Chapter 158

Chapter 158

Without conclusive proof of Empress Yi's death, Emperor Ren Shou, despite his suspicions, couldn't obtain a definite answer.

He increasingly felt like a solitary figure, with each of his sons scheming to dethrone him. Only the second prince in Lingnan, uncompetitive, and the babbling eighth prince, naive and innocent, brought him some comfort and a semblance of familial affection, making him momentarily content like any ordinary father.

But both the second and eighth princes were sons of the late Empress Yi. If the Eighth Prince Sheng Chengxi was not of royal blood, then his only comfort would turn into a joke that backfired.

Emperor Ren Shou sat behind his desk, his gaze heavy, his expression fluctuating wildly, like a bomb ready to explode at any moment.

Anger surged in his chest, nearly uncontrollable.

Frustrated, he slammed a teacup onto the table, turned his head, and spat out another mouthful of blood.

The eunuchs and maids serving him were terrified, all kneeling and trembling. An old eunuch went to summon the royal physician. After examining, Su Huaijing was summoned by imperial decree to the palace.

With one seated and one kneeling, the emperor above and the subject below, the latter could only bow in respect and submission.

After a long silence, Emperor Ren Shou asked, “Did you ever tell anyone that your adoptive father, my Ning Xuan King, harbors rebellious intentions? Is this true?”

Su Huaijing showed a startle on his face and uncontrollably trembled, bowing his head even lower. He spoke in a soft, fearful voice, "Your servant—"

However, before he could say more, Emperor Ren Shou interrupted him, his breath unsteady, his face showing impatience, "Framing royal relatives is a capital offense, deceiving the monarch is a crime that implicates the whole family. Think carefully before you answer me."

Implication meant that his parents and wife's family could be dragged down by his actions. As Su Huaijing was married to a man, Rong Tang would be the first to be implicated if Su Huaijing was accused of deceiving the emperor.

Su Huaijing’s forehead touched the broken porcelain, a fleeting look of cold determination flashed across his face, then disappeared in an instant.

Su Huaijing kowtowed deeply, saying firmly, "A son should not report his parents; a minister should not fail to share the emperor's worries. As the Censor-in-Chief, it's my duty to supervise officials. My failure to notice is my fault alone and unrelated to my spouse. I ask Your Majesty to discern this clearly; I am willing to bear all punishments myself."

"I was careless and spoke my doubts after drinking, but until now, I have no concrete evidence, hence I dared not report it to Your Majesty, fearing it might trouble you. Please punish me."

Saying this, he kowtowed again, his forehead grazing the broken porcelain, bleeding a few drops of bright red blood on the white marble floor, strikingly conspicuous.

Emperor Ren Shou looked at the blood for a long while before speaking heavily, "I allow you to redeem yourself through meritorious deeds."

Su Huaijing seemed startled, unusually breaking the protocol of a subject by looking directly at the emperor.

Emperor Ren Shou said, "Bring me evidence of Ning Xuan King's treason, and I will absolve you of the crime of deceiving the monarch."

Emperor Ren Shou's gaze was sharp, not blaming Su Huaijing for the breach of conduct but locking eyes with him as if trying to see through his thoughts.

After a long pause, Su Huaijing bowed his head and spoke with difficulty, "Your servant... acknowledges the decree."

The broken porcelain was sharp, leaving small cuts all over his forehead. Su Huaijing got into the carriage and managed to remove two large pieces, leaving smaller ones that were difficult to extract. He planned to have the doctor at home help him.

As the carriage neared Yong'an Lane, Shuangshou, the servant, exclaimed in surprise, "Young Master?"

Inside the carriage, Su Huaijing paused, then looked out to see Rong Tang sitting at the entrance of the lane, chatting and eating melon seeds with the neighborhood aunties, occasionally responding but keeping an eye on the street leading into the lane. The twilight cast a cool shadow behind him against the green-tiled roofs.

Su Huaijing paused, his restless mood instantly soothed.

Not wanting to get out in his current state, he just asked Shuangshou to stop there and softly called out, "Tangtang."

Hearing the voice, Rong Tang put the seeds back in the bowl, patted his hands, and smiled as he bid farewell to his neighbors, "I'll come by again tomorrow."

