Nathaniel and the Emperor's Secret Chapter 4

Emperor Alexander Qian seemed to be unaware of what was happening, and took a sip of the tea. But after a while, he tilted his head and seemed to have lost consciousness.

The shadow jumped down from the beam and sneered, "The emperor of the Celestial Empire is only capable of this little bit. No wonder they sent three people to kill the prince. I alone am enough to kill the emperor."

As he was about to go forward to check, he got closer and just stretched out his hand, he was suddenly shocked: the emperor under him was obviously still alive!

Before he had recovered from the shock, his hand was grabbed. The man struggled to get away, and in that split second, a bowl of tea was thrown at him. In an instant, he thought to himself, it's over, it's over.

The tea was exactly the Tieguanyin tea that he had poisoned. The poison was so strong that if anyone came into contact with it, their skin would fester and even rot all the way to their bones. There was absolutely no way that they would survive.

Emperor Alexander Qian saw the assassin in front of him fall to the ground with a bang, then he snorted coldly, stood up and walked away: "You dare to call yourself an assassin with such a small move, is there no talent in Xiwan Kingdom?"

He shouted: "Someone come!"

Zhang Kuo hurried in from outside the palace, lit a lamp, and saw the body on the ground, but he was not surprised at all: "What do you want, Your Majesty?"

Emperor Alexander Qian waved his hand and said, "Drag him out for burial."

Zhang Kuo bowed and said, "Yes." Then he asked, "Your Majesty, from what this person said, the situation over there must be very dangerous. Should we send someone to help?"

Emperor Alexander Qian remained silent for a long time. The candlelight flickered on his face, and his expression was a little distorted under the light and shadow. After a long while, he finally said: "...I have long intended to depose the crown prince..."

Zhang Kuo's face changed slightly.

"The prince is indecisive and womanly, and has no talent for governing a country. If he ascends the throne in the future, it will not be a blessing for the country. Unfortunately, the prince has Nathaniel Shangguan and is determined to protect him, so I have been unable to depose him."

Zhang Kuo said: "I dare to ask your majesty for your advice?"

Emperor Alexander Qian said: "As a father, I cannot bear to kill my son myself, so I will let someone else do it for me."

If the prince is deposed, he will be imprisoned in the clan house; if the prince dies at the hands of an assassin, at least he can be brought to the ancestral mausoleum in glory.

Zhang Kuo bowed deeply: "The Lord is truly merciful!"

_

It was late at night, but the prince had not yet fallen asleep. He just sat on the edge of the bed, holding a copy of the Great Induction Chapter, and reading it like an idiot: "If you want to become a celestial being, you should do 1,300 good deeds. If you want to become an earthly being, you should do 300 good deeds..."

The Grand Palace (a female official title) in a goose-yellow palace dress served tea and whispered, "Your Highness, please have a rest early."

The prince turned a deaf ear to him. The Grand Palace endured it and said loudly: "Your Highness! The war on the front line has not yet ended, and there are undercurrents in the court. His Majesty has already decided to depose you! How can you still be calm and watch the way of cultivating immortals?"

The prince was stunned for a moment, put down the book, and sighed: "Azui, you know what's the point of being a prince? If it were possible, I would have... would have..."

The Grand Palace Palace put down the teacup heavily and said sternly: "Your Highness, what are you talking about! Can you be the Crown Prince whenever you want or not? Your Highness, how can you face the Queen and Lord Nathaniel Shangguan!"

The prince was speechless and could only close the book and drink tea with a sigh. Who knew that there was a sudden sound of metal clashing outside, followed by a scream, which frightened the prince so much that his hands trembled: "Ah! What's wrong? What happened?"

The Grand Palace's eyelids jumped, but she was much more courageous than this weak and incompetent prince. She immediately held the prince down and said, "Your Highness, please calm down." Then she shouted in a stern voice, "Come here! Protect the prince!"

The guards burst in and surrounded them: "What's wrong with the lady of the palace?"

Before he finished speaking, there was another sound of swords clashing outside. The guards suddenly drew their swords, but before they could rush out, they heard a cry of pain, and then a man broke through the door and flew straight into the hall.

The man flew in strangely, he didn't come in by himself, but was kicked in the chest. Then a royal guard in black clothes and silver mask jumped down, his whole body was covered in blood, but he moved fiercely, and only stabbed the chest with a short dagger to kill the previous man.

The prince was so frightened that he screamed, "Ah! Kill, kill!"

The Grand Palace covered the prince's mouth with her hand, but it was too late. Another assassin rushed in from the entrance of the hall and stabbed the prince.

