The Prince of Liang - Seeing His Beloved at the Censorate

The hundred-day banquet was held at the Li Manor. The current Grand Censor had a son in his old age, and this precious legitimate son of the manor was showered with doting affection from the moment he was born. Even his hundred-day banquet was held in grand style, becoming known throughout the city.

As dusk fell, the front of the Censorate was already filled with carriages. More than half of Fengling City's court officials had been invited, their magnificent robes and brocade gowns bustling like clouds.

Tingxia lifted the carriage curtain for a look and muttered, "Li Sheng is really going all out this time."

The more people who came by invitation, the greater Li Sheng's reputation would grow, his status as a powerful official leaping off the page. The Grand Censor's move, on the surface, was to display his doting heart for his legitimate son, but secretly, it was to inform the world of his current fame, influence, and power.

Chu Jin leaned against the window with a lazy expression and said, "Isn't Wei Junlan not here?"

"Prime Minister Wei? He is still claiming to be ill and seeing no one. He definitely won't come."

"When he is willing to come out," Chu Jin said leisurely, "I'm afraid something major is about to happen."

...

Tingxia got goosebumps from his inscrutable demeanor and waved his hands repeatedly, "Don't be a jinx!"

After speaking, he peeked his head out again to look, seeing a person slowly descending from the foremost carriage.

That carriage was extraordinarily extravagant, inlaid with silver and jade. Three luminous pearls were set on the roof of the compartment, resplendent and sparkling, making the several carriages beside it pale in comparison.

Tingxia stared wide-eyed, unable to help but say, "So bright..."

While he was still dazzled, he was caught off guard by Chu Jin's voice, "That is the carriage of the Prince of Liang's Manor."

"The Prince of Liang?!"

The person on the carriage revealed his form. It was none other than the second son of Great Qin's Emperor Yan, the Prince of Liang, Chu Rong.

He was tall and imposing, his expression dark. His every move carried the brutal, gloomy aura of one who had fought on the battlefield. When he looked down on people, a frenzied air followed, easily frightening others until their legs trembled.

In terms of appearance, he should have been considered handsome, but unfortunately, a deep scar tore this facade apart, revealing a tyrannical truth. The scar ran across his left eye, turning his originally handsome face ferocious and ugly, making him one-eyed.

This was Tingxia's first time seeing the legendary Prince of Liang, who killed without batting an eye. Even though he had heard descriptions of him, seeing him in person still gave him a fright.

"His left eye is really... blind?"

Chu Jin released the hand holding the curtain. His gaze followed Chu Rong, who was slowly walking into the Censorate, as he nonchalantly asked, "Do you know who crippled that eye of his?"

This was something an ordinary person could never know. Tingxia immediately asked, "Who was it?"

Over there, Chu Rong suddenly stopped. As if sensing something, his remaining right eye abruptly looked over.

Tingxia's hand trembled, but he heard Chu Jin whisper a few words by his ear, filled with thick interest—

"Shen. Meng. Zhi."

Tingxia's eyes widened.

"Huh? This, this, this..."

He had heard that for all these years, the Prince of Liang had resisted showing his face to people, living in seclusion and rarely going out. The servants attending him were not even allowed to raise their heads without permission. Anyone who revealed the slightest hint of fear would be dragged out and beaten to death with clubs.

Besides that, this tyrannical prince, almost as if possessed, had been searching for a person day and night, endlessly. The few times he went out were only because he had received news and was rushing to capture someone.

And anyone he caught would inevitably suffer all kinds of torture, die in excruciating pain, and even have their bones exposed in the wilderness for wild dogs to gnaw on.

Thus, the world speculated that this person must be the Prince of Liang's mortal enemy.

"So..." Tingxia murmured, "the person the Prince of Liang has been looking for all this time is him?"

Outside, Chu Rong had already retracted his gaze and walked into the Censorate. Only then did Tingxia regain some courage to speak.

Chu Jin said casually, "I suppose so."

