Nathaniel and the Emperor's Secret Chapter 8

Zhang Kuo immediately fell silent and stood aside with his hands hanging.

When Nathaniel Shangguan Shilang saw that everyone had stood up, he ran forward, his old face smiling like a flower, and hurriedly called out: "Your Highness! I haven't seen you in court for a long time, and I really miss you. It's a pity that I am busy with official duties, otherwise I would definitely visit you at your residence... How is your health? Did you get scared on the way? Hurry up and have someone come! Set up a banquet!"

Dongyang Wangzhi smiled smugly as he was escorted to the first seat at the banquet. Zhang's beautiful daughter Nathaniel Shangguan Han was waiting shyly at the side, offering her 18-year-old daughter's red wine with infinite charm. Julian Jin smiled slightly when he saw the wine. When a girl is born, her parents will bury a jar of daughter's red wine in the ground, and then dig it out and drink it as wedding wine when the girl gets married. It can be said to be the most important wine in a woman's life.

He had drunk Princess Dongyang's daughter's red wine at his wedding, and several Concub!nes' had also drunk it. As for this fourth-rank official's daughter's red wine, it was quite new.

The King of Dongyang took the wine glass as if he hadn't noticed anything and stuffed it straight into Nathaniel Shangguan's hand. Then he poured himself a glass of wine from the table, raised it up and said with a hearty smile: "Mr. Nathaniel Shangguan, I'm very close to you and you helped me a lot. This glass of wine is for you today!"

Zhang and Nathaniel Shangguan Han's faces turned pale in an instant, and even Nathaniel Shangguan Shilang began to stagger: "Your Majesty, this..."

Julian Jin raised his glass and saluted from a distance: "Then I'll drink first as a token of my respect!" Then he raised his head and drank the glass of wine he had poured, looking at Ming De with a smile.

Nathaniel Shangguan stared at the wine glass for a while, then slowly placed it on the table and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."

King Dongyang pretended to be surprised and asked: "What's wrong with Nathaniel Shangguan? Don't you want to give me face?"

Nathaniel Shangguan said calmly: "I never drink."

Nathaniel Shangguan Shilang rushed forward and said, "You B@st@ard! How can you speak to the prince like that---"

"Hey, Minister, please don't be like this," Prince Dongyang waved his hand to interrupt the indignant Minister Nathaniel Shangguan, and said with a smile: "Nathaniel Shangguan must not be used to such soft wine, never mind, I will accompany you to drink the best Shaodaozi! This is the wine that northern men drink!"

After saying that, he waved his hand and ordered two large jars of strong liquor to be prepared. He poured a full bowl on his own initiative and forced it into Nathaniel Shangguan's hand. Nathaniel Shangguan's face looked slightly ugly, but there was still a smile in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows. He asked softly: "Why is your face so rosy and as happy as spring breeze before you even drink the wine?"

Julian Jin instinctively raised his hand to touch his face, and touched the place where half of his face was red from the slap just now.

Nathaniel Shangguan was waiting for the prince to lose his temper with great interest, but unexpectedly, the prince was very thick-skinned and smiled nonchalantly: "When the prince saw Nathaniel Shangguan, he was unconsciously filled with joy!"

These words were extremely disgusting. Nathaniel Shangguan suddenly closed his eyes, then raised his head and drank the wine clean without leaving a drop.

Prince Dongyang was the first to applaud and said, "Good! Young master has a big appetite!" Then he tilted his head back and drank his own bowl in one gulp.

Nathaniel Shangguan Shilang was so happy that he didn't know where to go. He was a dignified official of the imperial court. He ran over and grabbed the wine pot from the waiter and poured another bowl. Julian Jin laughed loudly, forcibly pulling Nathaniel Shangguan's hand, and took the lead in drinking it all: "Good! Good! My dynasty has outstanding young heroes, and I believe they can rely on you for thousands of generations!"

