CH 97.1

Translator – Xiao He Lian

Chapter 97.1

The next day.

Wen Chi was woken up by Ruo Tao.

Having not seen Roo Tao for more than two years,she still looked the same, but seems to have grown taller.

After Wen Chi finished washing and dressing , he came to the main hall and found that Ruotao had grown a little taller. Originally,Ruo Tao had indeed grown a little taller, originally just reaching Wen Chi’s chin, but now she had reached the tip of his nose.

The new Bamboo flute Residence1(Wen Chi was given a new courtyard when he left but he didn’t get to stay in it as he had to leave for Jinzhou. This new courtyard is still called the Bamboo Flute Residence) has changed a lot, with not only many more rooms and the front courtyard scenery of small bridges and flowing water, but also many eunuchs and palace maids who feel unfamiliar to Wen Chi coming and going.

But there was no sign of Ping An.

On the way back, Wen Chi planned to find an excuse to send Ping An away, so after he finished his breakfast, he asked Ruo Tao to call Ping An.

But Ruo Tao didn’t move and said indifferently: “Young Master, Ping An is no longer here.”

Wen Chi asked in surprise: “Not here? What do you mean not here?” Is he not in the Eastern Palace or not in this world? Wen Chi’s intuition leans towards the latter…

Sure enough, as soon as he finished thinking this way, Ruo Tao verified his conjecture: “Two or three years ago, shortly after young master set off for Jinzhou, Ping An was caught by the servant while stealing Young master’s golden melon seeds. And this servant informed Eunuch Zhu about this and two days later, Eunuch Zhu sent someone to drag Ping An and beat him to death with sticks.”

Ruo Tao finished speaking very calmly, without any superfluous expression on her pretty face, as if she was talking about a very common thing just now.

Wen Chi fell silent after hearing this.

He silently glanced at Ruo Tao and silently looked away. Although he guessed in his heart tha Ruo Tao had been instructed by someone else to put Ping An to death, the ending was good, so he didn’t ask any more questions.

After resting for a while, Wen Chi saw that it was getting late, so he left Bamboo Flute Residence.

Due to Wen Chi’s special status, he could have gone to see the emperor directly but since he was working under Lord Yin in Jinzhou, he should not ignore Lord Yin, both in terms of emotion and reason.

After Wen Chi and Lord Yin gathered outside the palace gate, they walked together to the Qiankun2(heaven and earth) Palace where the emperor lived.

In the past, the emperor would summon them into the study, no matter how close the relationship between the monarch and his ministers was, it would have been inappropriate for a subject to step into his Emperor’s Qiankun Palace.

However, special circumstances are dealt with in a special way. Now that the emperor is seriously ill in bed and has been lingering on his deathbed for more than two years, even the affairs of the morning court have been handed over to the crown prince to handle, and it is secretly rumored at court that the emperor will die soon……

After entering Qiankun Palace, an eunuch in charge led the way.

Wen Chi didn’t dare to look or listen too much, he just followed behind with his head down.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the eunuch leading the way finally slowed down and stopped.

The eunuch stepped forward quickly, whispered to the eunuch guarding outside the door, then came back quickly and said, “Lord Yin, Young Master Wen, you may have to wait for a while.”

When Wen Chi heard this, he immediately understood that someone was already inside to see the emperor.

Lord Yin said politely: “I understand.”

The eunuch lowered his waist and disappeared from their sight after a while.

Although it was also snowing in the capital, the snow here was much milder than that in Jinzhou. In addition, Wen Chi was dressed heavily and even wore a warm fur coat, so it was not difficult to wait outside.

They didn’t have to wait long before they heard the sound of footsteps coming towards them.

Wen Chi raised his head when he heard the sound and saw two figures walking out of the palace at a leisurely pace.

It wasn’t until the two figures approached that he realized that they were the Fourth Prince and General Lin.

Obviously, the Fourth Prince and General Lin also saw them, paused and then walked straight towards them.

Looking at Shi Jin and Lin Zhe, Wen Chi always felt that something was wrong.

While he was thinking this, Shi Jin and Lin Zhe had already walked up to them.

Wen Chi quickly withdrew his thoughts and greeted Shi Jin together with Lord Yin.

Shi Jin waved his hand, indicating that they don’t need to be too polite: “Father is waiting for you two inside, go quickly.”

Lord Yin said a few words politely and then led Wen Chi inside.

After walking for a while, Wen Chi couldn’t help turning his head and saw Shi Jin and Lin Zhe were also walking out. They seemed to be talking, so they were very close, almost sleeve to sleeve.

Wen Chi stared at the two figures for a while and finally realized where the strangeness he felt just now came from——Shi Jin didn’t reject Lin Zhe anymore!

He remembered that when they were still in Jinzhou, Lin Zhe had carried the stone that he had picked up from Wen Liang with him, but unfortunately, Shi Jin was extremely repulsed by the stone and wanted to hide away from Lin Zhe every time he saw him…..

Or is it that the effect of that stone on Shi Jin disappeared?

Wen Chi couldn’t figure it out but of course he didn’t have that much time to think about it at the moment.

It didn’t take long for Wen Chi to follow Lord Yin to the emperor’s dragon bed.

The emperor’s sleeping hall is very large and the bright yellow dragon bed is also very large. There are layers upon layers of curtains hanging around the dragon bed, and the figure of the emperor lying on the dragon bed cannot hardly be seen.

