Let Me Shoulder this Blame! 155

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Chapter 155 (48.1)

After Su Shi scared away the eunuch who came to deliver an imperial order, he closed the front door and sat back down at the table. He unrolled the imperial decree lying on the table and leisurely read through the contents.

Do not admit. Do not deny. Adopt an unyielding attitude and a domineering style. Su Shi nodded to himself. His performance this time was not bad. Like this, he should be able to hold on to the pot.

His identity this time was Lu Li, the Prime Minister of the Right of the Xuan Dynasty. When he was seventeen years old, he passed the provincial level imperial examination and became a government official. At age twenty-three, he was promoted to the Prime Minister of the Right with power over all levels of society, which included the imperial court and the ordinary people. He just passed thirty years of age this year and has been dominating the imperial court of the Xuan Dynasty for five years already.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Over the past five years, Lu Li has been an unyielding and tough minister. He suppressed all dissidents, banished an uncountable number of capable officials and ambitious scholars from court, and slowly took over the court as if it was his own.

Since then, Lu Li became more and more arrogant and domineering with each passing day. He even refused to show respect to the late emperor.

Three months ago, he even led troops and broke into the harem. He killed the late emperor’s imperial consort, and hounded the Prime Minister of the Left’s whole family – which consisted of a total of eighty people – to death.

The late emperor was so angry that he rained all sorts of verbal curses on Lu Li. The emperor then vomited blood on the scene and fainted. He lay in his sickbed for three days, before finally passing away despite receiving medical treatment.

For a scoundrel like Lu Li to even do something like this… Naturally he became the butt of public criticism.

After the late emperor passed away, the crown prince ascended to the throne. The crown prince took advantage of the turmoil in court and went on the offensive before the crowning ceremony even took place. He joined hands with his imperial uncle, Song Rong, and targeted Lu Li in a pincer attack from both the inside and outside. They placed Lu Li under house arrest in the prime minister’s mansion. Once the imperial court made a judgment and convicted him of a crime, he would be put to death.

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This was the first time that Su Shi has seen a character with so many pots on his person: monopolizing political power, overturning the heavens, devastating loyal officials, storming the imperial harem, along with an arrogant attitude, domineering personality, and disloyal heart.

Su Shi took a deep breath. He closed the imperial edict, feeling greatly gratified. He was so moved that he almost cried.

“Prime Minister of the Right, the Regent is here.”

Lu Li had already sent away all the servants in the mansion. The people that were now in his mansion were imperial guards sent from the palace.  Although they still addressed him by his old title, their tone was not very respectful.

Su Shi withdrew the excited glimmer in his eyes, and casually set aside the imperial edict. Then he said indifferently, “Not welcomed.”

He had only just finished speaking when the door opened up from the outside.

The sky was already dark. Standing at the door, the regent was but a tall and lofty silhouette. The regent stared at Su Shi silently. His face was covered in shadows so Su Shi could not see his expression clearly.

Su Shi arched an eyebrow and simply leaned backwards: “If the regent is going to break in anyway, then why bother announcing his arrival?”

Song Rong did not enter the room. He stood at the door with one hand against the doorframe. His eyes fell upon Lu Li’s delicate and handsome face.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

From the day the young princes started competing for the throne, Song Rong received the late emperor’s order to lead the army on a military campaign. The late emperor was in power for ten years, and Song Rong has also been away on a military campaign for ten whole years.

Song Rong’s impression of the person in front of him was but a fuzzy memory linked to the magnificent landscape of the capital.

He had just come out of the barracks that day, and he was covered in rough sand. It just so happened that on that day the new top scorer in the palace examination was parading through the capital on a horse. There were thunderous cheers everywhere. The extremely young top scorer was dressed in a brilliant red government official outfit. He was resplendent from head to toe and brimming with elegance.

Song Rong looked upon the bright eyes of the youth, and he unconsciously loosened his grip on the reins of the horse beneath him. A firecracker startled the warhorse, and he nearly collided with the ceremonial parade.

The horse reared up. Cries of alarm rang out through the crowd. Instead of being scared, the scholarly and refined top-scoring youth’s eyes actually lit up with extraordinary splendor. His body remained motionless. He sat firm and steady on the saddle. He clamped down tightly on the horse’s belly and pulled back the reins in his hands. He gently and skillfully led the huge horse off to the side and then seamlessly rejoined the parade line again.

Deafening cheers overwhelmed the lingering sounds of panic. The top scorer turned to Song Rong, still with a bright smile in his eyes, and offered him a cupped-hand salute. Then he turned back and continued to ride down the street.

Shortly after that, Song Rong left the capital for the first time to lead the army on a military campaign. His world was filled with weapons and blood. The youth’s figure and the prosperous streets of the capital were sealed together in his memory. Then, thirteen years passed in the blink of an eye.

In those thirteen years, Song Rong changed from a prince with no power and influence to an outstanding imperial uncle and an acting regent with impressive military service, whereas the other party has changed from a young top scorer to the Prime Minister of the Right with great might over the court.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

However, that face did not seem to be polluted by any vicissitudes of life. It overlapped with the young face in his memories, causing Song Rong to unconsciously stutter. He cupped his hands and saluted towards the interior of the room.

“Prime Minister of the Right, I, Song Rong, requests an audience.”

Song Rong spoke in a respectful tone. When the person in the room heard his still deferential tone, his body stiffened all of a sudden. That cold and arrogant figure seemed to droop in an instant. His gaze swept towards him like lightning.

Song Rong held his breath as his eyes met the Prime Minster of the Right’s. His heart suddenly pounded.

Amidst the dim lighting, their eyes met. It was almost like there was a sound of jangling metal in the background.

After a moment, Lu Li flicked his sleeves, got up and walked towards the inner chamber. His tone was clear and light: “Not welcomed.”

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