Chapter 307 I have never made a mistake in my entire life!
When he got home, Wang Shaoji's smile hadn't faded at all. He even laughed and said, "In his condition, let alone going back to Dongdu or Daxing, I'm afraid he won't even be able to stay in Jiangdu for long."
Wang Shaoqiu followed him off the carriage.
His body was weaker, and he staggered a couple of steps when he got off the carriage. Fortunately, the servants around him immediately came forward to help him. Wang Shaoqiu coughed twice before waving his hand and continuing to walk forward.
Wang Shaoji glanced back and said impatiently, "With your health, you should be resting at home. Why are you going to court? You'll just be watching some useless jokes anyway."
"I don't think jokes are useless."
Wang Shaoqiu coughed lightly twice, covering his mouth. Although the weather had warmed up, especially in the south where the climate was more pleasant than in the north, he was still wearing a thick fox fur coat. The fluffy fur framed his thin face, making him look even weaker and more powerless.
But his shrewd eyes were exceptionally bright.
Looking into his eyes, Wang Shaoji couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean?"
Wang Shaoqiu did not speak immediately. Instead, he walked into his own residence and, after confirming that there were no outsiders around, calmly said, "Brother, you are only thinking about tomorrow's important matters, but I need to think about what will happen after the important matters."
"After the big event?"
"If things go well tomorrow, will we really take him—after that, brother, what are your plans?"
"...?"
Wang Shaoji was taken aback for a moment, and seeing his expression, Wang Shaoqiu shook his head, seemingly guessing that he hadn't thought that much about it. He said, "Actually, what happens tomorrow is a big deal, but it will be over soon. What's really important is how you, brother, will arrange the Jiangdu Palace and the hundreds of thousands of people His Majesty brought to Jiangdu after that."
"..."
Wang Shaoji's steps forward suddenly stopped.
He then realized that he had only been focused on planning for tomorrow, and hadn't even thought about what would happen after tomorrow.
But upon closer reflection, perhaps that was the truly life-or-death matter—the most important thing!
He hurriedly asked, "You—"
Wang Shaoqiu said, "After court today, I spoke with the Tiger General and several other generals in the army. They were all very dissatisfied with this trip to Jiangdu. Moreover, their families were all left in the north. Now that the Eastern Capital has fallen, they all want to go back. Most of them are under control."
Wang Shaoji quickly replied, "That's good."
Wang Shaoqiu added, "But there's one more thing, brother, you must remember."
"What? Tell me."
"No matter how things develop tomorrow, brother, you must not take action yourself."
Why?
"Because killing that person, no matter who he is, will definitely give others ammunition and become a pretext for attack, and may even incite rebel armies from all over the country to rise up against him. Therefore, if you want to maintain power after this major event, you must not cross this line!"
Wang Shaoji said, "Okay, I'll listen to you!"
But then he thought about it again and asked, puzzled, "But, who will do it then? That's another problem."
"..."
Wang Shaoqiu did not answer immediately, but coughed twice while covering his mouth. Then he looked up at Wang Shaoji, a hint of sinister smile in his eyes, and said, "I will—no, fate will arrange it."
"...!"
For some reason, even though his own hands were stained with the blood of countless people, and his heart was no cleaner than the other man's, Wang Shaoji felt a chill rise in his heart when he saw the cold light in his brother's eyes.
Just then, a fragrant breeze wafted over.
The two brothers were both startled for a moment, and then they heard a soft, charming voice coming from the side—
"Young master, you're finally back."
Wang Shaoji's heart skipped a beat. He turned his head and saw that familiar, alluring figure walking gracefully toward him. It was none other than Lüxiao.
Since capturing this woman who had caused him heartbreak and even humiliation, he originally wanted to humiliate her to make up for the loss he had suffered. However, the woman's allure made him unable to resist. This time, when he accompanied the emperor on his tour of Jiangdu, he left all his wives and concubines in Dongdu and only took her with him.
Upon seeing her now, he was immediately captivated, and all the important matters they had just discussed vanished in an instant under the gentle caress of her fragrant presence.
He walked up to her with a smile: "Little vixen, you missed me that much?"
As he spoke, his hand had already wandered over to her slender, slender waist.
She didn't know what she touched, but Green Silk giggled and softly fell into his arms, whispering, "Young Master, you're so naughty!"
After a brief exchange of banter, Wang Shaoji hurriedly turned back and instructed, "Second brother, I still have some things to do. Please carefully consider what I just said, and make sure nothing is overlooked..."
After saying that, he hurriedly took Green Silk in his arms and left.
