Title: Infinite Power Over The World
Original title: 权倾天下[重生]
Author: 叶默凉(Ye Moliang)
Translated by: ~PurpleLy~
The news of Murong Chong’s tragic death also spread to the ears of those vassal kings who’d retreated outside the city. They exchanged surprised looks with each other, but for the most part, they were thrilled.
At the crucial moment, they were fortunate not to have been hoodwinked by Murong Chong’s words and instead chose to withdraw their troops and leave. Only then were they able to save their lives and have the chance to turn things around.
The current strategy is to combine all their forces and storm the capital. Why wouldn’t they no longer covet the throne? Thus, even without Murong Chong, they would still stage an armed rebellion sooner or later.
It was nighttime. They were re-discussing the strategies in the tent and making arrangements to deploy their remaining troops. Three days after their discussion, they launched another attack on the capital.
In the palace, Emperor Chongde caught wind of this and quickly dispatched General Li Xian to confront the enemy. Unexpectedly, Murong Chong’s remains were hardly cold yet, and those vassal kings had rebelled again. He couldn’t have any peace.
At the same time, in the prince’s mansion, Murong Heng and Shen Ci also heard the news of the vassal kings’ rebellion. The two quickly deliberated and decided to place obstacles in the way. In no way would they allow any party to have an advantage.
They both discussed it until late at night before deciding on a countermeasure. Murong Heng went out to make some preparations, and when he returned, he saw Shen Ci lying on the table with his eyes closed, already fast asleep.
Murong Heng’s gaze gradually softened. He walked over with soft steps, carried him in his arms, and placed him on the bed. The person in his arms seemed to be in deep sleep, and he was clutching at the hems of his shirt with both hands like a child, refusing to let go.
Murong Heng gently held his hand. When he calmed down, he supported him as he lay down on the bed and tucked in the edges of the quilt. He was about to blow out the candle, but just as he stood up, the hem of his clothes was tugged by the person on the bed. Murong Heng glanced back and saw Shen Ci lying on the bed with his eyes closed, murmuring in a very low voice, “Don’t go.”
“I’m not going.” Murong Heng subconsciously replied and held his hand instead. He remained motionless by the bed. Outside the door, Lian Jin heard the movements. She took the initiative to enter and extinguish the candles before exiting and closing the door.
After waiting for a while, Murong Heng released Shen Ci’s hands. He took off his clothes, leaving only his inner clothes on, then turned and got into bed. As he enfolded Shen Ci in his arms, he placed Shen Ci’s head to rest on his shoulders and dropped a soft kiss on his forehead.
“You’re awake?” He gazed at the man in his arms, slowly opening his eyes. His bewildered appearance was very cute, and Murong Heng couldn’t help reaching out to touch his long, soft hair and hugging him even tighter. They clung to each other, sharing the heat emanating from their bodies.
Shen Ci didn’t reply. He nestled in Murong Heng’s warm embrace. His core was very warm, as if there was a furnace simmering underneath. Shen Ci couldn’t resist snuggling against the chest of the person before him, cuddling even closer.
They soon fell asleep, holding each other close. Murong Heng’s eyes were shut. Even though he was asleep, there was a faint smile at the corner of his lips, and he slept soundly all night.
****
Li Xian led the main forces outside the capital to confront the vassal kings’ armies. However, for some reason, he always had the feeling that he was being manipulated. No matter how he fought, he could not attain victory. Gradually, the forces showed that they could no longer endure. Based on their predicament, he had no choice but to order a temporary retreat into the city and to strategise further.
As for the opposing side, the vassal kings were not sure why, but they always felt that they had divine assistance. The war was proceeding incredibly smoothly. They were about to arrive at the capital, and they only needed to persist in their efforts to seize the throne in one fell swoop!
Just at this moment, Emperor Chongde heard the news from Li Xian. Enraged, he rose to his feet and paced back and forth. His disorderly steps could not conceal the anxiety in his heart.
