Volume 1 Chapter 50: Collision (2)

After a brief silence, Xue Nian let out a sudden, soft laugh. His burning fingertips caught Shen Ran’s cool hand, and with a clean, decisive pull, he used the leverage to stand up. He then walked over to the window and pushed it wide open.

A cold wind poured in like a blade, and a face appeared outside the window.

The man was dressed in a servant's uniform, his face etched with deep anxiety. "Young General, Zhou Mancang has—"

Before he could finish, the man caught sight of Shen Ran standing behind Xue Nian, and his words ground to an abrupt, flustered halt.

He did not recognize Shen Ran.

Because Shen Ran had publicly claimed to be recuperating in the Weiyang Palace, Xue YuanDao had strictly sealed off any news of his arrival at the Grand General's Manor. Throughout the entire estate, only a handful of people knew of this, all of them trusted confidants of Xue YuanDao.

Naturally, the servant standing before them knew nothing of it.

Seeing an unfamiliar face beside Xue Nian, a spark of vigilance arose in his heart.

Xue Nian said, "This young master is one of us. Speak your mind. What has happened to Zhou Mancang?"

The servant naturally harbored no doubts about Xue Nian's words.

He immediately blurted out, "Young General, please help us think of a way! Today is Zhou Mancang's mother's birthday. He took his son to the outskirts of the city, hoping to hunt some game to add to tonight's dinner table, but instead, he ran into a nearby band of outlaws. They captured him and demanded that his family deliver a hundred taels of gold to the woods outside the city within an hour, or else they will feed Zhou Mancang to the mountain tigers!"

"How could Zhou Mancang's family possibly scrape together that much money? Forget a hundred taels of gold, they don't even have a single tael! His mother and his wife have already wept themselves unconscious goodness knows how many times, screaming that they were going to dash their heads against the wall!"

And of all times, it had to be now!

Xue Nian glanced sideways at Shen Ran, who was standing nearby with an ambiguous half-smile, and lowered his voice to the servant. "Alright, I understand. You go on ahead first. I have a few words to speak with this young master in private."

Hearing this, the servant looked at Shen Ran once more. Though filled with a bellyful of doubt as to why the young general was closeted with this man in the ancestral hall in broad daylight, he nonetheless acknowledged the order and withdrew.

Before retreating entirely, he urged Xue Nian once more, "Time is of the essence, Young General, please be quick about it."

The window was closed once more, shutting out the biting wind.

After a moment of silence, Xue Nian spoke. "Your Majesty has spared this subject from punishment, and for that, I offer my thanks. Your Majesty has heard everything just now. Since the hour is still early, perhaps Your Majesty would care to return to the chambers and rest. Since this subject must head out now, I fear I am temporarily unable to keep Your Majesty company."

At these words, the smile on Shen Ran's lips deepened.

He lazily toyed with the curved blade in his hand, the sharp edge spinning back and forth across his fingertips. The slightest carelessness could have sliced his skin. Had Yuanbao been here, he surely would have been scared half to death by such behavior, and even Xue Wu would have looked worried sick and urged him not to play with such dangerous things.

Unfortunately, Xue Nian clearly lacked any such tender awareness.

Though they had grown older over the years, and Shen Ran had ascended to the throne as the supreme Emperor, both were engaged in a mutual presembling act; yet how could the resentment hidden deep within their hearts ever be so easily dispelled?

For many years, Shen Ran had found him an eyesore.

And he found Shen Ran equally insufferable.

An emperor rules the world and holds the power of life and death in his hands, yet the one thing he can never command is the human heart.

Xue YuanDao's notion of unwavering loyalty to the sovereign held no weight here.

He believed only in his own heart.

Shen Ran's calm voice sounded beside his ear: "Still two choices. Either you disregard the consequences and break out of here by force, or you persuade Me to go with you."

Xue Nian reverted to his usual carefree demeanor. The bright, flame-colored collar of his robe draped loosely as he gave a light shrug, leaning casually against the windowsill. "This subject merely holds an idle post in the Imperial Guard nowadays, passing every day doing nothing but drinking and gambling with others until I'm practically rotting away from idleness. Since Your Majesty handles ten thousand state affairs every day, why must you insist on making things difficult for this subject?"

"Even if I died ten thousand deaths, this subject would never dare raise a hand against Your Majesty."

"As for going out together with Your Majesty..."

Xue Nian said lightly, "You saw it with your own eyes, Your Majesty. After drinking a round of wine with you yesterday, kneeling in the ancestral hall today made my knees ache. If this subject were to actually drag you along outside today, I fear I wouldn't even be able to keep the skin on my back. If Your Majesty truly does not wish for this subject to live out my days in peace, then might as well grant me a swift death with a single blade. That way, I can preserve my reputation for loyalty to the monarch, and you can even erect a memorial archway for me. When I am down in the nine springs of the underworld, I shall still smile and kowtow in gratitude for Your Majesty's boundless imperial grace."

"Splendid. Truly worthy of a talent well-versed in both civil and martial arts."

"Not only are your martial skills formidable, but this tongue of yours is utterly merciless. It brings sorrow to those who hear it, and tears to those who see it."

Clearly, every single word was filled with reverence and submission, and even his attitude was not particularly arrogant; yet Shen Ran could distinctly perceive that unbreakable, unbendable spine of rebellious thorns hidden beneath the surface.

And even more, he could sense the deliberate alienation masked beneath that respectful facade.

After saying all this, it boiled down to a single core desire: he wanted nothing whatsoever to do with him.

There was a look of amusement mixed with a sigh in Shen Ran's expression. "Are Ziqi's words truly from the heart?"

Xue Nian answered with absolute finality, "This subject dares swear to the heavens: if there is even half a falsehood in my words, may I die a wretched death."

Shen Ran let out a sudden, soft laugh.

Had anyone else sworn such an oath, he might have believed it by a few fractions.

Yet in their past life, even when Xue Nian knew the situation was fraught with mortal peril, he had still dared to break into Shengjing alone and rush to the frontier borders. Wasn't that because he had already resigned himself to a destined death, resolved to return only wrapped in horsehide? A man like that—what could he possibly fear about dying a wretched death?