Tingxia had a strange expression. "But Shen Mengzhi is already dead. During the War of Yan-Qin, wasn't he killed by the resisting soldiers and common people in the city for collaborating with the enemy?"

"The rumors are indeed so."

Chu Jin turned his face slightly, his gaze falling on Tingxia's face, somewhat inscrutable. His expression was a little odd. The evening sunlight leaked in from the window, casting a patch of crimson light on his face, adding a touch of worldly color.

"I told you before, he is very much like Xufang," Chu Jin said slowly. "They both died because of the people they were protecting, and both were condemned and abandoned by their own countries. It's just that Xufang was exonerated, while he, even after death, is still covered in infamy."

Tingxia asked curiously, "It sounds like you think he was wrongly accused? Have you met him?"

Chu Jin said, "I've seen him once... perhaps it doesn't count. He was wearing a mask, so I couldn't see clearly. And he didn't see me either."

As they spoke, the carriage had slowly arrived at the entrance of the Censorate. The two of them got out and were immediately greeted by a pageboy, who respectfully led them toward the main hall.

Tingxia handed the gift in his hands to the attendant at the door, then quickly caught up, asking in a low voice, "Hey, what did you end up giving Li Sheng?"

The Spring Banquet seemed to involve many connections in the background, so Chu Jin didn't use it as a congratulatory gift anymore. He said unhurriedly, "I just casually grabbed a pair of Changhe Jade Qilins from the storeroom."

He spoke so casually, describing a priceless treasure that was hard to come by as if it were a clay figurine that could be bought anywhere in the streets and alleys. Tingxia clicked his tongue while mentally cursing the man's prodigality, walking the whole way with a pained expression on his face.

The next moment, however, Chu Jin suddenly stopped. This move was completely without warning. Tingxia screeched to a halt, nearly falling flat on his face. He barely managed to grab onto the railing and asked, "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Chu Jin turned a deaf ear.

He was practically frozen in place. His expression was first one of astonishment, then, for some unknown reason, it slowly turned cold.

Just a moment ago, he was talking normally, and just a second before, he had a look of disinterest and indifference towards the Censorate. Now, however, it was as if his reverse scale had suddenly been touched, and he could barely suppress his icy fury.

Tingxia had never seen him like this before and looked in the direction of his gaze, heart pounding with fear. In the pavilion across from them, he saw a person.

Although Li Sheng's Censorate looked prim and proper, the inside was a world of its own. Pavilions, terraces, and verandas, the beauty of lakes and mountains—it had everything. The path they were walking on was precisely along a man-made lake.

Spring had not yet arrived. Fallen leaves withered on the lake's surface, drifting alone. A few crimson-gold koi carp played in the water, breaking the reflection of the sky and clouds on the lake's surface and creating ripples.

A person sat in the lake's central pavilion. He was reaching out a hand, his fingertips gently stirring the rippling lake water, wrinkling the pool of azure waves. The section of his wrist bone that was exposed was delicate, pale, and thin, too fragile to grasp, as if it could be easily broken.

He leaned quietly against the railing, his eyelashes lowered, ignoring the mortal world and bustling clamor not far away. It seemed that in the entire world, only this pool of water and a few fish existed, and nothing else could enter his eyes.

Even Tingxia, who usually got a headache from poems and ancient scriptures, found half a broken verse inexplicably popping into his mind—

Since those jade fingers grew frail and thin, the waist has wasted, the painted brows have dimmed.

Although there was some distance between them and he couldn't see the person's face clearly, Tingxia still sensed a clue. A sudden realization struck him: "Wait?! Could he be..."

He had followed Chu Jin for many years and had only ever seen him lose his composure for one person.

It was at the foot of Heshan, on the night of the Shangyuan Festival.

Chu Jin didn't answer. It seemed he was in no mood to answer either.

His gaze was fixed on that person, looking him up and down as if confirming he was unharmed. After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly, "You said that Li Sheng brought back a distinguished guest a few days ago."

