BVAHEDLA[W Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Ancient Times 3 – Imperial Death Decree

Chapter 29: Ancient Times 3 – Imperial Death Decree

Serve in bed?

A crack finally appeared on Chu Li-fei’s flawless face. He suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and repeated Wang Butler’s words, “Serve in bed?”

Wang Butler led Chu Li-fei into the residence while introducing him to everything about the Qin King’s mansion.

Crossing the threshold, Chu Li-fei discovered that the interior of the mansion was a world of its own.

Not to mention how grand and luxurious the plaque above the main entrance of the Qin King’s mansion was, the Emperor’s own writing was enough to make many people envious. It was made entirely of Phoebe zhennan wood, adorned with gilded ink characters. It was not difficult to imagine how radiant it would be in the sunlight.

Upon entering the mansion gate, a screen wall immediately came into view. From a distance, it seemed to be a single piece of stone, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be made of a whole piece of black jade. There were no traces of adhesion, as if it were naturally formed. The carving was also exquisite, with a giant dragon coiled on top, lifelike. The dragon’s eyes were inlaid with gold and jade, making it look extremely majestic. The soft moonlight flowed from between the hollowed-out dragon claws, reflecting shimmering ripples like a clear stream.

After passing through a winding bridge and the main hall, Chu Li-fei followed Wang Butler to the rear hall of the mansion. At the same time, he saw several figures waiting outside. They all lowered their heads, extremely respectful. When Chu Li-fei walked in, they only bowed neatly and greeted him.

Along the way, Chu Li-fei felt that this mansion was extremely luxurious, not inferior to the imperial palace.

It seemed that the “Jiancheng” the Emperor mentioned had taken a lot of effort.

But he clearly wanted to kill him, so why did he do this?

Before Chu Li-fei could figure it out, Wang Butler enthusiastically introduced him to the beauties in front of him one by one.

Each of them was beautiful, dressed in colorful and gorgeous clothes. Every smile and frown was particularly captivating and not vulgar, suggesting they were carefully trained.

Chu Li-fei frowned slightly, “Where did these people come from?”

Wang Butler bowed and replied, “Replying to Your Highness, these people were sent from the palace. They have clean backgrounds and were specially selected by His Majesty.”

Chu Li-fei cast a scrutinizing gaze at the row of beauties in front of him. Some of the bolder ones met his eyes, all blushing and hurriedly lowering their heads.

Upon closer inspection, Chu Li-fei even saw a few men mixed in! He tried his best to suppress the strangeness in his heart, becoming even more unable to understand Emperor Lu Yuan-jing’s intentions.

According to the original owner’s memories, Lu Yuan-jing did not have the habit of sending people to other people’s homes before he ascended the throne, so what was this all about?

Could it be to monitor him? So he not only sent beauties, but also gathered people of all genders, ages, and personalities, fearing that there would be no one he liked.

Chu Li-fei suddenly felt a chill, and his face instantly turned cold, “Send them all away. The mansion doesn’t need useless people.”

Wang Butler hesitated. After all, these were people bestowed by the Emperor, how could they be sent away so easily? But when he saw Chu Li-fei’s face as cold as an icy pool, he immediately fell silent.

He followed the order and led the group of people away.

Different expressions appeared on the faces of the beauties, all revealing frustration and regret. Only a blue-clothed young man standing in the last row kept his head lowered, making it impossible to see the expression on his face. But when he passed by Chu Li-fei, he glanced up, then quickly concealed the amazement in his eyes, and a deep smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Chu Li-fei didn’t notice this small episode. The system didn’t provide much information, and he needed to carefully plan how to complete the task.

He entered the room thoughtfully.

Lu Mo-chen pushed open the palace gate, exhausted.

Calling it a palace gate was actually an exaggeration. The original vermilion gate had long been peeling, revealing the wood underneath. The little vermilion that remained had long turned dark red, looking like dried blood from afar.

The location was remote and the air was exceptionally humid. The wood had long rotted, crumbling to the touch, and the red paint fell off in pieces.

Even the plaque on the palace gate was so dirty that the characters on it were illegible, with a missing piece here and a missing corner there. Even the fresh snow that covered it, melting and refreezing, could not wash away the dirt on it.

Lu Mo-chen was used to this. He pushed open the door and saw several palace servants sitting on the steps in front of the hall, playing cards, not even glancing at him.

There were also a few leaning against the corridor, drinking. Hearing the harsh “creak” of the door opening, they subconsciously looked up. After seeing his disheveled appearance, they secretly curled their lips.

