Nathaniel and the Emperor's Secret Chapter 3

At this time, a young man's voice was heard from afar, and he said very softly and slowly: "If the noble Concub!ne feels that giving birth to a child for the royal family is a punishment, then I am willing to forgive you. What do you think?"

The voice was so clear that it seemed to come from an empty valley, but it was impossible to tell how far away it was. The imperial Concub!ne looked around hastily, but there was no one nearby. She immediately realized her mistake and panicked: "Who are you? How dare you trespass into the harem!"

The young man smiled and said in an almost gentle voice: "I think that continuing the dragon seed and carrying on the family line are the duties of the Concub!nes in the harem. If you find this difficult, you can just leave the palace and no longer be the emperor's Concub!ne. If the Concub!ne has this intention, I am willing to help report it to His Majesty. What do you think?"

The panic among the people was even greater. A young eunuch hurriedly shouted around: "Help! Help! There is an assassin! Quickly protect the emperor!"

However, no guards came to the Imperial Garden. When the imperial Concub!ne was panicking, the queen threw her hands and said majestically: "How can you yell so loudly! They are the royal guards on duty nearby, how can they be assassins? You are making a fuss, it will only make people laugh!"

The imperial Concub!ne had never heard of the existence of secret guards in the royal family, and she was stunned for a moment. The queen said: "Sister, you should also discipline the people in your own palace. It's obvious that they don't have the manners of a royal family!"

The imperial Concub!ne had never suffered such humiliation before. She clenched her teeth and almost shed tears.

The queen nodded gently and said, "Your Highness should be proud of raising a dragon seed. After all, there has been no news of pregnancy in the palace for two years, and your Highness's pregnancy is the focus of everyone's attention."

After saying this, without waiting for the imperial Concub!ne to reply, he turned around and walked away slowly with the palace maids and eunuchs.

The queen walked outside her bedroom, waved everyone away, and went forward to gently open the door. The winter warm room was filled with a warm fragrance. Nathaniel Shangguan knelt on the ground, his long skirt spread out, revealing a corner of his underwear, which was actually bright yellow.

The queen took a few steps forward to help Nathaniel Shangguan up and asked in a low voice: "Where did the emperor come from?"

Nathaniel Shangguan said expressionlessly: "If the queen had been a little more charming, I wouldn't have ended up in such an embarrassing situation."

The implication is that you, the queen, are a complete failure as you cannot hold the emperor's heart.

The queen was almost speechless after hearing what he said. After a while, she said, "You are such a child... Did you know that Concub!ne Xia was killed by the imperial Concub!ne?"

Nathaniel Shangguan laughed softly: "Prime Minister Theodore has almost fallen out with the Imperial Concub!ne's family, Minister Ding."

His smile disappeared in an instant, and then he frowned and said, "Your Majesty, please don't indulge the imperial Concub!ne. The emperor actually doesn't like her."

The queen wanted to ask him how he knew the emperor's thoughts, but after thinking about it, she gave up. This child seemed to have an extremely accurate insight into the emperor's thoughts, and Emperor Alexander Qian, unexpectedly, did not resort to any tricks, but instead admired it.

If this child is a girl...

The queen shook her head. Nathaniel Shangguan was summoned to the palace at the age of fifteen, and there were no children in the harem for two years. If he were a girl, it might not be her who sat in the position of queen today.

"But speaking of this," Nathaniel Shangguan said softly, "I really do..."

He stopped talking halfway. Although he was a staunch supporter of the prince, he would not tell the queen everything he had done.

People’s hearts are separated from their stomachs, and the same is true for blood relatives. In this world, who can be truly trusted?

Seeing that there was no one around, the queen quickly covered his mouth and said, "Stop talking! Do you want to go to jail for murdering the dragon?"

Nathaniel Shangguan took a half step back and asked sternly, "Does the Queen know that His Majesty is still going to the Imperial Concub!ne's Palace?"

The Queen nodded and said, "I go there every day."

Nathaniel Shangguan smiled slightly: "That's good."

There was a hint of tenderness and sweetness in that smile. The queen knew in her heart that even if Emperor Alexander Qian went to the imperial Concub!ne's palace every day, he would not visit her every time; the man's main energy was still vented on Nathaniel Shangguan.

