CH 141.1

Translator – Xiao He Lian

Wednesday Updates –> Chapter 11/12

Chapter 141.1

Shi Jin slowly gritted his teeth. When he looked up at Shi Ye, his eyes were so red that they seemed to bleed. He squeezed out a sentence through his teeth with great difficulty: “You are so cruel.”

Shi Ye’s face was expressionless and his tone was cold: “I have been lenient in dealing with your people

Shi Jin lowered her head and looked at the scars that covered Ping An’s body, crisscrossing his dark skin. Rarely had Shi Jin seen many injured people from childhood to adulthood and he had never seen such terrifying wounds.

The strong smell of blood rushed into his nose. He tried his best to hold back the urge to vomit and laughed angrily: “Is this what you call mercy? You beat him to death, is this called mercy? “

The more Shi Jin spoke, the more  agitated he became. The veins on his temples throb, making him look like a wild beast in a frenzy.

In comparison, Shi Ye seemed very calm. He lowered his eyes and looked at the ferocious-looking Shi Jin and suddenly raised the corners of his lips meaningfully: “If it wasn’t for me being merciful, you probably wouldn’t have even seen his corpse.”

“Don’t talk in such a grandiose manner, you didn’t let me see Ping An out of kindness!” Shi Jin stood up furiously, he gasped for air, his chest rising and falling violently, “You just want to show off in front of me and Ping An is just a tool for you to show off!”

Shi Ye was not surprised that Shi Jin would say such a thing. He smiled and said, “You are right.”

Shi Jin was so angry that his breathing was a little unsteady. There was a taste of blood spreading in his mouth but the taste of blood was nothing compared to the smell of blood filling the air. His eyes were fixed on Shi Ye and he said word by word: “You murderer, sooner or later, you will get your retribution.”

Shi Ye was not annoyed at all, instead he spoke as if he was grateful, “Thank you for your concern, but that should be after you and your mother dies.”

When mentioning Concubine Rong, Shi Jin’s face suddenly became extremely ugly. He froze for a moment and then said: “You…”

Shi Ye interrupted him: “After you leave, the Grand Princess and your accomplices will be sent to the guillotine for treason. As for your mother, Concubine Rong, she will not die for the time being. Although she poisoned the emperor, after all, she was the emperor’s favorite concubine during his lifetime, so she will be the only living person to accompany the emperor in the tomb.”

After saying that, a smile appeared in his eyes and he tilted his head to look at Shi Jin, whose face had turned ashen, “But what will happen in the tomb is not what you and I can predict.”

Shi Ye spoke neither fast nor slow and every sentence he spoke was clear. His tone of voice, which was neither gentile nor serious, was like small hammers hitting Shi Jin’s heart.

Shi Jin couldn’t believe his ears. He originally thought that his mother could escape death even if she spent the rest of her life as a nun but she never thought that Shi Ye could come up with such a vicious trick!

No!

What did Shi Ye say just now?

Shi Ye said that his mother poisoned his father?

How could this happen…

The man who poisoned his father was clearly the ambitious Shi Ye!

Shi Ye seemed to see Shi Jin’s thoughts. He turned back and said, “Come in.”

Then a tall figure walked in.

Shi Jin clutched his aching temples. His thoughts were chaotic and confused and dense layers of cold sweat had formed on his forehead. He slowly looked up and saw the familiar face of General Lin.

Lin Zhe’s expression was solemn and he looked at Shi Jin with a complicated look. He seemed to have many things to say to Shi Jin, but after glancing at Shi Ye, he still stood aside silently.

As friends for many years, Shi Jin can naturally understand the emotions in Lin Zhe’s eyes.

He knew that Lin Zhe was upright and honest and had never disdained dealing with corrupt officials, nor would he allow people with ulterior motives to covet the throne. He knew that Lin Zhe had always only listened to the emperor’s words and he also knew that Lin Zhe was extremely disappointed with him because of this incident. 

But how could he not feel the same way about Lin Zhe?

Originally, his mother had planned everything so that on the night of his father’s death, she could pull out Shi Ye’s wings and eliminate Shi Ye’s right hand man. Success or failure would have been decided on that night, but who knew ……

Unexpectedly, Cheng Yaojin appeared halfway1(“Cheng Yaojin comes out halfway” is a common saying, which refers to something unexpected happening. It has similar meanings to idioms such as being caught off guard and coming suddenly) and his long-time friend Lin Zhe actually turned his elbow2(“Elbows turned out” is a Chinese term with a derogatory meaning. People’s arms are turned inward and drawn back, which means selfishness . The positive meaning of “turning to the outside” means selflessness; the derogatory meaning of “turning to the outside” means the kind of “selflessness” that is inhumane and cannot distinguish right from wrong) towards Shi Ye.

When Lin Zhe led a group of soldiers to surround the entire palace, Shi Jin was stunned on the spot, as if struck by a thunderbolt from the clear sky.

He never dreamed that one day he would be defeated by his best friend.

How could Lin Zhe have the nerve to come see him?

Lin Zhe shouldn’t have appeared in his sight!

Shi Jin’s eyes were full of hatred and the taste of blood in his mouth became stronger and stronger.

After being a walking zombie for so many days, he felt such strong emotions for the first time. His entire chest was filled with anger and hatred. He hated Lin Zhe for betraying him more than he hated Shi Ye.

However, Lin Zhe remained unmoved under his gaze, his lips were tightly closed and obediently acted like a wooden figure.

Shi Jin narrowed his eyes and said bitterly: “It turns out that my friend is such an obedient and a good dog. It’s just that I was blind before and didn’t see that you still have this side.”