Nathaniel Shangguan is not completely incapable of drinking, but he drinks little. After a bowl of Shaodaozi, his temples are already throbbing. If you put down the bowl and don't drink it, the prince has already said: This wine is for my dynasty to last for thousands of years! If you don't drink this wine, what's your intention?

Nathaniel Shangguan gritted his teeth, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, then dropped the bowl and said, "Your Highness, please excuse me."

After saying that, he turned around and left. Unexpectedly, the King of Dongyang was so thick-skinned that no one could match him. He stepped forward, grabbed him, and dragged him back: "Hey, everyone is drinking happily, Nathaniel Shangguan, why are you leaving? If you leave, you are not giving me face! Someone, bring some wine!"

Zhang Kuo looked at Nathaniel Shangguan's expression and felt that this was not appropriate, so he stepped forward and whispered: "Your Majesty, this..."

King Dongyang waved his hand and said, "In ancient times, people swore an oath by gnawing blood, and they had to drink three bowls of wine. Nathaniel Shangguan drinking two bowls is nothing. Come on, come on, you must drink this cup to the full today!"

Nathaniel Shangguan staggered a step as he was pulled by him, and whispered: "I don't want to form an alliance with the prince."

The King of Dongyang smiled and said in a low and strange voice, "Nathaniel Shangguan, would you rather be content to be inferior to others and use your looks to rise to a higher position than to follow the example of Duke Zheng Wei Zheng and become a meritorious official who founded the country?"

Nathaniel Shangguan was drunk and a little out of breath, but when he heard him speak like this, he suddenly felt that the low and hoarse voice was inexplicably familiar.

Who can tell the difference between fish and dragon?

The banquet lasted until late at night. Nathaniel Shangguan was extremely excited and got drunk. Although Zhang and her daughter Nathaniel Shangguan Han were disappointed, they had to force themselves to serve.

Nathaniel Shangguan wanted to leave a long time ago, but he was too drunk to walk, and the King of Dongyang forced him to drink a few more cups. It is said that the more you look at a beautiful woman under the lamp, the more attractive she becomes. Nathaniel Shangguan's eyebrows and eyes were originally gorgeous, and when she was drunk, her eyebrows and eyes were full of spring. Dongyang King Julian Jin was also a little drunk. He took Nathaniel Shangguan's hand and asked with a smile: "Nathaniel Shangguan, do you have a sister? If you do, let me have her. Although I have two Concub!nes, I will definitely not treat your sister badly..."

Nathaniel Shangguan Han's eyes lit up, but Nathaniel Shangguan pulled his hand back and said, "I am the youngest son in the family."

She froze immediately, gradually becoming angry and almost unable to control herself. Zhang also became anxious and quickly glanced at the master.

Nathaniel Shangguan Shilang stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I do have an older daughter..."

Nathaniel Shangguan Han ignored the modesty of a young lady from an official family and hurriedly came forward with her skirt lifted to bow. Julian Jin, in a drunken state, glanced at her and laughed: "Nathaniel Shangguan, is this your sister?"

Nathaniel Shangguan said: "Yes."

"How come it doesn't look like you at all?"

Nathaniel Shangguan looked up at the girl. The arrogant and spoiled young lady had greed and desire on her beautiful face. Her mother stood not far behind her, looking anxiously, her usual harsh mouth opening and closing, as if she was giving instructions to the servants.

Nathaniel Shangguan lowered his long eyelashes, smiled slightly, and whispered: "If my sister can serve the prince, it would be the same as me serving him."

He spoke in a low voice, and only two people heard him. One was the Prince of Dongyang, who sobered up immediately, and the other was Zhang Kuo, the eunuch who was close to the emperor. He knelt down without saying a word and kowtowed heavily.

"Oh, Eunuch Zhang," Nathaniel Shangguan hurriedly helped him up, "what are you doing?"

