Chapter 27 : Closing In On The Imperial Palace

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A few days later, several vassal kings from various regions received Murong Chong’s letters one after another. After reading them, they each gave the order to amass their troops in preparation to rebel.

Since the day that Murong Chong came, there had been no news. Emperor Chongde was just thinking about where he was when he heard the report of him dispatching troops to rebel. He had difficulty accepting it just then and collapsed onto the dragon throne.

Unexpectedly, the crown prince hadn’t passed away too long ago, yet his fifth son was so impatient and wanted to rebel before he could even decide on a new crown prince. Could this be the will of heaven?

Was it because the heavens saw that he, Murong De, had committed too many crimes during the first half of his life and consequently didn’t allow him to be well-off in the later half of his life? Emperor Chongde lamented inwardly before hastily dispatching people to summon the generals to convene and discuss in the palace. He’d heard that during the last battle, Murong Heng took the lead in burning the enemy’s provisions. After thinking about it, he also summoned him into the palace.

Murong Heng was in his mansion when he heard that Emperor Chongde had summoned him. A faint smile appeared on his face. He’d surmised early on that this day would come, so he wasn’t surprised at all.

Upon arriving in the palace without issue, Emperor Chongde instructed him and several generals to go and persuade Murong Chong to surrender. If the persuasion failed, they were to capture him and bring him back to the capital. They accepted the decree and left. On his way back to his mansion, Murong Heng pondered to himself.

When he walked into the mansion, Shen Ci was watering the flowers and plants in the courtyard. Hearing his return, he put down the watering can he was holding and walked over. Murong Heng saw him like this, and he stretched out his hand to hold him, tugging him into his arms. He said softly, “Didn’t I tell you before? Let the servants handle things like watering the flowers.”

“I was idling about with nothing to do, that’s all.” Shen Ci smiled faintly and asked about what had happened in the palace. As expected, Emperor Chongde had ordered Murong Heng to persuade Murong Chong to surrender. Shen Ci’s expression gradually became distant, and he didn’t say a word.

After a while, he lifted his head and continued to speak: “Be careful with everything. Remember to pay them no heed.”

“I understand.” Murong Heng and Shen Ci had already identified a countermeasure. Emperor Chongde had sent him to persuade Murong Chong to surrender. Since Murong Chong had chosen to rebel, he wouldn’t surrender so easily. Murong Heng would use this mission to conduct some investigations, that’s all. He doesn’t want to get involved. Let Murong Chong and the rest of them kill each other. Their objective was to lie in wait and reap the subsequent benefits. How could they act rashly and startle the enemy before the fish had risen to the bait?

Murong Heng had to leave once he was done packing up his things. Shen Ci followed Murong Heng out. He initially wanted to go with him, but this time the situation was different. It wouldn’t help Murong Heng when he handled his matters if Shen Ci were to follow; therefore, it was better for him to remain in the mansion and await his return. Moreover, the capital still required someone to investigate the news. Without question, this important task would fall upon Shen Ci. As long as there was any movement in the capital, he must notify Murong Heng by letter immediately.

It wasn’t long before Murong Heng packed up and departed. After Shen Ci saw him off, he returned inside the house alone. His fingers stroked the jiaowei qin that Murong Heng had gifted him, and he couldn’t help releasing a sigh. Murong Heng hadn’t left that long ago, and he’d already begun to miss him. Sure enough, the most unpredictable thing in the world was “love”. He thought that he would never be bound by anyone again, but he didn’t expect that ultimately he would still be entrapped and unable to break free.

As he was thinking about it, the door was abruptly pushed open. He heard footsteps approaching and instinctively stood up, saying happily, “Murong?”

“Young Master, it’s me.” Feng Nan pushed the door open and entered. Upon seeing that Shen Ci had mistaken him for Murong Heng, his heart felt a moment’s sadness, but he quickly suppressed it.