The imperial guards rushed forward with a clatter, but the assassin jumped out of the encirclement and rushed over from mid-air. The royal guard looked up and, regardless of his serious injuries, immediately ran towards here. He was so fast that he reached out and grabbed the assassin's blade in a hurry. The assassin saw that the situation was not good, so he didn't want to fight anymore. He pulled out his knife and turned around to escape.

The Grand Palace shouted: "Chase!"

The guards were chasing after him, and the royal secret guard gasped. His palm was hit by the blade, and the wound was so severe that it almost exposed the bone. In addition, his whole body was badly injured, and it seemed that he could not stand.

The prince was brave at this time. He rushed forward to support the secret guard and asked in surprise: "Nathaniel Shangguan! Nathaniel Shangguan, are you okay?"

Nathaniel Shangguan raised his eyes and cursed: "Your Highness, why are you still staying here? Get out of here!"

The prince hesitated: "But Nathaniel Shangguan, you must see the imperial physician. I will summon the imperial physician for you. Quickly, quickly ask someone to invite the queen mother..."

Nathaniel Shangguan raised his hand and slapped him: "Do you want to make this known to everyone?"

The Grand Palace dragged and dragged: "Your Highness! Your Highness, please go! Quickly!"

At this moment, Zhang Kuo's shrill voice came from outside the door: "The Emperor---Here---!"

The palace gates opened, the palace lanterns lit up, and everyone was stunned. The emperor's bright yellow palanquin was close before their eyes, and everyone knelt on the ground. It was not until the bright yellow dragon-embroidered soft boots stepped on the red carpet of the East Palace that they heard the cold voice of Emperor Alexander Qian: "What's going on in this chaotic situation? Prince, do you want to rebel?"

The prince was so frightened that his voice trembled: "Reply, reply to your Majesty, your son, your son..."

Emperor Alexander Qian interrupted impatiently: "Grand Palace!"

The Grand Palace Concub!ne immediately stepped out, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, there was an assassin in the East Palace. Fortunately, the secret guards came to protect the emperor and have killed the assassin."

The hall fell into an anxious silence. After a while, Emperor Alexander Qian asked softly, "Where is the assassin? Why can't I see him?"

The Grand Palace Lady was shocked. Not only her, but even Nathaniel Shangguan froze in place for a moment.

The assassin's body was on the floor of the East Palace lobby, but the emperor denied it?

"Prince," Emperor Alexander Qian said word by word, "it's getting late, you should go to bed."

The prince knelt tremblingly before the emperor and slowly retreated surrounded by the crowd. Nathaniel Shangguan lay on the ground without getting up, staring stiffly at Emperor Alexander Qian.

No wonder when he sent out a distress signal to the secret guards, no one came to support; he originally thought it was because the secret guards would not enter the East Palace territory, but in fact this was not the reason at all!

It’s because of the emperor, because the emperor doesn’t allow people to come to support!

Because the emperor wanted to use the assassin to get rid of the prince and even the queen!

The pain that had been ignored during the fierce battle came back even more severely. He probably lost too much blood, so he felt dizzy from time to time.

Perhaps his expression was too ugly, so Emperor Alexander Qian stepped forward and stretched out his hand to pick him up: "Nathaniel Shangguan..."

"do not come."

Nathaniel Shangguan stood up with the help of the wall and took half a step back.

When he stood up, there was already a small puddle of blood on the ground. Emperor Alexander Qian felt his heart suddenly twitch and shouted sharply: "Call the imperial physician!"

Nathaniel Shangguan interrupted him: "I dare not. I am in good health and dare not trouble the imperial physician."

Emperor Alexander Qian half-knelt in front of him, holding his shoulder with one hand and pressing the knife wound on his left chest with the other hand in vain. His movements were hasty and his fingers were even shaking slightly: "You still call this being fine? You still call this being physically fine?"

"I am fine, Your Majesty, don't worry." Nathaniel Shangguan pushed Alexander Qian away, leaned against the wall, and slowly passed by him, "...Everything is fine in the East Palace tonight. I was on duty in the palace and found nothing unusual...So, I should be 'intact'."

He turned his head and looked at Emperor Alexander Qian, smiling slightly. That smile was indescribably beautiful, indescribably cold, and if you look closely, there was also a bit of hatred that was vented.

"Since Your Majesty has issued an edict saying that everything is fine in the East Palace tonight, then I have no choice but to show Your Majesty that everything is fine, right, Your Majesty?"