Zhang Kuo said, "I would like to ask the prince for a favor on behalf of Master Nathaniel Shangguan."

Julian Jin was very surprised at this time, but in his surprise, he also had a bit of the smugness of a man. It's like a beauty takes the initiative to chat with you, although you know that the beauty is already someone else's, but you still can't help but feel proud and satisfied. Nathaniel Shangguan is very good-looking, this is something that King Dongyang has seen at the door of the emperor's bedroom; such a good-looking person says a few ambiguous words to you, even if he has no good intentions, it is enough to make you intoxicated for a while.

Prince Dongyang was immersed in this kind of intoxication and complacency. When he heard Zhang Kuo's words, his face turned cold: "What do you want from me, Eunuch Zhang?"

Zhang Kuo leaned forward and said, "Your Majesty, I beg you: It's late at night and the dew is heavy. Master Nathaniel Shangguan is weak and cold. Please send him back to rest!"

Just as the Prince of Dongyang was about to say something, Zhang Kuo added calmly, "If the Emperor summons you to the palace in the middle of the night, and if something goes wrong and you can't get in, whose fault is that?"

Dongyang King Julian Jin suddenly felt a chill running up his spine.

He knew that his brother doted on Nathaniel Shangguan, doting on her to the point that he wanted to build a nine-story palace to lock up the beauty. No emperor would tolerate his locked-up beauty casting her eyes on a man outside the palace, even if it was just an insignificant glance.

More importantly, Nathaniel Shangguan would not be the unlucky one. How could he put himself in such a dangerous situation?

Julian Jin suddenly woke up and immediately smiled: "In this case, Nathaniel Shangguan, you should go to rest. I am also a little tired. It's time to go back home."

Nathaniel Shangguan pursed his lips and smiled. In the bright lights, that little smile seemed to be stained with poison, which was really a sharp knife scraping the bone: "---In this case, I will take my leave."

In Julian Jin's eyes, there was actually some regret in that smile.

Prince Julian Jin of Dongyang did not leave immediately because Minister Nathaniel Shangguan kept him so the dinner was delayed for a while.

Nathaniel Shangguan lay on the couch in his small courtyard. It was cold in winter and the thin cotton wool was not enough to keep him warm, so he did not fall asleep immediately. There was always a vague feeling in his heart that something was wrong, as if something important had been forgotten.

Prince Dongyang Li Julian Jin... originally a person who could have ascended to the throne, but was robbed by Crown Prince Li Ji...

He made an alliance by biting blood, raised an army to found a country... It turns out that after so many years, he is still coveting the throne?

---Nathaniel Shangguan, would you rather be content to be inferior to others and use your looks to gain power than to follow the example of Wei Zheng, Duke of Zheng, and become a meritorious official in founding the country?

Nathaniel Shangguan smiled coldly without saying a word. Emperor Alexander Qian was not a good-for-nothing, but he was still a holy ruler. What about you, Li Julian Jin? You are just a profiteer!

He turned over and prepared to fall asleep, when suddenly a flash of light seemed to flash through his mind. Dongyang Wang Julian Jin's voice was deliberately low and cautious, just like that night...

Among the three Xiwan assassins who assassinated the prince that night, the third one revealed his identity as a secret guard and then escaped!

Nathaniel Shangguan got out of bed suddenly, and rushed out the door wearing only his underwear. Unexpectedly, Zhang had just finished the dinner and was coming to the door in anger to settle the score with him. As soon as the door opened, the two of them bumped into each other.

The servants around Zhang rushed forward: "Madam!" "Why don't you call the doctor?" "Is there no law?"...

Zhang threw a tantrum and cried as she grabbed Nathaniel Shangguan: "You damn B@st@ard, just like your B!tch's mother, you dared to kill someone! What are you all doing watching? Take him down and lock him up, and call me master!"

Nathaniel Shangguan Shilang was bowing and nodding at the gate to see off Prince Dongyang. After listening to the servant's report, he nodded and whispered, "Lock him up first."