“So, it’s Feng Nan.” When Shen Ci heard Feng Nan’s voice, he suddenly felt a little disappointed. Yes, Murong Heng had already left; how could he have come back?

Feng Nan caught all the expressions on Shen Ci’s face. He’d been accompanying his young master for so many years that he was very clear about what his young master was thinking about right now. Before he left, Murong Heng specifically informed him to take good care of Shen Ci, so he’d come here.

Now that Shen Ci and Murong Heng were cohabiting in the same rooms, Feng Nan had become a redundant person, but he had already figured it out. As long as Shen Ci is happy, what does it matter if the person by his side was him or not? As long as he’s happy, that’s enough.

After accompanying him for a while, Feng Nan tended to Shen Ci until he dozed off, and left the room after he was sound asleep.

A few days later, Murong Heng arrived in Yuanzhou. Murong Chong had already launched a war. Their demands in their persuasions for his surrender were ignored by him, and war was imminent.

Of course, Murong Heng put on his best performance as an incompetent person. He didn’t have the least amount of interest in the war. After Murong Chong killed several generals, his troops charged into Yuanzhou.

Murong Heng quickly led his troops to retreat, feigning that they were outmatched. In the days that followed, he also fought in this manner. It wasn’t long before Murong Chong’s troops broke through the barricades and approached Qingzhou, which was the closest to the imperial city.

At night, Murong Chong was sitting in the tent with several vassal kings, analysing the current situation. At the moment, they were situated outside Qingzhou. One could say that they were one step away from the capital. Right now, they only need to devise countermeasures on how to seize the capital as quickly as possible.

After the discussion, Murong Chong exited the tent and glanced in the direction of the capital. He slowly revealed an arrogant smile. See, Emperor Chongde didn’t view him positively, so he was determined to show it to him. He would grab hold of what he couldn’t obtain with his own two hands!

At the same time, a black shadow swept over the prince’s mansion and headed straight for the owner’s residence. He arrived outside the building and ducked inside. Upon seeing the figure on the bed, he walked a few steps over and hugged him closely.

“Who?” Shen Ci felt someone approaching him in his slumber and woke up alertly. Immediately, his body was enfolded in a warm embrace. In the darkness, he detected a familiar scent and couldn’t help being stunned.

“What’s the matter? Don’t recognise anymore?” Murong Heng cast an amused look at his dazed expression. It had been two months since he’d left for this mission, and he’d missed Shen Ci terribly during his time in the military camp. Therefore, he’d taken advantage while they were in Qingzhou to sneak back into the capital and back into the prince’s mansion at night.

“Why have you returned?” Shen Ci pushed him away and asked with a frown. Shouldn’t he be in the barracks right now? Wasn’t he aware that it was a serious crime to leave the barracks without permission?

“No matter, don’t worry.” Naturally, Murong Heng had made all the necessary preparations before coming out. Besides, he gave the impression that he wasn’t ambitious. If he were overly diligent, wouldn’t he attract others’ suspicion?

Murong Heng cherished the feeling as he held the warm person in his arms. He told him of Murong Chong’s approach to the imperial city and kissed Shen Ci’s forehead before saying softly, “Ah Ci, it’ll all be over soon.”

Shen Ci nodded lightly. He didn’t expect Murong Chong to have moved so fast. Presumably, Emperor Chongde must be on tenterhooks in the palace. When he thought of his agitated appearance, Shen Ci felt very glad. Things were getting close to how he wanted them to be. Why wouldn’t he be looking forward to it?

Murong Heng remained for some time, and the two of them discussed the upcoming plans in hushed voices. Before they knew it, it was already midnight. It was impossible to go back tonight, so Murong Heng simply undressed, went to bed hugging Shen Ci, and prepared to rest.

As Shen Ci leaned against his warm chest, he couldn’t help cuddling closer. He placed his hand on Murong Heng’s shoulder and carefully checked whether or not there were any injuries on his body.