He turned around, holding onto the thick and magnificent wall of the East Palace with one hand convulsively, and staggered slightly as he walked down the magnificent Nine Dragon Jade Stairs step by step. His blood-soaked black clothes fluttered in the wind in the night, and he silently disappeared into the darkness.

What is the joy of life

In the early morning, Zhang brought a group of servants and stood by the side yard where Nathaniel Shangguan lived. She asked a servant to knock on the door and shouted, "Brother, you haven't woken up yet? The sun is already high in the sky! Who is as comfortable as you, sitting around and eating free meals every day?"

Zhang, wearing a grey squirrel coat, stood aside and said, "Knock louder and ask someone to invite the master to come and see the good son he gave birth to."

The servant banged on the door even louder when he heard it, until there was a creak from inside, and Nathaniel Shangguan came out in a black robe with a blank expression on his face: "Hello, Madam?"

Zhang looked him up and down and saw that his expression was different from usual. He usually had a faint and sarcastic expression, but today he seemed impatient with her, the first wife. Moreover, he looked pale and had a faint smell on his body. When she smelled it carefully, it was a bit like blood.

Zhang walked around him and said with a sneer, "Look at this young master! It's already daybreak, but he's still hiding and sleeping! Did he sneak out to fool around last night? Look at him!"

She poked Nathaniel Shangguan with one of her red-painted nails. Nathaniel Shangguan's face clearly flashed with disgust, and then he dodged to the side. Zhang thought her self-esteem was damaged, and hurried forward to pull him, saying: "What is this? Why is there such a strong smell of blood? You went out to kill people and rob them!"

Unexpectedly, when she touched his body, it was slippery and greasy, and then she saw blood on her hands. Zhang had never seen such a scene before, and she screamed: "Ah! - You are courting death!"

The servants hurried forward, calling Madam, and hurriedly supported him. Zhang pointed at Nathaniel Shangguan with a trembling finger, repeatedly saying: "You, you, you, you look at me like that! What are you looking at! How dare you eat me? You traitorous B@st@ard! Come, call the master! Call the master!"

Minister Nathaniel Shangguan climbed up from the Concub!ne's bed, already filled with anger. The servant was very scared and said in a trembling voice: "Nathaniel Shangguan brother... brother he... he..."

Nathaniel Shangguan Shilang kicked him and said, "He, he, he, what? A useless, dirty B@st@ard!"

The boy rolled to the ground, got up in a hurry and said, "Brother, he killed someone! Blood! It's all blood!"

Nathaniel Shangguan Shilang's face turned pale with fear, and he hurried to the ancestral hall. Seeing Nathaniel Shangguan's state, he was even more frightened and at a loss. He could only curse: "You are asking for death! You have learned to fight and make trouble! Where are you? Let the family rules be enforced! Today I will teach this rebellious son a lesson!"

The servants, under Zhang's orders, had already brought up the board. Nathaniel Shangguan took it in his hand and tried to hit Nathaniel Shangguan with all his strength, but Nathaniel Shangguan, who usually kept silent, raised his hand and grabbed the board.

Nathaniel Shangguan tried to take it away, but Nathaniel Shangguan's hand was as firm as iron and he didn't move at all. Nathaniel Shangguan's eyes bulged, his face purple with anger: "Rebellious thing! I won't beat you!" Then he raised the stick to beat him again.

Nathaniel Shangguan's face was frozen, he just raised his hand, grabbed the board with a bang, and threw it far away. Nathaniel Shangguan Shilang was almost knocked down by the blow, and when he reacted, he jumped up and slapped his thigh and cursed: "A**h0le! A**h0le! Rebellion! There is no law! Come, take this rebellious son to the confinement room and lock him up, and don't allow him to eat!"

The confinement room was right next to the woodshed, locked with a big lock outside. The bare stone room was even colder in the coldest days of winter. Nathaniel Shangguan quietly nestled in the corner, with a few books thrown in his hand, saying that Nathaniel Shangguan Shilang asked him to read them to prepare for the Spring Examination.

Spring Examination... Haha. Nathaniel Shangguan closed his eyes tiredly and sneered in his heart. If he passed the examination, he could get a position outside the capital and leave this place.

His eyebrows were throbbing with pain, and the wounds on his body were becoming more and more painful. Without medicine, food, or water, for a moment, he even doubted whether he could make it to the day of the spring examination.

What is the joy of life, and why fear death?

This is a sentence he read in a book when he was very young. What is there to be happy about in life? What is there to be afraid of in death? Nothing in the world can last forever, it is just a matter of time.

He once asked the queen: "Life is so painful, why can't I die?"

