Chapter 70: "General Li Can Enter the Palace, but I Cannot?
Rong Yin had just arrived at Lan Yue Pavilion when he saw the two of them, leaning extremely close. Li Wei’s hand was still behind Xiao Yang, making it look as though Li Wei was holding the Little Emperor in an embrace.
The intimate scene stung his eyes. His emotions surged violently, a dark brutality churning within him, until the sharp pain in his palm pulled his sanity back.
"Your Majesty."
Rong Yin spoke, his voice calm and indifferent, betraying no emotion.
Li Wei, feeling inexplicably guilty, quickly sat up straight. "Prince."
Rong Yin didn’t look at him, his gaze fixed squarely on Xiao Yang.
In the lamplight, her eyes shimmered, misty and bright. The corners of her eyes were red, and a rare, unusual flush colored her face.
Rong Yin didn’t want to let his imagination run wild, but her appearance left him no choice.
"What’s wrong with Your Majesty?"
Li Wei explained, "Your Majesty choked while drinking."
Only then did Rong Yin notice the wine jar and bowls on the table. The night breeze carried the strong aroma of wine.
Xiao Yang, having recovered, leaned lazily against the armrest and looked at him in confusion. "Why has the Regent King entered the palace as well?"
Rong Yin walked to a nearby seat and sat down calmly. "If General Li can enter the palace, am I not permitted?"
Xiao Yang gave him a quizzical look.
’I don’t understand.’
A Palace Attendant immediately served a cup of tea; the Regent King had an injury on his hand and couldn’t drink alcohol.
Li Wei’s senses returned, and he finally remembered he had other business.
He took a short dagger from his sleeve. It was pitch-black all over, with a dragon’s head outlined in gold thread—the exact same pattern as the Black Dragon Cavalry’s banner.
He offered the dagger to Xiao Yang. "I have always wanted to give Your Majesty a gift, but everything I have now was bestowed by you. I have no real treasures to offer."
"Some years ago, I happened upon a piece of Wujin Iron Ore, just enough to forge a small dagger. Please see if you like it, Your Majesty. If you find it unsightly, I can have it changed."
Xiao Yang picked up the dagger. Just holding it, she could feel its unusual weight—heavy and substantial.
She drew it from its sheath. The blade was also pitch-black, a pure blackness with no impurities. This extreme blackness, in turn, reflected a dazzling, metallic luster.
The blade was already sharpened. The body gleamed, and its edge glinted with a cold light.
It was the kind of weapon you could tell was high-quality at a single glance.
It felt cool and smooth to the touch. It needed no gemstones for decoration; its own luster surpassed any jewel, making it impossible not to love.
"A fine blade."
Xiao Yang’s eyes were full of admiration. Then it dawned on her. "You forged this?"
Li Wei nodded nonchalantly. "The first weapon I had as a child was one I forged myself. In my spare time over the years, I’ve often joined the master smiths to forge blades."
Xiao Yang’s gaze fell on his arms. Even though it was winter and his clothes were thick, she could still sense the powerful, bulging muscles of the body they concealed.
Li Wei himself was an embodiment of strength and wildness, overflowing with masculine charm.
Although Li Wei’s physique and appearance were truly drool-worthy, Xiao Yang only allowed herself a couple of appreciative glances.
A rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its own burrow. She wasn’t so desperate as to mess with her own general.
Speaking of the dagger, Xiao Yang liked it very much. She truly couldn’t put it down.
"Then I’ll accept it."
Li Wei broke into a genuine smile. "As long as Your Majesty likes it."
Rong Yin sat there, watching the two of them talking and laughing, ignoring him completely. His expression grew colder and colder.
After inspecting the dagger, Xiao Yang picked up her wine bowl again. Li Wei poured the wine, and its rich aroma enveloped the area.
Rong Yin spoke up, "Your Majesty is still young. It is not wise to drink too much."
Li Wei had been slaughtering enemies on the border at sixteen, drinking straight from the jar. He hadn’t thought of the sixteen-year-old emperor as young, but now that Rong Yin mentioned it, he too felt that His Majesty shouldn’t drink too much.
His Majesty was precious and noble, different from him.
"Your Majesty has indeed had quite a bit. This wine has a strong kick."
He put the lid on the jar. "We can drink the rest together next time, Your Majesty."
Xiao Yang thought she was fine, but the wine was indeed strong, and she wasn’t one to overindulge.
Li Wei had entered the palace simply to deliver a gift and have a drink with the Emperor. Now that his purpose was accomplished and it was getting late, he decided to get up and take his leave.
He could sense that the Regent King had something to say to His Majesty—and didn’t want him to hear it. It would be tactless of him to stay any longer.
"I will take my leave."
Li Wei departed stylishly, carrying the remaining half-jar of wine. Xiao Yang toyed with the dagger. "You’re here to plead for Prince Kang, aren’t you?"
Xiao Yang plucked a strand of hair, held it over the blade, and blew gently. It was instantly severed.
"I’ll do you a favor. I’ll allow you to bring them out for the New Year. But they can’t shortchange what’s due. I made a promise to Prince Jing."
"No," Rong Yin said. "I did not come for them."
He set down his teacup, his gaze landing on Xiao Yang. "I heard that Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager parted on bad terms. I came to the palace specifically to keep you company."
Xiao Yang finally deigned to turn and look at him. "I’m not that fragile."
Rong Yin didn’t argue the point. But since the Little Emperor had brought up Prince Kang and his wife, he felt it necessary to explain. "Your Majesty is young and does not know of the grudges between me and the Rong Family."
No one wants to tear open their deepest, most painful scars. Those seven years of his youth were the darkest time of his life, a memory so suffocating he could barely breathe at the mere thought.
He paused, as if bracing himself, and began to speak in a calm, numb voice. "I was cut from my mother’s corpse. The Rong Family considered me an ill omen..."
In a flat, matter-of-fact tone, he recounted the hardships of his youth.
He was despised from the moment of his birth, cursed as a demon child. While still a clueless toddler, he was subjected to endless malice. Later, he was even struck from the family registry, living a life worse than that of a servant’s child.
If he hadn’t met Emperor Taizhong, he feared he wouldn’t have survived to this day.
"The familial bond between us was severed long ago. There is no gratitude, no debt, and certainly no filial piety to speak of. Simply because he is my biological father, I cannot retaliate against him. That is all."
Your Majesty throwing them into the Heavenly Prison had given him these past two days of peace. Pleading for them was absolutely out of the question.
Xiao Yang truly hadn’t known this was how Emperor Taizhong came to take Rong Yin in. It was a miserable story indeed.
"No wonder the Empress Dowager summoned them to the capital."
The Empress Dowager clearly knew about this past and had done it on purpose.
Her assassination attempt on Rong Yin had failed, and then Rong Yin had killed Wang Hai. Since she couldn’t take his life, she wanted to crush him mentally, to make him sick to his stomach.
Unfortunately for her, it seemed she hadn’t clearly explained the current situation to Prince Kang, leading him to still treat the Little Emperor as a puppet on a string, viewing him with contempt and disregard.
Relying on his status as the Regent King’s own father, he had put on a long face in public.
This provoked Xiao Yang into making a direct move, which ultimately led to the current situation.
Xiao Yang scoffed. "So, you pity me?"
’His mother was dead and his own father was cruel. Her father was dead and her own mother didn’t love her. Misery loves company?’
"Never."
Rong Yin denied it at once. "I only wanted to come and keep Your Majesty company."
Xiao Yang, however, didn’t care whether he was telling the truth or not, because she had just discovered that the cup in front of her had doubled...
’Crap. The wine’s delayed kick was finally setting in.’