Tingxia reacted abruptly, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Chu Jin let out a laugh, but there was no mirth in his eyes. He repeated in a low voice,

"Tortured him?"

...

Tingxia swallowed and said in a small voice, "Maybe it wasn't as serious as it sounded..."

They had lingered in place for too long, attracting the attention of the pageboy leading the way, who reminded them, "My lord?"

Chu Jin calmly withdrew his gaze, took a light breath, and by the time he turned his head, his expression had returned to normal.

"Let's go."

Tingxia followed closely, his eyes cautiously glancing at the Prince Regent's seemingly unconcerned back.

He had a feeling someone was about to suffer.

"The Prince Regent has arrived."

An attendant came to report. After listening, Li Sheng said coolly, "I know. Do as I instructed earlier."

After the man withdrew, a cold voice was heard, "What did you invite him here for?"

Li Sheng frowned and looked at the arrogant Prince of Liang opposite him. "Times have changed. You have never faced him directly, so you don't know how cruel and ruthless this person is. His current strength is absolutely not to be underestimated."

Chu Rong sneered, "He just killed a few people on the Autumn River, and that makes you so wary."

His words were filled with contempt, scolding Li Sheng along with it. The latter's face turned ugly as he said, "Do you still think he is that same weak and incompetent Heir? How many people did he deceive with that facade, making us think he was a useless waste we didn't need to guard against? And the result? We foolishly missed the best opportunity to kill him!"

"I don't care if he's real or fake," Chu Rong curled his lips into a ruthless smile, "I can take his life. It was true before, and it's true now."

Li Sheng gave him a dark look and, after a long moment, sighed faintly.

"What are your plans?"

Hearing this, Chu Rong gently extended a finger and pointed remotely to a corner of the map laid out before them.

Li Sheng followed the direction of his finger and frowned slightly.

"This is..."

"Since he came today, he can forget about leaving."

Chu Rong slowly traced an area on the map with his finger and said arrogantly, "I've placed archers on every road he might take back to his manor. He can't escape."

Li Sheng's brow relaxed slightly. He said in a low voice, "We must capture him this time. His Majesty is gravely ill, and we don't have much time left."

In the current imperial court, others only knew that he and civil officials like the Prime Minister were of one faction, but no one knew of his relationship with the Prince of Liang. Now that the Prime Minister had also retired due to illness, the group of civil officials, despite their eloquence, could hardly threaten the Prince Regent who held military power. Thus, Chu Rong, who had long resided on the battlefield and had eighty thousand soldiers under his command, became Li Sheng's only choice for cooperation.

"I know," Chu Rong replied perfunctorily, then abruptly changed the subject. "That person you brought back, how do you plan to deal with him?"

Li Sheng knew he was talking about Jiang Zhen. He pondered for a moment and said, "He is the key to defeating Xiao Zhuo in the future. Moreover, he is also related to Chu Jin. I had him come today precisely to catch Chu Jin off guard. It would be best... if he became a bond that restrains Chu Jin."

"Just him?" Chu Rong sneered. "A sickly weakling who can't even truss a chicken? I'm afraid he can't even withstand a gust of wind."

Li Sheng asked, "What do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do?" Chu Rong repeated playfully. The next moment, his expression suddenly turned grim. "I want him dead."

"If he has anyone to blame, he should blame himself for looking like that lunatic surnamed Shen. I failed to take his life a few days ago, but one day, I will slowly skin him, pull out his tendons, drink his blood, and eat his flesh—"

He looked at the silent Li Sheng beside him and slowly curled his lips into an extremely bloody smile.

"Don't worry. He's still useful now, so I'll let him live a little longer. Once Chu Jin is dead and he's of no use, Lord Censor, remember to leave him for me to handle—"

"I'll start by gouging out his eyes."

The author has something to say:

Congratulations to Chu Rong and Li Sheng for both making it onto Chuchu's assassination list!

The Prince Regent is going to be heartbroken to death when he sees the bruises on Zhi's neck.