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Moving the Capital South (2)
T/N: Translated by Jen on Broken Jinsei! Please do not repost my translations! All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
The capital today was deathly silent, no longer thriving with life like before. It was a bleak autumn day to begin with, and now, it increasingly made one feel chilly to the bone. The once bustling Vermillion Bird Gate was now desolate and lonely. The palace gate that got stripped of its horizontal signboard was like a bare tree, greatly different from the past.
Lu Jing Hua sat alone in his desolate manor, feeling rather uneasy.
He was good friends with Lu Qi Yang, so knew that Lu Qi Yang taking control of the capital will be more beneficial for him. Therefore, he wasn’t in a hurry to flee south. But, with the war raging endlessly, he was unable to be carefree.
Just as he was pacing back and forth in the room, a person dressed as an attendant suddenly came to Shanyin Wang Manor, saying to him, “Gentleman, her Highness the Noble Consort wishes to see you.”
The noble consort, that was Shen Ran.
Recalling Shen Ran, Lu Jing Hua was slightly surprised, “Noble Consort Shen? Didn’t she go south with his Majesty to relocate the capital?” After saying this, an anxious look appeared on his face, “Zhennan Wang will soon break through the capital. She, a mere consort, staying here, isn’t that just asking for trouble?”
However, that attendant remained calm, just repeating, “Her Highness the Noble Consort wishes to see you.”
Lu Jing Hua was helpless and could only head over with the attendant. He made his way to the palace, arriving at Shen Ran’s palace hall. At present, this enormous palace city was already completely silent, no longer swimming with palace maids. The vast lake quiet and still, the green ripples traveling alone. A withered lotus left behind from summer remained on the surface of the water, its color a dry yellow.
Lu Zi Xiang arrived at Qianfu Palace yet saw this former palace hall of the emperor in complete shambles. The gold foil pasted on the red-lacquered pillars all got ripped off, the white jade floor tiles were entirely dug up and transported away, just leaving behind the bare stone platform.
He carefully went around the holes in the ground and stepped into the palace hall, hearing a cold female voice, “Gentleman, do you still remember what Ran’er once said?”
Lifting his head, he saw Shen Ran sitting upon Lu Zi Xiang’s dragon throne, her expression calm, her two eyes piercing. She was wearing a gold crown carved with layers upon layers of sprawling gold leaves, the veins lifelike, extremely detailed.
This dragon throne was originally the seat of the emperor, yet seeing her sitting upon it at this time, nothing seemed out of place.
“This subject greets the noble consort.” Lu Jing Hua remembered their difference in status, bowing and asking, “This subject doesn’t remember too well…..which line is your Highness referring to?”
“Ran’er once said, there isn’t anything wrong with wanting to rise above others.” She lifted her hand, her slender fingers unfurling a bright yellow imperial edict on the desk, slowly saying, “Don’t know if gentleman is willing to be a superior person that won’t be degraded by others?”
Lu Jing Hua was confused by her words, lifting his eyes to look at that imperial edict by her hand, yet saw the words ‘abdicating the throne’, instantly losing his soul from shock, staggering in his step, not daring to take a second glance.
Lu Zi Xiang has fled south to relocate the capital, how could he easily abdicate the throne? This imperial edict obviously was forged!
As for who was this brazen, daring to forge an imperial edict, as well as how it was forged, Lu Jing Hua didn’t dare to think about in the slightest. He could only randomly ramble on, steering away from the topic, “Your Highness, you are currently pregnant. It’s better for you to follow his Majesty south…..”
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
“Go south?” Shen Ran coldly sneered and stood up, “I was simply never pregnant. The chief physician of the Imperial Physicians Court had gotten bribed by me, thus testifying in my favor. If not for this, how could I have persuaded Lu Zi Xiang to flee south? If I really were to accompany him south, then as time pass, it will certainly get seen through by someone.”