Li Yun-ping, who was responsible for taking care of Lu Mo-chen, was sharp-eyed and saw Lu Mo-chen’s difference today by the moonlight.

He was wearing a cloak that looked expensive.

This made the little abacus in Li Yun-ping’s heart start to work again.

If it were sold outside the palace… it could probably be exchanged for a lot of silver.

Li Yun-ping had served Lu Mo-chen for more than ten years, but her master was not favored, and they, as servants, could not get anything good. She never had the opportunity to see such good things before. Li Yun-ping’s eyes instantly lit up with greed.

She cast a greedy gaze at the cloak on Lu Mo-chen’s body.

“Fourth Prince, this old servant went to the Internal Affairs Bureau again today to ask, but the monthly allowance is still not being issued…” Li Yun-ping said as she carefully sized up Lu Mo-chen. Seeing that he was still silent, she felt relieved and changed the subject, “You also know what kind of people those Internal Affairs Bureau people are, looking down on everyone, but who told you that you are not favored, even implicating us servants.”

Her eyes rolled, “But there are still many mouths waiting to be fed in this old servant’s family, Fourth Prince, how about you…”

Before she could finish her words, a thin arm stretched out from under the cloak, and with a flip of the hand, several pieces of silver appeared in the palm.

Lu Mo-chen had been bullied by these mean servants for many years, how could he not know what Li Yun-ping meant by these words? But today, he didn’t want to argue with her.

Li Yun-ping happily accepted the silver, but how could this silver satisfy her?

“This… there is silver, but you see how cold it is this winter, and this old servant only has a few rags, how can I get through it?”

“Speaking of which, the cloak on your body looks pretty good, why don’t you give it to this old servant as a reward.”

Li Yun-ping had put on a good show, but there was no respect in her eyes. Now, without waiting for Lu Mo-chen to answer, she wanted to directly strip the cloak off his body!

But her hand froze in mid-air when it was still an inch away from the cloak.

And her eyes were now filled with fear, as if she had seen a monster!

Li Yun-ping was stunned in place.

How could Lu Mo-chen have such eyes? The way he looked at her was as if he was looking at an insignificant ant. The indifference and majesty in his eyes were exactly the same as those of the current Emperor. No, even better.

Because Lu Mo-chen seemed to have really intended to kill her for a moment, she seemed to have already heard the sound of her head falling to the ground.

But how was this possible? She must have been mistaken, Li Yun-ping thought.

But the numb scalp and the cold sweat on her back told her that all of this was real.

But in the blink of an eye, Lu Mo-chen returned to his usual appearance.

He casually gathered his cloak, lowered his head, and walked towards the bedroom, looking like a pitiful appearance. It was as if everything just now was just Li Yun-ping’s own illusion.

Li Yun-ping swallowed her saliva, suppressed the discomfort in her heart, and turned to look at Lu Mo-chen with a sinister expression: “Fourth Prince, this old servant has told you how many times, things in the palace cannot be taken randomly.”

“Which noble did you steal this cloak from in the palace?”

“Since you don’t consider this old servant, then this old servant doesn’t have to hide it for you anymore. I will report to the Empress now and let her deal with you according to the palace rules!”

As Li Yun-ping spoke, she secretly watched Lu Mo-chen’s reaction. Seeing that he stopped, his whole body trembling like a sieve, looking extremely scared.

Li Yun-ping was immediately satisfied with Lu Mo-chen’s reaction. As expected, she guessed right. Lu Mo-chen, this jinx, killed his birth mother at birth, and the Emperor did not love him. Even if he was a prince, so what? He still had to be bullied by them, these servants!

They had been slaves and servants for a long time, and they were so used to being obsequious and relying on other people’s breath that they had almost forgotten that they were still human beings. What’s more, like them, who were assigned to serve unfavored princes, there was no hope for them in their lives, and their hearts were even more twisted. It seemed that only by bullying these “masters” could they prove that they were still human.

And Lu Mo-chen, this unfavored prince, usually had no chance to see such good things. Li Yun-ping also knew that many important people had come to the palace tonight. She heard that the General Who Pacifies the Nation had been conferred the title of King, and he was extremely prominent. So she immediately concluded that Lu Mo-chen must have been envious of the cloak and stolen it from some drunken adult at the banquet.

It couldn’t possibly have been given to him by someone else, right? Lu Mo-chen? Did he deserve it? She secretly spat in her heart.

And Lu Mo-chen’s appearance made her even more confident.

