Chapter 170 – Historically Memorable Villainy Arc
Song Rong looked at Song Zhilan with a startled gaze as if he was looking at some sort of monster. Seeing that kind of expression on Song Rong’s face, Song Zhilan felt an absurdly bitter sense of self-deprecation deep in his heart. He chuckled, turned, and left. His tone became colder and colder.
“Since Imperial Uncle wants to stay with the prime minister so much, then you should just stay here forever…”
Song Rong was stunned. He took a step forward and suddenly there was the clanging sound of weapons unsheathing. The imperial guards had stepped forward to block his path.
He and Lu Li were actually left in this secluded and gloomy side hall.
“Your Majesty…”
Song Rong vaguely felt that the other party must have misunderstood something extremely important. He pushed aside the weapons and advanced towards Song Zhilan quickly, but the imperial guard captain blocked him again. “His Majesty’s orders cannot be disobeyed. Regent, I beg your understanding.”
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“Song Zhilan!”
Song Rong was finally unable to suppress his anger. He grabbed the sharp sword in front of him. Lightning seemed to be sparking from his eyes. The young emperor heard his name being called and abruptly came to a stop.
“If you do this to him now, are you not afraid of regretting this in the future?”
With a sudden tremor, Song Zhilan slowly straightened his body. His back was straight like a sharp sword that hurt both others and himself.
“It’s all said and done already. There’s nothing to regret anymore…”
As if desperately wanting to escape from something, the young emperor flicked his sleeves and hurried away without looking back.
The imperial guards faithfully carried out the emperor’s order, and a fortified garrison surrounded the side hall in a blink of an eye.
Song Zhilan stood at the entrance of the side hall for a long while. The violent heaving of his chest gradually calmed down, but the light in his eyes had completely dimmed little by little. He turned around dejectedly. His eyes suddenly narrowed slightly.
Lu Li had woken up at some point. He was leaning against the doorframe and looking over in their direction. Who knew how much of this farce he had witnessed.
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Song Rong had knocked Lu Li unconsciousness when the prime minster was not on guard. Seeing Lu Li standing there now, Song Rong panicked and lost the fierce aura he had when facing the young emperor. Song Rong walked over to Lu Li apprehensively. He braced himself to face Lu Li’s interrogation and condemnation. He lifted his head to look at those clear eyes, but his heard skipped a beat.
In those eyes, he unexpectedly saw a flicker of a shallow smile.
Although it was only fleeting, it still seemed to cast a ray of bright light into the dim side hall. The figure in front of him overlapped with the memory of the boy who paraded through the streets on a horse thirteen years ago.
“Prime Minister-”
He quickly averted his eyes. He completely forgot about the anger and regret he was feeling just now, and he also forgot about the current preposterous situation. The only thing remaining in his heart and eyes was the faint smiling intent in Lu Li’s eyes and the brightness it brought him.
The awe-inspiring and impressive regent suddenly felt awkward all over, not knowing what to do with his hands and feet, as if he had reverted back into a clumsy and immature youngster. He pursed his lips slightly and said in a low voice: “What is the prime minister smiling at…”
“I didn’t think that the majestic regent would actually be so dogmatic and cause a scene big enough to make His Majesty put him under house arrest.”
Lu Li spoke slowly. His voice was still hoarse and weak from his high fever, but the meaning in his words was clearly cheerful.
Song Rong was struck dumb for a long while. Then he shook his head and chuckled lightly. He walked over to Lu Li with quick steps and tentatively reached out to him, “I didn’t think that the prime minister would rejoice in other people’s misfortune…”
“Not only do I rejoice in other people’s misfortune, I also hold grudges. Wangye knocked me out. I have noted this down in my ledger.”
Seeing that Song Rong was put under house arrest instead of destroying his pot, Su Shi felt physically and mentally at ease, so he no longer refused Song Rong’s help and allowed the other man to help him back to the couch*.
[*T/N: 榻 couch – in ancient China this is a piece of furniture that is used for seating and entertaining guests during the daytime. A small table can be placed atop it to hold tea and snacks. At night, it can be used as a bed.]
The imperial physicians have all dispersed, and there was no one else in the room. Song Rong’s mind was still filled with the slight smile he saw in Lu Li’s clear eyes, and his heart was soaked with warmth. He wasn’t really listening anymore. He just absent-mindedly nodded his head in agreement, “Okay, mark it down in your ledger and claim the debt from me later.”
A bit of surprise flashed in those clear eyes, and then the smiling intent in them deepen even more. His brows and eyes seemed to soften too.
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Song Rong stared fixedly at Lu Li. His breathing was slightly stagnant. His eyes lingered on the prime minister’s handsome face. He couldn’t bear to look away for a single moment.
Upon sitting back on the couch, exhaustion enveloped Su Shi’s entire body again.
Su Shi suppressed the glimmering smile in his eyes and leaned against the side of the couch. His chest rose and fell slightly. He couldn’t help letting out two small coughs.
Despite Song Rong’s assistance, just the short walk back to the couch was already a huge burden on his weakened body. Analgesics could relieve the body of pain, but it couldn’t get rid of the debilitating weakness that accompanied his injuries.
Su Shi closed his eyes tiredly. He wanted to lie down again, but then he realized that Song Rong had yet to loosen his hold on him. Su Shi frowned slightly and looked over at the other man with a bit of uncertainty on his face.