The queen was wondering what Nathaniel Shangguan meant, but she saw him lower his voice and whisper to the queen: "Your Highness, you are always unable to receive the emperor's favor. You must be very nervous, right?"

The queen reluctantly said, "I know this feeling best in my heart."

Nathaniel Shangguan nodded. To the outside world, the emperor and empress seemed to be full of affection, but in reality, they were cold and treacherous. Not only the imperial Concub!ne, but also the empress felt this way. After all, who in the harem was truly favored? Who didn't endure the hardships day by day? As long as they could become the empress and then the queen mother, their merits would be fulfilled.

Nathaniel Shangguan stood up, stared into the queen's eyes, and said word by word: "Queen, try to ask the imperial Concub!ne to prepare a few handsome boys to welcome you."

The queen was shocked: "How could the imperial Concub!ne listen to me? What are you doing?"

Nathaniel Shangguan did not answer, but only snorted softly. His expression was delicate, yet terribly gloomy.

_

Emperor Alexander Qian went to the imperial Concub!ne's palace as usual at night. The reason was simple: he simply had a grudge against the empress.

These two days, he was so angry that he had no place to vent. When he entered the Qitai Palace at night, he went straight to the bedroom with an expressionless face. The maids around the imperial Concub!ne looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief: after so many days of fear and trembling, the emperor's favor was finally realized.

This favor is the weight for victory in countless struggles in the harem and even in the court.

Emperor Alexander Qian entered the inner room of the bedroom. The curtain was made of ice silk and shark gauze. A figure was vaguely visible in the scarlet gauze on the couch. The figure was extremely graceful. Emperor Alexander Qian was too lazy to say more. He lifted the bed curtain and was stunned.

There was a boy on the bed, kneeling at his feet in the most humble and helpless manner. The child was only about ten years old, with a delicate skeleton like a girl, extremely beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and smooth and smooth skin, which was completely unlike a normal boy of his age.

Emperor Alexander Qian did not react at first, but then he almost immediately flew into a rage, and turned around and shouted, "Who came up with this ridiculous idea! Someone come here!"

The eunuch ran over tremblingly and knelt outside the bed curtain: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Emperor Alexander Qian was about to curse when he suddenly felt his clothes being gently pulled. He looked back and saw that the boy was shaking with fear all over his body. Even when the emperor was so angry, he could see the frequency of his fingers shaking.

The eunuchs in the outer room were equally frightened, their teeth chattering with fear: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, Your Majesty, please forgive me..." Even though he didn't know what crime he had committed, or why the emperor suddenly got so angry.

Emperor Alexander Qian didn't know why he was so angry. It was just a little trick used by the harem women to win favor. He himself had ruined the innocent children of innocent families because of his momentary desire.

But just now when he saw the child, he suddenly felt intolerable, as if something in his heart had been touched or even tainted. It was as if someone had abused Nathaniel Shangguan in front of him.

He knew that it was a ridiculous illusion. It was actually himself who destroyed Nathaniel Shangguan.

But the feeling at that moment was that something precious that he had hidden in his heart was forcibly touched by someone, under the guise of flattering and trying to please him.

Emperor Alexander Qian stood there stiffly for a while, then reached out to pull up the boy. Unexpectedly, he saw that the child was crying, with tears all over his face.

The emperor opened his mouth and whispered, "...How old are you?"

The boy was so frightened that he could hardly speak. After a long while, he said, "Your Majesty, Fourteen..."

"Whose child is it?"

"My home is in the south lane of the city..."

After all, he was still young and scared, and his speech was not clear at all. It took Emperor Alexander Qian a long time to understand clearly that this child was presented to the Konghe Mansion by the state government, and was bought by the aunt in the Imperial Concub!ne's Palace. As for his parents, they were probably crying and making a fuss at home.

The child started to cry as he spoke. He knew he couldn't cry, but he couldn't help it. He was so scared that his face turned pale, as if he was going to die. Emperor Alexander Qian inexplicably thought of that late night two years ago. Did Nathaniel Shangguan also feel so scared and terrified?

...I guess so.

I don't remember clearly what happened. I was completely immersed in joy and excitement. I only vaguely remember that the child was trembling slightly. As for whether he cried when he was in the most pain... I really can't remember clearly.

