Chapter 304: ’Your Prime Minister Is Going to Die

Yang Jun and Rong Qing, who were escorting the Empress back, took in the entire scene.

This wasn’t the first or second time the Empress had flirted with someone, but something about it felt different this time.

Yang Jun glanced sideways at Rong Qing. "You don’t seem angry."

Rong Qing was no longer young. He was mature, steady, quiet, and reserved. Having experienced great upheavals, he had long since learned to conceal his emotions, showing neither joy nor anger.

But he was only human, with all the attendant emotions and desires. And his feelings toward Her Majesty were different.

Even if his feelings for Her Majesty had once been pure loyalty, after he was nearly turned into a Corpse Puppet last time, Yang Jun could sense a subtle shift in Rong Qing’s attitude toward the Empress.

Especially this time. The Empress had stabbed him so many times, yet he hadn’t uttered a sound, and his attitude never wavered.

Rong Qing was a man of great self-control and showed no obvious signs, but he couldn’t fool Yang Jun, who had worked alongside him for many years.

Rong Qing was not oblivious to the probing and teasing in Yang Jun’s words. He remained impassive, merely uttering a single sentence before striding off to catch up with the Empress.

"I am thirty-six this year."

For a man, he was in his prime, yet he was a full fourteen years older than the Empress.

A fourteen-year age gap was hardly an obstacle to marriage and love, but they were still ruler and subject.

She was the sovereign; he was the servant.

Lou Yan, Song Junzhan, and Feng Yin... he had personally witnessed Her Majesty’s dalliances with them, and he had also personally witnessed the Empress’s heartless indifference.

Lou Yan had used every trick in the book to get into the imperial bed, but the Empress showed not a hint of infatuation.

Prime Minister Song was as gentle as flowing water, but what the Empress valued more was his skill in governing the nation.

Young Master Feng Yin had once been the Empress’s favorite, but now, Her Majesty had long since cast him from her mind.

They were all younger and more handsome than him, yet none of them could win Her Majesty’s love or capture her heart.

And he? He couldn’t compare to them in any of those aspects. All he had was his martial skill and a loyal heart.

He couldn’t control the feelings suddenly blossoming in his heart, but he could control himself.

He remembered his status, he remembered his age, and he remembered his purpose in life.

His life’s goal was not the imperial bed, nor was it to be the one Her Majesty cherished most. It was to remain within ten feet of her, to be her blade and her final shield.

’Anger? Jealousy?’

He was sworn to protect Her Majesty. What did anyone else have to do with him?

-----

Xiao Li figured she must be drunk.

’If I weren’t, how could I be seeing Song Junzhan sitting in my room?’

He was dressed in smoke-colored cyan robes, with only a single jade hairpin in his hair. His figure was slender, his features otherworldly.

The sight of him was like a return to the year Xiao Li first met him—sickly and frail, but with an upright and noble bearing.

His cyan robes flowed, accentuating his handsome, refined features. He had a casual, serene air, like an Immortal banished to the mortal realm.

His slightly deep-set, phoenix-like eyes seemed to ripple with light. With a faint smile, a single glance from him was enough to steal one’s soul.

Xiao Li stepped inside. "What brings the Young Master here?"

That form of address made Song Junzhan’s smile deepen.

"I’ve come a long way to see a friend. I wonder if I’m welcome?"

Xiao Li laughed. "Of course you’re welcome. Hong Yue, prepare some food and wine."

Xiao Li had already had plenty to drink, but seeing Song Junzhan put her in a different mood. ’What’s one more cup?’

Xiao Li might have been in high spirits, ready to share a drink, but Song Junzhan was not content with merely having a cup of wine with Her Majesty.

He had waited bitterly for over a year for Her Majesty to awaken. Less than two months later, she had traveled far away, and now three months had passed since she left.

A heart full of longing had spun into a cocoon, leaving him on the verge of suffocation.

