Following a shout of “system error,” the system’s voice vanished once more. Nan Rongchen raised his eyes to look at Xie Chen, who had returned at some unknown time.
Although he did not know what connection existed between the system and Xie Chen, he was certain that Xie Chen possessed a certain degree of usefulness.
He slightly raised his chin to signal, “You come here.”
Shiming stepped back to the side, watching as the Son of Heaven casually pulled down his sleeping robe’s sleeve, revealing the gauze over his heart stained red by seeping blood, akin to pure, congealed jade accidentally smeared with rouge.
Before the gold-threaded brocade tent dropped down, Nan Rongchen remembered that Shiming was still lingering inside the hall. Naturally, anyone belonging to the Empress Dowager could not possibly look at him favorably. “What is it? Does Shiming still have court business to discuss with Gu?”
The brocade tent embroidered with gold thread blocked those two figures from view. Shiming did not perform the formal court greeting. “This subject takes his leave.”
“Since there is nothing else, pray to the Wu god for another divination on Gu’s behalf,” Nan Rongchen stared at Xie Chen’s hands as they gathered up the gauze. “Ask if Gu can become an enlightened ruler of Lin Yue and achieve a great enterprise?”
In his past life, the fact that he was firmly branded as a tyrant in the hearts of the common people was inseparable from that single divination by Shiming: the tyrant Nan Rongchen, filled with a murderous aura, had angered the Wu god, which was why the twelfth lunar month saw no snow.
Since these people still wanted to hoodwink him now, they had better say something pleasant to his ears. As for whether they were willing to say it or not, that was none of his concern.
Xie Chen applied the healing ointment to Nan Rongchen’s chest, speaking the first sentence upon his return: “Was the divination I cast for Your Majesty not good enough?”
Words spoken by the Wu god in person. There was no divination under heaven more accurate than that, pity that it was fake. Nan Rongchen was just about to speak when he heard Shiming accept the task: “In two days, this subject will enter the palace to state the divination clearly.”
The protagonist’s group truly was of one heart, up and down. Nan Rongchen said indifferently, “In that case, withdraw.”
Seeing Shiming walk out of the hall empty-handed, his trusted attendant hurried forward to drape a cloak over his shoulders. “The night is deep and the heavy dew is chilling. Master must take care of his health. That person appeared from nowhere. Did he make things difficult for you, My Lord?”
Shiming calmly uttered, “Never. His Majesty has already awakened, and someone has been ordered to tend to him wholeheartedly.”
The origins of this Master of his were shrouded in mystery, yet he possessed genuine skill. That talk of the birth array on the day was originally his own scheme to slip away. He had never expected that his Master would rescue the king in less than two hours.
Under heaven, anyone capable of such a feat who took the initiative to establish ties with him was most likely connected to his own sect’s origins.
In the current political climate, lacking power meant being at the mercy of others. Usurping power required using people, and as long as they had mutual value, he would continue to use him for now.
The attendant pressed further, “Leaving that person alone with His Majesty, will it prove disadvantageous to Master?”
Upon hearing this, Shiming twitched his fingers, his voice dropping a few degrees lower. “It will not.”
“Do not recklessly discuss the Sovereign.”
The attendant hastily complied, though he didn’t quite understand how discussing the king counted as reckless.
Seeing that Shiming did not look angry, he glanced at the pitch-black sky. At this hour, even the chickens and dogs were fast asleep, so even if he truly discussed him a couple of times, no one would know.
Just as he thought, Nan Rongchen naturally knew nothing of matters outside the hall. Xie Chen wordlessly tied the bandages, then moved to pull his recently lowered sleeve back up into place.
The thunder that had rumbled for a few spells finally served its purpose, and the sound of pattering rain rose outside the window.
After all this tossing and turning, Nan Rongchen felt a touch of drowsiness. Recalling that moment with the system, he had to suppress his genuine thoughts, a wish to say “Alright, Wu god, please get lost,” and instead substituted it with: “Xie Chen, the wind and rain are fierce on a night like this. Stay and rest in this hall tonight.”
Amidst the wind and rain, thunder rolled once more. Xie Chen understood what this trial was for, formed a hand seal to summon the dagger from the floor into his hand, washed away his own blood from it, and returned it to its scabbard in its original place.
Having finished speaking, he lay back down on the couch, falling precisely beside Nan Rongchen. “Things have reached this point, so let us rest together for now. The rest can be discussed tomorrow.”