Lin Zhe’s eyes moved slightly, but he remained silent.

On the other hand, Shi Ye chuckled and said, “If you really want to put it like this, General Lin’s taste in people is no better than yours. If it weren’t for the emperor’s reminder, he might never be able to see through Concubine Rong’s hypocritical face.”

The hatred in Shi Jin’s eyes became even stronger. He stared at Shi Ye for a moment before saying: “What exactly do you want to say?”

Shi Ye said: “Whether it is Ping An or Hua Zi Zang, these people are the escape routes left to you by Concubine Rong. The reason why you were so angry because of Ping An’s death just now is because I blocked your escape route.”

Shi Jin clenched his fists as his thoughts were exposed.

Shi Ye admired Shi Jin’s expression that was on the verge of collapse and suddenly changed the topic and said: “What did Concubine Rong tell you back then? Did she say that I was not the emperor’s biological son? Did she say that I poisoned and plotted to kill the emperor for the sake of the throne?”

“You…” Shi Jin froze, “How did you…”

Why does he know this?

“Since Concubine Rong can bribe He Yu with money to hoodwink you, then I can also use a stick to beat He Yu until he confesses.” Shi Ye let out a chuckle. He didn’t hide the mockery on his face and looked at Shi Jin with some sympathy, “Prince Xuan, Prince Xuan, should I say you are stupid or should I say you are filial? I thought you were at least more intelligent than your mother. How could I think that you just wanted to be a puppet on strings at the mercy of others.”

Without waiting for Shi Jin to react, Shi Ye continued, “The letter He Yu showed you is false. What Concubine Rong told you is false. Consort Rong was unwilling to wait for me to succeed to the throne and end up alone in a temple. So she racked her brain to try to raise you to the throne and from the moment she started planning for this, she poisoned the emperor’s food.”

Shi Jin seemed to understand Shi Ye’s words, but also seemed not to understand Shi Ye’s words.

Every word Shi Ye said was overturning his previous understanding. Naturally, he didn’t believe those words, but when he saw Lin Zhe, who was silent, all the nerves in his mind became tense.

He knew that Lin Zhe never told lies and he would not let Shi Ye tell such lies in front of him.

Shi Ye approached Shi Jin and whispered in his ear: “Your beloved father was poisoned to death by your mother’s own hands and without knowing it, you were willing to be the sharp knife in her hands.”

“No!” Shi Jin stepped back and shook his head, “No, my mother loved my father so much, she will never poison him!”

“Really?” Shi Ye looked at him and sneered, “It seems that you still don’t understand your mother very well. She loved the emperor, but she loved herself, power and status more.”

“No! Your lying!”

In the midst of Shi Jin’s collapsing roar, Shi Ye was calm. He locked eyes with Shi Jin, his unperturbed gaze seemed to look deep into Shi Jin’s heart, he said, “You also believed what I said, didn’t you?”

“I don’t believe it! These are all your lies… Oh, I understand. You just wanted to find an excuse to deal with me and my mother in a fair and square manner, that’s why you are so despicable as to falsely accuse my mother!” Shi Jin roared, “You still want my mother to die!”

Shi Jin seemed to have lost his mind, his eyes were red and he pounced on Shi Ye regardless.

But Shi Ye kicked him away.

Shi Jin was kicked to the ground and couldn’t get up from the ground for a long time. 

When Lin Zhe saw this, he immediately came over with his sword in hand and directly protected Shi Ye.

When Shi Jin looked up and saw this scene, he felt his eyes hurt as it was stabbed and a sense of sadness suddenly arose in his heart. He opened his mouth to laugh, and halfway through his laughter, he vomited out a mouthful of blood.

Lin Zhe frowned and swayed slightly, but still stood firmly on the spot.

Shi Ye, who was protected by Lin Zhe, had cold eyes and said in an even colder tone: “Why is Lin Zhe on my side? Why do so many important officials in the court only listen to me? Why do I know so much about you and Concubine Rong? Have you ever thought about these issues? If the emperor had not paved the way for me when he was alive, would I have been able to come this far so smoothly?”

Shi Jin was stunned.

His mind went blank and it took him a long time to remember what Shi Ye said not long ago – if it weren’t for the emperor’s reminder, Lin Zhe would never be able to see through Concubine Rong’s hypocritical face.

Father, he…

What did he say to warn Lin Zhe?

Shi Jin was trapped in a fog, his previous cognition gradually collapsed and he couldn’t think straight. Like a lost child, he cast his last hopeful gaze on Lin Zhe: “What did your father say to you? “

“The Emperor ordered…” Lin Zhe put the sword back stiffly and spoke with difficulty, “If the Emperor unfortunately dies, I should definitely help His Highness the Crown Prince ascend the throne successfully. All those who seek power and usurp the throne should be captured. And Concubine Rong, who poisoned the emperor will not be put to death but for the sake of being husband and wife’s, will be buried with him instead.”

“…”

With this the last wall in Shi Jin’s mind finally collapsed.

He gouged the ground tightly, gouging out several shallow traces of blood. He seemed to feel no pain, and could only clearly feel that his eyes were sore and astringent, as if hot liquid was about to gush out.

It turns out that his mother poisoned his father.

It turns out that his father had long known that his mother had poisoned him.

It turns out that whether it was at Father or Mother, his ending had already been arranged and he was just a pawn.

Why?

Why didn’t his father tell him this himself?

Why should he hear these cruel truths from Shi Ye and Lin Zhe?