The servant left quickly. Julian Jin probably guessed what was going on, but he didn't show any emotion on his face. He just got into the car with his head held high. His personal steward served him tea and was about to leave when he heard Julian Jin ask, "What did Nathaniel Shangguan do to deserve the family punishment?"

The steward nodded and said, "I have inquired and heard that it was because he offended Madam Zhang."

Julian Jin nodded and said after a while: "You said, my brother dotes on him so much, how can he tolerate others stepping on him and bullying him?"

The steward smiled and said, "How would I know? If you say something like usurping the throne, the emperor might just want to teach Master Nathaniel Shangguan a lesson about his temper."

Julian Jin closed his eyes to rest. No one knew what he was thinking. They only saw a sneer on his face through the mist of tea.

"...Teach him a lesson?" Julian Jin thought it was very funny. "---That's not the case. The emperor never thought of that at all...A flower blooms beautifully when people appreciate it. Who cares how it blooms when no one is looking at it?"

_

Prince Julian Jin of Dongyang drank too much and had just fallen asleep in the middle of the night with his Concub!ne in his arms when suddenly an imperial edict broke through the palace door, threateningly "inviting" the prince to come to the palace to meet the emperor.

Julian Jin was shocked. He just went to enjoy the Nathaniel Shangguan family's evening banquet. Could it be that the emperor knew everything so quickly?

He hurriedly crawled out of the warm bed and went to the palace overnight. The emperor was sitting in the Ripple Palace. There was only a yellow pear wood coffee table in front of the inner room, and a nine-curve linked lotus lantern beside it. A few beauties wearing pearls and jade were hiding behind the curtains serving him, but no laughter could be heard.

When Julian Jin saw this, he immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty summoned me tonight, why?"

Emperor Alexander Qian put down the small teacup of Yuguotianqing and said with a smile: "I heard that my brother intends to marry Nathaniel Shangguan's sister, is that true?"

Julian Jin hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "I already have a princess, Concub!nes, and several maids..."

Emperor Alexander Qian immediately asked: "Nathaniel Shangguan is extremely beautiful, and his sister must be no less beautiful. Why is it that she is not pleasing to my brother?"

What that means is simply: You think my little Nathaniel Shangguan is not good-looking, right?

Julian Jin said repeatedly: "I dare not! I dare not! Miss Nathaniel Shangguan is bright and beautiful, and has a kind temperament. I am very lucky to have her!"

Emperor Alexander Qian said "Oh", and before Julian Jin's tense nerves could relax, he slowly asked: "Does his sister look like Nathaniel Shangguan?"

Dongyang Wang Julian Jin's sweat immediately fell. Zhang Kuo was standing beside Emperor Alexander Qian. He coughed and whispered something to the emperor. After a while, Emperor Alexander Qian asked with a smile: "I heard that my brother drank a lot. Is that true?"

Julian Jin was a smart man, and he immediately followed Zhang Kuo's instructions on how to survive: "Yes, yes, I was greedy for wine and drank too much, so I don't have a clear impression of Miss Nathaniel Shangguan..."

He was just thinking about thanking Eunuch Zhang after he got out, but the emperor stood up, came over with a smile on his face, and helped him up, saying loudly: "That's right, wine doesn't make people drunk, but people make people drunk!"

Julian Jin broke free from his brother's hand and fell to his knees, "Your Majesty, spare my life!"

"What should I forgive you for?"

"I know I was wrong!"

"What mistake did my brother make?"

Sweat dripped down Julian Jin's face. The emperor's jealousy was too subtle.

Emperor Alexander Qian looked at him for a while, without saying anything, and slowly walked back to the first seat with a smile, sitting on the couch very comfortably and leisurely. Julian Jin knelt with his head down, and after a long while he heard him ask indifferently: "Since you are going to the banquet, tell me about the new and interesting things. I am so bored and depressed staying in the palace all day."