She sneered in her heart. What if he was a prince? Wasn’t he still easily manipulated by her?

She took two steps forward, but suddenly heard a sneer. The clear moonlight shone on the ancient tree outside the courtyard, and the shadows of the dead branches were turbidly reflected on the ground full of fallen leaves and mud, like a soul-reaping ghost.

Li Yun-ping couldn’t help but shiver. This Fourth Prince, could it be that he was possessed by some dirty thing today? Otherwise, why would he be so strange today?

Lu Mo-chen lowered his eyes, but a sinister smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: “It seems that Li Yun-ping is planning to be a loyal servant, but it’s a pity that she’s not loyal to me.”

Li Yun-ping thought that Lu Mo-chen was scared and was praising herself: “This old servant is a person of the palace and should naturally be loyal to His Majesty and the Empress. What’s more, Fourth Prince, you have done such a bad thing. If I conceal it, it will be this old servant’s fault!”

Li Yun-ping said righteously, looking like she was loyal to the Emperor and patriotic, and “destroying relatives righteously.”

Lu Mo-chen laughed directly. He turned around and looked at Li Yun-ping playfully: “Since that’s the case, why don’t you come with me to see the Empress? I also have something to report to the Empress.”

“Recently, it seems that palace servants have been selling palace property outside the palace. This is such a big deal that it should be reported in detail and everyone involved should be interrogated. Don’t you think so, Li Yun-ping?”

“Don’t slander me!” Li Yun-ping heard this, and her heart was uncertain, and she suddenly became anxious.

Lu Mo-chen chuckled and pretended to be surprised: “I haven’t said who it is yet. Why are you so angry?”

“Or is it that you are the one who sold the palace property?”

Lu Mo-chen smiled inscrutablely, and his two black grape-like eyes stared straight at Li Yun-ping, which was inexplicably a bit creepy in the dark.

Li Yun-ping felt as if she had been seen through in an instant.

“This old servant hasn’t done this. Fourth Prince, you have to speak with evidence.” Li Yun-ping reacted at this time, Lu Mo-chen was clearly trying to trick her just now!

“Is that so? Then it seems that I wronged you.” Lu Mo-chen sighed lightly, as if he was a little regretful.

A smile appeared on Li Yun-ping’s face: “Fourth Prince wronged this old servant for no reason. Speaking of which, it’s still this old servant’s fault that made you so naught… naughty…”

Before Li Yun-ping could finish her words, she was interrupted by Lu Mo-chen’s words. She looked even more flustered, and couldn’t even finish the word “naughty,” which was stuck in her throat.

“Then it’s the fault of those slaves in the Internal Affairs Bureau who embezzled this prince’s share. In that case, I should report it to the Empress even more. Everyone knows that the Empress is kind and generous, how can she be accused of treating the princes harshly because of those slaves in the Internal Affairs Bureau?”

“Let’s go, Li Yun-ping. While the Empress hasn’t rested yet.” Lu Mo-chen walked towards Li Yun-ping step by step, and the sound of his footsteps was particularly clear in the quiet night, stepping on Li Yun-ping’s heart one by one, causing her expression to change drastically.

That’s right, the Empress ruled extremely strictly and paid attention to her reputation. She had explicitly stated that slaves were not allowed to deduct the shares of princes and concubines. But since Li Yun-ping had taken care of Lu Mo-chen, she had relied on the prince’s young age, and all the things sent by the Internal Affairs Bureau had to pass her eyes before being sent to Lu Mo-chen.

At first, she only embezzled some small things, but later, when she saw that Lu Mo-chen had completely lost hope, she embezzled more and more, and sold things to the outside of the palace through connections.

But how did Lu Mo-chen know all this?

She looked at Lu Mo-chen angrily. Since he knew everything, then there was nothing to hide.

“Then may I ask Fourth Prince, what evidence do you have to prove that it was this old servant who did it? This old servant has a low life, but…” She stared at Lu Mo-chen, and the wrinkles on her face piled up together as she spoke, looking ugly.

Lu Mo-chen felt extremely bored seeing Li Yun-ping exposed so quickly. He impatiently interrupted Li Yun-ping’s words: “I really don’t have any evidence.”

Hearing this, Li Yun-ping showed a victorious smile, but as Lu Mo-chen changed the subject, the smile that had just risen quickly disappeared.

“You’ve been in the palace for so long, you should also know that some things don’t need evidence.”

