When the carriage returned to Jingdu, it headed directly to the palace rather than taking the path back to the General’s mansion. Xiao Mengsheng sent him directly to the palace gate and then slowly said, “General Cen, His Majesty is waiting for you.”
Cen Yelan had no expression on his face: “Thank you, Commander Xiao, please send Master Su back to the General’s Mansion.”
Xiao Mengsheng smiled and said, “Alright, goodbye.”
After that, he pulled the reins and said, ‘Let’s go’, and the group left.
Someone had been waiting outside the palace gate. It was Cheng Huai. As soon as Cen Yelan got off the carriage, he came to greet him with an umbrella.
The two walked towards the palace one after the other in silence. The dome was covered with dark clouds, and the slanting rain splashed on the majestic palace. It looked like a lurking beast, which was terrifying.
Cen Yelan suddenly asked Cheng Huai, “Why do you want to return to the palace?”
Cheng Huai was holding the umbrella. He was young, and if one looked closely, he still looked a little immature, but he was wearing the front eunuch robes. After Yuan Zheng ascended the throne, the palace and the court were all cleansed. A young eunuch who had escaped death that day suddenly became a popular chief eunuch in front of the emperor.
Cheng Huai said, “I am an orphan. I grew up in this palace with my master since I can remember. The palace is my home.”
Cen Yelan tilted his head to look at Cheng Huai and said, “You have made great achievements. The world is so vast, you can go anyplace you want to even if you don’t return to the palace.”
Cheng Huai simply said, “I like staying in the palace.”
Cen Yelan chewed on the word ‘like’ in his words and suddenly heard Cheng Huai say, “General Cen, Cheng Huai will definitely repay your help in Rongxiang Fang one day.”
Cen Yelan came back to his senses, only to see Cheng Huai had raised his hands to salute him. The two of them were standing outside the imperial study. There was a loud thunderclap, and Cheng Huai said, “General, His Majesty said that when the General arrives, the General should go in directly.”
Cen Yelan said, “Thank you.”
After saying that, he looked at the wide-open door of the imperial study, exhaled deeply, and walked inside.
In the imperial study, Li Anyu was reporting the case of Yuan Heng to Yuan Zheng.
This matter involves Yuan Heng and Yuan Cheng and has far-reaching implications. It is not easy to get to the bottom of it.
Cen Yelan stood quietly a few steps away, listening in silence. The more he listened, the tighter his brows furrowed. He raised his head inconspicuously and met Yuan Zheng’s gaze.
Yuan Zheng has been looking at him.
Yuan Zheng sat high on the dragon throne, carelessly holding a memorial in his hand, stroking it slowly with his thumb. It was hard to tell if he was happy or angry, but his eyes were fixed on Cen Yelan.
Cen Yelan’s heart trembled, and he lowered his eyes. Somehow, he felt a little panic. Suddenly, he remembered that Yuan Zheng had ascended the throne and become the real monarch.
After a while, Li Anyu left, leaving only Yuan Zheng and Cen Yelan in the huge imperial study. Neither of them spoke, the atmosphere was oppressive and dull, and suddenly Yuan Zheng tapped the memorial on his palm, making a light sound, and said lightly, “Cen Yelan, don’t you have anything to say?”
Cen Yelan lifted his robe and knelt on the ground, saying, “The minister has nothing to say.”
“Nothing to say?” Yuan Zheng repeated and actually smiled, saying, “If Aiqing[mfn]Beloved minister, a term used by the emperor to his minister[/mfn] wanted to leave the capital, why don’t you say goodbye to Zhen in person, huh?”
Cen Yelan said, “The minister knows his crime.”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud bang. Yuan Zheng threw the scroll in his hand in front of him, saying, “You know your crime, what crime do you know!”
Cen Yelan remained silent.
Yuan Zheng became more and more restless, and his temples ached slightly. He knew that he could not keep Cen Yelan, but he never thought that Cen Yelan would choose to leave without saying goodbye and that he would leave so quickly, as if he didn’t want to stay for a moment.
Yuan Zheng stared at Cen Yelan’s prostrate figure, thinking that this was the first time Cen Yelan had knelt in front of him. Yuan Zheng pressed his temples but couldn’t help himself. He stood up and walked towards Cen Yelan. After a while, he whispered, “Cen Yelan, are you so impatient to leave?”
Cen Yelan said, “The military affairs in the northern border cannot be delayed—”
Yuan Zheng said indifferently, “Lie to me with one more word!”
Cen Yelan was silent for a moment, then he sighed and said, “Your Majesty, the minister will have to return to the North sooner or later.”
Yuan Zheng slowly squatted down, looked at Cen Yelan, smiled, and said, “Cen Yelan, what if Zhen wants to keep you in the capital?”
Cen Yelan was stunned, looked at Yuan Zheng, and said, “You can’t keep me.”
Yuan Zheng immediately laughed out loud and said, “Ah Lan, you really underestimate Zhen.”
“Since you have put Zhen on the throne, have you ever thought that Zhen is the king and you are the minister? If Zhen wants you to stay, then you can’t leave.”
Cen Yelan calmly said, “Does Your Majesty want a corpse?”
Yuan Zheng reached out and stroked Cen Yelan’s cheek. Cen Yelan had a small mole on his right eye, which made him even more attractive when he was emotional. Yuan Zheng said, “Is Ah Lan threatening Zhen?”
“You won’t ask for death.” Yuan Zheng said softly, “Cen Mo is still young, and you are the only one left in the Cen family. If you die, the Cen family will be gone.”
Cen Yelan was stunned for a moment as he looked at Yuan Zheng, he seemed not to recognize the person in front of him. Yuan Zheng said slowly, “Do you know what I was thinking when I learned that you were leaving the capital?”
“At that time, I thought, why not break your spear, take away your military power, and let you stay in the palace for the rest of your life?”
Cen Yelan shuddered, his face suddenly turned cold, he slapped Yuan Zheng’s hand away, and said in a deep voice, “Yuan Zheng, have you gone crazy enough?”
Yuan Zheng looked at Cen Yelan. His palms were empty, and his heart was also empty. His anxiety was like fire, burning his internal organs, making them clamor, uneasy, and crazy.
Yuan Zheng’s eyes fell on his palm, and he clenched his five fingers together while asking nonchalantly, “Cen Yelan, in your heart, am I, Yuan Zheng, so unworthy of even a glance?”
“It was like this in the North, and it’s still like this today.” Yuan Zheng said, “You always abandon me without hesitation.”
“You said you like me, do you really like me?”
Cen Yelan stared at Yuan Zheng in a daze, his heart aching. He pursed his lips and said, “Yuan Zheng…”
“Forget it.” Yuan Zheng looked at Cen Yelan, smiled suddenly, moved closer, rubbed his lips against Cen Yelan’s, and said, “I said we will be together, and we can only be together.”
They hadn’t been this close for a long time. In an instant, Yuan Zheng’s soul was trembling with excitement. Cen Yelan barely stepped back, but Yuan Zheng grabbed his arm. The kiss, which was like a dragonfly touching the water, suddenly became fierce. Cen Yelan felt pain and groaned, struggling even harder. The more he struggled, the tighter Yuan Zheng held him. In the end, he was pressed to the ground by brute force. Cen Yelan’s lips were bitten. Yuan Zheng held his lips to comfort him, kissed the small mole under his eye, and said, “Ah Lan, I won’t let you go.”
“Stay with me, alright?”
