Title: Infinite Power Over The World
Original title: 权倾天下[重生]
Author: 叶默凉(Ye Moliang)
Translated by: ~PurpleLy~
“Father…… Imperial Father……” Murong Cheng gaped at the excellent elixir of life that had become a cursed charm and didn’t know what he ought to say. He had a good look at the writing on the witchcraft doll. It was undeniably his handwriting! No flaws at all!
“Murong Cheng, despite Imperial Father having so much trust in you, you actually have the intention to seize the throne!” If there were any uncertainties with regards to the previous incident, today’s incident was the nail in the coffin! Everyone witnessed it firsthand. There was a witchcraft doll inside with Emperor Chongde’s name was written on it, and the handwriting was spot on—the crown prince’s. If one said that he had no intention of seizing the throne, it wouldn’t be believed in any case!
Infuriated, Emperor Chongde roared. “Someone come! I want to depose the crown prince!” He couldn’t tolerate such an unfaithful and unfilial person to be his crown prince, let alone leave a huge veiled threat by his side!
“Imperial Father!” Murong Cheng’s face turned pale when he heard that, and the last trace of blood faded off. He leaned forward and very nearly knelt on the ground, crying out loudly, “Imperial Father, Er Chen is wronged!” After speaking, he had a palace attendant fetch a small, exquisite bottle and proffered it to Emperor Chongde in front of him with shaky hands. He said, “Imperial Father, this is the gift that Er Chen wanted to give you!”
Emperor Chongde looked askance at him, unconvincingly accepted the bottle, opened the cap, and sniffed it. He exploded: “How dare you, Crown Prince! These are clearly a few drops of water; how dare you use them to deceive This Emperor!”
Murong Cheng’s eyes widened instantly. He approached, snatched away the bottle, and sniffed it, but he couldn’t smell anything. Then he poured out a few drops and swallowed them. They were tasteless; it was indeed water. He swirled around sharply, his gaze swiftly scanning wildly all over. Who was it? Who swapped his elixir of life?!
Meanwhile, Murong Heng was standing in an obscured area, nonchalantly listening to the noisy voices at the front. The ministers around him had already begun to spread all sorts of comments, and some were even bold enough to directly censure the crown prince and endorse Emperor Chongde in his deposition.
Just then, Empress Xu stepped out, despite everyone’s eyes on her, and pleaded for the crown prince: “Your Majesty, Cheng’er absolutely wouldn’t do such a thing. There must be some sort of misunderstanding. Requesting for Your Majesty to investigate carefully before rendering judgement. Please don’t treat Cheng’er unjustly aaa!”
“The evidence is irrefutable; what else is there to investigate?!” Emperor Chongde continued to rage, disregarding the ministers around him. He’d tolerated it for a long time, and no longer wished to turn a blind eye.
“Your Majesty!” When she saw that Emperor Chongde wasn’t yielding to persuasion, she gritted her teeth and said resentfully, “Since Your Majesty does not believe in Cheng’er, then Qieshen has nothing to say. But if Your Majesty intends to depose Cheng’er’s position as the crown prince, you should conveniently depose Qieshen as the empress too. Qieshen cannot be without Cheng’er!”
As soon as these words were uttered, Emperor Chongde’s brow furrowed. This was a blatant threat! However, he insistently accepted this behaviour. He thoroughly loved Empress Xu. When he heard what she said, although he was still furious on the inside, he still calmed down somewhat and said, “Never mind, This Emperor will investigate this matter properly. No one is permitted to speak of this; otherwise, you shall be killed immediately. As for the crown prince, six months of confinement He’s not allowed to set foot outside the crown prince’s palace without my order! Perform self-reflection every day in the palace without fail.”
This was the greatest compromise he could make. Once he’d calmed down for a while, Emperor Chongde ignored the fact that his officials were present and departed with a shake of his sleeves. For such a wonderful birthday banquet to have turned out like this, even if his mood was any better, it would have likewise dissipated.
