086. The Road Ahead

The night wind blew violently, making the window frames rattle, just like tonight in Kyoto, when a frenzy was approaching.

The imperial guards marched through the streets in neat rows. Ordinary people could hear the dense and steady footsteps. Some people opened the windows to peek and saw that they were all imperial guards wearing light armor. They all guessed that something big had happened in the city today.

The momentum is overwhelming.

There was no news from the Xi family yet, so Yu Qingzhou arrived at the Regent's Palace first and had a secret conversation with the Regent, Marquis Dingbei, for half an hour before leaving in a hurry.

The imperial guards escorted the eldest princess to the Regent's Palace. Rong Se heard that Lan Ying had brought Rong Zhixu back, so he went to the guest room with Liang Shenyu. As soon as he entered the room, he ran into Lan Ying who came out in a hurry.

Lan Ying almost bumped into Rong Se's arms. When she saw that it was him, she said in a panic, "Your Highness, she fainted. She was fine when she left Xi's house, but fainted in the carriage on the way."

"What's wrong with Your Highness?" Qinghe, who had followed, burst into tears upon hearing this and rushed into the house without saying a word.

Rong Se looked at the mess and frowned, "Someone, go find a doctor."

"Wait." Liang Shenyu said, and ordered meaningfully: "Go to the palace and find two doctors to come and tell them that the princess is in critical condition."

Rong Se couldn't help but sigh.

Liang San, it still has to be you.

Seeing Rong Se's convinced expression, Liang Shenyu smiled helplessly, "Why do you look at me like that? Isn't it because of you?"

Rong Se felt a little warm in his heart, and said softly, "I know everything."

While waiting for Doctor Yu and the doctor to come, Rong Se and Liang Shenyu sat in the outer room and listened to Lan Ying and Yun Zhijiang's story. Especially when they talked about Liu Ran's cruel treatment of Rong Zhixu, Lan Ying frowned in disgust and said, "We are all women, so we should empathize with each other. How could this old witch embarrass her like this?"

"Evil deeds do not distinguish between men and women. Evil people are evil people." Rong Se said calmly, "Rong Jing and I are both men, but he still called me the son of a whore. I didn't see him show any sympathy to me back then."

If you don't want to be bullied, you have to become stronger.

Rong Se understood this truth at a very young age.

"Why do men always hurt women more?" Rong Se said with a sneer on his face, and then said, "It's simply because they have strength and power, while women like Liu Ran who can only cling to men's glory can only show off their power in front of women who are weaker than her."

In the end, Rong Se concluded with great disgust and accuracy: "Mother and son are birds of a feather, neither deserves to live."

Blue Oriole nodded in agreement.

Rong Se looked at the tea in the cup and shook it lightly, and ripples appeared. Just like the seemingly peaceful Jin capital city and the imperial court, the bloody storm was hidden under the jade scepters and golden bricks. Everyone was intoxicated by the prosperity, but it only took a stone to fall lightly and the tranquility would be broken in an instant.

Rong Zhixu is the stone, and the person who drives everything is Rong Se.

Yun Zhi, who was always calm, said slowly: "The imperial guards have been assembled and are waiting for orders. Tonight, once the prince gives the order, the imperial guards can go straight to the imperial city."

Yun Chu had the same face as him, and his expression at the moment was exactly the same. Lan Ying belatedly noticed the tense atmosphere and also looked at Rong Se suspiciously.

“No need.”

Rong Se denied Yun Zhi's proposal without hesitation, and said seriously: "It's not the right time yet, Yun Zhi. Do you know why it took you and Yun Chu so long to bring the Jizhou injustice to light?"

The Yun brothers remained silent.

Rong Se said slowly, "The meaning of revenge is too broad, it includes paying back debts and killing people to pay for their lives. I want Rong Jing's life, but what can his sieve-like palace stop me from doing? But killing a person for revenge is the simplest thing. One cut of the knife and the person is gone. But what really makes people fear to the core, tossing and turning at night, worrying and unable to live in peace, unable to eat and being worried and terrified, this is punishment."

Rong Se and the original owner agreed on this point, and neither of them wanted to kill Rong Jing quickly.

Now, Rong Jing has no imperial power except the dragon chair. Even when he lies on the dragon bed, he has to worry about when Rong Se will make trouble. It is like a knife hanging on your neck. You never know when the knife will fall and whether it will kill him quickly or torture him slowly.

This feeling can drive people crazy.

This is how Rong Se spent every day and night when he was entangled by his biological father.

The Regent King's delicate features were clouded again. He had always been restrained and repressed, so he quickly put away the gloom on his face and said nonchalantly, "Moreover, someone is still bearing the curse in his grave. How can I be content if I don't return the curse?"

After saying this, she felt Liang Shenyu gently holding her hand.

Like an encouragement, or a comfort.

Rong Se smiled back, indicating that he was fine.

"We can't let the prince be branded as a regicide." Liang Shenyu smiled gently, but his smile was always a little distant, as if there was a layer of mist between him and everyone, making him look a little cold.

At this point, the servant of the palace brought in the doctor who was brought in from outside, who arrived earlier than Doctor Yu.

After a diagnosis, the old doctor said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. The girl is asleep. She must have not slept or eaten for a long time, so her pulse is a little weak. She will be fine after she wakes up and eats something. But the injuries on her body... need to be treated carefully, especially the knees. If you don't take care and leave a root of disease, I'm afraid you will have a hard time in the future."

"Follow your instructions, my lady. Princess, I will leave the throne to you."