"Okay, okay," they responded, their curiosity getting the better of them as they craned their necks to peek inside the carriage.

As Rong Tang boarded the carriage, his hand had barely touched the door frame when an arm, lean and powerful, reached out from inside the carriage. It grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside.

The environment suddenly darkened, and before Rong Tang could adjust to the light inside the carriage, he was enveloped in an embrace and kissed passionately.

He paused for a moment, then relaxed into the embrace, letting Su Huaijing kiss him. He even found a more comfortable position in Su's arms, ensuring he wasn’t the least bit inconvenienced.

Su Huaijing, sensing Rong Tang's small movements, couldn't help but laugh softly, his nose brushing against Rong Tang's, his good mood obvious.

Rong Tang, used to indulging Su Huaijing, let him have his way. But as they parted and the carriage stopped, Rong Tang caught his breath and was about to ask about Su Huaijing's palace visit. However, seeing the fine cuts and dried blood on Su's forehead, his expression instantly turned cold.

Su Huaijing liked how Rong Tang's emotions changed with his, but he didn’t want to upset him.

Leading Rong Tang out of the carriage, Su Huaijing asked warmly, "I’m so hungry. Is dinner ready at home?"

Rong Tang, full of questions and feeling annoyed, reluctantly held back his temper and replied tersely, "Yes, it's ready."

Su Huaijing smiled, "Then, can Tangtang help me treat my wounds first, and then we can talk while eating?"

Rong Tang remained silent for two seconds, not responding. But when they reached the dining room, he still prepared a basin of water and silently began removing the splinters from Su's forehead. He meticulously cleaned and treated the wounds without a word.

Throughout the process, Su Huaijing remained silent, obediently tilting his head up to watch Rong Tang, his eyes brimming with a watery smile. When a tear rolled down to his eyelashes, he blinked, like a beautiful dragonfly creating ripples as it flutters its wings.

Even though Rong Tang was annoyed, his anger was directed at Emperor Ren Shou, not at Su Huaijing. Seeing Su in this state, how could he bear to stay angry?

After treating the wounds, Rong Tang sighed, pinched Su Huaijing's cheek, and threatened sternly, "If you do this again, I'll join you in the palace next time!"

That place was a matter of life and death, a dangerous realm, and Su Huaijing would never allow Rong Tang to enter it. But hearing Rong Tang speak like that, he obediently agreed, "Okay, I will heed my husband's advice."

Rong Tang didn't bother to dwell on his choice of words any longer, shooting him a glare before sitting back at the dining table, eating heartily while listening to Su Huaijing.

When Su Huaijing mentioned Emperor Ren Shou's secret order to investigate Rong Mingyu's potential treason, Rong Tang paused briefly, looking up at Su Huaijing.

Su Huaijing reassured him, "Tangtang, don’t worry, I have a way to protect everyone."

'Everyone' referred to all those who, apart from the Ning Xuan King himself, should not be dragged down by him.

However, Rong Tang's focus was elsewhere. He concealed the emotions in his eyes and nodded lightly, "I know you have a way."

He just remembered that Rong Mingyu's intention to rebel was almost not mentioned in the original text.

Looking back now, he wasn't sure if this was a bug in the story or if the Ning Xuan King, the sly fox, had always been so convincing that no one ever detected his ambition.

But if the story followed its original trajectory, this could be a fatal oversight.

The Ning Xuan King had been in court for many years, seemingly uninvolved in factional struggles, only serving the emperor, but in reality, he was connected with various powers in the court.

Even if Sheng Chengli, the protagonist, truly defeated Su Huaijing and ascended the throne, how would he secure his position against such a cunning and scheming prince?

In the book "Emperor's Conquest," everything revolving around Sheng Chengli as the protagonist now seemed like a utopian fantasy.

None of the advisors around him, except for Rong Tang, were truly loyal; the court ministers each had their own schemes. Before ascending the throne, there was Su Huaijing, a formidable antagonist, and after ascending, hidden threats like Rong Mingyu, a smiling tiger in disguise.

Why would 'Heaven's Will' choose such a protagonist to ascend to the throne?

In other words, what benefit could it gain?

How significant a benefit would it take for it to repeatedly show leniency and favor towards Sheng Chengli, pushing him to ascend the throne at any cost?

