Chapter 266 The Art of the Emperor
Chu Jichen noticed that Shen Qingci's hand, which was pushing the wheelchair, stiffened almost imperceptibly.
He slowly raised his hand and gently placed it on the back of her hand. His voice was soft and gentle, like a lover's whisper, full of comforting power: "Don't look back."
“Don’t worry,” he said in a low voice, “there are not only his men in the shadows, but also…our men.”
"Huo Yunting is a very cunning man. His actions today are nothing more than a chance to gain an official position that can be openly recognized, and a chance for his secret guards to no longer have to hide in the shadows."
"I am his best choice."
“He got what he wanted, so he won’t easily lay a hand on me.”
"Unless he intends to kill me directly and seize the throne. But even if he kills me now, he certainly won't become emperor. There will be no other outcome for him but death."
“This wheelchair of mine,” his voice carried a hint of barely perceptible confidence and pride, “also holds a secret. If he dares to make any move, I… will definitely protect you.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci's tense nerves instantly relaxed.
A warm current, uncontrollably rising from the depths of my heart, instantly flowed through my limbs and bones.
She couldn't help but let out a soft hum, her voice filled with a coquettishness and dependence that she herself was unaware of: "I don't need you to protect me."
“I have countless things hidden on me,” she lowered her voice, as if showing off her little secret. “Even the ropes that bind me can’t do anything to me. If Huo Yunting hadn’t been so polite throughout and hadn’t laid a hand on me, I… would have already made my move!”
The two walked along, muttering to each other as if no one else was around.
Shen Qingci finally couldn't help but chuckle softly.
The laughter was crisp and melodious, like a clear mountain spring, instantly dispelling the tense and solemn atmosphere around them.
After walking for a while, a faint light finally appeared ahead.
Yuanbao and Yelan were already waiting there with a group of royal guards dressed in black armor.
When the guards surrounded the two of them like a tide, protecting them in the middle, Shen Qingci's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down completely.
She wasn't lying just now.
She had indeed been prepared to take action for some time.
However, what she was planning was nothing more than... a fight to the death.
Until he recognized Huo Yunting.
Until Chu Jichen arrived.
The group, surrounding Shen Qingci and Chu Jichen, returned to the Regent's Palace in a grand procession.
Once she finally returned to her familiar bedroom and dismissed everyone around her, the ease and comfort on Shen Qingci's face vanished instantly, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity and lingering fear!
She turned around abruptly, her clear phoenix eyes fixed on the man who was looking at her innocently. She could no longer contain herself, and her voice was filled with suppressed anger!
"Chu Jichen!" she demanded through gritted teeth, "Do you even know what your current identity is?!"
"You are the emperor! The Son of Heaven of the Great Zhou! How dare you... how dare you go alone, all by yourself, into the enemy's trap?"
"What if!" Her voice trembled slightly, a tremor she herself didn't even realize. "What if Huo Yunting really is a madman! What if he... he lays a hand on you! Have you... have you thought about the consequences?!"
Chu Jichen looked at her, and in his deep phoenix eyes, there was not a trace of anger at being scolded, but rather... a gentle smile.
He looked at her, and slowly shook his head.
He then reached out and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.
"Qingqing," his voice was hoarse and earnest, "If anything happens to you..."
He paused, his deep eyes shining brightly in the dim candlelight.
“Then I… let’s not even talk about being emperor,” his voice was low and solemn, “I… don’t want my own life anymore.”
Shen Qingci's heart skipped a beat!
She looked up at him in disbelief, opened her mouth as if to say something, but he slowly lowered his head.
He leaned close to her ear and whispered in a tone filled with boundless affection and tenderness:
"You are my life."
boom--!
Shen Qingci felt her mind go completely blank!
All the words that had been prepared to reprimand him vanished in an instant!
She looked at him, her clear phoenix eyes already shimmering with tears, filled with endless emotion and complex feelings.
She had always thought that she would never be moved by any man's sweet words again.
Can……
But this sentence was like a burning brand, deeply imprinted on her heart, making it impossible for her to ignore it anymore.
Slowly, she reached out and took the initiative to wrap her arms around his neck, offering herself completely to him.
turn out to be……
So this is what it feels like to be cherished and held in someone's heart...it's so touching.
Shen Qingci took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her heart, which was pounding wildly because of his words, and pulled away slightly from his warm embrace.
She looked at him, and although a few ripples of emotion still lingered in her clear phoenix eyes, they had already regained their former clarity and composure.
"You really..." she couldn't help but ask, "You're going to give Huo Yunting that position of Second-Rank Assistant General?"
The gentle smile on Chu Jichen's face froze instantly.
He slowly lowered his eyes, looking at the woman who spoiled the mood, feeling both annoyed and amused.
At times like this, shouldn't we... gaze at each other tenderly, pour out our hearts to one another, and then... naturally do something that should be done?
Why bring up Huo Yunting, that irrelevant man, and ruin this precious atmosphere?
But when he met Shen Qingci's earnest eyes, he finally sighed helplessly and replied resignedly, "Of course I'll give it to you."
“After all,” he said, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible sarcasm, “I am now a newly enthroned emperor, and my foundation is not yet secure. It is precisely the time to recruit talented individuals to demonstrate my benevolence.”
"A general as loyal and capable as Huo Yunting has come to surrender on his own initiative. How could I possibly turn him away?"
Shen Qingci looked at him, her brows furrowed, her voice full of disapproval: "But the secret guards he commands have an unknown origin and their strength is unfathomable. Keeping them by your side is tantamount to raising a tiger to cause trouble."
"I know." Chu Jichen nodded, but a cold, indifferent look, as if he were looking at a dead person, flashed in his deep phoenix eyes.
"I still haven't figured out Huo Yunting's true strength, nor do I know how many people the late emperor left behind in his secret guards, or what their skill level is."
“So,” he lowered his voice, filled with the cold calculation unique to an emperor, “I must first give him what he wants. Even… I must show him complete trust.”
"Only in this way can we lower his guard and make him think that I truly consider him a confidant, so that he can reveal all his trump cards one by one."
"at last……"
His voice suddenly turned cold, filled with undisguised killing intent!
"Kill him."
Shen Qingci's heart skipped a beat!
She looked at the man before her, at the chilling killing intent surging within his calm, unwavering eyes—an intent capable of devouring everything—and only then did she belatedly realize—
No matter how gentle or harmless he appears in front of her.
He was, after all, the ruthless and powerful regent!
Now, the new emperor sits atop a vast empire, wielding the power of life and death!
Chu Jichen looked at her, slowly reached out, and gently stroked her cheek, his voice filled with tenderness.
“Qingqing,” he looked at her, his deep phoenix eyes filled with seriousness and obsession, “I don’t care what his reasons were, or how helpless or forced he was.”
"He kidnapped you and is using you to blackmail me..."
"This has crossed the line that I absolutely will not allow anyone to cross."
“He,” Chu Jichen’s voice was cold and resolute, “is doomed.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com