Nathaniel and the Emperor's Secret Chapter 1

Late at night in Chang'an, the gate of Nathaniel Shangguan's residence was suddenly opened by a team of guards from the palace. Zhang Kuo, the emperor's trusted eunuch, stood in the middle of the Nathaniel Shangguan's lobby holding the imperial edict, with a shrill voice and expressionless face: "Your Majesty has ordered that the youngest son of the Nathaniel Shangguan family, Nathaniel Shangguan, be brought to the palace immediately!"

Nathaniel Shangguan woke up from his bed just before the imperial edict came down. He was the youngest son of a Concub!ne. His mother was dead, and his wife had given birth to a row of sons. Although this Concub!ne was not treated badly, people still looked at him differently. This young master came out in the middle of winter wearing a half-worn coat.

Master Nathaniel Shangguan was in a panic. He hardly even remembered the existence of his son. He didn't know why the emperor summoned his youngest son who had no official position.

Zhang Kuo saw the young man approaching with an expressionless face, and said sideways: "Mr. Nathaniel Shangguan, please come in."

Master Nathaniel Shangguan leaned forward and quietly stuffed a heavy piece of silver into Zhang Kuo's hand: "Eunuch, would you like a cup of tea?"

Zhang Kuo half-smiled and stuffed the silver back: "Why do you have to be like this, sir? We are all doing errands for the emperor, how can I let you spend money?"

Mr. Nathaniel Shangguan was sweating all of a sudden. Being an official in the capital could make one rich and powerful overnight, or one could be doomed to ruin in an instant. The power of heaven was unpredictable, who knew what the emperor really meant by an imperial decree?

"Eunuch, my youngest son has never seen the world. How can the emperor..."

Zhang Kuo still smiled with a fake smile: "Your Excellency, it's easy to explain. As a servant of the Emperor, how can I ask about his intentions?"

After saying this, he turned around and walked out without caring about Minister Nathaniel Shangguan's pale face.

Nathaniel Shangguan was standing outside the gate of the mansion. In the middle of winter, he was wearing a thin old coat, the color of cotton white standing in the shadow of the snow, so vast that it could almost be blown away by the wind. The rich red lanterns in front of the gate of the mansion did not reflect any warm colors on him, only his young profile was half bright and half dark in the shadow, gentle and cold.

Zhang Kuo walked forward, bowed deeply, pulled up the curtain of the blue tweed sedan chair, and whispered, "Master Nathaniel Shangguan, please come in."

Nathaniel Shangguan did not move, and asked calmly, "You are robbing me in the middle of the night, are you planning to confiscate my house?"

Zhang Kuo said: "How dare we do that?"

Nathaniel Shangguan still didn't move. After a while, Zhang Kuo sighed and made a gesture of invitation: "Sir, if you have anything to say, you should go to the palace to ask the emperor. We only have one life and one head. How many times can we chop it off?"

The Ripple Palace was built next to the Hibiscus Garden in the winter corner of the palace city, and its territory was on the edge of the harem. Although no Concub!nes came here on weekdays, it was still a nice place.

Although it was winter, the warm fragrance of hibiscus wafted from the palace gate. Nathaniel Shangguan got off the sedan chair and was about to walk in, but was secretly stopped by Eunuch Zhang.

When he turned around, he saw Zhang Kuo pointing to the palace gate and whispering, "... just follow it."

Nathaniel Shangguan sneered, pushed Zhang Kuo away, and pushed open the palace door.

Chang'an was prosperous, not to mention the palace, not to mention the inner palace. Behind the layers of green gauze corridors, you could vaguely see the steam rising from the heating, and the rare flowers were gorgeous and fragrant. At the end was an extremely exquisite small study, with gold and jade as the floor, orchids around the beams, and the palace maids in brocade clothes opened the study door silently, Nathaniel Shangguan stepped in, and then heard the door close behind him.

Nathaniel Shangguan was wearing thin clothes, and the cold air on his body pushed back the warm wind. He didn't even look up, but knelt down as soon as he entered the door and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I, Nathaniel Shangguan, pay my respects to you!"

