Chapter 49
It was a hot summer day as we traveled.
The carriage wasn't like the palace; there weren't as many heat-repellents. Yu Zhi was soaking wet, his black hair sticking to his forehead with sweat, and his breath was hot. He lay limply on the bamboo mat. Luo Tingshi, feeling sorry for him, fanned him.
As summer drew to a close, everyone finally arrived at the capital of Sheng State.
Luo Tingshi knew that Yu Zhi was afraid of heat, so he specially placed him in a water pavilion and ordered the palace servants to put fruits and vegetables in an ice container in the pavilion for Yu Zhi to enjoy.
"You stay in the water pavilion and rest first. I will go to meet the officials." Luo Tingshi rubbed Yu Zhi's soft cheek with his fingertips. The delicate white skin under his fingers instantly turned a light red. Luo Tingshi lowered his head and gently held the red mark in his mouth and kissed it.
The person in his arms leaned obediently against Luo Tingshi's chest, and he urged softly, "Go quickly. You'll have a lot of things waiting for you after a few months away. You and I don't mind a moment of happiness."
Luo Tingshi reluctantly left Yu Zhi, his voice slightly hoarse: "Wait for me."
Yu Zhi watched Luo Tingshi leave, looking back every few steps, and couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips. After the man's back disappeared, he leaned over and took out a grape from the ice jar.
A hint of coolness invaded his fingertips. Yu Zhi pinched the grapes and put them into his mouth. They were icy, sweet and refreshing. The heat in his heart was dispelled the moment he took a bite.
Yu Zhi sighed and lay on his back on the bed.
After several months of riding in the carriage, I can finally have a good rest.
It was very cool in the pavilion. With the cool breeze blowing across the water, Yu Zhi fell into a deep sleep.
-
In the past few months, a lot of affairs have piled up in the court.
As soon as Luo Tingshi returned to Sheng State, he was busy like a top, working around the clock without a chance to breathe.
Yu Zhi felt sorry for him, so he walked into Yinglin Palace carrying the medicinal food prescribed by Imperial Physician Zhang and placed it on the imperial table.
Luo Tingshi said without even raising his head: "Back off."
"No, I want to see you finish eating."
When the familiar voice reached Luo Ting's ears, he raised his eyes with joy, leaned over, held Yu Zhi's hand and pulled him into his arms, smiling and asking, "Xiaoyu, why are you here to bring me food?"
When Yu Zhi covered Luo Ting, his eyes were dark and he sighed softly, "You've been working day and night these past few days and are extremely tired. I feel sorry for you, so I consulted with Imperial Physician Zhang and asked the Imperial Kitchen to prepare some nourishing meals for you."
"Since Xiaoyu sent it to me, how can I not eat it?" Luo Tingshi changed the subject, becoming more demanding, "It's just that I wanted Xiaoyu to feed me."
Yu Zhi glanced at him, took the porcelain bowl from the table, scooped up a spoonful of soup and brought it to Luo Tingshi's lips: "Drink it."
Luo Tingshi's eyes swept across the porcelain bowl in front of him, from Yu Zhi's fair hands all the way to his pale pink lips, his eyes deep: "I want you to feed me from here."
Yu Zhi: “…”
"Luo Tingshi, stop messing around and drink."
He put the spoon to Luo Tingshi's lips. Luo Tingshi opened his lips and drank it, saying with a smile: "Your Majesty, please be gentle."
Yu Zhi looked at him: "Is it because I don't want to treat you gently? You deserve it."
Luo Tingshi finished the whole bowl of medicinal food with a smile.
The bowl was empty, and Yu Zhi wanted to get off Luo Tingshi's legs, but a pair of iron arms held his waist and he couldn't move.
"Don't go, Xiaoyu. Stay with me."
Yu Zhi looked back at him with disdain: "Why are you even more clingy than those two babies?"
Luo Tingshi raised his eyes and said, "I wish I could stay with Xiaoyu for twelve hours."
"I don't find it disgusting." Yu Zhi said with disgust, but an uncontrollable smile appeared in his eyes, and his pair of round little cat eyes curved into crescents.
"Xiao Yu..." Luo Tingshi's eyes showed longing.
The two of them had been together for so long that Yu Zhi could naturally understand the look in his eyes. He lowered his head helplessly but obediently and kissed Luo Tingshi.
After a long time, the two separated with unstable breaths.
Yu Zhi asked him, "Has the implementation of the new policy been hindered?"
Luo Tingshi found a memorial from the case, opened it, and handed it to Yu Zhi, "Xiaoyu, take a look."
The first sentence that caught his eye was a curse directed at Luo Tingshi. Yu Zhi's face darkened, and he scanned the text with a single glance before snorting coldly, "They speak nicely, every word for the sake of the country and the people, but in reality, they are just pursuing personal gain. If I remember correctly, this person must be an official in collusion with your brother."
"Xiao Yu has a good memory." Luo Tingshi chuckled.
Upon learning of this, Luo Tingshi did not act rashly. He wanted to use this opportunity to identify those in the court who harbored disloyal motives. As for his brother in the cold palace, he had already imprisoned him in the dungeon.
Yu Zhi raised his chin: "You have so much evidence in your hands, and he dares to scold you like that. Show him some color."
Luo Tingshi's eyes gradually warmed up, and he said with a smile: "Okay, I'll listen to Xiaoyu."
-
The merger of the two countries cannot be rushed and should be done slowly and gradually.
The first step is to unify the currencies of the two countries. This way, trade will become much easier.