Wang Shaoqiu stood still, silently watching the two of them leave, joking around. Finally, when the laughter had also faded away, he turned around and prepared to walk towards his room.
As soon as I lifted my foot, I noticed a soft pink thing on the ground. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a woman's silk handkerchief.
Just now, when Green Silk turned to leave, it was accidentally left on her.
Wang Shaoqiu quietly watched the pink handkerchief, which, as if blown by the wind, resembled the body of a frail, boneless woman, slowly falling to his feet. He stared at it for a long time before squatting down to pick it up, kneading it between his fingertips for a while, and then bringing it to his nose and taking a deep breath.
The fragrance, like an invisible poison, spread throughout his limbs in an instant.
He remained expressionless, and slowly tucked the handkerchief into his pocket.
Then, he got up and left.
|
Meanwhile, Shang Ruyi, who had personally closed the palace doors, still held her hands on the heavy doors, seemingly searching for some strength. But before she could gather enough courage, Chu Yang's voice rang out behind her—
What do you want to tell me?
The sound was incredibly close.
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and turned around to find that he was standing almost right next to her. When they faced each other, he was almost about to pull her into his arms. His long, slender, smiling phoenix eyes looked down at her, and he could almost see right through her.
Shang Ruyi's breath hitched.
Chu Yang continued to approach her, their faces drawing ever closer until the tip of his nose was almost touching hers, and the smile in his phoenix eyes was about to spill out.
He said, "Say what you want to say."
"..."
Although she knew there was nothing wrong with what she had done, at this moment, faced with his innocent and joyful smile, Shang Ruyi felt somewhat speechless.
But I can't stay silent any longer.
She took a deep breath and met those smiling eyes.
Then, he said, word by word, "Your Majesty, we cannot continue killing people like this."
The moment those words left his mouth, Chu Yang's face darkened. His eyes revealed not only disappointment but also anger. Though he remained cautiously attentive to Shang Ruyi's gaze, he took a deep breath, turned, and said, "I don't want to hear this from you!"
"Ruyi doesn't want to tell His Majesty these things either."
"Then why did you say that!"
"However, Ruyi cannot stand by and watch His Majesty kill loyal and virtuous ministers."
"A loyal and virtuous minister?"
Chu Yang sneered, then turned back to glare at her hatefully. All tenderness had vanished from his phoenix eyes, replaced only by endless disappointment and anger. He gritted his teeth and said, "These people spread alarmist rumors every day, fabricating battle reports to earn military merit; they urge me to return to the Eastern Capital, to the Western Capital. Is this what loyalty is?"
Shang Ruyi said, "His Majesty may not want to return to the Eastern Capital or the Western Capital, but that doesn't mean their words are wrong."
Chu Yang's eyes widened: "They're right, so the one who's wrong is me, right?!"
"..."
At that moment, Shang Ruyi's throat tightened, and she couldn't utter the rest of her words.
But Chu Yang seemed utterly enraged, and refused to let her go. He approached her step by step, looking down at her, his hot, rapid breath spraying onto her face, making her flinch. Chu Yang said, "You avoided everyone, saying you wanted to speak to me alone, just to tell me I was wrong, is that it?"
"..."
"I, the Emperor, am wrong, aren't I?!"
Seeing that he was getting increasingly angry and wouldn't let go of this point, Shang Ruyi gritted her teeth and looked up at him: "Your Majesty, am I wrong?!"
At this moment, even through the thick palace doors and without being able to see what was happening outside, Shang Ruyi could almost feel that Eunuch Yu, who was waiting outside the palace, must have gasped in shock upon hearing these words, and might even have been scared out of his wits.
Who would dare say such a thing in front of the emperor?
Even though she was his so-called confidant, he was still the emperor, and pointing out his mistakes was touching his sore spot!
Shang Ruyi could even smell the strong stench of blood outside the hall and slipped in through the crack in the door.
Perhaps in the next moment, your own blood will also be mixed in.
Sure enough, Chu Yang's eyes reddened the moment he heard those words.
He gritted his teeth, staring fiercely at the pale, slender woman before him. She couldn't even withstand a single word from him, yet she dared to defy the world and utter words that deserved to be torn to pieces. Chu Yang froze for a long time, then laughed in anger and nodded, saying, "Fine, fine, fine!"
He said "good" three times, turned around and paced around the hall, but this helpless action could not dispel the anger in his heart, nor could it ease the pain that those words had pierced his soul. He walked back to Shang Ruyi with a fierce expression, slammed one hand against the heavy hall door behind her, and said, word by word, "I was right!"
"..."
"I have never made a mistake in my entire life!"
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