He was a gentle man, but gentleness often meant tolerance and suppression. And even the most good-natured person would break if certain emotions were suppressed for too long.

When an Immortal being was tainted by desire, he too would find it impossible to restrain himself.

He seized Xiao Li’s hand. He made no other move, simply holding on tightly and caressing it, as if to relieve the longing that threatened to swell up and drown him.

He had already written to her about all court matters, down to the last detail. He had nothing to report to Her Majesty. Right now, he was just Song Junzhan, here only to see Her Majesty.

His heart was filled with a thousand things to say, but now that they were truly face to face, he realized that besides matters of the court, he didn’t know what else to talk about with Her Majesty.

’Sweet nothings? Oaths of eternal love? That wasn’t them.’

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but in the end, he realized that just sitting here quietly like this was good enough.

With one hand held by Song Junzhan, Xiao Li raised her third cup of wine with the other.

But just as the cup reached her lips, it was snatched away. Song Junzhan downed the wine in one gulp, then tilted his head and leaned in to kiss her.

A kiss tinged with desperate longing, yet endlessly gentle.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

His voice, husky and sensual, called to her again and again, captivating her very soul.

Song Junzhan might have looked ethereal, but Xiao Li always felt he was more like a fox spirit. When he approached her with such deep affection in his eyes, it was simply impossible to resist.

Xiao Li was drunk. She didn’t even know how she fell asleep in the end, but she could feel someone in her arms. The faint scent of medicine mixed with ink—a gentle, crisp, and remarkably pleasant aroma.

The next morning, Xiao Li woke up to find herself alone in bed.

She found it a little strange but just assumed Song Junzhan had woken up early. But after she had washed up and was having her meal, she asked, "Where is Song Junzhan?"

’He should have been here to join me for breakfast. Why isn’t he around?’

Hong Yue looked surprised. "Is Your Majesty missing the Prime Minister?"

This time, it was Xiao Li’s turn to be confused. "What did you say?"

Hong Yue simply assumed Xiao Li was still muddled from the wine and sleep. She explained with a smile, "Your Majesty, we are in Yanping State. The Prime Minister is in the Capital City."

Xiao Li could hardly believe it. "Song Junzhan came last night. Hong Yue, didn’t you bring us food and wine?"

Hong Yue replied, "Your Majesty did ask me to serve food and wine last night. But you drank three cups by yourself and then fell asleep. A few of us helped you wash up. The Prime Minister was never here."

The other maids nodded repeatedly, all confirming that Hong Yue was telling the truth.

Xiao Li still refused to believe it. Last night had felt so real. Could it have just been an erotic dream?

Xiao Li said no more. If they said she was drunk, then she would let them think she was drunk. But an inexplicable panic was rising in her heart, as if something terrible was about to happen.

As she ate her breakfast, her mind in turmoil, a distinctly dark, humanoid figure appeared beside her in the bright daylight.

’Your Prime Minister is going to die.’

It did not speak. Only a pair of blood-red eyes stared at her as the voice echoed in her mind.

The food caught in Xiao Li’s throat. She struggled to swallow. "Song Junzhan is going to die?"

Xiao Li didn’t believe it. Song Junzhan was protected by a group of highly skilled martial artists, and the Capital City’s Silver Armor Guards were also protecting him with all their might.

Song Junzhan spent his days either at the Imperial Palace or his own residence. He couldn’t be safer.

The dark consciousness waved a hand, and a vision surfaced in Xiao Li’s mind.

The Prime Minister’s Mansion was ablaze. Assassins charged in. The guards of the Prime Minister’s Mansion and the Silver Armor Guards fought back valiantly, but unexpectedly, a traitor emerged from their ranks, grabbed Song Junzhan, and leaped into a frozen lake.

The surface of the ice shattered, and they sank straight to the bottom.

The vision ended there, but Xiao Li could imagine the rest. Even if Song Junzhan wasn’t injured, the outcome would be dire.

His body had always been frail. How could he possibly withstand being submerged in icy water?