“Your Majesty, don’t let your anger affect your health.” Empress Xu, who was beside him, quickly stood up to placate him. In fact, inwardly, she was also very scared, but she didn’t show it out of fear of the imperial sovereignty. She had thought it through early on. In the event the army entered the city, she will straightaway surrender. It is better to live a bad life than to die a good death; she’d rather survive. As for those women in the imperial harem, she had long deemed their existence extremely repugnant. Perfect time to take advantage of this opportunity and slaughter them all!
Empress Xu was concocting strategies in her head and not forgetting to comfort Emperor Chongde at the same time. After a long while, she didn’t get any response, so she simply stopped talking and just remained by his side.
In the meantime, Emperor Chongde traipsed back and forth anxiously. He kept persuading himself to calm down, but when the thought arose of the country he was on the verge of losing, he couldn’t regain his composure. After a long while, he abruptly clenched his fists and raised his head, with a determined look in his eyes.
“Your Majesty, you absolutely mustn’t!” When some ministers heard that Emperor Chongde had decided to command the expedition in person, they expressed their opposition one after another. Despite their objections, they failed to alter the emperor’s resolute determination, and they were forced to give up.
Murong Heng was surprised when the news reached his ears, but he quickly expressed his understanding. General Li Xian wasn’t able to cope. The emperor must have come up with this countermeasure because he was extremely fearful that the throne would be wrested from his clutches.
He told Shen Ci the news. It wasn’t unexpected that he was also very surprised. After discussing for a while, the two of them elected to bide their time and observe how the situation would develop before planning further.
At night, after taking a bath, Shen Ci sat on the bed in a daze. Murong Heng had gone to the Iron Halberd Army, and he was alone in the room, appearing somewhat lonely and desolate.
For some reason, nowadays he increasingly feels that he cannot do without Murong Heng. At the beginning, he was with him purely for revenge. But since he recognised his own feelings, all the more he doesn’t wish to be apart from him.
As he lay on the bed, Shen Ci forced himself to sleep quickly. He closed his eyes, and he vacated his thoughts as an empty void filled his vision. He gradually dozed. All of a sudden, a dream emerged in his mind.
The dream brought him back a few days ago. On that day, when Murong Chong led troops to attack the city, Emperor Chongde exited the imperial palace and went to the city gates to coax Murong Chong in person. As for Shen Ci, after Murong Heng left, he followed in his wake to arrive at the street and happened to bump into the emperor and his entourage.
Since Shen Ci was standing in the middle of the street, it was no surprise that he was chased away. He walked to the side without saying a word, knelt down, and bowed his head in silence. Emperor Chongde’s voice permeated his ears, sounding exactly the same as it did over ten years ago.
“Someone, circulate This Emperor’s decree. The prime minister is constantly reticent and has failed in his attempt to rebel. Publicly behead him in three days!” It was as if he heard Emperor Chongde say those words without any facial expression. Shen Ci knelt on the ground; his entire body couldn’t stop trembling.
The dream shifted back to more than ten years ago. He’d been taken away by Feng Nan and then spent a night in a ruined temple. That night, he was scared to death. He didn’t know why his father suddenly wanted to send him away. It wasn’t until a few days later he learned that Emperor Chongde was going to execute his parents.
After rushing to the execution ground, Shen Ci watched helplessly as his whole family was killed. Blood stained the execution ground like a small river, dyeing the ground red. Only then did he understand what his father meant when he said those farewell words.
It wasn’t until the emperor and his entourage departed that Shen Ci stood up from the ground in a daze. He walked ahead with a blank look. Some time passed before he heard Feng Nan’s voice. He subconsciously staggered and almost fell to the ground.
He didn’t tell Murong Heng about any of these oddities. After returning to the mansion, he fell ill for a while. His thoughts were filled with Emperor Chongde’s sinister expression and the fire at Shen’s mansion. He’d finally arrived where he is today, but he didn’t feel the slightest joy in his heart—only hatred, and it was lamentable.