The emperor's voice came from the throne, but it was not directed at him: "... Concub!ne, you said that Nathaniel Shangguan and Zhaoyi had an affair. Now I have brought the person to you. How do you plan to confront them face to face?"

Nathaniel Shangguan raised his head slightly. Behind the gauze curtain, a beautiful woman wearing jewels and precious stones was vaguely sitting. Just a quick glance could make one feel her elegance and charm. The emperor sat on the first seat, looking at the gauze curtain, his tone was very gentle, but there was a hint of sneer on his face.

The imperial Concub!ne's voice came out, a little weak: "...I am terrified. I dare not usurp power to control the harem, but morality and ethics cannot be ignored. As an imperial Concub!ne, I should..."

The emperor interrupted her and said, "If you have anything to ask Nathaniel Shangguan, just ask him directly."

The imperial Concub!ne bowed her head and said respectfully, "Yes." Then she turned to the young man kneeling on the ground behind the gauze curtain and said in a proud tone, "Master Nathaniel Shangguan, did you come to the palace on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival last month?"

The carpet was very soft, but Nathaniel Shangguan was uncomfortable kneeling there. He moved his knees slightly before saying, "Yes."

The imperial Concub!ne asked: "You are a foreign minister, without any official position or job, and can only enter the palace by imperial decree. Do you have an imperial decree?"

Nathaniel Shangguan was silent for a while, "No."

"According to the guards' report, when you entered the palace you went directly to Concub!ne Xia's palace. Did this happen?"

"...right."

"You took advantage of the busy Mid-Autumn Festival to sneak into the harem and leave the palace at dawn. What crime should you be punished for?"

"I am guilty of death."

The imperial Concub!ne stood up suddenly: "Your Majesty! Nathaniel Shangguan has defiled the palace and deceived the emperor. Nathaniel Shangguan Shilang has not taught his son well. This is a grave crime punishable by the death of all nine generations of his family! Xia Zhaoyi is lewd and shameless. The evidence is irrefutable. She has brought shame to our royal family. This person must not be allowed to stay any longer!"

The emperor did not speak for a while, and the study fell into a brief and dangerous silence. After a cup of tea, Nathaniel Shangguan slowly opened his mouth and said: "Then please, Your Majesty, issue an order and sentence me to death."

With a bang, it was the emperor who dropped the tea bowl. The imperial Concub!ne immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty!"

The emperor whispered, "...Royal Concub!ne."

"I am here."

"Xia Zhaoyi is favored, so you can hold a grudge against her, but what did Nathaniel Shangguan do to you that you must put him to death?"

The color suddenly disappeared from the imperial Concub!ne's face.

But she still managed to hold on: "Your Majesty! Nathaniel Shangguan sneaked into the inner palace, there are witnesses and evidence, it is not something I made up out of thin air!"

The emperor whispered, "What if he did come to the inner palace, but that incident had nothing to do with Xia Zhaoyi?"

The imperial Concub!ne's face was pale and she was about to collapse: "How is it possible? Is there any witness or evidence? Even if he had nothing to do with Xia Zhaoyi, what was he doing in Xia Zhaoyi's palace for one night? Your Majesty! You can't allow Xia Zhaoyi to do such a shameful thing!"

The emperor wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Nathaniel Shangguan: "I have no evidence," his voice was even calm, "Your Majesty, please do whatever you want to me."

The imperial Concub!ne raised her head suddenly, but the emperor laughed: "My beloved Concub!ne, you don't have to listen to this man's nonsense."

"His Majesty!..."

"I can testify for him," the emperor said easily, as if the ferocity that flashed across his eyes was just an illusion. "---I tell you, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, he really had nothing to do with Xia Zhaoyi. He didn't even see Xia Zhaoyi's shadow."

The emperor stepped forward and helped the imperial Concub!ne up personally: "Are you relieved now?"

The imperial Concub!ne felt that the big hands holding her arms were so strong that she could hear the crackling of her bones. She felt dizzy and didn't dare to look at the emperor's face. The emperor was smiling, but that smile was scarier than a knife.