Julian Jin wiped his sweat, thinking quickly about what the emperor meant by this, and what the implication was. He smiled stiffly while thinking, "I only met Nathaniel Shangguan and his wife, but not the others... It's strange to say, I never knew that the Nathaniel Shangguan family had such strict education before."

He briefly told the emperor about Nathaniel Shangguan being put in solitary confinement before leaving. He thought the emperor would be very interested, but Emperor Alexander Qian interrupted him calmly: "I already knew this."

You knew it long ago? You knew it long ago, but you still tolerated others climbing over your sweetheart's head and bullying him?

Julian Jin was quite confused and could only kowtow: "Your Majesty is indeed very perceptive."

Emperor Alexander Qian laughed: "My brother and I are not close. If you spend more time with me, you will understand. I always know a lot of things."

Julian Jin was horrified, but pretended to be terrified: "Your Majesty is right, I was too reckless tonight."

Emperor Alexander Qian waved his hand and said, "My brother has drunk too much. I'm afraid he is not in good spirits. Go back and rest."

In front of Chu Fei Hall

Nathaniel Shangguan was either reading or locked up at home, but Emperor Alexander Qian could not help but not summon him. It was not until the beginning of spring, when the Spring Examination was approaching, that the chief examiner Maxwell Ding reported the list of candidates to the Imperial Study Room. Emperor Alexander Qian saw the words Nathaniel Shangguan on it.

Emperor Alexander Qian stroked the four characters with his fingers, his face expressionless. After a while, he said, "Thank you for your hard work, my dear minister. After you have reviewed the papers, please send the papers of the top three Jinshi candidates to me for a look."

It was not uncommon for the emperor to personally review the papers, but it was unprecedented for him to review so many papers at once. Maxwell Ding asked hurriedly, "Your Majesty, will you review all of them, or will I select the best papers and send them to your Majesty for your review?"

Emperor Alexander Qian asked in return: "Shouldn't I personally review the talents of future leaders of our dynasty?"

Maxwell Ding quickly knelt on the ground: "I obey your order!"

Zhang Kuo stood silently and waited on the side. After a while, when he saw Maxwell Ding leave, he winked at the palace maid. The palace maid hurriedly brought a bowl of ginseng soup. Zhang Kuo took it and carefully handed it to the desk, saying: "Your Majesty."

Emperor Alexander Qian suddenly came back to his senses: "Hmm?"

As Zhang Kuo poured the ginseng soup, he asked, "Which empress's name do you want to turn over tonight?"

Emperor Alexander Qian looked at the jade document in front of him. This emperor in his prime did not have many Concub!nes in his harem, with only about twenty people at most; later, Empress Mingrui died, the Imperial Concub!ne died, and Concub!ne Xia died; the four Concub!nes were not fully appointed to begin with, and some left for some reason, so there were only more than ten now.

Among these more than ten people, there were some who were of low status, unfavored, and neglected. In fact, the only ones who really slept with him regularly were only one or two occasionally.

"Zhang Kuo," Emperor Alexander Qian pondered for a while and actually laughed: "What do you think would happen to the child if I were to select a Concub!ne in front of Nathaniel Shangguan?"

Zhang Kuo leaned forward respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, Master Nathaniel Shangguan's martial arts skills are improving day by day, so Your Majesty should not take any risks."

Emperor Alexander Qian laughed out loud: "Zhang Kuo, you know that little guy very well... Yes, he is so protective of the queen, he is a rare filial son since ancient times."

The emperor stood up and said, "Well, let's go see what the queen is doing!"

Since she was confined to her room last time, the queen has set up a Jing'an Hall in the Winter Warm Pavilion, chanting sutras and reciting Buddhist scriptures every day, saying that she is begging for peace for the dynasty. The discord between Emperor Alexander Qian and the queen is almost a secret known to the entire court. The queen has no children, no strong support from her family, and is no longer young and beautiful. She has been confined to her room several times, and everyone thinks that her position as queen is no longer stable. But strangely, no matter how lonely she is as queen, she continues to sit in this position without any sign of moving.

