fingernail nearly poked into the greenish pulp.
Nan Rongchen had been finicky since childhood; for instance, he refused to eat tribute mandarins with the white pith attached, and if a grape was missing even a single drop of flesh when peeled, he would not touch it.
Yet he could not reprimand him for it because Nan Rongchen never explicitly stated what he disliked; he simply wore a cold face and kept his distance.
Others merely assumed Nan Rongchen was gentle, compliant, and never self-indulgent. That was being completely deceived.
Nan Rongchen maintained a deep facade outwardly and put on a thorough performance, but underneath, his standards were impossible to please.
Now that he had catered to him to this extent, Nan Rongchen was turning his back on him again. He glanced at the half-peeled grape in his hand and made a motion to throw it away, only to be stopped dead in his tracks by Nan Rongchen’s words.
Nan Rongchen leaned back against his seat, tilting his head slightly upward as he addressed him, “Gu never said we were dropping this case. Is Royal Brother going to misunderstand Gu once more?”
Nan Rong Xian gripped the fruit in his palm, feeling as though the two of them had suddenly drawn far too close. He subconsciously took half a step back while keeping one hand resting on the imperial desk.
Even if Nan Rongchen wished to co-opt him and conveniently leverage the Xue Xuan case to implicate several old fogies he found disagreeable, there was no need to go this far. Surely he wouldn’t fall for this routine. Nan Rongchen was usually unwilling to get within a fraction of an inch of people or things he disliked; previously, he had treated him with that icy coldness for years, so wouldn’t that mean right now he was?
He ultimately finished peeling the final corner of the skin and handed the fruit to the side of Nan Rongchen’s hand, if only for the sake of acknowledging that his younger brother wasn’t entirely blind and could finally distinguish loyalty from treachery.
Seeing Nan Rong Xian offer no response, Nan Rongchen didn’t even glance at the grape, purely because he simply didn’t feel like eating it anymore. “Since Royal Brother took so long peeling it, you haven’t poisoned it, have you?”
“Could it be that Gu did something wrong somewhere, provoking Royal Brother into resorting to old tricks once again?”
Nan Rong Xian knew precisely what those old tricks referred to. He squeezed the grape until it was pulpy and mushy, sending juice splashing across the desktop, successfully earning himself a roll of Nan Rongchen’s eyes. “Since Your Majesty suspects this Prince, why bother putting up this hypocritical act?”
He had no idea how Nan Rong Xian managed to pull off that look blending grievance with irritation. Nan Rongchen casually echoed Nan Rong Xian’s earlier logic, “When employing people, one should not doubt them. If Royal Brother does not trust Gu, simply back off.”
Whether there was a hidden story behind that arrow years ago, he had no energy to investigate. Even if there were a hidden story, what of it?
Everyone harbored their own ambitions; whether resorting to desperate measures, exploiting others, or balancing pros and cons to discard certain individuals, none of it was entirely unjustifiable, but one always had to bear the cost.
According to the plot, although Nan Rong Xian and he shared the status of tools for the protagonist, their functions differed.
He belonged to the path of paving stones and contrast foils, whereas Nan Rong Xian shared a common enemy with the protagonist, eventually turning enmity into alliance and arriving at the same destination by different routes, barely succeeding in turning over a new leaf and meeting an end far superior to his own.
And that common enemy was naturally none other than himself. In his past life, Nan Rong Xian had led troops into Shangjing under the banner of executing traitors to purge the monarch.
During the first few days following his rebirth, Nan Rong Xian still held utility for him, so he had entertained the idea of using Nan Rong Xian to stir up chaos.
As for now? He couldn’t quite say he no longer needed him, but he wasn’t indispensable either. Toying with him through humiliation or employing him heavily, it all depended entirely on his mood.
The anger Nan Rong Xian had suppressed for half a moment rushed straight to his throat, only to be forcefully beaten back by that single statement of when employing people, one should not doubt them. Yet he still didn’t feel aggrieved: Nan Rongchen’s willingness to proactively bring up the past with him must mean he was aiming for reconciliation, even if his phrasing left something to be desired.
Moreover, regarding the incident years ago, although Nan Rongchen had acted unjustly first, that arrow was indeed tied to him.