“I’m not injured.” Murong Heng knew what he was thinking. He grasped Shen Ci’s hand and placed it on his own chest. He didn’t dare let him continue touching him like this. He’d endured it for so long that he didn’t want the gun to go off accidentally.

Shen Ci was relieved to hear that he was safe and sound. The two of them chatted for some time. While they conversed, Shen Ci felt tired and closed his eyes a little, falling asleep not long after.

Seeing that he’d fallen asleep, Murong Heng gradually tightened his arms. He placed a soft kiss on Shen Ci’s forehead, a gentle smile emerging on his lips. After that, he closed his eyes and took a short rest.

The following morning, Shen Ci awoke from his dreams to discover that he was the only one on the bed. He sat up in alarm. It seemed as if that person’s temperature was still beside him, as if he had never left.

A few more days passed imperceptibly. Murong Chong’s troops drew nearer to the capital amid Murong Heng’s insouciance. The people in the capital were in a constant state of anxiety for fear of bringing harm to themselves.

In the imperial palace, Emperor Chongde heard that Murong Chong had shown up outside the capital. For a moment, he collapsed onto the dragon throne in low spirits. He didn’t expect that he would arrive so quickly. Could it be that his time on the throne was truly short-lived?

When the palace staff caught wind that the fifth prince was about to invade the palace, they all fled in every direction like wild animals. Wen Lin also sought to persuade the emperor to leave, but Emperor Chongde refused to flee no matter what.

“I am the emperor; why should I leave?” Emperor Chongde clenched his fists with an indignant expression. When he saw the palace staff absconding in all directions, he immediately ordered that anyone who dared to leave the palace without permission would be killed.

In the palace, Empress Xu was also in a constant state of fear just then. She had told Emperor Chongde a long time ago that Murong Chong wasn’t a decent person and shouldn’t be kept around. However, Emperor Chongde did not heed her words. Initially, she wanted to leave the palace, but unexpectedly, Emperor Chongde had issued that life decree. No one was permitted to leave; otherwise, they would be killed. That made her unable to leave, even if she wanted to.

Murong Heng and several generals were summoned overnight. Upon their arrival in the palace, Emperor Chongde immediately lambasted Murong Heng, thinking that he would set fire to the other party’s provisions like he’d done in the war against foreigners. It indicated that he still had some capabilities, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be unfounded.

Murong Heng stood below the platform, hearing Emperor Chongde’s angry remonstrations but paying them no mind. His mind was contemplating other matters, completely ignoring Emperor Chongde’s vexations. In any case, didn’t the emperor look down on him no matter what? Only this way would he be caught off balance when Murong Heng finally gets his revenge. He was determined to see the emperor’s shocked expression!

If General Zhan Nan was still around, how would it have regressed to this state? If it wasn’t because Emperor Chongde himself didn’t believe in General Zhan Nan and insisted on killing him, how would Murong Chong be able to approach the imperial city so easily now?

If Prime Minister Shen was still there, how could the imperial court possibly turn out like this? Emperor Chongde has only himself to blame for how everything is today. Back then, he had his fill of bloodshed when he seized the throne; how could he have thought that he would end up like this today? Just like in the past, everything of his would be taken away by his own son!

If he knew it would come to this, he wouldn’t have acted thusly at that time. It was merely the circle of retribution.

After Emperor Chongde finished venting his anger, Murong Heng exited the palace without saying a word. Right now, the outskirts of the city are filled with Murong Chong’s troops. Who knows when he will launch an attack on the city? He already has a backup plan prepared. He allowed Feng Nan to bring Shen Ci to a safe place and not come out until the war was over.

At this moment, Shen Ci was in a small wooden house in a remote mountain forest. Feng Nan was sitting beside him, telling him about the ongoing events in the capital. The guards of the prince’s mansion were also standing watch outside, doing their utmost to protect his safety.

Feng Nan left an hour later, and the candle was extinguished. Shen Ci reclined on the bed, worrying about Murong Heng’s safety and unable to sleep.

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