translator â xiao he lian
chapter 111.2
âthe emperor, heâ¦â he yuâs voice paused, those lies were stuck in his throat and he was suppressed by an emotion called fear and he couldnât squeeze them out. he swallowed carefully, not daring to lie, â he just woken up.â
âvery good.â shi ye said, âlead bengong to him.â
âbut, butâ¦â he yu said tremblingly, âthe emperor said he wanted to meetâ¦â
before he could say the word âconcubine rongâ, he yu saw his highness raised his hand from the corner of his eye, followed by a force that struck his chest, and before he could react to what was happening, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if countless ants were gnawing at his heart at the same time.
he yu stayed in the palace for decades, climbing from the bottom to the emperorâs side, step by step, what kind of punishment has he not received?
but at this moment, he couldnât resist kneeling on the floor in an instant and wiped his forehead with the back of his trembling hand.
when he looked down, the back of his hand was covered in cold sweat.
the voice of his highness the crown prince sounded above his head: âi donât want to say the same thing a second time.â
âyes.â he yu was so frightened that he didnât even dare to mention the word âconcubine rongâ, let alone leave his highness to invite concubine rong. he got up timidly, âyour royal highness, please follow me.â
there were only a few candles lit in the bedchamber and the sky outside was so gloomy that no sunlight could be seen, so the light in the bedchamber was dim.
but that was enough, as the emperor did not like bright light after falling ill.
he yu saw those eunuchs and maids standing in front of the bed from a distance, so he knew that the emperor hadnât passed out yet, so he quickened his pace and walked to the bed with his head buried in his chest.
the emperor was indeed awake. hearing the movement, it took a while for his cloudy eyes to focus and he slowly looked behind him, his dry lips opened and closed with difficulty: âconcubine rongâ¦â
âyour majesty.â he yu said stiffly, âhis royal highness the crown prince has come to see you.â
he didnât know if the emperor didnât understand what he said or didnât want to hear this answer at all, so he just said: âlet concubine rong come.â
he yu was in a dilemma, with cold sweat on his clenched hands: âyour majesty, it is still raining outside, and his highness the crown prince has been waiting outside for a long time to see his majesty, so i took the liberty to invite his highness in first.â
after saying this, he yu suddenly felt a person walking behind him, and soon, the crown prince said behind him: âall of you leave.â
he yu struggled for a moment and glanced at the silent emperor on the bed. but in the end, his fear of the crown prince prevailed and he hurriedly led a group of eunuchs and maids and walked away as if fleeing.
shi ye was expressionless, looking down at the emperor who was barely breathing. he said: âyou are dying.â
the emperor closed his eyes, finally gave up his obsession with seeing concubine rong and struggled to squeeze out a sentence: âzhen1(self proclaimed title for an emperor)⦠is ready.â
shi ye said, âare you willing to give up all of this?â
the emperor stared blankly at the bright yellow curtain on the top of the bed and after a while, he grinned at himself mockingly: âiâm tired of being a puppet, so it might be a good thing to give up.â
shi yeâs pale cheeks were rendered a dim yellow by the candlelight, his expression was as calm as a pool of stagnant water, only the long eyelashes drooping slightly trembled, revealing his thoughts in the end.
he stared at the emperorâs face intently but he never got the emperorâs attention.
after a while, he finally couldnât hold back and said, âas long as you ask, i can save you.â
the emperor said, âwith your blood?â
shi ye was silent.
the emperor shook his head lightly: âi appreciate your kindness and i have received too much favor from the hua family.â
when hua yanran saved him with blood, he almost lost half of his life with it. if he had a chance to choose again, he would definitely not let his life be branded as âhua yanranâ.
it was enough for such a thing to happen once and he didnât want it to happen with hua yanranâs son again.
shi ye looked at the emperorâs waxen face and said: âi have another method.â
with those words, he spread his palm and showed a small stone strung in a red rope in front of the emperorâs eyes, âit may save your life.â
after the emperor saw the stone in front of him clearly, a little surprise appeared on his sluggish face: âthis, this isâ¦â after a pause, he continued, âthis thing has been missing for many years, how did it fall into your hands?â
shi ye didnât answer the emperorâs question, but said, âiâll give it to you.â
the emperor recovered from his surprise, thought for a moment, then shook his head lightly again: âi donât need it.â
shi ye tightened his palms.
he gripped the spirit stone so hard that he did not know if it was because he was clutching it with too much strength but his hands were shaking violently.
he stared at the emperor, his fierce eyes seeming to see through the emperor: âyou really donât want it?â
the emperor still said the same thing: âi appreciate your kindness, but i cannot afford it.â
shi ye withdrew his hand, his figure swayed slightly and he smiled: âyou canât afford it, if the person who brought this spiritual stone was not me, but your good son shi jin, you would have happily accepted it, right?â
the emperor opened his mouth but no word came and finally closed his eyes silently, acquiescing to shi yeâs words.