In a few simple words, Shen Ran just revealed a tremendous secret. Lu Jing Hua’s complexion changed again and again, saying in shock, “Ran’er, this is the crime of deceiving the ruler!”
“So what if it’s deceiving the ruler!” The smile on Shen Ran’s lips was increasingly brazen. She rummaged through the hidden compartment under the desk, taking out a jade seal topped with a crouching beast’s head[1], weighing it in her hand and saying, “Lu Qi Yang will soon attack the city. Lu Zi Xiang just cares about relocating the capital, too occupied to guard against him. This imperial jade seal’s blueprint was personally copied by me, ordering someone to make.”
“Ran’er, you……..” Lu Jing Hua was like as if not recognizing the person before him.
“Gentleman…” Shen Ran took his hand, having the imperial jade seal shoved into his palm, saying with a laugh, “Come, have this imperial jade seal pressed down, and you will become the heavenly son of Chu, exalted above all!”
Lu Jing Hua was stunned, just feeling his palm scorching hot. The heat was too intense, making him nearly drop this jade seal. He argued, “I have no talent and no virtue, not fit to be a ruler to begin with. If brother Qi Yang were to take over the capital, then that would be a different story. Even if seeing on behalf of your older sister, Zhennan Wangfei, you will still have great wealth and power in the future……..So why, why go to such lengths?”
After saying this, he tried to smash the imperial jade seal.
However, this move got stopped by Shen Ran.
“How can that be the same!?” Shen Ran raised her brows, her eyes flickered with a sharp glint that couldn’t be concealed. Her thin wrist was tense, yet unleashed extraordinary strength, actually forcibly having Lu Jing Hua’s hand pulled back, bringing it back over the imperial edict, “If you become the emperor, then I shall rank first among the meritorious! But, if Lu Qi Yang becomes the emperor, then I will just be an ordinary pawn by his side. Which is superior and which is inferior, could it be that gentleman doesn’t know?”
Lu Jing Hua’s arm began to tremble.
Indeed, if Shen Ran presses down his hand at this time, letting him become the emperor, then Shen Ran will be the number one contributor to his rule. Even if she is a woman, even if potentially provoking gossip, Shen Ran will still receive many rewards and honors in the future.
If Lu Qi Yang becomes the emperor, then this country will be conquered by him on his own. Shen Ran will just be a foot soldier before him, one among his thousands of pawns, ordinary and not the least bit conspicuous!
Lu Jing Hua’s complexion changed again, his hand unconsciously pulling back. He has never felt that he has the talent to be an emperor——–His many tang brothers above him were all that outstanding and dazzling. Compared with them, he was like a speck of dust in the ground, not having the slightest luster.
But, Shen Ran was unwilling to let him this easily retract his hand. Every time he tried to withdraw his hand, Shen Ran would ruthlessly have it pulled back. The force so strong that it was unlike a woman’s. The two of them struggled endlessly. Finally, Shen Ran went all out. Clenching her teeth, she took Lu Jing Hua’s hand and made him press the jade seal onto that forged imperial edict.
The vermillion imperial print squarely landed at the end of the text, like a bright red city wall. On the right corner of the outline, there was a tiny flaw. That was the damaged corner from when the imperial jade seal got dropped. Shen Ran even had this detail replicated perfectly.
Seeing this, Shen Ran let go of Lu Jing Hua’s hand, her trembling hands brushing over this forged imperial edict. Because of her struggle with Lu Jing Hua, her hand had knocked against the corner of the desk, receiving a deep cut, yet she was like as if completely not noticing.
A while later, she deeply inhaled a breath and started laughing loudly.
“From now on, no one will be able to humiliate me or bully me.” She hooked her lip and said to Lu Jing Hua, “Your Majesty, you better nicely protect Ran’er.”
[1] This is one of the jade seal of the Qing dynasty. An emperor usually would have more than one jade seal. They are usually decorated with a dragon or lion.
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