Chapter 28 - Primary School Chickens Quarrel
Probably because there were four moons, the night was not too cold. I was wearing padded clothes and my neck was sweating slightly. The Daming Palace lived up to its name, it was large and spacious. The Xuanwei Hall and Taiye Lake looked close on the map, but were actually very far apart. I walked for a long time and didn't see a single flower tree.
The man followed me like a dark shadow, keeping a distance from me that was neither too close nor too far. I turned around and glared at him, but he didn't leave. It was so annoying.
"Do you know how to get to the flower forest by Taiye Lake?" I turned around and asked, "It's the one with the peach and cherry blossoms."
The man turned away his gaze: "I don't know."
I said with disdain: "You are even more useless than the dog emperor."
He retorted, "Who is the useless one? You've circled the corridor three times. I doubt you'll be able to circle Taiye Lake even if you circle it all night."
I immediately got angry again: "You clearly know the way, and you lied to me, you bad guy!"
The other party said frankly: "Yes, I am a bad person."
Because he admitted it so readily, I lost the opportunity to scold him. I stamped my feet in anger and said, "If you don't want to help me, then don't help me. I can find a way out myself."
He followed me and said calmly, "Go left."
I raised my chin and stubbornly walked to the right. After an incense stick of time, I hit a wall and had to retreat in shame and move to the path on the left.
"Why don't you believe me?" He said calmly, "I treated you badly before, but I never lied to you."
I said, "You're so weird. I don't know you, why should I trust you? And is there something wrong with you? You're a good person, but you keep calling yourself "I" all day long. Are you crazy wanting to be the emperor?"
The other party was silent for a while, and sighed helplessly after a while: "Chen Ying, you are really drunk."
I didn't take it seriously and waved my hand, saying, "Gold and jade can buy songs and laughter, and a drunken night can make me despise princes. I'm just imitating the style of Taibai, so how can I be called drunk?"
Hearing him keep calling me "I", I thought he wanted to take the throne, so I advised him earnestly: "If you want to be the emperor, you must first kill the current one. His name is Li Siyan, and he lives in the Purple Palace. You know the Purple Palace, it has a high eaves and a large area. It's on the central axis of the palace. Don't follow me all the time. You can't find him if you follow me."
"Oh," the man nodded and asked, "Do you want me to... kill him?"
"Of course I hope so," I snorted, "but you have to remember to wipe your butt clean and don't cause any trouble outside the palace."
After thinking about it again, he kindly reminded: "...Hey, he is an emperor after all. He has done a good job in the past two years. After killing him, please give him some dignity. At least leave his body intact and bury it in the imperial mausoleum. Don't make it too ugly."
He smiled and said, "Oh? You still want to leave his body intact?"
"It's okay if you don't want to stay. It's convenient for you." I was very reasonable.
His smile slowly faded. "You've thought it through so thoroughly. You must have rehearsed it thousands of times in your mind."
I said dejectedly, "Please don't slander me. How dare I touch him? Regicide is a serious crime, punishable by the death of all nine generations of the clan."
──I don’t dare to really do it, at most I just feel good about it in my heart.
"Let's not talk about this unlucky thing," I shook my head casually, and suddenly my eyes lit up, and I saw a clear and cold lake not far away. I shouted excitedly, opened my arms, and ran quickly towards the flower forest that I had been looking for all night.
The person behind me snorted coldly and slowly followed me. He seemed to be in a very bad mood, and his tone was full of ice chips: "...Just a few stupid trees."
"My friend, you'll get beaten for talking like that in Anyifang." I strode past him, my head held high, snapped off a weeping cherry blossom in front of him, pointed at him and threatened, "I suggest you get out of here right now, or I'll beat you until you cry and call for daddy."
He gently parted the delicate branches of the cherry tree and said calmly, "Chen Ying, you are drunk."
I raised the branch, ready to let him feel the strength of Anyifang Iron Fist Bully, but I couldn't bear to waste this beautiful cherry blossom. After standing there for a while, I symbolically gave him an iron fist and said, "Sister, I advise you not to bring up things that are not related to the topic."
Feeling refreshed after beating someone up, I looked around for my next target.
"That pear blossom is nice."
I soon set my eyes on a pear blossom on the rockery by the lake. The blossom was in full bloom, like clusters of fresh snow adorning the branches. It looked both cool and lively, which was exactly what I wanted.
It was just a little tall. I estimated the height, rolled up my sleeves, grabbed the rockery and climbed up, complaining as I climbed: "The palace is full of old trees that have been there for many years. They are so tall. It's so inconvenient to climb them."