However, when Wen Chi walked in, he smelled a very strong smell of medicine as well as other odors that blended into the air, which made it very unpleasant.

Wen Chi’s expression remained unchanged as he knelt down in front of the dragon bed just like Lord Yin.

Lord Yin said in a deep voice: “This minister sees the emperor.”

After waiting for a while, there was a painful coughing sound from the dragon bed. Seeing this, the eunuch guarding the side rushed forward to gently caress the emperor. Unfortunately, doing so didn’t help at all, as the emperor seemed to be coughing out his lungs.

After finally coughing, the emperor took a deep breath and then said in a rough and hoarse voice: “Get up.”

Lord Yin got up gingerly.

Wen Chi also got up quickly and stood behind Lord Yin without saying a word.

Even though Wen Chi couldn’t see the emperor’s appearance, he could still feel that the emperor was seriously ill and every word he spat out was extraordinarily strained…… If he did not receive timely medical treatment, he was afraid he would not last long.

But then again…

He remembered that the blood of the Hua family has the ability to bring people back to life. Why didn’t the emperor think of this?

Although it was difficult for the emperor to speak, Lord Yin and Wen Chi could hear clearly when he said and it was mostly Lord Yin who reported the situation in Jinzhou to the emperor and the emperor didn’t have much to say.

Soon, half an hour passed.

The emperor felt tired, so he asked Lord Yin to step back first.

In fact, Lord Yin’s main purpose of entering the palace this time is not to report the situation of Jinzhou to the emperor. He wanted to see the emperor on one hand and to say a few words for Wen Chi on the other. So after the conversation ended, after hesitating for a while, he suddenly knelt down: “Your Majesty, I dare… to make a bold request to the emperor.”

The voice of the emperor came from the curtain: “Speak.”

Lord Yin kowtowed to the ground and then said the words he had long considered: “The son of the Wen family, Wen Chi, has been with me in a remote area like Jinzhou for two or three years. Now that he returns to the capital, things are different, although Wen Chi married His Highness the Crown Prince, Wen Chi didn’t stay in the Eastern Palace for long… I dared to ask the emperor, for the sake of my ministers, and for the sake of Wen Chi who has served the country for the past two to three years and who has served without merit, to give Wen Chi his freedom!”

Lord Yin spoke earnestly, his tone was measured, and when he finished, he kowtowed to the ground again.

The emperor suddenly fell silent.

Lord Yin lay on the ground and did not get up, Wen Chi also carefully slowed down his breathing, quietly waiting for the emperor’s answer, he even wondered if the emperor had fallen asleep.

Suddenly, the emperor said: “Wen Chi.”

Wen Chi quickly responded.

The emperor asked: “I want to hear your thoughts.”

Wen Chi also knelt down, he took a deep breath and said, “Replying to the emperor, this subject made a big mistake in a moment of confusion. This subject is willing to reflect on his mistakes for the rest of his life and he will take the imperial examinations or work as a government official, I beg Your Majesty for your blessing.”

The emperor was silent for a long time and said in a hoarse voice: “Minister Yin, please leave.”

The implication is to let Wen Chi stay alone.

Lord Yin naturally heard the meaning of the emperor’s words and he immediately expressed some hesitation but he didn’t dare to resist the order. After hesitating, he got up from the ground, looked at Wen Chi and silently left.

For a while, only Wen Chi was left in front of the dragon bed.

Wen Chi didn’t know what the emperor meant, he knelt on the ground alone and suddenly became nervous.

At this moment, the emperor’s voice sounded again: “Wen Chi, come here.”

Wen Chi was stunned for a moment and subconsciously raised his head to look at the eunuch who was serving beside the dragon bed. Seeing Wen Chi’s blank expression, the eunuch quickly waved at Wen Chi.

Wen Chi understood, got up from the ground and walked carefully to the edge of the dragon bed.

The emperor said again: “Come closer.”

Wen Chi moved forward another two centimeters…which was equivalent to stepping in place.

The emperor seemed to be pissed off by Wen Chi’s cowardice and with a puff, not only did he pant harder but his voice also rose a few notches: “Come over here again! I’m not going to eat you!”

The eunuch next to him was taken aback.

Wen Chi was also startled, he took a big step forward reflexively and directly stuck to the side of the dragon bed.

Now, Wen Chi could finally see the emperor’s appearance clearly—to say he was haggard would be an understatement, but he didn’t expect the emperor to be so thin after not seeing him for more than two years, with sunken eye sockets, sunken cheeks and his lips turned an abnormal shade of blue-purple. It was as if a layer of skin had been placed on top of his skull, presumably the body under the quilt will not be much better…

Wen Chi could hardly recognize the person in front of him. Is the person in front of him still the handsome and elegant middle-aged man he had seen before?

Being so close, Wen Chi seemed to smell the deadly aura wafting from the emperor’s body.

Wen Chi was terrified in his heart, but fortunately he managed to suppress these emotions and his face only froze slightly.

The emperor didn’t care about Wen Chi’s reaction. He stared at Wen Chi closely with those cloudy eyes: “Do you really want to leave?”

Wen Chi nodded: “Yes.”

The emperor shook his head lightly: “It’s a pity, you can’t leave yet.”