She no longer had the courage to say anything, and the emperor waved his hand and said, "Kneel down."

The imperial Concub!ne staggered to her knees and hurried away.

The study returned to silence, with only the clear sound of the jade pot leaking at night.

Nathaniel Shangguan felt that the carpet was rubbing his knees and making them tingle. He moved slightly and asked calmly, "Your Majesty, do you have any other instructions?"

Emperor Alexander Qian Li Ji, who was in his thirties, sat expressionlessly on the throne, with one hand on the table. If you looked closely, you could even see the whiteness in his joints from the excessive force, as if he was holding someone's neck instead of the table.

Emperor Alexander Qian smiled and asked, "Speaking of which, I really remember something. Prime Minister Theodore seemed to admire you quite a while ago. I heard that he planned to marry Concub!ne Xia's sister, his second daughter, to you. Is this true?"

Nathaniel Shangguan said expressionlessly: "He is in love with the wrong person."

"How can it be a wrong love?" Emperor Alexander Qian stood up and walked over. "You, Nathaniel Shangguan, are young and handsome, talented in both civil and military affairs. You have a good family background and you are also hardworking. You have been a secret guard for two years. Once you become a secret guard, you will have a bright future... Such a young talent, how can you not be the daughter of the prime minister's family?"

His jaw tightened and was held by a big hand, forcing Nathaniel Shangguan to raise his head.

Emperor Alexander Qian carefully examined Nathaniel Shangguan's face. "The daughter of the Xia family is very beautiful, isn't she?"

Nathaniel Shangguan suddenly laughed: "Your Majesty is over thirty but has no children. I heard that the young lady of the Xia family is very lucky. Your Majesty can consider making her a Concub!ne. Maybe she can give birth to a few dragon cubs---"

Before he could finish his words, a heavy slap hit him directly on the face, causing Nathaniel Shangguan's head to tilt to the side.

He slowly turned his face and wiped the blood from his lips. Emperor Alexander Qian was in a very good mood when he saw him like that, and his tone was relaxed: "Nathaniel Shangguan, you were ranked among the top three among the masters of the Imperial Palace back then, right?"

Nathaniel Shangguan lowered his head and replied meekly: "I am ashamed."

"You have the Secret Guard token, so you can enter and leave the inner palace as you please, right?"

"I thank your majesty for your trust."

"Then you are ordered to come to the inner palace. Although it is the inner palace of the Concub!nes, it is not to the point where people will definitely discover your whereabouts---right?"

Nathaniel Shangguan was silent this time. Emperor Alexander Qian pinched his chin and forced him to look up: "---Nathaniel Shangguan, isn't the imperial Concub!ne just pregnant? When did I say I would depose the queen? Why did you deliberately reveal your whereabouts to the imperial Concub!ne? You clearly knew...you clearly knew that she would plot against you, and she would take the opportunity to complain to me, right?"

Nathaniel Shangguan closed his eyes: "...Your Majesty knows it clearly, why bother to say it clearly?"

Emperor Alexander Qian nodded slowly: "You succeeded, Nathaniel Shangguan. I am really fed up with the imperial Concub!ne now. Congratulations, the queen has kept her position this time!"

Although there was a warm fragrance, the atmosphere in the study was even colder than outside. Nathaniel Shangguan held the emperor's hand that was pinching his chin with one hand, and slowly opened it one finger at a time: "...The emperor has not found a reason to depose the queen, but if he is resentful, he can take this opportunity to convict me. As a secret guard, I am directly under the jurisdiction of your majesty. No one else can control me if your majesty wants to beat or kill me... There are many ways to make people suffer in this world. The torture secrets in the Ministry of Justice can be read at any time. As long as your majesty does not want to depose the queen, what's so difficult about letting me suffer a little in private?"

He looked directly at Emperor Alexander Qian, his expression was cold, but there was a kind of spring after the prosperity in his eyes. That feeling was very subtle, not deliberately showing gorgeousness, but just inadvertently aroused his mind, but he was unaware of it.