The queen stared at him blankly, then suddenly knelt down, hugged him, and cursed with sobs: "You useless son! Queen Mingrui went to great lengths to keep you, but you're wasting the life she gave you! If you dare to say such things again, I'll beat you to death!"

Having said that, he held the young Nathaniel Shangguan in his arms, hugging him very tightly.

Her embrace was warm, but she was a woman after all, and a woman's arms were weak no matter how you look at them. Nathaniel Shangguan silently let her embrace him, staring at the nine-phoenix pattern on her queen's bright yellow palace dress, expressionless.

...It's actually just a kind of torment. There is no difference between being alive and being dead. There is no joy or fear.

Nathaniel Shangguan wrapped his robe tightly around him, the coldness of the wall seeping into his bones. Although his body was exhausted to the extreme, he couldn't fall asleep at all. In fact, this stone room couldn't lock him up at all. As long as he wanted, he could leave at any time; but he felt very lazy, as if his bones were rusted, and he would be stiff and unable to move if he moved a little.

It was unknown how long it had been, but when Nathaniel Shangguan was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard a slight movement at the window, followed by Liam Rong's voice: "...Are you asleep? Do you want to eat?"

Nathaniel Shangguan opened his eyes, raised his hand and caught the bun thrown in the air: "Master Rong?"

Liam Rong said, "Eat quickly, and follow me out after you finish eating."

Nathaniel Shangguan thought to himself, I knew this bun was not for nothing. Thinking of this, he took a bite without hesitation and asked, "Did the higher-ups give another order?"

Liam Rong's expression suddenly became very strange, and after a long while he stammered, "It's not the higher-ups, it's the Emperor who asked you to..."

Nathaniel Shangguan said "oh", ate the bun in a few bites, and asked frankly: "Any more? I want more."

Liam Rong threw away all the buns and jumped out of the gate of Nathaniel Shangguan Mansion with Nathaniel Shangguan, but he did not go towards the palace, but went straight to the outer city.

Nathaniel Shangguan walked out of the palace gate without saying a word and asked in a low voice: "Lord Rong, where are we going?"

Liam Rong was a little embarrassed: "You'll know when you get there."

They left the palace and were in the busy Langfang area, where there were fireworks and restaurants everywhere, and people were coming and going. Nathaniel Shangguan followed behind Liam Rong, timidly like a boy brought out by his eldest brother to play. He was good-looking and noble, which made the brave girls in the embroidery building point at him and laugh with their hands covering their mouths.

Nathaniel Shangguan seemed to be gone. In fact, he was in great pain. He was a little exhausted after walking such a long distance. He felt that his blood circulation was a little slow. Fortunately, they arrived at their destination not far away. Liam Rong stopped beside the carriage in front of a restaurant, bowed to the carriage, and whispered: "Sir, I am Liam Rong here."

Nathaniel Shangguan only saw the curtain of the carriage lifted, and Emperor Alexander Qian's face appeared. He had no expression, but said to Nathaniel Shangguan: "Come up."

Nathaniel Shangguan took a half step back and instinctively turned around to leave, but as soon as he turned around, he heard Emperor Alexander Qian ask: "Do you want to disobey the order?"

Nathaniel Shangguan turned around and smiled sarcastically: "I dare not."

Then he strode forward, lifted the curtain with his hand, and stepped into the carriage. His action was originally very cool and neat, but halfway through, Emperor Alexander Qian reached out and hugged him, directly lifted him up and threw him into the carriage, throwing him on the large cushion embroidered with gold on the gray squirrel.

"...Well!"

Nathaniel Shangguan just stood up and bumped into Alexander Qian's arms. This man was much stronger than him. He grabbed the boy's thin shoulders with one hand, held him in his arms and asked with a smile: "What's wrong? Are you hurt? That's impossible. I picked such a thick cushion especially for you."

Nathaniel Shangguan was forced to lean into his arms and said calmly: "I am terrified."

Emperor Alexander Qian was used to seeing his face like this, so he held him down with one hand and took off his clothes with the other. Nathaniel Shangguan struggled violently for a few times, his face slightly terrified. Seeing him like this, Emperor Alexander Qian suppressed his anger and tried to comfort him: "It's okay, let me see how your injury is."

Nathaniel Shangguan couldn't hear clearly, he just saw him suddenly wave his hand, and with a crisp sound, it hit Emperor Alexander Qian's face.

Emperor Alexander Qian was stunned. The slap was not light, and the burning pain spread all the way to the back of his ear. Emperor Alexander Qian was not only an emperor of a prosperous era, but also a very strong and ruthless emperor who had fought on horseback and won in palace fights. When would anyone dare to slap him? How could anyone dare to slap him?