The brocade quilt beside him sank down accordingly. Nan Rongchen hadn’t sunk so low as to share a couch with someone else merely to avoid the system, and he was just about to open his mouth to chase the person away when he lost consciousness.
A night of good dreams.
The next day, after the clouds cleared and the rain stopped, the light of day was bright when Nan Rongchen woke up. Ever since he began attending court to hear government affairs, it had been a long while since he last had such a pleasant sleep.
Both the couch and the entire hall were left with only him. He simply chose to act as though Xie Chen had never come by last night.
Having lain down for so long, his entire body felt relaxed and loose. He raised a hand to pull open half the brocade curtains, and an attendant hurried to kneel and pay his respects: “Greetings, Your Majesty. This subject will attend to Your Majesty’s dressing.”
After handing over a damp cloth, the attendant summoned his courage and continued speaking: “Your Majesty, Imperial Censor Xiao comes to the Qintian Hall every single day, but he has been blocked every time by Master Shiming’s master. He likely has urgent matters.”
Nan Rongchen took the cloth and, seeing that this attendant had round cheeks and round eyes, casually asked: “Has he come again today?”
The attendant dared not gaze directly upon the celestial countenance any longer and quickly lowered his head, though the king truly possessed peerless elegance.
In past sacrificial ceremonies, he had only ever seen the king from afar, catching sight solely of the dark yellow royal robes and the twelve strings of pearls on the emperor’s crown.
Everyone up and down the Qintian Hall said the king was ruthless, decisive, and devoid of human warmth, an ominous and fierce figure in the mortal world. Yet the king was so strikingly handsome, and spoke so gently to a lowly vassal like him. How could he possibly be such a person?
“Lord Xiao comes to the Qintian Hall every day after morning court, and has not left yet today. Does Your Majesty wish to see Lord Xiao?”
Nan Rongchen handed back the used cloth, pinched the young attendant’s round cheek, and used Xie Chen as a shield: “There is no help for it. Your Shiming’s master will not allow Gu to see him.”
Half of the young attendant’s face, right down to his earlobes, burned a fiery red, and he stammered out words, unable to speak coherently. Had he known, he never would have agreed to act in place of his senior brother for this chore.
Nan Rongchen knew full well that the person behind this young attendant wanted to provoke him into suspecting Xie Chen, preferably killing Xie Chen so as to avoid complications.
As for the reason, it was naturally because he favored Xiao Yuanqing to an excessive degree.
Yet looking at this attendant who was simple-minded to a fault, he couldn’t summon any anger. Casually, he pulled out the dagger embedded with three crystal-clear jade stones from beneath his pillow and handed it over: “What are you afraid of? Their affairs have nothing to do with you, and Gu is not going to punish you. This is a reward for you.”
The young attendant reached out to accept the dagger inlaid with a full three crystal-clear jade stones: “This subject thanks Your Majesty.”
The books spoke the truth. Seeing is believing. The king clearly bore no relation to the words fierce or evil and would certainly make an enlightened ruler.
It was rare to see joy unadulterated by a single drop of falsehood, and Nan Rongchen’s mood lifted a notch. Even the chirping of birds outside the window sounded slightly more melodious.
“Prince Su! Master has given strict orders that His Majesty is not seeing court ministers this month. Forcibly barging into the Qintian Hall is a capital offense!”
Nangong Xian waved a hand to signal the guards behind him to block this group of useless folks from the Qintian Hall: “This prince hasn’t yet questioned you lot at the Qintian Hall for the crime of imprisoning His Majesty. If you don’t want your entire clan exterminated, get lost!”
“Go quickly and report this to Master Shiming and that person!”
Nangong Xian walked straight toward the main hall and shoved open the ajar hall doors, only to see Nan Rongchen raising a hand to push open the carved wooden lattice window, a blue-feathered bird pecking at grain right in the palm of his hand.
Standing behind him was a young attendant whose hair hadn’t even fully grown out, clutching the dagger Nan Rongchen habitually kept beneath his pillow.
It seemed Nan Rongchen would never learn his lesson and was at it again, trying to deceive him: “Ah Chen, Elder Brother has come to take you back to the palace.”
The blue-feathered bird in his palm was naturally timid. Upon hearing any commotion, it instantly took flight. Nan Rongchen brushed away the pastry crumbs from his palm: “Wangxiong, does Gu need to repeat myself? Get out.”