Coupled with Nan Rongchen’s relapse of his old wounds at Hanyuan Hall and his narrow escape from the gates of hell, it was only natural that he harbored suspicions toward him as well. He would indulge him this once.
That account ought to be settled with Nan Rongchengyu and the Chief Astrologer instead.
However, kneeling to admit fault was something he would never lower himself to do. “As long as Your Majesty has a clear grasp of the situation, please handle this case as early as possible so as to prevent those with ulterior motives from seizing the opportunity to frame loyal officials.”
Nan Rong Xian can maintain your arrogance, and under no circumstances let me catch you bowing your head.
True to life, Nan Rong Xian’s head definitely wears a crown; bowing will cause it to drop.
The fact that Nan Rong Xian could swallow this insult meant he truly valued Xue Xuan highly, living up to Xue Xuan’s loyalty.
To waste so much time bickering with these two individuals in the Zichen Palace over a mere memorial review was thoroughly uninteresting. Nan Rongchen rose from the imperial throne and instructed indifferently, “The hour is still early; let us go to the Ministry of Justice to inspect the human witnesses.”
This aligned precisely with Regent King Nan Rong Xian’s wishes. Although Xie Chen was an eyesore, he was unexpectedly somewhat useful, not only safeguarding Lin Ke and the others’ lives from the Capital Magistrate’s brutal torture interrogations, but also calculating that Nan Rongchen would intervene in this case.
Seeing Nan Rongchen stand up, Xiao Yuanqing recalled that lifeless face under the candlelight hours prior, and stepped forward to salute once more. “Your Majesty’s old injuries have yet to heal, and you should not overexert yourself. This subject is willing to offer his meager strength to clarify this case and atone for his faults through service.”
Nan Rongchen offered a considerate word of solace. “Teacher need not blame yourself. The Secretariat is the entity that withheld the memorial, and Wang Wen is the one colluding with the Secretariat. No matter how you analyze it, the blame can never fall upon Teacher.”
“If Teacher is truly so conscience-stricken, you might as well resign and return home. After all, with so many individuals in the Censorate, mistakes are bound to happen sooner or later; Teacher worrying himself sick over self-blame is exhausting enough.”
He hadn’t the faintest clue why Xiao Yuanqing had made this trip. On the surface, this matter bore no relation to Xiao Yuanqing, so if he wanted to meddle, he should have operated in the shadows. Surely he hadn’t been mulling this over day and night until his brain burnt out.
Besides, if this were his past life, no matter which member of the Censorate committed what sort of transgression, it would never implicate Xiao Yuanqing.
This was a promise he had made in person the day Xiao Yuanqing was promoted to Grand Censor, right here within the Zichen Palace.
Yet evidently, Xiao Yuanqing had not believed it, leaving him no other option since this ruthless and unfeeling appearance in the eyes of others wasn’t what he wanted either.
Hearing this, Nan Rong Xian nearly burst into laughter. He had judged correctly back then: Nan Rongchen was remarkably interesting and immensely entertaining.
Please do not disrupt Xiao Yuanqing’s plotline.
How meddlesome. Nan Rongchen halted his strides toward the inner chamber to change his garments. “However, Lord Xiao’s talent is plain for all to see, and he has always maintained neutrality in the court. Even Grand Preceptor Zhou has mentioned you in front of Gu, so you shall accompany us to listen in.”
Xiao Yuanqing was hardly neutral; he had likely thrown his lot in with Zhou Yanzhi’s faction shortly after entering officialdom.
The Censorate monitored the hundred officials, and Nan Rongchen had previously been single-mindedly determined to keep the Ministry of Justice under his direct control. Coupled with his absolute trust in Xiao Yuanqing, he had issued a single vermillion decree demoting Xue Xuan out of the capital to install his own man.
Little did he know, that so-called own man was loyal to Zhou Yanzhi, ultimately serving once again as a wedding dress for the protagonist.
Nobody makes the exact same foolish mistake twice. He stepped into the inner chamber to change robes. This time, he would cooperate with Xiao Yuanqing’s plotline; after the palace examination scores were posted following the spring examinations, he would collect some interest to make things fair.
With this thought in mind, he instructed the attendant beside him, “Deliver this brocade box to Lord Xiao.”