Emperor Alexander Qian knelt down in front of him. Nathaniel Shangguan was kneeling originally, but he was young, and Emperor Alexander Qian was a little taller than him after he knelt down. The emperor leaned close to his ear and smiled softly: "...You are right, but I don't intend to torture you...You performed well on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, so your merits and demerits are offset..."

Nathaniel Shangguan, who had been motionless, tried to stand up hastily, but was held down by the shoulders by Emperor Alexander Qian.

I don't know when the incense was mixed with a soft and sweet smell, which made people's hands and feet weak. As soon as they tried to exert force, their eyes became dizzy, and then they were completely unconscious. Nathaniel Shangguan fell silently into the arms of Emperor Alexander Qian. The young man, who had not yet reached adulthood, was wearing soft cotton clothes and had a cold and handsome face. With only a few beautiful lines on his side face, it seemed as if he had experienced the beauty of the entire spring night.

Nathaniel Shangguan trembled slightly. Emperor Alexander Qian slowly tore off his coat, pressed him on the carpet, and asked in a low voice with a smile: "You seem to particularly dislike this kind of floor, right?..."

Nathaniel Shangguan stretched out his hand and weakly grasped Alexander Qian's wrist, but was immediately grabbed back and then pressed hard against his ear. The skin on his arm rubbed against the carpet violently, probably breaking the skin, and there was a slight tingling sensation, but then it turned into pain.

Emperor Alexander Qian unscrupulously kneaded his arm heavily. His delicate skin, which was brought up from youth, was extremely smooth to the touch. His thin muscles, acquired through martial arts training, were well-defined, flexible and graceful, with the pride and S3xiness unique to a teenager.

Emperor Alexander Qian felt that he was clearly hard, and the surging desire made his whole body boil. He was already over thirty, at the prime of his life, but no matter how beautiful a woman was, she could not ignite his strongest desire to conquer like the young man under him.

There was an almost beast-like desire to tear him apart and eat him alive.

However, at this moment, there was a knock on the study door, and Zhang Kuo's voice was a little panicked: "Your Majesty, the Queen wants to see you!"

Emperor Alexander Qian suddenly stood up and said, "No!"

"The Queen is coming this way!"

"Tell her to get out!"

Suddenly Nathaniel Shangguan laughed and said calmly: "I invited her..."

Emperor Alexander Qian suddenly lowered his head to look at him. Nathaniel Shangguan fell limply in his arms, his outer clothes scattered, barely covering the large area of   skin from shoulders to chest. A bit of his neck was visible through his hair, looking unimaginably graceful.

Emperor Alexander Qian laughed in anger: "Did you inform the Queen before you came in?"

Nathaniel Shangguan even looked relaxed: "Yes."

"when?"

"When I was in the sedan chair, I went and came back immediately, and even the sedan bearer didn't notice..."

"Very good! Very good!" Emperor Alexander Qian was furious. "It seems that next time I have to put an iron chain in the sedan chair to lock you up!"

The sound of the empress's guards outside the door was almost reaching the door. Emperor Alexander Qian loosened his grip, and Nathaniel Shangguan barely stood up with the help of the wall. He raised his head and said calmly, "I'll take my leave."

He backed away, step by step, cautiously and walked out of the study.

Emperor Alexander Qian Li Ji sat in a large armchair, the desire in his lower body still clamoring to make him almost burn. But that person was gone.

Li Ji laughed coldly: "...You are so quick to escape..."

---But, forget it, it's already in my hands, why should I push it too hard?

If something bad happens, won’t the bad ones be the people under your control?

The emperor stared at the direction where the man left, his eyes unfathomable but always with an unmistakable stern look.

Prime Minister proposes marriage

It was already early in the morning when Nathaniel Shangguan returned home. Someone from the palace had already come to explain why the emperor had summoned him, saying that a palace servant had given evidence that he had an affair with a Concub!ne, but after the emperor's interrogation, it was confirmed that it was slander, so he gave him fine wine to calm his nerves.