More than ten years have passed, and time has flown. He presumed that he would never again touch on anything related to the imperial family. However, he never expected that Murong Heng would intrude into his life and change his world forever.
Father mentioned before that one can’t live their life for revenge. He didn’t wish for Shen Ci to suffer for the rest of his life, so he didn’t want him to avenge him. In the beginning, Shen Ci heeded his father’s words. But now everything has been turned upside down.
The dream continued. Shen Ci’s body broke out in bursts of cold sweat. He didn’t want to continue such a painful dream, but he was unable to wrangle his way out of it.
This was precisely the scene that greeted Murong Heng upon his return to the mansion. He hurried to the bedside and gathered Shen Ci into his arms. He knew that he must have dreamed about the death of Prime Minister Shen again, so he lightly patted his back and comforted him softly.
Shortly after that, Shen Ci woke up from the dream. Although his face was covered with cold sweat, he was surprisingly calm. He gasped for breath a few times before gently pushing Murong Heng away and sitting properly on the bed.
Murong Heng told him everything that had happened outside. Shen Ci listened, gave a slight nod, and no longer spoke.
“Ah Ci, we’ll have our revenge soon.” Murong Heng said this seriously as he lifted the quilt and climbed into the bed. Once again, he pulled Shen Ci into his embrace. Pretty soon, he would be able to kill Emperor Chongde with his own hands and avenge all those who died unjustly.
Now that Emperor Chongde has decided to do battle in person, it has undoubtedly provided him with the best opportunity. The battlefield changes in the blink of an eye. If any mishap befell Emperor Chongde, no one would suspect him.
Shen Ci shook his head, banishing all the bad dreams in his mind. Then he clutched onto Murong Heng’s sleeves to support himself as he lay back down on the bed. But Murong Heng held onto him and refused to let him lie down. Shen Ci exhibited a puzzled expression, and just as he was about to ask a question, he heard Murong Heng say, “You’re soaked in a cold sweat. Go take a bath before going to bed, so as not to catch a cold.”
Once he was done speaking, Murong Heng got out of bed, picked him up, and made his way to the bathroom. Shen Ci held his neck with both hands, and when they arrived in the bathroom, he stepped into the bathtub with Murong Heng’s help. He allowed the warm water to engulf his body.
As he relaxed and leaned against the edge of the pool, all the negative feelings were swept clean away. Murong Heng also got into the water. He headed over to Shen Ci and let him lean into his embrace. He said softly, “Ah Ci, leave everything to me; don’t worry.”
“Okay.” Shen Ci trusted him just as much as he trusted himself. He placed his head on Murong Heng’s shoulder and couldn’t help but rest his body against him. Suddenly, Murong Heng grabbed his arm tensely, and his breathing became heavy. Puzzled, Shen Ci instinctively asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Ah Ci, don’t randomly move around.” Murong Heng stood still with a wretched expression. His beloved was in his arms. It was a miracle that he could bear it for so long, and now wasn’t the time. Therefore, he has been exercising patience and is unwilling to have him act so carelessly.
Shen Ci wasn’t a fool. Although he wasn’t very well-versed in those matters, that didn’t mean he wasn’t aware. When he detected the strange shape on the lower part of Murong Heng’s body, his face turned red. Just as he was going to withdraw from his embrace, he raised his head and received an overwhelming kiss.
Murong Heng held Shen Ci tightly in his arms, lowered his head, and seized his lips. Now isn’t the time to have him, so he can only demand a little reward in advance. He sensed that Shen Ci was gradually unable to support himself; he simply picked him up, let him sit atop his body, and continued kissing him.
After a long time, he slowly released him. He reached out with his hand to wipe off the silver thread from the edge of Shen Ci’s lips as he stared at his flushed cheeks. Murong Heng smiled and gently carried him out.
This person was his, and no one can snatch him away.