Emperor Alexander Qian wanted the child to stop crying. He reached out and tried to wipe away the child's tears, but the boy seemed to be even more frightened. Not only his hands, but his whole body was shaking, and his teeth seemed to be chattering.

Emperor Alexander Qian lowered his hands dejectedly. He spoke in a dull voice: "...Come here, give this child a hundred taels of gold and send him home."

The attendant answered in a low voice, "Yes", then walked in with his back bent, helped the boy up, and walked away carefully.

Emperor Alexander Qian sat for a while before he slowly stood up and walked outside the bed curtain. The imperial Concub!ne knelt deeply on the ground, not daring to say a word, not even daring to look up at the emperor's face, just kneeling there stiffly.

Emperor Alexander Qian stared at her for a while and whispered, "You can go to the cold palace to atone for my sins."

The imperial Concub!ne rushed over and wanted to cry out something, but Emperor Alexander Qian pushed her away and walked out. The attendants behind him hurried over, and the trusted eunuch Zhang Kuo followed closely behind, whispering: "Your Majesty, would you like to summon Prince Nathaniel Shangguan to see you?"

Emperor Alexander Qian suddenly stopped in his tracks. The people behind him were all waiting there, not daring to make a sound or breathe.

In fact, it was already late at night, and the moonlight sprinkled in the courtyard, as if a pool of clear water had accumulated. The sound of the wind passed through the treetops, and the leaves rustled in the endless night, like the whispers of lovers.

Emperor Alexander Qian took a deep breath: "...Call him. I want... to see him."

Nathaniel Shangguan received the secret order while he was in bed. The emperor said he wanted to see him.

Liam Rong, who was delivering the imperial edict, sat on the edge of the bed and said, "Nathaniel Shangguan, I think that having one more Concub!ne in the harem is not as valuable as having one more captain in the secret guards. I have said this much, why don't you understand what I mean?"

Nathaniel Shangguan turned over in a half-awake state and said, "Well, I won't go."

Liam Rong then stood up with satisfaction and walked out of the window to the side courtyard of the Nathaniel Shangguan family. But after walking two steps, he turned back, stuck his head out of the door, and said weakly: "...By the way, Nathaniel Shangguan, you seem to be disobeying the emperor's order by doing this."

Ming pulled the quilt and said lazily, "It was you, Lord Rong, who taught me to disobey your order."

Liam Rong's hair stood on end: "No, no, no! Nathaniel Shangguan! Little Nathaniel Shangguan! You better go! I, your boss, dare not instigate you to disobey the order! I only have one head!"

Nathaniel Shangguan was then dragged up and wrapped in a cotton robe. When he went out, he shivered in the cold wind and woke up immediately. Liam Rong jumped up and rubbed his hands, saying, "It's so cold! It's so cold! Nathaniel Shangguan, why don't you even have a heater in your room?"

Nathaniel Shangguan said: "It's just saving money."

... Liam Rong said: "I don't remember ever owing you salary."

"I don't spend a lot of money," Nathaniel Shangguan said. "Besides, the first wife said that when raising children, you have to be prepared for hunger and cold, so I often feel a little hungry and a little cold."

Liam Rong turned around to look at him. The boy's thin profile was as silent as a rock under the moonlight.

Liam Rong turned back to hurry on his way, and suddenly heard Nathaniel Shangguan ask, "Master Rong."

"What?"

"Are you going to turn to dawn soon?"

"yes."

"So what do you want to do?"

Liam Rong thought for a while and said, "Probably to be a cavalry commander, or something like that... Of course, it's also possible to be sent out to other places. I would rather be sent out to other places, to be a general of Zhennan or something like that. Although it's in the frontier of Yunnan, the emperor is far away and it's much easier to act tyrannically."

Nathaniel Shangguan nodded: "Oh."

"What about you? What are you going to do?"

Nathaniel Shangguan smiled and said, "I want to guard the imperial mausoleum."

Liam Rong almost fell under the tree. Guarding the imperial mausoleum? Staying in the mausoleum, worshipping the Buddha, eating vegetarian food, and never seeing the sun for the rest of your life?

"You, you, you, are you okay? Are you talking nonsense because you have a fever or am I hallucinating because of lack of sleep?"