When he arrived in the imperial study room, Emperor Chongde still couldn’t regain his composure. He meticulously replayed the earlier incident in his mind and felt that the crown prince had truly changed. If he refused to reflect on himself properly and adhere to the punishment, then he would certainly depose this crown prince and abolish him.
At the same time, Murong Heng was standing not too far away. He was somewhat indignant in his heart. Originally, Murong Cheng’s crown prince status had already been deposed, but he hadn’t expected Emperor Chongde to actually believe Empress Xu’s words and instead have him confined for six months. But it doesn’t matter. He knew that Murong Cheng was not a person who could sit still. He would definitely do everything possible to clear his name. When that time comes, his opportunity will appear!
With this in mind, the corners of his mouth curled up into a smug smile. Regardless, he’d inflicted severe blows on Murong Cheng in Emperor Chongde’s heart. Even though Emperor Chongde had verbally promised to strictly investigate this matter, he wouldn’t believe anything the crown prince said anymore. Wasn’t this the outcome he wanted? As long as Emperor Chongde no longer trusts the crown prince, to him, the crown prince’s death wouldn’t be that far off!
The banquet ended posthaste, and all the officials dispersed with a sigh. Murong Cheng stood in place, his eyes flaring with anger. Just then, he turned to look at Murong Chong and his group. Then he caught sight of Murong Heng’s smiling yet deriding expression, and he inwardly erupted with rage.
He knew for certain that someone had framed him!
Murong Cheng was incredibly furious. He itched to go up right away to Murong Heng and give him a punch. But because he had no evidence, he could only storm angrily back to his palace. Upon returning to the crown prince’s palace, he kicked a chair over. His heart was filled with regret.
He’s truly underestimated Murong Heng! Unknowingly, he’d been set up by him! If he doesn’t avenge this enmity, his name isn’t Murong Cheng!
****
Murong Heng was in an extremely good mood as he exited the imperial palace. Although he failed to achieve his goal of getting the crown prince deposed, it was still good to have dealt him a blow.
When he returned to his mansion, Murong Heng saw Shen Ci playing the qin, so he walked over and shared everything that had happened in the palace. Finally, he said: “It was really satisfying seeing Murong Cheng’s face!” If his position as crown prince had been immediately deposed, it would have been even better!
Shen Ci didn’t say anything. He stroked jiaowei qin beneath his hands—the same broken one from before. Murong Heng wanted to throw it away and buy a new one, but Shen Ci had used it for so long that it had some sentimental value. Therefore, Murong Heng had it sent out to be repaired and subsequently brought it back.
Currently, both of their actions are completely aimed at Murong Cheng. It was purely to provoke him into usurping the throne as soon as possible. This way, they would have enough chances to kill Emperor Chongde. His being a former foe would be one way to look at it. Another was that Murong Cheng was merely their pawn.
Once this pawn had outlived its usefulness, that would be the time for its demise.
At night, after Murong Heng had eaten his dinner, he went to the rooftop with a jar of wine to drink alone. The night winds of early spring that bustled over were still bone-chillingly cold, but he didn’t mind. He smacked open the wine jar and raised his head to take a swig.
All of a sudden, he recalled a night before he was reborn when he’d drank on the roof just like this. It’s just that his mood at that time was completely different from now. Now, he bears hatred in his heart. Even if he liked someone, he could only give way to hatred. He couldn’t state his own heartfelt wishes when the moment hadn’t arrived yet.
It’s not that he didn’t want to say it out loud; rather, it was to keep himself from being distracted. After the revenge had been completed, he would declare his feelings to Shen Ci. He can be deemed to have seen through this life. He doesn’t need any glory or wealth. Those were worldly possessions. He just wants to have someone who treats him sincerely and is able to accompany him peacefully throughout this life; that was enough.
Meanwhile, Shen Ci was feeling somewhat bored in the room, so he straightaway opened the door and walked out. When he was outside, he perceptively sensed that there was someone on the roof, so he raised his head to see if he could hear out who was on top.
“Ah Ci?” Noticing Shen Ci standing below with his head angled at him, Murong Heng put down the wine jar, stood up, and leapt down to the ground. He asked, “Why did you come out?”