Punished by my iron fist, that pesky ghost still hasn't left. Hearing my complaints, he said with his hands up, "If you like small trees, ask the gardener to plant a few more when he has time."
"Thank you, but that's okay." My voice drifted down from above: "Just chop Li Siyan down for me, and we can deal with other matters after you take over."
I seemed to have irritated him, "Chen Ying!" There was a hint of anger in his voice.
"Why? I'm not supporting you. We need to prioritize everything. If you don't kill Li Siyan, you won't have the final say in the Inner Courtyard. If you don't have the final say in the Inner Courtyard, then you won't be able to plant trees for me..."
I began to doubt this person's logical level: With this brain, can he really kill Li Siyan?
Forget it, whether he succeeds or not is none of my business, let Li Siyan worry about it himself.
I was thinking about my flower arranging project, so I picked off a branch that I liked, held it in my hand to admire it, looked around, and wanted to get down from the tree.
“Get out of the way!”
A loud shout passed by my ears.
My body trembled, and I turned my head in confusion, only to meet the small, mung bean-like eyes of a cat, and then a ferocious claw scratched towards my face.
I was so scared that my heart skipped a beat, my legs went weak, I screamed, and fell straight down the tree.
I was in despair the moment I fell down. I thought that from such a tall tree, at least one of my legs would be broken and I would have to lie on the couch for ten days or half a month.
But when I closed my eyes resignedly, I fell into a familiar ball of mink hair. The long, thin fur brushed against the side of my face, as soft as fluffy snow.
I blinked in confusion and found that I was lying on top of the man, with my ear close to his chest, and I could hear his violent heartbeat.
Perhaps knowing that this person was not as easy to deal with as me, the raccoon cautiously kicked its hind legs and disappeared into the night.
The cat left and I was caught. Only the petals that I accidentally plucked were still flying all over the sky and floating down to the ground among the fallen petals.
I pressed his ribs, and he groaned. He wrapped me completely in his cloak and slowly sat up.
I poked my head out from under his sable cloak and said sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I didn't see clearly. Did I crush you? Did I crush you to pieces?"
He didn't speak, his hands were shaking.
"I fell down, why are you panicking?" I asked him curiously.
He hugged me roughly and said angrily, "Shut up, Chen Ying, you're getting more and more capable. You even dare to climb such a high tree. If I weren't around, would you fall down like this?"
"I...how do you know my name is Chen Ying?"
I let him hold me in a daze, always feeling that something was wrong.
When people are drunk, their eyes become blurred by alcohol, but their noses become more sensitive. This person hugged me, and the scent of mint drink on his body drifted into my nostrils. I sniffed it hard and it felt so familiar.
Where have I smelled this smell before? I thought slowly, and suddenly my eyes widened and my heart started beating violently.
The one who can make mint drink is Su Xing, and the one who loves to drink mint drink is Gou Huangdi.
Dog Emperor!
At this moment, the hands behind me seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, making it difficult for me to breathe. I felt like I was stung by a bee. I pushed him away, stood up, and gasped for breath.
My almond eyes met the fox eyes again. Although I was already drunk and unconscious, I could strangely see his eyes clearly. They were captivatingly clear, and contained inexplicable emotions and panic.
Looking at those extremely familiar fox eyes, the string in my brain that was melted by alcohol suddenly connected back, and in a flash, my whole body was shocked -
Why is the Dog Emperor here? What does he want to do?
Li Siyan staggered after being pushed by me and fell awkwardly on the grass.
I stood at a loss in the night wind, holding the late spring flowers in my hand, watching the most noble man in the world fall to the ground, his cloak, which was usually well-maintained and spotless, now covered with ugly dust.
After a long silence, he slowly stood up and said, "I thought you were going to be completely stupid, but I didn't expect you to still have some sense."
I interrupted him: "What do you want to do?"
"Nothing," he said. "Just passing by."
I blurted out, "You're lying! What's your purpose?"
He paused: "If I say that I miss you a little, will you believe me?"
His voice was very soft, with a hint of loneliness and dejection, like a defeated soldier who was fulfilling a loser's promise, unwillingly but having to do it.
My eyes suddenly widened, and the flowers in my hand fell to the ground with a plop.
What did he say? He said he missed me?
This was a huge shock. I stared at him blankly. It was hard to describe my feelings at the moment: shock, anger, pleasure... In that brief moment, all kinds of feelings hit my heart.
"You..." I said with difficulty: "Could it be that you...really..."
Li Siyan lowered his narrow eyes slightly, and the hidden hope in his eyes disappeared, leaving only disappointment.
He pursed his lips and said sarcastically, "Didn't you already guess it that day? Why are you so shocked? Do you think I'm ridiculous for actually being so reluctant to part with a pet?"