Nathaniel Shangguan stared at Liam Rong's back for a while, then slowly smiled bitterly, sighed and said: "...I was just kidding."

They walked very fast, and in a short while they had entered the palace from the outer city. The towering gate of Zhengtai Palace was already faintly visible, and in the night, the ferocious animal horns reflected the pale moonlight.

Liam Rong stood at the foot of the palace wall and said, "I will send you here. You can deal with His Majesty on your own."

Most people wouldn't say that at this time. Nathaniel Shangguan knew that was his personality, so he nodded and said, "Goodbye, Lord Rong."

Liam Rong walked back a few steps and when he looked back, Nathaniel Shangguan had already pushed the door open and walked in.

He made almost no sound when he walked. He always walked lightly, as if he was always cautious and afraid of something. In fact, according to his status and favor, no one would say anything no matter how arrogant he was; but he was always like that, as if he never relaxed and calm.

The heavy palace doors opened one by one before his eyes. Nathaniel Shangguan walked into the long bluestone main road. In front of him was the Zhengtai Hall, which was silent and majestic in the night.

He paused slightly and adjusted his breathing.

What did the Queen say to the Imperial Concub!ne? How was the Imperial Concub!ne? Was she successful? What was the effect?   He didn't know any of this.

All he knew was that since the man said he wanted to "see him", that meant that the handsome boy prepared by the imperial Concub!ne was not used, otherwise why would the man summon him in the middle of the night tonight? When would that man not give up after a whole night of torment?

This kind of vulgar and shameless thing to win favor, if you succeed, you succeed, if you don't, it can be regarded as extremely embarrassing. A noble Concub!ne, using the third-rate dirty things to teach the emperor, any emperor with a little self-respect would be furious.

Nathaniel Shangguan took a deep breath, and a fleeting cold smile flashed across his lips.

How stupid! Everyone in the harem is like this. They take the bait as soon as they are tempted, and are so greedy that they don't know how to control their desires.

He adjusted his mood a little and was about to step forward when he suddenly heard a faint sound of wind passing by his ears.

Nathaniel Shangguan's whole body suddenly tensed up. In just one ten-millionth of a second, a dark shadow passed through the night sky above Zhengtai Hall, so fast that it was almost invisible. However, in this split second, Nathaniel Shangguan shot up like an arrow from a string, leaped up in an instant, and pounced fiercely!

Night Fight

The guards of the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace seemed to hear the sound of swords clashing in the night sky. However, the sound was too easy to ignore. When he stared blankly with his mouth open, the night sky had returned to silence, as if nothing had happened just now.

"I'm probably too sleepy..." The guard yawned and returned to his post listlessly.

Nathaniel Shangguan held the ground with a sword and stood sideways on the roof, blocking the way of the three uninvited guests entering the East Palace.

A crescent moon, like a sharp knife, slowly moved to the middle of the sky. The night wind whistled and lifted up my clothes, piercing the wound on my arm, causing bursts of pain. Blood flowed down my arm to my fingertips, making me feel very uncomfortable.

But Nathaniel Shangguan did not move. He could not move. If he moved aside a little, the gate of the East Palace would be open. His whole body was in the most perfect state of preparation for battle. A little pain and blood made his mind clearer.

The three assassins looked at each other, and the leader nodded and smiled: "Brother, you don't look like someone from the palace with this attire. May I ask what your name is?" His voice was hoarse and old, and his accent was stiff, and he didn't sound like someone from the Central Plains.

Nathaniel Shangguan did not answer. Instead, a man who looked like his subordinate behind him whispered, "Black clothes, black robes and silver masks, this is the attire of the Royal Guards. Brother, when did the Royal Guards reach out to the East Palace?"

The leader who spoke first said, "Secret Guard? No wonder... Second brother, do you think this is difficult to deal with?"

The second one chuckled twice: "If he is a secret guard, he is quite capable. Look at this brother, his arm was hit by my 'three-color knife', but does he look uncomfortable at all?"

The leader looked at him intently. The black-clothed secret guard was leaning sideways, with a crescent moon behind half of him and the other half deeply integrated into the endless darkness. He looked like he was carved out of stone, without any hesitation. The leader clapped his hands and smiled, saying in a hoarse voice: "Good! Good! Before we meet the prince, we have to use some tricks to send this secret guard brother off today." After that, he soared into the air with a whoosh, and covered Nathaniel Shangguan like a roc spreading its wings.

