Chapter 158
Armored imperial bodyguards ran in and encircled Su Shi in the small study. The shaoqing of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review* walked in with his hands behind his back. He gave Su Shi a mocking once over.
[*T/N: 大理寺少卿 – This is an official title. There is no direct equivalent in English, so I translated it to the best of my ability. 大理寺 (da li si) means “Imperial Court of Judicial Review,” 少 (shao) can mean young or less, and 卿 (qing) is an honorific for a high-ranking official. I decided to keep 少卿 (shaoqing) in pinyin for his title, and translate 大理寺 (da li si) into English, so that it would be easy to tell which department he works in. In modern day, this person would be similar to someone in the Supreme Court who handles prison cases.]
“The emperor said: Since the Prime Minister of the Right has nothing to say and the prime minister’s mansion is no longer a place suitable for living in, why not go sleep in the Heavenly Prison* where it will be nice and quiet? What does the Prime Minister of the Right think about this?”
[*T/N: Heavenly Prison 天牢 – refers to the prison in the capital and directly under the control of the imperial court. It is different from the Earthly Prison 地牢, which is below ground. The Heavenly Prison is above ground and it is a place where prisoners with severe crimes are held.]
Su Shi raised his eyebrows slightly. He more or less understood the situation.
The correct procedure was to wait for the imperial court to discuss and judge his crimes before they send him to prison to await his execution. But the young emperor has decided to humiliate him, so he would naturally drag this process out as long as possible, long enough to thoroughly break down the prime minister. The most desirable outcome would be to get the prime minister to cry bitter tears and beg for a swift death. Only then would the emperor’s anger be assuaged.
Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
But yesterday, the acting regent suddenly came to look for him for no reason, and his attitude was unexpectedly gentle, which probably caused a lot of pressure for the emperor who has only just managed to warm the throne [with his butt].
It looked like that Song Rong wasn’t completely unhelpful [for his mission to carry the pot].
Su Shi lightly raised the corners of his lips and fluttered his sleeves to shake away the imperial bodyguard that wanted to shackle him.
“I can sleep in my mansion, then naturally I can also sleep in the Heavenly Prison. Lu Li thanks the emperor for his care.”
His martial arts abilities were the real deal. Otherwise, there was no need to send along so many imperial bodyguards just to bring him to the Heavenly Prison. Seeing that Lu Li merely disdained being put in shackles and wasn’t going to resist arrest, the shaoqing of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review was relieved. He gave a meaningful glance to the imperial bodyguards, and then he stepped back to make way: “Prime Minister of the Right, this way please.”
Su Shi glanced at the shaoqing lightly and stepped forward calmly, but he suddenly shook his arms towards the back.
Two imperial bodyguards with halberds were about to strike Su Shi to force him to kneel, but a sweep of Su Shi’s sleeves caused them to stumble back a few steps. With ashen faces, the bodyguards fell to the floor.
“You want me to kneel? Even the current emperor in power does not have much confidence. So small fries like you should mind your place.”
Not once did Su Shi look backwards. Su Shi paused and turned his body slightly to look at the shaoqing of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review, whose complexion had changed abruptly. Su Shi smirked slightly: “I’ve been sentenced to execution. A person who is about to die can do just about anything, don’t you agree?”
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“P- Prime Minister of the Right, please forgive me. This little one does not dare anymore!”
The shaoqing of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review hurriedly took a few steps back, but he was so overwhelmed by the vastness of Su Shi’s power that he instinctively bowed to his knees. He did not even dare to look Su Shi in the face, and he subconsciously kept begging for forgiveness, but a flicker of better resentment flashed across his eyes.
After pulling enough agro, Su Shi sneered, flicked his sleeves, and left in large strides.
It looked like his [Come, Come and Hit Me] ability was really useful.
He no longer resisted. He let the imperial bodyguards escort him out of the prime minister’s mansion and towards the Heavenly Prison.
But when they came across the street corner, Su Shi suddenly stopped.
The young emperor was traveling without a big escort and he was currently standing at the doorway. Beside him was a big prisoner vehicle*. The emperor looked at Su Shi. His gaze was gloomy, but his eyes were not as fierce as the ruthless sharpness cultivated by long years.
[*T/N: prisoner vehicle – according to Chinese dramas, it looks like a narrow cage on wheels. The narrow size forces the prisoner to be in a standing position, while the vehicle is dragged through the streets so that the masses may ridicule the prisoner.]
Song Rong stood behind the emperor. When he saw Su Shi approaching, he lifted his head and looked like he wanted to say something but was hesitating. He obviously realized that sticking up for the wrongdoer would only make Lu Li’s situation even worse.
Su Shi ignored Song Rong. His eyes fell on the heavy shackles prepared for him and he raised his eyebrows slightly. Then he slowly straightened up his body.
The young emperor’s name was Song Zhilan. The meaning of his name was for him to wield the power to bring peace and tranquility to the world. It was a name that Lu Li had come up with in the past. This was already over ten years ago. If the young emperor knew this, he would probably refuse to use his name ever again.
Translations by Vanilla Muse. Read on vmnovels [dot] com
Su Shi wasn’t too willing to be paraded through the streets, but he just sighed lightly and did not resist. He silently let them put the heavy shackles on him.
Suddenly he caught a glimpse of light reflecting off of something sharp.
A shrill alarm sounded in Su Shi’s ears. It was a warning that the protagonist’s life was in danger. Su Shi’s brows furrowed. As if he was running out of patience for the clumsy imperial bodyguard trying to shackle him, Su Shi flicked his sleeved and turned around.
Because of his suddenly action, the sharp object ended up colliding with the iron fetters between his wrists in a loud clang.
“Assassins! Protect the emperor!”
The imperial bodyguards responded very quickly. After barking out a sharp order, he wanted to protect the emperor and quickly get him onto the carriage to flee.
The person that ended up striking his fetters was quite strong, locking his hands in place and restricting his movements. Su Shi had to retreat a few steps before being able to unleash his power. The light in his eyes dimmed.
The masked men in black had jumped out from nowhere. With just a rough estimated, Su Shi saw more than twenty of them. All of them looked capable and strong.
Song Rong was used to battle after being in the army for so many years. He pulled the young emperor behind him and led the imperial bodyguards in a fight against the assassins. But because they were so greatly outnumbered, the situation was not looking too good.
The assassins were not afraid of death. They were all targeting the young emperor who had no martial prowess.
Whether it was for his character set up or his mission, Su Shi could not ignore this situation and not care.
Holding the manacles, Su Shi knocked down a few of the assassins. He seized an opportunity to get in front of Song Zhilan. Just as he was about to surreptitiously protect the emperor, he suddenly narrowed his eyes.
More than half of the assassins were lured towards him. They were ruthlessly aiming for him.
The assassins were hell bent on beating him up while he brazenly shielded the young emperor.
Song Rong knocked aside an assassin and said in a stern voice: “What are you guys stunned for? Quickly assist the prime minister in protecting the emperor!”
The author has something to say:
Assassins: For some reason I get angry just looking at him! Beat him! (*/≧□≦)/ ┴┴
#Save the emperor or save the pot?
#Your special ability [Come, Come and Hit Me] will expire in twenty hours.
Thanks for the update
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