It's not so much that he was mocking me, but rather that he was mocking himself. He had a desperate attitude, as if admitting this would be like asking for his life.
I felt like I was struck by lightning. I stood still, my legs and feet weak. The four moons emitted a cold light. It was clearly a gentle moonlight, but I felt that it was an intimidating cold light.
He looked at my face, which was distorted by the overly complicated emotions, and his eyes darkened slightly.
"When I first saw you, you had this look in your eyes, one of shock and disgust. You looked at me like I was looking at some filthy thing from the gutter. That's why I kept you by my side, wanting to make you dirty and break you, to wear you down and numb you bit by bit, so that I could never show you such a disgusting look again."
Yes, I thought blankly, it was like this at the beginning, but why did everything become different later?
I licked my dry lips and asked hoarsely, "Why are you telling me all this? What do you want me to do? Just go back to you and be your toy?"
He actually laughed out loud: "Fool, if I really meant this, how could you live peacefully in Xuanwei Palace now?"
I was speechless for a moment, struggling to process his words. I held my aching head and pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "I... thought you were disgusted with me and didn't want to see me anymore, so you threw me to Wei Cairen."
Li Siyan gave a short laugh and said self-deprecatingly, "How could it be that I dislike you? It was clearly you who chose it."
"Don't you remember that day when I asked you if you wanted to stay in the Purple Palace? If you stayed, I would allow you to do anything. Even if you tore off the roof of the Purple Palace, I could build a new one for you to tear off as much as you wanted."
"But you said you didn't want to, without even a moment's hesitation."
He turned his head, looked me in the eyes, and said, "I understood then. My hands are stained with the blood of your Shen family. You will never change your mind in this lifetime."
"That's why you let me go," I whispered, "You're afraid that if you keep me by your side, you'll get deeper and deeper into trouble, right?"
Li Siyan said calmly, "I just want to be fair. If you hate me, then I won't be attentive to you."
I opened my mouth and wanted to ask why you followed me so late at night, but I swallowed the words back. Perhaps I didn't dare to ask, and was afraid to know the answer.
In fact, everything has a foreshadowing, doesn't it?
He was jealous of Meng Xu, made me kneel before his deceased mother like a daughter-in-law, gave me things, and had so many inexplicable angers... I am naturally sensitive to emotions, but because he is my enemy, I deliberately ignored all the clues and just wanted to get by with my life and maintain the status quo.
The night wind blew and I got a migraine. My nerves were pounding. I was so confused that I thought, what the hell, why does he really like me?
Besides, I drank so much. Will I still remember what he said when I wake up tomorrow morning?
Wait, I'm drunk!
I reacted with a start and suddenly realized what was going on.
Yes, I have the habit of forgetting things after drinking. I will definitely forget what happened tonight tomorrow morning!
"Li Siyan," I said, "are you afraid to let me know what you're thinking? You think I'll forget everything once I wake up, so you choose to tell me when I'm drunk?
This is more like the style of the Dog Emperor. How could he tolerate someone revealing his weaknesses to others, especially me, whom he has always regarded as a pet, as he is so cruel and ruthless, and has a strong sense of self-esteem?
"Yes," Li Siyan admitted readily, "When Suxi said that you forgot things after drinking, I didn't believe it and thought you were pretending to be stupid. Later, I asked Censor Jiang and your old friends, and then I realized that you really do have this problem."
I snorted contemptuously, thinking to myself that Meng Xu had the guts to send me Qiqiao fruit in front of the whole city on Qiqiao Festival, but you only dared to come and see me secretly when I was drunk.
coward.
He caught the flash of contempt on my face, and it was like being pricked by a sharp needle.
"What would happen if you knew?" He smiled silently.
Perhaps because he recalled my usual contempt and indifference towards him, his smile was a little bleak.
"You feel disgusted, mock me, ridicule me, and look at me like a bug."
"I didn't think it was a big deal before, but now it's becoming increasingly painful and piercing. Every word and every glance is like a sharp knife, cutting me so hard that I wish I could make you lose all your voice forever."
Before he finished speaking, I threw the flower branch to the ground and said coldly among the fallen flowers: "You deserve it."
He lowered his head to look at the broken flowers, his expression growing darker.
I sneered, "What qualifications do you have to act miserable in front of me? You've taken the lives of my father and brother, three of them. This is a blood feud that wiped out our entire family. Don't think you can pique my sympathy by pretending to be a vulnerable puppy drowned in front of me. I'm not that mean."