Lu Mo-chen slowly took out a jade pendant from his arms. Judging from the texture, it seemed to be made of high-quality mutton fat jade, which was warm to the touch.

And on it, was engraved the character “Chu.”

Since the palace banquet, Chu Li-fei simply claimed to be ill and did not go to court. For several days in a row, he was very idle.

The Emperor learned of this and sent many good things. Chu Li-fei naturally accepted them all.

This task was more troublesome than the last one, and he didn’t want to have any more connections with Lu Mo-chen in this world.

He thought of that face that looked the same as Lu Mo-chen in the last world again, perhaps it was just a coincidence…

Speaking of which, even that jade pendant that he wore close to his body shouldn’t have been given to this ungrateful wretch!

Chu Li-fei lay in the lakeside pavilion of the mansion, thinking about these random things in his mind.

The charcoal stove beside him was burning quietly, and the warm feeling made Chu Li-fei feel a little sleepy.

“Drip,” the snow melted and dripped into the lake along the eaves of the pavilion, causing ripples. Chu Li-fei gradually closed his eyes, and his arm slipped from the chair.

He opened his eyes again and found himself in a room.

He shouted, but no one answered.

Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he seemed to hear someone approaching outside the door.

Chu Li-fei pushed open the door in confusion.

The familiar scenery in front of him immediately made him realize that he was still in the mansion, but it was empty.

Even the courtyard seemed to have not been swept for a long time, and a thick layer of snow had accumulated.

The footsteps in the distance became heavier and heavier, and it seemed that a team of soldiers had surrounded the mansion.

At this time, a stranger approached him with something in his hand.

Chu Li-fei wanted to ask who he was, but found that he couldn’t make a sound.

And his body moved on its own: “Liu Shuo-yu, is this his intention?”

Chu Li-fei realized that his soul seemed to be separated and he was watching another “Chu Li-fei’s” story as an observer.

When did this happen?

Who was this “he”?

Liu Shuo-yu slowly approached, and Chu Li-fei saw clearly what he had in his hand – poisoned wine, white silk, and a dagger.

Liu Shuo-yu: “Your Highness, please.”

Chu Li-fei heard a self-deprecating sound in his ears, a voice with bitterness: “Heh, I blame myself for being wrong and ending up in a situation where I am discarded after serving my purpose. Truly, like father, like son, in the end, they are all the same.”

With that said, his eyes lingered on the three things on the tray. Finally, he picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

The wine glass fell to the ground, making no sound as it hit the thick snow.

A drop of red liquid fell, blooming on the snow, like a plum blossom blooming to the fullest.

“No! It wasn’t like this!”

Lu Mo-chen woke up from the nightmare, he gasped for breath in fear, but his face was already covered with tears.

“What’s wrong, Fourth Prince?” Li Yun-ping’s voice came from the door.

“None of your business, get out.” Lu Mo-chen said coldly, letting the tears hang on his face.

Since that day, Li Yun-ping had become respectful to him.

But Lu Mo-chen didn’t care about this now. His mind was filled with the sentence “Like father, like son.”

He never knew in his past life that Chu Li-fei had said such words before his death. How disappointed he must have been in him!

But it wasn’t like this!

In his previous life, he had no intention of killing Chu Li-fei at all.

But he was still too late.

When he arrived, Chu Li-fei fell in front of him. Like a crane, falling straight down.

He held Chu Li-fei’s body until it gradually became cold.

Then, he picked up the dagger beside him and, despite the crowd’s obstruction, committed suicide next to him.

He didn’t expect that when he opened his eyes again, he would be able to see Chu Li-fei again.

Time had returned to when everything had not happened yet.

But Lu Mo-chen was still inexplicably panicked in his heart.

He wanted to find Chu Li-fei!

But when he rushed to the entrance of the Qin King’s mansion, he learned that Chu Li-fei was ill and had not gone to court for several days.

Lu Mo-chen was still a little dazed. In his previous life, he didn’t remember this happening.

He walked thoughtfully on the street. Suddenly, the voice of a vendor reached his ears.

“Hey, do you know?” The vendor looked around and then lowered his voice and said, “Today is the day that the top courtesan of Yanyue House is being listed. I heard that even the King Qin has gone.”

Lu Mo-chen stopped.

Yanyue House? That was the largest brothel in the southern district of the capital!

What was Chu Li-fei doing there?

The vendor originally wanted to say something else to the people next to him, but turned his head to see a young man with red eyes, slapping a silver ingot on his stall, and asking him in a faint tone: “Which way is Yanyue House?”