Great Zhou World
After the fifth watch drum sounded, in the Purple Palace, the golden throne with coiled dragons of Regent Xiao Ziyi hung empty. The cold metallic luster seemed particularly glaring in the morning light, like a silent mockery.
"Your Majesty! The Prince Regent's private transfer of the Northern Zhenyuan Army is tantamount to treason!"
"Seven or eight out of ten tributes from Jiangnan were intercepted by them. This is an act of usurpation and violation of the law!"
"A member of the imperial family bumped into his carriage in the street and was whipped thirty times! This is inhumane!"
The Minister of Rites, Shen Qingshi, with his hair and beard standing on end, took a step forward and summarized in a stern voice, his eyes piercing the empty golden throne like a knife: "Does this beast still have the moral principles of a king and a father in his eyes? Your Majesty, please make your decision!" Every word he said was resounding, with a determination to perish together with his enemies.
On the throne, Emperor Xiao Wufan's face was as sullen as ice, his tightly pursed lips betraying the surging currents within. Rage surged and pounded within his chest. He clutched the mutton-fat white jade ruyi, a gift from his adopted son Xiao Ziyi on his birthday the previous year. His knuckles were white as bone from the strain, and veins clung to the back of his hand.
“Crack!”
A sharp, piercing crack suddenly shattered the deathly silence! The jade ruyi shattered! The sharp fragments pierced his clenched palms, and crimson blood immediately gushed out, snaking along the majestic and ferocious dragon patterns on the throne's armrests, creating dazzling bloodstains on the cold golden bricks. The entire hall was deadly silent, with only the faint sound of dripping blood pounding on everyone's tense nerves. The ministers were horrified and bowed their heads, not daring to look directly at the emperor.
"Dismiss the court!" The emperor's hoarse voice was filled with a strong smell of blood, as if it was squeezed out from deep in his chest.
The bell tolled for the end of court, a long, dull thrum. The ministers, as if granted amnesty, trembled with fear, and hunched their bodies, cautiously and silently preparing to leave the stifling hall.
"Your Majesty, allow me to report—!"
Just as the oppressive tide receded, Crown Prince Xiao Yuhuan suddenly burst forth from the ranks! His face flushed with excitement, his eyes gleaming with a desperate glint. Without hesitation, he lifted the hem of his dragon robe and knelt heavily toward the throne! The sound of his knees hitting the gold bricks was particularly clear in the silence.
"I have heard everything you said today about your brother's 'domineering' behavior!" He suddenly raised his head, facing the emperor's furious gaze that seemed to burn him to death, and said in a voice with a determination to fight to the death, "Yes! If we talk about the main crime of domineering behavior, it is not your brother. There are reasons for everything!" His chest rose and fell violently, trying to use the volume of his voice to cover up the tension in his heart.
"The reason the Zhenyuan Army in the northern border was secretly mobilized was because Princess Changle was kidnapped by local bandits. The bandits were rampant, and my brother had no choice but to mobilize the troops for the princess's safety! As for the tribute from Jiangnan being withheld, it wasn't because of corruption," he explained eagerly, speaking rapidly, "but because the merchants in Jiangnan paid tribute far exceeding the regulations in order to curry favor with the emperor! My brother didn't keep it for himself, but distributed it directly to the refugees affected along the way! And..."
Deathly silence once again engulfed the hall. The ministers held their breath, their faces etched with scorn and impatience. Several veteran officials exchanged glances, their lips curled in a wave of obvious disdain. The emperor's bloodstained hands clutched the cold armrests of the dragon throne, blood still dripping silently. His eyes, deep as a pool of ice, now shimmered with a complex brilliance—rage, disappointment, a hint of inexpressible fatigue, ultimately transforming into a cold scrutiny, like a concrete icicle, firmly nailing the crown prince as he lay prone on the ground, arguing.
He was all too aware of his son's naiveté and recklessness. Only the empty golden throne, reflecting a cold and mocking light in the thin morning light, seemed to silently mock this farce. No one listened seriously to the prince's rebuttal. Their thoughts, like the emperor's, were filled with disdain for his "deeply affectionate" defense.
"Enough!" Emperor Xiao Wufan shouted suddenly. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried the pressure of thunder, instantly cutting off the Crown Prince's unfinished words. He closed his eyes wearily, and when he opened them again, only a bottomless chill remained. The corners of his mouth curled up in a cold, cold smile: "You two brothers... your feelings are deep." The word "deep" was emphasized, full of irony. "Back! All of you, back!" He waved his uninjured hand, a gesture thick with weariness and an undeniable sense of expulsion.
The morning light was dim and chilly. Nangong Xi was concentrating over a small clay stove, decocting herbs to keep warm. The medicine pot gurgled, and a bitter aroma filled the cool air.