When facing Li Siyan, I always show amazing cold-bloodedness. My friends all say that I am kind-hearted and soft-hearted. Logically speaking, seeing Li Siyan, who is usually domineering and arrogant, showing his vulnerable belly like a dog, I should always feel some sympathy, but I looked at him, so strangely indifferent, I even wanted to laugh, I wanted to step on his vulnerable belly and trample it hard, I wanted to let him know that people should be responsible for their own actions.
My family, the Shen family, has been compiling history for generations. We firmly believe that there is morality in the world and justice will last forever. I always have a ruler in my heart to measure Li Siyan's merits and demerits. To the country, he can barely be considered a shrewd and capable emperor. As a historian, I must write truthfully. But for me personally, since he took away my most beloved relative, he will never be able to get even a little bit of my love in this life, or even in the next life.
He was silent for a long time when I brought up the old matter. Then he said, "This matter has been settled. I will compensate your family in the future."
There was no apology or excuse, he said he would compensate. What is compensation?
I immediately broke down, pointing at him and swearing, "You bastard! You killed my whole family and you still have the nerve to say you miss me and like me! What a joke! Do you deserve to like me? Do you?"
He was caught off guard by my scolding and was stunned for a moment.
My eyes were filled with bright and clear hatred, no different from two years ago. Seven hundred days of serving as king and subject had not shortened the distance between us one bit. After all these twists and turns, our relationship was still at the starting point.
Li Siyan's face was pale, like a dying old man. He raised his hand mechanically, as if he wanted to touch my hair.
I slapped his hand away and said fiercely, "Back then in Xuanzheng Hall, I called you a coward and incompetent. Now it seems I was right. You only knew how to kill the historian to warn the ministers, which is incompetence. You only dared to take advantage of me drunk to secretly confess your feelings, which is cowardice. Li Siyan, you asked me if I should stay by your side. What do you think? Even if you didn't kill my family, what is there about you that is worth my compromise?"
All his wishful thinking was shattered by my powerful force. He froze in place like a statue, like a big dog with nowhere to hide from the wind and rain, with a look of fragility and cruelty intertwined. He gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, I am despicable, I am shameless, I am such a treacherous and evil person in your eyes. You like Meng Xu, he is so handsome, so upright and noble. But since I was a child, I can only get what I want by despicable means, otherwise I will have nothing. If he were put in my situation, would he still be so handsome? Would you still be attracted to him?"
I was so angry my lungs ached. It was hilarious. He even had the nerve to mention Meng Xu. How could he be compared to my "Meng Ge," the best man in the world? I immediately retorted, "No matter what situation you face, a true man should shoulder the moral responsibility. Forcing the historian to submit is the most cowardly act. A thousand-year infamy is the least of your troubles. Everyone has hard times. But I hate you because you have no moral integrity. Not even compared to the great scholars, you're worse than an ordinary peasant!"
Yes, he is such a selfish and extreme person, how can it be his fault? Even if he is wrong, it is because of others. Wei Wan'er said that he regretted it, but I don't think he has ever reflected on it at all.
His body shook, as if my words were cutting into his heart, and every word was drawing blood.
"Forget it. I shouldn't have said this to you. I only bring shame upon myself every time." He seemed to be trying hard to control his anger, his knuckles turning bluish-white. "This is the last time I will act like a jerk in front of you. I won't do it again."
I don't care about his pain, I only care about myself.
I scoffed and asked him, "You said this was the last time, but what about the future? Do you still count?"
"What later?"
"Will you let me go? I remember you said you would let me go."
I originally thought that Li Siyan’s recent behavior was not quite right, but after connecting the cause and effect, I found reasonable explanations for his strange behavior.
Since he threw me to the Ye Ting and then to the Xuanwei Palace in order to prevent himself from getting deeper into trouble, he might as well just release me from the palace. This is what they call a short pain is worse than a long pain, and it is better to be cut off in order to cure it permanently... No, it should be once and for all.
Li Siyan's expression froze. Not long after, he said coldly, "Since you're so eager to leave, then leave after you finish the ceremony next month."
I almost immediately covered my mouth to prevent myself from screaming. An indescribable ecstasy filled my body. Is this true? Is this true? Will I be able to leave the palace next month?
Thinking of my aunt, Xiaochuan, and Brother Meng, whom I hadn't seen in two years, I almost couldn't hold back my tears. I felt so sad. Is this the joy of happiness after suffering? When Sima Qian saw the first rays of sunlight outside the prison, did he feel the same as I do now?
Li Siyan didn't want to share my joy. The corners of his eyes were red, and he looked as lonely as a wild dog. He just glanced at me one last time and then left without looking back.
The back view is restrained and resolute.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