Second, fully open up trade between Chongqing and Sheng, abolish tariffs, and build a canal connecting the two countries to facilitate the flow of goods.
Third, allow people from both countries to marry and transfer their citizenship freely.
…
While in Yu State, they had discussed the rules with Yu Heng several times, finalizing them one by one. The day after Luo Tingshi returned to Sheng State, he issued the orders one by one, and Yu State also implemented them simultaneously.
The rulers of both Yu and Sheng were already pregnant, and the officials of Sheng knew it was a done deal, so they stopped interfering. But now, the emperor had issued a decree, and everyone knew the deeper meaning behind it, so many ministers tried to stop it.
Even He Buwei, who was under house arrest, submitted a memorial to Luo Tingshi.
Although the two had a very unpleasant quarrel over the matter of Yu Zhi, Luo Tingshi still respected He Buwei. If it weren't for He Lao, it would have been much more difficult for him to ascend to the throne.
After reviewing the memorial, Luo Tingshi left the palace and went to He's residence. Arriving at He's study, Luo Tingshi pushed the door open and walked in.
The setting sun poured down, falling on the armchair by the window. A gray-haired old man sat hunched over in the dusty sunlight. He seemed like the setting sun, about to sink.
After not seeing you for a few months, I feel like you have suddenly become a real old man.
Luo Tingshi stopped and bowed deeply to He Buwei, "Mr. He, how are you these days?"
"Your Majesty, I am sorry to trouble this old minister. It is I who should be paying my respects to you."
He Buwei leaned on the armrest of the wooden chair and tried to stand up. Luo Tingshi strode forward, held He Buwei's arm and helped him sit down. He sighed, "Master He is my mentor. How can I ask you to bow?"
He Buwei lifted his wrinkled eyelids, revealing his slightly cloudy pupils, and said with a salutation, "I congratulate Your Majesty on having your wish come true. I wish Your Majesty and that person will live together until old age."
Luo Tingshi: "I borrow He Laoji's words."
He turned around and moved a wooden chair from the corner of the study, placed it in front of He Buwei, and sat down upright.
He Buyi said, "Your Majesty, do you want to have a long talk with this old minister?"
Luo Tingshi: "Mr. He, I have seen your memorial."
He Buwei smiled miserably, looked down at his withered hands, and squeezed out a hoarse voice from his throat: "I never thought that Dasheng would be destroyed by my hands."
Luo Tingshi: "You said that the world should be unified. Now that this ambition is about to be realized, why do you say this?"
He Buwei grabbed a nearby deer-head cane and slammed it hard on the ground, shouting, "If Da Sheng is no longer in this world, what difference will it make for a completely destroyed nation?"
Luo Tingshi remained expressionless: "According to what you said, the Yu Kingdom was also destroyed."
He Bu said: "But..."
Luo Tingshi: "Shengyu was once one family, but it was only after the destruction of the Great Zhao Kingdom hundreds of years ago that it was split into two, with the ancestors of each country claiming the title of emperor. Now, without a single soldier, the world can be reunited. This is an unprecedented opportunity. Why are you so constrained by the views of one country?
"With the land of marshes and mountains engulfed in war, how can the people hope for peace and prosperity? Does Mr. He wish to see the wars continue unabated, blood flowing like rivers, and the people unable to even live a peaceful life?"
He Buwei was speechless. He narrowed his eyes and looked up and down at Luo Ting as if he was looking at a stranger.
"Your Majesty, that's not what you said."
Luo Tingshi chuckled softly, his voice filled with undisguised praise. "My little Yu said it. He was a benevolent ruler who couldn't bear to see his people die. To stop the fighting, he rushed to the border while pregnant, preferring to suffer injustice himself rather than let the people suffer."
He Buwei was even more puzzled: "How could Your Majesty love someone who is the complete opposite of you?"
Why not claim that he understands the emperor in front of him?
Luo Tingshi was an extremely cold-blooded man. He never cared about anyone's life; in his eyes, people were like grass and trees. As long as he could achieve his goal, he wouldn't blink an eye even if thousands of people died.
Everything he did, he had a hidden agenda.
When Dengzhou was hit by a flood, he personally went to the disaster-stricken area, but it was just to win people's hearts.
What kind of person was the young emperor of Yu State? How could he be so willing to sheathe his fangs and suppress all those cold and dark thoughts deep in his heart?
Luo Tingshi heard He Buwei's question and chuckled, "Perhaps it's because he and I are completely different."
The golden crow fell from the mountain, leaving only a faint afterglow in the sky.
Luo Tingshi said goodbye to Mr. He. When his hands touched the door, Mr. He's voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Your Majesty, I heard that the young emperor of Yu Kingdom gave birth to a son and a daughter for you. I would like to see the eldest prince and princess."
Luo Tingshi turned around and gave a gentle smile to the old man in the twilight.
"Mr. He can enter the palace at any time."
-
The moon is bright in the sky.
Luo Tingshi walked back to the bedroom in the clear light, gently pushed open the door, and the room was quiet.
The moonlight came in through the window and stopped in front of the dragon bed.
A white, slender hand hung down from the couch, immersed in the moonlight, revealing a cold jade-like white.
Luo Tingshi stared at the hand and walked towards the bed.
The person on the bed was sleeping soundly. Luo Tingshi lifted the shark-sharp gauze curtain and sneaked under the bed curtain.
…
Yu Zhi woke up with a familiar feeling of numbness and soreness.
"Luo, hum..."
Before Yu Zhi could even call out the other person's name, his voice changed pitch. It twisted seven or eight times before being smashed to pieces in the darkness.
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