Protect Our Chief

...

Emperor Longchang shot Wang Shouzhe a vicious side‑eye, grumbling to himself nonstop. Wang Shouzhe, oh Wang Shouzhe, your luck really is something. Fortunately for you, My tempering and self‑control have been getting better and better these years.

If this were back when I was young, with that explosive temper of Mine, hehehehehe~~~

Right now he couldn’t even be bothered to keep arguing with Wang Shouzhe, so he simply pretended to sit and adjust his Divine Soul, closed his eyes, and stopped speaking.

On the side, Prince Anjun’s face had also gone pale, sweat dripping down his forehead.

This evening banquet was absolutely the most thrilling, nerve‑racking one he’d ever experienced in his life.

Every instant, every breath, he could feel that stormy, towering anger of Your Majesty’s, and felt that at any moment His Majesty might summon a few hundred Saber and Axe Hands to mash Wang Shouzhe into meat paste.

Such outrageous guts!

Not even in his dreams had Prince Anjun imagined that Wang Shouzhe would dare be this outrageously bold, actually daring to roast the Great Emperor to his face for being vain and glory‑seeking, bluntly and straightforwardly listing out the rights and wrongs of the Great Emperor’s reign.

After just a few sentences, he felt the back of his robes were all damp, and he was still in lingering fright.

Fortunately, in not too long, after Emperor Longchang lightly adjusted his breathing, his expression recovered a good deal. He shot Wang Shouzhe a deep look. "Shouzhe’s good words are like gold and jade, awakening the deaf, and have given Me much to ponder."

"Your Majesty overpraises me." Wang Shouzhe saluted gracefully. "What Shouzhe said is nothing more than the crude chatter of a rustic villager, and I am lucky that Your Majesty is magnanimous enough not to take offense. In truth, in Your Majesty’s life, overall, Your merits far outweigh your faults; You are well worthy to be called a rare pioneering wise ruler, destined to be remembered in the annals of history."

With Wang Shouzhe’s poisonous tongue and flaming earlier remarks as "pearls and jade set before it," these words of his, though still a bit prickly, were actually quite a lot more pleasing to hear.

Emperor Longchang’s mood improved a little. Smiling with narrowed eyes, he said, "Shouzhe’s wisdom and bearing are the greatest I have seen in My life; there is no one under heaven who can compare. Our Mingyuan child, though kind‑hearted, is dull in Talent and is far, far inferior to you."

"For the sake of our Daqian rivers and mountains and the ten‑thousand‑year foundation, after some thought, I feel it would be better to pass the position of Emperor’s Son to you. And you needn’t worry about bloodline problems. Our Wu Family has always been open‑minded. At that time we’ll just find a virtuous and gentle Commandery Princess for you, and have you marry in as a son‑in‑law, that will do."

"What does Shouzhe think of that?"

One drop of cold sweat slid down Wang Shouzhe’s cheek; even his face was turning a bit white.

Great Emperor, is this really how you want to get back at me? You’re actually playing the whole Liu Xuande "entrusting my orphans" routine, that’s way too fake and pretentious. And you even want me to marry in as a son‑in‑law... I’ve already got sons and grandsons and great‑grandsons all over the place; if I even dare bring up the idea of marrying in, Ruolan would probably hack me to death.

"Many thanks for Your Majesty’s regard." Wang Shouzhe was roasting the Great Emperor nonstop in his heart, but could only stand up again and salute. "Shouzhe is just a rustic villager. What I like most on normal days is holing up at home to farm a bit, develop the family a bit, and educate my sons and grandsons. The position of Great Emperor may look infinitely glorious, but it comes with piles of burdens and trouble. Don’t even speak of the Great Emperor’s throne; I can’t even handle a City Guard or a Commander post."

Emperor Longchang chuckled and said, "Since Shouzhe is a lover of tranquility, then why did you even join the Struggle of the Imperial Sons? Wouldn’t it be nice to just hide away in Changning as a rich landlord? You just had to come to the Imperial City and stir up the winds and clouds."

Wang Shouzhe’s brow twitched. He gave Emperor Longchang a glance and said faintly, "Your Majesty, may this subject use coarse language?"

"Uh..." The corner of Emperor Longchang’s mouth twitched. After hesitating a bit, he waved his hand. "Forget it, forget it, as long as you don’t spray Me, it’s fine."

"Your Majesty asked why Shouzhe wanted to take part in the Struggle of the Imperial Sons?"

Wang Shouzhe took a deep breath.

The feelings in his heart had been pent up for a long time; now that he’d finally found a vent, his tone unknowingly got fired up, his words full of accusation: "Did Your Majesty think Shouzhe wanted to stick my nose into this pile of shitty business?"

"The Struggle of the Imperial Sons—how dangerous is that?"

"My Wang Family is just a Sixth-Grade Noble Family. If there were any way at all, I’d want to stay as far away as possible. Isn’t it all because of that bastard Prince Kang forcing us? I was living just fine in Ping’an Town, opening up wasteland and growing some crops. My days were nice and cozy, weren’t they? But Prince Kang’s claws just had to reach out to expand his power, forcing the Qiaan Family, forcing our Wang Family to pick a side and get on board."

"And fine, force if you’re going to force. If Prince Kang really were some virtuous lord with the bearing of a Great Emperor, I could grit my teeth and accept it. But what the hell is that thing? Petty and narrow‑minded, vengeful over every little slight, and when he does things he has absolutely no bottom line."

"If my Wang Family really boarded that rotten ship, who knows what kind of crooked path we’d be dragged down. More likely we’d just become stepping stones to be tossed aside after being used."

"And that’s not even the biggest headache. What I’m most afraid of is, once we’re on board, he’ll order my Wang Family to go handle those immoral jobs, like smuggling or colluding with the enemy and such. Your Majesty, you tell me, do I do it or not?"

"So what, my Wang Family just deserves to be unlucky, to be targeted by a pack of jackals and wolves? What else can I do then? In order to keep the Wang Family alive, for the future of the Daqian Kingdom, am I not forced to rack my brains and exhaust my wits? Is it easy for me, huh?"

Once Wang Shouzhe opened his mouth, it was just a whole string of complaints, that mouth firing "tat‑tat‑tat" in a continuous barrage, practically like a machine gun.

Even Emperor Longchang’s city‑wall‑thick face was faintly flushed by his words.

Thinking back, those messy things Prince Kang had done really were pretty annoying, and indeed a bit over the line.

No wonder Wang Shouzhe had such a huge grudge.

And Prince Kang’s temperament was exactly as Wang Shouzhe described. If you didn’t give him face, once he ascended the Great Emperor’s throne, the Wang Family would surely suffer for it. It was entirely possible he could, without making a sound, squeeze a small Sixth-Grade Noble Family until it simply couldn’t survive.