Those who didn't know would think that the emperor and the empress were deeply in love, while those who knew would think that the emperor's harem was not rich and he hadn't found a beautiful woman he liked, so he tried his best to send his daughters to the palace. Some time ago, it happened that Nathaniel Shangguan was in seclusion to study, and the family of the deceased Concub!ne Ding sent a little illegitimate daughter, who was very charming and was soon named Zhaorong. When Emperor Alexander Qian arrived at the door of the Empress' Jing'an Hall, he heard the young and flamboyant laughter of Ding Zhaorong coming from inside: "What gift did the Empress prepare for the emperor's birthday? What is this, is it a handwritten Prajnaparamita Sutra? This is the first time I have seen a handwritten sutra, can the Empress show it to me?"

Just as the young eunuch at the door was about to announce it aloud, Emperor Alexander Qian waved his hand and stood at the door listening with interest.

Only through the exquisite Phoenix glazed moon door, the Queen's voice was heard in a steady and calm manner: "It's rare for a young girl to be interested in this thing. If you want to see it, take it."

Ding Zhaoyi happily took it and flipped through it in her hands, praising it as she flipped through it: "The Queen's handwriting is really beautiful. My sister can also write in small regular script, but it is far from being as good as the Queen's. The Emperor will definitely like such a thoughtful gift."

The queen smiled and said, "How can one pass the time in this deep palace? It's nothing more than writing and painting to kill time. If you have nothing to do, you can practice a little, and you will get good at it slowly."

Ding Zhaorong covered her mouth and laughed, "Oh, don't worry about the queen laughing at me, where do I have the time to practice meditation? The emperor comes every day, and I don't even have a moment to relax. Yesterday, envoys from various countries came to see me, and I thought I could take a day off, but I was summoned by the emperor to attend the banquet..."

The queen frowned and wanted to say something, but seeing her innocent look, she couldn't continue.

Ding Zhaoyi was sharp-eyed. When she saw the queen frowning, she immediately stood up in panic and asked, "What's wrong with the queen? Are you feeling unwell? Do you want to call the imperial physician?"

Emperor Alexander Qian winked at Zhang Kuo, who immediately shouted, "The Emperor has arrived---"

Bright yellow ceremonial guards stood on both sides of the Phoenix Gate. Emperor Alexander Qian strode into the palace. Neither the Empress nor Ding Zhaorong expected that he would suddenly fall from the sky, and they were stunned at the time.

Ding Zhaorong immediately knelt down and rushed forward with tears in her eyes: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, this is bad! I didn't know where I slipped my tongue and made the Empress sick!"

The queen stood up with a solemn expression: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

Emperor Alexander Qian waved his hand nonchalantly to signal the empress to sit down, then personally helped up the crying Ding Zhaorong, and said gently: "The empress is the mother of a country, and she is very tolerant. How could she be angry because of an unintentional remark or two?"

He looked up at the Queen: "Isn't it?"

The queen clenched her teeth and forced out the word "yes".

"That's good," Emperor Alexander Qian helped Ding Zhaorong sit in the chair and asked with great interest, "What did Zhaorong come to talk to the Queen about?"

Ding Zhaorong smiled shyly: "I see that the handwriting of the Empress's handwritten scriptures is really good. I feel ashamed of myself for not being as good as her."

"Is that so?" Emperor Alexander Qian took the scripture, flipped through two pages and put it down: "The Queen should take care of the harem and personnel affairs instead of spending time believing in gods and ghosts. Gods and ghosts are originally believed by superstitious and pedantic people. You are the mother of a country, why do you also believe in these things?"

The queen was almost embarrassed by what she said, and could only whisper: "I will remember this."