Rong Tang was slightly distracted. Su Huaijing, noticing something was off, silently served him a piece of bass, "Tangtang, eat."

Rong Tang glanced at him, his eyes full of indecisive thoughts. Su Huaijing met his gaze but, unusually, couldn't guess what Rong Tang was thinking.

Feeling a subconscious displeasure, Su Huaijing slightly furrowed his brows, but Rong Tang suggested, "How about we take a walk on the streets after dinner? We haven’t gone out for fun in a long time."

It had been a long time since they saw Lord Lu, his brother and Ke Hongxue, his mother, and had a date.

Rong Tang looked at Su Huaijing with clear, bright eyes, not hiding his intention.

Su Huaijing was momentarily stunned, then realizing what was meant, he couldn’t help but laugh softly, a touch of helplessness in his heart, "Okay."

He couldn’t help it; his Tangtang really knew how to please people.

-

Yu Jing was bustling and lively, while the court was turbulent.

Emperor Ren Shou's suspicion towards his sons reached a new peak, and all the guilt and favor Sheng Chengli expected from the emperor evaporated into nothing.

Su Huaijing talked to Rong Tang about how he was specifically summoned to discuss Hui Mian instigating Emperor Ren Shou to practice alchemy.

Upon hearing this, Rong Tang’s expression turned unpleasant, so Su Huaijing confirmed that Hui Mian was indeed a person worth considering.

Rong Tang commented, "The master was brought down from the mountains into the palace by him, gaining rewards for it. Now does he want the emperor to grow suspicious and resentful of monks, so that the emperor trusts only him?"

"He takes all the advantages in the world, how is that fair?"

Sheng Chengli invited Hui Mian down from the mountains and tried to use him as a pawn in his plot, pushing him into danger, but unexpectedly ended up outmaneuvered himself, with his backup plan of the prophesied fate being overturned.

Rong Tang scoffed, "It's like lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet. That's exactly what he did."

Su Huaijing listened quietly, observing the changes in Rong Tang's expression, and added, "What goes around comes around. He deserves it."

Rong Tang nodded silently, wholeheartedly agreeing with Su Huaijing's words.

From early to mid-summer, Rong Mingyu, deeply entrenched in court for many years, was difficult to implicate due to his extensive connections. Unearthing his misdeeds was an exceptionally arduous task.

After two months of effort, one evening, Su Huaijing entered the palace in a carriage.

Emperor Ren Shou looked at a box full of incriminating evidence and remained silent for a long time.

Su Huaijing knelt in the hall, his kowtow lasting even longer than the last time.

The evidence showed that from the beginning, Rong Mingyu never intended to support Emperor Ren Shou.

His plan was to overthrow the previous emperor, then turn around and kill Emperor Ren Shou under the guise of loyalty, selecting a young heir from the former emperor's offspring to ascend the throne, allowing Rong Mingyu to become a regent without worry.

In the future, as the young emperor would be incompetent and unable to govern the nation, he would abdicate in favor of the more capable, allowing Rong Mingyu, with the Princess's backing, to change his surname to Sheng and enter the royal family lineage, legitimately ascending the throne.

This was his true motive for rebelling with Emperor Ren Shou. After the failure of his plan, Rong Mingyu changed tactics, feigning loyalty while waiting for an opportunity to turn on his master.

After a while, Emperor Ren Shou held the memorial with fingers sunk deep, leaving indentations on the paper.

The emperor laughed in anger, "Very well, very well!"

Su Huaijing knelt on the ground, respectful in posture but feeling a sense of irony internally.

Who else could be more suitable than the young son of the late emperor?

During the great palace fire that year, many sought to profit from the chaos, but who truly intended to save the young prince and who wanted to keep his life in their hands?

The situation that was unclear and incomprehensible at the time, now looking back through the years of enmity, becomes exceptionally clear.

From the beginning, Ning Xuan King had intended to set him up as a puppet emperor.

Princess Duan Yi never expected her child to harbor malicious intentions, and Ning Xuan King didn’t anticipate that his mother would dare risk her life to save the heir to the throne.

Wasn’t this also a kind of tacit understanding in another way?

Throughout her life, Princess Duan Yi devoutly prayed and performed good deeds, redeeming not her own sins.

But how could the one she sought to redeem be worthy of it?