"Sister," Nangong Xiang came over, tilted her head, with a mischievous smile on her face, her big eyes rolling around, "Are you sure you want to add so much honey to this medicine? Aren't all medicines bitter?" She deliberately dragged out her tone.
Nangong Xi didn't pause, not even looking up. She silently poured another spoonful of thick honey into the medicine jar, stirring it gently with a bamboo spoon. Her movements were steady yet filled with an undeniable resolve. Her profile appeared calm and focused in the morning light. "She's afraid of bitterness." Her voice was flat, as if stating a simple fact.
"Ehh~" Nangong Xiang dragged out the last word, the mischief on her face deepened, she nudged her sister lightly with her elbow, "Sister~ You're not talking to the prince...?" She lowered her voice, with the gossipy excitement unique to young girls, "If you ask me, the prince is definitely interested in you! Look at this huge palace, apart from you and me, there are no maids at all? Even the servants are serving tea and water! Moreover," she moved closer mysteriously, with a shrewd light in her eyes, "I have inquired with the old housekeeper of the palace, the prince's study, that is a forbidden area! No outsider has ever entered, let alone a woman!" She became more and more excited as she spoke, her cheeks flushed, "If you can become the prince's concubine, even if it's just a concubine, maybe... maybe he can help us clear the Nangong family's grievances!" Her eyes were full of unrealistic fantasies, as if she had seen a bright future.
Nangong Xi suddenly stopped stirring the medicine pot and turned her head abruptly! Her eyes instantly became as sharp as a knife, piercing straight at her sister. The coldness and disappointment in her eyes made Nangong Xiang subconsciously shrink her neck. "When did you have such self-deprecating thoughts?" Nangong Xi's voice suddenly rose, with incredible severity, "To clear the grievances, we can only rely on ourselves! Rely on real evidence! Rely on justice! Do you understand?!" She snatched the bamboo basket of herbs from Nangong Xiang's hand, her movements were filled with obvious anger, "I boiled this medicine for the young lady! Yesterday, the wind was strong, and she stood outside the door for a long time. The cold air entered her body, and she might have caught a cold a long time ago!" She emphasized the word "young lady" and her eyes fell back on the medicine pot, as if to calm the waves in her heart, but her tightly pursed lips revealed her anger.
The bedroom with the broken window was dimly lit. Ning Yangyang stood by the bed, arms folded, her face expressionless as she gazed down at Xiao Ziyi, who lay soundly asleep. Her sharp gaze swept across his handsome yet somewhat sinister face, finally resting on a subtle, dark red mark near his collarbone, beneath his slightly opened shirt. Her pupils constricted imperceptibly, a flicker of extreme surprise and... confusion flashing deep within her eyes. This birthmark... She seriously wondered if that damned system had infiltrated her deepest memories. Otherwise, how could there be a mark exactly like her bastard brother's?
"Any similarity is purely coincidental." A cold, inorganic voice suddenly sounded in her mind.
Ning Yangyang rolled her eyes in her heart and cursed back silently: "Can you kill the protagonist? He really looks like he deserves a beating, especially his mouth and face." She looked at Xiao Ziyi's mouth, which looked mean and hard even in his sleep, and added maliciously.
"How come I didn't realize that you, the host, really have a tendency towards violence. I can't give you a very powerful identity. Are you going to destroy the world?" The system's voice was a little helpless.
"As a brother, he has no sense of responsibility. As the regent, he's bent on rebellion. As the male protagonist, he's a complete pervert. What a petty character design." Ning Yangyang counted them down in her mind, her tone filled with disdain. "I guarantee, with this kind of character, no one would truly like him unless it was forced by the plot."
"Can you do something serious? Don't sit here and criticize the hero all day long." The system seemed to have had enough.
"Alright." Ning Yangyang curled her lips, withdrawing her gaze from the birthmark. Her original intention in coming here was to confirm whether Xiao Ziyi had woken up on his own (after all, the dosage of the drug she'd administered was a bit risky). Seeing him sleep peacefully would give her some peace of mind. However, she couldn't stay here for long, and she would have to be more cautious with poisoning in the future. She'd chosen to drug him out of a fear that the regent, with his head full of adultery, would force himself on the female protagonist, Nangong Xi, who had come to treat her as a doctor.
She retreated, preparing to leave, not hearing the vague murmurs escaping the man's lips on the bed. Xiao Ziyi sank into the thick quilt, breathing slowly, her brows furrowed tightly, forming a deep "chuan" character. Even in her sleep, the coldness etched into her bones remained lingering, as if even her dreams were filled with the glint of swords and sabers.