Nathaniel Shangguan Shilang hadn't slept all night, and paced back and forth in the room with a red face. When he saw Nathaniel Shangguan coming in, he immediately said, "Evil creature! Who did you offend to attract someone to frame you?"

Nathaniel Shangguan stood in the hall, silent.

"You are such a useless person, you only know how to idle around and can't do any serious work! Why would my Nathaniel Shangguan family support someone like you for nothing? If you cause any trouble, it doesn't matter if you get yourself killed, but don't drag down our family of hundreds of people!"

Minister Nathaniel Shangguan was so angry that he was about to curse again, but he heard a servant whispering outside the door: "Master, Prime Minister Theodore is here to visit and is waiting in the hall."

Master Nathaniel Shangguan exclaimed, took two steps at a time, and immediately smiled, saying, "Why are you here, distinguished guest? Come on, come on!"

Nathaniel Shangguan saw that he couldn't remember him for a while, so he yawned and turned back to sleep. It was very cold outside in the winter morning, and the frost had not yet melted. Laughter could be heard faintly from not far away in the yard. Someone flattered him and said, "Sir, you have great arm strength at such a young age. I believe you will be able to shoot an arrow through a willow bark in the future. It is true that heroes have always emerged from youth!"

It turned out that Nathaniel Shangguan Quan, the eldest son of the Nathaniel Shangguan family, was practicing archery. He drew his bow and shot an arrow, which hit the bull's eye in an instant amidst the whistling wind. The servants and maids beside him all cheered. Nathaniel Shangguan's wife, Zhang, smiled and took the hand of a young lady beside her and said, "Miss Xia, you see my son is only concerned with his own archery practice, but has left you aside. Should he be beaten or not?"

The girl next to her was Xia Rubing, the second daughter of the Xia family. She had just come to visit with her father, Prime Minister Theodore. Everyone knew that Prime Minister Theodore came to propose marriage. None of the sons of the Nathaniel Shangguan family had married, so the proposal was of course for the eldest son.

Xia Zheng had been the prime minister for more than ten years and was very popular in the court. His eldest daughter was very favored when she married into the palace. The Xia family was considered a top-notch and prestigious family in Chang'an. Zhang felt very proud that her son could marry into such a family.

Xia Rubing's face had already turned red, and she slammed her hands and said, "What are you talking about, Madam Nathaniel Shangguan? I'm here to play with your young lady, not to compete with your young master."

Nathaniel Shangguan Quan showed off by firing ten arrows in a row, nine of which hit the target. Nathaniel Shangguan watched him standing smugly among the crowd from behind the bushes, and could not help but smile slightly, then turned around and left.

At this moment, Zhang's maid Lingdang'er saw it. Lingdang'er didn't expect that the young master from the side room was there, so she bowed and said in a panic, "Master Nathaniel Shangguan!"

Zhang looked up and saw Nathaniel Shangguan flash by. Her face darkened and she asked, "Who's there?"

Nathaniel Shangguan had no choice but to walk out from the bushes into the field and bow to Zhang from a distance: "How are you, Madam?"

Seeing him in the early morning, wearing a single robe and looking hurried, Zhang felt disgusted and asked the people around him: "Who dressed the young master like this? He is the master after all, and we can't let people say that our family treats him badly! Who are the people following him? Drag him out and give him a beating!"

Nathaniel Shangguan said: "Never mind their business, my father came to see me early in the morning and I hurried over."

Zhang's disgust in her heart became even stronger. She sneered and said, "Don't say anything. I know you are tired of your father teaching you. Who is as noble as you? Your brother studies and practices archery early in the morning, but you are so leisurely. I don't know what you do every day!"

Nathaniel Shangguan remained silent. Zhang pulled Miss Xia's hand, pointed at him and said, "This is my honored guest. Don't you have any manners when you meet me? Who taught you to be so unpresentable?"

Nathaniel Shangguan bowed to Xia Rubing and said, "Yes, Miss Xia."

Xia Rubing's face turned red and blue, and she turned away hurriedly.