When masters fight, life and death are at stake. Light and shadow, position, mind, and vision, even the slightest change can lead to the difference between victory and defeat. Nathaniel Shangguan's position was very particular, three parts in the light, three parts in the dark, and seven parts in the middle of the road. No matter who wants to pass, they have to pass by his side. The leader knew the danger of sneaking into the palace at night, and knew that he had to get rid of the secret guard in front of him as soon as possible, so he made his famous move; the knife in his sleeve flashed, and rushed straight to Nathaniel Shangguan's throat under the mask!

At the same time, his second-in-command had already taken the opportunity to launch an attack. Nathaniel Shangguan glanced and saw the three-colored knife light like a spirit snake, approaching from the side of the leader, and it was clearly intended to form a pincer attack. Judging from the knife force, it had already blocked his way back!

Their cooperation was extremely tacit and fierce. The leader made a hissing sound and laughed, "Good brothers, let's go!"

---However, before he finished speaking, he felt a chill on his wrist. The chill was a slight touch, as light as the frost falling quietly at night, but as heavy as a heavy sword, slashing down on his face.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that the sharp knife in his sleeve was no longer in the original place; his sleeve was empty, and he just glanced down, and his whole body went cold in an instant: his long-famous "knife in the sleeve" was quietly slipping and steadily fell into the hands of the royal secret guard!

This happened in a split second. He had no intention of leaving the secret guard alive, so he rushed at full speed. Now it was too late for him to stop. The tip of the knife was facing him steadily, and he rushed directly to the tip of the knife with a speed that could not be stopped!

The leader's first thought was, how could this secret guard be so quick? His second thought was close to despair: God must have killed me!

---In fact, God did not kill him. At this time, Lao Er's three-color knife had already forced Nathaniel Shangguan's arm, and the tip of the knife had even just pierced the surface of the skin. Nathaniel Shangguan felt pain, and his throat suddenly gasped. He raised his true energy, raised his leg and kicked Lao Er away!

The speed was so fast that the second brother only had time to push away the leader with his palm. He only heard the slight sound of the knife tip sliding inside the body, and then the two men fell out dejectedly, one on the left and the other on the right.

The leader was slapped by the second brother in a panic and thrown three feet away. He finally managed to stabilize his body and hurriedly touched his chest. He felt that his nightgown had been cut by the sword, and his heart was still beating underneath. He lowered his head and opened his wrist. The weapon had been knocked off by someone. There was a deep scratch on his wrist, which went from shallow to deep, and it looked like it was made by a long fingernail.

He was extremely angry because his years of cultivation were broken by a single move. He asked with a sarcastic smile: "How come this secret guard is actually a woman?"

The second man was kicked away by Nathaniel Shangguan and fell straight onto the roof. He felt a sweetness in his chest and a stream of blood spurted out. He didn't have time to answer. At this time, the third person who had not spoken or made a move suddenly said indifferently: "He is not a woman."

After a pause, he continued, "I can roughly guess who he is among the secret guards. He is still young and very fast. In two years, he should be able to achieve great accomplishments. But it doesn't matter. The three of us working together tonight will be enough to kill him here."

Nathaniel Shangguan's shoulder was wounded again, and his chest was boiling. He glanced at the third person when he heard this. The three assassins were all covered with black cloth, and their faces could not be seen. Nathaniel Shangguan was slightly shocked: Who is this person who is so familiar with the internal composition of the secret guards? There must be more than ten people in the world who know his identity. Who is this person?

Zhengtai Hall was shrouded in a thick darkness, with a few rays of moonlight peeking through the thick wall curtains, then feebly fading into the endless night. All the splendor and splendor of the day had fallen silent, and the royal splendor was too cold, and seemed particularly lifeless in the dead of night when no one was around.

Emperor Alexander Qian sat alone at the table, thinking about something. The Tieguanyin tea in his hand had just passed the boiling point and was ready to be drunk.

A pair of eyes flashed on the beam of the hall, staring at the cup of tea. Ordinary people can't see anything clearly at such a height and visibility, but if it is a master who is good at using poison and night attacks, then this little observation effort is not worth mentioning.