Deep in the dream, there was endless darkness and biting cold. There was only a faint glow, a mixture of herbs and warm sunshine, which was the unique scent of his mother in the past. It was the only warmth that he subconsciously wanted to grasp. The vague and gentle figure reached out to him in the halo, and the smile was so loving that it almost broke his heart. He wanted to get closer, wanted to call out "Mom", but his throat seemed to be frozen by invisible ice, and he couldn't make any sound. The huge feeling of powerlessness and the deep, unhealed pain in his heart were like an icy tide, instantly drowning him. He struggled hard, but his limbs felt heavy, and he could only watch as the only warm halo dissipated bit by bit in the thick fog, leaving behind deeper despair and cold...
"Mother..." A hoarse and broken murmur that was suppressed to the extreme finally broke free from the shackles of the nightmare and escaped extremely weakly from his tightly pursed lips. It was so light that it almost dissipated in the cold air, but it carried a heart-pounding weight of pain.
Ning Yangyang, who had already retreated to the door, paused slightly. She heard the whispers in her sleep, clearly catching the painful, broken tail. But she didn't approach, nor did she move a muscle. She simply stood in the shadows by the door, like a cold, emotionless jade statue. Moonlight filtered through the broken window, outlining her beautiful yet cold profile. Her beautiful phoenix eyes held no trace of worry or sympathy, only an unbreakable, age-old indifference, and... a barely perceptible, hidden sneer. It was as if she had just heard the most hypocritical performance in the world.
When Xiao Ziyi woke up, Crown Prince Xiao Yuhuan had already slipped into the bedroom like a shadow. With a complex expression that blended flattery, a desire for credit, and a touch of fear, he sat down on the edge of the bed and began to chatter non-stop.
"Brother Ziyi! You're finally awake! Oh, you have no idea. Those old, sour-minded scholars in the court today are so furious! Their spit is practically blowing the roof off the Purple Palace!" He spoke, waving his arms exaggeratedly, mimicking the ministers' furious accusations, his eyes gesturing and his expression rich. "One says you're 'treasonous,' another calls you 'inhumane,' and Old Man Shen's spit is practically spraying Father's face!" He described the situation vividly, his tone tinged with exaggerated fear, his eyes furtively glancing at Xiao Ziyi's reaction.
"But don't worry!" He changed the subject, puffed out his chest, and put on a smug expression of "look at me" on his face. "At the critical moment, it was still your brother me! I knelt down with a plop!" He imitated the kneeling action at that time and leaned forward. "I defended you eloquently! I said that the troops were mobilized to save your sister! The tribute was distributed to the refugees! I..." He was speaking excitedly, trying to portray himself as a hero who turned the tide.
"Alright," Xiao Ziyi interrupted him, her voice raspy and deep, fresh from sleep, yet remarkably lucid. He rubbed his brow, feeling unusually alert. Though he'd had nightmares during that deep sleep yesterday, upon waking, he'd felt a rare sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. "Where's that girl?" he suddenly asked, his sharp gaze sweeping across the somewhat empty room, his brow furrowed slightly. "I felt like she was here just now... sneaking around, like she was trying to assassinate me?" His tone was filled with his usual wariness and a hint of amusement.
"Are you talking about Ning Yangyang?" Xiao Yuhuan said naturally, as if he was accustomed to Xiao Ziyi's paranoia. He casually picked up the jade hairpin on the low table beside the bed and leaned in close to Xiao Ziyi. "She just left, and she brought Miss Nangong with her." As he spoke, he moved the hairpin through Xiao Ziyi's loose black hair, trying it left and right, as if carefully choosing the position, his movements as familiar as if he had done it a thousand times. Finally, as if he lost his patience, or decided that any position was the same, he flipped his wrist and neatly inserted the hairpin diagonally into the center of Xiao Ziyi's bun, the movement a bit casual and perfunctory.
"She's quite fast," Xiao Ziyi snorted, unconcerned with the Crown Prince's casual service, perhaps accustomed to it. He reached out to adjust a hairpin that had been inserted slightly askew, his movements graceful and natural, tinged with an innate nobility, perhaps inherited from his mother, the eldest princess, who also cherished beauty and was the most stunning beauty in Kyoto in her youth. "Is everything settled for the Oiran Competition?" he asked, his eyes clear and sharp again as he addressed the matter.
"Of course, Xiao Yiyi, how could I be careless about what you asked me to do?" Xiao Yuhuan patted his chest to assure, and then his face was replaced with an exaggerated aggrieved expression, "But... I may not be able to get too close to you recently." He blinked, and his tone was a bit artificial and pitiful, "I just received an order from my father, punishing me to be confined to the East Palace and reflect on my mistakes for seven days!" He pouted, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ziyi simply glanced at him, a look that seemed to say, "I should have known this." A faint, almost invisible curve curved his lips, and he spoke calmly, "I hope you can find a good excuse." The implication was that a seven-day confinement was too light a punishment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