This doctor had been in and out of the Regent's Palace before and was Lan Ying's man, so when he knew that the person inside was the eldest princess, he remained calm and took the order and left.

After he left, Rong Se frowned and looked at Qing He, "Your Highness wants to cultivate immortality without eating or sleeping?"

Qing He knew that this meant he was asking for blame.

It has always been like this in the palace. When the master makes a mistake, it is usually the servants who are punished. And if the master is injured, it is naturally because the servants did not serve him well enough, so the servants are afraid that the master will get hurt.

Upon hearing Rong Se's words, Qing He knelt down with a pale face and said, "Yes, it was Madam Liu. She often punished us according to the family rules. Your Highness kneeled for a day or two and was not allowed to eat or drink. That's why... that's why."

Her voice got quieter as she spoke.

Rong Se didn't understand why she was so scared. His brows were still furrowed. "You get up first. I just want to ask a few questions."

Qinghe was stunned, as if she couldn't believe it.

Yun Chu smiled and went forward to help Qing He up, saying in a friendly manner: "Miss, what are you doing? The prince is kind-hearted and is only worried about Your Highness. He will not punish you."

"Okay, since Xuanhe is fine, let her sleep."

Rong Se couldn't stand their etiquette of kneeling at every turn, and didn't plan to stay in the guest room for long, so he called Lan Ying and told her, "You are a girl, and you are good at fighting, so you should stay here tonight."

Blue Oriole had no objection.

"The doctor in the palace." Rong Se looked at Yun Chu and said softly, "You look after the arrangements and let them know what to say and what not to say."

Yun Chu nodded with a smile, "Don't worry, Your Majesty."

.

Rong Se and Liang Shenyu walked side by side on the gravel road of the palace.

There are lamp stands on both sides of the road, and every few steps there is a six-sided palace lantern with exquisite paintings, shining dimly in the middle of the night.

"Prince." Liang Shenyu held his hand and suddenly said softly, "The Jin Northern Army will also obey your orders, don't worry."

Warmth flowed through his heart, Rong Se's expression relaxed, and he shook his head gently, "I'm not worried, Rong Jing doesn't have the courage to fight to the death with me, it's just... I'm not very happy. Xuan He's experience always reminds me of those things..."

Rong Se was choked for a moment, and after a long while of thinking about his words, he finally came up with a suitable word: "Things I want to let go of."

"Then don't make it hard on yourself."

Liang Shenyu stood in front of a palace lamp, the star-like light fell into his deep eyes, and he looked especially gentle when he lowered his eyes.

"You can't let go, maybe because it's not the right time yet. The road you've walked is full of thorns, and when you look back you can only see these. How can you let go? When you look back again, there will be something worth rejoicing on this road. Then... I think you will let go."

Rong Se thought of the young man in the snow and asked softly, "Have you let it go?"

Have you let go of the snowstorm from fourteen years ago?

As expected, Liang Shenyu shook his head and gently rubbed the corner of Rong Se's lips with his thumb.

People who practice martial arts for many years all have ropes on their fingertips, but Rong Se only felt that his movements were careful and gentle. After they looked at each other silently for a moment, he heard Liang Shenyu's low and soft voice.

"I have waited for many years, through the years, through the snow and rain, until I finally got a view that would melt the wind and snow of my life. The past is not easy to let go, but my Lord, I know what to do next."

Liang Shenyu held him in his arms and stroked Rongse's back gently, feeling reliable and secure.

"So, Your Majesty, you can be sad, and I will be responsible for making you happy."

Rong Se didn't know whether the young man actually walked home from the snowstorm, but he knew that even though the road was full of thorns and snow, Liang Shenyu gave him the confidence to keep going.

The past is a foregone conclusion and cannot be changed, but they have a future hand in hand with each other.

.

The two doctors on duty at the Imperial Hospital were brought here by the palace staff, but they didn't even get to see the princess. They only saw a smiling man who claimed to be the palace's steward.

Yun Chu politely invited the two doctors to take a seat and said with a smile, "Thank you for taking this trip. Please listen carefully. The Princess is now in the palace. She was beaten by Xi and now has bruises all over her body. Her life is in danger. As for you two, you were unable to return to the palace tonight to save the Princess."

He fabricated stories out of thin air and made them sound as if they were true.

The two doctors looked at each other and didn't dare to say anything for a while.

Yun Chu was not in a hurry and smiled warmly: "But tomorrow morning... whether the two adults have worked hard and saved the life of the princess and made great contributions, or the princess's condition has not improved and the prince has killed the doctor in anger, it all depends on the two adults to decide."

This is a blatant threat.

Yun Chu described the murder and robbery as if it were very easy, with a smile on his face.

The two doctors were sweating coldly, and they did not dare to hesitate. They stood up and bowed, saying, "I understand, old minister."

"You two are smart people." Yun Chu said with a smile, "If someone asks, you should know how to answer. Otherwise... the weather has been dry recently, and there was a big fire in the Taimiao a few days ago."

He suddenly talked about something completely unrelated, his eyes suddenly became cold, and he spoke clearly, "How can a house withstand a fire? My two lords, please be careful, be careful of a fire in your house. If it catches fire, it won't be like the Taimiao, where only a spirit tablet is destroyed."

The two were sweating profusely, their hands trembling with fear.

This is to warn them that the monk can escape but the temple cannot, and if they say something they shouldn’t, it will implicate their families.

The two dared not say anything else and agreed one after another.

After knocking, Yun Chu left with satisfaction.