Shen Ci recognised Murong Heng’s voice, and replied softly. “I can’t sleep, so I came out to walk.”
“I see.” Hearing this, Murong Heng took off his fur coat and draped it over Shen Ci. Then he placed his arm around his waist and brought him to the roof with his light footwork, saying, “If that’s the case, then come up and accompany Da Ge for a chat.”
Shen Ci was lifted up to the roof by him. He detected the aroma of wine and said, “Da Ge, take care of your body. Don’t get drunk.”
“Da Ge knows.” Murong Heng raised his head and drank a gulp of wine. He’d already started to get a little tipsy, and his eyesight gradually blurred. When he looked at Shen Ci beside him, he abruptly remembered that he had yet to withdraw his arm from around his waist. He blinked several times and gulped down a few more mouthfuls of wine.
Both of them talked for a while, then Shen Ci clearly sensed that the person beside him was drunk. He’d started to mutter nonsense and gradually brought up his mother.
After hearing him speak without uttering a word, only did Shen Ci realise that there were so many thoughts weighing on Murong Heng’s mind that had been hidden beneath his formidable appearance. Shen Ci couldn’t help but be curious about his mother when he listened to him. If it weren’t because she’d already passed on, he would still want to meet her at least once.
Such a gentle and kind woman. It was a pity that Emperor Chongde had wasted her life. Even after her death, she was trampled on by the empress. One couldn’t blame Murong Heng for his intense hatred towards Emperor Chongde and Empress Xu. If it were him, he wouldn’t let either of them off at all.
When he heard him talk, Shen Ci couldn’t help but think of his own mother. If his father and mother were still alive, they would definitely not condone him avenging them. He understood that this was a gamble. If they couldn’t succeed, that would result in horrific deaths.
But he had no regrets. With Murong Heng by his side, he felt very at ease. At first, he merely wanted to use him to achieve his goal of revenge and had said as much. But right now—he wasn’t sure when it began—he no longer treated him as a normal friend, but rather as a Da Ge whom he could confide in. He also wished to tell him what was going through his mind.
Once Murong Heng was done with his sporadic talk, Shen Ci sighed softly in his heart. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out and held Murong Heng’s hand while consoling him gently. He didn’t know what else to say. Both of them had likewise suffered and wanted to send Emperor Chongde to his death. So long as he could avenge his family, he wouldn’t regret it in the least, even if he had to set foot in hell at the next moment.
The night was growing darker. Shen Ci didn’t possess martial arts and was unable to bring Murong Heng down. He had to call a few guards over to bring both of them down. When they were inside the house, Shen Ci supported Murong Heng back to bed and covered him properly with the quilt. Just as he was about to leave, his wrist was suddenly grabbed.
Murong Heng had begun to make sounds of ranting in his sleep as he lay in bed. Shen Ci couldn’t hear clearly, so he leaned closer to try to make out what he was muttering. Without warning, Murong Heng turned his head, and his warm lips brushed against Shen Ci’s cheek. Shen Ci immediately froze.
Shen Ci was stunned all of a sudden, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to do. He only reacted after a while, raising his head, his face all flushed. For some reason, although the two were so intimate, no feeling of disgust had emerged in his heart. He’d also allowed Murong Heng to initiate any closeness with him. Deep inside, he didn’t have any intention of refusing.
Just when he was wondering, Shen Ci heard Murong Heng babbling again. He listened carefully, and after hearing what he said, his eyes suddenly became moist. He heard Murong Heng say softly, “Ah Ci, once the revenge is concluded, Da Ge will definitely find a way to heal your eyes. You must believe Da Ge.”
A warm current instantly surged within his heart. Shen Ci reached out his hand to touch Murong Heng’s face. There was a straight, high nose bridge and slightly thin lips. Murong Heng most likely had an extraordinary appearance. It would be wonderful if only he could see it. As he thought like this, Shen Ci slowly stretched out his hand to hold Murong Heng’s and said in a hoarse voice, “Alright.”