Emperor Alexander Qian's first impulse was to slap him back, but his hand stopped abruptly in the air.

This slap was not just a slap in the face, it could have knocked the child in his arms unconscious.

Emperor Alexander Qian saw Nathaniel Shangguan flinch for a moment, so he slowly put down his hand and tried to speak gently: "...It's okay, I'll just take a look,...Does it hurt? Does it hurt here?"

Nathaniel Shangguan slightly curled up and turned his face away. Emperor Alexander Qian was anxious and wanted to make him look straight at him. But after all, they had been together for two years and he knew this kid very well. This little guy couldn't be scared. Others could be scared and kept quiet, but he would get angry when frightened, and when he got angry, he would jump off the wall and do anything.

Emperor Alexander Qian tried to coax him: "Be good, it's okay... If you don't want me to look, then I won't look... Do you want to apply medicine? Should I apply it for you or do you apply it yourself?"

Perhaps his soothing effect took effect, Nathaniel Shangguan looked at him carefully and said: "...I can do it myself."

He took the white jade bottle of ointment from Emperor Alexander Qian's palm, sat in the farthest corner of the carriage, turned his back to the emperor, and slowly took off his robe, revealing a thin and graceful back from the shoulders down. Although a slanting knife wound passed through his chest, it did not detract from the young man's youthful beauty. The red flesh and blood contrasted with his jade-like complexion. The timid and arrogant look was probably difficult for any normal man to tolerate.

Nathaniel Shangguan was frightened by the gaze behind him that did not hide his desire at all. He hurriedly took the ointment and applied a layer of treatment, then quickly put on his clothes. When he was halfway through putting on his clothes, his hand was grabbed by someone. He only had time to groan in his throat before Alexander Qian rubbed him into his arms, grabbed the back of his head and K!ssed him.

The breaths were entangled, as if they were hunting violently and meticulously, not letting go of any fat and delicious parts of the prey. Nathaniel Shangguan opened his eyes wide, and put one hand on Emperor Alexander Qian's chest. He was pressed down several times. The knife wound on his body tore open, and he felt dizzy with pain. He had only one thought in his mind: This time it won't be so easy to get through.

After the K!ss, Emperor Alexander Qian stared at him for a long time, his eyes full of fine bloodshot, looking quite scary. However, after staring for a long time, he hugged Nathaniel Shangguan's body and rubbed it in his arms, without any more movements.

Nathaniel Shangguan only felt his fingers trembling slightly, and his whole body was stiff and unable to move. The carriage was shaking, and he could clearly feel the hot organ under Emperor Alexander Qian's body erect. This posture was too dangerous, and he had to hang his heart in his throat.

Why fear death?

The former emperor had bestowed upon him a luxurious mansion in the suburbs, but he spent his days at home enjoying his grandchildren, playing with flowers and birds, and spending his days in leisure.

The tranquility was not broken until a gold-painted green-top camphorwood carriage stopped in front of the door. Lao Junmei personally led the whole family to bow at the door and shouted "Long live the emperor" three times: "I obey your order to welcome you!"

Emperor Alexander Qian jumped off the carriage and reached inside to grab something, but the chiffon curtain blocked his view of what was going on inside. Everyone lowered their heads, and after a long while, there was no movement, so some of the brave children secretly raised their eyes to look.

With just a glance, the sharp-eyed saw that Emperor Alexander Qian was firmly pulling a person out of the car with one hand, but the person was making a lot of noise, grabbing Emperor Alexander Qian's hand and pushing him out. The emperor coaxed him in a low voice, but he eventually lost his patience, raised his hand and lifted the person up by the waist, and strode inside.

The old man's face was motionless, staring at the ground steadily. He watched the emperor's bright yellow dragon boots pass by the ground in front of him, and then he heard the eunuch Zhang Kuo say in a sharp voice: "The emperor has ordered, stand up---"

Everyone bowed their heads, then stood up with their heads down: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Alexander Qian was an emperor who was born on horseback, so he didn't care about these empty formalities. He strode into the main hall, threw Nathaniel Shangguan onto the huge throne, and warned him in a low voice: "If you dare to embarrass me in someone else's house, you can try it!"

Nathaniel Shangguan struggled rather awkwardly, and was carried in by Emperor Alexander Qian. His face was flushed, and his eyes were full of water, which made people feel itchy and painful. Emperor Alexander Qian's heart softened, and before he could say anything, he heard Nathaniel Shangguan coldly said: "---I obey your order."