Nan Rong Xian re-seated himself, casting a sidelong glance at Xiao Yuanqing. Neutral? Nan Rongchen’s judgment in people was truly subpar.
That so-called clean stream faction headed by Zhou Yanzhi was even more ironic; what part of their name-mongering hypocrisy earned them the title of clean?
Before he could finish mocking them, he watched a eunuch hand an elaborately crafted brocade box over to Xiao Yuanqing.
Arranging carriage transport was both troublesome and ostentatious, so Nan Rongchen opted to board the Regent King’s carriage, though it wasn’t particularly understated either.
Nan Rong Xian glared at Nan Rongchen the entire journey until he finally received a roll of the eyes and the retort, “If the Regent King has something to say, speak plainly.”
The Regent King, who rarely found a match across the court, was momentarily rendered speechless. He beat around the bush to offer a critique, “Your Majesty is the sovereign of a realm; if your taste in people is this poor, I fear it will disgrace Linyue’s national prestige.”
That brocade box was excessively ornate and vulgar to a fault. The contents naturally weren’t anything of refined taste, and even if they were, Xiao Yuanqing didn’t deserve them.
Nan Rongchen exuded the refreshing fragrance of fruit and suffered no fatigue despite riding in the carriage for several streets. Putting everything else aside, Nan Rong Xian possessed a profound mastery of indulgence. It was just that his brain wasn’t entirely functioning properly: his vision in reading people might be somewhat flawed, but what did that have to do with national prestige?
Since the founding of Linyue, aside from the witchcraft case during the late Emperor’s reign, there had never been a precedent of a sovereign personally visiting the Ministry of Justice. Come to think of it, both cases were linked to the current ruler.
Xue Xuan stood outside with his junior officials. Following a round of formal greetings, they trailed behind Nan Rongchen to brief him on the case details, entirely devoid of panic, with the words this official is innocent written in bold characters all over him.
Nan Rongchen cut him off mid-sentence, “Take Gu directly to the cells to see Lin Ke.”
The junior official respectfully advised against it upon hearing this, “The prison is dirty and disorderly; it would be better for this official to have someone bring the woman up.”
It wasn’t as though he had never stepped foot inside a Ministry of Justice prison before. Nan Rongchen twirled the crimson glass bead in his palm, curious what kind of tricks Xie Chen could pull off inside a prison.
Before he could voice his rejection, he heard Xue Xuan discipline his subordinate in a stern voice, “Lord Luo, there is no need for excessive flattery.”
He was quite the talent as well; this trip hadn’t been a waste. “Xue Xuan may accompany Gu.”
Nan Rong Xian glanced at Xiao Yuanqing. “This Prince will accompany Your Majesty inside; Lord Xiao can wait right here.”
Ignoring him entirely, Nan Rongchen addressed Xue Xuan directly, “It appears the Regent King bears a deep-seated grievance against Your Excellency. Setting aside Yuan Lijian for the moment, even Deputy Commander Ma Shun shares a grudge with you, not to mention my cousin Li Changyuan, against whom the Ministry of Justice supposedly holds an unresolved case on file.”
Xue Xuan had no intention of concealing it, leading Nan Rongchen straight toward the Cong cell block specifically designated for the relatives of accused officials, though he hesitated momentarily out of rare concern. “Your Majesty, the person detained here is the Pei family’s young master, Pei Zhuo. The Pei family has only him left, and Li Changyuan only brought him in to face justice today. Barging in abruptly might cause him to attack Your Majesty out of desperation.”
Nan Rongchen vaguely recalled the Pei family, but given that these peripheral plotlines had little direct connection to him, his knowledge was limited, making him all the more curious about Pei Zhuo. Fixing his gaze upon Pei Zhuo’s ink-black eyes, he stated, “No matter. Open the door.”
Following a clattering din of iron chains, Nan Rongchen walked unhesitatingly into the cell, braving the glare directed at him.
The figure seated on the wooden bed remained utterly motionless. Without standing on ceremony, Nan Rongchen stepped forward and brushed aside the disheveled strands of dark hair mixed with stray straw and dust. The moment he parted them halfway, his wrist was locked down tightly by a length of iron chain, revealing the fair neck and wrists of Pei Zhuo, which were littered with red welts alongside faintly discernible, ambiguous teeth marks and bruising.